The Kendall Bonner Team, Tampa, Florida
How did you get involved in real estate?
I’m originally from Los Angeles, California, and my mother raised me. She was a doctor and she said to me, “J.D., M.D., Ph.D.—pick one.” So, I ended up going to law school and getting my J.D. I got married on Saturday, graduated law school on Sunday and was driving to Florida on Tuesday, moving with my husband to Tampa in 2003. I took the Florida bar exam, started practicing law and began to build our life here.
Because I’d never actually intended or desired to be a lawyer, I always had my eye open for other opportunities. My husband and I bought our first home in 2004 and a second home in 2009. Through that process, I realized, “Wow, I really like this. I enjoy looking at homes. I enjoy looking at new construction, I should get my real estate license.”
In 2011, I got my real estate license, and I had a recruiting letter from a brokerage I had received two years earlier. That managing broker was still at the company, and he brought me on. After 30 days of training, I told my husband that I was no longer taking any legal clients. I was going to service the clients I had and was moving to be a full-time REALTOR®.
How did you decide to pursue the CRS Designation?
In 2014, I was recruited by RE/MAX to start a franchise, and it was through RE/MAX that I really learned the value of having a network. I was becoming more aware of the value of designations, and the CRS Designation felt like it was the right one for me.
I started taking the courses, and even before I finished, I was so impressed that I encouraged all my agents to pursue it. I told them that this education is phenomenal; some of the best I’ve ever seen. I also felt the network was very strong and I respected the fact that CRS Designees would refer to one another. When one of my dear friends reached out to ask me to vote for her for a leadership role at the Council, it made me realize that I had to finish what I had started so many years ago, because I wanted to be more completely a part of this awesome, phenomenal community of leaders that I already knew and trusted.
How is your team dealing with the market in Tampa these days?
Our team is doing really well. I’m so proud of our team members. We believe that your gold mine is in your pipeline, and we have been working to get our agents to have an activated pipeline, which means a strong list of people who are ready to buy today, tomorrow and sometime in the future. And we have tons of people—I don’t like to call them “leads;” I prefer to call them “opportunities”—who were in our pipeline 12 months ago, who were priced out of and exhausted by last year’s market and are now prepared to get back into the market this year. On at least a quarterly basis, we have educational seminars for consumers to answer some of those frequently asked questions that they all have about buying a home.
How do you stay engaged with your community?
One of our core values is “serve regardless of opportunity.” The purpose is to give back to our community without expecting anything in return. Last February, we did an intentional (instead of random) acts of kindness day. So, we got backpacks and stuffed them with paper towels, toilet tissue, socks, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, lip balm, tents and blankets, and handed them out to the homeless members of our community. Because homeownership is unfortunately not achievable for everyone, but having shelter is a vital necessity, we wanted to do something to help take care of people with whom we normally wouldn’t ever work because of their situation. We also donate money to the Children’s Miracle Network from every transaction we close.
Kendall Bonner, CRS, achieved the CRS Designation in 2022. She can be reached at kendall@rcrtampa.com or 813-536-6026.
Photo: Dan Austin
