Matt Burnette is the president of Matt Burnette and Company, a commercial and residential real estate company on the Westside.
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?
“I do residential a great deal because I have lots of friends and they call me to do their residential for them. They either want me to sell their house or find a house for them. I love working with my friends. They always say to not work with friends, but if you do it correctly I think it is a great thing to do.”
WHAT TYPE OF COMMERCIAL
DOES HE DO?
His commercial business is usually under $500,000 unless it’s development land. He handles purchases, sales and leases of commercial properties as well as property management. He developed the 3,200-square feet office building on St. Johns Avenue that includes his office. He also developed a 10,000-square feet industrial property on Hamilton Avenue.
ONE MAN SHOW
He is the office manager, salesman and secretary for his office.
WAS IT ALWAYS
THAT WAY?
No. “I opened the company (in 1981) with the intention of having a lot of people and being an entrepreneur. I was planning to be a developer and I had another company here called Exclusively Waterfront, which was a great company. I had a lot of people working here and had the intention of having offices all over town, but personal things happened in my life that made me decide that I wanted an easier, simpler life. I made the decision that I had more important things in my life than business.”
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Missouri. “I was planning on being an attorney, but I started making money and never made it to law school.”
AFTER COLLEGE
He worked at Alexander Smith Academy, which was a speed-reading school for a while, before joining a radio station as a manager.
HOW DID HE GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
A friend of his offered him a position running the local commercial real estate department of Oppenheimer Industries. After that, he became a stockbroker for a few years. He then decided to get back into real estate and joined Dan Jones and Associates for a year until he opened his own company in 1981. “My family had been in real estate. My grandfather had developed property his whole life, so it wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“It’s easy to understand, not only for me, but for the people who are buying and selling it. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have complicated aspects. Real estate has a real solid way to understand it. You don’t have to find a person that believes that real estate is good. Almost everyone understands the value of real estate. If you choose the right real estate it will go up in value.”
AREA HE WORKS?
Primarily the Westside, but he also sells all over Jacksonville.
WHAT DOES HE DO DIFFERENT?
“I mostly only work for my own clients. I keep a very low profile and put out very few signs. I really like to work with people I like. Because of my independence and lack of need to be wealthy, I can do that. So, I get more enjoyment out of life.”
ADVICE TO NEW AGENTS?
“Be honest. I believe our society is based on honesty.”
MOST CHALLENGING THING ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“You work on a lot of deals that don’t pay. That is an attitude thing. You have to be relaxed and willing for them to fall apart and not unhappy with it because a lot of deals do fall apart. Be gentle and kind and keep on going. You have to be a self-starter. If you aren’t a self-starter, then you will be in trouble.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Hard work and tenacity.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“To work very hard to treat people right and to have them know you treated them right.”
BIRTHPLACE
Dunnellon, Fla.
FAMILY
He has two children, Tyler, 14 and Ryan 19.
HOBBIES
He collects mineral spheres. “There are people who believe that they have supernatural powers, but I do not believe that. Minerals are just beautiful and really neat to study and learn about.” He is also very involved in the singles group at his church, St. Johns Presbyterian, as well as the church itself.
RESIDES
Confederate Point.
FAVORITES
A movie he liked was “Groundhog Day.” His favorite book is the Bible. When relaxing at home, he enjoys tuning into “The O’Reilly Factor” and when traveling, he prefers the North Carolina Mountains. When dining out he prefers Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Que.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis