KAIYA BEACH

Resort Life In Harmony

Interview by HAILEY BETHKE

ashville-born Michaelanne Lauderdale and her husband, Matt, visited Scenic Highway 30-A for a vacation shortly after their engagement. Every aspect of their trip felt like a dream, from the beautiful beaches to the quaint towns and restaurants. No matter where they traveled, the two shared the same sentiment: “I wish we were coming home to 30-A!”

After Michaelanne’s father was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and Matt’s father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, their desire to live life to its fullest took on a new meaning. “We looked at each other and said, ‘What do we want to do every day, rather than be excited to do on the weekends, next summer, or when we retire—whenever that is?’” says Michaelanne. “The beauty of not having a clear path is that you can actually do anything. You can go anywhere, try anything or a few things, and move through life doing what feels right. We didn’t exactly have a plan, but we knew we wanted to be at the beach. I knew we could do anything as long as we did it together.”

THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL HARMONY BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES OF KAIYA. IN MY OPINION, THE COMMUNITY’S BOUTIQUE SIZE IS ONE OF ITS SUPERPOWERS.

Shortly after this realization, the duo moved to Inlet Beach, Florida. They began working jobs in house-watching, renting bikes, wedding planning, grocery stocking, babysitting, helping at a yoga studio, and even starting a pontoon boat business. These various experiences led them to foster meaningful connections in the community. “We had become what felt like the concierge for our entire network of family and friends for the 30-A area. So it made sense to start helping people find their perfect houses, as well,” she explains. “During that time, I was pregnant with our daughter, Frankie, and we also opened our brick-andmortar bike rental business, Salt Air 30A, at The Hub. We loved the idea of bringing ourselves and our personalities into whatever project we did. In the eight years since then, it has been a constant reinforcement that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.”

As an expert in 30-A real estate, we asked Michaelanne to share her perspective on authentic client relationships, guide us through her new premier listing in Kaiya Beach Resort, and detail the importance of a home’s unique design.

VIE: What is your take on selling real estate? What made you realize the importance of strong client relationships, and how does this perspective aid you in the industry?

Michaelanne Lauderdale: I never really wanted to get my real estate license. It didn’t feel like a good fit for me; selling something I don’t believe in or telling people what they want to hear is not really where I shine. But, as it turns out, I think that’s what makes me successful in this role. I have always joked that I want to be the Jerry Maguire of real estate—fewer clients, more personal relationships. People’s trust is so precious to me. I want to immerse myself in the process completely, really understand what my clients want, and deliver it. I have never been driven by money, and that fact allows me to help people make the right decision for themselves and their families. I feel like I have been able to prove that time and time again, and because of that, my business is pretty much 100 percent based on referrals. People, connections, and creating experiences are truly what I love, so selling this dream is the perfect fit for me.

VIE: Tell us about launching Inlet Beach Real Estate. How does your brand represent who you are and how you operate?

ML: When Gordon Tarver and I partnered up, we talked about how important it is to feel grounded and approachable. We both have a very relationship-based approach to selling real estate, and we wanted a place where that came through to our clients. We also wanted to have a bit of fun with our branding while still being able to compete, experience-wise, with the larger brokerages in the area. The goal has never been to grow as big as we can but rather to remain authentic to who we are. I love being able to bring a bit of color and individuality to this business, as well as represent our neighborhood in a boutique, connected way.

VIE: What are some of your favorite aspects of your listing at 149 Kaiya Avenue? Do you have a favorite space in the home?

ML: This home, 149 Kaiya Avenue, has always been one of my favorites. The open layout and how the inside connects to the outside, the grand covered porches, and the pool area are breathtaking. I had the opportunity to watch it come to life from the ground up, and I remember being in awe at completion that it was even more spectacular than I imagined. I have a lot of favorite things about this house, but my favorite room is the media room in the front of the house. It’s an understated space meant for watching TV, playing games, or just relaxing. The addition of this space to the large open living room and the kitchen brings a coziness to the home.

VIE: Why should prospective buyers consider Kaiya Beach Resort? What are your favorite aspects of this new community along Scenic Highway 30-A?

