North Fort Worth Real Producers - April 2023

CONNECTING. ELEVATING. INSPIRING.

JEREMY SMITH BACK

Lucia Rushton: Food for Thought

Katherine Allen: Three’s Company

ON TRACK

EVENT PHOTOS INSIDE!

Holly Oestereich: The Best Bad Thing

Texas Direct Roofing & Construction Full-Service. Total Quality.

Semper Fi Home Inspections: Always Faithful

Photo by: Desiree Roberts

This section has been created to give you easier access when searching for a trusted real estate affiliate. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the businesses sponsoring your magazine.

These local businesses are proud to partner with you and make this magazine possible. Please support these businesses and thank them for supporting the REALTOR® community!

ATTORNEY

Sullivan Law Offices

Christopher Sullivan (214) 784-9900

sullivanlawoffices.com

BRANDED MARKETING MATERIALS

Lovehandle

(281) 778-2051

www.lovehandle promo.com

BUILDER

Perry Homes, LLC

(972) 629-3900

perryhomes.com; brittonhomestexas.com

BUSINESS COACHING

Rialto Academy

(512) 743-4330

RialtoAcademy.com

CLIENT AND REFERRAL GIFTS

Board + Brie

(817) 693-1908

boardbriedfw.com

Buttermilk Sky

Pie Colleyville

(817) 581-7437

buttermilkskypie.com/ locations/colleyville/

COMMERCIAL ROOFING PROCO

(817) 975-5948

procoroof.com

FOUNDATION REPAIR

DW Foundation Repair

(817) 706-3430

HEALTH

Restore Hyperwellness & Cryotherapy

(817) 912-1550

Restore.com

HEALTH CARE COVERAGE

Impact Health

Stephanie Ziemann

(817) 682-1356

HOME INSPECTION

Endeavor Real

Estate Inspections

Chris Carathers

(817) 726-5333 endeavorinspect.com

Greenworks

(855) 349-6757

greenworksinspections.com

HomeTeam

Inspection Service

(972) 400-7034

HomeTeam-DFW.com

Inspect360

(817) 754-0360

inspect360.com

Semper Fi Home Inspections, Inc.

(682) 351-2267

SemperFiHome

Inspections.com

Super Team Services

Robyn Jordan (940) 367-1708 superteamservices.com

HOME WARRANTY

Achosa Home Warranty (817) 933-8707

www.achosahw.com

INSURANCE

Duren Jenkins Agency (817) 445-0120

insurinwithduren.com

Jason Ridley Agency (817) 281-4500

jasonridleyagency.com

JUNK REMOVAL

Junkluggers of Grapevine, Irving & Denton

Rajagopal Ramanujam

(630) 470-8307

junkluggersofgid.com

MORTGAGE LENDING

Ameridream Mortgage Group, LLC AmeriDreamMtg.com

Cardinal Financial Company, LP

(972) 777-5626 (LOAN)

TheBryanConnatser Team.com

Cherry Creek Mortgage

(817) 709-4683

NunisLending.com

Cross Country Mortgage

Corey Kastler

(817) 715-5637

crosscountrymortgage.com/ THE-KASTLER-TEAM/

Edge Home Finance (972) 333-7360

www.txhomeloan broker.com

First United Mortgage Group (469) 629-0776 firstunitedbank.com

Movement Mortgage (469) 202-4195

LoanOfficerMark.com

Neighborhood Loans

(817) 501-4255 mikeprotono.com

OriginPoint

Dan Carson (512) 878-3047

Titan Lending, LLC (817) 290-3464

titanlending.com

MOVING COMPANY

Black Tie Moving North Fort Worth JC Caldwell (615) 900-2641

MOVING SERVICES

Firehouse Movers Inc

(972) 412-6033

firehousemovers.com

Stonebriar Moving Services

(469) 734-9000

stonebriarmoving.com

The Perfect Move

Don Hall (682) 206-9132

theperfectmove.net

PEST CONTROL PROCO

(817) 975-5948

procoroof.com

PHOTOGRAPHY

Desiree Roberts

Photography (972) 998-3133

DesireeRoberts.com

Katie Wallace Studios (817) 688-8557

katiewallacestudios.com

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

American Real PM (469) 620-0114

americanrealpm.com

RESIDENTIAL ROOFING PROCO

(817) 975-5948

procoroof.com

ROOFING

Alpha Roofing & Restoration

(817) 330-9250

roofbyalpha.com

K&M Services, Roofing & Construction

(817) 918-3940 kmservicepro.com

Tarrant Roofing (817) 571-7809

TarrantRoofing.com

Texas Direct Roofing & Construction

(682) 408-8551 txdroofing.com

ROOFING & SOLAR

Rankin Roofing & Solar LLC (469) 952-9151 rankinroofingandsolar.com

STAGE & DESIGN

Evergreen Staging & Design

Sherwood Wilson (817) 513-3141 x1

evergreenstaging.com

TITLE COMPANY

Alamo Title Company

Cory Turner

(817) 896-8686 www.alamodfw.com

Boston National Title of Texas

(972) 584-9660

bnttexas.com

Juniper Title, Inc.

Julia Mitchell

(817) 358-9500

junipertitle.com

McKnight Title

(817) 500-4146

www.mcknighttitle.com

Texas Excel Title LLC (817) 980-1018

TexasExcelTitle.com

Texas Premier Title (817) 577-5111

www.TXPrem.com

TRANSACTION COORDINATOR

Controlled Transactions (817) 889-0864 controlledtransactions.com

VIDEOGRAPHY/ PHOTOGRAPHY

StudioUSA

(469) 955-5833 studiousa.live

WEBSITE DESIGN MPC Studios Inc. (956) 423-2233

mpcstudios.com

WINDOWS Glass Guru Southlake (817) 424-3500

theglassguru.com/southlake

AVAILABLE!

