Mr. Ferraro's career in the Real Estate Industry began at an early age working for his father who was a local builder developer in the Tampa Bay Area. As a young boy he was raised in the “old school” ways of working each trade as the construction of multi-family projects were developed. Mr. Ferraro not only has a deep knowledge of construction but also the design, planning, permitting development and management of the apartment dwellings they constructed.
After the death of his father in 1974, Mr. Ferraro secured employment with a Contractor building multi-family projects in South Florida and remained in South Florida until the early 1980's when he returned to Pinellas County to raise his family.
Once relocated Mr. Ferraro worked for several local Developers as leasing a agent for mid-size commercial buildings and strip center malls throughout Pinellas County. In the late 1980's, he secured a position as Marketing Manager for The Galbreath Company, a Columbus based International hi-rise developer and was assigned to the 17 story Bank of Florida Building and based in St. Petersburg. Mr. Ferraro also traveled as a trouble-shooter for Galbreath, to spearhead the leasing campaign and address Tennant concerns, and correcting operational and revenue deficiencies within the South Florida properties.
Upon his departure from Galbreath, Mr. Ferraro was recruited to serve as the Operations Manager for Brandywine Mobile Home Communities. The Brandywine company traveled the State of Florida, sponsoring seminars for the residents who reside in mobile home communities promoting the benefits of Resident Ownership through the acquisition of their respective Mobile Home Parks. This was a very successful venture and created an industry trend call a “Resident Conversion”. Mr. Ferraro was one of only 6 professionals throughout the State of Florida who specialized in this industry niche.
In 1994, seeing a need in the marketplace for management assistance by the communities Brandywine and others were converting, Mr. Ferraro started his own management and sales company, initially serving operational needs of 3 Resident Owned Communities consisting of 1,725 lots. Services included were operational asset management, property management, re-sales, and new home sales. Mr. Ferraro established business relationships with Palm Harbor Homes, Homes of Merit and Fleetwood Homes to service the new home sales needs of the communities he managed. Mr. Ferraro eventually grew the portfolio to 15 communities and six (6) Sales Centers within Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, and Manatee Counties and the portfolio grew to over 4,500 lots, providing management, re-sales, new home sales and replacement housing, and upgrading existing inventory of homes for the resident population.
In 2003, Mr. Ferraro opened a New Home Dealership in Clearwater Florida featuring a furnished model inventory of 6 Palm Harbor homes which rivaled that of the Palm Harbor Factory in Plant City Florida. Many customers stated that the display center was more attractive, and the staff created a more pleasant environment to conduct sales. The Dealership was responsible for an average of 50 new home sales and 70 resales annually in its peak.
The Dealership required multiple skills in the preparation of site plans, including zoning, drainage, and material specifications. Site specific engineering was necessary for each home placement in the various locations including elevated structures within coastal areas. Each housing type: manufactured or modular required specific foundation designs along with coordination of site contractors, plumbers, electricians, air conditioning contractors, concrete and brick layers, carpet installers and cleaners to satisfy permitting requirements to secure the certificate of occupancy and eventual closing a move-in by the customer.
Today, Mr. Ferraro operates his company providing real estate services and property management services throughout the Tampa Bay Region.