Holly Hayes

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Holly Hayes lives in Nocatee with her husband, Robert, and is the mother of five grown children. She is the Branch Manager of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty—Ponte Vedra Beach/Nocatee office. Entering real estate a decade ago, she persevered, achieved success, and supports many local charities, including the American Heart Association, Dreams Come True, Mission House, Angelwood, K-9s For Warriors and Toys for Tots.

 

Q:  When did you join Berkshire Hathaway?

A:  In 2008, when it was recession time. Everybody thought I was nuts. I said, ‘I can only go up from here.’

 

Q:  What motivated you to get into real estate at such a time?

A:  I had two children in college, two in high school and one in middle school. And I felt like because of the recession I needed to do something to help them. I wanted to make sure my children didn’t have student loans.

 

Q:  Did you know anyone in real estate?

A:  My mother-in-law, Mary Hayes, had been a Realtor in Chicago. She wanted to go into the business as well here, so we began as a team.

 

Q:  How did you become branch manager?

A:  About five or six years ago, the company asked me to be the manager, but at the time I didn’t think I was ready. Flash forward to 2018—and they asked me if I would reconsider. It was a much better time for me. All my children had graduated from college. I started the position Nov. 1, 2018.

 

Q:  Was the recession a challenge?

A:  It was difinitely a challenge. I got business working for sale by owner homes. And my mother-in-law had contacts. Together as a team we got a couple of listings from friends of hers. She didn’t stay in the business. She left after a couple of years.

 

Q:  You are a runner. How do you find the time?

A:  I don’t do as much running as I used to.

 

Q:  How do you find the time to support so many charities?

A:  Through Berkshire Hathaway, we support quite a few. We also do fund raising events at the office. Our office in Sawgrass Village is a drop-off point for Toys for Tots.

 

Q:  How has your life changed with your position as branch manager?

A:  I’m a noncompete broker, which means my job is to support the 110 agents in this office. I miss the part about showing homes and traveling around the community. But I love taking care of people. I always treated my clients like family, so I’ve transferred that caring aspect of the job to the people I work with and the agents in my office.

 

Q:  You love to travel; where are you headed to next?

A:  My husband and I marked off bucket list destinations in the last few years. Greece is next on our list, for the spring of 2020.