Dear Clients, Customers and Friends:
It is hard to believe that Homestead Real Estate is celebrating its 20th year in business. When I look back at the past 20 years I can not help but think of all of you. Our loyal clients, customers, friends and employees that have made Homestead one of the leading Real Estate Companies in the industry today. For each of you and your business we say Thank You. We had a very humble beginning which many of you can remember. We started on the second floor of the old Homestead building on Broadway in West Cape May. We feel humbled and blessed to now serve you from our 4700 sq. foot state of the Art offices located in the center of Cape May City for the past four years.
We started in December of 1998, with very little money, only a generous unsolicited $20,000 loan from my father in-law who believed in me from the beginning. I started with my previous Broker Barbara Kopp giving me her blessing and encouragement. Barbara was a women in business that recognized my talent and encouraged me with gracious support. We began with a hope and a prayer that God would grow our business over time. We opened the doors with one phone and a fax machine praying the phone would simply ring. Interest rates were near 10% and film development back then was one of our biggest expenditures. We had the MLS books delivered bi-weekly and email was in its infant stage with Al Gore only dreaming of its existence LOL. We had One computer that we rarely used but the electric typewriter was center stage ready with anticipation to type our first contract. We started with three of us and now we have over 20 full time members of the Homestead Team.
Sure enough cell phones, computers and electronic signatures, instant MLS updates, paperless files and virtual/drone tours replacing the need for Kodak film investments. I promised myself back then to always remember never forgetting where we came from through good times and bad we have seen our way through economic housing booms and disastrous market crashes. We have experienced the mountain tops and the valleys but through it all God has honored our efforts and our hard work. Since the very beginning in 1998 we chose to honor the Lord by declaring Sundays as a Sabbath day. Against advice that we could “NEVER” make it if we were closed on Sundays we declared that day holy and set apart for our employees and ourselves. In doing so we honored God and He has honored us with meeting all of our needs and we say Thank you to God and to God be the glory.
My amazing staff who have stood by us through thick and thin, prosperous times and lean times we say Thank You. We have been able to grow as a result of each learning curve and have vowed often to “Never do that again”. LOL. More importantly we vow to always be committed to continued growth within the industry and vow to remain committed to our client’s needs.
20 years later Homestead is blessed to have Micah Yerk, Laurie Graham and Denise Moore at the helm clearly helping me in steering the ship in the right direction. Without them I don’t know what I would do THANK YOU!! My biggest supporter over the years has been my husband Rusty. He believed in me from the very first day. Rusty really had the vision first…… when we sat at the settlement table buying a duplex, our first investment in 1997. The original deed for that property said “Phillips Farm Homestead” and Rusty said, “wouldn’t Homestead make a great Real Estate Company name”? And………….. the rest is history.
To all of you who have remained loyal and to all who have been with me along the journey; I say Thank You and look forward to what the next 20 years hold.
