Grace Maxwell is a real estate attorney who specializes in short sales, foreclosure defense and transactions. Maxwell works out of the America’s Choice Title offices in Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Coast.
History?
Maxwell has worked at America’s Choice Title since 2006. She started out as a closing assistant and then left for a time to work at WCI Communities in Palm Coast. She then decided to get her law degree and returned to America’s Choice Title as an attorney in 2010. “I was interested in real estate development, but then the market decided to crash, so the next logical step was to become an attorney. It just seemed like the next step was to go to law school and push myself. It was either get my MBA or go to law school so I chose law school.”
College?
Maxwell earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and law degree from University of Florida. “I graduated from high school, undergraduate and law school early. I just took extra classes and soldiered on through.”
Why work out of a title company?
“I don’t represent America’s Choice Title. I am my own firm. For the short sales, I actually represent the seller through the process and negotiate with the lenders on the short sale. Once we get the approval, I turn it over to America’s Choice Title for the closing. It’s a good working relationship.”
Market?
“I’ve heard from the real estate agents that inventory is down. There are not a lot of regular transactions going on right now. I believe the banks are holding back on their inventory as far as the foreclosures that have gone to REOs. I think they are trying to control the market a little bit and make sure they don’t flood the market with a lot of REOs and bring the prices down. There are still quite a few short sales out there still. I have 350 short sales in my pipeline right now.”
Age not an issue?
Maxwell is 27. “More so than anything, it’s my age that tends to be an issue. I’m young and I look young so that’s usually what people comment on. But, it’s my work that matters. As long as the client is happy and we come to the right outcome, then everyone is satisfied.”
Favorite thing about job?
“It’s different every day. Every day there is a new challenge. There always seems to be some little thing that crops up that I hadn’t seen before. I’m never bored, that’s for sure.”
Realtors?
“It’s a team effort. A Realtor will have a client that they think needs a short sale and they will refer them to me to negotiate with the bank. The Realtors are very important because they are the ones out there listing the properties and getting the buyers. They hold it together on that end. A lot of Realtors do their own short sales and that’s really not something they should be doing under their license. It’s something an attorney should assist with. I don’t charge my clients anything up front; it’s all charged at the end with the proceeds from the sale, so that is a benefit to the Realtors because I am assisting their/my client to get the deal done and they don’t have to go outside of their license to do the transaction.”
Best professional advice received?
“As an attorney, don’t internalize the issues. You’ve got to be the level head and be the rock for the client. The people come to me and they are stressed and upset about their situation and I need to be strong for them and lay it all out for them to understand. I try to not take on to much of the grief and stress and just try to do the best that I can for them.”
Advice for new real
estate attorney?
“Every month I do continuing legal education. Make sure you are marketing yourself and putting yourself out there.”
Family?
Maxwell and her husband Jeff Maxwell, a general contractor with Etude Sol, live in Ponte Vedra Beach.