RIDINGS JOSELYN

Ridings Realty

Give Back In Abundance

From making an immediate mark as “Rookie of the Year” in 2015 at Keller Williams, to a consecutive fourtime Nappie Award finalist as “Best Realtor” with Lagniappe Weekly, to a freshly minted Broker and co-owner of Ridings Realty with her husband Andy in Mobile and just recently earning the REALTOR®

Broker In Charge

By Ron Sivak

Photography

Commitment to Excellence endorsement (C2EX), Joselyne Ridings’ remarkable journey from South Florida to Lower Alabama shows a brilliant ability to connect with clients across a broad swath of markets and diverse backgrounds.

Additionally, this month, not only was her firm recognized, but the

Real Producers’ Rising Star spotlight (Victor Howard) also hails from her family’s freshly minted office.

Ridings Realty, located at 1555 S. University Blvd. in Mobile, officially held their grand opening in October of 2022, and the genesis behind the idea of its creation held a special meaning for her.

“We wanted something we can leave behind to our son and daughter. That took a little bit longer than expected because timing is everything and I had to feel that deep down inside.” Joselyne said.

“That feeling to go out on our own came to us after the passing of my father-in-law in August 2022. We were left with a huge void, and we decided the time was right for Ridings Realty to open its doors to the world. I fought hard to hold back my tears of joy as I tried to give a little speech at the ribbon cutting. It was overwhelming to see the support we received that day, and we will never forget it.”

Joselyne Ridings was born in Puerto Rico but grew up on Long Island, New York. She moved to Miami in 1991 and graduated from Miami Coral Park Senior High School. She studied business administration and graduated from Miami Technical College in 1992.

After college graduation, Ridings worked for several companies which included a telemarketing business, an insurance company, an international Fortune-500 PR firm, a chemical company and briefly opened a cargo trucking company called Blue Port Cargo Services.

Nothing was the right fit.

“In the middle of 2005, I was approached by a man at a restaurant who gave me his business card and told me he had overhead my lunch conversation with a co-worker and thought I would make a great loan officer if I was willing to be trained. So, I met with him and was intrigued.” Ridings said.

“I immediately got my mortgage license in December 2005 and in October 2006, I opened my own company, Mi Casa Mortgage Group, Inc. in West Palm Beach, Florida. My background in finance has been instrumental in my dealings with real estate transactions and has helped me to fully understand and assess my clients’ ability to purchase a home. Unfortunately, the housing market crashed, forcing me to close the business in August of 2009. I always loved the real estate industry, and knew I’d be involved with it again.” forward to 2019, I was offered and accepted the position of Qualifying Broker at a new Keller Williams branch office in Spring Hill. That year

In 2010, Joselyne moved to Mobile. In 2011 she married her husband Andy Ridings. “We have been attached at the hip like Bonnie and Clyde ever since.” she said.

When the couple decided to purchase their first home together in the area, they were disappointed with the service provided by some of the agents they worked with. It was at that time when Joselyne realized there was a need in the local market that her specialized customer service skills could fill.

I got my Mississippi Brokers license. The Ridings Team’s expansion continued and in 2021, I received my Florida Brokers license.” Joselyne said.

She went on to say that, as a very driven person, she someday knew the opening of her own brokerage would be a reality, but deeply valued the time spent at Keller Williams and the experience, knowledge and relationships formed there.

“My real estate career began in 2015 at Keller Williams Mobile. In my first year, I received the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. I quickly realized that I was going to need help with the amount of business I had, so my husband Andy joined me in 2016 and together we formed ‘The Ridings Team’.” Joselyne said.

Soon after, her son and daughter, Anthony and Priscilla Lopez, followed in their footsteps and joined the team, along with other agents.

The team’s determination to provide top service was acknowledged by their colleagues at Keller Williams Mobile. They were consistently making the monthly Top Producers list and the Annual Top 10 Agents list out of over 200 agents in the office.

Joselyne was also recognized individually as a finalist for Lagniappe newspaper’s “Best Realtor” award in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. To date, she still doesn’t know who had successfully nominated her every year to rank her among Lagniappe’s “Best of the Best” residential realtor category locally but is appreciative of the recognition.

“As soon as I was eligible to get my Broker’s license, I did so in 2017. Fast

In the coming years, Ridings Realty is looking to expand its reach, and open branch offices in Mississippi and Florida when the timing is right. They are also currently looking to add to their team of agents.

“I truly believe that if you do a good job like you should, there’s no end in sight. We want our agents to reflect us and our commitment to provide the best experience to all our clients. We provide the tools and resources they need to be successful in this very competitive market.” Ridings said.

“We don’t know exactly what the future holds for Ridings Realty, but we have started 2023 with a bang. We’re extremely grateful for the love and support our community has shown us and our goal is to give back to them in abundance.”

For questions about this article, contact Joselyn at (251) 518-4819 or joselynridings@gmail.com