When Nikki Stevens landed the listing for the oceanfront home at 801 Ponte Vedra Blvd., she made it her only client.
Of course, a Northeast Florida record sale of $19 million is worthy of eight months of a real estate agent’s attention.
How does a real estate agent of 14 years land such a prize?
Relationships.
Stevens worked for Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners at the time. She knew the sellers, Dale B. Wolf, his wife, Jean C. Wolf, and the Dale B. Wolf Revocable Trust, from a previous transaction.
The experience had been a good one.
They stayed in touch. When it came time to sell, the Wolfs called Stevens.
The house was listed at $21.8 million in January. The sellers hoped for a private sale without listing it. Within two weeks they landed a potential buyer.
The hitch was that the sale was contingent on the prospective buyers selling their home first.
When that sale stalled, the offer was withdrawn.
Stevens wondered if the house had a buyer that quickly, what would happen if it was put on the market?
Stevens’ expenses were minimal. She hired a photographer and a videographer to photograph and film the 9,200-square-foot home with its long second-story balcony and its pool and spa. The house was built in 2016.
Vetting buyers
Once on the market, more than 10 potential buyers showed interest in the property. Each prospect was vetted. Only serious applicants were invited to tour the home.
“I’m going to ask for proof of funds or a letter from their wealth manager just to confirm and then we will call to verify the authenticity of the proof of funds or the letter,” she said.
While the house is spacious, she said, it was very much a home. The Wolfs helped design it.
The first floor is designed for family living. Upstairs was set up for children and grandchildren for sleep and play. With its vast ocean views, Stevens said the house is “peaceful.”
After meeting the buyers, Devendra and Dhara Patel, of New Jersey, Stevens was confident they would be the new homeowners when they came with their two children.
“I will say when I showed them the home with their agent, it was an instant fit. I mean, the kids were running around picking their rooms out. His wife loved the balconies,” she said.
Devendra Patel owns InfuCare Rx, which is described on its website as a “digital care management platform, (that) offers a complete infusion care ecosystem.”
Infusion therapy involves the treatment of ailments by administering medication into the bloodstream when oral medications prove ineffective, according to Healthline.com.
The couple also owns property at 314 Marquesa Circle in St. Johns.
Stevens, 47, is the mother of two – 18-year-old daughter Brooke and 14-year-old son Chase. Brooke graduated from Ponte Vedra High School and is studying to earn her real estate license.
When her daughter is licensed, Stevens said she may hire her as an assistant to learn the business, but Stevens insists that Brooke join another company to make her own mark.
Orange Park High grad
Stevens was born in Blackshear, Georgia, and was 13 when her family moved to Orange Park. She graduated from Orange Park High School in 1994. Before becoming a real estate agent she was a project manager at Hewlett-Packard.
With young children, she thought real estate would provide her the opportunity to be more of a stay-at-home mother.
Stevens began working for Prudential Real Estate, which became Berkshire Hathaway, in Ponte Vedra. Cici Anderson and Rosemary Kristoff were her mentors.
Stevens often would bring her children to work, and Kristoff insisted that Stevens and the kids use her office.
“She was quite the mother hen,” Stevens said.
On to next agency
After news of the Ponte Vedra Boulevard sale was made public, Anderson, founding Realtor at Marsh Landing Realty, a firm that specializes in million-dollar-plus properties, called to congratulate her former colleague.
During the conversation, Anderson suggested that if she was ever thinking of making a move to another agency they’d love to have her. The next day Stevens moved her license to Marsh Landing Realty.
Seven-figure sales are something she is accustomed to over her career.
This deal was different, she said. It was bigger than just selling a house.
“I literally feel like I sold a company. I feel like I now know what it’s like when people are selling their businesses. This caliber of expectation is intense,” she said.
Usually, when a real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller, the commission is 6%. If two agents are involved, it is 3% each.
The buyers were represented by Justin Lott and Richard Petersen of eXp Realty.
Lott said the Patels were interested in another property on Ponte Vedra Boulevard that they found on Zillow.com. The website connected the buyers with eXp Realty. That property went under contract to another buyer.
Lott and Petersen showed them 801 and another property on the street. Negotiations for 801 took about a month to complete.
“It’s critical to have great relationships with our colleagues. Because if we have great relationships, we can work together. I think that is critical. Because we’re all here for the same thing. And we’re here to make sure that we protect our clients,” Stevens said.
However, when a sale of this magnitude closes, the commissions are negotiated down to reflect the price, she said.
To respect the buyers and sellers, Stevens declined to disclose commission and other sale figures. She did say that the buyers were not the recent $1.58 billion dollar Mega Millions winners.
Celebration on hold
Since Stevens has taken on a new job, a blowout celebration has been put on hold. She did take a week to relax at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and The Lodge & Club.
“I have some friends over in Europe that have said, ‘We’re waiting on you whenever you’re ready,’ but I don’t have any plans at this very moment. If anything, just kind of regrouping and focusing on what my next chapter looks like,” she said.
Stevens acknowedges that her record could fall sooner rather than later. She has heard that a property is being sold privately for more than $23 million in Ponte Vedra Beach.
She’d like to repeat the multimillion-dollar experience.
“Did this really happen? Yeah, it was a lot. But I’m happy that part is over and done with,” she said.
“I’m like, OK, so, where’s my next $20 million property going to come from?”
This week she is in Jupiter, Florida, looking at a house she hopes to represent.