March 03, 2010 // Franchising.com // PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced it won Franchise Business Review’s Best in Category for Real Estate Franchisee Satisfaction award for the third year in a row.

The Best in Category award measures franchisee satisfaction with their franchisors and is part of the 5th annual Franchisee Satisfaction Awards presented by Franchise Business Review. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC also was ranked third overall among all franchise categories with more than 200 locations. This is the third year that the Sotheby’s International Realty® brand was rated in the top 10 of all award categories…To read more about Sotheby’s International Realty’s aware click here!

Within the first 9 years of my life my family and I had lived in 5 different state and finally ended up in Louisiana.  Once here, we declared this was home, so I consider myself a New Orleanian by choice, if not heritage.  New Orleans has a continental flavor that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.  Our history, architecture, art, antiques, food, festivals and zest for life are without compare.

Starting out I was a pre-school teacher for almost a decade, teaching 3 and 4 year olds.  Although I loved teaching, I decided to try my hand at other venues.  Since that time I have worked in both banking and real estate, often in combination.  My real estate career started in 1984.  During the early 80’s I worked as a salesperson on the Westbank of New Orleans.  In the late 80’s I was involved in the REO Department of First National Bank of Jefferson, during a time when banks had hundreds of repossessed properties on their books.  In January 1991 I came to work for Dorian M. Bennett.  Once again I declared this home and have been with Dorian’s company ever since. 

My start as a teacher has made me feel that education is the key to both good salesmanship and good leadership.  Knowledge is the key to better service to our customers and clients, as well as being a valuable asset as a leader within an organization.  Because of this belief I have attained designations as a Master Graduate of Real Estate Institute, Seller’s Representative Specialist, Senior Real Estate Specialist, GREEN specialist and recently ePro, which helped me attain more knowledge about all of the electronic devices at our disposal in our field.

We have a dynamic group of real estate professionals as well as an invaluable staff in our company that I am very proud to work alongside.

Dorian M. Bennett

Dorian Bennett has long been a patron and supporter of the arts. This self-described “aesthete” majored in Fine Arts and Russia while in college at Tulane University and the College of William and Mary. He is classically trained in piano and played the clarinet in the school band. Additionally he enjoys painting and pottery in the studio behind his house.

Born in Hammond, Louisiana, Dorian has lived in New Orleans for over twenty years and now considers himself a native. He was unsure about what to do with his degrees when he graduated from Tulane. He knew that he did not want to translate Russian for the government and he did not want to work for an art gallery. A friend suggested that someone with Dorian’s personal skills and appreciation for antiques, architecture and preservation would be ideally suited for the real estate business. Dorian followed this advice and a career was born.

What a distinguished career it has been! Prior to opening his own firm, Dorian M. Bennett Inc., in October of 1984, Dorian worked for 3 agencies honing his skills and winning numerous sales awards. Dorian also serves as New Orleans “Real Estate Agent to the Stars!” He has sold local real estate to such notables as Lenny Kravitz, Taylor Hackford, Jimmy Buffett and Zachary Richard. He even sold House of Blues its Decatur Street property. Through his work with the New Orleans Film Commission and by word-of-mouth, his name has been spread around the Hollywood community. As a result, when stars come to town they most often call Dorian.

Dorian’s appreciation of architecture and preservation is not limited to his professional career. He received a restoration award for the renovation of his office at 2340 Dauphine Street. His residence in the “Bend of Bourbon Street” also has a lot of history behind it. Built in 1825, it has been home to the son of Louisiana’s first Governor – Claiborne, and more recently, Clay Shaw of JFK conspiracy theory fame. It was also featured in the book House in the Bend of Bourbon, by Terry Fletrich. Dorian says that he has always been attracted to unique and special homes, “As special as I can afford, anyway!”

Civic activities play a prominent role in Dorian’s life. In addition to his work with the Jazz and Heritage Foundation as a board member, Dorian was on the Board of the Contemporary Arts Center, past president of the Friends of Contemporary Art of the New Orleans Museum of Art, on the board of the New Orleans Opera, and the board of trustees on the New Orleans Museum of Art.

While Dorian was in New York for his daughter Delia’s audition with Merrymount – he decided to go visit the Sotheby’s Auction House and look at their Real Estate Wall which the major collectors of the world have to pass on their way into the auction house.  Here Dorian is pointing to one of our listings featured there – The Lafitte Guest House. In the heart of the French Quarter at 1003 Bourbon at the corner of St. Philip Street sits this circa 1849 French-style mansion originally built as a private residence, now used as a luxury boutique hotel filled with fine reproduction furnishings that have been collected from around the world to ensure unsurpassed authenticity. Each of its 14 rooms with private bath is spacious and uniquely decorated; as well as many having their own private balconies which offer spectacular views.

is unique property has endless potential for any investor, including combining it with other small hotels available for purchase that could be bundled with it to create a more effective use of marketing dollars, or returning it to its former glory as a single family home!