The Force Group is a family-run mortgage business that has helped homeowners from three generations of families pay for their dream homes.
The company was founded in 1983 in the second floor of a gas station in Hialeah and moved its offices this year to the heart of downtown Miami Lakes.
The company made its first move into town in the mid-1990s.
Vice President Luis Reyes says the company has advertised on and off in The Miami Laker since then and has regularly run ads in recent years.
“Consistently [for] the last three years,” Reyes said.
Reyes learned the mortgage business from his mother, company President Denise Rodriguez, who learned it from her father, Mike Rodriguez.
Reyes’ maternal grandfather started the company in 1983.
“He passed away early on, and my mom took over the company when she was 25, [and] she moved it to Miami Lakes,” Reyes said.
At one time the company was located in the building known as The White House, at 15165 NW 77 Ave. Business grew and there were around 20 brokers, Reyes said.
After the 2008 real estate market crash, the firm moved its offices to Palmetto Frontage Road.
“Everyone started leaving the company and leaving real estate in general,” Reyes said.
But The Force Group soldiered on, rebuilt its business and eventually moved to the Arbor Place building, at 15450 New Barn Road near Main Street.
Despite market challenges, the company has maintained its purpose of serving families, and among its home buyers are the second and third-generation descendants of original clients, Reyes said.
The company advertises in The Miami Laker to reach the local market, their neighbors in Miami Lakes. And those neighbors read the community newspaper.
“Being able to advertise in a publication that feels very local and close to home, I mean all of us live within close proximity as well [as near] the office,” Office Administrator Lynzee Alvarez said.
The Force Group will celebrate 39 years in business this month.
“If you follow us on our social channels, we’ll probably have something fun,” said Alvarez.
A big celebration will happen next year, to mark the 40th anniversary, she said.