1514 Illinois Street
Orlando, FL 32803
407-897-2120
Fax: 407-897-6742

"The LightHouse Story"

What an amazing journey it has been for Mike Trexler and Rick Moore, owners of Lighthouse Realty of Orlando, Inc.! In the early 90’s as residents of Fern Park, they discovered a distraught 1922 Colonialtown bungalow that they purchased with the intent to fix-up and resell. However, during the 9-month renovation, they became captivated by the 32-window, second-story addition that was added in 1940 by a U.S. Air Force Orchestra violinist as his Music Room. Once the hammering and painting was complete they moved in and sold their Fern Park property. With a little imagination, this unique room reminded Mike and Rick of a ‘lantern room’ atop a real lighthouse, with a bird’s eye view of downtown Orlando. They quickly became lighthouse enthusiasts and named their home “The Illinois Street Lighthouse”, thus the legacy began! They even keep a brass lantern aglow ‘around the clock’ to honor the real lighthouse keepers of the past!

Their home at 1510 Illinois Street even captured the Golden Brick Award from the City of Orlando for finest residential renovation in 1992. In 1994 fame came calling when the Oprah Winfrey Show held a remodeling contest featuring unique homes throughout America. They received over 12,000 entries, and ‘The Illinois Street Lighthouse’ was one of the 30 renovations selected and showcased with it’s very own 55-seconds of national TV exposure! Throughout the 90’s Mike and Rick continued to buy and remodel homes in the Colonialtown neighborhood adding them to their growing stable of rental properties.

When Mike’s mother decided it was time for her to retire and bid farewell to her own real estate company, Mike needed a new place to hang his real estate license. Mike and Rick eagerly opened up Lighthouse Realty of Orlando and began operating from the guest room of their home. Their big break came in 2000 when the law office next door to their residence vacated and the 1922 bungalow was put up for sale. The “Lighthouse Boys” as they had become known quickly scooped up the property and began to work their renovator’s magic.

The new space enhanced by a tropical motif with nautical overtones and original hardwood floors was transformed into the new home of Lighthouse Realty of Orlando, Inc.! With a gorgeous view that overlooks the new Towne Square Park in the heart of Colonialtown, Lighthouse Realty doubles as Colonialtown’s ‘unofficial’ Chamber of Commerce! Growth and excitement soon followed with their new facility expanding from a 2-person team to 15 sales associates. “I’ve never seen such a group of people work with such passion, enthusiasm, creativity and teamwork”, says Mike. “That’s why I call them the CREW!”

To date, Lighthouse Realty has hosted two Caribbean Extravaganza ‘thank you’ parties on site, featuring a steel drum band, fire dancers, live performing parrots, Margarita Man, and more! With over 300 guests attending last October’s function, this ‘appreciation’ party thanked the entire crew’s list of buyers and sellers, past and present, and cooperating Realtors involved in Lighthouse Realty transactions. Hopefully, you, too, will be on next year’s guest list!

The amazing growth of LHR has spawned a Neighborhood Web site and now we see the birth of our very own newspaper, the “Lighthouse Navigator”. These are just several of the valuable tools we utilize to attract buyers and sellers to our door. The ‘Welcome Aboard’ lifebuoy inside the office symbolizes the unique team spirit found at Lighthouse Realty of Orlando, Inc. Now, YOU can rely on the entire CREW to help you buy or sell in the Downtown area AND the suburbs! We thank you for your patronage!

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