Feature Story
Innovative Approach Helps RE/MAX Commericial Division Fly High in Southwest Florida
By Elizabeth W. Pearce

Michael J. Frye, CCIM, still smiles when he recalls opening Southwest Florida’s first RE/MAX franchise in 1985. “Some people thought that RE/MAX was a balloon company,” he said. “They didn’t even know that it was a real estate firm.” They do now.
Based in Fort Myers, RE/MAX Realty Group is one of the area’s most successful full-service real estate firms, with a reputation for attracting and retaining outstanding agents. It is also among the top franchises operating under the RE/MAX International banner. That’s saying a lot, considering the global network comprises approximately 100,000 commercial and residential agents who work from more than 5,000 offices in 56 countries and territories.
Unlike affiliates of other large corporations, RE/MAX is a franchise that combines the best of independent agencies and conventional real estate companies. In addition to providing the name recognition, referral opportunities and technological support of a major corporation, RE/MAX is one of the only firms to offer commercial agents free listings on the CCIMnet.com Web site. Despite the many benefits it provides, RE/MAX allows owners and agents the freedom to conduct business as they see fit, including marketing and advertising.
“Part of the reason RE/MAX attracts the best producers is because the associates are in business for themselves, but not by themselves,” said Frye. The idea is that by having a vested interest in marketing their listed properties, agents will be more motivated to live up to the name, RE/MAX, which is an acronym for “Real Estate Maximums.” It seems to be working.
As of September 30, Frye’s company closed more than $500 million in residential and commercial sales, placing it among the top 25 RE/MAX offices worldwide. In Florida, its record is even more impressive. Based on 2003 closed transactions, RE/MAX Realty Group ranked second overall out of almost 200 statewide offices and more than 5,500 agents, while the firm’s commercial division ranked first in the state. Its residential division has been number one in closed listings in the Fort Myers Multiple Listing Service since 1989. This year, the Florida offices are expected to approach $25 billion in closed commercial and residential sales.
“RE/MAX Realty Group has definitely contributed to our success,” according to Don Hachenberger, regional owner of RE/MAX of Florida. “We have a lot of good offices in the state, but Michael’s would be on the A list of our most successful. In fact, he’s one of the premier owner-operators in the entire RE/MAX International system.”
When Hachenberger originally bought the rights to Florida from RE/MAX International in 1984, there were only eight offices and 57 salespeople in the state. “Our first year here we did $69 million worth of business, so we were very much a struggling entity, begging for people’s attention to understand why RE/MAX was such a wonderful program,” said Hachenberger. The following year, Frye, along with his brother, David, and their father, Earl, opened the area’s first RE/MAX office in Naples. (Although the operation later relocated to Fort Myers, and Earl and David Frye are no longer affiliated with RE/MAX, the trio continues to work together on real estate deals.)
“They were way ahead of the curve in understanding the RE/MAX concept,” said Hachenberger. “And even though he was only in his mid-20s at the time, Michael was very much a visionary. He’s a team player, a strong leader and a contributor. He exemplifies what a successful RE/MAX franchisee should be.”
Under Frye’s direction, the firm has grown over the years to include 120 commercial and residential agents, in-house title and mortgage companies, and three Fort Myers locations. In addition to its 12,000sf headquarters in the 7910 Building on Cypress Lake Drive, the company occupies 5,000sf in the Seatech Center on U.S. 41 in south Lee County, and recently announced it is doubling its space for its commercial division to 6,000sf in the Busey Bank building on Summerlin Road, where Frye serves on the bank’s board.
A total of 22 agents work in the commercial division, arguably the area’s largest and considered to be one of the best. On average, the group’s commercial agents have been in the business for 17 years. “That’s a pretty impressive number,” said Frye. “I think if you take the career span of the average Realtor, it’s probably fewer than three years.”
Further, five of the firm’s agents have earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation and four are CCIM candidates. “I don’t think there’s another local company that has as many,” he said. “It’s the Ph.D. of commercial real estate,” due to the rigorous certification process requiring more than 200 classroom hours and extensive field experience.
Designations aside, RE/MAX Realty Group’s commercial division is filled with talented producers who not only close some of the biggest sales in town, but also lease, manage and market all types of commercial and investment real estate. Dan Miller leads the achievers in Fort Myers and is fifth in the entire RE/MAX system, having closed $33 million in sales year-to-date through September. Miller is also in the Hall of Fame Club, which recognizes agents who have earned more than $1 million in commissions during their RE/MAX career.
“Typically, that takes a few years. Dan did it in just one year,” said Frye. “What’s also interesting to note is that he has achieved such a huge sales volume as an individual, not as part of a team, and with virtually no outside assistance.”
Another point of interest is that many RE/MAX commercial agents are property owners as well as brokers. Broker Lou Pettingill, for example, specializes in income-producing properties, and handles leasing and management for numerous RE/MAX clients. As of 1998, he has also been one of the owners of the Bridge Plaza in Fort Myers, across from The Landings. Since renovating and expanding the plaza in recent years, he has had little problem keeping it leased to the types of businesses that make it one of the area’s most successful neighborhood centers.
“As a broker, I came from another agency and could have gone off on my own,” said Pettingill, who was a builder and developer in Connecticut before moving to Southwest Florida in 1992. “But with RE/MAX, I have the benefits of camaraderie and yet I can remain independent. Most of the other firms dictate the types of jobs an agent can pursue, but here, I can do it all.”
Broker Ryan Leffler is another accomplished RE/MAX agent who applauds Frye and the RE/MAX system for being flexible and supportive. As a specialist in sales, leasing and property management, Leffler has worked on all types of commercial transactions and properties, including apartment complexes.
One of his most prominent transactions occurred last year when he represented the buyer of The Renaissance in Fort Myers. Built in 1981, the 100,500sf mall-turned-office complex sold for $4.5 million. “That’s about $45 per square foot. On College Parkway, that’s unheard of,” said Leffler.
Since negotiating the bargain buy, Leffler has continued to manage and lease the property, which is 97% occupied. He has also been busy renovating the building and preparing for the departure of International College, the building’s largest tenant. Soon to be renamed “The Atrium,” the well-known property is being updated to reflect its use as a professional office building.
With contracts pending into 2005, Leffler is looking forward to continued success with RE/MAX. As of October, his sales were up 35% over 2003, and by year’s end he expects to close on $12 million in commercial sales, ranging from multi-family and multi-tenant office to undeveloped land.
Meanwhile, Frye is actively marketing a 64-acre parcel, priced at $21 million, at the northeast corner of Alico Road and U.S. 41 in south Fort Myers, an area he’s predicting will be “a real epicenter of commercial development.” Nearby, he closed on the sale of 136 acres on Estero Parkway for $6.5 million. The parcel is now being developed by Levitt Homes as The Cascades, a neighborhood of single-family homes. Also, across the street, he sold a 36-acre commercial parcel for $5 million. Purchased by fellow Realtors on behalf of investors, the site is planned for development as a high-end retail center.
 

The commercial division of RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers specializes in all facets of commercial real estate.
Michael J. Frye, CCIM/Owner
Frank Szelest, CCIM/G.M.
George W. Sayers, Broker
Bob Brown
Mark Connell Jerry Ericksen
Dara Goren
Mike Komar Eric Lahaie
Ryan Leffler
Walter Leffler
Alec Luta
Stephen Luta, CCIM
Jim McMenamy Gerard Marino
Dan Miller Deborah Murray
Tom Pepitone
Lou Pettingill
Phil Reasoner
Mark Starnes
Brad Welborn, CCIM
Randy Zavada
Barb Fulton

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