Winter Park real estate legend honored

Don Saunders came to Central Florida to move houses, not sell them. He joined his family’s house moving business — picking up houses and moving them — and cleared the way for what is now Interstate 4, before making his mark as a Winter Park real estate agent.

For 29 years, Don Saunders and his real estate agents were the people to see when buying a Winter Park home.

“We dominated the Winter Park house market for a number of years,” Saunders said. He saw lakefront houses go from $45,000 to more than a $1 million, and he sold blocks and blocks of the Park Avenue residents and visitors strut down today. In its heyday, his company was responsible for more than 40 percent of the home sales in the city. But according to Saunders, it was easy.

“It’s not a hard sales job,” he said. “Winter Park really sells itself.”

His office on Park Avenue was the first stop to selling clients. One glimpse of that beautiful, picturesque street, its trees, boutique shops and restaurants, and they were convinced. A turn down one of the city’s perfect lakefront streets and there they were: Sold. But what Saunders said helped most was that they believed in what they were selling. Each client that came in the door heard the same thing.

“The best place to live in the world is Winter Park, Florida,” Saunders said. What he did, Saunders said, was take advantage of a wonderful place. He didn’t so much put Winter Park on the map as help other people to realize the potential it had and facilitate the deals to make it what it is today.

“I think he recognized the uniqueness of Winter Park and understood that people would want to live here,” said David Francetic, who worked for Saunders for seven years.

A mentor

He sold his company and role in the Winter Park dream to Coldwell Banker in 1997, but those he mentored in the real estate business — including Winter Park real estate greats Fannie Hillman and Ann Cross — could never forget him. They all showed that in a surprise party held for him this month, one that was attended by almost everyone who had worked for Saunders since 1968.

“Don was masterful; he was a magician,” said Francetic, now at Coldwell Banker. “He was giving us a Ph.D. not only in real estate, but in life.”

Morgan Wiseman, senior vice president at Realty Capital, remembered his first day on the job with Saunders. They walked out in front of his office on Park Avenue, his arm around Wiseman’s shoulders.

“ ‘Son, go out there and make something happen; go out there and get in trouble,’ ” Wiseman said. “He treated us like his sons.”

He was a father figure to many of his agents, especially the younger ones such as Francetic and Michael O’Shaughnessy, who loved to push his buttons. There were stories of flying legal pads with messages to get to work, and a few yelling fits about Saunders’ famous “two-ring policy.” If the phone wasn’t answered in two rings, you had some trouble to deal with.

But meeting Saunders, it’s hard to imagine that the man with the slightest bit of a West Virginian twang and the easiest laugh would do anything like that. Saunders said, with a quick smile, that he doesn’t remember any of it.

O’Shaughnessy, who now has his own real estate company, said he grew up working at Saunders’ agency, and that while Saunders was a no-nonsense boss, he was one who led with compassion.

“His character was bigger than life,” O’Shaughnessy said.

High standards

His character is what many at the party mentioned. Ask anyone to describe Saunders, and “ethical” is an instant response. He wouldn’t sell anyone a house they couldn’t afford or wasn’t right for them. If the competition showed a buyer their perfect house first, he’d make sure they got the sale, even if the buyer liked him better.

“In his mind you couldn’t be successful without being ethical,” Francetic said. He also valued the connection he made with his clients.

“From an emotional standpoint, it used to amaze me how much you learn about somebody and how strong a relationship you build,” Saunders said.

He knew where they were from, where they wanted to go, and how they thought they were going to get there in a few minutes’ time. For many Winter Park families, he met their children, watched their families grow and even sold them their next bigger house.

As he put it, he made a living making people happy, and fulfilling one of the most important needs a person can ask for.

“There’s three things you need: food, clothing and shelter,” he said. “We’re one of the basics. We’re in the shelter business.”

Saunders has been retired for years, but still owns the building his old office was in on Park Avenue. He has his real estate license up to date and reads about the market daily — he’s still a wealth of information about Winter Park. But no matter how much his old colleagues ask, he will not be getting back in the business, not even for his daughter, who, at 20, just got her license. Even without her dad, she’ll be a force, Francetic said. She’s her father’s daughter.

“I hope I’m out of the business before she gets in,” Francetic said.