USDA Home Loan

Member FDIC. NMLS #400025 Ⓒ 2022 First United Bank. All Rights Reserved.

First United Bank (NMLS #400025) is a licensed lender in Oklahoma and Texas. The content in this advertisement is for informational purposes only. This is not an offer for extension of credit or commitment to lend. All loans subject to program guidelines and final underwriting approval. Not all applicants qualify. Information and pricing are subject to change at any time and without notice. Please consult your mortgage loan consultant for further information.

JONATHAN ALEXANDER 972-523-1055

JAlexander@FirstUnitedBank.com JAHomeLoans.com

TYLER SPEAKMAN

Tyler.Speakman@FirstUnitedBank.com MortgagewithTyler.com

SAM ELDER 214-228-8774 Sam.Elder@FirstUnitedBank.com SElder.FirstUnitedTeam.com

JWeston@FirstUnitedBank.com

JWeston.FirstUnitedTeam.com

PATRICIA MAHONEY 214-952-6077

PMahoney@FirstUnitedBank.com MahoneyHomeLoans.com

STANLEY P. SMITH 214-223-1724

SPSmith@FirstUnitedBank.com

SPSmith.FirstUnitedTeam.com

MEET THE NORTH FT. WORTH REAL PRODUCERS TEAM

If you are interested in contributing or nominating REALTORS® for certain stories, please email us at lance.dunahoe@realproducersmag.com.

If you are interested in contributing or nominating REALTORS® for certain stories, please email us at lance.dunahoe@realproducersmag.com.

DISCLAIMER: Any articles included in this publication and/or opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the views of The N2 Company d/b/a Real Producers but remain solely those of the author(s). The paid advertisements contained within the North Fort Worth Real Producers magazine are not endorsed or recommended by The N2 Company or the publisher. Therefore, neither The N2 Company nor the publisher may be held liable or responsible for business practices of these companies.

Desiree Roberts Photographer

Landon Robinson Director of Client Relations

Jordan Espeseth Founder/Co-owner

Julie Altemus Executive Director

Lance Dunahoe Co-owner

Katherine Fondren Content Coordinator

Kareen Delos Reyes Administrative Assistant

Dave Danielson Writer

Mark Fadden Writer

Missy Kremer Editor

Rick Davis Videographer

Jessica Nelson Social Media Director

Landon Day Photographer

DFW Real Producers

How Do the Events Work?

publisher’s note

Over the years, our DFW Real Producers event structure has changed. A few things, however, have and will always remain the same. For example, who gets invited and has access to our events. Our events are only for the Top 500 Producing Agents and our Real Producers Vetted Business Partners. Top 500 Agents can invite the agents on their team to join them at these events, if they want to. The businesses that partner with us have been vetted by the top agents, and the Real Producers Team, to ensure they are of the highest quality; these businesses are the ones that invest in our community and truly make this platform possible. For those reasons, we do not give access to outside businesses to our events. Keeping the integrity of what this community is remains very important to us, which is a community of the best-of-the-best that honors and respects one another.

When Real Producers started, we did four events a year per magazine. These events were always high-level social events, and they were awesome. After a couple of years, I felt that, in my opinion, they were a little

too rinse and repeat, and I wanted to add some variety to the mix. As we expanded from one publication to four, it has allowed us to create an exciting event structure that you won’t find in any other Real Producers community around the country. Now we increased the number of events that we do each year, and we have five different types of events: 1) Social Events 2) Magazine Celebration Events (only for those featured in the magazines and select businesses) 3) RP Vetted Business Socials (only for our partners) 4) Masterclass Events (Educational events with networking) 5) The ESPE Awards (our Black-Tie Awards Gala in November).

Some events are specific to each publication (ex: North Dallas Real Producers Top 500 Agents and RP Vetted Businesses only) and some of them are shared events where we invite the Top 500 Agents in all four publications and the businesses that partner in any of the four publications.

We, and everyone we have talked to, are very excited about these new event structures. Being in these rooms is so special. The agents who registered for our Masterclass event that we had in February had collectively produced over $2 billion and 6,000 units in 2022 alone. It truly is rare and an honor for us to be able to host these events for you all. From everyone on our DFW Real Producers Team, we thank you for your continued support and for making Real Producers the number one real estate community in DFW. Keep an eye out for your invitation to the next event! See you soon,

Jordan Espeseth DFW Real Producers Owner jordan.espeseth@n2co.com

WHICH REAL PRODUCERS

TERRITORY ARE YOU A PART OF?

REAL PRODUCERS IN THE DFW METROPLEX

WHICH REAL PRODUCERS TERRITORY ARE YOU A PART OF?

A Quick Look at the Different DFW Real Producers Markets

Real Producers in the DFW Metroplex

A Quick Look at the Different DFW

Real Producers Markets

Real Producers has 100+ franchises nationwide and there are four in DFW alone. In each of these markets, we pull the top 500 agents based off annual residential MLS sales volume. Where your broker address is located will determine which publication is for you. This map shows the territories for each of the four DFW franchises. If you are a top-500 agent in any of these markets, you will be receiving a publication every month and have the possibility of being featured at no cost to you!

Real Producers has 100+ franchises nationwide and there are four in DFW alone. In each of these markets, we pull the top 500 agents based off annual residential MLS sales volume. Where your broker address is located will determine which publication is for you. This map shows the territories for each of the four DFW franchises. If you are a top-500 agent in any of these markets, you will be receiving a publication every month and have the possibility of being featured at no cost to you!

