Bill Guess is the owner and broker of 1st Coast Realty in Yulee.
HOW LONG HAS COMPANY BEEN OPEN?
Billy Grant first opened the company in Jacksonville in 1990. He moved it to Yulee in 1991 and Guess purchased the company from him.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN REAL ESTATE?
Since 1991, when he bought the company.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“A little bit of everything. I sell and list residential and commercial properties. I function as the secretary and the janitor. I used to do the yard, but now we pay someone to do that.”
HOW DO YOU LIKE REAL ESTATE?
“It was tough for a long time. I had never worked in a real estate office before so it was a lot of hit and miss. I had to learn as I went. It’s better now.”
WHAT DID GUESS DO BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
He was a conductor for the CSX Railroad for 13 years and then worked for the IRS. “But, mostly I bought and sold real estate on my own during that time.”
CURRENT LOCATION
His office is located on CR 200 in a new building he built two and a half years ago. “I own the building across the street where Bug Out is and they decided they wanted it more than I did. They gave me enough money to convince me to move.” The company has moved five times in various locations in Yulee before settling where it is now.
AGENTS IN HIS OFFICE
Pat Ruebush and Priscilla Phillips.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“Flexibility, freedom and meeting and working with people. I’m a people person.”
HOW IS SELLING IN YULEE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER AREAS?
“It was more difficult in the beginning because there was not a market for expensive homes in this area until recently. Florida A1A is coming into its own and there are a lot of expensive properties along Florida A1A. The character of the area is changing tremendously. A lot of land is being bought up by developers.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“I’ve pretty much always operated the same way, which is straight up, honest and I don’t beat around the bush.”
WHAT HELPED YOU ALONG THE WAY?
“Even though I had come into the business without ever working in a real estate office, I had good examples to follow. Steve Simmons of ERA Fernandina Beach Realty, Bruce Jasinsky of Coldwell Banker Jasinsky, John Pulice of Amelia Realty and Bobby Ferreira of Century 21 John T. Ferreira. They were all very successful and I have needed to call them for feedback over the years.”
WHAT DO YOU SELL IN YULEE?
“I sell anything from mobile homes to commercial property. We just sold a piece of commercial property for about $700,000.”
ADVICE FOR NEW AGENTS?
“I’ll give you the only advice I got when I got in the business. Three words: disclosure, disclosure, disclosure.”
BIRTHPLACE
Jacksonville.
MOVED TO NASSAU COUNTY?
His father became the pastor of the Callahan Church of God in 1958, so the family moved there soon after.
WHAT DOES HE LIKE TO DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
Guess volunteers for Hospice and is the director of Billboard Ministries.
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in social science from Lee College in Tennessee.
RESIDES
“I live between Yulee and Callahan out in the woods in an old house that was built in 1895.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis