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Location, location, location. The Ocean Atlantic Agency sits on one of Rehoboth Beach’s most visible corners. The company’s job: see to it that the locations clients select leave little to be desired.
The agency is a full-service, independent real estate company offering professional assistance in listing, marketing and selling residential and commercial properties. But that’s only part of what it does.
Ocean Atlantic Agency Vice President R. Justin Healey says having everything needed to complete a real estate transaction under one roof offers customers improved convenience.
“This is really one-stop shopping. People can come in, buy their home, pick their mortgage lender, pick their title company and have their settlement attorney all in one building,” Healey said.
Started by Gene Lankford and Preston Schell in 1997 as a real estate development company, Ocean Atlantic Agency is an umbrella for several divisions. Ocean Atlantic Agency handles real estate sales, Ocean Atlantic Associates develops new-build projects, Schell Brothers LLC handles construction, and the Veritas Group is a real estate investment company.
“For the last several years we’ve really been driven by Ocean Atlantic Associate’s development.
They’ve built more than 500 homes in the area and that’s fueled the growth of the agency,” Healy said.
This year the agency will gross more than $100 million from property resales and new construction sales, he said. The company anticipates growth in both markets, with the greatest expansion in resales.
“The resale market is something that we’ve grown quite a bit. It used to be that almost 100 percent of our sales were through developments. We’re now getting to the point that in 2005 it will probably be 35 to 40 percent of our sales,” Healy said.
Healey said the company currently has more than 1,100 units of various housing types under construction. New-build projects now in various stages of construction include The Tides, The Villas at Bay Crossing, Paynter’s Mill, the condominiums at The Villages of Five Points and lot sales for Reddenwood, located between Milton and Georgetown near Route 9.
“Reddenwood will have single-family homes that will be more affordable. You can build a custom home with Schell Brothers in the $300,000 price range,” Healey said.
While new construction sales continue to grow, Healy said reselling existing properties will form a solid core for the company.
“Comparatively, we’ve grown that about 300 percent over the last year or two. T hat’s why this location will benefit us so much because we have parking for people to come into town. We’re one of the first companies that you see on your way in,” he said.
Previously located on Route 1, the agency has grown from two agents to its current staffing level very quickly.
“It’s really ramped up from 2000 until now. We went from about six agents in the old office to about 20 in the last month in this new office,” Lankford said. The agency now has 24 real estate agents. Lankford, who refers to himself as the “chairman emeritus” of the company, is enthusiastic about what’s ahead.
“This is a young, aggressive real estate operation with a lot of young people and a really bright future,” Lankford said.
Among the agency’s guiding principles is support for the community and respect for the environment. Both are areas in which the company has made significant contributions, Healy said.
“One half of 1 percent of our gross revenues goes directly to the Sussex County Land Trust to help preserve open space. More than a half million dollars has been given to the trust. In addition to that, we’ve been very lucky over the years being able to support a whole host of philanthropic endeavors because of our success,” Healey said.
Even the casual observer of downtown Rehoboth Beach business no doubt knows that since the close of the Sea Horse Restaurant that had been in the building now occupied by the Ocean Atlantic Agency, nothing had lasted long at the location.
All of the failed businesses were restaurants.
“That’s why we’re not having a restaurant here. That’s why we’ve got a real estate agency,” said Lankford.
The Ocean Atlantic Agency is located at 330 Rehoboth Ave. The hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday; and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday. For more information, call 227-6767.
The agency will have an open house for the business community from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 17. An open house for the general public will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 20.
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