North Dallas

Producers

L U C I A RUSHTON

rising star

Written by: Mark Fadden

Photos by: Desiree Roberts Photography

After a successful career all over the world in the hospitality industry, Lucia Rushton realized that real estate was her natural fit.

Growing up in California, Lucia Rushton made many trips to Catalina Island over the years. On one such visit, she met the man who would become her husband.

“I was working in hotels in Santa Barbara as a Director of Catering. I hit my sales goal and won a trip to Catalina Island,” Rushton said. “I walked into a dive shop on the island and met my future husband, Charlie.” The two kept in touch after that initial meeting and eventually Charlie moved to Santa Barbara from England six months later. As a chef, Charlie had worked with great chefs like Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsey. When an opportunity to go back to England and head the kitchen brigade at Mirabelle restaurant, he jumped at the opportunity and Rushton went with him.

“I began working on the floor with two different restaurant groups. Soon, I opened up my own restaurant consulting company,” Rushton said. The two got the itch to open their own restaurant and began looking at various locations around the world.

“I’m fluent in Spanish and Charlie speaks fluent French, so naturally we chose Australia,” Rushton said with a laugh. “We settled on Australia because of the American feel and the Aussie culture.”

They found what amounted to a shell of a restaurant in Port

Macquarie and converted it into Vintage Restaurant and Lounge with a modern European flair. “It turned out to be a little too upmarket for the beach town we were in,” said Rushton. So, they changed it to a café that served mainly lunch type fair. “While it proved to be a good move, we lost the spark for being restauranteurs,” Rushton said. “I mean a sandwich is a sandwich. We weren’t cooking the dishes that Charlie wanted to create any longer like sweetbreads or really great steaks.” They ended up selling the restaurant and moving back to Santa Barbara.

Back in America, Charlie got into the oil and gas business. His business partners were from Dallas, and one of their wives was trying to convince them to make the move to Frisco. “While Frisco didn’t feel right for us, we kept coming back to Dallas. So, we made the decision to move in March 2016 and then moved in April,” Rushton said. During that time, she met a realtor and started looking at different areas in the metroplex that

would be good place to raise their daughter Tallulah. “She was a competitive gymnast, so we ended up choosing Coppell because we wanted to be close to her gym,” said Rushton.

While Rushton and her family were new to the DFW area, they had some experience with the area while they were still living Down Under. “We had invested in DFW rentals while living in Australia. Once we got here, we drove around to get to know the different areas and decided to buy more investment properties,” Rushton said. She became a licensed Realtor so that they could network and acquire more investment properties.

These days, Rushton’s niche has become working with investors that are local and out of state. “These are people looking for passive income and legacy wealth,” she said. “Retail buyers may buy a property every five to seven years, but investors may buy one a quarter or even several a month.” When she does work with retail buyers, she encourages them to look at a property like an investor would. “It’s still a $500,000 to $1 million or more investment. They’re just living in it,” she said.

Whoever her client is, she always calls upon her prior experience in hospitality to ensure that she’s giving her clients exactly what they need. “Hospitality is a natural flow into customer service. My

mom used to always entertain, so I got to greet guests that would show up at our house,” Rushton said. “Being in the hospitality industry grew that customer service aspect in me and also helped me hone my time management skills.” She also calls upon her hospitality experience when dealing with the other people in the real estate transaction. “I try to get the best possible outcome for my client while being respectful of the other side,” she said.

When Rushton isn’t working, you might find her volunteering at their church or entertaining friends, who get to experience Charlie’s skills in the kitchen. But even when she isn’t working, real estate is always on her mind. It’s even become something of a family affair. Charlie is their business development officer and invests in multifamily properties, syndications, and hotel conversions. Tallulah is now a sophomore at Baylor, and she might join the family business one day. “We say that we are all things real estate around here ... where smart real estate meets sound business principles,” Rushton said. “And we love what we do.”

As far as getting back into hospitality, she leaves all that, especially the cooking, to Charlie. “As a former Michelin-star chef, he does 99% of the cooking,” she said. “While I’m in charge of washing dishes.”

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE FAQ

Real Producers magazine started in Indianapolis in 2015 and is now in over 100 markets across the nation and continues to spread rapidly. Real Producers first launched in DFW in August 2018 with North DFW Real Producers (now called “North Dallas”). In May 2019, Dallas Real Producers launched, and then Tarrant Real Producers in March 2021.

In 2022, Tarrant Real Producers split into two publications, North Fort Worth and Fort Worth Real Producers. Fort Worth Real Producers launched in August 2022!

Q: WHO RECEIVES REAL PRODUCERS MAGAZINES?

A: The top 500 real estate agents in each of the four markets in DFW based on their MLS production for the previous year. Refer to the map in this publication for the exact territories. If your broker address is within that given territory and you are in the top 500, you will receive that publication for the year. There are approximately 60,000 licensed real estate agents in DFW. The list will reset at the end of every year and continue to update annually.

Q: WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS MAGAZINE?

A: We believe that we are better together. When we surround ourselves with other successful, like-minded people, we grow to new heights. Real Producers is a platform that brings together the most elite individuals in DFW real estate.

We take the top 500 real estate agents and RP-vetted businesses in every market, and we build an exclusive community around that group. We share their stories, successes, market trends, and upcoming events — really, anything that will connect, inform and inspire, we put in our monthly publication.

Q: DOES REAL PRODUCERS HAVE EVENTS?

A: Yes! Each community will have two main events a year, and then we do a combined event at the end of the year, which is an awards gala called The ESPEs. For these events, we invite the top 500 real estate agents and our RP-vetted businesses. Top 500 agents are allowed to invite members of their team as well. These

events are an incredible opportunity to connect with the best of the best in DFW real estate. It is amazing to see the power in the connections made at these events. Be on the lookout for your exclusive invites!

