Gotcha Covered — When It Comes To Windows, The Name Literally Says It All! 

Franchise owner Khaled Alhamzawi is a long-time New Tampa resident who brings his Gotcha Covered of Central Tampa showroom to your home. (Photo by Charmaine George) 

Local franchise owner says most people who call his Gotcha Covered of Central Tampa franchise say they’re looking for blinds for their homes. But, many are surprised to discover that blinds are actually not what they really wanted, as there’s actually a whole array of window coverings available from Gotcha Covered that have so much more to offer. 

“Before I became a Gotcha Covered franchise owner, I didn’t know how many options there were,” Khaled admits. “But the options are unlimited.” 

While custom blinds come in many varieties — from aluminum to vinyl to wood and much more — are cordless and can be motorized, people sometimes find what they really want are custom shades or even shutters, both of which also are available in a wide variety of options. 

“Usually people are looking at style, functionality and price,” Khaled says. “It’s always about finding what the customer is looking for.” 

Khaled launched his Gotcha Covered franchise six months ago. The company has been franchising since 2009 and currently has more than 170 locations in the United States and Canada, including 28 in Florida. 

Although his franchise is labeled “Central Tampa,” Khaled is able to serve clients anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, including all of our readers in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

He has worked in leadership at a national corporation for more than a decade, but says he wanted to move in a new direction for his family’s future. 

“In the corporate world, we’re constantly being asked to do more with less,” he says, sharing one difficult time when his company let go of 2,500 employees. He says that also made his job feel less secure. 

“I wanted to change my career,” he says, “and choose something to build for myself.” 

For Khaled, who migrated to the U.S. from Syria 24 years ago, owning his own business feels like the fulfillment of the American dream. He and his wife have three boys — ages 16, 12, and 11 — and have lived in Tampa Palms for the last 12 years. 

Khaled says he enjoys remodeling and has done renovation projects on property that he owns, so when he learned about Gotcha Covered, it seemed like a good fit. 

Before launching his business, Khaled completed extensive training to ensure he was fully equipped to help all customers – residential and commercial – with all of their window covering needs. 

In addition to training from Gotcha Covered, the vendors he uses require that he completes courses to become certified to sell their products. 

For larger projects or those that require a special touch, Khaled says he will collaborate with interior designers. 

Gotcha Covered’s custom window treatments include blinds, shades, shutters, draperies and curtains. 

“Our window treatments are custom-made, so they’re not something you’re buying off the shelf from a retail store,” Khaled says. “They fit the style of your home and are made specifically for that window in that home.” 

Customer Rama Al Ghannam offered this 5-star review on Google: “I consulted with Gotcha Covered of Central Tampa for drapes in my formal living and dining spaces. I am very pleased with the results and the experience was seamless, beginning to end. Great customer service and high quality products! I will be using them again to install shades in my guest bedroom!” 

Today’s Big Trends 

Meanwhile, Khaled explains that automation is something that’s big in window treatments these days. Customers can control their shades using Alexa, Google Home, or even their smartphones. 

“Programming your window coverings is trendy in this day and age,” he says. “People are looking for ‘smart’ everything.” 

For example, he says, if you have a window where you get a lot of sun throughout the day and it gets too warm, you can put up a shade and program it to cover the window just for the times when the sun is beating down, having it automatically roll out of sight in the evening so you can enjoy the view. 

This helps keep the room cool and allows families to avoid overtaxing their air conditioning units and save on their electricity bills. 

An option Khaled says not many people know about is a dual shade with a roller that actually includes two shades – one to protect from the sun and one for design. You can have them both up or both down, or one up and one down, or vice versa. 

Gotcha Covered offers curtains and drapes, too. “Shades are trendy now” Khaled says, “but people often do side panels, rather than full draperies.” 

He says shutters are very common in Florida because they last many years and don’t go out of style. 

“They become part of the structure of the home and can last 10, 15 or even 20 years,” he says. 

Also popular are outdoor motorized screens for those patio areas that aren’t enclosed by a pool cage. Motorized screens go in tracks that allow families to enjoy their outdoor spaces while blocking some heat and intense light, while also limiting bugs, debris from trees and dirt. 

He says these screens are especially popular not just with families, but also at restaurants with outdoor seating areas. 

