The office has been at 177 North Roscoe Blvd. for 16 years.
WHO IS THE BROKER/OWNER?
Leslie Burke. She and her husband opened the company 16 years ago as a mom and pop operation. When he passed away three years ago, Burke brought on more agents and continued the operation.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“Everything,” said Burke. “I oversee the office and train new agents. If anyone has any problem with a sale at all, I help them.”
WHO ELSE IS IN
THE OFFICE?
Mary Murski, Cathy Giddens, Jennifer Salles-Cunha and Greg Cordray are agents and Harry Sudul, Jo Anne Davis, Patty Butler, Judy Moriarty and Paula Saare are referral agents.
WHAT TYPE OF REAL ESTATE DOES THE OFFICE HANDLE?
General real estate and land sales. Cordray specializes in the finding large tracks of land for builders and land bankers mainly on the Northside outside of the loop of I-295. He has a land planner, engineer, surveyor and an environmentalist on his staff so he take any piece of land and tell the buyer what they have to do before they can buy it. They also handle finding oceanfront lots and high-end real estate. Salles-Cunha does interior decorating so she can offer that service to the clients as well.
DOES YOUR OFFICE ATTEND MEETINGS TO NETWORK?
“We do attend some meetings, but for the most part a lot of the people at the meetings are people who don’t have anything to do,” said Cordray.
OTHER BUSINESSES
Burke also owns Sandcastle Destinations, a travel agency, and Sandcastle Artisans, a stained glass shop which are also located in the same office. “They kind of work in conjunction because many times with a listing they will have a broken glass door and we can fix it,” said Burke. They also get leads from the work the stained glass shop brings in because someone may be fixing up a house to sell.
BOAT TOURS?
Burke has a house boat named Osprey that she and her agents use to take clients out on to view houses along the water.
WHAT MAKES YOUR OFFICE DIFFERENT?
“We are all friends and are like family,” said Burke. They all work together and cover each other if needed. “We also provide very individualized service,” said Burke. “We help our clients in anyway needed.” They run a full concierge service, so if a client needs the electricity turned on or carpet cleaned, they can do it all.
“We can give you a personalized service level that no other company can,” said Cordray. “They don’t have a land planner, surveyor, engineer and environmentalist on staff. I could pick up the phone right now and literally have a whole subdivision planned on a piece of land that I am selling.”
NEW START?
The company was sort of in a lull for a few years, but they are now trying to get their name out and be more active in the real estate community. They are also renovating their building to make it more real estate customer friendly and are adding a new sign in front of their building to make them easier to find.
GROW THE FIRM?
Yes, they will be adding more agents when the renovations are complete. “We want to keep our niche of a boutique firm and individualized service,” said Burke. “I want to be aware of every single deal that is going on and be helpful.”
TRAINING?
Burke spends a lot of time with her new agents. She goes with them on their appointments and help them build their confidence until they are ready to go out on their own.
WHY ARE BUILDERS IMPORTANT TO YOUR COMPANY?
“Builders set the trend for the whole real estate market, whether anyone likes to admit it or not,” said Cordray. “From re-sales to new homes, builders set the trend. If you are not in with the builders today then you are losing something because you don’t know where the trend is headed.”
WHAT BUILDERS DOES THE COMPANY WORK WITH?
U.S. Homes, Coppenbarger, Mercedes Homes, D.S. Ware and Lannar.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis