Robert Yoder & Tim Bruce

BUILDING A ‘BETTER WAY’ TOGETHER

By Jane K. Asher, Ph.D.

Photos by Jermaine Buie with Perfect Light, LLC

Photos taken at Toll Brothers — Westridge Estates of Canton

The origin of HomeCraft Real Estate traces back to a simple question that Robert Yoder texted Tim Bruce late one night in the winter of 2018: “Do you think there is a better way to sell real estate and help agents achieve at a high level?”

This wasn’t the first time Robert had pondered this question: Inspired by his bigger-picture goal of giving back to the community, he had thought about venturing out on his own for years, but family and other life commitments kept him from pulling the trigger.

Apparently, Tim was intrigued because — despite it being 11 p.m. — he immediately called Robert. Within one week, the two of them met at Hermann’s Olde Town Grille in Plymouth where they began mapping out a business plan for what would eventually become HomeCraft Team.

“We both agreed that real estate should not be a solo show and that neither of us wanted our faces or names associated with the company,” Robert said. “We knew the path would be harder moving forward, but it was important to us to start a company that would be built on solid core principles, including high standards and exceptional service.”

Intent on ditching “the traditional brokerage model,” Tim and Robert initially found it challenging to shift their own mindsets from the status quo — and to convince agents to do the same. However, once they began venturing into new territory, they began to uncover and establish a “better way” by disrupting the traditional real estate model and building a thriving company founded on highly efficient and well-organized processes, high standards and giving back.

At the heart of the HomeCraft model is Tim and Robert’s commitment to their agents, all of whom they selectively recruit based on very specific criteria. “We ask what we can do for our agents rather than asking them what they can do for us,” Robert said. “HomeCraft takes all the marketing off the agents’ plates and lets them do what they do the best: take care of their clients.”

“Our team members do not have to buy-in — if a $1 million listing appointment is in the books, it doesn’t go to the owner,” Tim said. “We diversify as our longterm goal remains the same: Invest in the team. Invest in the client.”

Another element that makes HomeCraft special is its charitable giving: The team donates 10% of all their sales to the local communities they serve. “We are all about growth and giving back,” Robert said. “Although we are not the pioneers of this model, we feel it carries significant importance.”

“From sponsoring small soccer teams to neighborhoods, schools and local businesses, we are currently working with the Salvation Army on our Peppermint Sign fundraiser, where 100% of proceeds go directly to the Salvation Army and local families in need. We actively participate in our communities and support them,” Tim said. “If we keep our community close to us, we have found that it gives back to us as well.”

Tim and Robert have sold over $100 million in their careers, and since establishing HomeCraft at the end of 2019, the team has sold over $45 million and is currently on track for a record-breaking 2021 with over $30 million sold in the year alone. “We both put so much energy into the business, and the growth has been way faster than expected,” Robert said. “We grew over 400% from 2019 to 2020 and will grow over 250% from 2020 to 2021.”

Robert, who likes to work behind the scenes in the office by taking care of all the planning aspects of the business, began his real estate career right out of high school and became one of the top-producing agents at his office when he was 19. Unsure about his career path, Robert was also a bartender throughout college. Several years later, Robert went back to school to get his master’s degree and worked as a high school educator while selling real estate part time.

“As I grew up and life smacked me in the face, real estate kept calling me back,” Robert said. “After years of learning from my mistakes, a mentor made me realize that I might have to give something up in order to accomplish great things — that was when I decided to walk away from teaching and focus all my energy on growing a real estate business.” Robert also says that his journey to where he is today wouldn’t have been possible without his wife, Stacey, his children Thomas and Evelyn, and his longtime mentor and friend John Aschermann.

Tim, who tends to focus his attention outside of the office by interfacing with clients, began his career as a professional pilot. “Always striving to stay busy, I aimed for real estate in 2006, passed the exam and fastened my future for takeoff,” he said. “I’m now a full-time agent and part-time pilot.”

Reflecting on the many demands of the real estate industry, such as working weekends and evenings and taking midnight phone calls to negotiate deals, Tim says that his family — his wife, Joy, and children Jack and Lily — is his anchor. “For some reason, my wife holds the fort together, and my kids are full of happiness,” Tim said. “Joy Bruce is my rock star who has trusted me to start a new company and let it grow to its quick success.”

The success that Robert and Tim have achieved through HomeCraft may have happened quickly, but it is truly a shared endeavor — a culmination of many years of hard work and commitment to their craft and their clients. More so, their successful partnership has rewarded both of them with an abundance of growth and an irreplaceable friendship.

“For over 15 years, we had crossed paths as strangers, but a simple evening sparked a longterm friendship that I greatly value,” Tim said.

“I’ve learned so much from our relationship,” Robert said, “We still have a long way to go, but I couldn’t imagine a ‘better way’ forward than with Tim.”

Robert Yoder & Tim Bruce - TEAM FEATURE