EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — A real estate agency serving the Upper Peninsula recently opened its third office. Northern Michigan Land Brokers, which has been operating in Marquette and Houghton, opened doors at 916 Ludington Street in Escanaba in January. Right now, just two agents, a local husband and wife team, work out of the office, but the brokerage is looking to expand and bring in more people.

Founder Bob Sullivan was a certified social worker before he entered the world of real estate. After about a decade in realty, he kicked off his own company, Northern Michigan Land Brokers, in 2001.

At first, the business focused on vacant land — parcels ideal for hunting or to be transformed into a remote home. Bob is an avid outdoorsman, as are the others who have joined the team at Northern Michigan Land Brokers.

“We are a team of people that are born and raised here … we actually really care about the U.P., and we’re passionate about what the U.P. has to offer to people,” said Marketing Manager Anthony “AJ” Gerou.

Now, the brokerage helps people to buy and sell land of all types — wilderness and waterfront lots, camps, cottages, farms, residences, commercial properties and operating businesses.

Bob’s son, Rob, became licensed as a real estate salesperson at the age of 19 and as an associate broker at 24. Now, after over 15 years in the business, Rob is co-owner along with Bob and acts as the manager of the Marquette office.

Northern Michigan Land Brokers’ second office opened in Houghton. That branch operates pretty independently from the others under the ownership of Josh Stein, also a broker. With experience in forestry, Stein and the team in Houghton serve the western U.P. and the Keweenaw.

About a year ago, Andy’s Diner in downtown Escanaba, which had been renting space at 916 Ludington, closed. The building had been owned by Bob Sullivan for years, and upon the exit of the restaurant, Sullivan set about making it the home of Northern Michigan Land Brokers’ newest location.

A complete renovation of the place went for a cozy and rustic appearance to reflect the vibe of the Northwoods. The agents’ desks are made from barn wood. A table and chair set, with the table’s base a tree trunk, are from E&E Furniture in Escanaba.

Though still not in its final form — art is yet to be hung, desks added and more agents brought on — the office officially opened on January 20, 2025, with Rob as the managing broker.

Tim George and Tina George, both of whom had worked for State Wide Real Estate previously, now work out of the Escanaba location, showing properties to interested parties around the U.P.

Northern Michigan Land Brokers handles more land sales in the U.P. than any other real estate agency. While the Houghton office covers the western end, the Marquette office gets a lot of the central areas, Escanaba handles the south, and they go all the way to the eastern end, too.

Licensed since 2001, Tim has a lot of knowledge and experience in helping people show their real estate to potential buyers and arranging successful deals. His wife, Tina, has been doing the same for the last five years since leaving her work as a dental hygienist during COVID. The couple lives in Cornell, and both enjoy hunting and other outdoor activities.

Tina is a licensed drone pilot, and therefore is responsible for capturing some of the footage that helps Northern Michigan Land Brokers convey the scale and appearance of plots to clients.

Gerou, also a licensed agent who primarily works out of the Marquette office and assists Rob, estimated that about 60% of the properties the company deals with are empty/wooded land, while about 40% are residential or commercial.

People who do business with them are often from the U.P., but many come from the Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin to seek recreational land.

“A lot of our clients are native Yoopers that were born and raised here; they lived here their whole lives,” said Gerou. “But we do also see a lot of people that were born, raised, and went to school here; they moved away … had their life, had their kids, and then towards retirement or the empty nest stage, moved back to the area.”

While residential property-hunting tends to slow down in the fall, Tim and Tina said that recreational property never slows down; in fact, in can pick up when people are in the area for hunting season.

Tim and Tina own a side-by-side with tracks that allows them access to properties off the beaten track.

In the past, people used to find out about listings almost exclusively from yard signs, print media or word-of-mouth. Now, there are many avenues for discovery.

Northern Michigan Land Brokers has a presence on Zillow, realtor.com, land.com, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Anyone interested in finding out about properties through Northern Michigan Land Brokers locally may call the Escanaba office at 906-212-LAND(5263), Tim at 906-420-9922, or Tina at 906-420-5185.

Their website is northernmichiganlandbrokers.com. The main office in Marquette is reachable at 906-225-LAND(5263).