For anyone interested in learning more about products and options or what Gotcha Covered could customize for in your home or business, Khaled offers a complimentary in-home consultation. 

“We bring the showroom to you,” he says. “That is an advantage over visiting a store. You want to look at the fabric and colors in your home so you can see if they match your furniture or paint.” 

Once you’ve selected the perfect products to meet your needs and fit your budget, everything is measured, ordered and then installed, usually just two to three weeks later, by expert installers who ensure a perfect, custom fit and can help with any smart options. 

“I enjoy working with people, explaining the different options that are available, giving them design tips, and explaining how to choose the right product for them,” Khaled says. “I’ve found it to be a very rewarding experience making homes nicer and more beautiful.” 

Ricc Rollins, the owner of Riccardo’s Menswear, recently opened a new store in West Tampa. 

“Gotcha Covered came in and assessed what we needed,” says Ricc. “I was very pleased that Khaled worked within our budget and was not trying to upsell us.” 

Ricc explains that he had a list of wants and Gotcha Covered met all of them. 

“We needed our window coverings to be energy efficient, in a color that was fashionable but not take away from the aesthetic of the historic building we’re in, and cost effective [for someone] opening a new business,” says Ricc. “Khaled checked all the boxes. He lives up to his name. He made sure all my bases were covered.” 

Gotcha Covered offers a free in-home consultation. For more info call (813) 787-5550 or schedule an appointment online at GotchaCovered.com/Central-Tampa.

The Law Office Of Elizabeth Devolder For Quality Estate Planning With Heart 

(Above, l.-r.) Attorney Elizabeth Devolder, case manager Camelia Howard and attorney Rachael Alexander make up the team you’ll have on your side if you choose the Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in Tampa Palms. (Photos by Charmaine George)

When Dwan Klein’s dear friend of 37 years called to say her checks were suddenly bouncing, Dwan immediately knew something was wrong. 

Her friend, now 86, had been widowed for many years, had no family, and had signed documents appointing Dwan and her husband as her caregivers if she were to become incapacitated. 

Dwan had no idea that day was so close. 

Dwan’s husband, an accountant, realized someone was stealing from their friend. They were able to determine it was an online scammer, but Dwan’s friend didn’t believe it. She refused to close her accounts to stop the perpetrator. 

At an absolute loss of what to do, Dwan turned to attorney Elizabeth Devolder of The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center, just off the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. exit of I-75. 

“It was the best thing we could have done,” Dwan says. “Elizabeth understood immediately what our issues were, and gave us direction on what do to, and how to do it.” 

Elizabeth says her firm is seeing many instances of such financial exploitation. In addition to this example, she has seen elderly people who have left their financial and medical decisions to some unexpected people, including a dog trainer, someone who painted a person’s car and even a taxi driver. 

“Sometimes, people don’t know who to trust,” Elizabeth says. “Sometimes, their families live far away and aren’t able to be on site, but there’s a neighbor or a person from church who offers to help. We often don’t know those people’s bad intentions until much later.” 

Elizabeth and her team have the legal expertise to help people understand and think through their options when it comes to establishing caregiving and financial responsibility, should they become incapacitated. 

“People come into my office to set up a will and they aren’t thinking about the kinds of decisions that might need to be made if they become ill and can’t make them [for themselves] anymore,” she says. “They have this idea in their mind that, in the future, they will either be dead or perfectly fine. They don’t anticipate incapacity.” 

Elizabeth established The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in 2021, five years after she earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree from the Tampa campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Riverview in 2016, following a successful career in advertising and sales management. She had previously earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston, SC, in 1997. For five years, Elizabeth worked jointly with her ex-husband Bryan Devolder at their Devolder Law Firm. 

The newer firm’s associate attorney Rachael Alexander was previously a case manager, working closely with Elizabeth and helping her found the firm while going to law school herself. The team also includes case manager Camelia Howard. 

Elizabeth says there are ways to set up your documents to ensure a system of checks and balances, so that no one person has total control and there’s always someone looking out for your best interests, even if it’s not your primary caregiver. 

She emphasizes that this is why setting up an estate plan with an attorney is so important, and that online documents from a website don’t give you personalized, customized advice from an expert who takes your individual circumstances into account. 

