Homeless to Selling to Billionaires: Alexandra Rubow, Top Luxury Realtor at The Altman Brothers
Alexandra Rubow joins Melanie Uno to trace her path from a childhood marked by homelessness, a single mother of five, and a job at age 12 to becoming one of LA's top luxury real estate agents on the Altman Brothers team. She shares how constant moving and meeting realtors growing up, plus her mother's belief in manifestation and "the secret," shaped both her love of homes and her drive. This year she hit over $70 million in listings and has a roughly $50 million Laguna listing coming up, all before turning 30.
The conversation doubles as a sales playbook: Rubow breaks down her authentic, relationship-first approach to door knocking, open houses, cold calling expired and canceled leads, and circle dialing, emphasizing the first ten seconds, offering value instead of asking for business, and relentless follow-up. She explains how she stands out by pairing her local Orange County expertise with Josh Altman's global reach, why she does so much client hand-holding, and why she turned down Selling Sunset and Selling OC to stay focused on the actual business of selling houses.
“someone's going to want to work with you if they like you. Not just if you're the best.”
“it's all about the opening. You have to get them on, like, the first 10 seconds.”
“these people, they want to hear from me. They do. They need to be represented. And they're working with the best.”
Key takeaways
- 00:00:00Rubow grew up homeless at times and started working under the table at 12, yet now sells multimillion-dollar homes.
- 00:04:05She hit over $70 million in listings this year, her best yet, even in one of the toughest markets.
- 00:05:32The Altman Brothers sell about $1.2 billion a year and over $7.5 billion in total, which she says changed the game for the whole team.
- 00:07:24Her mother taught her manifestation and "the secret" as a kind of belief system, visualizing big estates they would one day own.
- 00:11:31Her key to success is that people work with you if they like you, not just if you're the best, built on genuine relationships and trust.
- 00:14:02When door knocking, the opening matters most: hook them in the first ten seconds and always offer something instead of asking to sell their house.
- 00:30:36Her advice to new agents is to start small with track homes you can call in volume, because it's the fastest way to learn and rack up sales.
- 00:41:19She immediately said no to Selling Sunset and Selling OC, refusing to leave her team or trade real estate credibility for reality-TV drama.
Chapters
- 00:00:00Intro
- 00:00:12I Was Homeless… Now I Sell $50M Mansions
- 00:00:29People Slammed Doors in My Face
- 00:00:51I Said NO to Netflix's Selling Sunset
- 00:01:35The INSANE Story of Alexandra Rubow Taylor
- 00:03:00Manifested a $50,000,000 Home!?
- 00:04:24Selling $70M in the Worst Market Ever
- 00:05:16What It’s Really Like Working with the Altman Brothers
- 00:06:27I Grew Up with NOTHING…
- 00:07:44My Mom Taught Me The Law of Attraction
- 00:09:00Why I’m OBSESSED With Real Estate
- 00:10:34How to Sell ANYTHING Without Being Pushy
- 00:12:05Turn a Stranger into a Lifelong Client
- 00:13:01My Door-Knocking Strategy That Changed EVERYTHING
- 00:16:46The Follow-Up Hack That Got Me Million-Dollar Deals
- 00:18:44Don’t Cold Call Until You Hear This
- 00:20:00How I Outsmart 99% of Agents on the Phone
- 00:22:42I Used to HATE Cold Calling… Now I Love It
- 00:24:06The Real Reason I Keep Winning Listings
- 00:26:40My Secret Weapon: Emotional Intelligence
- 00:29:53Regular Homes vs. $50M Mansions (REAL Difference)
- 00:31:36How I Got Into Real Estate With ZERO Connections
- 00:34:00The Instagram DM That Changed My Life
- 00:36:13When I Knew It Was Time to LEVEL UP
- 00:37:58Joining Hilton & Highland
- 00:39:58How I Got Recruited by the Altman Brothers
- 00:41:16Why I Refused Reality TV for My Career
- 00:44:24What I’d Tell My Younger Self (Gets Emotional)
- 00:45:21The Realest Ending Ever ❤️
