Larry Shealy is president of Beachside Mortgage in Jacksonville Beach, which opened a month ago.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I oversee the company, handle the marketing and am very active in the community.”
HOW DID YOU GET INTO LENDING?
“I went through a disability with my leg and I had to get into something where I didn’t have to stand for eight hours a day. I was renting space in a mortgage broker’s company with my previous job with a medical device company and hit it off with Greg Winkler, a mortgage broker there. During my time on disability, I learned the mortgage business and got my mortgage brokers license. Winkler found that I am good at marketing and he is good at lending. So we decided to partner and open a mortgage broker business.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT LENDING?
“Helping people. Every situation is different and it’s nice to be able help people.”
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?
They broker loans for about 40 different nationwide companies including Countrywide Home Loans, Homeside Lending, Chase Manhattan Bank and Principal Mortgage.
HOW MUCH BUSINESS HAVE YOU DONE SINCE YOU OPENED?
“We do about 20 loans a month.”
HOW MANY ARE ON YOUR STAFF?
The three loan officers, Larry Shealy, Greg Winkler and David MacInnes, run the business and they have three to five processors depending on need.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LENDING OF BEACHSIDE MORTGAGE?
“We do everything including conventional, jumbo, Veterans Administration and sub prime.”
HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY?
“Since Greg, who came from Atlantic Home Mortgage, and David, who came from Oceanside Bank, have been in the business for 35 years between them, we have their past customers and my participation in the local business organizations. We do advertising, also. It is a lot of word of mouth. The customers are happy with what they [Greg and David] did in the past and are excited about what we are doing in the future.”
BIRTHPLACE
Corpus Christi, but he was raised in Jacksonville.
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Jacksonville University.
FAMILY
He has been married to Gail for three years. He has two children, Todd, 13, and Kristi, 10.
HOBBIES
He enjoys doing community work.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
He is running for Neptune Beach City Council. He is president of the Fletcher High School 12th Man Club, Fiesta Bowl advisor for Fletcher High School Band’s fundraising efforts, on the Fletcher High School School Advisory Council, a member of the Exchange Club and the Beaches Business Association. “A lot of my networking comes from what I do out in the community.”
RESIDES
Neptune Beach.
FAVORITES
His favorite movie is “Shawshank Redemption” and his favorite books are the Travis McGee series from John McDonald. When dining out, he enjoys Sliders and when traveling, he likes Key West. When relaxing at home, he enjoys “The O’Reilly Factor.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis