Choosing a real estate agent when buying or selling a home can be difficult. But, what if you could get two agents working for you instead of one — and they are both locals of almost 20 years, who have lived, worked and raised a family in this growing and changing community?
Jessica and Joel Provenzano are Realtors® licensed in Florida and they work together at Florida Executive Realty (FER)’s Tampa Palms office. FER, founded in 1992 at the former Tampa Palms Welcome Center (off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. on Amberly Dr.) by Doug Loyd and John Zielenbach, has now expanded to more than 100 agents in six offices across the Tampa Bay area, including Brandon and Lithia.
“Jess and I are a team on every deal and for every client,” explains Joel. “We’ve been married for 18 years and found very early on that we actually work pretty well together, not just relationship-wise, but in professional settings, too.”
“Our different skill sets complement each other,” Jessica adds. “I work more on communication and contracts and Joel does more research and is more hands-on with things like inspection reports and technical issues. But, we always work as a team for all of our clients.”
The Provenzanos have been together since they were high school sweethearts who met as teens in Estero, FL. While dating, they worked at the same seafood restaurant, with Jessica working in the front of the house and Joel working in the kitchen. Despite their different roles, they found themselves constantly communicating on how to improve the service and flow of the restaurant.
They moved to Tampa by 2004, got married and bought their first — and current — home in Wesley Chapel in 2005. While Jessica worked for several companies in sales and marketing and Joel worked as an engineer for 22 years, they still found ways to work together. For four years, they both worked at a local design and construction company, American Consulting Engineers (now American Consulting Professionals). They also volunteered together at Lifepoint Church in New Tampa, mostly in the kids and student ministry.
About a year and a half ago, Jessica was the first to get started in real estate. She says she always had a strong interest in real estate because, as a child, she moved 18 times, due to her father’s job at Lowe’s, as he helped the home improvement warehouse’s underperforming stores. Thus, she became very familiar with both the moving process and financial challenges, such as dealing with multiple mortgages, which can happen when families move from home to home.
Joel initially began working with Jessica only on weekends and after hours, but decided to leave engineering to work with his wife full-time in May. His transportation and land development engineering background, both for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and as a private consultant, gives him tremendous insight into, and the ability to research, new construction, roads, permitting, inspection reports, damage mitigation due to the Florida elements and more He also provides research for this publication.
“We are more than happy to take buyers to the construction sites and describe the stages of construction or map out how an empty lot will be transformed when construction is complete,” Joel says.
Now that they’re a team again, the Provenzanos are putting their work and life experiences to good use — helping prospective buyers find their dream homes and getting sellers the best offers in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas and beyond.
Ashley Sullivan shares her experience buying her first home with Jessica and Joel.
“I had the pleasure of working with Jessica and Joel Provenzano when purchasing my first home,” says Ashley. “(I was) new to the area and they were the perfect fit to help me find my dream home. Not only did they give me a good feel for the different neighborhoods, they also told me all about the area. Putting in an offer was incredibly smooth and I felt supported all along the way. Even with some bumps in the road, they handled everything quickly and professionally. They really made sure I wasn’t left in the dark. I honestly don’t think I could’ve found a better realty team.”
Another client, Sam Benoit, says, “Jess and Joel were extremely helpful and detailed in every way. They were available anytime we had questions and made the process painless. It was more about finding the right place for us rather than making a sale for them. I would recommend them to anyone looking to purchase.”
The Provenzanos are uniquely positioned to help buyers and sellers in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and the surrounding areas. They were in their 20s with a tight budget when they bought their home in the Meadow Pointe II neighborhood in Wesley Chapel. They bought during a housing boom, which quickly became a recession. This taught them about home loans, refinancing and how to negotiate with lenders.
With two daughters, Kayla, 13, and Lily, 12, and changing jobs and careers, they understand financial planning for the uncertainties in life. Their involvement with their girls’ schools, their church and the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce gives them awareness of the local community and helps them find business partners for inspections, appraisals and more.
Jessica & Joel’s Tips For Prospective Buyers:
• New construction has become extremely competitive, so this is one of the best times to buy a new construction home. In some cases, newly constructed houses can be more affordable than existing homes, even in the same communities. You will get better energy efficiency and upgraded finishes are basically standard now.
• For many new communities, the builder’s lender has many incentives to keep their construction momentum going — more cash towards closing, interest rate buydowns and matching or beating rates from private lenders. Buyers should always work with a Realtor, especially with new construction, to get competitive loan offers.
• Lenders crunch your numbers before offering loans, but that doesn’t always mean that their terms are comfortably within your means. While predatory lending practices have declined in recent years, it is important to have an honest conversation with a Realtor to make sure you get loans with terms that are flexible enough to fit within your budget.
Tips for Prospective Sellers:
• Our best advice for sellers is that the property must be priced correctly from the beginning. If it’s even slightly too high, it can lose momentum in this competitive market. You can always get more money for a property by getting the price right from Day One.
• A knowledgeable Realtor will help you price your home for sale by performing market comparisons, also known as “comparables.” The Realtor will check on recently sold properties as well as properties currently for sale and how long they have been on the market. Then the Realtor can price the property appropriately to stand out among the rest.
• Good photography makes a big difference. We do most of our real estate photography ourselves. We work with sellers to declutter and stage each room to look as appealing as possible to potential buyers. Unnecessary items can completely distract from the room being shown.
Jessica & Joel Provenzano are with Florida Executive Realty (15802 Amberly Dr., Tampa Palms). Call or text (813) 956-4093, visit JProvenzano.FloridaExecutiveRealty.com for a free consultation today.
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