After what, by any measure, was a successful career as an operatic Tenor across North America and Europe, Jerry faced a decision. An increasingly demanding touring schedule resulted in him being an “absentee father and husband”. It was priorities time. Finding the cost to his family and potentially to his soul was greater than he was willing to pay, he decided to gradually end his singing career and gradually began learning the real estate business.
Obtaining his Affiliate’s License in 1971 and then his Broker’s License in 1973, he went full-time in 1975.
Back when one million dollars in sales was no small achievement, he was a consistent multi-million dollar producer, becoming a Life Member of the Million Dollar Sales Club of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.
In 1980 he joined Dobson & Johnson, Inc., which at that time was the largest real estate firm in Middle Tennessee where he created and then became Director of their Relocation Counseling Center.
In 1994 he left Dobson & Johnson and worked with the many customers and clients with whom, over the years, he had developed relationships.
In 2003, one of those relationships became responsible for the next chapter in his life…Property Management. Dr. Bradley Smith, then chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University, called Jerry and ask for his assistance with the sale of a property he and his wife owned in Florida. He then assisted Dr. Bradley, with the proceeds of that sale, in the purchase of four residential properties in the Nashville area. About a month after those properties closed, Dr. Smith called and asked Jerry if he would manage them. Jerry agreed and within a month had them all Leased. Shortly thereafter the phone started ringing with more clients requesting that Jerry manage their investment properties as well. The calls kept coming and it wasn’t long before Jerry found himself doing more Property Management than anything else.
In 2006 Jerry launched Westgate Property Management, LLC, offering full-service residential property management to Owners and Investors. Eventually, Jerry engaged the services of Bobby Bruton to be his Accounts Manager and in 2009, Jerry’s son Christopher joined the company after 15 years in Construction Management.
For Your Information
Who is this guy? Can I trust him? What are his qualifications?
If you need someone to manage property you own, chances are you will want answers to these questions.
Why?
Because this is information you have every right to know when you are considering doing business with someone.
Long ago I realized that these questions cannot really be answered by words, but by actions. I believe somewhere in all that is the reason we have been able to build a successful Property Management business, primarily from referrals.
Early on in my real estate career a colleague who was retiring from a long and very successful career in this business gave me some very good advice. He said, “Jerry, it’s really quite simple. You take care of your business and your business will take care of you.” He was right. I have and IT has.
We are a “hands-on” Property Management Company. Recently, in my wife’s presence, I was responding to someone who was inquiring as to how I viewed my role as a property manager. In attempting to answer their question as succinctly as possible I just said that my objective was to treat every property I manage like it was my own to which my wife responded, “Let’s hope that’s really not true because you spend far more time on your owner’s properties than you do ours.”
Personal
My wife and I met and married in Nashville. After living in Europe for several years, we returned to middle Tennessee and I began a real estate practice, originally specializing in brokerage, then relocation services and in the last few years, the leasing and management of single family and condominium residential properties.
When we moved back to the U.S., we could have moved anywhere but we chose Nashville. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. I’ve been very blessed. It’s rare to be in the right place, at the right time, in the right business. In addition to that, the Nashville area has been a great place to rear our family and it has provided me with unlimited opportunities to serve some of the best people in the world.
If you were to ask me for one word that best describes who I am and how I try to live my life, it would be the word gratitude.
I live in a perpetual state of gratitude.
