Phil’s
first love was jazz. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas and developed a love
for music. His uncle, a high school band director, gave him his first
snare drum when he was 8 years old. His parents supported his ambition
and, at the age of 16, he was asked to play in the University of Wichita
Jazz Big Band. After graduating from high school, he went to Los Angeles
to attend the Westlake School of Music. From there, he became a successful
working drummer playing various styles of music including jazz gigs
playing with the likes of Red Mitchell, Art Pepper, and Pete Christlieb,
among others. Later Phil toured with Mitzi Gaynor and Ann-Margret, which
culminated in a performance in the East Room of the White House with one
of the greatest entertainers of all time, Sammy Davis, Jr.
After achieving his goals in music, he chose a career
in real estate, which offered him an equally challenging opportunity. Phil
started in residential real estate at Coldwell-Banker from 1977-1982,
where he quickly distinguished himself. From 1980-1982, Phil was chosen to
be the manager of the Merrill-Lynch Realty Woodland Hills office, where he
made it one of the top producing offices in the San Fernando Valley. With
almost 100 agents, he continued to increase sales that perpetuated the
success of that office. Phil then became Executive Vice-President of
DGM/Financial Properties where he developed their residential and
investment division, after which he joined Prudential California Realty in
their Beverly Hills office. In 1993, Phil moved to Elite Properties Realty
where he is Executive Vice-President and heads up The Seymour Group, which
specializes in representing receivers, partition referees, bankruptcy
trustees and institutional trusts. Phil’s wife, Sandy, who started in real
estate at the same time, supervises the marketing and sale of their
residential properties. Phil met Sandy when they were both musicians. She
started the piano when she was 4 and then took up the violin at 6 years of
age. Phil proposed after two weeks of dating, and they were married
thereafter. What a combination - drums and violin! Before they met, Sandy
had a successful career appearing in some of the world’s greatest concert
venues including Carnegie Hall. She was also in the first Jascha Heifetz
Master Class at UCLA where she auditioned for Mr. Heifetz and Gregor
Piatagorsky.
It’s an interesting story how Phil got started in
representing receivers. About fourteen years ago, Phil met Edythe Bronston
(one of the original founders of the California Receivers Forum) through a
close friend of hers who was coincidentally his former drum teacher when
he first moved to L.A. Edy appreciated Phil’s real estate experience and
thought he would be a good fit for representing fiduciaries. Edy
subsequently employed Phil to sell 30 properties for one of her
receiverships along with many others over the years, including the sale of
an estate in Beverly Hills for $35,000,000.
Two years ago, Phil was elected to the California
Receivers Forum (CRF) Board of Directors (Los Angeles/Orange County
Chapter) and is presently Treasurer. He says "it represents an excellent
opportunity for him to make a contribution to the CRF Forum."
Phil has contributed his expertise for the sales
of real estate assets as a panelist at Loyola ll, lll and lV– the
California Receivers Forum two-day Conference at Loyola Law School. He has
also participated in multiple educational panels for the CRF held at the
law firm of Buchalter Nemer in Los Angeles. His article, "Getting the Most
Out of your Real Estate Broker in Sales of Real Property," appeared in the
Receivership News in 2014.
Outside of real estate, his interest is, of
course, music. He has been on the Board of Directors of the California
Jazz Foundation (a non-profit helping jazz musicians) for 8 years and
recently moved to its Advisory Board. He also is a supporter of Heart of
Los Angeles (HOLA). HOLA is in partnership with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, to bring orchestral music to underserved
children in L.A. It is a free music education program that provides
participating students with intensive after-school orchestral instruction
and academic tutoring.
It can’t be "all business!" Phil and Sandy love to
entertain (Sandy is a gourmet cook) and having friends over for dinner
with great wine and conversation, which sometime includes an occasional
trip to Napa Valley.
Phil’s enthusiasm for the diversity and challenges
associated with his work never wanes. But at the end of the day, Phil can
go home to his drums, sit down and drum away, staying in touch with the
music he loves – JAZZ!!!
Not a bad gig….."From the White House to the
Courthouse."
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