Terri James named Forbes Five Star Legend
One Pine Island Realty Realtor has had a very decorated career of almost 18 years receiving numerous awards, the latest of which was from Fortune and Forbes.
Terri B. James was honored as a October/November 2021 Forbes Five Star Legend, as well as a 2021 Fortune Five Star Professional Market Leader, Real Estate Agent Award winner earlier this year.
“It’s the first time I have been in Forbes and Fortune. They both happened in the same year. I’m very humble,” she said, as she has not yet reached 18 years as a real estate agent.
One of the criteria for Forbes deals with sales volume, which for James, since she began selling real estate, has totaled more than $151 million.
James has also been nominated as a Five Star Real Estate Agent for 17 years with Gulf Shore Life.
“Honestly it makes me humble. It makes me very happy to know that my clients think that much of me. In order to be a five star agent, you are nominated by your clients. When you sell the property your clients get some kind of form and then you are nominated based on knowledge, performance, how you treat your client. It’s client satisfaction,” she said.
James first started visiting Pine Island with her husband Rob in 1981 and fell in love with the island. Once their son completed eighth grade they decided to make the move from Kentucky to Pine Island to live full time in 2000.
“We decided at some point this is where we wanted to make our home,” she said. “We moved to the island. That is a difficult thing to do with a teenager. He tells me often that was the best thing we ever did for him.”
While in Kentucky, James filled her time volunteering at her son’s school, at church, Boy Scouts at the district level, as well as with an organization called Parents Reaching Out at Vanderbilt Medical Center. After 13 or 14 years, she said she was burned out and wanted something different after moving to the island.
A friend she met in the early ’80s on the island asked her to manage her art gallery on Bokeelia, which she did for many years. When Hurricane Charley impacted the island, the gallery closed.
“Several people encouraged me to get my real estate license. Hurricane Charley happened. The art gallery closed and that’s when I went full-time as a real estate agent. A lot of agents move around from company to company. I have been with Pine Island Reality since the very beginning,” James said. “In all honesty I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t gotten into real estate. Some of my best friends are people I have sold real estate to.”
A key element to her success is listening to what potential buyers are looking for, what they can afford and their criteria for their home.
“If you don’t have that, you may not be as happy. Your transaction possibly might not go as smoothly as you hoped. Things can come up in the middle of a transaction that is totally out of everyone’s control,” James said. “It is not my life, not my money and I am not going to live in this house. I hope at the end of the day, they get what they want. They will be satisfied with me and refer me to their friends and family.”
Although James has sold homes in Cape Coral and even one in Naples, her focus is Pine Island, as she knows the rules and regulations of the island.
“I know pretty much what you can and cannot do on Pine Island,” she said.
The peacefulness, tranquility, beauty and abundance of wildlife is what attracted the couple to the island, and remains a great selling point for the island.
“When we came in 1981 there was no cable. We would spend more money on water at Winn-Dixie than for food because we would go fishing every day. We have seen changes over the last 40 years, but Pine Island is still quite a unique place to live. I could not imagine living anywhere else. The people on Pine Island are the most generous people that I have ever met in the world,” James said.
With 40 years of visiting and living on Pine Island, she has a lot of history under her belt, a great tool to have as a real estate agent.
“I have seen some growth. I appreciate the fact that Pine Island still remains, in some ways, a lot like it did 40 years ago,” James said.
A change for the island comes with the inventory for sale, as it is currently very low. The demand, she said, is much higher than the supply.
As of Friday there are only 59 active properties for sale on all of Bokeelia, St. James City and Matlacha, which included mobile homes, single-family homes, and waterfront homes ranging from $179,900 to $5.5 million.
“In 2008 the supply was much higher than the demand and it was much easier to get a mortgage then. It’s not the case today,” James said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, news@breezenewspapers.com, please email