Connecting the Dots

Washburn keeps moving with Island Resort Realty

 

BY RALPH MORROW

MANAGING EDITOR

If this were a child’s game, it might be something about connecting the dots. Instead, it’s an adult business and it took several moves, several instances, several coincidences for it to land as Island Resort Realty at 314 Petronia St., almost across the street from Blue Heaven and Besame Mucho

Roger Washburn is the broker, but it was not his plan to be selling houses and commercial properties, leasing condos, dealing in investment properties, looking for people who want to buy a week, two weeks or more in a timeshare, renting properties and managing them.

But Washburn’s life has taken a turn here, another turn there and, yet, more and more turns.

Oh, he has been involved in many ventures and adventures in his life.

For 30 years, he and Jane have been married and maybe the main factor in his living and working in Key West is Jane’s ability as an artist. It was she who was in love with Key West, not he. Washburn had never even been on the island. Jane had. Loved it. Wanted to exhibit her art work here. Went looking for a gallery. Settled on Gingerbread Gallery. That’s where you can see her art work today.

But, is there a beginning to this story? Perhaps in 1999. Roger Washburn, now 67, was born in Detroit, graduated with a business degree from the University Michigan, went to work for Ross Perot at Electronic Data Systems and once had 100 engineers reporting to him. Eventually, he was also working for General Motors and it was in 1999 that he took an early retirement option. And that’s when the dots started multiplying.

Actually, a few dots were laid down before he retired. “In late 1997,” he recalled, “my partners and I started developing and putting together a restaurant in Ludington, Mich. It was a Brew Pub, the Jamesports Brewing Co. It opened in the spring of 2000. It’s similar to the one opening here at Waterfront Market.”

Jane and he were living at the time in Chicago. “My wife is very cultured in arts,” he says proudly. “She did not see herself living in Ludington.”

At the time, they also had a home in the Bahamas. Put a dot there. In 2000, they bought a home in Davie, Florida, and got rid of their home in Ludington.

It was not a comfortable move for Washburn. “I was driving my wife nuts,” he says of being the stay-at-home husband. “I got into day trading; not making much money. I determined what I really liked to do was work. I had a strong financial background. I was a good accountant. A good forecaster. Made investment decisions.”

He joined Coldwell Banker, but “I got very disenchanted with the corporate lifestyle. In 1999, I took off my watch and never put it back on.” Put down a dot. “I thought I would do better with my own brokerage.”

Put down several dots, because his life had redirected itself. Toward Key West.

While at Coldwell Banker, he became great friends with George Hayek, who would become his future business partner. They got their brokerage licenses in the same class and while Hayek took a management position at Coldwell-Banker, in 2003, Washburn went off on his own. Three years later, Hayek left Coldwell Banker and the two friends teamed up.

“We took a look at things we liked to do,” remembered Washburn. “We put them on a chart, gave them value points. We decided we liked the Bahamas and the Caribbean. We decided to focus on real estate there and in Belize. We rebranded ourselves as Island and Resort Realty in Fort Lauderdale and started up the Islandandresort.com web site. Of course, this was 2006, 2007 and, effectively, the stuff hit the fan. We were involved in 30 resorts, marketing and sales. Some 90 percent in that area folded. By the end of 2007, 2008, the market had collapsed and we were beating a dead horse.

“We were hard pressed to put food on the table with real estate returns,” said Washburn. So, put down another dot. They decided to get involved in a global market. Foreign investors, mostly European, Canadian, South American.

Meanwhile, because of their knowledge of the Caribbean, they were asked to make a presentation before the National Association of Realtors at the annual conference in Orlando. “George did most of the talking,” laughs Washburn. “He’s a member of the Actors Guild.”

In the same time frame, Jane “was transitioning from fine arts and antique appraisals – she’s exceptional at that – to taking her painting to the next level. She’s an artist at heart.”

His wife had been visiting Key West from the 1960s and now, in 2003 (put down a big dot), they started visiting Key West on a larger scale. It was in 2009, that the artist decided to look for a gallery in Key West.

Now, drop a load of dots. “Over the years, both of us fell in love with Key West,” says Washburn.

“In 2011, we took a place for six months, testing the waters.”

Other dots. They had their place in the Bahamas for sale. Jane’s mother, who was 95, took ill. In 2012, they were unable to visit Key West.

“In 2013, we came down for six months and stayed on United Street and the dominos (what about the dots?) started falling in place. A neighbor was Bill “Pepper” Reese. He was a Realtor, not a broker, but he leased this office (314 Petronia St.) after he fell out with his broker. He knew I had a brokerage in Fort Lauderdale and said, ‘How would you like to open a branch office here?’ On Aug. 15, 2013, I moved in as a branch.”

Then, four months later, Reese died. “I was still living in Davie. If I were to continue here in Key West, I would have to take all the expenses into Island Resort liabilities. The plan was that I would come down here a couple weekends a month. Then, Jane’s mother died the day after Thanksgiving. Our need to be in Davie had disappeared.”

After three years of being on the market, the house in the Bahamas sold.

His and Jane’s decision on living in Key West seemed made for them. “I’ll do it,” he said he decided.

In December, when they would see a house come on the market, they would do a drive by. They saw one across from Bayview Park. “It looks good. We went to see it and that evening put in an offer.”

They moved in March.

They still have the restaurant in Ludington. It seats 240. They have 100 employees.

Hayek runs the office with seven Realtors in Fort Lauderdale, while Washburn has four Realtors – Stephen Hammond, Patrick Lash, Camille Toler and Chad Burtch – in Key West. As the Bahamas “regenerates,” Island Resort continues to work with a Realtor there and throughout the islands.

And the dots go on.

 

 

 

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