The Village Idiot: Part 1

So this is me. Back when being me was cool. I'm the guy in the mafioso jacket and celebrity sun glasses, brandishing the less than intended local Hawaiian haircut, surrounded a bunch of guys dumb enough to fly half way around the world with me to get lei'd and drunk on a beach.  To help folks who weren't there understand, I decided to get married. Back then, I spent the majority of my time in three-piece suits, practicing great decorum, persistent on traveling the world promoting companies that rarely even believed in themselves, making it even more difficult to convince their targeted audience of the same. I don't remember a time that I ever had a callous on my hands or even dirt underneath a fingernail. This throwback, in retro, now looks like a scene out of the movie Hangover. After two glorious weeks of trying to match my tan to the locals and prove that we could drain the island of Long Board, I now remember just about as much.  

Alan? Phil? Doug?? 

After making waves in the corporate world of marketing as the aggressive, uniquely handsome guy that I was, coupled with an incurable appetite for terrible dry humor, I eventually found my true love in the world of real estate. Whilst I could easily spin this dialogue into sweet indications of this meaning my wife, Michelle, who is both a real estate agent and title agent, I do not want to digress from this thoroughly engaging story of myself (sorry, my website, my rules). 

Proving that it is, in fact, possible to leave Harlan alive, my family planted our roots in my wife's hometown of London, Kentucky (go Bullfrogs!!). Growing up years prior in Harlan, no one ever asked me where I was from. These days, if I had $10 for every time I've been asked where I was from over the last 16-18 years while here in London, I'd likely give Warren, Bill, and Elon a run for their ranking. But, again, lets not digress. 

Despite my deep attraction, and knowing 2/3rds of the local real estate community, I've never practiced real estate professionally (on intention). I did, however, find a passion for investment. It all started with a thing called a "short sale" my first year. Within a couple more years, I was buying and selling dozens of homes a year. My best year totaling 32. Now..  one could technically say that I have had no formal training in the art of contracting and construction, but then again, one would be very wrong. Let me explain;  If you've ever graduated from a professional program, the first thing you learn once you begin working in the field is that very little you learned in the program actually applied. Real-world training starts once you begin getting experience. And, similar to having a Rich Dad / Poor Dad, I've since been fortunate to learn from a variety of angles, encompassing both good ol' boy techniques and best professional practices. Cost of this education?? Much, much more than my degree! 

Over the last 15 years, there isn't much that I haven't dealt with in the world of real property. I can't imagine an issue related to a home or building that I haven't been challenged with (but never say never). Being 'on the job' all day, every day, simply for the love of the game, turned a one-time rookie into what folks at Comicon would recognize and now refer to as being a Jedi Master. 

Let's break it down.  Have I (or anyone) 'seen it all'? Umm, no. And be wary of people who have. Am I the best that could possibly exist in the business? Not by a long shot. Is my team the fastest? Maybe not. Are we the largest? No, by design.  Are we the best fit for everyone? Again, imma say no.  Now let's change the meta a bit... Are we qualified and capable? More than most. Are we compassionate and understanding? Absolutely! Are we honest? Even when it hurts!  Have we taken the difficult road of doing things right, being licensed and insured (believe it or not, this is VERY expensive proposition and unique to providers in our area)? Yes, yes we have, as a precaution more to our clients than to ourselves.. Do we plan on maintaining roots in the area, unashamed of meeting folks that we have had the pleasure of working with in the shopping centers, grocery shopping, at church, or around town?  Yes, unlike others who are here today and gone tomorrow in order to make a quick buck, we're vested in our community, more than we'll ever share publicly. 

So what am I doing now? Some days you'll find me strolling along the Walmart parking lot looking for dropped food with my two Korean Yorkies. Other times, maybe shouting incorrect latin vulgarities at hard working folks assisting with my roofing jobs while counting their obvious eye rolls. Or, if you're lucky, you may catch sight of me driving my skid steer really fast into various size trees just to prove that I don't give a damn how old or big they are, even they can fall.  But all that said, once the weekend is over, I spend the grand majority of my time taking care of issues that plague my neighbors and our community. In the post-COVID era, where the American landscape became a wasteland of folks who can't be paid or begged to come to work. I'm proud to have built a reliable resource for people needing real home solutions. When I'm not trying to get rich developing some cool gadget like that jerk Steve Martin did, I'm actually building investment properties, rehabilitating and expanding houses, re-roofing homes, improving the value of neighborhoods, hoping at the end of the day to leave a small mark in creating an improvement in our small community. If you are considering a new construction, a remodel, a new roof, siding, decks, or just looking for someone really cool to kick rocks with, please look me up. I hang my hat at 500 S. Laurel Road in London. My office door is the one marked with the large sign which reads "The Village Idiot."