by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Anyone who suspects development in St. Johns County will slow down any time soon has forgotten the “Field of Dreams” theme.
Build it, and they will come.
In St. Johns and surrounding areas, they’re coming even before the builders have a chance to put away their hammers. And Realtors don’t expect echoes from the development boom to fade anytime soon.
“This is just the beginning,” said Carmen Gilliland, a Realtor with Premier Properties Realty Group in St. Augustine.
A new complex on A1A Beach Boulevard in Anastasia Island bolsters her prediction. Premier Properties became the sales agent last year for Seaside at Anastasia, which will contain 117 three-bedroom, two-bath condos.
“We sold all of them in two months,” Gilliland said.
Seaside will have seven buildings. The first building should close in August and is expected to be finished by late October.
And the beat goes on.
“I have a feeling there will be a couple of projects in the near future that we’ll be involved with in St. Johns County,” Gilliland said. “Right now, we’re working on a commercial project which has been quite interesting and could be very profitable for all of us.”
Gilliland, who moved to Florida from Indiana in 1998, was searching for a way to supplement her teacher’s salary when she realized she was interested in real estate.
She had taught mathematics for more than 20 years, including stints at a small college in Indiana, at Nease High School and Flagler College.
“I’ve taught everything from pre-algebra to calculus, but geometry is my favorite,” Gilliland said. “When I moved to Florida and got a teaching job at Nease High School, I took a 50 percent cut in my salary, which I knew I was going to do.
“Being single and trying to live on half of what I was used to living on was hard.”
She took a summer real estate course, passed the state exam and began working for Premier Properties.
She spends most of her time selling condos at Ocean Gallery on A1A — which is where she bought her own condo.
“I actually specialize in condos at the beach,” said Gilliland. “That’s what I’m most familiar with and most like to do.
“I am also working on commercial real estate at the moment, and that’s becoming very interesting.”
One of the most important traits a good Realtor needs, she said, “is being able to listen. Letting people tell you what they are interested in rather than you telling them what you have.
“Then, once you know what they’re interested in, you search for the property in their price range that fits their interests.”
Gilliland’s teaching background has also helped in her new career.
“A think that has been very helpful is being able to multi-task,” she said. “As a teacher, you learn to do that very quickly.
“Organization is another characteristic you need. Liking people. Being able to work with people. As a real estate person, you become their friend; you become their moving van expert; you become their contractor and spokesperson. You become lots of different faces.”
The top piece of advice for people who are selling their home is that it should be “in tip-top shape, both inside and out,” she said. “If you own a home, and you’re responsible for the outside yard, it should be maintained.
“I think cleanliness is the basic thing that people notice. If your house is spotless, the bathrooms and kitchen are clean, they notice and comment on that more than anything else that I’ve heard.”
And buyers should pay attention to the whole package, not just the surface treatments.
“I think buyers need to focus on where they want to be and what amenities they want, either near the home or condo or inside it,” she said. “They should not necessarily pay that much attention to the decor.
“Sometimes the decor sells the home, but sometimes it also distracts from the actual location and the possibilities.”