How I got into real estate
I've been building things my whole working life. Before real estate I ran my own ventures — a few that worked, a few that taught me more than they earned. That stretch is where I learned to read a contract properly, negotiate without flinching, and accept that when something goes wrong it's mine to fix. Those turn out to be most of this job.
Alongside that I was coaching people on their money. My wife Ashley and I had dug ourselves out of about $250,000 of debt, and I got certified through Ramsey Solutions' Financial Coach Master Training so I could help other people do the same. Sitting across from families working through their budgets, the same thing kept surfacing: the house. Biggest asset, biggest debt, biggest decision — and usually the one they had the least good help with.
So I got licensed. Not as a career change so much as a continuation. The longer version of that story is here if you want it.
How I work
Four things I hold to, whether you're buying your first house or selling your fourth.
1. Your numbers come before the house
I'm going to ask what you owe, what you need to net, and what the payment does to your monthly budget before I ask what neighborhood you like. Some agents skip that because it can talk people out of buying. I'd rather you buy the right house in eight months than the wrong one this month.
2. I'll tell you when the answer is no
If a cash offer is a bad trade for your situation, if Move First doesn't clear the math, if the house you love is overpriced by forty grand — you'll hear it from me. That costs me deals. It's the whole reason people send me their friends.
3. You get options, not a single product
Most agents can do exactly one thing: list your house and wait. I can list it, source competing cash offers, get you into your next home before this one sells, or cut my fee to 1.49% if you'd rather do the legwork. Four real paths, and I'll tell you which one I'd take.
4. I do the negotiating myself
I carry the CREN designation, which is negotiation-specific, and it shows up in the least glamorous part of the deal: the repair-and-credit conversation after inspection. That's where money quietly moves and where most people never realize they gave some away.
"He exemplified the concept of under promising and over delivering… He successfully negotiated every concession. On two occasions, he and I would agree on a figure. When he'd return from talking to the buyer he'd have secured an even better deal."
— Cabal O'Dell, seller · Google review
Who I am outside of work
I'm a Christian, and it isn't decoration — it's the reason I'd rather lose a commission than talk someone into something. If I tell you a house has a problem, that's not a tactic.
I'm a husband to Ashley and a dad to our son Samuel. We live here, in the same market I sell in. I don't work Sundays. Clients tell me that says something about how I'll treat their priorities too, and I think they're right — if I'll hold a line for my own family, I'll hold one for yours.
I also coordinate Financial Peace University classes locally, which I'm not paid for.
