The Long Island Board of REALTORS®, Inc. (LIBOR) is pleased to announce that Realtor® Barbara Ford has been named the recipient of the distinguished REALTOR®-Broker of the Year award. The announcement was made at the association’s Annual Installation and Awards Dinner held on November 24, 2015 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

Barbara began her career as a real estate agent in March 1980.  Always a quick study, she taught herself about marketing, learned the ins and outs of mortgages and quickly gained a reputation for “knowing her stuff.”  She was soon a respected and successful residential sales agent working at Ford Real Estate in Floral Park.  Barbara’s love of learning and ambitious spirit drove her to further her career, and she soon earned the designation of Associate Broker.

Never one to stand still, Barbara became interested in what was at the time, still a somewhat new concept; cooperative housing, or co-ops.  Her reputation as a smart, intelligent agent preceded her, and she was contacted by the owner of a building on Fire Island.  A restaurant occupied the first floor, with apartments above.  The owner wanted to convert the building, however as towns sometimes do, the town refused.  It would not permit both as co-ops.  So Barbara, ever the innovator, co-oped the apartments and condo-ed the restaurant; coining the phrase ‘cond-op’.  The conversion was a success, and it quickly sold out. 

In part due to her success on Fire Island, Barbara was contacted and hired by seven different apartment owners from Queens to Suffolk County to help develop their rental apartments and convert them into co-ops.  Barbara was tasked with everything from navigating the different municipal regulations, to figuring out common charges.  She was a ‘Jill of all trades’, often wearing the hat of a selling agent as well as, managing agent.   All the properties were successfully sold out.  To date, Barbara has been personally involved in the marketing and conversion of over half a billion dollars of co-op and condominium sales.  Barbara’s extensive knowledge of co-ops and condo’s has given her the distinction of being considered as an expert on the topic by the courts.

While this may seem an impressive accomplishment to many of us, for Barbara it was not enough.  Already a respected and established broker, she found the time and energy to obtain a bachelor’s degree in finance from CW Post and a Jurist Doctorate with honors from Touro Law School; all while maintaining a successful real estate brokerage with her partner and husband of over 30 years, Wes Ford.  Barbara is currently a practicing attorney and successful litigator having won numerous appeals in Appellate Court.

In addition to serving on countless committees, Barbara has served as co-op chair for both LIBOR and NYSAR.  Never tiring, she has served as Director for MLS and LIBOR. In 2008, she was elected President of MLS.  Barbara is the FPC for Senator Kemp Hannon and SDC for Congresswoman Kathleen Rice.

Despite her busy schedule she has always made her family priority, her aforementioned husband Wes, best friend, and daughter Daria, son-in-law Jay, son Douglas, daughter-in-law Lisa, and fourteen grandchildren.