Michael Shurr and Caryn Massenzio have been a Realtor team with Watson Realty in St. Augustine for 10 months.
HOW DID THEY BECOME A TEAM?
They are more than just a team, they are father and daughter. “My parents moved down here a year and a half ago. I wanted to sell real estate and my father said that sounded like a good thing to do, so we decided to team up. That way we could have two people working full-time instead of one working full-time. We do everything together and it makes it more comfortable for me. It’s kind of like a tag team, I guess.”
Shurr moved to Florida 10 months ago to work with his daughter.
“We were living in Ohio and Caryn had been asking us to move to Florida because she said it was too cold in Ohio,” said Shurr. “She talked about getting her real estate license. I told her if you get your license, then I’ll get mine and I’ll be your gopher. Then we just decided to be partners and form a team. So far it has worked out very nicely.”
SHURR’S HISTORY?
He has a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from the University of Texas and master’s degree in business administration from Syracuse University. After graduating, he went into the structural steel business for awhile before going into the air conditioning business with Carrier Corporation, where he worked for 28 years. When he retired from Carrier Corporation, he and his wife opened a gift shop in Ohio, which they owned for 13 years before moving here.
MASSENZIO’S HISTORY?
Massenzio has been in sales or management for most of her career. She started working for Kay Jewelers for 10 years and then went to work for Freeman’s Jewelers as manager for one year. After that, she worked at The Florida Times-Union in advertising/classified sales for three years. Most recently she worked for Mint Magazine in advertising sales for three years. She went into real estate because she wanted flexibility with having a family and children and liked being able to make her own schedule. “Selling is my thing and I like houses,” said Massenzio.
GOAL AS A TEAM?
“Caryn and I both like to work with people,” said Shurr. “We like to help people make memorable memories. We just try to make people happy. We’ve moved around enough and dealt with enough real estate people to realize that there are some good ones and some not-so-good ones. I think both Caryn and I feel like the buying or selling of a property is a huge investment and we would like to make it as pleasant and easy as possible. We just like to make it as easy as possible for people to go through this process because we know how difficult it can be if you let it.”
SLOGAN - ‘IT’S A SHURR THING’
“My dad’s last name is Shurr and we thought that would be fun slogan,” said Massenzio. “It means that we will find what the customer is looking for - It’s a sure thing.”
HOW IS IT WORKING AS A TEAM AND BEING RELATED?
“It’s great,” said Massenzio. “I’ve known him all my life. The thing about my dad and I is that we are probably the most alike out of my other two sisters. So many times, I know what he is thinking and he knows what I am thinking. We have the connection.”
STRENGTHS EACH OF YOU BRING?
“We do go out to all of our appointments together to show the customer that we are a team and that we work together,” said Massenzio. “I’m probably the more organized one, but he is more apt to come up ideas on how to get business. Once we get it going I’m the one who organizes everything and puts the deal into motion.”
HOW DOES YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP YOU IN REAL ESTATE?
“I think it helped me in working with people,” said Massenzio. “It helped me to know how to deal with different kinds of customers.”
“When I was with Carrier, I was involved with sales, service, marketing and dealer development,” said Shurr. “All those things when you put them together help to support a good transaction for people. The subtotal of it has made me more cognizant of what their needs are and the ability to see and hear what they want.”
BEST PROFESSIONAL ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
“I have two,” said Shurr. “When anyone asks you how things are going, always say ‘Great’ because that sets the tone. The other one is to always be 100 percent honest.”
Massenzio said to be honest and to listen to your customer’s needs.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN ST. AUGUSTINE REAL ESTATE?
“The market is doing a retrenching,” said Shurr. “In the stock market, they call it a correction. The market was almost too active, on fire, if you will. So prices went up at a dramatic rate. It attracted a large number of amateur investors. People who thought they could buy a house, flip it and make $25,000. That’s really not what happens in the long term. From what I am seeing right now, the market is starting to stabilize and the buyers are coming out again.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
They are members of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and its St. Johns Council.
PET PEEVES
“People want to price their house too high,” said Caryn.
“I don’t think we’ve done a particularly good job of educating the public about what is really going on,” said Shurr. “I don’t think we have educated the customers about what we do for them. They don’t understand what is involved in this transaction. We have to earn our commission and they need to understand what we do to earn it.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“I’m learning how to react with customers when looking at homes,” said Massenzio. “I learning to not react first and let them react.”
Shurr said he has learned how great people are and at the same time how crazy some people are.
ADVICE FOR NEW AGENTS?
“Don’t do it unless you are serious,” said Shurr. “You are going to work your butt off. It’s not just a gravy train that you are jumping on.”
“It’s a lot harder than what people think,” said Massenzio.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis