The residential real estate office is located at 1633 San Marco Blvd.
HOW LONG HAS THE OFFICE BEEN OPEN?
Since May 2001.
WHO IS THE BROKER?
Dee Fannin.
WHO IS FORD-FANNIN?
Ford is Les Ford. He was running a branch office in San Marco for PV Properties and decided he wanted to diversify a little bit. He knew Dee Fannin who was doing marketing for McGarvey Residential in St. Augustine and driving 110 miles a day to and from work. “I knew she wanted a job in San Marco, so I asked her to join me when I decided to open a company,” said Ford.
WHO ELSE
WORKS THERE?
Bobbie Farris and Penny Daily. Ford knew Bobbie Farris from working in real estate over the years and she decided to join the company. “We were not going to open as a company where we were going to recruit associates,” said Fannin. “We really just wanted to be a boutique operation. A lot of the people we were buying and listing with kept mentioning this Penny Daily, who wanted to get into real estate. They said she really wanted to work with a company in San Marco so we agreed to talk with her and we immediately fell in love with her. We are all like old kids on the block and Penny gave us that shot in the arm with her youth and enthusiasm.”
HOW DID
YOU TWO MEET?
“We’ve known each other for years,” said Fannin. “I used to be in the mortgage business and so did some mortgages for Les when he was with Century 21 Atkins Realty.”
EXPERIENCE?
Together the office has about 95 years of real estate experience. Ford has 30 years of real estate experience, Fannin has over 25 years of real estate and banking experience, Farris has over 40 years of real estate experience and Daily has six months.
SPECIALIZE IN?
Residential real estate.
HOW IS THE
OFFICE DIFFERENT?
“We have a philosophy that we totally believe in customer service. Once we list or sell a house, you have us all the through the transaction. We have the same advantages of technology that the larger companies have, but we aren’t departmentalized. That is how our business has grown so much in the year that we have been open because the sellers and buyers almost become a part of our family. We get all of our referrals from them.”
WHAT AREAS
DO THEY WORK?
Mandarin, Arlington, San Marco, Ortega, Avondale and St. Nicholas.
WHAT ABOUT
DOWNTOWN?
“I think it is fantastic,” said Fannin. “I came from Atlanta and I’m watching Jacksonville blossom just like Atlanta did. Although I think Jacksonville is handling it much better. I see the revitalization of downtown and I think it is magnificent.”
WHY OPEN AN OFFICE IN SAN MARCO?
“I’m involved with San Marco and have lived here since the 1960s,” said Ford. “I thought it was important to maintain my presence here because I love it. I am one of the co-founders of the San Marco Preservation Society.” Her husband’s (Buck Fannin, who was one of the original organizers of the River Run) family also lives in San Marco, as do her children. She is planning to move there soon.
WILL THERE EVER BE A SECOND OFFICE?
“No, we are happy where we are. We are happy with how our company is progressing where it is.”
HOW DO THE FOUR OF YOU GET ALONG?
“We are like a family. Even though they handle their own files, I am the broker and I review everything. But, when one needs help, the other one is there to help.”
SAN MARCO
“The houses sell almost as fast as we put the sign in the yard,” said Ford. “I’ve found that you don’t have to advertise the home in this area if you price them right. Homes sell very quick. The average prices of homes is between $250,000 and 750,000. The property along the river is more.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis