Jana Bantz: Jana Bantz & Associates

The string of letters after her name is certainly impressive, but what’s even more impressive about Jana Bantz, Realtor, ABR, CRS, GRI, MRP, CNE, is the high level of service she provides her clients. For Jana, that great service is reflected in the loyalty her clients have shown her.

“They have stuck with me through the years, and I’m now selling homes to their children, which is such a lovely thing to be trusted with,” she said.

Jana Bantz & Associates, which Jana founded in 2002, is affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Southern Coast Real Estate. Lisa Maynor, Donna Dursher and Lisa Provost make up the rest of her team.

“I’ve hand-selected people to work with me who truly care about taking care of our clients,” said Jana.

All four have raised families here and love the area. The Summerville-based team serves clients looking to buy and sell all over the greater Charleston area, from Wadmalaw to Santee, and they do it as a team.

“We all work together,” said Jana. “There is always someone available, seven days a week, to take a call and help our clients. Every team member is familiar with every file. You get four for the price of one!”

Jana decided to pursue her real estate license while working as a relocation director in a real estate office; it turned out that she had a natural talent for the work. She has closed more than $200 million in deals since she started 23 years ago and has received industry recognition, including Prudential’s Rookie of the Year Award. She also claimed Prudential’s Legend Award in 2013, based on five years of steady production during one of the worst real estate recessions in U.S. history. Jana’s obviously doing something right.

“I want to make sure that I do my job well,” she said. “I seek additional knowledge whenever possible so that I can constantly be on top of trends and laws and regulations.”

To do that, she’s gone through extensive training to earn the letters after her name. Each acronym represents many hours of study and another skill set she can use to best serve her clients.

“Having those designations puts us in the top 2 percent of Realtors in the United States,” she pointed out.

Jana, who originally hails from West Virginia and has lived in the Lowcountry since 1986, believes in giving back to the community.

“We give a portion of every closing to Dorchester Children in Crisis, and we support the Dorchester County Foster Children Association. We have helped with food drives for local food banks and the SPCA,” she said.

Jana’s office also gets involved with many of their clients’ children’s sporting teams, as sponsors of baseball teams, hockey teams and more.

“If our clients are involved in it, we like to help,” she said.

Jana works hard at the office but also works hard to focus on family and fun outside of work. She and her husband of 38 years became grandparents for the first time last year to grandson Fisher. And, once a year, the couple takes a week off to travel somewhere new. Last year they enjoyed time in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler; this year they’ll see Yellowstone National Park, Montana and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

“It’s a new adventure every year,” she said.

By Erin Danly