There’s another benefit to hiring an attorney, too. The attorney who prepares and signs your documents can testify to your capacity and intentions in court if that becomes necessary. 

Dwan and her husband were grateful for Elizabeth’s immediate action to help their friend. They ended up going to court, where three separate experts evaluated their friend and determined that she was unable to make good decisions for herself. Her paperwork was crystal clear about who she wanted to make decisions on her behalf if that were to happen. 

The court gave Dwan the authority to close the accounts that were being attacked and protect her friend’s assets. By the time they were able to do that, the scammer already had taken $150,000 from their friend. 

“When we met Elizabeth, we knew immediately that she was the right person to help us,” Dwan says. “She knew exactly what we needed to do.” Dwan adds that she is grateful that Elizabeth helped her to ensure her friend’s assets could no longer be stolen. 

“We talk regularly, and we ensure that all of her needs are met,” says Dwan. “It was very difficult, and very hard to see her unable to accept the fact that she was being taken advantage of, but the judge was so kind and actually said, ‘I wish I had a friend like you.’” 

Elizabeth says this is a perfect example of how one situation is very different from another. Not everyone has a friend who would take such good care of them and manage their finances in their best interest. In those cases, when a person has no family present, there are professionals who can manage these decisions for them. 

Sometimes, though, a professional isn’t needed. Remember the dog trainer, taxi driver, and car painter who were given control over someone’s entire estate? One of those actually had no bad intentions at all. 

In fact, Elizabeth says the person who asked her taxi driver to care for her had no family. She had formed a bond with the lady who drove her to all of her appointments. That taxi driver ended up caring for her for the rest of her life, ensuring she had all she needed, and looking out for her best interests. 

“Every family and every person’s situation is different,” she says. “The important thing an attorney can do is help to create a system that avoids the potential for abuse, and can provide testimony about your capacity when you signed the documents.” 

Elizabeth says for her clients, she is willing to take the time to be incredibly detailed, as long as that’s what the client wants. She tells of visiting a client in the hospital who was refusing to eat and the client’s nurses were frustrated. Elizabeth glanced at the papers she had brought with her. 

“I told the nurses his favorite treat was ice cream, and they looked at me like I was a genius,” Elizabeth laughs. “You can have sufficient documents that don’t go into that level of detail, but with it, you can provide direction for how to provide better care for you.” 

Elizabeth also specializes in valuating and managing collections of art or other tangible personal property, such as gun or coin collections, or antiques. 

“It may require calling in a special appraiser who is familiar with that type of collection, because 1980s rock posters are very different than a collection of china,” Elizabeth says. “Our goal is to maximize the value of the collection, which takes some effort, and the person who is best at knowing how to maximize the value is the one who collected it.” 

Elizabeth says she and her team offer their clients experience, knowledge and care that may be hard to find, especially as the market grows and many attorneys offer estate planning. 

“In addition to eight years of experience doing estate planning here in our area, we live and work in Tampa, and we work together to answer our own calls in our own office,” she says. “We’re not working out of a coworking space or having a virtual assistant in another country answering our phones. My clients want to walk in and see the person they spoke to on the phone, and meet my staff, who is then also able to testify about you if necessary. Those details are important to look for when hiring an estate planning attorney.” 

The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder is located at 5383 Primrose Lake Cir., Suite C, in the Tampa Palms Professional Center. It is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (813) 319-4550 or visit ElizabethDevolder.com.

Blue Heron Senior Living Gets Ready To Expand Skilled Nursing Department 

(L.-r.) Executive Director Meagan Kopstad, Director of Admissions Melissa McDaniel, Community Relations Director Lilly Gonzalez and Assisted Living Administrator Courtney Dyer of Blue Heron Senior Living off Bruce B Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel invite you to check out the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel area’s only assisted living facility that also offers skilled rehab, long-term care & memory care. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Blue Heron Senior Living, located on Eagleston Blvd. off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Seven Oaks (near the new BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital) is home to four distinct lifestyle communities. 

Community relations director Lilly Gonzalez explains, “We are the only community in the Wesley Chapel or New Tampa area that combines assisted living with memory care, skilled rehab and long-term care, all on one campus.” 

This allows people to move between areas as needed — whether that means aging in place in a move from an active assisted living lifestyle to memory care or long-term care, or moving from rehab back to home in assisted living. 

