“Orlando Born & Bred”
Ross Pino grew up in Orlando and built his real estate business with a long view of the city he knows well. Audubon Park, College Park, and Winter Park are the areas where he spends most of his time and energy, both professionally and personally. His familiarity with these neighborhoods comes from years of living in them, not studying them from a distance.
Before real estate, Pino worked in insurance sales. While holding that job, he began flipping houses using savings from commissions. The appeal was immediate. He enjoyed analyzing data, evaluating numbers, and understanding how purchase price, renovation costs, and resale value worked together. The design side of renovation caught his interest as well, but the math was what kept him engaged.
At the time, he was not licensed. He relied on other agents to represent him. That arrangement worked until it didn’t. During one transaction, a property came in under appraisal by roughly forty thousand dollars. The appraiser gave the agent an opportunity to provide supporting data, but no meaningful response followed. Pino had the data ready. The agent did not use it.
“That was the tipping point,” he says. “I felt like she was doing the easiest thing possible just to get it closed and get her commission.”
Shortly after, he decided to get licensed and represent himself. That step came first out of necessity. Over time, as he handled more transactions and learned through both wins and losses, the work expanded. When the market shifted after COVID and investing margins tightened, he transitioned fully into representing clients.
In 2022, Pino went through a divorce and experienced a complete reset. He lost money on several flips and decided to move back to Orlando in 2023 to rebuild. He arrived with no active business and very little stability. His children stayed in Georgia temporarily while he focused on getting back on his feet.
He lived in a friend’s house that was being renovated and later fully gutted. There was no kitchen and no bathroom. Each morning started at the gym, partly for the workout and partly to shower before work. He made calls, followed up, and went on appointments every day. It took six months before he sold his first house after returning.
“That six months taught me discipline,” he says. “You don’t get immediate gratification in this business. You have to put in the work and stay consistent for it to become stable.”
He joined The Nickley Group at Keller Williams Realty at the Parks and leaned into structure, training, and accountability. One lesson from mentor Alexis Nickley stayed with him: On days when motivation was low, the expectation was simple. Do the work anyway.
The consistency paid off. Last year, Pino closed $11.9 million in sales. Much of that business came from referrals and repeat clients who stayed in touch long after their initial transactions. He credits daily follow-up, service before sale, and honest advising for the growth.
“Sometimes it’s little things,” he explains. “A question about an HOA or whether a house has a covered patio. It’s about being there through the process and doing what you say you’re going to do.”
To support the volume without sacrificing quality, he hired a showing partner. That decision allowed him to spend more time where he believes it matters most.
“My time is best spent on negotiations and problem solving,” Pino says. “We run into so many issues in this business. Being there to solve those problems is a big part of the battle.”
The most rewarding part of the job has little to do with sales numbers.
“Earning a client’s trust is the most fulfilling part,” he says. “When they trust you with their real situation and not just the surface level stuff, that’s when it becomes a real relationship.”
He believes that mindset changes outcomes. Pino often advises clients to slow down, renegotiate, or walk away when something does not make sense, even if it would be easier to move forward.
“It’s about being an honest advisor,” he says. “What would I tell my family to do in this situation? That’s how I approach it.”
If someone followed him around for a week, he believes they might misunderstand where his business comes from.
“They’d think opportunities just fall into my lap,” he says. “They wouldn’t see the follow up from two years ago or the service I gave someone when it didn’t turn into a sale right away.”
Outside of real estate, family plays a central role in his life. He has two children, a nine-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. His daughter enjoys art and flag football. His son lives for baseball, and Pino now coaches his Little League team despite never having played the sport himself. He recently remarried and spends most weekends with extended family, attending church, and gathering regularly.
Looking ahead, his focus is narrowing geographically. He plans to continue working primarily in the neighborhoods he feels most connected to while maintaining the same level of service wherever clients come from.
Growth, to him, is measured by impact rather than volume.
“I want to help a certain number of families and make a real impact on each one,” he says. “If they rave about me to their friends and family, that’s success.”
Ross Pino built his business through consistency, service, and a long memory for what it felt like to start over. That perspective continues to shape how he works today.
