Today we’d like to introduce you to Herndon Davis.
Herndon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Throughout my entire career I’ve either witnessed or personally experienced the ups and downs of the economy, the growth and the downturn of the oil and gas industry and the overall season of layoffs. It actually drove me on three separate occasions to start my own business but unfortunately each time I didn’t succeed and I was forced to return back into the corporate workforce.
But something very different happened this last go-round. It wasn’t the typical “I’m sick-and-tired of being sick-and -tired” epiphany. Instead it was a moment of clarity where everything spiritually, mentally, emotionally and logistically just clicked all at once!
Why not combine something that I actually love to do, (real estate investing and research) with the skills I’ve honed my entire corporate career (budgeting, corporate finance and number crunching.) I also have a corporate communications background where I’ve spoken publicly and also presented very complicated financial issues to executive management in bite-sized explanations. All of these skills and experiences combined would soon would pave the way for me to effortlessly counsel clients, conduct workshops and create a whole new pathway for me within both the mortgage and real estate industry.
But still it took some time for me to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in one cohesive package. One day friend who knew of my personal passion for real estate as an investor suggested that I consider working in real estate full-time versus dabbling in it part-time while working a full-time job that I had zero passion for.
Initially I allowed the weeds of doubt to grow inside my head like many folks do. I felt it would be way too much work to start all over again in yet another career; first studying to get licensed and then networking in a whole different arena. But soon my doubt gave way to reasoning as I began to slowly reflect upon my own personal mantra, a line from the movie Hairspray, “Do it now or forever wish you had.”
I remembered back many years earlier in my then fledgling career when I passed on a major career opportunity to be brought in on the ground floor of an emerging IT company where I would be given free training and a whole new set of highly competitive computer software skills that I could take with me to any other company across any industry.
After much deliberation I turned down the job offer because I was simply too afraid. The fear of failure had an emotional vice grip on me when I was younger and still trying my best to color neatly within the corporate lines. And as a result I spent the next few years severely punishing myself for my decision by playing the woulda-coulda-shoulda game of questioning what-if had I taken that opportunity, how differently and much better my life would be now.
Ever since that experience, I made a very personal, intentional and concentrated effort to say YES more times than I would say no to opportunities that presented themselves to me. As a result, I’ve worked across three different career paths, (IT Finance, Communications and Human Resources). I lived in four different cities (Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Atlanta and Houston) and I’ve traveled internationally as much as I could, always remembering my mantra.
Once those memories began flooding back to me I realized that this was just another step along my personal journey of growth and fulfillment. So, I promptly jumped in with both feet into real estate and haven’t looked back. I first enrolled into real estate school initially to just become licensed as a real estate agent. But as I learned more about the role of mortgage originators and mortgage loan officers I realized just how pivotal they are in the home buying and real estate investment process. So, I decided to also become licensed in mortgage lending as well since it closely matched my financial analysis skills of my corporate days.
Today I am dual licensed as both a mortgage loan officer and a real estate agent thus becoming a one-stop-shop resource where I represent home buyers, sellers and investors and also offer my ability to originate their loans or find sources of financing for their commercial and residential needs and desires. Simply put, I help to fund people’s dreams!
Has it been a smooth road?
In the beginning it was tough trying to jump so quickly full-fledged into the competitive Houston real estate market without a safety net, without any contacts, networking cold, and learning a whole new jargon and a new set of practices and standards literally all at once!
What helped me the most was my ability to call upon the different skills and experiences of my past corporate career and then channel that into my passion for real estate at the appropriate time and place.
For instance, I pulled upon my career in communications to speak to groups about real estate, to network and to cold call complete strangers. I pulled upon my career in corporate finance to do the mortgage math and counsel clients on their financial situations and next steps in their home buying journey. And I pulled upon my experiences in Human Resources to be diplomatic and even-tempered whenever I encountered difficult personalities. As I mentioned earlier, it all just clicked to create an unstoppable synergy and an infectious energy that I wake up and go to bed with every day!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
You’re only as strong as the people you surround yourself with. With that in mind I have partnered and affiliated myself with strong firms which allow me to provide my real estate clients with the most savvy and detailed representation possible. Mortgage Real Estate Services is divided into three sectors:
1. Mortgage Lending
2. Real Estate Representation
3. Real Estate Investment
As a Mortgage Loan Officer, I am affiliated with Vision One Mortgage, a direct lender with broker options which means that I represent over 10 different lenders and have access to a database of nearly 2,500 different mortgage, personal and business real estate loan programs. This means that my clients are provided with multiple competitive lending opportunities from across the country to best fit their mortgage and real estate loan needs.
Further, I’m extremely hands-on in that I just don’t rely on an automatic approval process. I handle every single application that comes through my firm personally by actively seeking out and even creating better lending deals. And finally, I commit to 21 day closings with complete files.
As a Real Estate Agent, I am affiliated with JMP Realty Partners, a full-service real estate services firm with a solid 14-year track record of Houston-focused real estate services. Clients that come through my firm are also ushered under the umbrella of care of JMP Realty Partners where we commit to client-focused service by actually listening to our client’s needs versus dictating what their needs are or even worse steering them into homes that do not suit their lifestyle.
As Real Estate Investment Consultant, I actively use my years of corporate finance experience to identify, champion and then create business deals for residential and commercial developments across the greater Houston area. Clients that utilize these services are often business owners or high net worth individuals seeking to diversify their portfolio or individuals seeking passive income.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I feel Houston is a great testing ground for innovation and entrepreneurship for the following 3 reasons:
1. Growth – The Houston metro area continues to grow and expand and is actually forecasted to swell in the next several years. This means there will be a continued need for goods and services and an opportunity to innovate and to be creative!
2. Diversification of Industry – The Medical Sciences, Technology, Oil and Gas, Banking, Trade, Convention and Tourism and the many companies that serve and support these industries is the reason why the city of Houston continues to be hot city to live and move to. The industry diversification means that despite whatever might happen nationally that Houston’s economy can indeed take a hit and keep on going forward with multiple flourishing industries.
3. Cost of Living – After having lived in Los Angeles, Washington, DC and Atlanta I’m simply amazed at how cheap the city of Houston still is! Combine that with no Texas state income tax and pretty close to national salaries on many competitive skilled positions you’ve got the makings of an entrepreneurial nirvana which I’m currently experiencing with my business, Mortgage Real Estate Services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.MortgageRealEstateServices.com/
- Phone: 832-457-8951
- Email: herndon@MortgageRealEstatesServices.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mortgagerealestateservices/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MortgageRealEstateServices/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MortgageRealEst
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mortgage-real-estate-services-houston
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/organization/21696361/
Image Credit:
Darnell Robertson, darnell_robertson@yahoo.com
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