by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
After only a little over a year in business, Re/Max Atlantic is opening a second office.
The company opened on Jacksonville’s Southside Blvd. in January 2003 and has done so well that it is now ready to take on even more of the market with its new office on Hodges and Atlantic to serve the Arlington, Beaches and Ponte Vedra Beach areas.
“According to the regional Re/Max office, this is one of the best locations in the state,” said John Dragonetti, broker and part owner of the company. “We are a full-service real estate company that can handle all residential and commercial needs for our customers,”
As the broker, Dragonetti has the job of making sure everything runs smoothly.
“I police all of the transactions, review all the files and make sure all the requirements are met according to Florida Real Estate Commission and state law,” he said. “We also make sure all of the documentation is in the files before they go to closing.”
Dragonetti has over 30 years in the real estate business. He worked in residential and commercial real estate in Michigan and had a broker’s license there. He moved to Jacksonville in 1990 and decided to step back from real estate and went back to his roots in corporate dining facilities. In 1996, he re-entered the real estate field in commercial real estate. He then worked for a Re/Max franchise for one year.
His past experience with Re/Max led him and Dudley Coleman, who is also part owner, to venture out on their own and get their own Re/Max franchise.
“Mr. Coleman and myself formed a group and started a company,” he said.
Coleman and Dragonetti specialize in commercial real estate while the rest of the company sells only residential real estate. His agents handle the entire spectrum of real estate including different areas in Jacksonville, waterfront, condominiums, Beaches, higher-end homes and entry-level.
Currently the office has 24 agents.
Agents in the office include Jerry Alumbaugh, J. Eric Blanks, Ronnie Bookbinder, Jason Carlos, Lisa Daily, Judy Edwards, Rich Frattarola, Russ Goodman, Paige Gray, Jim Huttle, Chris Irish, Susan Kinley, Rebecca Kitkowski, Susan Latshaw, Joseph Martin, Docia Miller, Trudy Mullins, Frank Neidhardt, Sanaa Saliba, Tom Sandlin, Wayne Smith, Marty Speicher, Steve Walt and Beverly Younkins.
Office staff includes office manager Tammy Ferrizzi, and Lauren Maynard, Amie Wheeler and Margaret Coleman.
“We could handle as many as 30 agents on-site,” he said. “We find that the majority of people we have work from home, so we could handle as many as 50 agents under this office.”
The new office is located in high traffic area with high visibility.
“People will be able to drive in and talk with us,” he said. “It’s a ground level operation and highly visible. We will have about six agents when we open the door.”
He said the broker will be Coleman at this time and it will also have about 50 agents in the long run.
Dragonetti said future plans for more offices will depend on what future growth brings.
Though they do not offer training for new agents but Dragonetti said they do have some programs where they will mentor agents.
“We are willing to talk to anyone who has a real estate license,” he said.