Anita Vining was working as a marketing manager’s administrative assistant in Orlando when the office was closed down.
The human resources manager asked Vining what she was going to do next. She had no idea.
“Go into real estate,” Vining recalls him telling her.
It turned out to be great advice, although she didn’t follow it immediately.
She and her husband, Pete, moved to Jacksonville first, where she was a stay-at-home mom.
It was only when her children entered high school that she felt the time was finally right.
She joined a small boutique firm, for what she expected would be a part-time gig.
But it didn’t turn out to be that at all.
“I’ve been full time ever since,” Vining said. “I got immediately addicted to real estate.”
Her first listing, in 1994, was a friend’s house on the St. Johns River and her business quickly mushroomed from there.
Vining and her family were living on the river in Beauclerc at the time and she used her contacts to obtain even more waterfront listings.
In each of her first two years in the business, she reached $5 million in sales.
Then she joined Prudential — now Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty — and her success skyrocketed.
She has been with the company for 20 years and has always been No. 1 or No. 2 there, as well as in the top 10 in Northeast Florida. In 2015, she closed $38 million of business.
Ins-and-outs of waterfront property
Vining sells real estate all around the Jacksonville area, in all price points, from beginner home to luxury.
Since she is in and out of neighborhoods with clients all the time, she is knowledgeable about many of them, even the newest ones being built, such as those in Nocatee.
But Vining, who works out of the Berkshire Hathaway San Marco office, also has continued to specialize in waterfront property. It is an area that requires knowledge far beyond what is necessary to sell homes not on the water, she said.
“My knowledge, expertise and familiarity with riverfront is why I have worked with so many riverfront sellers and buyers in my history,” she said.
First, since Jacksonville is surrounded by water, there are a lot of waterways to learn about, including the St. Johns River, the Trout River, Julington Creek and the Atlantic Ocean.
Some areas of the St. Johns River are more affected by tides than others, Vining said, and it’s important to know which ones are, as well as the depth of the river at various places.
If someone has a large boat, she said, their Realtor needs to be familiar with the depth and the tide. And sailboat keels require at least three feet of water at all times.
It’s also important to know if bridges come into play, Vining adds, because if someone lives on Julington Creek, the bridge there is too low for boats with high masts.
She is familiar with navigational points up and down the waterways and often takes clients on boat tours to show them a home from the water because it “gives them a whole different perspective.”
She also is an expert on docks. Depending on where the home is located, some require more length than others.
The Corps of Engineers Submerged Lease Law dictates how far a dock needs to extend from shore, depending on the depth of the water.
If a home needs a longer dock, the owner must obtain land from the state in what is called a submerged land lease.
“Understanding how those leases transfer to new owners is also important,” Vining said. “If someone is just getting into real estate and doesn’t know all this, it could be a problem.”
Waterfront properties require specialized inspections for the bulkhead and dock pilings, which over time can erode.
Vining said oceanfront properties have unique needs as well.
Due to salt air, the air-conditioning systems need to be replaced every five to seven years. And a real estate agent dealing with those properties needs to know hurricane codes as well as the laws regarding dunes.
Vining works with a lot of buyers through her company’s relocation department and considers herself “an ambassador for the city.”
In addition to giving tours by water, she gives tours by land, personally showing the area’s highlights to convince someone to move here.
She contacts them before they fly in, to find out their preferences and needs.
“Often they haven’t even accepted the job when they see me (so) employers ask that I make sure they see the best of the best,” she said. “I love introducing them to Jacksonville because I love Jacksonville.”
She is such an advocate that she sits on the board of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund and is president of the San Marco Merchants Association.
Working with full team of supporters
Vining doesn’t work alone, however. She has a full-time assistant, Caroline Dutcher, a recent University of North Florida graduate with a marketing degree who is also a Realtor.
Vining’s daughter and daughter-in-law also are Realtors. Daughter Neill Lasher helps her with social media and marketing and daughter-in-law Lisa Casagrande-Vining helps out part time.
“I told her she needed to keep her maiden name, Cassagrande, when she got into the business,” Vining said. “It means big house in Spanish, which is perfect.”
Vining also credits husband Pete for much of her success. He helps behind the scenes with accounting and “keeping Anita in line,” she said.
Dutcher said she has learned a lot from Vining and continues to do so every day.
“I love, love, love working with her,” she said. “She has so much knowledge. She has an answer for everything. She is such an inspiration.”