I'm from the East coast of the U.S. and have happily completed 21 career-related moves, some of them during my childhood as a military brat and the rest as a manager/consultant in the software industry. Some of the places I've lived include Chicago (IL), Paris (France), Saratoga (NY), Montgomery (AL), West Point (NY), Milford (CT), Massapequa (NY), Hempstead (NY), Warner Robins (GA), Neptune Beach (FL), Roanoke (VA), Gaithersburg (MD), Jacksonville (FL), Baltimore (MD), Silicon Valley (CA), Dallas (TX), and for the last seven years, Tallahassee (FL).

I have a great deal of personal and professional experience in preparing a home and selling as well as buying a home and settling in a new location. I know what's involved in making a real estate transaction as smooth and stress-free as possible and work diligently to put that knowledge to work for my clients.

As a REALTOR®, my focus in every transaction is to build a relationship of trust with my clients and provide expert advice to help them realize their goals.  I believe that good relationships are the key to happiness in life and satisfied clients will result in a successful real estate career.

During my previous career in the software industry, I worked for a few Fortune 100 companies and enjoyed the exciting, cutting-edge atmosphere of a large, successful corporation.  As a REALTOR®, I feel right at home working for Century 21, a worldwide real estate company that is client-focused and has a reputation for service and excellence that carries through to the Tallahassee office. 

I take time daily to study the real estate market, especially in the Tallahassee area and am currently pursuing the CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) designation. I have taken advantage of Century 21 training and business tools and have also received excellent training from my local Tallahassee Century 21 office.  I am also privileged to take weekly coaching lessons from our owner and broker, Joe Manausa, who is an MBA and astute businessman and a 20-yr real estate veteran.

I have a B.S. in Computer Science and am a certified PMP (Project Management Professional).  

I grew up mostly in the north and thought I'd gone to heaven when we moved to Florida. It gets so cold (-40F) in upstate NY (where my parents are from) that all I wanted to do in the winter was stay inside, wrap up in blankets and read. Winter seemed to last for about 10 months of the year!

My love for the outdoors grew quickly when I discovered the warmth of sunny FL - no wonder it's called the Sunshine state. Happily, we lived on a beach and I went there every day the first year. 

Over the years, in my pursuit of warm-weather outdoor activities, I became a certified open water scuba diver, joined a tennis team, dabbled in golf, and started jogging. I have dived in FL (warm water and 80' visibility) and northern CA (very cold water requiring a full wet suit and 5' visibility) and definitely like the FL diving best. I have snorkeled in Mexico and Hawaii and enjoyed it immensely (and it required a lot less work!). 

I played women's doubles tennis on a country club team for 10 years and this is my favorite sport of all time because it was so social - like a continuous party. I enjoyed our weekly practices and our coach had a saying that I have repeated to others throughout my life in one context or another. He said that "while you are practicing, you should aim at perfecting your technique, but when you're in a match, you should win any way you can."  My partner and I liked to win, but were more focused on having fun than winning and we had our share of both.

I became a workaholic in my previous career in the software industry (I think it's an unspoken requirement) and many of my outside activities just faded away for lack of time and energy. I can see that this was a big mistake and it's one reason why I switched careers.

For me, Real Estate is all about being social and putting your interests and talents to work in the community for the good of all and helping others with the most important investment of their life, their home. 

• Excellent Negotiating Skills

Your sale will be easier and you'll probably have more success with someone you can trust to look out for your best interests and negotiate on your behalf. Many books have been written on negotiating and most skilled negotiators will advise you to get someone else to negotiate on your behalf because you become too emotionally involved.

• Accurate, Timely Information

Your sale with be smoother and faster with accurate information needed for good decisions, answers to all your real estate questions, and regular status reports on your transaction. A good Realtor will keep you informed every step of the way.

• Informed Guidance

You'll avoid problems when you take advantage of up-to-date market knowledge and expertise and are provided with viable alternatives for important decisions. Buying and selling a home is stressful and can be very frustrating. Having expert advice and someone to handle many of the details all through the transaction can relieve stress and make the transaction as smooth as possible.

Thank you so much for helping us on such short notice with our house search. We appreciate your willingness to work with us and deal with all the little details. We will definitely be recommending you to anyone we know who may be in the market for a house! ... Linda Jockers and Trevor Woods

Dear Colleen,

We want to thank you for excellent service and hard work in getting our home sold so quickly.  We thought It would be difficult being in St. Petersburg trying to sell our home in Tallahassee, but you made the process very easy.

Based on your insightful suggestions, we cleaned and painted and fixed those things in the house that would make our home stand out. With your help, we also hired the right professionals to help with those repairs that we couldn't do ourselves. When we finished, it looked like a new house, inside and out. Our personal goal was to try to sell the house within a 30 days. We knew that goal might be difficult in this real estate market, but we felt confident we made the right decision in choosing Century 21 to help us. The market value analysis helped us to price our home at a fair market value. You exceeded our goal by having a signed contract within a few days after signing the listing agreement. We couldn't believe it. We actually closed on the house within 30 days of the agreement. 

Again, thank you for taking care of all the details and looking out for our best interest. We couldn't have done it without you. I would highly recommend you to my friends and family.

 Best regards,   Ellen and Gordon Shelby

A poem by a client and new friend, Dianna Fouse