Blue Heron’s campus also is expanding, as a long-awaited new wing was supposed to be unveiled at a Grand Opening ceremony this Thursday, but has been postponed due to Hurricane Milton. We will post the rescheduled date on here as soon as it’s announced.

The expansion will add 35 skilled nursing rooms to its existing 106 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 141. Each room is private to accommodate one person who is either in long-term care (meaning they need more medical assistance than can be provided in the assisted living facility) or for rehabilitation, which is when someone needs care after leaving the hospital but before returning home. 

Edward Ley recently had hip replacement surgery and needed physical therapy before he could return to his home in Lutz. He chose Blue Heron for his rehab care. 

“The stay here has been far more than I ever expected,” Edward said. “The facility is great, but the rehab also has been really, really good.” 

He says he’s been so impressed with the quality of care he’s received that, once he’s released to return home and recover with in-home care, he plans to return for outpatient physical therapy. 

“I like these people,” he says. “They’re good at what they do.” 

Edward says his occupational and physical therapists recognized his love for golf and have worked with him on the facility’s putting green, making the therapy more fun and personal for him. He says his therapist sometimes even picks him up from his room with a cup of coffee for him in hand. 

Executive Director Meagan Kopstad says that with the growth in the area and a third hospital being added in Wesley Chapel (Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch), the need for rehab facilities and long-term care beds is significant. Meagan says she is excited for the new wing to open to accommodate more people who need those facilities. 

She’s also happy to have a new partner on board who is able to give additional attention to the assisted living side of the campus. 

In May, Assistant Living Administrator Courtney Dyer joined the team, bringing about 15 years of experience to the community. She was most recently the regional director of operations for a much larger company. 

Courtney says that what drew her to want to work at Blue Heron is the company’s care for people, both its residents and staff. 

“Our care is above and beyond a typical assistant living facility,” she says. “Our staffing ratios are way better than normal, and the quality of people and their length of employment is well above what’s typical.” 

Amenities & Activities 

Blue Heron’s assisted living community includes about 100 residents in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments (with no buy-in required). Some of the units have balconies that overlook a courtyard and pond, offering beautiful views. 

The main dining area serves up to three chef-prepared restaurant-style meals a day to residents. There is a resident exercise room, on-site salon for hair and nail appointments, community games such as BINGO and Bunko, live music, movies in the cinema and transportation provided to go to the local grocery store or to doctor appointments. 

What’s inside the building housing the new skilled nursing expansion at Blue Heron will be unveiled at an open-to-the-public event. 

The bustling activities are resident Beverly Fleming’s favorite thing about living at Blue Heron. “It’s where the action is,” Beverly says, “and it keeps me busy.” 

Beverly also says she enjoys playing games and being part of Blue Heron’s resident council, which chooses what activities will be offered for weekly outings. These outings could be shopping, a meal in a restaurant, or to go see a play. The group visited a winery recently, and loved it so much that they plan to go back. Beverly also got to attend her first Major League Baseball game — to see the Tampa Bay Rays play — and tried to take in the whole experience, including eating hot dogs in the stadium. 

Beverly says new experiences that might feel overwhelming are more comfortable with the Blue Heron staff who take them on these trips. 

“The people who drive us aren’t just drivers,” Beverly says. “If someone has trouble figuring out a tip or needs help ordering off a menu, they are there to help, and I’m so thankful for them.” 

Beverly also serves as a resident ambassador, helping to welcome a new resident to the community, giving them a tour of the building and sitting with them at meals until they get comfortable in their new home. 

“We have staff who help with that transition, of course,” Lilly notes, “but it’s nice to have a peer helper from a different perspective.” 

For Blue Heron residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, the community offers a separated, secured, but intimate Memory Care community, which allows those residents to thrive and not be overwhelmed. Offering a smaller home-like environment also ensures these residents receive the personalized attention and programming they deserve. 

The Memory Care community provides a supervised neighborhood for residents, while also allowing them to maintain some independence. 

For those who already live at Blue Heron, if skilled nursing or long-term care is needed, the transition to that care is seamless. It allows a husband or wife to visit their spouse with just a walk down the hallway when that spouse is in need of additional care — no need for transportation or spending long hours in an unfamiliar facility. 