Q: WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR BEING FEATURED IN THIS MAGAZINE?

A: It’s really simple. You have to be on the top 500 list, and we take nominations seriously. You can nominate other real estate agents, businesses, brokers, owners or even yourself! Office leaders can also nominate real estate agents. We will consider anyone brought to our attention who is in the top 500 because we don’t know everyone’s story, so we need your help to learn about them. We cannot guarantee a feature, but we encourage you to meet with one of our team members, support Real Producers and attend our private events to increase your chances.

You can email your nominations to jordan.espeseth@realproducersmag.com.

Q: WHAT DOES IT COST A REAL ESTATE AGENT/TEAM TO BE FEATURED?

A: Zero, zilch, zippo, nada, nil. It costs nothing, my friends, so nominate away! We are not a pay-to-play model. We share real stories of Real Producers.

Q: WHO ARE THE RP-VETTED BUSINESSES?

A: They are one of the best businesses in DFW in their category, and you can find them listed in our index! We don’t just find these businesses off the street, nor do we work with all businesses that approach us. One of many of the top real estate agents has recommended every single business you see in this publication. We won’t even meet with a business that has not been vetted by one of you and “stamped for approval,” in a sense. Our team will further vet every business to make sure they are a good fit and bring value to our community. Our goal is to create a powerhouse network, not only for the best real estate agents in the area but for the best businesses, as well, so we can grow stronger together.

Q: HOW CAN I RECOMMEND A BUSINESS?

A: If you know and want to recommend a business that works with top real estate agents, please email us to let us know at jordan.espeseth@realproducersmag.com.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

Magazine Release Party:

Starting in 2021, Real Producers started doing mini-magazine release parties! In attendance for these events, we will have those real estate agents and businesses featured in that issue, along with a few non-featured advertising partners.

Last month’s party, like all of our parties, was an absolute blast! At this event, we showcased the January/February/March 2023 issues. These events are a fun way to debut the magazine and connect with a smaller group of incredible people.

Congratulations again to Mena Wahbaa, Kelly Cawyer, Stephanie Wilson, Rejeani Campbell, Mark Karetskiy with Movement Mortgage, Mickey & Trish Bellows, Ashley Hart, Stephanie Ziemann, Beth Caudill, Kyle Karker with American RealPM, Shwe Sang, Amber Butcher, Shelby Love, Jennah Ciers, Junkluggers, and Titan Lending.

Our team feels very grateful to have had the chance to share your stories and celebrate with you.

We look forward to continuing these smaller celebrations in the months and years ahead!

Photos by Cruz Acevedo, StudioUSA

rp vetted business spotlight

Written by: Zach Cohen

Semper Fi Semper Fi Home Inspections

ALWAYS FAITHFUL

“Our motto is ‘Always faithful,’” Semper Fi owner Danny Smith begins.

After spending 20 years in the Marine Corps, Danny founded Semper Fi Home Inspections in 2010. Danny brings the technical prowess of a jet engine inspector, the commitment and integrity of a Marine, and the heart of a family man to his work. Everything he does is built on his values — God,

country, family and service. It’s no wonder he chose the name Semper Fi to represent his brand.

Semper Fidelis is a Latin phrase meaning “Always faithful.” The United States Marine Corps has adopted the phrase as a motto, and Marines often shorten it to Semper Fi.

“We are always faithful,” Danny explains, “to our customers, to our partners, to our families, and to our

values. We go above and beyond what they might expect. Our team is faithful throughout our relationship with our REALTORS® and partners. We want to grow deep, lasting friendships.”

Since founding Semper Fi Home Inspections, Danny has grown the company to a team of eight — five inspectors alongside the leadership

Photos by: Desiree Roberts

team, comprised of Owner/President

Danny Smith, Growth Manager

Tawnya Brigandi and Operations Manager Matthew Briley.

“We are a company that agents can count on,” Tawnya explains. “Our inspectors will arrive on time, the reports will be concise and delivered the same day, and our inspectors have professional, kind manners.”

Meet the Team: Danny Smith, Owner/President

Danny spent 20 years in the Marines as a jet engine mechanic, inspector,

production controller and U.S. Embassy Marine security guard detachment commander. After retiring, he took his mechanical expertise to the home inspection world.

“I took those inspection skills, and that helped me develop the way we do business,” Danny explains. “And I took values from the Marines and my faith. We live by the golden rule: ‘Treat others as you’d want to be treated.’ Always be faithful. I enjoy helping people and bringing integrity and trustworthiness — that’s what keeps me going.”

Danny has found his place as a small business owner. He provides inspections with integrity — something that sounds basic enough but can be hard to come by. This has allowed him to carve out a niche in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Outside of work, Danny’s life is centered on God and family. He and his wife, Marla, have four children, Nolan (29), Derek (27), Clara (17) and Linnea (14), and four grandchildren. Nolan, Derek, and Derek’s wife, Hattie, are all Marines.

Matthew Briley, Operations Manager

Danny met Matthew through church. Before they ever worked together, they shared a community and played ultimate Frisbee. Matthew’s go-getter attitude stood out to Danny on the Frisbee field, so when Danny had the chance to bring him on board the team, he did. After a year as the company’s growth manager, Matthew took over the role of operations manager.

LOOKING AHEAD

Matthew is spearheading the expansion of Semper Fi’s Commercial Inspection Division, which will launch in early 2023.

