About Us
From Silver Dollars to Golden Opportunities
by David Greenberg
For Mitch Glaeser, the work at Glaeser Realty is all about passion. That’s why, after a long journey that took Glaeser through many other careers, he is once again doing what he likes to do best – buy and sell real estate.
Glaeser re-established Glaeser Realty a few months ago, bringing back a business that was first created in the 1960s by his parents Ralph and Joan. With a long history and much experience in real estate development, Glaeser Realty stands ready to, and is excited about, the prospect of providing its sales services to area builders.
The newly re-established firm brings with it a philosophy of fairness that Glaeser learned from his parents.
“The goal in every transaction is to have both the buyer and the seller walk away happy, and feeling like they got the best deal possible,” said Glaeser. “Anything short of that, and we feel like we did not do our job.”
Glaeser believes that there is only one way to deal with people.
“You must be honest and fair in any transaction,” he said. “That’s what Glaeser Realty represents. It’s all about passions, not the passion to get rich, but the passion to make dreams come true. That’s what being a real estate agent is all about.”
Glaeser’s passion for real estate comes from his father, and is best illustrated by a story he told at the ribbon-cutting ceremony
for the Glaeser Realty office.
Ralph and Joan Glaeser moved to Gainesville in 1955 after Ralph served in the Air Force. They lived in a small mobile home while Ralph went to the University of Florida. While attending UF, Ralph was employed as an officer with the University of Florida Police Department. Later, Ralph obtained his real estate broker’s license, and was trying to make enough of a living to raise a family that included four young sons.
“It was a struggle for him,” said Glaeser. “He had this silver dollar, and on weeks when he did not make enough to buy gas or groceries, he asked the store owner to hold it until he got paid. Then he paid the store owner for the gas or groceries, and the silver dollar was returned.”
Breaking the Cycle
Finally, said Glaeser, feeling like he had to break that cycle, his father decided to put the silver dollar in the donation box at St.
Patrick’s Catholic Church. He then prayed for a sign about what to do, ready to give up his real estate dream if he had to. That week, he made a major property sale, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Ralph Glaeser went on to develop and sell a significant amount of property in Alachua County.
“He developed more than 6,000 acres,” said Glaeser. “He was the broker on Haile Plantation. Many people in Alachua County are living on land developed by the Glaeser family. He did what he had to do to make it work for him and his clients. On more than one occasion, he took $100 down and $100 a month if the buyer was in need of some financial help.”
Ralph Glaeser always had a dream of retiring at age 55 because his parents died at a young age, and that’s just what he did. He
had a stroke at 61, but returned to college to get his degree, and later taught computer science at Santa Fe Community College. He retired for good at 70.
Mitch Glaeser jokes about how he showed his first property when he was six months old, and he was in his father’s arms. He certainly learned from both his parents at an early age about how to treat people honestly and fairly.
Glaeser’s rearing was a bit non-traditional with respect to family structure and size. He was born the fourth son, and prior to his first birthday, his family began welcoming foster children. The Glaeser family welcomed many special needs children, finally stopping after sharing their home with 81 of them. Only one, his sister, Theresa, was officially adopted, but Glaeser remains in touch with many of the others, who live all over the country.
If real estate equals riches, then Mitch Glaeser believes everyone has an opportunity. By sharing with his clients that passion
for real estate that he learned from his father, Glaeser enables all of us to have a piece of the gold or the riches of the American
dream.
Destined for a Career in Sales
Glaeser’s mom, Joan, said she knew early on that he was destined to be in sales.
“At seven, he took his red wagon to a neighbor and agreed to remove some out-of-control elephant ears for $1,” she said. “When the job was completed, he continued on to a creekside neighbor and sold them to her for $1 to be planted to eliminate soil erosion on the creek bank.”
But it wasn’t always about the sale for Glaeser. He began hoisting and lowering the American flag in grammar school, and
continued the practice through high school graduation. His mother says that of all his awards, he is most proud of the four he
received for school spirit while attending Gainesville High School.
He owned his first home at the age of 19, and as a real estate broker, he considers it one of his responsibilities to find ways for all to share the thrill of home ownership.
Glaeser’s career started early, and, for the most part, has been a series of successes. At 18, while still a college student, he was buying and selling real estate, but it took time and a series of other careers to discover that this was the field where his professional passion existed.
One of the first things he did outside of real estate was development, designing and building Collins Court – the first adult living facility in Gainesville specifically designed and built for elderly care. Looking for a different challenge after that, he designed and built Alluring Profiles, which at the time (the early 1980s), was one of the first day spas in the area.
In the late 1980s, he served as a legislative aide to David Flagg for two years during Flagg’s first term as a state representative. He later had an unsuccessful run for city commission in 1990, losing to now-Alachua County Commissioner Rodney Long, and in 1992 he lost in a bid to become supervisor of elections. Glaeser believes those two losses, especially the second one, may have done more for his career than all the successes.
