The Shell Group Blog

If you're getting ready to sell a high-value home along the Gulf Coast, putting it on the MLS and waiting for buyers to find it may not be enough. Luxury properties often need a wider audience.

Through its new affiliation with Forbes Global Properties, Levin Rinke Realty can introduce qualifying luxury listings in Pensacola and other communities throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to buyers well beyond Northwest Florida. Our real estate agents combine their knowledge of the local market with the additional marketing opportunities available through this new alliance.

What Forbes Global Properties Brings to a Listing

Reaching Buyers Beyond the Gulf Coast

The buyer for a Pensacola luxury home may already live nearby, but they co...

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If you're thinking about buying a home in Pensacola, the lender you pick matters more than most people realize. The right one can save a deal. The wrong one can cost you the house.

So on the latest episode of The Shell Group Podcast, we sat down with someone I trust with my own clients: Jen, founder of Reliance Mortgage. She's been in the mortgage business since 1997, made it through the 2008 crash, and once closed $100 million in loans in a single year.

We covered a lot. Here's what I think every buyer should hear.

"Turned down" doesn't always mean "no"

Jen told us she regularly closes loans that another lender already declined. Often the first lender just didn't have the experience or didn't ask the right questions.

One example she gave: if a medical collection is the main thing dragging your credit score down, you may be able to ask the collection agency to remove it once it's paid. That one phone call can raise a score significantly.

That's the difference between a good loan officer and a great one. A great one looks at your file from every angle and finds a way forward, even if it's not today.

Local lenders can make a big difference

I've had clients try to close with out-of-state lenders who were hard to reach and buried in files. It turned a simple purchase into a nightmare.

With a local lender, you can walk into the office, sit down, and get your questions answered face to face. Jen has even gone to clients' homes to help them sign paperwork. You don't get that from a call center three states away.

Is the market about to crash?

We get this question all the time. Jen was in the business during 2008, and she explained why today is different. Back then, some loans let people qualify without ever proving their income. Today every borrower's income, assets, and employment are verified.

Our area also has a lot going for it: a steady flow of military families coming and going, and buyers looking for second homes and investment properties near the beach.

Shopping rates? Compare apples to apples

An online rate quote isn't always what it seems. Some quotes are averages, and some only work if you pay extra fees hidden in the fine print. If you're comparing lenders, get a written estimate from each one so you can see the full picture.

Should you wait for rates to drop?

Jen's take: if you're renting, you're paying off someone else's investment. And when rates fall, prices usually rise, so waiting doesn't always mean a lower payment.

Some lenders, including Reliance Mortgage, also offer programs that make it easier and cheaper to refinance later if rates come down. Ask your lender what they offer.

Programs a lot of buyers don't know about

• Down payment assistance for qualifying first-time buyers in Florida
• Rate buydowns on new construction, where the builder and lender help bring your interest rate down. We're offering this on new Timberland Homebuilders homes we're listing.
• Jumbo loans for higher-priced homes, with down payment options that may surprise you
• VA loans for eligible veterans buying a primary home, including higher-priced homes, often with no down payment

Every buyer's situation is different, so the right fit depends on you.

More than the numbers

My favorite part of the conversation had nothing to do with loans. Jen talked about how her $100 million year taught her that success has to be sustainable. Now she gets up at 4 a.m., meditates, works out, and built her team so she can still have a life outside of work.

Her advice to anyone in this business: work hard, dig your heels in, and stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Comparison is the thief of joy. I needed to hear that one too.

Thinking about buying?

Whether you're buying your first home, moving up, or using your VA benefit, I'd love to help you put together a plan and connect you with a lender who will fight for your deal.

Call or text me at (850) 572-0488. Let's figure out what's possible for you.

— Jon Shell, The Shell Group | Levin Rinke Realty

Mortgage programs, rates, and eligibility requirements change often. This post is for general information only and isn't financial advice. Talk with a licensed loan officer about your situation.

Here's something most sellers don't realize until it's too late: you only get one day one.

The first couple of weeks your home is on the market are when buyers pay the most attention. If the price is a little off, the photos don't land, or the house needs a fix nobody mentioned, you don't get that time back.

Then the home sits. The days on market add up. A price drop shows up online. Buyers start wondering what's wrong with the house, even when nothing is.

I've watched this happen to good homes and good sellers more times than I can count. That's why I'm excited about what we're doing now at Levin Rinke Realty.

I joined the conversation on the podcast

I was recently a guest on the Levin Rinke Realty Podcast, where I joined a few of our top agents and our leadership team to talk about a different way to bring a home to market. We call it the Strategic Launch.

The idea is simple. No company builds a product and puts it straight on store shelves. They test the price, the packaging, and the message first. Your home is probably the biggest thing you'll ever sell, so why should it be any different?

How it works

The Strategic Launch has three stages:

1. Prepare Privately. Before the public sees anything, we get the pricing, presentation, and photos right. Your home is shared inside Levin Rinke Realty, and experienced agents who sell in your neighborhood walk through it and tell us the truth: what buyers will love, what they'll object to, and what they think it's worth.

2. Preview Strategically. Over a planned weekend, your home goes out to buyers on Zillow, Realtor.com, and Trulia before it fully launches. Serious buyers can find it and show interest early.

3. Launch Publicly. Your home debuts on the full market with the price already tested, the presentation polished, and interest already building.

