“When you own property on 30A, you’ll be smiling, too!”
Linda Miller – the owner of Linda Miller Real Estate, who is also known as The Smile of 30A – might have had a slow start, but she’s more than made up for it in her 25 years of selling dreams on Florida’s historic 30A Scenic Highway. Now she wants to help people find their corner of heaven.
“You don’t have to leave the country to enjoy a Caribbean-style beach,” says Linda. “Scenic Highway 30A is just a little over an hour away from Nashville via direct flight. It’s so much easier to get here now because of our new airport (ECP). You can fly down and literally be on the beach in 2 hours if you plan well.”
Linda first dipped a toe into the real estate pool in 1978. “I was going through a hard time, a divorce. For therapy, I went to continuing education and got my real estate license.”
Even after Linda obtained her Alabama real estate license, it took her a while to put her skills into practice. “I had a child, and I was afraid to work on straight commission. I worked a salaried position in a department store and did not sell real estate for 20 more years because I felt like I had to have the security of a salary and benefits. I didn’t have any idea what I could do myself and not depend on a big corporation.
“Twenty years later, my children were grown, off to college, and I finally moved to the beach. In 1998, I got my Florida real estate license and started selling paradise. I grew up coming here. I love this beach. When Seaside started, I said, ‘I’m going to live there one day.' And the good Lord let me do that!”
While her journey began as a means to empower herself, along the way, she gained the knowledge and tools to help her educate others.
“I learned how people could build wealth by investing in real estate in my first few years as an agent. Over the course of my career I've been able to teach a lot of people how to make a lot of money,” Linda says. “Typically what happens is people come in at an entry-level they can afford, and the appreciation of the property is so much in two or three years that they decide to sell, and then they trade up, then they sell that, and they trade up.”
As for the real estate mantra of "location, location," they’re all workable on 30A.
“Many of my clients might have started on the north side of 30A, but by the end, they’ll be closer to the Gulf of Mexico and the beach. Using this philosophy and the power of rental income, by the time they retire, someone else will have paid for their beach house,” Linda says.
With her life experience and real estate expertise, Linda is very passionate about one group of buyers in particular. “If there’s anything I strive to do, it’s to empower other women. I’ve been in some situations in my life where I’ve felt powerless and had to find out how to get my power back. Women have equal or more power than men in today’s world, and they need to be aware of their strength. Women control nearly 60% of the wealth in this country and 80% of consumer spending. I want to teach women that if they want [a beach house], they can go together, form an LLC, and their four best friends can buy one with them. Women don’t have to ask their husbands for permission. I’ll put together a plan," she adds.
Linda is deeply connected to the area, making it her home for over two decades.
“Seaside is 40 years old this year and as the birthplace of New Urbanism; it remains extremely popular -- people can park their car, unpack and go. Everything is within 5 minutes of the center point. They don’t have to drive to a restaurant, they can walk. People like Watercolor, Seaside, and Rosemary for this reason... to get off the grid, and just chill out and be at the beach,” she says.
Real estate is a service industry, and Linda holds the wants and wishes of potential buyers gently in her experienced hands.
“I don’t see how people buy a house without a trusted advisor—someone who knows the area, who listens to what they want. I’m a small boutique company. We’re very personal and we want to keep it that way,” Linda says. “The big companies that have come down here have swallowed up the mom-and-pop offices. I don’t want to be one of 50 agents. I want to be the one that people call back because I’m their trusted advisor. I want them to know that I care about them and that I know how to lead them into the best thing.”
Looking back on 25 years, Linda says she's grateful every day to live under the splendid Florida sun and to do the job she loves.
“I am always talking about Jesus. I mean, I know that’s why I’m here. I always knew that I was supposed to be here on 30A. I would be so filled with joy when I arrived and so sad to leave. I heard that as God’s voice. ‘Linda, you belong here. This is where you’re supposed to be.’ So I kept that in the back of my mind for all these years. The first half of my life was not easy but God had a better plan for me. Now I get up every day and ask God what I’m supposed to do, and I do the very best that I can to do it," concludes Linda.
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