Choosing the (W)Right Realtor
When dealing with Waterfront Real Estate, choosing the right Realtor is extremely important. My background is Water, Boating, and Teaching, all of which are important attributes in helping you buy or sell property in Punta Gorda Isles.
I offer my bio for those whom I have yet to meet and work with personally. I was born and raised in Grosse Pointe Park, MI in 1944. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1966. I moved to E. Lansing to teach at Okemos High School and Lansing Community College for the next 26 years. I attended graduate school at Michigan State Univ. and got my M.A. And “A.B.D.” in Counseling Psychology. I met Jody in 1971 and we were married in 1976 in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, aboard a bareboat charter on a CSY 44. We chartered a bareboat almost every Christmas with two other couples in a different area of the Caribbean each year. Jody taught first grade in the same school system and our identical schedules allowed us to travel and live aboard our sailboat on Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes for about 15 summers. We circumnavigated Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron and did extensive gunkholing in Green Bay and in the North Channel and Georgian Bay of Ontario. In 1987, we took an unpaid leave and got on our Catalina 34 to motor-sail down the Rivers from Chicago to Mobile, AL. Then we sailed the Panhandle and crossed the Gulf from Appalachacola to Clearwater. We continued down the West Coast of Florida to Punta Gorda where we spent the winter at Fisherman’s village. We immediately fell in love with the area and decided that this was a place where we could relocate. We continued to sail and explore Florida to see if we could beat PGI. We lived aboard in Ft. Myers Beach, Naples, and Marco Island. We then went to the Keys and lived in Key West and Marathon for the winter, mostly on the hook. A nice place to visit but not to live. After a few months in the Bahamas, we continued up the East Coast. This was the first time we ever had to lock our boat. We continued up to Charleston but never found anything close to PGI. So we returned to Punta Gorda and bought our house, leased it out, and then returned to teach 3 more years. Michigan went to an early retirement system and I “retired” at age 48, much too early to really retire. I have been a Licensed Realtor since 1988 and have been a professor of Economics at Edison Community college in Ft. Myers. In my spare time, I play jazz piano professionally at local clubs and restaurants. I used to take my high school students’ big band on national concert tours. Jody has two children, both married. Thus, we have three grandchildren who have learned to swim in our pool and sail with me on “Just Wright”. They visit Florida regularly from St. Louis. They love the pool and a sail to Fisherman’s Village for a hot dog dinner. My interest in water and boats goes back to my childhood. I grew up within fog horn range of the Detroit River and Lake St.Clair. I learned to sail in college and got my first cruising boat for Lake Michigan, a Coronado 25, then a Coronado 30’ and a Catalina 34’ which we lived on for 2 years. I never cease to be amazed at how many of my clients have similar backgrounds, i.e. Boating, living on water and investing in waterfront property. It all goes together for those of us who love the water. .I should mention that Jody and I do have other interests. We used to ski the Rockies most winters while in Michigan. We both have played tennis and golf since being in Florida since 1992.
Becoming a "Sailboater’s Realtor” was a natural culmination of my love of the water. Is my perfect niche, a chance to stay active in business and a chance to share Jody’s and my “JUST WRIGHT” Lifestyle with hundred’s of people.
