The Dynamic Pat & Julie Duo

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue:

Julie Osborn and Pat Allen

Pat and Julie, 1977

Perhaps no relationship is as highly charged or has been more explored than that of a mother and daughter. At its best, the mother-daughter dynamic can be as close as two humans can get. 

But what happens when you throw business into the bond?   

Two women who have successfully navigated that path are local realtors, Pat Allen, and daughter, Julie Osborn.  

They recently shared their story with me.  The secret to the success of their relationship and business is revealed in their conversation and obvious rapport.  

From the moment she was born, Julie and her Mom had a close relationship.  So perhaps it’s not surprising that they ultimately went into business together.  

Julie recalls that the two were very involved in their church in Macon, Georgia – attending Sunday School every Sunday, church both morning and evening, and Wednesday night suppers. 

Favorite memories of her time with Mom include digging for sand dollars with their toes at the beach, picnics in the park, and scuba diving in the Caribbean.  She jokes about the sandwiches Pat packed in her school lunch boxes – the “most awful peanut butter sandwiches ever; the peanut butter spread so thin because Mom was afraid I would gain weight. But, worst of all, she always took a bite out of the corner – I guess so I would remember her.”  

The pair talk sweetly about their mutual love for Pat’s second husband (also named Pat), whom Pat married when Julie was 12 years old.  The three were inseparable from the beginning, traveling and goofing off and dancing to the “Phantom of the Opera” or just spending quiet time at home.  

As Julie reminisces, “He was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

When Julie was a child, Pat befriended an older woman, a deaf-mute whom she had met while working in the hospital, and Julie accompanied her Mom on twice-weekly visits to the nursing home. The experiences formed the basis of a lifelong love of older people and a career in health care.  Julie became an Occupational Therapist, and for 10 years, worked for the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Scottsdale, and Rochester, helping the disabled and elderly.  

Twenty-seven years ago, Pat and her husband Pat moved to Highlands and opened a B & B – the Morning Star.  Seven years later, they sold the Inn.  

Taking inspiration from her former career as a decorator, Pat became a realtor.  

In 2007, Julie made a similar career move when she moved to Atlanta and got a job with Harry Norman Realtors.  When telling her Mom of the decision, she remembers that Pat remarked, “You will never have another day off in your life.”  And then, in 2014, Julie joined Mom at work at Pat Allen Realty.

Their working relationship has been, as Julie tells me, “a good fit.  I’m the analytical and organized one while Mom is creative and a great salesperson.  And we both have a gift with people.”     

They occasionally butt heads, “because we’re both so independent.”  But while their work lives overlap, their private lives are very different. They maintain separate residences, and Julie, the more introverted of the two, spends her free time reading, exercising, traveling, and spending time with her dog.   

Pat does not stay home a lot and enjoys dinner out with friends, especially wine dinners, and going to plays and concerts. 

As Julie likes to say, “Mom’s always been fun; it’s like working with Lucille Ball.”  

Their hard work together has paid off. Pat and Julie were the Number One sales team for Highlands and Number 12 in the entire state in residential sales.