REALTOR® on the rise

Written by: Mark Fadden

Photos by: Landon Day, DayDream Photography

Alex Lipari first got interested in housing when he began working with people experiencing homelessness. Now, he’s using his real estate passion to help those with a lower income to get into quality, affordable homes.

When Alex Lipari moved from his hometown of Kansas City to attend TCU in Fort Worth, he met someone who would truly change his life.

“I didn’t know anyone, so I made a friend who asked me to go with him and hang out on Lancaster Avenue,” Lipari said. “I asked him ‘What’s that?’ thinking it would be some cool spot to meet other new students. He told me, ‘You’ll see it when you get there.”

Once on Lancaster, Lipari quickly realized it wasn’t Fort Worth’s answer to a college hotspot. Instead, he met people staying at shelters and sleeping outside.

“After spending time with those folks and talking to them about their lives, I recognized that I needed to change my mindset about money and how it connects to people’s true value,” Lipari said.

He had grown up thinking that because he came from a household that had a nice house and parents that made a good living in real estate (they owned and operated rental properties and apartment buildings) that somehow it made him better. But after his initial visit to Lancaster Avenue, his perspective changed.

“I started spending more and more time with the folks experiencing homelessness that hung out around Lancaster and got to know them,” said Lipari. “People often think they know what is best for others, what works for them. They tell them ‘You should do this. You should do that.’ But what I found out is that everyone has a story and reasons for making the choices they do. It’s a learning opportunity for folks that want to help… to listen to their individual stories.”

Soon, Lipari was volunteering at The Net, a small non-profit in Fort Worth dedicated to helping build relationships with people experiencing homelessness. He graduated from TCU in 2015 and began working full-time at The Net. He supplemented his income by working part-time at a local coffee shop. When the coffee shop let him go to find full-time help, he turned to something he knew from his childhood…real estate.

“When I first got my license, the goal was to find a flexible job where I could make a little bit of supplemental income so I could continue working at The Net, which is what I was really passionate about,” said Lipari. “When COVID hit, The Net refocused and restructured and I started doing real estate full time.”

While Lipari may have stopped working at The Net, his experience at the non-profit left its mark on how he conducts himself as an agent and the goals he has for his real estate career.

“My time at The Net taught me that every human has value and worth,” Liapri said. “This is true in real estate. Every client, colleague, vendor, partner, and stakeholder in any deal is a valuable person and deserves to be treated as such. If I view a potential relationship just as ‘Hey, what can you offer me?’ then I won’t engage with them with the appropriate respect and value.”

Lipari shows his clients how much he values them by trying to understand their long-term goals and then helping them realize that when one door closes on their dreams, others open.

“Recently, some friends moved to Fort Worth and wanted to purchase a home with a guest house that they could live in for a few years and then, when they purchase their next home, would serve as a good rental,” Lipari said. “We were having a challenging time finding an option in a location and a price point that worked for them. I suggested we open their search to duplexes. It required some creative financing solutions, but we were able to find them a duplex in a great spot and beat out 17 other offers to make it theirs. Now, my friends have a wealth building property that will set their family up for success for decades.”

But it’s not all serious business. Real estate transactions often occur during the most exciting times of our lives. They should be celebrated, and Lipari makes sure to show his clients a good time.

“This past year I helped a friend from college purchase her first home,” Lipari said.

“One of the things she talked about during the home search was how, with family living far away, she wanted a home to host hangouts and parties. When she closed on her dream home, I surprised her with a bounce house obstacle course in the backyard for a housewarming party. We filled the house with balloons, had champagne, and invited her friends over. It was a truly memorable experience.”

Speaking of helping people get into the home of their dreams, one of Lipari’s goals is to provide better housing for lower-income families so that they too have the experience of living in safe and quality homes. He and his wife recently started Better Living Properties and were able to purchase and then rehab their first rental for a family desperate for better living conditions.

“This family had five kids and they were living in a small apartment with one working bathroom because the owner had failed to repair the other one for months,” Lipari said.

“With seven people, our house still doesn’t leave a ton of space for everyone, but the home is bright and clean and everything works.”

For Lipari, his quest to connect his two worlds – real estate and helping the homeless – has been a success. He credits the concept of Misogi, a philosophy popularized by Marcus Elliot and Kyle Korver, to go after something you are not sure you can accomplish to combat fear-based decision-making.

“Perhaps my biggest fear is to be too scared to do something worthwhile,” Lipari said. “This pushes me towards taking on the challenging and unknown.”

While his pursuits using Misogi began around athletic challenges – like riding a tandem bike from Fort Worth to Austin – they now focus more on his professional life.

“Buying a house dedicated to offering a better living situation to lower-income folks is definitely not a comfort zone-based decision,” said Lipari. “But I’m a big believer we can have both financial success and social impact through real estate.”