BUTLER TWP — Chuck Swidzinski discusses real estate with the same enthusiasm that children might have when talking about video games.

“Every house sale is a rush. It's very gratifying to see you are helping someone move on with their future,” said the Prudential Preferred Realty agent.

The Center Township resident has spent more than 20 years in real estate and has helped clients buy and sell thousands of properties, developing his own style and strategy while adhering to tenets that every successful agent must follow.

Born and raised in Summit Township with his older bother, Jack, who is now an accountant in Meridian, Chuck Swidzinski graduated from Butler High School in 1980.

He worked at Kinney Shoes during high school and briefly attended Butler County Community College after graduation.

“It was just a ‘What are you going to do when you grow up?' sort of thing,” Swidzinski said.

Not finding satisfaction in shoe sales or college courses, Swidzinski followed in the footsteps of his father, John, becoming a pipe fitter.

“The reason I got into real estate is I started buying rentals. My brother and I bought my first house when I was 18 years old,” Swidzinski said.

“Then, we started buying other homes.”

Swidzinski worked as a pipe fitter until he was 27, eventually serving as foreman of instrumentation at the Beaver Valley Power Station, the nuclear plant in Shippingport.

“I realized I hated it. It didn't suit me,” he said.

“A lot of the time, it's seasonal. You work job to job and then get laid off.”

During one such layoff in 1989, Swidzinski took a course in real estate sales and became a licensed agent that October.

He said the most challenging parts of the career shift were staying disciplined while working for himself and building name recognition.

“(It's challenging) running your own business and being your own boss. You don't have a set schedule, so you have to hold yourself accountable,” Swidzinski said.

He was hired at Northwood Realty, where he sold his first home.

“That was the most exciting thing since they invented peanut butter,” Swidzinski said.

He only stayed at Northwood for about six months before moving on to Coldwell Banker for two years. Over those 30 months he pushed himself as hard as he ever had in his life.

“I was blind and young. People are not going to trust a novice person with the most money they ever spent in their lives,” Swidzinski said.

“My first two years, I worked every day, basically, taking no vacations or days off.”

He spent a lot of time “prospecting,” seeking out buyers and sellers, a skill he still keeps well-honed.

“I would knock on ‘for sale by owner' doors. If someone's house was for sale by another agent and it expired, I would knock on those doors,” said Swidzinski. He generally has between 60 and 70 property listings. If that number drops below 60, he said he starts “getting twitchy” and “knocking on doors.”

“It's a very competitive business. If you have the right tools and show people you have the ability to sell their house, can do the unique marketing others aren't using, it gives them trust in your ability to market their home,” Swidzinski said.

After Coldwell Banker, Swidzinski spent just more than a year at the Able Agency, now a Howard Hannah branch, where he found a kindred soul in Judy Mortimer, with whom he partnered for 17 years.

“We both had very good work ethic and we jelled very well,” Swidzinski said.

“We had a lot of fun, but when it came time to work, we both would bear down and get the job done.”

He said the pair's shared goal was to close 100 transactions a year, an average they accomplished regularly.

“The market has changed so much. Three years ago, when the recession hit, I went from closing 100 homes a year to 60 or 70. My goal for this year is to hit 100 again,” Swidzinski said.

The pair moved to Re/Max realty for a few months before finally settling at Prudential, where Swidzinski has been for 17 years

“Moving (agencies) can be stressful. You have to move all of your listings and meet all new people. But, like anybody, I'm in this business to make money, so I went wherever was necessary to do that,” Swidzinski said.

“Judy and I brought Prudential Preferred Realty to Butler. The closest office at that time was in Cranberry. They thought we were just going to have a satellite office here. Now, we have 3,000 square feet and 29 agents.”

Mortimer retired in 2009.

Swidzinski credits his successes to the innovative way he now does business.

“Very few people do what I do here, have a team,” he said.

“In my team, there are four licensed agents. So, when you hire me, you are hiring four agents for the price of one.”

Swidzinski's team includes Crystal Heller, his office manger; Marilyn Kennedy, who acts as listing coordinator; and Jared Sullivan, who handles online marketing.

“The paperwork is not my forte. I'm a people person. I've surrounded myself with a staff that does those things for me,” Swidzinski said.

He works best out in public and personally meeting buyers and sellers, leaving the office work to trained professionals whom he trusts.

“It gives people what's best for them when I am marketing their home,” he said.

While every sale is a “rush,” Swidzinski's biggest listing ever promises to give a slightly bigger rush than others, given the commission derived from a property listed at $15 million.

RiverStone Estates, owned by Dr. Arthur Steffy of Foxburg, is 1,000 acres with 22 ponds, 10 houses and miles of riverfront property along both the Allegheny and Clarion rivers.

As he helps people find their dream homes, Swidzinski also has thoughts on how to improve the areas in which they buy.

“I think Butler County is going in the right direction,” he said.

Swidzinski pointed specifically to drug problems that he has seen worsen as he has grown up and lived here.

He said Realtors must beware of criminals who work in pairs at open houses, with one distracting the Realtor while another robs the residence.

“When I grew up around here, we didn't even lock our doors,” Swidzinski said.

“(Drugs are) one of the biggest issues, it seems to me, in the area.”

He said the work of the Butler County Drug Task Force is positive news for that dilemma.

And Swidzinski said the energy industry's growing presence in the county already is bringing rewards for residents and businesses.

“This is bringing a lot of different people in, shopping at our businesses and eating in our restaurants. Some people are buying houses, some are renting, but it's all bringing money into the community,” he said.

<B>SWIDZINKSI FILE</B><B>Name:</B> Chuck Swidzinski<B>Position:</B> Realtor, Prudential Preferred Realty<B>Family:</B> Brother, Jack<B>Education:</B> Butler High School, 1980; Realtor’s license, 1989‘Running your own business and being your own boss (is challenging). You don’t have a set schedule, so you have to hold yourself accountable.’<B>LIFE LESSONS</B>Chuck Swidzinski, a real estate agent with Prudential Preferred Realty, has sold properties for more than 20 years. Here are some of his views about Butler County:• The Butler County Drug Task Force is doing good work to reduce drugs in the county.• Community groups are helping to organize events that bring people regularly to downtown Butler.• While the long-term effects of natural gas drilling are unknown, the energy industry’s presence in the county already is reaping rewards for residents and businesses.“This is bringing a lot of different people in, shopping at our businesses and eating in our restaurants. Some people are buying houses, some are renting, but it’s all bringing money into the community.”<B>ON THE JOB</B><B>Name:</B> Prudential Preferred Realty<B>Address:</B> 365 Stirling Village, Butler Township<B>Top Official:</B> Chuck Swidzinski, Realtor<B>Services:</B> Property sales<B>People served:</B> Swidzinski sells 70 to 100 properties per year<B>Employees:</B> 29<B>Contact:</B> 724-283-0005, or at www.prudential preferred.com/<B>BUSINESS INSIGHT</B>Chuck Swidzinski, a real estate agent with Prudential Preferred Realty, has sold properties for more than 20 years. Here are some of his keys to success:• “You need to stay connected in the community. You need to have your face out there and your name out there. A lot of this business is name recognition.”• “I don’t work a nine-to-five job. I work 12 hours a day and a seven-day week if I have to. I was always taught good work ethic.”• “You have to be technologically adept. When I list your home, you are on 22 different websites. I have a professional photographer that creates virtual tours.”• Flexibility is a must. For example, some clients are more comfortable communicating via e-mail or by text message or at odd hours. “You have to adapt to what they like.”• “The most important thing is to prospect, which I do daily. We are out every day, looking for people who want to buy and sell properties.”