For residents such as Beverly, Blue Heron is a place of joy that keeps her active and fulfilled. 

“This is a beautiful place, a lovely place to be,” she says, “and they really do take good care of you.” 

Blue Heron Senior Living is located at 5071 Eagleston Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, and its hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the weekends. For more information, call (813) 454-0513 or visit SeniorLivingAtBlueHeron.com. 

Lori Kalaaukahi Of Aloha Nui Counseling Provides Therapy With An ‘Aloha Spirit’ 

Licensed Clinical Social Worker Lori Kalaaukahi-Boone specializes in mental health therapy for teens, adults & couples. Her office is in Zephyrhills, but she also offers Telehealth appointments. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

In 2011, Lori Kalaaukahi-Boone was ready to get off the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where she was born, had been raised and lived her whole life. 

She had been working as a medical assistant and a nurse’s aide, and was struggling with mental health issues. She wanted to explore the world, so she did something unconventional for a single mom in her mid-30s. 

Lori enlisted in the Army. 

“At 34, I just barely made the age cutoff,” she says. “Growing up on a small island can become claustrophobic, and I felt like I was going in circles.” 

She asked her parents to care for her two kids, Tihani (then 17) and Ramsay (then 7), and she headed out to boot camp at Fort Jackson, SC. She found herself in basic training with kids just barely older than her older daughter back home, taking orders from people much younger than she was. 

After serving four years in the Army, she was living in Tennessee and was able to use GI Bill benefits to earn both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. 

At first, she thought she would be a nurse, but she was struggling in the program. Then, a friend who was a social worker told her about his job. 

“It just resonated with me, and I knew this is what I needed to do,” she says. “When I changed my program, everything started flowing naturally, and I knew I was supposed to be a therapist.” 

She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in 2018 and her Master’s in 2020. Now, she is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), which means she is qualified to provide services independently. 

When she first came to Florida, Lori worked with an agency in Clearwater providing community mental health. She helped people who were homeless and struggling with addiction, as well as many other issues. 

But now, this Wesley Chapel resident is tackling her dream of having her own practice, which she opened in Zephyrhills in July 2023. She provides teens, adults and couples with mental health care via virtual and in-office appointments. 

She says she named her practice Aloha Nui Counseling Services to embrace her Hawaiian heritage, and what is important to her in her relationships with her clients. 

“‘Aloha nui’ means ‘Take good care,’ or ‘Lots of love,’” she says. “It’s basically our version of southern hospitality.” 

She says it’s important to her that she incorporates that spirit with all of her clients. 

“In my culture, we’re brought up to help others, love others and care for others,” Lori says. “I wanted to implement that here in my practice.” 

EMDR Therapy 

Lori says that, as a former soldier herself, she is especially passionate about helping those who have experienced any kind of trauma to process their issues and heal. 

One way she does this is a specialized trauma therapy called EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing. 

Lori explains that EMDR is a well-known modality that uses eye movements to help people process trauma in a healthy way. 

“It helps your brain to process the images in your head in a healthy manner so it doesn’t get stuck,” she says. “It’s almost like how eating too much food can cause it to get stuck, and we start choking. images can get stuck in our brains, too.” 

She says EMDR puts a patient into a similar state to REM (rapid eye movement, a state of deep sleep) and she installs positive cognitions to help her patients process their trauma. 

“Once it’s completed,” she says, “you still have these images, but it’s no longer accompanied by heavy emotions.” 

Lori has completed 60 hours of training to be qualified to practice this modality. She also has used it under supervision to complete her training so she is well qualified to help those who need to work through traumatic issues and find healing from those difficult events or times of their lives. 

Lori definitely also has a heart for those who have served in the military, as not only a veteran herself, but also as the daughter of a veteran, and now the spouse of a veteran, too. 

When Lori was stationed and living in Tennessee, her parents loved to visit her there. She says it was her father who inspired her to join the Army. She knew it would “knock his socks off” for her to join, after his own 36-year military career. With the low prices relative to the cost of living in Hawaii, and the southern hospitality that reminded them of home, they relocated to Tennessee. 

Lori’s husband Barry Boone is retired from the Army and brought the family to Florida to work as a military recruiter. Tihani now lives in Hawaii, where she is married with four daughters. She is a nurse who earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2020, the same year her mom got her Master’s. 

