Pleasanton, CA— June 28, 2016 — NextHome is proud to announce our latest addition to the franchise, NextHome E-Realty. The brokerage represents the first NextHome franchise in the state of Mississippi.
Owned and operated by local real estate brokers, Justin and Darlene Allen, the Gulfport-based brokerage will provide residential and commercial real estate services to Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, and the surrounding areas.
Originally from the gaming industry, Justin is a former roulette dealer who worked for several Biloxi-based casinos, including the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. His first foray into real estate was taking some of his savings and purchasing his first investment property in 2002.
“I really loved the process of buying and owning my own investment property,” said Justin. “That started me down the path of buying more properties and eventually rehabbing and selling them for profit. Seeing that I began acquiring more and more properties, I thought it was a good fit to get my real estate license and begin selling homes.”
In 2002, Justin did just that and launched his real estate career with Keller Williams in Biloxi. In his first few years in the business, not only was Justin buying and flipping more properties, he also started working with other investors who found his expertise invaluable.
In 2004, Justin branched out on his own when he opened his own brokerage, Net Worth Properties.
In 2005, everything changed when the unthinkable happened. Hurricane Katrina.
During one of the most tragic natural disasters in United States history, the Gulfport-Biloxi area was one of the hardest hit by Katrina. Thousands of survivors of the hurricane lost their homes. Severe flooding occurred from New Orleans, Louisiana all the way to Mobile, Alabama.
Utility services were out for months after the storm. Real estate sales became an afterthought as many were struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives.
Even though the southern states received immediate help from resources around the country, the rebuild of the region has taken over a decade. Today, many of the homes damaged in the floods still stand vacant.
“It was a terrible time for all of us,” recalled Justin. “The resiliency and will of our people has been strong, but it has been a long road back.”
With so many people in need of new housing, Justin began working for a local home builder, Adams Homes. Serving as the Community Manager from 2010 to 2012, he was able to help hundreds of Biloxi/Gulfport residents find a new home.
“I have and will continue to help the people of our region find homes. I want to help them get back to living as normal of a life as possible,” said Justin.
In 2012, Justin’s wife, Darlene, joined him in selling newly constructed homes. She took over the sales division of Elliot Homes, a new home builder in the Gulfport/Biloxi market.
While selling homes for the respective new home builders, the Allens continued to sell resale properties through their Net Worth Properties brokerage. Seeing how they were ready to diversify their business, it made sense to become a part of a real estate franchise. NextHome made a lot of sense for their company.
“NextHome provides us with all the streamlined services we were looking for in a franchise,” said Justin. “Knowing that we are a progressive, forward thinking brokerage, the partnership with NextHome was a perfect fit.”
Married for 15 years, the couple enjoy spending time with their two children Nathan (13) and Evelyn (12). The family recently purchased a new Elliot home and are happy to be settling in.
Please join us in welcoming Justin, Darlene and the rest of the team at NextHome E-Realty to the NextHome family!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.