I’m often asked what keeps us going after 35 years in this business. The honest answer? It’s the people.
Vance Brinkerhoff and I have closed more than 2,000 transactions and crossed the $1 billion mark in total sales volume, but those numbers have never been the scoreboard we care about. The real measure is how many clients still call us years later, just to say hello, ask for advice, or invite us to their daughter’s wedding on the beach they bought with our help twenty years ago.
That only happens when trust is the foundation of everything you do.
The Quiet Power of Consistency
In an industry that sometimes rewards flash over substance, Vance and I made a deliberate choice early on: we’d rather be the steady ones. The ones who answer the phone at 9 p.m. when the survey comes back with an unexpected easement. The ones who drive across three counties on a Saturday to hand-deliver a forgotten closing gift because we know it matters to that particular client.
We don’t have billboards on A1A. We don’t chase the “Realtor of the Month” plaques. What we do have is a client list that reads like a Vero Beach phone book from 1999 to today, and a referral rate that has kept our business thriving through every market cycle imaginable.
Service That Goes Beyond the Closing Table
Most agents stop at the closing table. We see that as the starting line.
Through Vero Premier Properties with Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, we’ve built an ecosystem of support that clients tell us they’ve never experienced anywhere else:
- Florida’s only dedicated real estate concierge app covering the entire East Coast from Titusville to Jupiter, giving clients instant access to new listings, market data, and direct messaging with us 24/7.
- Post-closing “Forever Client” program that includes complimentary annual home-value updates, vendor referrals, and even help coordinating estate planning attorneys or 1031 exchange specialists when the time comes.
- Financial concierge services that connect clients with trusted CPAs, wealth advisors, and private bankers, many relationships we’ve personally vetted over decades.
We’ve had retired CEOs tell us they’ve never had a real estate team stay this involved after the commission check cleared. That’s not an accident. It’s by design.
Community Runs Deep
Vance’s years as president of the Exchange Club of Indian River and our ongoing support of local causes aren’t marketing checkboxes. They’re who we are when no one’s watching.
We’ve quietly helped fund scholarships for Vero Beach High School graduates, sponsored Little League teams, and sat on the boards for organizations that protect the Indian River Lagoon. When you’ve lived and worked in the same small town for over three decades, you don’t get to hide. Your reputation is everything, and we’ve guarded ours fiercely.
Why Trust Still Matters in 2025
In a world of algorithm-driven real estate and 24-hour “iBuyers,” the human element has never been more valuable. We still hand-write thank-you notes. We still remember that Mrs. Thompson’s golden retriever passed away last year and asked how she was doing. We still pick up the phone instead of hiding behind email.
Because at the end of the day, real estate isn’t about houses.
It’s about helping people make one of the biggest financial and emotional decisions of their lives, and doing it in a way that lets them sleep at night.
Vance and I are proud to have been named among the Top 10 Most Trustworthy Realtors in Florida, but the real honor is looking at our phones and seeing texts from clients we met in the 1990s, still trusting us with the next chapter of their story.
If you’re looking for someone who will treat your transaction like it’s the only one that matters (because to you, it is), we’d be honored to earn that same trust.
Here’s to the next 35 years of keeping promises, one relationship at a time.
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