Zoritha Thompson

Thompson started real estate 30 years ago. She was a grocery store clerk where everyday an old man would come in to converse. Eventually, she befriended him.The man was a long-time broker in Sacramento and encouraged Thompson to get her license. She wouldn’t take his advice until she suffered a carpal tunnel injury and was told by a doctor she needed a new job.

She started with Century 21, where she met her future business partner, Carolyn Jean Goree. Together they started Goree and Thompson Real Estate, Inc., in 1996.

On the first day they opened, Goree was diagnosed with cancer. For the next two years, Thompson had to hold the company together.

“There’s so many adversities that will try to stop us from our goal,” said Thompson.

Goree told Thompson that she was the broker of record for their company; if she passed, the company would dissolve. Thompson needed her broker’s license for the company to be in her name.

Thompson took the broker’s license test on a Wednesday. She discovered she passed the test on Thursday and signed a buyer-seller agreement with her partner at the hospital.

Goree passed away on Friday.

“She was like my guardian angel,” said Thompson. “She set me up in this business and I always have to give her accolades, no matter what I do.”

While running the company, Thompson became a member of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) and the California Association of Real Estate Brokers (CAREB). She is also a member of the local chapter, Sacramento Realtist Association.

Thompson has closed over 2000 transactions, helped new real estate agents get a start in their career, and educates her community on home buying by providing knowledge on what steps they should take.

Thompson is available through her website, www.goreeandthompson.com, or by mobile phone at 916-601-7653.