Dorene Erickson
Agent, Ocala REALTOR®
• Broward College, Central Florida College – Legal Studies
• Paralegal – Litigation and Real Estate Law, 42 years
• March of Dimes – Volunteer Fundraising, March of Dimes Walk
• Broward County Legal Secretaries Association – Secretary 2 years, Member 5 years
• Williston Middle School PTO – Treasurer, 1 year
• Fishing, Boating, Bicycle and Scalloping enthusiast
Both Dorene and her husband Carl are born Floridians, growing up in the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood areas of South Florida. They’ve been part of the Ocala community for over 30 years. Dorene’s interest in the Central Florida region began as a teenager when she participated in hunter jumper shows. When she and her husband were considering where to raise their young family, this was the place they wanted to be.
“I worked for 24 years at Salter Fiber, PA, which is a real estate law ?rm in Gainesville. I gained a signi?cant amount of experience and knowledge in the breadth of processes in real estate,” she explains, noting that getting her license after retiring from full-time legal work felt like a natural progression. “It seemed like the right ?t. It gave me the opportunity to be part of the beginning, instead of the end of a real estate transaction; I could still be a part of ?nding beautiful homes for people and watching vacant land be developed. Being an agent gave me more ?exibility and opportunities to work with projects and properties I’m really interested in.”
There have been a lot of changes between then and now, obviously. It’s a lot bigger in scope, and I’ve watched the horse industry infrastructure just grow and boom,” she says. “It’s a wonderful community to be part of.”
Before her career as a REALTOR, Dorene spent the majority of her career as a legal assistant, working in property transactions and litigations. When she moved to Central Florida, she worked in real estate law, specializing in titles and closings for residential and commercial properties – “Most of my professional life.”
Her extensive background in legal real estate, and in particular closings and titles, gives her a uniquely grounded approach to the job; it taught her essential people and relationship skills. Working in titles required a steady, reassuring approach that helped instill con?dence in her clients and made that ?nal stage of paperwork less intimidating.
“You learn to figure out how to work with different kinds of personalities,” she points out. “After a while, if you observe and listen, you get a feel for who they are, who might need some help with the particulars, what their unspoken concerns might be.”
Her focus remains squarely on prioritizing the client’s individual needs and preferences, because she understands that a real estate transaction isn’t just paperwork and numbers; it’s a life-changing, big decision that needs patience, expertise, and professionalism. It can be easy to get wrapped up in numbers and demographics, but she tries never to lose sight of what it personally means to each person she meets.
“It’s not just a house,” she emphasizes. “It’s a momentous occasion for people; a seller is letting go of something and moving to a new chapter, and a buyer is investing in a dream and a future for themselves. My job is to give them the information they need and to make the experience as positive and stress-free as I can.”