Judy Arreola & Kristina Talkie are your Sarasota and Siesta Key Experts
 

Judy’s Bio 

Judy Arreola, a top-producing real estate agent with Mount Vernon ERA Realty—which was acquired by and became Hunt Real Estate ERA in 2007—has returned to Michael Saunders & Company after 23 years. Kristina Talkie, Arreola’s business partner since 2007, is joining her in the move. The team of Arreola/Talkie is now located in the company’s Siesta Key office, managed by Debbie Judge. 

In addition to being a licensed real estate broker, Judy Arreola’s professional credentials include Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI), Leadership Training Graduate (LTG) and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS). She has served on the Board of Directors of the Sarasota Association of REALTORS®, and been Chairman of both its Education and Professional Standards Committees. Presently she sits on the Professional Standards Committee. 

“Judy’s is a most wonderful and fitting homecoming,” said company founder and CEO Michael Saunders from her office in downtown Sarasota. “She was a vital force in the business when she first joined us and has been a top-producing agent ever since. The years do not alter one’s values or change a true professional’s passion for the business. Nor do they erode the commitment to customer service and personal excellence that Judy has always stood for. If anything, time makes them stronger and more enduring. Needless-to-say, we are absolutely thrilled to have Judy back where she belongs, and equally delighted to welcome for the first time her exceptionally talented business partner, Kristina Talkie.” 

Judy Arreola entered the real estate business in 1984. Since then, she has become one of the top ERA Realtors in the nation and consistently ranks among the top 1% of REALTORS® in Sarasota. While at ERA she was honored with the Jim Jackson Award, the highest award given for outstanding customer service and superior performance nationwide. Each year, Judy has been invited to ERA Beyond Excellence—a conference for top-producing associates and brokers—and been awarded the Leadership Team Award for top performance nationwide. She was one of the original 13 agents to start with Mount Vernon Realty when it made its debut in Sarasota. More recently she has been chosen for four consecutive years by Sarasota Magazine to receive its 5-Star Best in Customer Satisfaction Award. 

Prior to becoming a real estate agent, Arreola was a former school teacher who came to Sarasota from Venezuela after residing in Rochester, N.Y. and California. While in Venezuela, she started the first English-speaking kindergarten in her area. Later, after personally meeting Mother Teresa, she donated her equipment and started a school for needy children in the barrios. Along with her husband John, an executive with an American company in Venezuela, she returned to Sarasota where they raised their two sons and have resided in The Country Club of Sarasota for the past twenty-five years. 

Kristina’s Bio 

Kristina joined our team as a partner in March 2008. She began selling real estate with ERA Mount Vernon (now Michael Saunders and Co.) in 2004 with a very successful first year by closing over $1 million in sales! Since then, she has closed over $25 million in sales and has proven to be a great asset to the team.  

A native of Joliet Illinois, Kristina received her real estate license in 2003 and has extensive experience in new construction. Her real estate designations include Graduate REALTOR® Institute(GRI); and industry awards include Top Producer, ERA Beyond Excellence, Outstanding Sales Performance (six years in a row) and Top Team Award for closed sales. She is presently a candidate for Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and, together with Judy, specializes in selling waterfront homes, golf course communities and luxury condominiums.  

Her family includes her husband, Jim, who is a custom home builder, and two teenage sons, Trevor and Grant. In 2001 they decided to leave the Chicago winters and move to sunny Florida. They all agree that it was a great decision.  

Kristina has worked closely with her husband’s business and is very familiar with the construction of new homes, as well as the re-construction or re-modeling of existing homes. This background gives our team another important facet of the real estate business and is a great source of additional information for our customers.  

If you are considering relocation to our area, Kristina will be a great help in locating schools, clubs, family activity information and other family needs. Her sons are very active in many types of sports and their youth church groups. Her husband’s business affords her a lot of great contacts for your home plans, which she is happy to share with our customers.