ML: Kaiya, from inception, has been about connection and belonging. The developer had a vision of creating a community of neighbors and friends, and you can feel that with the design of the homes, big front porches, and connected greens lining the road up front. There is a beautiful harmony between the public and private spaces of Kaiya. In my opinion, the community’s boutique size is one of its superpowers. It’s not so big that you get lost in it or lose sight of the goal of this development. The emphasis on concierge services is another unique thing about this community.

Left: The den near the front of the home is Michaelanne’s favorite room, providing a cozy spot for movies, games, reading, and relaxing.

Below and opposite: The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home features a mostly neutral palette, but pops of color and coastal whimsy appear in printed wallpaper and other details.

VIE: If you could sell real estate in any other country, where would it be?

ML: Oh my gosh! This is an impossible question—haha! My answer today, which could change at any moment, would be Spain or South Africa. Being somewhere near the coast is a must, and we fell in love with the people of South Africa on our trip there; we also fell in love with the pace and quirkiness of Barcelona and Mallorca in Spain, so those are my top two countries right now.

VIE: Describe your interior design style in a few words. Does your personality match the style of your home?

ML: Bold, colorful, fun, and unexpected. We recently sold the last home we built and had so many comments from family and friends about how it “felt” like me and my husband. It was colorful and bright, with a lot of wallpaper, tile, and patterns. So, I would say yes, my style hopefully matches the energy I put into the world! We are building another home now with a lot of color and fringe, plus wallpaper on the ceilings, and I cannot wait. The more, the better, as far as I’m concerned!

Visit InletBeachRE.com or follow them on Instagram @inletbeachre to learn more. You can also see more from Kaiya at KaiyaBeachResort.com.

Interview by ADDIE STRICKLAND

Photography courtesy of LAMBERT REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT nderstanding the significance of owning or developing property in this area can help fulfill the desire to feel at home here. Lambert Realty and Development takes pride in making the real estate process as personal and seamless as possible for its clients. In January 2016, Nathan Lambert branched out and founded his brokerage with the support of his wife, Corina. They are committed to the relationships they build and the clients and coworkers that are a second family to them. VIE had the opportunity to get to know them better. Enjoy this peek into their lives!

THE EMERALD COAST OF FLORIDA IS KNOWN AS A PRIME DESTINATION. WITH ITS PRISTINE BEACHES AND A STRONG SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND FAMILY, SOME WOULD CALL THIS AREA A PERFECT VACATION SPOT—OTHERS GET TO CALL IT HOME.

VIE: How did you get started in real estate?

Nathan Lambert: I was exposed to the concepts of buying, selling, and renting real estate by my grandfather. Growing up here in Walton County, we had a close-knit family, and Grandpa was always around and sharing words of wisdom with my brothers and me. For as long as I can remember, he owned and managed rental properties, so I was exposed to that aspect of real estate early on in my life. He also taught me strong work ethics and often reiterated the importance of honesty, kindness, and treating people right. I suppose all his words of wisdom stuck with me and eventually led me to where I am today. I earned my BSBA in finance and initially went into the mortgage banking side of the business. It seemed like a logical path for me at first, but after a few years, I realized I wanted to be more involved with helping people find their ideal beach home in the area, so I got my real estate license. I’ve been working to help people buy and sell along the Emerald Coast ever since.

Above and opposite top: Lambert Realty and Development works directly with developers and homebuyers on residential projects from start to finish by partnering with some of the area’s best architects, builders, and interior designers.

Opposite bottom: A family business; Nathan and Corina Lambert own and operate the boutique luxury real estate brokerage. Nathan's brothers are also on the team, and their other agents and staff are like a closeknit extended family.

