Susie Mullinax and Frieda Prince work as listing partners at Re/Max Coastal Real Estate in Ponte Vedra Beach.
HOW LONG AS PARTNERS?
Mullinax and Prince formed a listing partnership when they worked at Marsh Landing Realty. They carried that partnership over to Re/Max where they have worked together for almost two years. They also work separately with buyers.
HISTORY?
Mullinax and Prince first worked together at Hidden Hills in 1987. “Susie helped me write my first contract,” said Prince. Mullinax left Hidden Hills to try her hand at Marsh Landing Realty. Prince followed soon after and, eventually, they decided to create a listing partnership that lasted about a year at Marsh Landing Realty. They carried that partnership over to Re/Max in 2001.
WHY BE PARTNERS?
“In the level of price range that we deal with, the owners want a lot of contact,” said Mullinax.
“We do not use assistants,” said Prince. “Most Realtors who produce the volume that we produce have an assistant or even more than one. It all starts and stops with us.” Mullinax and Prince list, write detailed descriptions, photograph and assist with the virtual tours of their properties. “Nothing happens with our properties without it being controlled by us,” said Prince. “It gives us total control over our listings.”
BENEFITS FROM THE PARTNERSHIP?
“It’s not just that two people makes it half the work, but it really benefits the seller because they have two people that they can always be in contact with,” said Mullinax. “That makes them happy. It gets us business and they are happy with our service. They are really getting two for the price of one.” Prince said that both of them are synonymous. “They will call one and if the phone doesn’t answer, then they call the other. We are very hands-on with all of our listings. One of us will always be available.”
WHAT DO THEY SELL?
Upscale, luxury homes including resales and new construction primarily in the Ponte Vedra and Beaches area up to the Intracoastal.
STRENGTHS EACH OF YOU BRING?
Mullinax handles more of the technology side of the business and Prince handles more of the creativity. “As far as our listing presentation, we bring two different things to the table,” said Prince. “But, as far as our ethics, integrity and honesty in doing business we think exactly alike.”
Prince does most of the creative writing for their brochures and Mullinax does more of the technical work including taking and editing the photos for the brochures.
MARKETING IS THE KEY
Mullinax and Prince spend a lot of time, energy and money on advertising. They feature the homes they are listing in a detailed brochure. And these brochures aren’t a one page information sheet with one photo at the top. They include a two-page description of the house written by Prince, numerous photos of different angles and amenities of the house and a professionally drawn floor plan of the home on the inside the two page advertisement. They also create a virtual tour on a CD Rom for buyers to view and have all the same information on their website, www.freidaandsusie.com.
“It doesn’t matter if it is a $250,000 condominium the first thing we do is get the floor plan professionally drawn,” said Mullinax. “We check it and check it until it is right.” Their brochures are strategically placed in the home, outside the home and in their office.
INVESTING IN THE HOME
Mullinax and Prince encourage their sellers to work with them to make their property the type that they list. “We tell them what they need to do to get their house ready,” said Mullinax. “If it’s broke, fix it, if it’s dirty, clean it. And most of the times people appreciate it because we will get them more money and a quicker sale.”
After the makeover is complete, the house is ready to sell.
“We call them glamour properties,” said Prince. “We don’t care if it is $300,000 or $3 million, it’s a really spectacular property.”
“Everybody knows that if they are going to show one of our listings, they know that it is going to be special,” said Mullinax.
WHY DO ALL THE MARKETING YOURSELF?
“We have worked with thousands and thousands of prospects over the years,” said Prince. “We have the eyes of the buyers and we know what is going to be important to them.” They said that when the buyers go back to their hotel, they usually review the 20 houses they saw that day. “They will lay out all of the information they received that day and we feel that ours just stands out from the rest,” said Prince. “The detailed photos will help them remember certain aspects of the house better. We always put what we think in the brochure and we can’t pay someone to do that because they don’t have the experience that we have.”
SECRET MARKETING?
“Our marketing of our properties is our secret advertising,” said Prince. “It has two folds, it is selling our properties and it is also selling the way we do business.”
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT SELLING AS A TEAM INSTEAD OF ALONE?
“Actually, I think it is a lot less stressful,” said Prince. “You have a sounding board, it’s just like having a partner in anything. When you have a real situation with a closing, it is nice to have someone to sit down with and discuss it objectively. And usually we come up with the exact same answer.”
WHAT DO THEY LIKE TO DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
They are both self-proclaimed work-a-holics. “We eat, sleep and drink real estate,” said Mullinax. But, they do have some things they enjoy doing when they are not working. Mullinax enjoys reading and watching movies. Prince also enjoys reading, especially decorating and architectural magazines. “I love houses and I cannot buy enough magazines. I like to see the landscaping, the architectural design and the decorating. If they sell it we [she and Mullinax] buy it. I think we are keeping Books-A-Million in business.”
FAMILY
Mullinax has been married to Skip for five years. She has one daughter. Prince has been married to Glen for 38 years and they have two daughters and numerous grandchildren.
RESIDES
Mullinax used to own a waterfront condominium, but while showing a house in Sawgrass Players Club, she fell in love with it and bought it. Prince used to live in Marsh Landing, but now lives in the Plantation Country Club.
FAVORITES
Mullinax noted “Dr. Doolittle 2” as a recent favorite movie while Freida touted the movie “Breaking Away” as her all-time favorite. When relaxing at home, both women enjoy watching “The Practice” and when dining out, they both cited The Aqua Grill in Sawgrass as their favorite. Mullinax is a James Patterson fan while Prince notes John Grisham as her favorite author. When traveling, Mullinax enjoys St. Barts and Prince enjoys Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.
WHAT IS ONE THING THAT GOT YOU BOTH WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Hard work, professionalism and loving what you do,” said Prince.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis