Horace Leverett has been a new home consultant with Crawford Homes for a year. He is currently located in the Brandywine Lakes subdivision on the Westside.
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“I show them the model, our inventory of homes and home sites, if they want to build from scratch.”
WHERE WAS HE BEFORE CRAWFORD?
GMAC Vanguard Realty as a general real estate agent for three years.
WHY SITE SALES?
“I was doing great at general real estate but I just got tired of running all over the city. It gives me a little bit more stability in my customer base. They may not buy a home right then but eventually, if you treat them right, they will come back.”
BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
He was a counselor in the Navy for 22 and a half years. “Once the recruiter puts them in, my job was to keep them in.” He coordinated retirements, schooling, reenlistments and bonuses to help keep the Navy personnel happy. “I would show them the benefits of staying in the Navy.”
WHY GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
He had a friend, Kip Hemmings, who was retired Navy and worked at GMAC Vanguard Realty. Hemmings introduced Leverett to Pete Dalton, the broker of GMAC Vanguard Realty, and he decided to become a Realtor.
HOW DID YOUR PAST EXPERIENCE HELP WITH YOUR NEW PROFESSION?
“I am able to talk with people and get them into a comfort zone. It also helped me be able to read customers better.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“Seeing the satisfaction on people’s faces when they purchase a home, especially first-time home buyers. Or the expression when someone thinks they can’t afford a house and you sit down and show them on paper that they can.”
BRANDYWINE LAKES?
The builders in the community are D.S. Ware and Crawford Homes. There will be 275-300 homes upon build out and there are currently 40 home sites left. Prices range from $130,000’s to the $200,000’s. “It is in a good area. It’s located off Normandy and has easy access to Branan Field-Chaffee Road, I-10, I-295, downtown and the Orange Park Mall.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Other people in the business that don’t mind volunteering the knowledge they have to help you move along.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“The one big thing in general real estate is that every opportunity is not going to be a good opportunity, so don’t let other people control you, you control the situation. Attending the SMC breakfast and getting to know other agents is helpful. I like to see how they do business because I might think my way is the right way, but there are other people who have been in the business longer than I have, so their way of doing business might be better than my way. If it makes my job easier than I try to convert over to their way to doing business.”
ADVICE TO NEW SITE AGENTS?
Be patient and stay focused.
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Columbia University. He wanted to be a Florida Highway Patrolman when he retired from the Navy, but chose to be a Realtor instead.
BIRTHPLACE
Lincolnton, Ga.
FAMILY
He has been married to Barbara for 19 years. They have three children and one grandchild.
WHAT DOES HE LIKE TO DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
He does masonry work for Macy Homes. He also likes working in the yard, walking and helping out neighbors in his neighborhood.
RESIDES
Middleburg.
CHURCH
Potter’s House.
FAVORITES
His favorite movie is “Tombstone” and his favorite book is the Bible. He doesn’t like to go out to dinner, so he cites his wife’s kitchen as his favorite place to dine. When relaxing at home, he enjoys tuning into any law shows including NYPD Blue and The Practice. When traveling, he likes to go to Georgia to visit his mother.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis