Raised in a law enforcement family, Trisha McCarthy made a rather unusual leap, leaving behind a successful law enforcement career to conquer an entirely different field, rising all the way to the 2012 presidency of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors along the way.
Trisha McCarthy
Title: President, Massachusetts Association of Realtors; Agent, Keller Williams, Newburyport
Age: 64
Experience: 22 years
Q: I understand you were a police officer before you became a Realtor?
A: Yes. And let me tell you something, it was easier being a cop than it is being a Realtor! At least when people argued with me, I could say, “Listen, I can put you under arrest, or we can talk.” Now, I have to say, “You’re absolutely right. Let me just explain this one thing to you…” It was a tough job, though. I did child abuse, rape and domestic violence [work], and that was tough. But my husband was also a cop, and it was good because sometimes you needed to talk, and if you didn’t have a spouse that understood – like, my mother wasn’t a cop but my father was, and he’d come home and talk [about his day] and she’d freak out. But with us we could share, and it was really good. He said it was the only time he out-ranked me, when we worked together. That must be why I left the locals and went to the feds! I did Fish and Wildlife, Customs, Coast Guard – I fought fires in Yosemite, there was an Indian war….
Q:An Indian war? What are you talking about?
A: It was a conflict on a reservation [in Maine], they were trying to protect their property, the locals had no jurisdiction so they sent the feds in…My husband was like, “You’ve got to go do what?” And my son was saying, “Mom! You mean like bows and arrows and stuff?” … [But] I had to retire, my husband got hurt, really badly, on duty out on Plum Island. He was so bad that I just couldn’t be traveling and not knowing when I was going to come home. He needed help to get dressed, to take a shower.
Well, when I was a cop I was also a part-time Realtor. So I said, okay, I need to be there for him, I’m going to hang up my badge and my gun and do real estate full time. And it was interesting – in both jobs, you meet a lot of people. Most agents, they see someone and they think – “what listing was that? Where do I know them from? Was that a good one or a bad one?” Me, I’d look at someone and think, “Did I arrest that person?”
It was very difficult in the beginning to pay attention to where you were supposed to be… As a Realtor, you see a lot of things. You have to pay attention to the hat you’re wearing. You’d be at an open house or a showing and see joints in the ashtray – and I’d have to think, well, what am I really here for? “Hey, put those away!”
Q:I have to admit, I’ve never really considered the kinds of crossover you’d get in those two jobs.
A: It’s very strange. And of course, everybody knew me. One day – I’ll never forget it, it was election day and I’m working the polls. And I get this call, and he identified himself as an ATF agent – Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. And he says “We’ve been doing low-flying surveillance and we noticed that at such-and-such and address there is a pot field. And you’re the listing agent.” And I’m [saying], “Come on. Who is this?” I’m thinking it’s a joke. It was real.
Q: [Bursts into laughter]
A: I have to say, I got multiple offers on that property, because it made front page when people found out there was a pot field there. I was like, is this what I have to do to sell a house? But I got multiple offers, broke list price. I’m like, “They took all the pot, you know?” It was very embarrassing.
Q: You seem like such a people person – most Realtors are. But most of the law enforcement people I’ve known, you have to be so different on the job – really stern. Was that hard for you?
A: I’ll tell you, I put on a completely different shell. We grew up with my dad – he was a top ballistic officer in the state, and when we were kids we’d go with him to [sharp shooting competitions]. So it was always something I was around. [When I became an officer myself,] you do learn to put on a completely different face. You really do do the good guy, bad guy routine – and when we did I was always the bad guy. And I was like, “Why am I always the bad guy?” And they’d say, “Because people don’t expect it from you.” We’d go to arrest some huge guy who was ready to fight us, but they’d look at me and they’d melt, or they wouldn’t hit a woman, and [my partners would play it up], whispering “don’t mess with her. She’s crazy.” So I could get away with a lot…And you kind of get used to it, and it never really leaves you. [A few years ago, I went to Realtor Day on Beacon Hill] I had stopped by a CVS to pick up asthma medication and all of a sudden I hear a ruckus – people saying, “get him! Get him!” and I could hear these footsteps coming down the aisle. And I said to myself, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think I gotta take this guy down. So I went to the end of the aisle and sure enough he came running down and I tackled him and held him down until they came to arrest him. He had stolen a little old lady’s prescription when she was at the prescription counter paying. So it’s always in your blood.
Trisha McCarthy’s Top Five Favorite Things About Newburyport:
1 Plum Island – “The six and a half mile barrier beach is fabulous.”
2 The boardwalk by the harbor – “I love to grab an iced coffee and stroll.”
3 The Firehouse Theater.
4 Being close to nature, with plenty of places to fish and boat or ride her motorcycle.
5 The lively downtown.
