As a kid I use to draw blueprints, but architecture is too mechanical for me. I spent my time reading history books. Reading about other cultures and travel. Reading about making fortunes in Real Estate. So naturally I’d eventually get my license.
My parents have lived in the same house since we moved to Fort Wayne in 1978…from South Bend. So learning how to take care of and replace is just part of my life. I had no idea I’d find it so uncomfortable being a renter in other’s houses.
One house had such drafty windows that even putting up plastic, and having a space heater we barely kept it to 62degrees and had $300 gas bills. The kitchen only had 6ft of counter space to use and personalizing wasn’t an option.
Our second place was not in great condition either. The air conditioner had to be refilled each year with freon. The upstairs “master suite” had no heating or cooling so we also had to use space heaters, and an additional air conditioner. We went over 6 months without the ability to use the garage door, because the landlord was waiting for someone to fix the spring. We also had no use of the dishwasher for a year because the same person replaced the garbage disposal wrong and made it in operable.
I spent a lot of that time trying to find a way to get us a house that we could work on and make sure we had what we needed and were comfortable.
This journey would take us another 5yrs and a lot of stops and starts, but so worth it. Home ownership is definitely the Pursuit of Happiness, Mr. Jefferson. (Ask me sometime the crazy details, its too long to put here.)
I got recruited by a Tucker agent to get my license reactivated. It seemed like a good company even though I was not looking at franchises as somewhere I’d affiliate with.
I had to go down to Indianapolis to take several days of training. I love any excuse for a road trip. And I was looking forward to getting back into the activities associated with properties. There is so many details to the market place that a typical For Sale By Owner may put themselves in a litigation situation. Some properties are not simple.
I was most surprised at how much I loved all the people I was meeting at the corporate headquarters. Since I like school and learning, I knew I’d absorb as much as possible. But the FC Tucker company is different!!!
Jim Litten is the third generation to own the company. He has been in Indy real estate since the 1970s. Any company that can keep going for a hundred years is doing something right, considering all our economy has experienced since 1918.
While learning all I could about how the industry has changed since I first got my license, I learned 3 things Tucker does that gives me confidence it will last beyond my time.
- They keep very current, slightly ahead of the curve…like a surfer riding a wave. They seem to have mastered, and experienced, many ups and downs in the market and even when things are “bad” they still have profit. As the sales dramatically go on line, they were early in adopting websites and lead capture systems that even now have results far above the nearest competitor.
- The company culture is so family oriented. Yes, sales can be a competitive job…but to be with people who want you to succeed as much as themselves is awesome. They look out for one another like I haven’t seen in awhile in business. Mostly you find that kind of atmosphere in brotherhood organizations: groups that have a collective goal and member support.
- In the hundred year history, the company has grown and branch out to all facets of the property market. So Tucker makes it so easy to help your clients. Kinda like Walmart makes it easy to shop by having low prices. Tucker has supports and affiliates that get your clients the best deal possible. Their Mortgage company has so many choices they usually can beat anyone local on terms or rates. They have insurances, title work, or home services to get people ready for the market and even move. They are affiliated with a referral service that is international and can connect you with a great agent in any local in the world.
Can you see why I’d be excited to be part of this supportive group. I feel they have my back and I can do whatever it takes to help a client get the keys at the signing table.
When I decided to do this, I had to really think about what direction I wanted to focus on. I am not “salesperson”-y so I’m not looking for single transactions. “Hey, wanna buy a house??” I want to help friends with buying and selling, help new friends take the plunge into investing in rentals, help my new friends with buy low—sell high.
I hope you come back here to my website to learn all you can with me about Fort Wayne and property ownership. This will be a great journey, and we’ll go together!
Cheers!