“There was a field of six people, and I lost in a runoff to Bev Hill,” Glaeser said. By losing, it turned out that I won. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. The following day I got a phone call from (then- Gainesville Sun Publisher) John Fitzwater.”
The Sun was about to enter the phone book business, and Fitzwater asked Glaeser to join the sales force. After repeatedly turning him down, Glaeser finally agreed to try it for six months. He quickly moved up the ranks to sales manager, area sales manager and ultimately general manager of the New York Times Directory Division.
When the Times Company sold the phone book business after eight years, Glaeser stayed on for a short time, and then moved into sales and motivational training. Working with a variety of companies, and traveling the world, was a great learning experience. He still does some motivational speaking.
Another opportunity came for Glaeser, and this one allowed him to stay home. He established MEGAbook Yellow Pages in Gainesville, Ocala and Lake City, as well as three suburban books in the St. Louis area.
Quickly, MEGAbook became a strong contender in the crowded Yellow Pages market. MEGAbook’s impact even forced BellSouth to re-evaluate its position in the market. BellSouth’s mini-book is a direct response to some of the things Glaeser did while publishing MEGAbook.
After a few years, Glaeser had the opportunity to sell his Florida MEGAbooks to Hearst. He did that, but still publishes the St. Louis books. The sale gave Glaeser the opportunity to consider a number of options, and in the end, he returned to his passion. That led him to re-establish Glaeser Realty.
Returning to His Roots
“I was sought after by many local companies in the area of business development or community services,” he said. “But I saw this as an opportunity to go back to what I love. I saw it as an opportunity to carry on my family legacy.”
The firm offers professional, residential, commercial real estate sales and property management, and with its strong team has quickly established itself as a significant player in the market. The company started doing business in early December, and by the time Glaeser Realty held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late January at its southwest Gainesville office, it had already closed numerous transactions totaling more than $15 million in sales.
Judy Lee Jubien brings six years of experience as a licensed real estate sales agent. “She always has a positive attitude,” said
Glaeser. “She’s got tremendous energy, and is on the board of Stop Children’s Cancer. Like all of our agents, she feels it is important to give back to a community as much as she receives.”
Becky Bates has a lifetime of real estate. “Her upbringing is much like mine,” said Glaeser. “Her father was a top real estate producer, and owned his own company. His sales benchmarks were the top in the industry during his time. Like him, she is a natural sales person, and understands all facets of real estate. She is a master at tying the buyer’s needs and desires together with the right seller.”
Jennifer Bates is loved by everyone, said Glaeser. “She’s a real people person,” he said. “She’s extremely well organized, and is great at following through on something. She inspires me to make my office the best it can be. And if that’s not enough, she is very involved in community activities.”
Don Richardson has a solid foundation in real estate sales, and right now is providing referrals to Glaeser Realty.
Ray-Scott Miller came to Gainesville from Mississippi to go to school. Back home, his father is a very successful developer. While here in school, he was appointed by the city commission to one of its community advisory boards, and he created The Intern, a very successful program based on Donald Trump’s Apprentice, where a Santa Fe Community College student ends up serving as an intern for Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan.
“Ray-Scott has a wealth of knowledge in the commercial division, and has already sold more than $ 7 million of property in his first three months,” said Glaeser. “He’s based in Boca Raton, and covers the entire southeast United States for us.”
Rod Bryan is a lifelong Gainesville resident who many people know from his career at GRU. He specializes in rural real estate and land development. “He has a great personality,” said Glaeser. “He has a very confident nature, and he puts people at ease.”
Business Success Turns
into Community Involvement
Glaeser has been able to take advantage of his successful business career to indulge his other passion – his community involvement.
The list of Glaeser’s community activities is as long as that of his successful professional career. Some of the highlights are: Guardian ad Litem, where he served four years as president; service on the boards of the American Red Cross, Crime Stoppers and the Santa Fe Community College Minority Scholarship Fund. He has also been an active, long-time supporter of Junior Achievement, and serves on the board of the Leadership Gainesville Alumni Association.
Now, he is planning something that will tie both his passions together, and become an annual event – Glaeser Realty’s Springtime Celebration. Scheduled this year for Saturday, April 21, it is expected to include demonstrations of hybrid cars, the delivery of low-energy light bulbs, and the distribution of 3,000 Dogwood, Live Oak and Magnolia tree seedlings to the first 1,000 people in attendance.
“The idea is that since real estate developers sometimes have this undeserved reputation, we wanted to give something back,” Glaeser said. “We want people to take the trees home, and plant them.”
As if that isn’t enough, Glaeser has another community service gesture planned that is almost as big as the tree giveaway. Glaeser Realty purchased 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies from one local troop, and is giving them away. For Mitch Glaeser, it’s simply all about indulging his passions – whether that means he is helping a family fulfill the American dream, or putting a smile on the faces of a troop of Girl Scouts.
Featured in Building Edge, April 2007
Featured in Building Edge, April 2007
