Paul Woods is the broker of Paul Woods Realty, a new real estate company in Arlington that specializes in residential resale, property management and commercial real estate.
FAMILIAR FACE?
Woods has been a part of Jacksonville’s real estate and property management community since 1994, the past three as vice president and broker in the property management division of Watson Realty.
HOW LONG
IN REAL ESTATE?
Twenty-four years. He got into real estate in 1976 in Kentucky and had his own company, River City Properties, that offered residential resale and farm
properties, property management, appraisals and commercial real estate. “I’ve done just a little bit of everything.” He moved to Florida in 1986 to work for General Development Corporation, a developer in Port Charlotte. When he moved to Jacksonville he went into banking before switching back to real estate.
DEJA VU?
“My office in Kentucky was very much like what I am putting together here. I wanted to be diversified. So, if I can do all three, why would I limit myself? I can now be of service to the public in a various ways and represent owners and buyers in all facets of real estate.”
WHY DID HE OPEN HIS OWN COMPANY?
“In my previous position I very restricted in what I could do — just property management. Also, there weren’t any management opportunities either. Having this opportunity gives me the chance to be of service in various ways.” He chose the location because it is close to his home.
NEW CONCEPT?
Currently he only has one employee, salesperson Emily Bennett. Key word — employee. Most real estate companies do not refer to their sales people as employees, but as independent contractors. Woods is planning on hiring about more six agents as employees. “Our agents will be employees which is completely different than most real estate companies in town. We are looking for experienced real estate agents who are proven producers. Their pay will be based on production. They won’t get paid anything when they just make a sale, they are going to get a regular income.”
WHY DO THAT?
“You don’t have any control over independent contractors. You can’t require that they show up for work. With an employee, you can essentially set up requirements for continued employment. It also allows us to provide a lot of staff support at no expense to the agent.”
HOW’S IT
GOING SO FAR?
The office opened in early April. “The more I am here, the more I am sure of the potential for growth in Jacksonville and in the real estate market. I have faith that our marketing program is going to be well-received and give us an opportunity to grow. I’m very pleased with the response that we’ve gotten from our initial announcement.”
IS IT SCARY GOING
OUT ON YOUR OWN?
“If I had not done this sort of thing before, I can see how it could create a great deal of anxiety for someone. But, it is my personal leap of faith. I know that it is going to work and how to do it.”
HOW DO YOU
LIKE REAL ESTATE?
“I love it. It is one of the few truly honest ways to make money. There are people who get paid less than they are worth and there are people who get paid more than they are worth. In the real estate business, when you work on commission, you get paid just exactly what you are worth.”
ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO NEW AGENTS?
“Education. There are so many great opportunities out there to get training. Invest in yourself early on and it will pay dividends for the rest of your life.”
WHY GET
INTO REAL ESTATE?
When he graduated college, he had limited business experience, so he went into banking for seven years. “I had relatives in the real estate business, so I decided to get into real estate.”
HOW DID YOUR
BANKING EXPERIENCE HELP IN REAL ESTATE?
“It was a big help because I learned financing, management, management of real estate and closing transactions. It was a tremendous benefit when I went into real estate.”
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of Kentucky.
BIRTHPLACE
Kentucky, but he was raised on his family farm in Ohio.
FAMILY
He has been married to Debra for seven years. Between them, they have two grown children.
CHURCH
He is an elder, chairman of the finance committee and occasional choir member of First Presbyterian downtown.
ASSOCIATIONS
He is a member of the Solomon Lodge Number 20, Northeast Florida Association of Residential Property Managers, Florida Association of Residential Property Managers, Florida Association of Residential Property Managers, Rotary Club of Arlington and Northeast Florida Association of Realtors®.
FAVORITES
His favorite book is the Bible and his favorite movie is “Giant”. Since his 92-year-old mother still resides in Ohio, that is his favorite place to visit. When dining out, he enjoys the Rib Shack and when kicking back at home, he enjoys tuning into “The West Wing.”
—by Michele Newbern Gillis