When you work in Beverly Hills, California you are bound to assist a celebrity with the sale or purchase of a home sooner or later. The trick is giving them great service without imagining that their luster is rubbing off on you.

Joe Babajian, top producing agent for Fred Sands, Realtors, says, "What a lot of REALTORS lose sight of is that they are REALTORS, not celebrities. Once they help a few famous clients, they think they are celebrities, too. They get an attitude and then they start losing business."

"High profile people want the same thing as any real estate client - they want you to find them a home or sell their homes at the best price possible," he advises. "I don't try to be a celebrity's best friend. I am happy to service them in a professional manner and that is all they want from me."

Babijian has served a number of famous clients and their families including Harrison Ford, Natalie Cole, Vanna White, Loni Anderson, Wayne Gretsky, Paula Abdul, Tom Petty, John Fogarty, Tom Jones, Judith Light. Warren Beatty and his wife, Annette Bening, Ed McMahon and Jeff Goldblum.

He recently successfully marketed Barbra Streisand's home, but true to his client's wishes, refused to give any details of the transaction.

Babajian understands what celebrities endure to retain privacy and confidentiality in their personal affairs, and he sees first hand how constantly personal boundaries are stepped upon. Nicholas Cage, a client, was viewing homes with Babijian one day when the housekeeper of one property came over clasping her chest. She croaked, "I'm going to have a heart attack!" For a split second, Babajian was alarmed that the woman was indeed in cardiac arrest, but she was merely overreacting to the sight of Cage strolling through the interior.

Cage, an old hand at handling adulation, was ever the gracious star, reports Babajian. "Nicholas was very nice to her - I think he gave her an autograph."

"They (celebrities) are all nice, really," explains Babajian. "But for privacy or security reasons, it is understandable that they just don't want the whole world knowing their business."

One client, a prominent country/western performer and his wife will only conduct home transactions under the strictest cloak of secrecy.

Many celebrities prefer to deal with real estate agents through attorneys, business managers, or other representatives. "These are sophisticated people, and they have sophisticated representatives handling their affairs. Many times a celebrity will let it be known that they want a certain home and then all these people go into action to get it for them.

Why do so many stars choose Babajian to represent them? "High profile individuals want someone who is very professional, and being professional means having back-up systems. I have a pager, and two cell phones with me at all times. I have a person who works for me to do marketing, another person does my scheduling and I have an office person who does my escrow work. We have five computers set up on a network, and all correspondence is handled professionally."

"We have a track record," he adds. "That is why the high end market is difficult to break into. The high profile client wants to know that their broker is interfacing with other high-end buyers and sellers."

"A career in high-dollar real estate doesn't just happen. You start by doing all the things you do to build a good business and reputation - mailers, open houses, farming. You just have to pay your dues."

"People are people, no matter who they are. They just want you to do a good job for them."