Personal Service
We provide personalized service tailored to your unique needs and preferences — not a call centre and not a listing feed.
St. Augustine, Florida
About Beaches to River Real Estate
A local St. Augustine brokerage helping buyers, sellers, and investors across five Northeast Florida counties.
Experience the Real Estate Difference
Welcome to Beaches to River Real Estate. We are a local St. Augustine, Florida real estate brokerage specializing in helping home buyers and sellers reach their real estate goals.
Looking to grow your portfolio? We also help investors find investment property across St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam, Duval, and Clay Counties. With thorough local knowledge, we are confident in helping you find the right investment property with your budget in mind.
Whether you are looking to buy, sell, rent, or flip, we work closely with every client to make the process as straightforward as possible.
Why Work With Us
The Beaches to River Difference
Honesty
Our commitment to honesty sets us apart as a reliable partner in your property journey. That includes telling you when a property, a county, or a price is wrong for you.
Local Insights
Deep local knowledge across five counties means an edge in selecting property that matches your lifestyle and your investment goals.
Who We Are
The Beaches to River Team
Wendy Brown
Broker & REALTOR®Wendy Brown is a Florida native, born and raised in Pensacola, who made St. Augustine her home in 2007. Over the years she has developed a deep connection to Northeast Florida and the communities she serves.
Helping people has always been at the heart of Wendy's career. She began working as a nurse at just 19 years old and spent many years in healthcare before discovering a new passion — real estate.
wendybrown.agent4u@gmail.com · 904-377-1747
Read Wendy's full bio →View Wendy's listings and reviews on Homes.com (opens in a new window)
Taylor Hodges
Broker / Owner · License BK3452597Taylor is from Alabama and has called Florida home since 2015. He and his wife, Michelle, have been married over 35 years, and their favourite hours are the ones spent with their children and grandchildren.
Since 1993, Taylor has served as a pastor to churches in Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida — three decades of sitting with families at the kitchen table during the biggest transitions of their lives. Job changes, growing households, downsizing, loss, fresh starts. That work shaped how he approaches real estate: listen first, tell the truth, and never rush someone toward a decision they are not ready to make.
taylorhodgeshomes@gmail.com · 904-293-7905
Read Taylor's full bio →
Cathy Holeva
REALTOR®Cathy Holeva is a lifelong Northeast Florida resident. She grew up in St. Johns County and attended college in Jacksonville, and she is the proud mother of two grown children.
Alongside her real estate career, Cathy has spent the past nine years working in hospital registration, helping patients and their families navigate situations that are important and sometimes stressful. It is a useful background for this work: much of what a good agent does is keep people steady while a lot is happening at once.
cathy3725@live.com · 904-806-5129
Read Cathy's full bio →
Emily Arena
REALTOR®With more than two decades of experience in real estate, Emily Arena brings knowledge, dedication, and a personal touch to every client she serves. Since beginning her real estate career in 2001, she has built her business around one principle: every client deserves to feel heard, valued, and confident throughout their real estate journey.
With a background in economics and extensive experience in the housing industry, Emily understands that buying or selling a home is both a significant financial decision and a deeply personal one. Whether she is helping clients find the right home, preparing a property for the market, negotiating on their behalf, or guiding them through new construction, she is committed to making the experience as smooth and rewarding as possible.
emmyarena@gmail.com · 904-955-3669
Read Emily's full bio →
No Cost, No Obligation
Book a Free 30-Minute Consultation
Thirty minutes with a licensed broker, at no cost and with no obligation. Bring an address, an area, or just a question about which county fits what you described.
Wendy BrownBroker & REALTOR®
Book → (opens in a new window)
Taylor HodgesBroker / Owner
Book → (opens in a new window)
How We Work
Most brokerages in this region specialize in one slice of it — the beaches, or Jacksonville, or the river. We cover five counties on purpose, because the buyers who contact us are usually still deciding between them, and that decision is worth more than a listing feed.
In practice that means we will tell you when the county you are searching is not the one that fits what you described, when a waterfront listing carries a carrying cost you have not budgeted for, or when the honest answer is that a different area suits you better. That is what "honesty" means as a stated value rather than a slogan.
Talk to a Local Broker
Talk to a Local Broker
Buying, selling, investing, or still deciding which part of Northeast Florida fits. Start with a conversation — no pressure, no obligation.
- Licensed Florida brokers serving all five counties
- Straight answers, including when the answer is no
Questions & Answers
About Beaches to River: FAQ
Who is Beaches to River Real Estate?
Beaches to River Real Estate is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage based in St. Augustine, serving St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam, Duval, and Clay Counties. The brokerage is led by brokers Wendy Brown and Taylor Hodges and Cathy Holeva and Emily Arena, and works with buyers, sellers, and investors across the region.
What areas does Beaches to River Real Estate cover?
Five Northeast Florida counties: St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam, Duval, and Clay. That range spans Atlantic oceanfront, Intracoastal and saltwater canal, St. Johns River frontage, lakefront, and inland acreage — which is deliberate, because most buyers are still deciding which of those they actually want.
Does Beaches to River work with investors?
Yes. Alongside buyer and seller representation, the brokerage helps investors identify property across all five counties — long-term rentals, waterfront and fishing-access property, land, and small multi-unit. See the investment property guide for an honest read on where the math works in this region.
What counties does Beaches to River Real Estate serve?
We serve five Northeast Florida counties: St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam, Duval, and Clay. That range covers Atlantic oceanfront, Intracoastal and canal-front, St. Johns River frontage, lakefront, and inland acreage — which is deliberate, because most buyers relocating here are still deciding which of those they actually want.
Do I need a real estate agent to buy a home in Florida?
No, but buyers are generally represented at no direct cost to them under the commission structures still common in this market, and Florida transactions involve county-specific flood determinations, insurance realities, and disclosure requirements that are easy to get wrong. Since 2024 buyer agency agreements have been required in writing before touring homes, so the terms of representation are now explicit up front.
How does Florida property tax actually work for a new buyer?
Property is reassessed at market value on the January 1 following a sale, so the tax bill you inherit is not the seller's bill. If the seller held the home a long time with a homestead exemption, their assessed value was capped at 3% annual growth under Save Our Homes, and yours resets. Always budget from an estimate based on your purchase price.
Is flood insurance required in Northeast Florida?
It is required by lenders when a property sits in a FEMA-designated special flood hazard area, and it is optional but frequently sensible outside one. Flood determination is parcel-specific, not neighborhood-specific — two homes on the same street can carry different requirements depending on elevation. Get the determination and, where relevant, the elevation certificate during your inspection period.
Keep Exploring
Keep Exploring
Buying & Selling
Where to Look
Relocating
Let's Talk
A twenty-minute conversation will save you a month of searching.