Pompano Pals

BY NICK COREY

KRIS LAIDLAW EXPLAINS THE VALUE OF having rental properties in prime locations quite simply.

“There’s one thing they’re not making any more of, and that’s sand and dirt,” he said. Location wins the day when it comes to sought-after vacation homes.

Fortunately for Laidlaw, a realtor for Realty One Group, and his longtime friend turned business partner, Chris Bent, many of their properties have no problem when it comes to locale. Whether it’s a home in the heart of Miramar Beach, 30A or Destin, Laidlaw understands that location is frequently his best selling point.

“The places Chris and I have been involved with are all a little different,” Laidlaw said of the eclectic menu of homes they’ve sold throughout the Emerald Coast. “Some are newer; some a little older. None are exactly the same … We’ve sold completely contemporary homes, and others have had a certain unique charm, with almost a New Orleans feel — beautiful but different and classic in their own way.

“The one thing they all have in common is that they’re all close to the things people enjoy most about this area — walking distance of the water, the local attractions and activities.”

Laidlaw, born in Dallas and raised in Nashville, ended up selling real estate along the Emerald Coast somewhat by chance, somewhat by design.

After high school, he played football for Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina while working at Jimmy Buffet’s restaurant chain, Margaritaville. Post graduation, Laidlaw and a friend received an offer from Margaritaville that was too good to refuse — to open new Margaritaville locations in idyllic international locales. They worked and lived in the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos and Cozumel.

“It was a great experience.”

But memories of childhood vacations along the clear, blue-green waters of Florida’s Panhandle wooed him back to the region.

“I’d always always loved it here,” he said. “I remember being 18 and thinking ‘I wanna live down here someday.’ ”