Kevin Randesi outside the house he’s converting into an office for 804 Real Estate. Photos by Jonathan Spiers.
After selling dozens of houses in its three years in operation, a local real estate brokerage has bought a home of its own.
804 Real Estate is setting up its first brick-and-mortar office in a house at 11 Rodman Road, just off Midlothian Turnpike near its interchange with Westover Hills and East Belt boulevards.
Principal broker Kevin Randesi purchased the 782-square-foot house, which had been foreclosed upon, for $38,510 in cash from the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae.
The sale closed Feb. 17, according to city property records. Curt Dougherty of Napier Realtors ERA was the listing agent, while Randesi represented himself in the deal. He bought the house in his name and will lease it to the brokerage.
Randesi plans to convert the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house into an office for his staff, which currently consists of himself, an associate broker and two agents. With the new office space, he said he is hoping to add to that staff and pick up more agents.
“The idea for the new office is to expand (the business),” he said. “I want somewhere we can all meet.”
Randesi said he was alerted to the neighborhood when another foreclosed house across the street was likewise converted into a business. The entire stretch of the residential road, which abuts the turnpike’s commercial corridor, is zoned for eventual business use.
The house (at left) is one of several along Rodman Road that have been zoned for business use.
“I think this area is one of the best-kept secrets in the city, because any house on this street can be turned into a business property,” he said.
Since starting 804 Real Estate in 2013, Randesi, a VCU grad, has operated out of his West End home. In those three years, he said the brokerage has sold more than 80 homes in the area, representing about $9 million worth of real estate. He said about six or eight more were under contract by the time he purchased the house.
804 focuses on residential real estate, primarily foreclosed and distressed properties, Randesi said. Originally from upstate New York, Randesi, 34, attended Atlee High School and got a degree in accounting from VCU, where he also picked up his real estate license.
He said he currently works for more than 15 companies, such as servicers for larger banks that have foreclosed on a property. He said he his first big break came by way of the Virginia Housing Development Authority.
“I never thought I’d be able to buy my own office,” he said. “I thought I’d be out of my house for a longer time, but the business has just growth to the size where we need more space.”
Renovations to the building started last month, and he plans to hire a contractor for some of the work, which will include new vinyl siding and painting, as well as refinishing the home’s hardwood floors. The home’s electrical and HVAC have already been updated. Randesi expects the renovation to total $10,000.
In purchasing the property, Randesi acknowledged the investment he is making in the Southside neighborhood, which includes a number of auto service shops and Latino-owned businesses alongside residential neighborhoods. Across the turnpike, new investment in the area has also come by way of adult novelty store Taboo, which opened its second location there in 2012.
“It’s nice and quiet over here. It’s central,” he said. “We do a lot of distressed property, and you have to be within a 25-mile radius of those properties. If I had moved far out west in Chesterfield or Henrico, it wouldn’t work.”
804 Real Estate isn’t the only real estate brokerage making moves south of the river. To the west in Midlothian, two other residential-focused brokerages recently joined forces.
Kevin Randesi outside the house he’s converting into an office for 804 Real Estate. Photos by Jonathan Spiers.
After selling dozens of houses in its three years in operation, a local real estate brokerage has bought a home of its own.
804 Real Estate is setting up its first brick-and-mortar office in a house at 11 Rodman Road, just off Midlothian Turnpike near its interchange with Westover Hills and East Belt boulevards.
Principal broker Kevin Randesi purchased the 782-square-foot house, which had been foreclosed upon, for $38,510 in cash from the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae.
The sale closed Feb. 17, according to city property records. Curt Dougherty of Napier Realtors ERA was the listing agent, while Randesi represented himself in the deal. He bought the house in his name and will lease it to the brokerage.
Randesi plans to convert the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house into an office for his staff, which currently consists of himself, an associate broker and two agents. With the new office space, he said he is hoping to add to that staff and pick up more agents.
“The idea for the new office is to expand (the business),” he said. “I want somewhere we can all meet.”
Randesi said he was alerted to the neighborhood when another foreclosed house across the street was likewise converted into a business. The entire stretch of the residential road, which abuts the turnpike’s commercial corridor, is zoned for eventual business use.
The house (at left) is one of several along Rodman Road that have been zoned for business use.
“I think this area is one of the best-kept secrets in the city, because any house on this street can be turned into a business property,” he said.
Since starting 804 Real Estate in 2013, Randesi, a VCU grad, has operated out of his West End home. In those three years, he said the brokerage has sold more than 80 homes in the area, representing about $9 million worth of real estate. He said about six or eight more were under contract by the time he purchased the house.
804 focuses on residential real estate, primarily foreclosed and distressed properties, Randesi said. Originally from upstate New York, Randesi, 34, attended Atlee High School and got a degree in accounting from VCU, where he also picked up his real estate license.
He said he currently works for more than 15 companies, such as servicers for larger banks that have foreclosed on a property. He said he his first big break came by way of the Virginia Housing Development Authority.
“I never thought I’d be able to buy my own office,” he said. “I thought I’d be out of my house for a longer time, but the business has just growth to the size where we need more space.”
Renovations to the building started last month, and he plans to hire a contractor for some of the work, which will include new vinyl siding and painting, as well as refinishing the home’s hardwood floors. The home’s electrical and HVAC have already been updated. Randesi expects the renovation to total $10,000.
In purchasing the property, Randesi acknowledged the investment he is making in the Southside neighborhood, which includes a number of auto service shops and Latino-owned businesses alongside residential neighborhoods. Across the turnpike, new investment in the area has also come by way of adult novelty store Taboo, which opened its second location there in 2012.
“It’s nice and quiet over here. It’s central,” he said. “We do a lot of distressed property, and you have to be within a 25-mile radius of those properties. If I had moved far out west in Chesterfield or Henrico, it wouldn’t work.”
804 Real Estate isn’t the only real estate brokerage making moves south of the river. To the west in Midlothian, two other residential-focused brokerages recently joined forces.
Kevin is a great guy and a very professional Realtor to work with. I just closed a foreclosure sale with him and it went very smoothly. Glad to see that he has his own office now.
Love seeing success stories about the honest small guy working hard and smartly within his means, to grow a small business successfully.