“I’m big into numbers, trying to do my best to give Danny and Tawnya numbers that help them make decisions,” Matthew explains. “And I enjoy the inspection process. Being able to support our inspectors, clients and agents, giving them an opportunity to go out and inspect and do what they are best at, not having to worry about the background stuff — that’s my role.”

Outside work, Matthew is a family man and devoted to his faith. He and his wife, Nikki, have four children, Mathias (6), Manny (5), Naomi (2), and Montgomery (1).

Tawnya Brigandi, Growth Manager Tawnya joined the Semper Fi team in January 2022. She

comes from a business development background, having managed the marketing efforts for an interior design company that worked closely with REALTORS®, lenders, and homeowners.

Tawnya brings a love for connecting with people, a servant’s heart, and a dedication to integrity. She’s a giver by nature.

“I’m a people person. I love building relationships and helping people. My love language is doing something for someone else. I love seeing others happy,” Tawnya smiles.

Tawnya has a big family; her twins, Zachary and Vincent,

are 24; her son Adam is 21; and her youngest, Anthony, is 18. Her family is rounded out by Brandon, 22, who has been adopted into her family; her daughters-in-law, Ali and Miranda; and her first grandson, William Connor.

Looking Toward the Future

As Danny, Matthew, Tawnya, and the Semper Fi team look ahead, they are aware the real estate market is shifting, but they don’t envision slowing their growth. With a focus on service and a commitment to faith, they are sure to grow their work family in the years to come.

“We’re excited about the future. We are a stable company in DFW that agents can rely on,” Danny concludes.

For more information, visit https://semperfihomeinspections.com.

Were you, your broker, or the team featured in an issue of Real Producers?

Want a copy of your article or full magazines that you were featured in?

REPRINTS!

What the heck is a reprint? A reprint is a four-page, magazine-quality grade paper with your full article and photos and you on the COVER of the publication.

WHY DO I NEED THOSE?

These reprints are a professional marketing tool that can help brand you, your team and/ or your business.

• Use on listing appointments

• Send out to friends and family

• Sent to clients with your holiday greetings

• Brokers, use as recruiting tools for capturing new talent.

• Use when farming your favorite neighborhood

WHAT IF I CHANGED COMPANIES OR NEED SOMETHING CORRECTED ON MY ARTICLE?

No worries! We can make any changes needed. We send you a proof, you approve and they are sent to you via FedEx.

WHO CAN BUY THESE?

The REALTOR® that was featured, the Broker or family. Anyone that wants to promote you.

HOW DO I ORDER?

Email Katherine Fondren at katherine.fondren@n2co.com or call 985-518-1991.

Written by: Dave Danielson

Photos by: Desiree Roberts

TEXAS DIRECT ROOFING & CONSTRUCTION

If you’re going to set out to do something, it’s best to give it your all and do your best, right? That’s the direction you take in life and in business as you serve the needs of others.

That’s why it means so much to partner with someone who puts that same level of dedication to work for you and your clients.

That’s the experience you get each day when you partner with Co-Owners Jerrimy Farris and Matt Andrews and the team at Texas Direct Roofing & Construction.

“Roofing and construction allows us to be creative and allows us to be a tool for people and partners. We aren’t a one-trick pony. We provide an array of services at a very high level. In addition to roofing, we also do kitchens, bathrooms, and floors,” Jerrimy says. “We also do a lot with outdoor living with everything from building pergolas to creating outdoor living/entertainment spaces … outdoor oasis work.”

Making Good Things Happen

As Matt says, he and Jerrimy enjoy being active owners.

“We still manage our own book of business. We are very much in the field and involved in the majority of the projects that come across our desks,” Matt explains. “We are very hands-on and in the thick of things. We don’t just delegate to others. We enjoy the customer interaction and the entire process of those projects too much. That’s my favorite part … staying involved in that level.”

In addition, Texas Direct Roofing handles water and fire mitigation and projects of all types and sizes.

“We are here to work with our REALTOR® partners to work through their list of items to be addressed that come out of the inspection reports,” Jerrimy says. “We can take their quote to fix things and get those taken care of, and we can do 100 percent of those things turnkey. We understand if we do a $100 repair for someone, they will remember the experience with us and how they were treated and they will call us for a larger project.”

The Start of Something Special Jerrimy and Matt have a history in the business that dates back through time. When they met, they were working for separate roofing companies. They became friends, compared notes about what they liked and didn’t like about the industry, and then decided to be the change they wanted to see in the world.

Their first job together with their new company was very hands-on. They had talked with a friend who asked if they could look at his back patio.

“Jerrimy and I got on Craig’s List and bought a table saw for $60. We went over and worked over the weekend and rebuilt the entire patio ourselves,” Matt remembers. “After we were done, we made $1,500 and bought our first embroidered polos, general liability insurance, and business cards. That’s how the business got started. That was about six years ago.”

Growing with Greatness

Since then, they have continued to grow and expand their quality approach throughout the area.

Today, they have a full team of pros, including an office manager who handles calls, an insurance specialist, a marketing and recruiting team, and around ten project managers.

Family Foundations

Family is at the heart of life for Jerrimy and Matt.

Jerrimy looks forward to time with his wife of 15 years, Calli, and their children — 15-year-old son, Khyler; 12-year-old daughter, Kenley, and 8-year-old daughter, Keelyn. In their free time, Jerrimy and Calli enjoy supporting their children in their sports and school activities. Jerrimy also likes to hunt and travel.

Matt treasures his family, too, including his wife of ten years, Kalsie, and

old son, Madden; and their 9-year-old son, Bowen. They are a big baseball family. They also have a passion for spending time outdoors … with camping, fishing, and hunting.

