I never grew up thinking I would have a real estate career. It was not something I planned. It actually was born out of what I thought at the time was failure.
About Me
For the first 31 years of my life I operated in the paradigm of work hard in school so you can get into another good school so you can eventually get a good job where if you work hard you can either go back to another good school or get another good job and so forth.
So I followed that route and ended up at the Naval Academy and then got my first Masters degree at the University of Maryland and then had a career as a submarine officer and then a defense contractor before getting my MBA at Georgetown. I thought this would all set me up to get a job as a strategy consultant for one of the big firms in this industry.
Fifty five job interviews later, all ending in rejection, I was wondering what was wrong with the system I had grown up believing in. I never really consciously thought about if this really was the right path for me and even why I would want a job requiring 50 weeks of travel a year and 100 hour work weeks, but even after being rejected so many times I persisted. I asked some of the interviewers what I needed to work on to get another shot. They all said the same thing. “We think you would be good at the operations part of the job, but not the sales role.” They encouraged me to get a different type of experience and reapply.
So I decided to get my real estate license and start selling real estate as a side hustle. I had already bought and sold 5 homes so I knew more than most people about the process. For a few months I did this while working my 9-5 job as a defense contractor. Because of time constraints I decided to focus on the 189 condos in the building I lived in and tried to do everything I could to get any and every sale in the building.
The strategy worked and within a few months I had so much business I had to quit my regular job. It was one of the most liberating and empowering days of my life. I went on to get half the market share in that building in year one and sold over $22M in my first year.
By the end of 2012 I started hiring and building a team. When I switched brokerages I met the top agent in that office who was also building a big real estate team. Soon Keri Shull and I went from competitors, to friends, to husband and wife and business partners.
Real Estate Broker
My real estate career grew faster and bigger than I ever imagined since getting my license to start a side hustle in 2011. In 2013 Keri and I merged teams and by the time we left Keller Williams in 2014 we were the 4th highest selling team in the entire world there. The year after we started our own brokerage we became the highest selling team in the state of Virginia and two years later we were the highest selling team in the entire DC region and in the top 35 worldwide. Our team now has nearly 90 people and we sell half a billion in real estate annually.
In 2022 I decided to join eXp realty, in order to help real estate agents in all markets grow their businesses.
While the numbers are great it’s the process that really drives me. There are a lot of similarities in each deal, but no two deals are ever the same. The challenge of getting the best results for my clients and helping our team members all do the same excites me and I love the work it takes to bring massive value to more people.
Real Estate Developer
I have been investing in real estate since I bought my first home in 2003, but my first big deal came in 2013. Someone called interested in one of my listings that was well over $2 million. They wanted to buy it and knew it would move fast, but had to sell their existing home. When they started telling me about their existing home they mentioned it was on an acre of land less than a mile from the Ballston Metro stop on the Orange Line.
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I was shocked. Most homes in the area sat on less than 5,000 to 6,000 sqft of land and this home had ten times that amount of space. I knew depending on the amount of street frontage that we could subdivide that lot and get four to five homes on it. Keri and I did some basic numbers on what it would be worth as a development and I went over to see them that day.
They wanted to move out of their older home quickly and have enough cash to buy their next home without a mortgage. The home they wanted would probably go quickly and the sellers would not take a contingency based on the sale of their home.
I made them an offer on the spot for $2M that would allow them to purchase their next home with confidence.
They accepted.
Keri and I were under contract to buy our first major development. We were not sure how we would get the funds to close, or how we would develop, but we knew we had a good deal so there would be a way.
After meeting with several builders we found one to partner with and do the deal. We got a loan and split the down payment and started going through the design, engineering and subdivision process.
A year later we were building four homes.
We pre-sold two of them and sold the other two shortly after finishing construction. By all standards the deal went very well.
Since then we have grown our development business. We have now raised over $15M in equity from investors and developed over 100 homes and planned and designed and additional 335.
I believe real estate is one of the greatest ways to create multiple streams of income and enjoy helping more people do it through the HyperFast Wealth show and the investors that put their trust in us.
Real Estate Developer
I have been investing in real estate since I bought my first home in 2003, but my first big deal came in 2013. Someone called interested in one of my listings that was well over $2 million. They wanted to buy it and knew it would move fast, but had to sell their existing home. When they started telling me about their existing home they mentioned it was on an acre of land less than a mile from the Ballston Metro stop on the Orange Line.
Read More...
They wanted to move out of their older home quickly and have enough cash to buy their next home without a mortgage. The home they wanted would probably go quickly and the sellers would not take a contingency based on the sale of their home.
I made them an offer on the spot for $2M that would allow them to purchase their next home with confidence.
They accepted.
Keri and I were under contract to buy our first major development. We were not sure how we would get the funds to close, or how we would develop, but we knew we had a good deal so there would be a way.
After meeting with several builders we found one to partner with and do the deal. We got a loan and split the down payment and started going through the design, engineering and subdivision process.
A year later we were building four homes.
We pre-sold two of them and sold the other two shortly after finishing construction. By all standards the deal went very well.
Since then we have grown our development business. We have now raised over $10M in equity from investors and developed over 100 homes and planned and designed and additional 335.
I believe real estate is one of the greatest ways to create multiple streams of income and enjoy helping more people do it through the HyperFast Wealth show and the investors that put their trust in us.