Ramsay still lives with Lori’s parents in Tennessee and is in school to become a fashion designer, and her 12-year-old daughter Teveah is home-schooled. Barry has three adult children of his own, as well. 

With all of her experience raising children, as a single mom and as part of a blended family, she feels she has no problem relating to adolescents and understands what they’re going through. 

She encourages teenagers who are struggling or parents who see their children suffering from mental health issues to reach out to her. 

“It’s okay to not be okay,” Lori says. “Mental health is not something to be afraid of. Let’s normalize mental issues in the same way medical issues are normalized.” 

Aloha Nui Counseling offers a free initial consultation. While Lori is happy to see patients in person at her office in Zephyrhills, she also offers Telehealth appointments for anyone who prefers to meet that way. 

She works with clients who have insurance to pay the cost of counseling and those who self-pay. 

Bonita Ashe, a colleague of Lori’s who is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, says the following about Lori, which was published on Lori’s profile at PsychologyToday.com. 

“Lori has an authentic style and warm demeanor and she will immediately calm an anxious spirit,” Bonita says. “If you need a kind and compassionate therapist, your search ends here. Lori is EMDR trained and a therapist I would trust with any client.” 

To schedule a free consultation, call Lori at (808) 342-1042, email her at LLorik808@ gmail.com, or visit AlohaNuiService.com. Aloha Nui Counseling is located at 5344 9th St., Suite 105, in downtown Zephyrhills, and appointments are offered in person or via Telehealth. 

Tampa Bay Home Team Helps Sellers & Buyers With Discounted Commissions 

Joe & Christina Kipping say they rare proud to run their Tampa Bay Home Team real estate office on Cypress Ridge Blvd. like a family, but here they are with their actual family. (Photos provided by Joe Kipping)

Joe Kipping loves his family and he also loves to be a coach. A former high school and college football player himself, he now coaches football for his sons, Joey, 10, and Jaxson, 9. 

But, Joe spends most of his time coaching clients in his role as a real estate agent and broker, and cultivating a business that feels more like a family than a corporation. 

He and his wife, Christina, who also is a real estate agent, own Tampa Bay Home Team. 

Joe started in the industry in 2003. 

“I was doing mortgages, but I didn’t want to be strapped behind a desk,” he says. From his vantage point, he met real estate agents who weren’t serving their clients well. “I can do this better,” he thought, so he pursued a real estate license. 

He started selling homes in 2007, then established the company that would become Tampa Bay Home Team in 2009. After 10 years under the Keller Williams umbrella, Tampa Bay Home Team is now part of eXp Realty. 

“We made the switch to eXp Realty because it offers greater opportunities for Realtors through revenue sharing and stock ownership,” Joe explains, adding that eXp Realty has an innovative model that allows agents to build wealth for retirement during their careers. 

In 2014, Christina was let go from a corporate job in finance and joined Joe in the business. 

And in 2021, Joe’s career came full circle when he opened a mortgage business, called Motto Mortgage Home Team, a local franchise of a Denver-based company that has more than 225 offices in 40 states. 

The office for both companies is located in Wesley Chapel, on Cypress Ridge Blvd. near AdventHealth Center Ice. It includes five more agents, all of whom have been at the company for several years. 

“We’re family oriented,” says Christina. “We’re a small business, and we really do treat clients as family, and our employees would say the same thing.” 

Joe and Christina are native to the Tampa Bay area and moved to Wesley Chapel almost 15 years ago. In addition to Joey and Jaxon, Joe and Christina also have two daughters. Taylor, who is 14 and six-year-old Natalie. 

“I love to educate people,” Joe says, “whether they’re buying now or 10 years from now. I’m a coach at heart. If they buy 10 years from now, I want to be the guy who has been there the whole time, educating them along the way.” 

“We’re here to help people when the time is right,” Christina adds. 

Discounted Commissions 

Joe and Christina say they have stripped their commission fees “down to bare bones” and offer a menu system where buyers can pay as little as 1.5 percent. However, they say, most people choose the 2% option. 

They say that if someone doesn’t see value in a particular service, they shouldn’t have to pay for it. In other words, their options put the consumer in the driver seat. 

