Company History - My real estate career began in 1980. I'd just switched farms, had heifers, and needed an income while they grew. Since I'd sold through Mort Wimple Associates, I joined them. That year, I worked consistent 40-60 hour weeks (depending upon crop needs), drove 35000 miles, and earned $1364. Disappointing, to say the least. But I learned and have been learning ever since. The next year, and those after, have provided me with a full-time income.
By the mid-nineties, it was becoming clear that the internet was going to have a profound influence in how we did business. I was not going to have time to keep milking and do real estate. In 1994, we had an opportunity to sell our herd to a young breeder from Maryland, and our farming dwindled to doing crops for a few more years. The money we received for the cattle bought a project home, which we renovated and sold for a profit. We held the mortgage and gave a young couple a start, just like my parents had done for me. This blossomed over the years and we finally gave it a name - Vinyard's Choice, the same as our registered Holstein prefix had been. So I was doing crops, renovating homes (with hired help), and working full-time with Mort as his main farm agent.
Mort Wimple Associates had been founded much earlier, in 1953. My start with them followed an unbroken path since I started. It may now make me the most experienced New York agent who specializes in the sale of country property. Anyhow, in 2013 my position as Senior Farm Broker ended with the untimely death of Mort, a good friend and mentor for well over 30 years. His father (same name) had founded the firm. Mort and I had intended to get old together, selling country real estate. Not ready for retirement, the existing Vinyard's Choice parallel business was expanded to carry on that tradition, as a full-service real estate agency. All of the Mort Wimple Associates agents came on board with us.
By the mid-nineties, it was becoming clear that the internet was going to have a profound influence in how we did business. I was not going to have time to keep milking and do real estate. In 1994, we had an opportunity to sell our herd to a young breeder from Maryland, and our farming dwindled to doing crops for a few more years. The money we received for the cattle bought a project home, which we renovated and sold for a profit. We held the mortgage and gave a young couple a start, just like my parents had done for me. This blossomed over the years and we finally gave it a name - Vinyard's Choice, the same as our registered Holstein prefix had been. So I was doing crops, renovating homes (with hired help), and working full-time with Mort as his main farm agent.
Mort Wimple Associates had been founded much earlier, in 1953. My start with them followed an unbroken path since I started. It may now make me the most experienced New York agent who specializes in the sale of country property. Anyhow, in 2013 my position as Senior Farm Broker ended with the untimely death of Mort, a good friend and mentor for well over 30 years. His father (same name) had founded the firm. Mort and I had intended to get old together, selling country real estate. Not ready for retirement, the existing Vinyard's Choice parallel business was expanded to carry on that tradition, as a full-service real estate agency. All of the Mort Wimple Associates agents came on board with us.