Corina Lambert: It feels like every decision I made up to this point was meant to lead me to real estate and my life here along the Emerald Coast. I still remember the moment over ten years ago when I first crossed over the Destin bridge and saw Crab Island. I thought to myself, “What is this place? It’s absolutely beautiful!” The name Destin soon came to mean ‘destiny’ for me, and I just knew this was where I was supposed to be. I grew up in Moldova, Eastern Europe, and my father worked in construction for as long as I can remember, so the building process has always been familiar. Let’s just say I learned how to use a level at a young age! I always dreamed of living in a coastal town with white sandy beaches, and when I eventually came to Destin and met Nathan years later, everything seemed to fall into place. When we first started dating, it was sort of annoying that he was always on work-related calls, but I soon realized that real estate is about so much more than just selling homes. It’s about helping people make their dreams of owning a vacation home in the area come true! So many of our clients have been coming here since they were kids and want their children to have a similar experience. When this realization hit me, it was easy for me to decide to join Nathan in real estate. Now I’m helping make that dream a reality for other families, and I can honestly say that it’s a great feeling and very satisfying on a personal level.

VIE : What is the best part of being a family-owned and operated real estate agency?

Nathan: The best part for me is getting to work and interact with the people I love every day of the week. Working with your spouse or family doesn’t work for everyone, but it does for us. We have different personalities, perspectives, and strengths that we bring to the office every day, and the collaboration of those various ideas is partially what has helped us grow over time into a more well-rounded brokerage. I’m more of an old-school, back-to-basics type of guy who has been in the business for a long time, while Corina, for example, always brings fresh and innovative ideas to the table. We may not always agree initially, but we always find our way to the best solutions at the end of the day. Getting to experience this journey called life together on a day-to-day basis is very special, and I feel lucky to be able to spend every day at work with her and my brothers, who are licensed agents with our firm. After all, it doesn’t really feel like work when you do what you love with the ones you love the most.

Corina: I studied law in Moldova. Although I never finished my law degree because of moving to Florida, I always felt the need to be a productive member of society and make a real difference in people’s lives in some meaningful way. Working with Nathan in real estate ended up being my way of achieving those goals I set for myself all those years ago. The fact that we own and operate the brokerage together as a family makes the whole journey even more fulfilling!

VIE: What is your favorite development along Scenic Highway 30-A, and why?

Nathan:There are so many great communities along 30-A, and I am fond of all of them for different reasons. That said, I’ve always been a big fan of WaterColor and Watersound Beach. Both were master planned by the St. Joe Company and serve as excellent examples of thoughtfully creating a family-oriented luxury beach community. It’s all about the overall experience; both neighborhoods successfully achieve this by having amazing homes and architecture and the great amenities they offer owners and guests alike. Key elements include quick access to expansive private beaches, thoughtfully designed neighborhood parks and bike paths, multiple community pools, and convenient access to nearby commercial options for shopping and dining. All of these factors make both of these neighborhoods easy to like for the entire family. Many other great master-planned communities along 30-A embrace similar ideals, such as Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, and, of course, Seaside, the first master-planned community in the area, which helped to found the New Urbanism concept of a simplified lifestyle. Part of what makes 30-A so remarkable is that owners and visitors can experience each of these amazing beach communities, as well as the smaller neighborhoods scattered in between, regardless of which one they choose for a vacation or home ownership. We truly have something for everyone here on 30-A.

Corina: Oh yes, I completely agree. Watersound Beach is my personal favorite, with the longest single stretch of privately owned beaches on all of 30-A. I love the seclusion and the privacy that it offers. Another personal favorite for me is Rosemary Beach, which is especially impressive at night with the gas lanterns everywhere, the ambience, and being able to leave the car parked while we walk around and enjoy the shops and restaurants. Another community that we are watching closely right now is Watersound Camp Creek, the newest master-planned community on 30-A. It will be very special thanks to the larger-than-average homesites, direct access to Camp Creek Golf Course, and the proximity to other great communities like Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach. Many new homes are being built in that community right now, and it will be interesting to watch it mature over the coming years.

VIE: How has your team grown over time?

Nathan: At our core, we are a boutique, luxury real estate firm that serves buyers and sellers with purchases and resale listings here on 30-A and all along the Emerald Coast. Over the last several years, we have developed great relationships with outstanding architects, builders, designers, and decorators and have been lucky enough to successfully leverage those professional relationships into collaborative efforts with new construction projects. So, we now have the ability to offer our clients start-to-finish, turnkey new construction services as well.

