Maurice Tegelaar, Pacific Union International/Christie’s Great Estates
Maurice Tegelaar at a home under construction.
Each issue, the Kenwood Press will take a quick look at a member of the Valley of the Moon Villages Association, a group of local businesses that have joined together for marketing, public relations, and networking purposes. If you would like to find out more about Valley of the Moon Villages, go to www.valleyofthemoonvillages.com.
If you have inquiries about local real estate and see someone driving around with the license plate “SNMAVLY”, you may want to flag him down because that’s Maurice Tegelaar.
Maurice specializes in Sonoma Valley and wine country properties and is the Estates Director for the Sonoma Valley office of Pacific Union International/Christie’s Great Estates. And, it’s pretty clear he knows what he’s doing – in 2009 and the beginning of 2010 he was one of Pacific Union’s top wine country agents, and the leader of all Sonoma Valley agents at the beginning of 2010. He’s also one of the founding members of the Sonoma/Napa Top Agent Network, and a member of the Sonoma Valley Chapter of Realtors, North Bay Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.
A Kenwood resident, Maurice grew up in Southern California, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in finance. After working for Boeing for a couple of years, he joined Coopers & Lybrand as an audit manager, and then moved over to Charles Schwab for 11 years as director of corporate administration finance. While living in San Francisco, he was building a house in Kenwood, and eventually moved there permanently in 2001 with his partner, Tom Tepe. Then, he transitioned into real estate, joining Pacific Union in 2004.
“I love it. I wish I’d done it sooner,” said Maurice. “The clients make it fun and every day has new challenges and opportunities.”
While there’s not a lot of inventory right now in high-end Sonoma Valley properties, Maurice said there has been increased interest in these homes, as well as sales. And, said Maurice, in this economic environment, it’s good for both sellers and buyers to be realistic in their pricing and offers.
“You’re seeing that happen more now,” said Maurice.
One property Maurice is representing is still being built by Kenwood’s Reiter Fine Home Building, which specializes in bringing materials from all over the globe to construct unique, wine country homes. This Lawndale Road property is 13 acres, and when all is said and done will include a 4,500 square foot main house, guest house, three-car garage, pool, and pond. While it won’t officially hit the market until spring, Maurice said he’s more than happy to preview the property to anyone who might be interested.
Maurice can be reached at 934-2288, or email him at mtegelaar@pacunion.com. He also has his own website, www.LivingInWineCountry.com.