You can stop at any stage. If the right buyer makes an offer along the way, you can take it.

Why this matters for you

Here's what I love most about it. You get to test the market without paying for it.

One of our agents recently used this on a one-of-a-kind waterfront home, the kind of house no algorithm can price. During the private stage, agents who have sold on that water for years told her the price was a little high. She and her sellers adjusted before the public ever saw it.

When it launched, buyers saw a fresh listing at the right price. They didn't see a history of price cuts or a long run on the market. Her sellers called that priceless.

That kind of feedback is only possible because of the people behind it. Levin Rinke Realty was the #1 firm in total sales volume in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in 2025, according to Pensacola Association of REALTORS® MLS data. When your home goes through a Strategic Launch, you get that whole network of agents and their buyers working for you, not just one opinion.

And there's no extra cost to you. It's simply how we bring homes to market now.

Is it right for your home?

Not every home needs every step. If you've got military orders and need to move next week, I'll recommend a faster, more direct launch. But if any of these sound like you, we should talk:

• Your home is unique, on the water, or in the luxury range
• You want to test a price without hurting how your listing looks
• You want to give your home the strongest possible first impression

I've built the Strategic Launch into how I list homes. I'd love to sit down with you, look at your home, and lay out the timeline I'd use for it.

Call or text me at (850) 572-0488. Even if you're a year out, it's never too early to start planning your launch.

— Jon Shell, The Shell Group | Levin Rinke Realty

Episode of The Shell Group Podcast featuring Matt Sandifer of Cretin Townsend Homes

Matt Sandifer helps run Cretin Townsend Homes, a custom home builder doing around 300 homes a year from the Texas/Louisiana line all the way to Destin, Florida. We've worked with Matt and his team for years, and in this episode we sat down to dig into what we've learned from them about building, buying, and running a business that doesn't run you.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

Why a New Custom Home Can Cost Less to Own Than a Resale

Most people assume "custom" means unaffordable. Matt explains why that usually isn't true. Cretin Townsend locks your price up front, so you can move in with equity on day one. And when you factor in the real cost of ownership (insurance, utilities, and maintenance), a brand-new home can actually be cheaper to own than an older resale. We also talk about why new construction has an edge in a slower market.

"Custom" Doesn't Have to Mean Luxury

According to Matt, the word "custom" got hijacked to mean luxury. He breaks down what most people get wrong about custom vs. spec homes, how fixed pricing compares to cost-plus building (including his shingle example), and why your architect can't actually price your home.

From 60 Homes a Year to 300

Matt walks through the business side of the growth: building a five-person leadership team instead of trying to be the guy who does everything, working on the business instead of in it, going into business with friends, and why Cretin Townsend counts the money last. He also shares how their Builder Ops system helps other builders buy their time back.

Culture Beats Checklists

One of our favorite stories: a builder show class where the whole room showed up to learn how to handle difficult customers, and the speaker opened with, "You're the reason your customers aren't happy." That mindset runs through everything Matt talks about, from hiring for character instead of experience to why a checklist doesn't create a good client experience but culture does.

Going All In on Digital

Cretin Townsend reaches about 4 million people a month. They pulled their billboards and print and went all in on digital. Matt explains the villain builder character they created ("OBI," the Other Builder), why TikTok beats Meta for finding new people, and why most builders and agents just aren't willing to put in the reps.

A Few Episode Highlights

• 1:37 – Why new construction has the edge in a slow market
• 3:25 – Fixed pricing and moving in with instant equity
• 5:18 – The real cost of ownership: insurance, utilities, maintenance
• 16:37 – The CT timeline: design, mortgage, build
• 28:32 – "You're the reason your customers aren't happy"
• 50:08 – "Custom" got hijacked to mean luxury
• 52:14 – Fixed price vs. cost plus, and the shingle example
• 1:00:34 – Creating OBI, the villain builder
• 1:24:23 – 4 million views a month and going all in on digital
• 1:32:50 – CT's service area and the free budget conversation

Thinking About Building on the Gulf Coast?

Cretin Townsend Homes builds from the Texas/Louisiana border along I-10 and I-12 all the way to Destin, about 45 minutes north and south of the interstate. Their Pensacola office has a mortgage team member on site, so even if you're just starting to think about it, you can walk out knowing your budget.

Learn more about building with Cretin Townsend at mybuildercares.com and follow along on Instagram at @cretintownsendhomes.

Whether you're thinking about building new, buying, or selling in Pensacola, we'd love to help you weigh your options. Reach out to The Shell Group at 850-572-0488 or hello@shellgroup.co. You can also follow us on Instagram at @______theshellgroup.

The Shell Group | Powered by Levin Rinke Realty

If you've been noticing more out-of-state license plates around town, you're not alone. Pensacola has been getting more attention from people thinking about a move to the Gulf Coast, and our real estate agents are helping buyers from many different parts of the country get familiar with the area.

Why Are People Moving to Pensacola?

The Florida sunshine helps, of course. But people looking at Pensacola usually have more than the weather in mind.

Some want to be closer to the water. Some are looking for more space. Others simply want a different pace than what they're used to in a larger metro area.

Pensacola's Housing Market Compared to Other Areas

For buyers coming from more expensive parts of the country, Pensacola can be worth a closer look. According to

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