Corina: Besides our commitment to exceptional service for our buyers and sellers, another important aspect of our brokerage is, of course, nurturing our great agents and team members. We care about their success and do all we can to help them grow and better serve their clients in this dynamic and ever-changing industry. Our focus is not on achieving massive growth in the number of agents we recruit. Instead, we focus more on helping them achieve personal growth and success in this business. We have a relatively small but successful and client-focused team of realtors and support staff who are more like family members to us than coworkers, and that’s how we like it. Our team is like an extension of our family. It’s more intimate and personal for us, and watching them succeed in helping their clients is the reward.

VIE: What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career?

Corina: English is my second language, so one of the greatest challenges I have had to overcome was accepting my accent and getting past the language barrier. I always know what I want to say or the ideas I want to communicate, but sometimes it doesn’t come out quite the way I would like. It was definitely a process to overcome that difficulty for me personally. It caused me to be apprehensive at times in the past, but I’m happy to say it has gotten much easier over the years. One time in particular, I remember feeling inspired with a new sense of confidence when a client trusted me (a foreign girl with an accent) to help them with a high-end purchase here on 30-A. Their trust in me to help them, regardless of my accent, really helped me gain the confidence that I needed to pursue my career further and not be afraid to be me and express myself in my own way.

OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THE DESIGN AND BUILD PROCESSES FUN AND EASY AND TO TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF IT FOR OUR CLIENTS BY STREAMLINING THE ENTIRE PROJECT FOR THEM, FROM CONCEPTUALIZATION TO HANDING OVER THE KEYS.

VIE: How do you maintain a balance between family and business?

Nathan: Time blocking. You have to do your best to carve out time for activities, whether work-related or family-related. It can be challenging to accomplish, as we all lead busy lifestyles these days, but being conscious of the need to give both the time and energy they deserve is important.

Corina: Yes. It’s common for our work discussions to follow us home in the afternoons and our family discussions to follow us to the office the next day. For us, they often seem to flow into each other, and maybe that makes it easier in some ways. It’s a constant interflow between our professional and personal lives. But yes, for sure, time blocking for family and business activities helps us strike the right balance.

Above and right: With new projects underway and existing listings from Inlet Beach to Dune Allen Beach and everywhere in between, Lambert Realty and Development can help prospective homebuyers turn their 30-A beach home dreams into reality!

VIE: Can you explain the development aspect of your brokerage?

Nathan: We have multiple building projects underway all along 30-A, from Dune Allen to Inlet Beach and everywhere in between. The process usually starts with identifying the specific needs of the client or investor. What are their goals with a new build? Are they building it to keep and use as a primary or second home for the family for years to come, or are they simply building it to sell and therefore trying to maximize the highest and best use of that specific homesite? Once we understand that aspect, we can help the client identify and purchase a suitable homesite based on their needs. From there, we go into the design phase with our preferred architects. Once we have a concept finalized and ready for approval by the client, we work through the project’s permitting and construction stages with the help of our spectacular building partners. We stay entirely hands-on throughout the process, from start to finish. Our goal is to make the design and build processes fun and easy and to take the stress out of it for our clients by streamlining the entire project for them, from conceptualization to handing over the keys. It’s a wonderful and fulfilling experience, helping people to realize their dream of building and owning their ideal beach home here on 30-A. It’s a very special thing, and we are honored to help make that dream happen for so many real estate investors and families alike.

Corina: Taking a project from A to Z in a seamless way depends heavily on the team of collaborative partners we have developed working relationships with over the years. We’re building our own dream home on the bay right now, and we’re using the same architects and builders we would suggest for our clients. We trust them to build our personal residence and have complete confidence in their ability to help bring our clients’ dreams of owning their ideal beach home in the area to life. Each client is different, and their needs are different, so we work very closely with each of them and our team of professional partners to try and deliver the best experience and results possible. Top-notch build quality, exceptional fit and finish, and thoughtful home design are always our top priorities.

VIE: What advice would you give someone looking to sell their home?

