Today we’d like to introduce you to Season Ware.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Fort Worth. Like many other Texas families, Galveston was a popular vacation spot for my family. I remember looking at the old homes and thinking, “I’m going to redo these one day and make them shine again.” At that point, I had never heard of home rehabbing, I was just a kid who liked old homes. I did not know it at the time, but this childhood passion set the foundation for what would become my own real estate company.
In August of 1995, just a month after my 17th birthday, I packed my bags and left for college at Hardin Simmons University with my now-husband, Mark. Just a few months later, we were married and pregnant with our first child, Canaan. We were two newlywed kids with a baby on the way, who wanted a home but in no way could afford one. Mark’s family was in the house moving business and offered us a free home.
The only catch? This house was the second floor of a four-plex. We had to find a way to pay to have it moved, set, rehabbed and pay back taxes on a lot that no one wanted. I think everyone thought we had lost our minds! With the help of my grandparents as co-signers and one banker who believed in our plan, we started our first renovation. It was a crazy ride but we turned that little place into a real home and sold it for a substantial profit two years later. This was the first time that we realized we could turn a vision for a crumbling structure into a home, and turn that home into a profit. We continued this road for several more owner-occupant homes as we grew our family and I finished college at Texas Woman’s University (TWU).
At TWU, I majored in family and consumer science and went on to become a middle-school teacher. I quickly realized that this was not the path for me and I began searching for other professional pursuits. Discontent with my previous experiences working with real estate agents, I decided to get my real estate license. It would give me direct access to homes for rehabbing without the hassle of mediocre agents, and I could market my own properties.
After getting my license, it did not take long until I found I myself also disappointed with my brokers. I knew what I had to do, so I decided to become my own broker, all while raising my three amazing children. It was during this time I met another agent in my office who had the same passion. She became the cheerleader I needed to push me forward to start my own company.
After a few bumps, I started my brokerage, The Property Shop, in 2009 with three agents…including myself. I ran the company as a traditional boutique brokerage that gave each agent direct access to their broker. We struggled through the economic recession but finally started to make headway in 2012. We have since grown our company to one of the top real estate companies in Tarrant County. I like to think of us as the little brokerage that could.
Last year, I saw a change in the business coming. Agents were wanting to be able to keep more of their hard owned money, so I revamped the payment structure of the company. The Property Shop now allows our agents to keep 100-percent of their commission and still have a broker that is present. This year to date we have over sixty highly qualified agents.
Mark and I still rehab homes and invest in real estate for our personal portfolio. As much as we love the real estate world, our greatest accomplishment is our children. Our oldest, Canaan, graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU) with a degree in neuroscience at 19-years-old and is currently pursuing a career in music. Eden, our middle child, graduated from TCU in May with a B.S. in Strategic Communication and runs two of her own photography and home staging businesses. The youngest of the three, Jericho, just started school at Navarro College. He is a member of his college cheer team and the Cheer Athletics Cheetahs, both nationally ranked teams.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No road worth taking is ever really smooth, is it? I had so many struggles along the way, namely, starting my own brokerage at 29. I still had so many insecurities to overcome but failure was not an option. It also didn’t help that I started my brokerage during the recession. I ultimately had to close my storefront and negotiated short sales to keep our heads above the water during those first years. I count those as learning experiences that have made me who I am today.
As a working mom, I was constantly battling with my home/work balance. I didn’t want to look back one day and wonder how I missed my kids growing up. It was hard, but I always made sure to prioritize my relationships over making money. I had to set healthy boundaries with my clients in order to ensure that certain times of the day and days of the week were open for me to be fully present with my family.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Property Shop – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Property Shop is a real estate brokerage that truly cares about our clients and I have instilled that same principle within my agents. One integral value of our company is serving the community. We give back to first responders and teachers, we help rehab homes for the needy and give substantially every month to an orphanage in Ethiopia.
Life is too short not to enjoy what you do and who you do it with. The Property Shop never works with a “strictly business” attitude, we know that behind every deal is an even more valuable individual. That is why I have made it a priority to handpick every agent in this company, not just based on performance but on values. I don’t know of another brokerage that gives agents 100 percent of their commission and still maintains close, personal relationships with each agent. We just have fun together, whether it be pairing classes with whirly ball (please search it in Google), taking a day trip to Winstar, and even doing real estate classes on a company cruises.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As we celebrate our tenth year, I just want to continue growing our company but not compromise our core values. We aren’t looking for just any agents, we are looking for the best of the best.
Pricing:
- Agents pay $3600 a year and keep 100% of their commission
Contact Info:
- Address: 9800 Hillwood Parkway Ste 140
Fort Worth TX 76177 - Website: www.my-dfw.com
- Phone: 817-994-2863
- Email: season@my-dfw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/propertyshopseason/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/season.ware
Image Credit:
Eden Lee Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
