Raquel Knoell

It was at 5 years old I can remember making the decision to be a homeowner one day. Staring out of my 6th floor apartment window, I admired the kids playing in their backyards. I thought, one day that will be me.

As the first person in my family to go to college, I felt I was on my way to being successful.. I got my Bachelors degree in psychology and minor in Art from Fordham University.

When I met my husband, he was an HVAC mechanic. I was working on Wall Street for Standard & Poor's while studying jewelry arts. I learned about Tom's family and how they became successful. They came from Germany, didn't speak English, worked hard and invested in real estate. Wow, I thought. If they can do it, so can I.

For our wedding, we decided not to spend the money on my headpiece and make it instead. We combined Tom's knowledge of soldering and my artistic flair and made my tiara by hand. Everyone loved it. Friends and family asked him to make tiaras for their weddings. Soon thereafter, Thomas Knoell Designs was born. Tom decided to quit his job to focus on our new small business. We sold our custom made headpieces to couture bridal salons all over the world.

Meanwhile, at S&P, I was excelling in sales. I became a National Accounts Manager. I developed relationships within the companies I worked with. My clients were our top tiered accounts such as Morgan Stanley, Chase and Goldman Sachs. I worked with attorneys, high level executives and the folks on the trading floors. I loved the part of my job that involved helping people. The 2 hour commute, not so much. The corporate world was taking a toll on my quality of life, and I wanted more time with my family.

September 11th, 2001 was our 1 year wedding anniversary. Our son Kyle was 8 months old. On that day, Tom had an appointment with a big store in Manhattan and my mom was sick and couldn't watch Kyle. I didn't want Tom to have to cancel his appointment. I considered bringing Kyle to our company's backup babysitting service in the World Trade Center. After some thought, I had a last minute change of heart. Tom would not be happy if I brought Kyle to Manhattan so I decided to leave Kyle sleeping in his crib.

Needless to say, that day was an experience that will never leave me. I was one of the lucky ones to make it home alive that day. For that, and my son's life, I am grateful.

It was that day that I decided I would leave NYC for good. About a year later, I left Wall Street and focused on growing our business and our family.

Fast forward 15 years. I had spent all this time caring for our kids and growing our small business. During that time, we'd faced much adversity in pursuing homeownership.

Finally at age 36, we bought our first home. Life was good, but I was ready for something more. So when I was looking for a new career, real estate made sense.

I was able to combine my love of helping people with my passion for real estate. After going through the ups and downs of home purchasing, I felt compelled to help others do the same. In 2016, I got my real estate license and formed a team with my husband Tom.

Our North Shore NaviGuide is how my team (which now consists of my husband Tom and our son Kyle) helps our clients move in and out of Sea Cliff & the North Shore of Long Island. Relocating can be challenging. Whether you are moving in your own neighborhood or across the country, we are there to help. Buying and selling requires a great amount of attention to detail all in a harmonious way. From start to finish, our family is looking forward to helping you!