Nathan: First, you need to find a knowledgeable agent who understands this market. Our local market is dynamic and changing all the time, so you should endeavor to find someone who is keeping up with or, ideally, trying to stay in front of the evolving market conditions. It’s also important to work with an agent who you feel comfortable with and have a positive synergy with on a personal level. Working with someone you trust and have confidence in to put you and your needs first is vital. It sounds simple, and maybe it goes without saying, but I think these things are key elements for successfully marketing and selling your home.

VIE: As locals, what are your favorite dinner spots?

Nathan: I think I speak for both of us when saying part of the charm of 30-A is exploring the many great restaurants in the area. They are so varied in terms of themes, vibes, and menu items, but all are mostly boutique-style, family-owned businesses, which is nice. It’s great to get away from the big chain restaurants. There are so many places here on 30-A that we love to frequent on a weekly basis, but one restaurant is especially near and dear to our hearts—Paradis in Rosemary Beach. We had our first date there and go back every year on our anniversary. So, I guess you could say it’s our lucky charm, and it has to be at the top of the list for us. Plus, the ambience, steaks, and coffee martinis are amazing!

VIE: How would you describe the housing market in this area, and what do you expect for this year?

Nathan: The last few years have been a wild ride with the recent influx of people moving to Florida and, more specifically, to our area. I think there were a lot of buyers who wanted to have a position in the market either before or perhaps during this last cycle that might have been priced out or missed their opportunity because they couldn’t find the right property. Inventory levels got very low for a while in

2021. Now that the market has stabilized a bit and returned to some normalcy, I see a lot of opportunity for those buyers and for the sellers who already own in the area. Inventory levels are starting to come back, which means buyers have more choices again, and sellers are positioned well with the increased market demand and improved home values. I expect to see a vibrant market as we move into the spring and summer of 2023 and beyond. The fundamentals of our area are strong, with amazing communities and architecture and perhaps the most beautiful beaches in the country, so I’m confident it will be a great year for buyers and sellers here on 30-A and all along the Emerald Coast.

Corina: I agree completely! The last few years have been challenging for many buyers. Lately, though, I have been hearing renewed optimism from buyers and sellers about the local market over the coming year. Real estate tends to be cyclical, and timing is everything. Now is a great time to be actively engaged in our market!

VIE: What would you say is your greatest career achievement so far?

Nathan: Branching out and starting our family-owned brokerage while expanding the services we offer our clients—but a lot of that achievement has come as a direct result of meeting my lovely and talented wife, Corina. She’s been with me throughout the evolution of our team and the early days of our brokerage and has been instrumental in our success with her great ideas, and her support and hard work have helped make it all a reality.

Corina: Picking a particular moment is hard because our personal life is closely tied to our brokerage. As a family-owned and operated business, the growth and development of the brokerage are perhaps also a testament to the growth of our personal relationship. When I first started in real estate, other agents seemed to just refer to me as “Nathan’s wife,” as most of them knew him first. Now that I’ve been doing this for several years and have forged my own reputation among our peers, they refer to me as “Corina Lambert.” It seems silly, but for me, that was a big deal. Earning the acknowledgment and respect of our peers by doing good business every day was a big achievement for me.

VIE: What is your favorite weekend family activity?

Nathan & Corina: You mean meeting with clients and showing property all weekend? Haha! We are partly joking, of course, although as busy agents in this vacation home market, we often work weekends. In all seriousness, though, as a family, we love to get out and about and ride bikes through the neighborhoods or go to the beach whenever possible. We often spend time with our friends and clients who also have kids, and we love to let them all play and have fun. Spending quality time together as a family and being with our son is most important for us right now. He’s five years old, and it’s such a wonderful time for us. He is growing up faster than we would like, so we try to take the time to get outside with him and explore the parks and playgrounds. We also go to a lot of kids’ birthday parties these days! There’s always something going on, and we like to stay active and make the most of our time together in this special area we are grateful to call home.

We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to learn more about who we are as a family and how we help our buyers and sellers make their dreams come true here on 30-A and in the surrounding areas. Feel free to reach out to us anytime so we can help you and your family achieve your dreams of home ownership in the area. We’ll look forward to hearing from you soon!

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