Making a Real Difference

As Matt, Jerrimy, and their team continue to make a real impact for residents across the region, they also build on their reputation for results and quality. One example is Ryan Stephens, who was a customer before he joined the team.

As he says, “The thing that stood out to me is how often Jerrimy would come over and visit and how much he felt like a friend and not a project manager. I was impressed that Jerrimy cared as much about the little things as my wife and I did. The level of detail is fantastic. And it’s a huge plus that we stand behind the work for the life of the work.”

partner that will be there day-inand-day-out to provide you and your clients with full-service and total quality, look to Texas Direct Roofing & Construction.

“When a REALTOR® makes the decision to work with us, our number one goal is to help their client either buy or sell a home. We want them to have a good experience along the way,” Matt says.

“We understand the importance of that. It is a direct reflection on our partners. We take that very seriously. And it means a lot to us that they trust us enough to refer their clients to us.”

Contact Texas Direct Roofing Today!

CONTACT:

Jerrimy Farris: 817-683-1429

Matt Andrews: 940-391-0708

Office: 682-408-8551

Bryan joined the mortgage business in 1994

Bryan has been in the "Top 1% of all Originators" nationally every year since 2016, as listed by Mortgage Originator magazine.

The Bryan Connatser Team was voted the Silver Award winner in the Best in DFW People's Choice Awards, by The Dallas Morning News for 2022 in November.

Bryan has been named Best Mortgage Professional by D Magazine every year since 2016, and PLATINUM PRODUCER in 2020 & 2021.

JEREMY SMITH

cover story

Written by: Mark Fadden

Photos by: Desiree Roberts Photography

Back on Track

Jeremy Smith left real estate for a career in the railroad industry. But after realizing that being a real estate agent would help him reach his personal and professional goals, he switched tracks and hasn’t looked back.

Jeremy Smith knows that failure is a great teacher. He was working a fulltime job in southern California and had a side hustle in real estate when the market crashed in 2006. “Some of my good friends had dads that worked for the railroad, so they got me an interview with Burlington Northern Santa Fe,” Smith said.

He got a job as a train conductor in Barstow, CA and was quickly traveling across the country by rail. But the schedule was grueling on the young

family man because of the unpredictability. “When you’re a conductor, you work off a board of available people. If you’re the next in line, then you get a two-hour notice when a train is getting close to your station. The trip might be a three-to-four-hour trip, or it could be a twelve-hour trip or more. You just never knew,” Smith said. He also was subjected to mandatory rest hours where the unpredictable schedule continued. “You might get put in a hotel and then go back to where you’re from in eight hours,” said Smith. “Or it could be a 32-hour wait in that hotel room.”

One memorable trip had Smith conducting a military train out of Somerville, Texas that was filled with Abrams tanks, jeeps, HumVees, and containers filled with military hardware. On a remote stretch of track, he

was getting an emergency signal and had to shut it down to walk the train.

“It was 2008, and we were at war with Afghanistan and Iraq, so my mind was racing with thoughts that one of our enemies had compromised the train,” Smith recalled. While it turned out to be a bad air hose connection, situations like that kept Smith on his toes.

As he promoted up in BNSF, he became a train dispatcher in 2012, a job that would require he and his family move to Fort Worth, Texas. Being a dispatcher was something Smith likened to being an air traffic controller. “Working in the railroad industry taught me to expect the unexpected and to be able to grind out long hours on the job,” said Smith. “Those are two skills that I definitely use as a real estate agent.”

Smith decided to change gears back into real estate when failure once again became his teacher when his son, who was born in 1997 when Smith was in high school, had been awarded a Navy ROTC Scholarship to Texas A&M but Jeremy was financially unable to help with meals and boarding expenses.

“Even though I was getting promoted in BNSF, I still couldn’t afford to help him with the cost of his college room and board,” said Smith. “I felt embarrassed and disappointed for him, and disappointed in myself, because I couldn’t provide for him and lead him.”

That experience turned out to be a huge turning point in Smith’s life. “I was trading time for money, and it still wasn’t enough,” he said. “I didn’t have a college degree, and unless I wanted to let all of my children down, I had to change something.” He knew the type of success that people could have in real estate was limitless. It simply depended on how hard the agent worked. “Being raised by a single mother who worked two jobs, I didn’t have a choice but succeed at the things I did. I was responsible for my little sister at a very young age. I learned early in life that life isn’t fair and to get what you want in life you must be determined to get it,” Smith said. He had failed once before in real estate, but he was determined to succeed this time. And this time around, he had a plan.

“I remembered how much I liked practicing real estate in the early 2000s, but this time I would do it completely differently,” Smith said. He scrutinized his previous attempt to be a real estate agent and realized that he was missing the business

acumen that he needed to be successful. He knew he needed a mentor and began researching his options. “I saw Joshua Smith in a webinar about open houses and signed up for his 90-day boot camp,” Smith said. The boot camp cost $1,000 and he and his wife only had $2,000 in the bank. “We discussed it, and I went with my gut to enroll in the boot camp. That made all the difference,” said Smith.

The boot camp featured webinars, virtual conversations, and in-person meetings and gave him the exposure to a mentor that he needed to launch a successful real estate career the second time around. During his transition from BNSF to real estate, Smith also learned just how much he - and really all of us - need to fail in our lives.

“Failure is required in order to reach success,” Smith said. “I learned

about failure from the first time in real estate and it ate me up for a long time. Once I started having success in real estate, I realized the failure was critical to my current success. Then I looked back and discovered how often failure had made me more successful. We aren’t our past mistakes, but rather we are our current decisions and actions.”

