Mary Minchew, office manager and broker associate is enjoying her second go-around at Stockton Real Estate since 1987. She started working there in 1987 and then left in 1992 to go to Watson's Property Management for eight years. Then she semi-retired in 2000, taking nine years off to be with her children and volunteer with their school. She returned to Stockton Real Estate in 2009.
What does she do there?
She manages a staff of 13. The company specializes in renting resort properties and long-term unfurnished properties. "We have over 300 individually-owned properties that we manage. We have mostly oceanfront properties and condominiums in Sawgrass."?
Best advice?
"The best advice is just learning how to listen and just dealing with the day to day operations of making our guest happy. It's our number one priority."
Area her company focuses on?
Ponte Vedra and the north Beaches area.
How are Realtors important to you?
"They bring us a lot of referral business. We deal with a lot of sales agents, especially those who have properties listed with them that aren't selling. They will refer the homeowner to us. When we are finished with the leasing we turn the property back over to the Realtor to list it again."?
Clients?
The Players golf tournament is big business for Stockton Real Estate as far as resort rentals during the event from players and attendants. But, they also have clients who are visiting from out of town who rent a home while they are looking to buy. In addition, they have a lot of clients from Shands Jacksonville and Mayo Clinic who rent from them during and after their treatment.
Stockton and Gate
Herb Peyton of Gate Petroleum, who also owned Ponte Vedra Club Realty, purchased Stockton Realty in 2006. When the company was purchased, Ponte Vedra Club Realty also had rentals. The building at 574 Ponte Vedra Blvd. was owned by Ed Seay, who ran Palmer Course Design, and Jimmy Stockton of Stockton Real Estate. Stockton owned half of the building and Seay owned the other half. Stockton sold the building to Seay and Stockton moved the rental company out of the building. Peyton bought the building and then bought Stockton Real Estate.
"They made Stockton Real Estate strictly rentals and merged Ponte Vedra Club Realty properties with Stockton's. The sales agents with Stockton went to Ponte Vedra Club Realty. So, we are sister companies. So Stockton became strictly rentals and brought the company back to the building."?
How is the rental market in Ponte Vedra Beach?
"It is wonderful. It's been wonderful for a very long time. Usually when sales are slow, we have property owners who need to generate income, so they rent their homes out. We have demand for people wanting to rent because with the mortgage industry as it is, they didn't qualify to buy and the criteria for renting is a little bit less. The resort business has always been steady. We are in such a niche market here that we weren't terribly affected by the downtown."?
College
Minchew has a bachelor's degree in commercial art from Flagler College.
Why go into real estate?
"I've always had an interest in real estate and house designs and having 300 individually owned properties it is really interesting. There are no two alike and it's really fun to go in and look at different properties."? She started out at Stockton as a part-time receptionist and that resorted into her going into sales. I lasted in sales for about four months and said that is not it."? A position opened in the resort leasing side, so she became a resort leasing agent and the rest is history.
Lessons learned
Minchew said it is very important to give credit where credit is due and to be completely honest with others. "Admit your fault and do the best you can to make any situation better."
Family
She has been married to Harrison Minchew, a golf course architect, for four years. He worked for Palmer Course design for 27 years and recently opened his own company, Harrison Minchew Golf Course Architecture. (Many of you will remember him as the co-designer of Marsh Landing's golf course along with Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay.) She has two grown children, Katie and Connor.
Golf player?
She does play but she says not very well. I call it 'hit and giggle' but I am an avid fan, though!"
-by Michele Gillis