DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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5.20.22 | DIGS.NET 25 M A R K E T For nearly the next decade Rufo traveled the world, working in the dizzying heights of commercial real estate. "I started as a gofer," he describes, before inspiring the confidence of his boss and transacting major-league prop- erties like the Beverly Hills Hotel. "It was a good place to start," he says of commercial real estate, "because it got me to what I really care about, which is the individual." Settling in Los Angeles and opening his own firm was a turning point for Rufo, who began selling residential properties and discovering a realm where he could apply his finely tuned business skills and enjoy that special satisfaction that came from working one-on-one with clients in this personal niche. His international past continues to serve his global resi- dential clients well today, too. "It's a very different way of doing business," Rufo says of his transactions in places such as Japan, England, South Korea and Italy. "But I have the lexicon, the ability to speak to clients in the real estate language of their country, and they feel secure." It's not only helping clients buy and sell homes that distinguishes Rufo's 25-plus-year career. He's just as notable for bridging the gap between the real estate field and government—and minding the state of his industry. "I've been very involved in organized real estate," he explains, detailing an extensive advocacy on behalf of colleagues, clients and homeowners. After being a director at the Greater Los Angeles Realtors Association for years, Rufo served as its president in 2019, working to shape legislation that effected real estate. And just last year he was president of California's multiple listing service •e MLS. "I wanted to change •e MLS," Rufo states, "and I changed a lot of things for our industry." Minding the integrity of real estate is another focus. Nothing affronts his sense of ethics more, it seems, than the notion that his fellow agents could be anything less than transparent and client-centric in their dealings. His website includes a detailed personal commitment to clients, and for the last 14 years he's been part of the Professional Standards Committee at the Greater Los Angeles Realtors Association. "I'm currently the chair, and we adjudicate all the complaints or issues that are filed against realtors," says Rufo. "I also do expert witness work for the District Attorney and for about five different law firms." Rufo's ability to move from limo-driving undergrad to industry leader and top producer can be credited to a drive that's all his—with due credit to his parents, who immigrated to the U.S. when Rufo was seven. "My dad said, 'You've got to work hard, and if you want something, you've got to just go get it,'" Rufo recalls. "I live by that. I have a really strong constitution and a fighting spirit. I'm not a person who's ever down or says, 'I'm not going to work today,'" he says, before adding with a chuckle: "I don't even know what that means." Sold recently by Marco: 604 El Cerco Place in Pacific Palisades ($11,700,000); Approximately 8,144 square feet, with 7 beds and 10 bathrooms.