Several months ago, the Perryville real estate market was abuzz when realtor Beth Yamnitz announced on Facebook that she was closing her 24-year-old real estate office in town and joining forces with Ritter Real Estate.
Her message was clear: she wanted to spend less time selling real estate and more time with her family.
“After much contemplation, discussion, and prayer, I have decided to step down as the owner and managing broker of American Homes Realty,” Yamnitz said. “After 24 years, this decision comes as I embark on an exciting new journey alongside [her husband] Mike as we join forces with Ritter Real Estate right here in Perryville. This transition allows me to not only continue utilizing my license and expertise as a broker/sales agent but also to embrace the opportunity to spend more quality time with my beloved grandchildren.
“Family is incredibly important to me, and I look forward to cherishing those moments while still being actively involved in the real estate industry. I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all our past clients for their unwavering support and trust in us. It has been a pleasure serving you, and I am eager to continue meeting your real estate needs as we move forward with Ritter Real Estate. I am excited about this new chapter and look forward to what the future holds. Thank you for being part of this journey.”
Mike Yamnitz remembered how it all began for him and his wife in the real estate business.
“We started the agency in 2000,” he recalled. “We joined forces, and she got her license in 2001, and then American Homes was formed in 2002, and we moved into our location in 2006. I started with Mitch Michaud, who just recently passed away. He got me involved in it. I had a young family, and I needed insurance and a job that paid every week. I never pursued it full-time and did it part-time. Then I got really busy with it. I always told Beth she’d be good at it. I joined forces with a cousin of mine, and one evening, I took [Beth] with me to show a house. By the time I had the house doors closed, she had taken the couple through the entire house.”
Beth Yamnitz interjected, “I wasn’t supposed to do that. I wasn’t a realtor.”
Continuing his story, Mike Yamnitz said, “I told Beth, ‘You need to do this.’ I encouraged her to get her broker’s license and said, ‘If you do that, we’ll start our own.’ She did that. At the time, she was the office manager for an eye optical here in town for 17 years, and just went out on a limb, took a leap of faith. I was managing MFA Oil already and farmed, so she had the day-to-day operations and really worked her tail off at it.”
Finishing the story, Beth Yamnitz said, “So, now it’s time for me to step back and slow down a little bit as far as the day-to-day management of running the office. I still look forward to working with all my clients and selling. I plan on doing this for a long time, but I am looking forward to getting rid of the administrative part, like Mike said, and having some more free time to spend with my grandkids. That’s my goal.”
Meanwhile, Mike Yamnitz intends to step back a little but intends to keep his license and will still be available when needed.
“I’m retired from my other business,” he said. “I’m concentrating on our family farm. We have livestock and crops. Working at the farm was always my goal, and then my dad passed away in 2014. It took a lot more to keep it going. So, I retired from my oil business and pretty much devote most of my time to keeping the farm going — livestock and crops. It keeps me out of trouble somewhat.”
Summing up her time as the owner of her own real estate office, Beth Yamnitz said, “I really appreciate all of my previous clients, and I look forward to continuing to work with them at Ritter Real Estate. We also appreciate any agents that we’ve worked with over the years. We’ve had several agents come and go. They either grew or went into something else, but they were dedicated when they worked for us, and we appreciate them as well.”
As far as Jared Ritter is concerned, this is a chance for him to work with someone in real estate he’s always admired.
“We’re celebrating a merger of two great companies,” he said. “I am incredibly excited to work with these guys. For someone who’s not from Perryville, I think this is a great opportunity to work with Beth. With her reputation and experience, I am over the moon excited about it.”
