Curtis ANSWERING THE PRAYER Petersen

Growing up in Aubrey, Curtis Petersen’s life revolved around two things: ranch life and baseball. His father oversaw a ranch of around 4,000 acres, and much of Curtis’ childhood was spent learning the value of hard work alongside his parents.

“As a young child, I learned how to work hard by watching my mom and dad. I was homeschooled, and it was school in the morning… riding horses and working cows in the afternoon,” Curtis reflects.

When Curtis hit his teenage years, his attention shifted toward baseball. Throughout his time at Ryan High School in Denton, his focus was God, school, and his dreams of playing pro ball.

“I fell in love with baseball. I started a little later than most, and I wasn’t very talented, but I knew how to work hard. Everything I did was work, work, work,” Curtis explains. “I was helping on the ranch some, but at that point, my dad saw bigger things for me and wanted me to pursue baseball.”

Curtis’ hard work paid off. After graduating high school, Curtis was drafted by the Miami Marlins with the 118th pick of the 2008 MLB draft.

Leaning into Faith Curtis played for six years in the Marlins’ minor league system. He had some success, but after years of grueling work with low pay, he began considering another path forward.

“One year, I was in spring training, and I was in the outfield shagging fly balls. The thing about spring training is nobody gets paid in spring training, whether you’re a minor leaguer or a $300 million player. I was thinking about how hard I was working, and I wasn’t collecting a paycheck. I went back to my hotel, sat on the floor, and prayed about it. I asked the Lord, ‘What can I do to make a paycheck today, to help my financial future?’ I went to bed, and the first thing when I woke up in the morning — the answer was real estate.”

Curtis decided to pursue real estate investing while continuing his baseball career. Although he had a large signing bonus, his regular pay was poor, and he struggled to secure a loan.

“I walked into two, three, four banks, and they all denied my situation, being 21, right in the middle of the recession,” Curtis remembers.

Despite being denied time and time again, Curtis couldn’t let go of the idea of investing in real estate.

“I thought about it all during the season. I just kept thinking that I needed to get into real estate. It never left my mind. The thing about me is I’m really good at picking one thing and being good at it, and real estate became that one thing. I started to fall out of love with baseball and into love with real estate.”

Curtis eventually found a bank that would loan him the funds for his first rental home, a $53,000 house in Sanger, Texas. One rental turned into two, then three. After two years, he owned ten investment properties.

Becoming a REALTOR®

Curtis met his wife, Megan, in 2009. Initially, she was a leasing agent, and she got her real estate license in 2013. By then, Curtis was out of baseball and had returned to live in Texas full-time. He’d been working for his dad at the ranch to reset, but when Megan began to see success, he decided to join her. In 2019, Curtis was licensed, starting the next stage of his real estate journey.

Curtis has risen to the top of the real estate rankings in just three years. He closed $47 million in 2021 and followed that up with another $47 million in 2022 — just his second and third full years in the business. He also leads a team, Petersen Property Group Powered by Fathom Realty, which currently has eight agents, including Curtis and Megan.

Leaning into Strengths

Curtis believes that focusing on and maximizing strengths is the key to success. As a leader, his work is to help his agents discover their strengths and build a business centered on those qualities.

“Let’s do what you’re good at. It doesn’t matter what you do in life. If you are the best at it, you’ll be successful,” he says.

Curtis is also big on emotional intelligence — mainly learning to read people and express empathy. He enjoys complicated deals, putting out fires, and working hard for his clients.

“That comes from my work ethic as a kid,” he explains. “Nothing was easy on the ranch. I just learned to appreciate hard things and difficult situations and how to grow through them.”

In 2023, Curtis is excited to continue growing his team and expanding his reach. His dream is to create a group of agents who, one day, become leaders themselves.

“We are growing,” he smiles. “Come grow with us.”

Family Spotlight

Curtis and his wife, Megan, live in Aubrey with their four children, Aubree (8), Jackson (6), Luka (3), and Blakely (1).