by Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
We all know that the military is big business in Northeast Florida and Realtors know that there are many who could benefit from their expertise and experience.
The numbers are huge. The NAS and Mayport bases have around 30,000 active military and it’s estimated there are about 20,000 in the area who have retired and draw pensions. And those may be low estimates.
Plus, there’s one more big number: an estimated 250,000 who have served their country, and who may still have some ties.
It’s a good business for Realtors who are able to talk the military talk.
“It’s somewhat specialized because there are terms that are unique to the military,” says Jon Singleton, a Navy Reserve officer who’s with Watson’s Ortega office. “There is a whole separate language when you are talking about PCS moves, someone being on TAD orders or the difference between shore duty and sea duty which is foreign to civilians.”
Not surprisingly, many Realtors who are successful in this market are also those, like Singleton, with experience in the service, particularly the Navy.
“I was a military wife and we moved to Mayport,” said Carol McCowan of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty. “With my background since I was a Navy wife myself, it’s easy for me to be able to relate to the needs of the military customers.”
And they can sympathize with their customers, too.
“I’ve been in a military family forever,” says Susan Fuller Touhy of Norville Realty. “My father was a Navy officer and I married a Navy officer. I’ve lived all over the world. I really have a feeling for these people.”
Knowing the programs
In interviews with numerous Realtors who work the military market, it emerged that it’s best to know how certain institutions work:
• Navy credit unions such as the global Navy federal and the local, VyStar, attract military accounts and work together on home loans as service personnel move around, and USAA, a giant financial institution that serves active and retired military.
“More often than not, if the military customers are going through USAA or Navy Federal, they are looking to buy,” said Mary Walker with ERA Davis & Linn. “There are no benefits back to the member if they rent, but there are if they buy.”
• The government’s Veterans Administration agency oversees the rights of all military, active and retired. Jacksonville’s military affairs office estimates there is $1 billion in VA loans active here.
Dan Daniel of Prudential Network Realty, who was raised in a military family, said that knowledge of VA financing has been important to his business.
“Perhaps the VA financing that most will utilize use to put them in a different situation with the requirement that the seller pick up many of their fees; however, with the changes in financing this has given them a more level playing field and equalized things a lot,” he said.
• The Cartus Broker Network does relocation work for any company but seems to have a strong hold on military moves. Numerous companies here are part of Cartus’s parent company, Realogy, including Century 21 and Vanguard. Several local-only companies like ERA Davis & Linn also are members.
Cartus requires agents to do ongoing training in dealing with the military to certification that allows the agents to work with USAA and Navy Federal members.
“We have to be re-certified once a year and there is monthly training on how to best serve your client, updates USAA has made, problems Cartus is encountering and most recently was reminder of the different ranks and how to treat them,” said Walker.
• The Homeowner Assistance Program, a Department of Defense program that assists eligible military homeowners who face financial loss when selling their primary residence homes in areas where real estate values have declined because of a base closure or realignment announcement.
No end in sight
The military business is also consistent. The local bases are adding rather than subtracting — there’s a great chance that Mayport will get an aircraft carrier within five years — and that leads to more than just on-duty personnel.
Once they retire, many military often do stay close to where they were stationed, said Bob Buehn, City of Jacksonville Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division chief, and Northeast Florida has built-in advantages to keep them here. The weather, lack of income tax on said pensions, quality of life factors and excellent health care through Navy hospitals are benefits that appeal to many veterans and retirees alike.
Beuhn estimates the area brings in about $420 million a year in pension benefits.
“It’s natural for a lot of retirees to want to stay in the area when they retire,” said Beuhn. “There’s a lot to like here.”