Today, Smith runs a successful real estate team out of the Fort Worth area, along with his wife and eldest daughter, where he applies these same principles, and coaches other agents to do the same. He also applies these principles in his home life and has shown his kids that with success comes failure, and where there is failure, there is growth. Smith is a father of four, a US Navy Veteran, 5-time ICON Agent with eXp Realty, a Certified Mentor, and a Certified SUCCESS Coach.

We aren’t our past mistakes, but rather we are our current decisions and actions.

WORTH REAL PRODUCERS YOUR

BADGES

CONGRATS on being one of the top 500 real estate agents in North Fort Worth!

Our RP-vetted businesses have been carefully selected to be a part of this community and have their own badge as well! They have been recommended by your peers in the top 500 and are some of North Fort Worth’s most elite businesses. Look for this badge to know that you are working with one of the best, recommended by the best!

agent feature

Written by: Mark Fadden

Roberts Photography

Holly Oestereich

Photos by: Desiree

The Best Bad Thing

Holly Oestereich was left broken and bedridden after being hit by a drunk driver. Turns out, it set her on a path she would have never imagined.

Holly Oestereich always had a great fascination for homes and interior design. When she was eight years old, she started sketching floor plans and drew interior designs of rooms. “I always wanted to be a realtor from the time I was young up through high school,” she said. Her parents wanted her to get a four-year college degree, so after graduating high school in North Richland Hills, Oestereich started her college

career at Oklahoma State University as a music education major. “Music has always been a big part of my life,” said Oestereich. As a child, she played piano and sang in her church worship team.

Though she loved OSU, Oestereich quickly realized that music education was not her path. “After a year at OSU, I switched to the University of North Texas to pursue a

business degree,” she said. While she adored music and educating others about its positive power, she realized that music was more about her spiritual life and using it at her church through worship. “A business degree would get me anywhere I wanted to be,” Oestereich said.

At UNT, she became pregnant with her son, Jenson. Knowing that she would soon have a baby to support, she had to make a decision about staying in college or transferring to the work world. “I finished up the school year at UNT and then decided to work full time as a waitress for the rest of my pregnancy,” said Oestereich. But that job turned out to be a stepping stone to her real estate career when she had a fortuitous meeting with two legendary DFW real estate agents.

“I met Debbie and Lloyd Prange while waiting tables. We got to talking, and they invited me to come to career night at Keller Williams,” Oestereich said. “I kept their card for six months and then finally decided to make the leap and call.”

What finally made her decide to make that call after six months was a near fatal accident. “The day before Mother’s Day in

2014, I was on my way home from a late shift bartending and was hit by a drunk driver. Normally, I would have gone to pick up my son from my parent’s house. Thankfully, that night, they had decided to take him to my apartment for me and wait for me to get home, so I didn’t have him in the car with me,” said Oestereich.

The wreck, which Oestereich said should have been a lot worse, caused her to have a concussion and herniated discs in her neck and she was completely bedridden for a week. After she recovered, she remembered walking through a Target department store and thinking about her life situation. “I always wanted more for my son and me, but after that night, I was committed to taking action to change our story,” Oestereich said. She fished the Prange’s card out of her pocket and called them right there in the middle of the store. She began her real estate career a month later.

“I didn’t know a thing about real estate,” Oestereich confessed.

“I thought real estate classes were something you had to take in college.” She first started in the accounting department at KW so she could have a steady income while

taking real estate classes. She joined The Charlie Brown Group at Keller Williams in Southlake as she was finishing her real estate education. Working on his team, she also learned just how much a positive culture drove a team’s success.

Personally, working as a real estate agent was also how she met her husband, Chase. “We grew up ten minutes from each other,” Oestereich said. “We went to different high schools but had tons of mutual friends. We figured out that we had crossed paths several times but just never knew each other.”

The couple now have three children: Jenson, whose nine; three-year-old Faith; and a baby, Elliana, who they recently adopted. While her family has grown exponentially since it was just Jensen and her, Oestereich makes sure that Jenson knows that he’s still the number one man in her life.

“Jenson and I do monthly date nights,” she said. “We made a ‘date jar’ when he was three years old. We wrote on popsicle sticks what we would want to do together, and then pulled one out each month and went and did them.” They still have monthly date nights, but now that Jensen’s older, Oestereich makes sure to include some life lessons in each one. “He does things like opening the door for me. Basically, I try to teach him how to treat a lady. Our dates are some of my favorite times as a mom.”

Professionally, Oestereich wants to scale her current three-member team into a larger organization that never loses focus on their culture. “We have a fantastic team of very dedicated and motivated ladies in place right now. We get told all the time that our team has a unique bond and appreciation of one another,” she said. “Whoever is on the team, I want to allow them to be driven and self-motivated. If they

want to have kids and scale back for a while, or if they choose to give birth and then be back in six weeks, that’s okay. I want each member to be able to thrive as the person God has called them to be in each season of their life. We really enjoy working together as a team. It really is sunshine and rainbows all the time!”

Photo by: Lisa Nattoli

We really enjoy working together as a team. It really is sunshine and rainbows all the time!

MASTERCLASS EVENT MASTERCLASS EVENT

with John Israel (aka Mr. Thank You)

For the first time in DFW Real Producers history, we hosted an education-style event, and it was a huge success! As mentioned in the Publisher’s Note, we have changed our event structures over the years, and this type of event is one everyone has been waiting for. We had 300 amazing people in attendance. Collectively, the agents who registered for this event did over $2 billion and 6,000 units in 2022 alone. Wild!

Our speaker was John Israel, AKA Mr. Thank You, who gave a powerful message on The Art of Human Connection and what he learned from his one-year social experiment. John tasked himself with writing five thank you cards a day, every day, for 365 days. This experiment radically changed John’s life. Everything from his perspective and outlook on life, to the growth in his career/

business including his own TEDx Talk, and his work now impacting millions of people around the world.

