Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Kellar.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born at NAS Jacksonville, with my father being retired now from the Navy. My parents divorced when I was young, and my mother and siblings stayed here. I went to Clay County schooIs until I married and had a child at a young age, but it forced me to grow up rather quickly. I bartended in a few clubs in my 20s and struggled for what I was going to do in the future. I answered an ad one day, to be a loan officer, and was lucky enough to get hired in the Mortgage business around 1999. I became a sponge, and learned everything I could about the business, and around 2003, opened a Mortgage Brokerage business. The business was good until in 2008, when the economy hit the floor, and my wife and I both did mortgages, and had no business in our pipeline. We decided one of us needed to change industry, so we can survive the moment. I decided I would change direction, and get my Real Estate license, and get into Property Management and Real Estate Sales. Although the Sales market was slow, the Property Management was booming, and just as I did in the Mortgage Business, I became a sponge, and learned as much as I could from anyone I could learn from. In 2014, I decided that I wanted to take a chance, and open my own Real Estate Brokerage, and in January of 2015, I opened Kellar Realty and Property Management, Inc. When I opened Kellar Realty, I wanted to do things a little different than most. More and more it seems companies are going with full automation, and have taken the personal service out of the transaction. I wanted to put the personalization back in the transactions. There are some Brokerages that want to have as many Realtors as they can under their license, or brokerage. I only want Realtors that want to work full time, not just sell a house a year, or have a license, just to fill some free time. Our Associates are committed to what I visioned for a company, and work to provide the best customer service possible to all our clients. We just celebrated our 10th year in business, and still continue to grow. I couldn’t be happier with our team of Associates, and look forward to what the future holds for the Kellar Realty family.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. My wife and I struggled severely from the Economy hit in 2008, and even lost a house that we owned, due to financial reasons. We saw our credit drop to where we couldn’t get anything on credit until we were able to reestablish ourselves. But our commitment to our family and faith, push through. We were able to overcome, and re-establish our lives.
As you know, we’re big fans of Kellar Realty and Property Management, Inc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Kellar Realty and Property Management, we specialize in Property Management. Some folks think this is just Rentals, but it is so much more. We work with people to Buy Homes, Sell Homes, as well as work with investors to to which they also use us to manage their rental investments. Our team is well rounded and understands all facets of the Real Estate Industry. Geographically we work from Fernandina Beach Florida, to The Villages. As we manage approximately 200 properties, which means we potentially have 200 buyers, and 200 sellers. This is the reason I say we specialize in Property Management, not just one facet of Real Estate. I take great pride in my team and their accomplishments. I have a couple of seasoned associates, as well as some new associates, and all of them are willing to help each other without a second request. We have become a family. I have always felt that it is the little things that most people or companies don’t think about, that sets us apart. First, I am an active broker. Most brokers say they have an open door, but is that really true? Not really. My team knows, there is not a time that they cannot contact me, day or night. My team uses the same philosophy with there customers. All of our customers have a direct contact method with my Associates, so they can be reached any time, day or night for situations that may arise. As a company, I wanted to do the little things, that I see no other company does, for example, if an HVAC system in one of our rentals is broken, and a part has to be ordered, so it may be several days before the AC is working again. I offer those tenants a Portable AC to help them through the repair. If a disposal get stuck, I go out and free up the disposal, and reset it. This saves money for the owner and tenant. After hurricanes, we ask for updates as to any damage from our tenants, and I personally go cut up any branches that are downed in the yards, to help get things back to normal as quickly as possible. We try to take Service to another level, and our customers notice.
What does success mean to you?
Being a very subjective statement, their can be different perceptions of success, mine is moreso with life itself rather that financially. I think if you are able to achieve being the best version of yourself, is alone achieving success, all the other minor details, will follow, whether emotional, financial, or just life success as a whole.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.KellarRealty.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellarrealty/
