Merrilee Hysler is a sales consultant at The Legends at World Golf Village since September 2003.
WHAT DID SHE DO BEFORE SITE SALES?
She was an operating room nurse at Baptist Medical Center for 32 years.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
“I thought it would be fun. I’ve had my license for 25 years. I sold real estate for about three months and then we moved to London. When I came back here, I just went back into nursing. After 32 years, I was just burned out. I just wanted to do something different and I knew I had my real estate license so I thought I would try it. I love to talk to people. The last five years of my nursing job I was a liaison between the operating room and the waiting room. You go in and check on the patient in the operating room and then you go out and talk to the family.”
WHY SITE SALES?
“I didn’t want to do general real estate. When I got into it 25 years ago, I sold at Hibiscus as a site sale agent and I enjoyed it.” She got into it in the first place because a friend of hers got her to get her license and sell at Hibiscus part-time while she did her nursing.
HOW DO YOU LIKE IT NOW?
“It’s fun and I enjoy it. I love meeting people, especially here at the World Golf Village, you meet people from all over the country. This area is growing so much and it’s fun. The product is a good product and it’s priced very reasonable so it is affordable for people to move to Florida.”
TELL ME ABOUT
YOUR COMMUNITY?
“We are through with Phase I and are moving into Phase II now. There will be a total of 300 units at completion. The condominiums start at 109,900 and go up to $259,900. Phase III completion should be in about two to three years.” Amenities in the community include a heated pool, two tennis courts, pool, putting green, exercise room and gated entry.
WHAT DO YOU
LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“Meeting people. I really just enjoy talking to the people. It’s very rewarding. We do sell a good deal. On average, we are selling eight or nine a month, which is very good.”
MARKETING?
Hysler said she does presentations at Realtor offices as well as sitting at the model to greet potential buyers. “We try to do presentations at least once a week.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Faith and my upbringing. I was taught to work for what they are paying you for. You work hard, you don’t just lounge around.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“The main lesson I learned while I was in nursing, which still applies now. Everybody has a story, so you really have to listen to him or her. By listening, you can tell if this is really what they want or if they want a single-family home instead. There is so much in the World Golf Village that if they want something else, we just direct them to it.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW SITE AGENT?
“You are committed to certain hours. In general real estate you are very flexible, here you aren’t. Fortunately, I have a great partner and we work together. That is the key, if you have a good partner that you can work with. Teamwork is very important. If you don’t work as a team, you are nowhere. You are an island. You have to work with other people. Teamwork is the key.”
HOW ARE GENERAL REAL ESTATE AGENTS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“They bring referrals. That’s why we do our presentations because they bring us referrals. We have signs and things, but we also have Realtors who bring people in and it’s important to work with them.”
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
RESIDES
Switzerland.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council.
WHAT DOES SHE DO WHEN NOT WORKING?
“Enjoy my grandchildren and boating.”
FAMILY
She has been married to David for 27 years. She has two stepchildren and seven grandchildren.
FAVORITES
A movie she saw recently and would recommend is “The Passion.” When relaxing at home, she enjoys tuning into old classic movies on the Turner Classic Movie channel or Home and Garden Television. When traveling, her favorite place to visit is New Zealand. When dining out, she likes Bonefish Grill. A book she recommends is “The Five People You Will Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom. “The book is about how you will meet people in heaven that you have impacted in life, but you didn’t realize it.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis