About Raquel Zapata

SO HERE’S MY STORY!

I come from humble beginnings, but my father showed me what hard work and sacrifice can do. He held the door open for me, and now I can do the same for others.

I can only imagine how exciting and unfamiliar the United States must have seemed for my parents. My father, an immigrant from Chile, and my mother, an immigrant from El Salvador, met in California on student visas. My siblings and I grew up in San Jose, California, and learned to speak English in school.

By the time I was in the sixth grade, my father, a janitor who worked late nights to support us, had moved the family to Florida because he was worried about gang violence in our city. We traveled cross-country in a van and drove around until my dad found a house for us. He managed to get an assumable loan, and we acquired a home of our own.

My parents didn’t speak English well, so upward mobility was difficult for them. Still, I always saw how hard my father worked in his own janitorial business to care for us, opening the doors to opportunity. In Florida, he owned an ice cream truck and always managed to support us. In fact, when I was 16, he bought me a car for all of $325. When I drove it, I could literally see the street pavement. But it was a car, and that’s what matters when you’re a teenager.

I was something of a rebellious party girl, which didn’t sit well with my dad, who was tough on my siblings and me. Of course, years later, I realized that it had helped me build character and find my way in life.

The party-girl phase of my life ended when I became pregnant with my first child. When I got pregnant at 21, money was very tight, so I moved back in with my parents. I used the initiative I learned from my father and got a Section 8 voucher, a move that improved our lives.

We eventually bought a home in Brandon, and since then, I have personally bought and sold more than 12 properties, giving me firsthand knowledge of the home-buying and selling process from every angle.

I worked in various sales positions for years, then got my real estate license in late 2006. That was the right direction for me, since I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset instilled in me by my father. By 2008, I was already successful, selling 32 homes while pregnant with my 3rd child, Luna.

Unfortunately, during that chapter of my life, the father of my children and the man who had been an important part of my journey eventually passed away. That loss was one of the most difficult experiences of my life and shaped me in many ways, both personally and professionally.

Life, however, has a way of bringing healing, growth, and new beginnings. In 2024, I was blessed to marry William Zapata, who has brought love, stability, and support into my life. William also brings decades of industry knowledge and experience and proudly holds a real estate license, allowing us to continue serving families together.

Today, I am proud to be the broker-owner of 1 Step Ahead Realty Group, LLC, a brokerage I built with passion, dedication, and over two decades of real estate experience. My brokerage firm currently employs 7 team members and continues to help families realize their homeownership dreams throughout the Tampa Bay area and across the state of Florida.

Since I’ve often been on my own, I consider myself the true definition of a single mom. I put my oldest daughter, Avianna, through the University of Tampa, making her the first in our family to graduate from college.

I couldn’t be prouder of all of my daughters Avianna, Anisya, and Luna. Avianna proudly works alongside me in real estate, Anisya is a licensed barber and an extremely talented singer, and Luna is currently finishing up high school. My entire family makes it a point to assist others in our community here in the Tampa Bay area.

That legacy of helping others goes back more than 20 years to when I started in real estate. I promised my father and myself that I would help people through my work as a REALTOR®. I feel very fortunate that I’m able to benefit others in my community, and I’ll always continue to do so. Giving back is one of the great joys of my life and one of my favorite parts about being a REALTOR®.