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Home Team’s clients say their lower commission rate doesn’t mean a lower level of service. 

When you list your home for sale with Tampa Bay Home Team, you can rest assured that outstanding photography will always be part of the deal. 

Eric Sanchez worked with Christina to sell his home in Meadow Pointe. He’s lived in Wesley Chapel for 18 years, but recently bought a home in Two Rivers. 

“I was under duress and had to make a quick sale,” he explains. “I was looking for a Realtor who was willing to take less commission and found Christina. It was truly a godsend.” 

Back in 2006, during the local real estate market crash, Eric had tried to sell in Temple Terrace by hiring a full-commission Realtor. That home never sold and he eventually lost it. He wanted to be sure he didn’t make that mistake again.

“(Christina and Joe) have a whole office working hard to sell my home,” Eric says. “They did everything from referring me to contractors who did an excellent job, to helping me pack. There was absolutely nothing the Home Team couldn’t handle for me.” 

Eric received an offer within two weeks and closed on the sale of his home less than four weeks from when it was listed. 

“A lot of things had to fall into place, and Christina handled everything to a ‘T,’” Eric says. “I got premium service — absolutely the full service of what you would expect from a Realtor’s office, with no corners cut – at a discounted rate. 

He says he and his wife, Carmen, speak of them highly every opportunity we get, and refer them to anyone they can. 

“They even have the post-sale saying,” explains Eric. “You’re family now. They have get-togethers and social events, and they invite us. It’s not a business feeling; it’s a family feeling. I don’t feel like a customer; I feel like a friend.” 

Joe and Christina say a couple of things their clients really appreciate include their partnership with Zillow to showcase the homes they market. 

Also, Tampa Bay Home Team has an in-house media department for photography and videography. When they used to outsource photography, pictures were snapped quickly in less than an hour, but now their staff can spend all day getting the perfect pictures to best showcase a home online. 

“Clients like it because they don’t feel rushed,” Christina explains. “This is a big step for them, putting their biggest asset on the market. They want someone to come in and care about it as much as they do.” 

They also say their background in the financial industry and mortgages also is a benefit to their clients. 

“A lot of agents are not trained on the mortgage side,” Joe says. “You want to make sure the person you’re hiring as a listing agent has the background knowledge to know what questions to ask the lender so there are no issues with the mortgage.” 

He says they’ve heard a lot of horror stories about deals that don’t close. “The worst thing is after you’ve made plans, you’re packed up and ready to move, and the deal dies,” he says. 

Guaranteed Offers, Too 

That’s one reason people are tempted by online companies that offer convenience and a sure thing, such as Open Door and Offerpad. But Joe says his company offers a better option. 

Tampa Bay Home Team will make a guaranteed cash offer on your home. 

“We have investors that will give full market value for homes,” Joe explains. “It’s a unique program that gets people a lot more money.” 

He says online companies typically offer about 80 percent of a home’s value. Recently, Joe says a seller got $30,000 more from Tampa Bay Home Team than they were offered from an online source. 

“If consumers go to Open Door or Offerpad, they are not being represented,” explains Joe. “Our fiduciary responsibility is to the client to represent their best interest. Those companies’ responsibility is to their shareholders.” 

He says the most important thing when buying or selling a home is to work with someone who has a track record of selling a lot of homes, with the experience and education to navigate the transaction. 

For example, Robert Holbert and his wife Carrie have 2-year-old twins and a 10-year-old. They are another client of The Home Team who recently moved to Wesley Chapel from New Tampa. They’re also repeat customers who first bought a house with Home Team in 2020. Then, The Home Team helped Robert’s parents move into the area in 2022. 

“Joe is super knowledgeable about the market and has done a great job of keeping the relationship with us,” Robert says. “It’s not just a deal, but he’s been someone we see around town, who has helped us with follow-up questions about schools and when we needed a recommendation to replace our A/C. He’s been available for us, not just for one transaction.” 

Tampa Bay Home Team is located at 2818 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Ste. 150. For more information about Tampa Bay Home Team, contact Joe and Christina at (813) 321-HOME (4663), email info@TampaBayHome.com or visit TampaBayHome.com. 

The professional real estate team at Tampa Bay Home Team also enjoys spending time together outside of work.Â