Real Estate Trainer and Speaker
A few years after getting into the real estate business and attending several real estate coaching events and conferences as well as training events with people like Tony Robbins, I started to notice something. I hadn’t met anyone in real estate that had as fast a start as I did. I had met people doing over a billion dollars a year and running big teams, but had yet to meet anyone that sold over $22M in their first year.
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My goal was simply to help people by telling my story.
I never thought it would become a best-seller on Amazon.
I never thought it would help tens of thousands of agents.
A year later I decided that Keri and I could do more to help agents get training from people that were actually performing at high levels in the business.
We launched HyperFast Agent and started teaching what we did to agents all over the world.
We put on our first event that year with less than 90 days notice and got Grant Cardone and Billy Gene on stage at the HyperFast Sales Bootcamp. Over 300 people from all over the world attended.
A year later we expanded and made the HyperFast Sales Summit a two day event with Ryan Serhant as the keynote speaker and over a dozen expert speakers.
The HyperFast Agent platform has now grown into a podcast, YouTube channel and coaching program that has helped thousands. Keri and I have spoken on several stages and been guests on dozens of podcasts and digital summits.
I enjoy coaching real estate agents and business owners to help them build businesses that give them the money and time to fuel an amazing life.
Ultra Endurance Athlete
In 2008 I ran my first marathon without formal coaching, training or much understanding of what I was doing. I took me over 5 hours and 15 minutes to complete the Marine Corps Marathon. The next day I hired a running coach and began training with much more purpose.
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A few months later I dropped over an hour off my time.
I picked up the training even more and went from 210 pounds to 180. A few months later I took nearly another hour off my marathon time.
I was close to qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
A few weeks later I qualified (with just a few seconds to spare) by running just under 3 hours and 11 minutes at the Richmond Marathon.
In just over a year since barely finishing my first marathon I went from the back of the pack to qualifying for the most sought after marathon in the world.
In 2016 I decided after 13 marathons to compete in my first Ironman race which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then running a marathon. IronMan Coeur D’alene took me nearly 14 hours to complete. I was proud of the accomplishment, but not satisfied. I went into the race undertrained, with little experience cycling or swimming and over my ideal race weight.
I didn’t take any time off. I got to work and hired a coach who competed in several IronMan Races a year.
The following year I competed in the Lake Placid IronMan race and despite getting a flat tire, while going down hill at nearly 50mph I took over 2 hours off my time and finished in 11 hours and 32 minutes. A few months later I competed in IronMan Florida and dropped another hour off my time with a time of 10 hours and 28 minutes which was good enough for a top ten percent finish in my age group.
In just over a year I went from a back of the pack time to being in the top ten percent of my of the most competitive age groups.
I have now gone on to complete 7 IronMan races and a 50 mile ultra marathon with over 9,000 feet of elevation gain.
A lot of people ask me why I compete in ultra endurance events. I do it to get the benefits of pushing my limits physically, mentally and emotionally to train and compete in these events. Challenging my mind and body like this builds the discipline, confidence and strength needed to take on any challenge life might throw at me. You don’t have to do an IronMan or ultra marathon, but I hope my story helps inspire you to do something new and challenging so you can get the benefits this brings to all areas of life.
Ultra Endurance Athlete
In 2008 I ran my first marathon without formal coaching, training or much understanding of what I was doing. I took me over 5 hours and 15 minutes to complete the Marine Corps Marathon. The next day I hired a running coach and began training with much more purpose.
Read More...
A few months later I dropped over an hour off my time.
I picked up the training even more and went from 210 pounds to 180. A few months later I took nearly another hour off my marathon time.
I was close to qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
A few weeks later I qualified (with just a few seconds to spare) by running just under 3 hours and 11 minutes at the Richmond Marathon.
In just over a year since barely finishing my first marathon I went from the back of the pack to qualifying for the most sought after marathon in the world.
In 2016 I decided after 13 marathons to compete in my first Ironman race which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then running a marathon. IronMan Coeur D’alene took me nearly 14 hours to complete. I was proud of the accomplishment, but not satisfied. I went into the race undertrained, with little experience cycling or swimming and over my ideal race weight.
I didn’t take any time off. I got to work and hired a coach who competed in several IronMan Races a year.
The following year I competed in the Lake Placid IronMan race and despite getting a flat tire, while going down hill at nearly 50mph I took over 2 hours off my time and finished in 11 hours and 32 minutes. A few months later I competed in IronMan Florida and dropped another hour off my time with a time of 10 hours and 28 minutes which was good enough for a top ten percent finish in my age group.
In just over a year I went from a back of the pack time to being in the top ten percent of my of the most competitive age groups.
I have now gone on to complete 6 IronMan races and a 50 mile ultra marathon with over 9,000 feet of elevation gain.
A lot of people ask me why I compete in ultra endurance events. I do it to get the benefits of pushing my limits physically, mentally and emotionally to train and compete in these events. Challenging my mind and body like this builds the discipline, confidence and strength needed to take on any challenge life might throw at me. You don’t have to do an IronMan or ultra marathon, but I hope my story helps inspire you to do something new and challenging so you can get the benefits this brings to all areas of life.
Family
While I love the challenges of business and ultra endurance sports, I am most proud of my family and I am extremely blessed to have met Keri in 2013. Raising Braden, Kierra, Grayson, and Tristan with Keri is a joy words cannot describe. They inspire me to be a better person in everything I do and I hope my life serves as an example for them.