NATCHEZ &045;&045; Opening a new office and putting a different focus on his real estate business has given Tim Gay a lift in recent months.

With more than 16 years in the field, he began in 2002 to become an appraiser &045;&045; not an easy task, requiring many hours of study as well as an internship.

&uot;Two years ago I went to work under Bob Gavin,&uot; Gay said. &uot;I went to Bob about the internship and he said, ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’ That was heaven sent.&uot;

Both Tim and his wife, Janet, became licensed in real estate in Mississippi and Louisiana in 1988 and worked for the Joe and Sue Stedman company until 1995.

&uot;I was top producer in that office for six years running,&uot; Tim Gay said. &uot;Then in 1995, we opened our own firm with several agents. We closed the office in 2002 but continued to work out of our house.&uot;

Multiple factors led to the closing, including a shrinking of the Natchez economic base. The Gays sent out resumes out of town and put their house on the market, thinking they would have to leave Natchez to find good jobs.

&uot;But we really were committed to Natchez and wanted to raise our kids here,&uot; Tim Gay said. He began to rethink his professional status. Janet began a full-time position with Key Rehab, leaving some time for a little real estate on the side.

In June, Tim Gay Appraisal Service opened at 116 Lower Woodville Drive. Gay built a Web site, timgayappraisals.com. And the Internet has led to many opportunities to work with businesses outside Natchez.

&uot;Appraisals are now primarily what I focus on,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s more office work and consultant work. I can work with homes, businesses, estates and divorces. People call in appraisers when they want to buy a piece of property.&uot;

Gay will handle real estate sales but prefers not to maintain an inventory of listings, he said. &uot;I tend to be more in the line of buyers’ brokerage.&uot;

A member of Leadership 2002 Mississippi Association of Realtors, he holds memberships in the Natchez area Realtor association as well as in the Southwest Mississippi Board of Realtors, which covers Copiah, Pike and Lincoln counties.

&uot;I’m basically working in a 60-mile radius of Natchez, in Mississippi and in Louisiana,&uot; Gay said.