Over the last 24 years, top real estate agent Lisa Gutman has chased down horses that escaped from barns, sneaked celebrities into properties and set records for selling the most expensive properties in Hidden Hills, an affluent community in the San Fernando Valley. She averages $30 to $40 million a year in sales volume, and has received nearly every honor available for top sellers in her field: the RE/MAX Diamond Club, Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award. Not that she's keeping track. "I take a hand-holding approach to real estate," she says. "I specialize in one client at a time." Her personal touch to real estate has literally opened doors. About 80 percent of her business comes from repeat clients and referrals. Many of her clients eventually become friends. For a Memorial Day barbecue she recently hosted, at least 20 guests were clients. "I love the people here, and I love helping people," says Gutman. "Buying a home is the most important purchase of anyone's life, and I love being a part of that process." For Gutman, being a part of the process means personally driving to her clients' house in order to walk them through a contract or taking them down the city's Department of Building and Safety to introduce them to the head of the department. She not only advises her clients on local housing market values, but also the city's unique Homeowner Association dues and strict building requirements...

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