The office is located at 1246 Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park.
NEW OFFICE?
Not really. Century 21 Harris Real Estate used to be in that same location, but last September the owner decided to merge his two offices and relocate them to 103rd Street. So Kathy Tinney, who was acting as office manager and real estate agent in the office, decided to buy the office, rename it and become the broker. It became official in October 2003.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“Now, I am just trying to get the company rolling on the broker’s side while still managing the office. I’m also using my experience to motivate and help the agents get out there and sell.” She is wearing several hats at the moment. She has one employee and she is in the process of learning the bookkeeping end of the business. “I wanted to learn it to know what I am doing before I just assign it to someone else. I have an accountant, but I want to know what they are doing before I turn it over to them. I’m learning the bookkeeping end and the franchise end, which I’ve never had to do before. I plan on being an active broker.”
STILL SELLING?
Yes, she still has her existing client base from her 20 years in the business. “So, I am either turning them over to my son or other agents. It’s kind of hard to just drop the client base, so I’m doing it slowly.”
THE NAME ‘DISCOVER?’
Everyone in the office got together and came up with a list of possible names. When searching the Internet to see which names were available, Discover was the first one that hit, so they took it.
DID SHE HIRE NEW AGENTS?
Yes, a few, but many of the agents had been in that office for over 20 years and wanted to stay in the same location.
TRAINING?
Tinney holds training sessions every week with topics such as goal setting, motivation, prospecting and time management. Her agents can also plug in to Century 21’s online training for someone who just got their license all the way to a seasoned agent. She also encourages the agents to take educational classes.
ENCOURAGE INVOLVEMENT IN THE BOARD?
Tinney encourages her agents to join committees in the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and the Southwest Council. “I always tell them you can’t complain unless you have a presence.”
WHO’S IN THE OFFICE
Jodie Barsness, Dan Hollister, Cindy Kasonic, Michelle Kimbrell, Christine Kimbrough, Dolly Lominick, Geri Mann and Scott Murdaugh are the agents. Stephen Tinney and Kelly Wright are the property managers. Brenda Carter is the administrative assistant.
WILL SHE GROW THE OFFICE?
“Yes, we have 12 agents now and I’d like to get to 20. I don’t want to be a massive agency. I like the fact that we are all a team, there to work together and help out each other. I will kind of selectively pull in a handful more.” She would also like to grow the property management division a little bit more.
TYPE OF AGENTS SHE HAS?
A good mix of seasoned and new agents.
AREAS THE OFFICE COVERS?
Mandarin, the west side of Jacksonville and the Clay County area.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN ORANGE PARK?
“The opportunities are great here compared to other parts of town. We have a very great offer of prices per square foot, houses and communities. I think we are going to see prices start climbing because we are behind the Mandarin and Southside areas as far as the prices. I think our movement is very good and the Fleming Island area has just been phenomenal as far as growth and now we are going west with OakLeaf Plantation and places like that.”
AVERAGE PRICE OF HOMES?
“About $120,000.”
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR OFFICE?
“I would say that our uniqueness is that they are not just a group of agents, they are a more like a family. They would care if something happened to one of them. It’s a very team oriented office. If anything happened to one of the agents, I feel sure the other agents would be there for them.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis