BY BRAM EISENTHAL

It snowed last week, boy, did it snow. But I did a little digging underneath that blanket of white the next morning and came up with a gem of a story. Her name is Anita Benabou Rozenblat and some of you may know her as the designer behind the Mosskito fashion line. If you’re a Shopping Channel or TVA Quebec viewer, you likely encountered her fashions. Perhaps you’re wearing something Mosskito this very moment.

A funny thing happened to her, however, during her dalliance with fashionable fame: she left it all behind and moved on to newer, uncertain pastures. Benabou Rozenblat became a real estate agent. Why? “I’ve been in sales for 17 years,” said the 40-something woman who looks a lot like a model, truth be known. “I did the designer thing for a long time and had success with it, but it was time for a new challenge. And, basically, sales isn’t about items, it’s about people.

“It doesn’t matter to me what I’m selling, as long as I have one-on-one dealings with people and that we’re both happy at the end.” Listening to her talk, a person with over a decade in sales previously myself, I had no doubt that her energy and professionalism would launch her into the top of her field. I was ready to buy a property from her myself!

The housing market is still hot in Montreal, especially in the West End communities that Benabou Rozenblat services: Côte St. Luc, Hampstead and Westmount. It’s a good time to be in real estate, but it isn’t an easy ride. “I studied really hard to get my license, 240 hours on many Tuesday and Thursday nights and weekends,” she admitted. “It was a grind for me, especially the math. But I emerged into a world that features a new generation of realtors’ reps who are in synch with the younger married buyers we see today, but who can also mesh with the seniors who are selling and changing their surroundings. I am equally comfortable working on behalf of both demographic groups.”

Israeli-born, Benabou Rozenblat is trilingual, speaking English, French and Hebrew, but more importantly, the relationships she establishes become friendships. “Honesty is everything and making a buck is secondary,” she said. “When you hire an agent, you

are doing one of the most important things you will ever do, so make sure you know that person inside and out. Interview several … never choose an agent impulsively. I just listed a house in Côte St. Luc, after which the client was so happy with her

decision, she gave me a facial. It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it,” she said with a laugh.

She treats her clients and their houses with respect and looks down on gimmicky techniques. “Selling is hard work and there’s no easy way to succeed,” she said. I asked her about a recent newspaper article about an agent who treats homes like commodities to be auctioned. “I find that disrespectful, frankly. Unless it’s a bank repossession, you don’t treat a home that casually. For most people, it’s a highly personal, sacred part of one’s life. Would you auction your business … or your dog?”

Benabou Rozenblat also finds homes for clients relocating to Montreal from out of town. To reach her at Royal Lepage Heritage, call 514-934-1818, or her cell 24/7 at 514-502-6627. You can also e-mail her at anitarozenblat@hotmail.com, or check out her blog at www.anitarozenblat.blogspot.com.">www.anitarozenblat.blogspot.com.">www.anitarozenblat.blogspot.com.

West End electorate to vote red

Well, I’m not saying I’m a backer of the last Charest mandate. In fact, I’m damned displeased with how he handled most things and the fact he lived up to almost none of his last round of election promises, the total opposite of my lofty expectations of him. But that seems to be the case with most political leaders — their campaign speeches ultimately ringing hollow.

Here in the West End, however, Lawrence Bergman and Russell Copeman have done good jobs, respectively, certainly enough to warrant another kick at the can. Provincial Revenue Minister Bergman and I have a history, as I was his communications director when he was first elected in the early 1990s, trouncing Equality Party leader and founder Robert Libman in D’Arcy McGee. He’s given my riding solid representation ever since, ditto Copeman in Notre Dame de Grâce, my old stomping ground.

The Libs should form the next government, given the fact PQ leader André Boisclair doesn’t even have the confidence of his own party. And while I like former Liberal youth wing leader Mario Dumont and consider him a bright, savvy politician with tons of promise, I won’t soon forget his support of that last referendum question and his participation in a filthy campaign that almost fooled Quebecers into voting yes.

When Super Mario comes out from behind his mask and tells us how he really feels about separation, he’ll convince a lot more people that he’s the real deal.



• Bram Eisenthal’s e-mail address is Bramsbriefs@yahoo.ca.