After John’s message, we had time to network and connect with the best agents and businesses who attended. We heard nothing but raving reviews about this event, and we cannot wait for our next one in June. We are extremely excited to announce who the next speaker will be…soon!

Thanks again to everyone who attended and especially to the businesses that went above and beyond to sponsor this event.

See you at the next Real Producers Event!

Jordan Espeseth DFW Real Producers

Photos by Scott Peek, Scott Peek Photography, and Jin Kim, URSPECIAL

where are they now

Written by: Mark Fadden

Photos by: Desiree Roberts Photography

Katherine

ALLEN ALLEN

Three’s Company

When Craig and Katherine Allen decided to form a team with Brian Carr, the three partners never realized just how much they would learn from their different perspectives and from each other.

The great poet and memoirist Maya Angelou once said, “In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength.” When Brian Carr joined forces with Craig and Katherine Allen, they each brought their own set of strengths to the table.

“We have three different perspectives on the ownership level for the direction of the team, which helps us provide our clients with a wide array of both services and mindset,” said Katherine. “Brian is extremely analytical, Craig is fantastic at logistics, and, as a certified home stager, I’m very visual.”

While they each have their individual talents, the three of them also share experiences that have proven to be invaluable to their clients. They’re all locals and know the DFW area well. Craig and Katherine grew up together in Carrollton until middle school when Craig went to Highland Village. He attended UTA for his undergraduate and MBA. Katherine went to Texas Tech for her undergraduate and UTA for her MBA. Brian grew up in Southlake, went to OSU for his degree, and then eventually settled back in the DFW area.

“We’ve all grown up here so are able to speak to the growth, pros and cons of areas, and offer great insight on what’s to come,” said Craig. “Almost all our business comes from referrals, and we are proud of that because we focus more on the relationships and trust than our overall sales or

transaction count. People can feel the difference, and it builds trust quickly when your goal is to keep someone as a client for life.”

Each of them came into real estate a bit differently. For Brian, his aunt was a licensed agent, so he got a first-hand view of the industry growing up. “I was in the finance industry out of college, but then decided to pursue a career in real estate to have a better work-life balance,” he said. For the Allen family, it was Katherine who got her real estate license while Craig was working as a police officer in Arlington. They bought their first house in Bedford and even appeared on the HGTV show House Hunters. “Once Katherine was licensed and had been working a few years, I joined her to help grow the business since she was a solo agent and was gaining a following very quickly,” Craig said.

While they came to the real estate industry via different paths, the desire to be in control of their own destinies was something each one of them knew they could find in real estate.

“I think the overarching theme for all of us is that we went into the workforce assuming we’d have one line of work. Then we realized that you evolve and change and that’s ok,” Brian said. “We all had the desire to be more in control of our futures and had the skillset and determination to get something off the ground.”

Having more control was also a major reason why the Allens decided to join forces with Carr. “In 2021, we were

trying to focus on family and get some leverage in our business. Katherine was handling the listing side of the business and we took a trip to Colorado. On that trip, three listings had buyers terminate on the same day and Katherine spent the rest of the day working by herself in the back of the RV,” Craig said. “That was a turning point to find a solution in our business that would allow for us to feel like we had our time back but that our clients were taken care of.”

During this same time, Brian had a successful business and his lead buyer’s agent decided to get into property management. Since Brian had previously been on a team as well as run a team, it was the perfect opportunity to sit down together and talk through the three of them merging their talents.

“Brian loves working on the seller side and had worked side-by-side and on special projects for years with Craig and me in the same brokerage,” Katherine said. “We even shared the

same real estate coach, so it was an easy decision.”

So far, the merger has been a great experience in several ways. “We are like minded enough to have the same goals, ethics, standards of care for our clients, and expectations,” said Katherine. “We also have to com pletely trust each other which can be hard to do when you’ve been on your own or in another business where you made sole decisions.” Becoming partners has also been good for their bottom line; the three closed nearly $50 million worth of real estate deals in just their first year together.

The forced accountability of another business partner has kept the three on their toes and also compelled each of them to face some areas where improvements were needed.

“Communication has had to improve internally where we are having to speak up more if there is something to discuss, so that it doesn’t get buried or misunderstood,” Brian said. They have made communication a top pri ority, especially now since they have doubled in size to six team members.

In the end, the three lean on each other’s expertise to ensure that their clients are successful and that the relationships they build are long-lasting. “Because of my previ ous line of work, one of my strengths is my ability to deliver good news, or bad, and communicate with people in a way that can be hard to do,” Craig said. “Katherine’s strong suit has been developing those client relationships, communicating very transparently instead of with industry jargon, and being extremely accessible and available, which makes all the difference in the world for a client. Coming from a financial background, Brian can stay focused on the facts, which can be important since what we do can be highly emotional for buyers and sellers.”

SIGNATURE EXPANDED BANK STATEMENT

Allows self-employed borrowers to qualify with alternative documents instead of tax returns.

SIGNATURE EXPANDED ASSET QUALIFIER

Allows high net worth borrowers to qualify solely off their assets (no income required).

SIGNATURE EXPANDED FULL DOC

A near-miss product to help provide coverage to borrowers who may not meet Agency or Prime Jumbo guidelines.

SIGNATURE EXPANDED INVESTOR CASH FLOW

Allows real estate investors to finance an investment property by using the property's gross rent to qualify instead of the borrower's personal income.

SIGNATURE EXPANDED ALT DOC - 1099

A reduced doc program that allows a borrower to qualify off the average of 1099 income instead of tax returns.