Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Allen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been a professional musician for pretty much my whole life. But when you have a family, priorities change, so I had to get a “real job”. Moving here to Granbury back in 98, I reinvented myself as a computer and networking guru for the school district, then moving on to the City to manage their Lakeside Conference Center.
While at the Conference Center, one of my clients was a local office of Keller WIlliams, who held their monthly get togethers there on a bi-monthly basis, sharing that with a Weatherford location. I asked a friend who had been a clubowner how that was going for him. He said it was doing very well and that I should probably look at it for “whenever I retired” from the city. I nodded, but noted what he had said.
Then one of the ladies in that group, who had been a friend of mine for a while from the school district, asked my wife to go to a Career Night with KW. My wife asked ME if I wanted to go, to which I politely declined, but she said “There is free food!”. She knows my weaknesses. I went and sat taking notes, supposedly for her to go into a career in real estate. She would have been great, having been a Mary Kay lady, but she felt she was too old to start in it.
I made notes to discuss with her after the event, but she thought I would be better at it than she would. But I already had a steady job, so that conversation went nowhere.
I was at work one day and felt my face starting to go numb! I got up and walked it off and it seemed ok. Then a few days later, it happened again, but it didn’t go away this time, so I went to the ER. They sent me to Fort Worth to a hospital that specialized in stroke care, thinking I was having a stroke! I went by ambulance to the hospital where they ran a ton of tests for about 3 days in all.
At the end of all that, the Neurologist came in and told me “I have good news and bad news”. The good news is you DO have a brain! My wife wanted a second opinion. “And it appears to be working properly”. To that, she DEFINITELY wanted a second opinion! “But the bad news is……….your Job is KILLING you!”
He said the stress of the job’s hours, expectations and lack of adequate staffing were just too much for my (almost) 60 year old body to take!
I couldn’t afford to retire yet, so that news was taken with the grain of salt that it HAD to be taken with.
I went back to work and shortly after that, I got an email from HR. It said “Congratulations! With your School District Service AND your City Service, plus your age upon your next birthday, you are eligible to retire!”
I replied and asked what that would look like. They answered “Well, you haven’t taken a sick day (other than the 3 days in the hospital) in your 8 years of service, so all of that sick pay would be paid to you in a lump sum!
(that checked off Gary Keller’s suggestion of having 6 months of salary in the bank to tide you over as you began your Realtor career). AND, if you want to, you could take a partial lump sum of your retirement pension, and it wouldn’t reduce your pension by much at all! I asked how much, and it said I could take like 15k and it would only reduce my monthly pension by about $100 (that would check off Gary Keller’s suggestion of having all your debt paid off before you start).
So, it seemed that God was trying to tell me something: first, by smacking me down and putting me in the hospital, then by sending me to the KW Career day, albeit for my wife and not me, and then by telling me in no uncertain terms that I was going to die if I kept up this line of work. And finally, providing an avenue by which I COULD afford to retire and start a new career in Real Estate.
I might be a little dense sometimes, but when God hits you upside the head with a two by four to get your attention, gives you His message and then opens the doors to be able to do what was clearly His will for me, who was I to judge??
I prayed a lot. I told my wife my thoughts, and she was totally against it, reminding me that I had a full time job and she liked the stable income. She had already been retired for about four years and was afraid of us having to live on that meager income. Nonetheless, I prayed. We prayed. And then I turned in my paperwork for retirement.
I gave 30 days notice, but the city came back and said that it worked out better for payroll if I only gave 2 weeks, to which I was only too happy to oblige! So, 2 weeks later, I was retired from the City. I signed up to work with KW and started my RE classes online. I locked myself in my office and completed all my classes in 10 days!
I started to work at KW 2 weeks after my retirement, having given myself ONE weekend off!
I hit the ground running, winning a contest that got me 3 free signs (saving me that expense!). My first listing was a lease listing and I used the leads I got from that one for the next 5 years! And, of course, following the KW guidelines and strategies. I didn’t cap my first year, but I got close. Second year, I capped after just six months. 3rd year I capped after 4 months. 4th year, I capped in 2 months. In my second year, I became the Treasurer of the local Realtor association. In the third year I was re-elected Treasurer, but with the Secretary duties as well. in my 4th year I was President Elect, spending my 5th year (COVID) as the President, and then the 6th as past president. And being the Association’s Board Representative to our MLS, a post I hold today.
After my 7th year, I moved to eXp Realty, where I am today. I should have made that move after 4 years, but I research a lot before I make changes, and had to feel good about making the change. I feel great about it! Nothing against the KW family who are all STILL my good friends today. I just had different requirements for MY career going forward, and eXp gave me the freedom, both financially and logistically, to make those changes.
Today, as I am in my 11th year as a Realtor, I STILL play music, using it as a lead gen tool, plus as a recreational escape, and using the income to offset Realtor fees, And it makes me stay in shape mentally and physically, so it’s all good! I have several folks that I work with to send referrals to, work deals with and/or cover one another’s showings or Open Houses. I have been with eXp now for about 3 years and really enjoy the freedom and support to Do some of the things I’ve always wanted to do.
I have won awards, both from the local association and from my company, but those are just trinkets to gather dust. I have great reviews and loyal clients, both of which mean more than ANY award ever will. I have certifications out the wazoo and I continue to learn on a daily basis, and to share that knowledge with others. And I am grateful to that same God who smacked me upside the head with a two by four to get my attention and change the trajectory of my life!
Financially, I am stable, have income, both passive and active, STILL play music, and am healthy!
I am blessed and don’t take that for granted for ONE minute. God is good. All the time!!!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The first part was seemingly easy. Follow the formula, do the work, and the results come. They did because I did.
But there were definitely struggles. Disappointments in other people whom I had held in high regard, both in business and as clients. New friendships forged, others relegated to the level of “acquaintance” either by design or by choice.
Understanding the business was never a struggle. Negotiations were not usually a struggle either.
Believing in myself took a little longer to actually sink in. And I have prayed more in my life as a Realtor than I ever did as a musician!
But when you always remember that your CLIENT is the boss, and that THAT is who you are serving, it becomes a different job. Some bosses are not great, but you serve them anyway. Some bosses are absolutely great, and you serve them with fervor, but both deserve the best you can give them.
When I first started, every deal was micromanaged to the Nth degree by me. I couldn’t sleep, thinking there was something I missed. After a while, I was able to relax because I KNEW there was nothing I missed. And when a deal looked like it was going to fall apart, my wife reminded me that “You just need to relax. You KNOW it always turns out okay, no matter what it looks like, because EVERYONE wants to get paid, and the sellers want to sell their home and the buyers want to BUY their home, so with all those people working for the same purpose, it will get done!”
Of course, she is right (don’t tell her I said that!)
COVID was hard on us all. Until it wasn’t. And then, it was VERY hard on us all, but extremely rewarding!!
Every call I got was usually at least two deals: Sell my place which doesn’t have a home office and buy me another one that does! And sometimes, even 3, 4 or 5 deals! From one call.
At the end of the day, basically 3 and a half years after COVID reared its ugly head, the retreat started happening. I saw it coming and we invested properly. Which was good, because the next two and a half years have been brutal!!!
I see it turning around, albeit not as fast as we’d like for it to….but it IS turning around!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Jerry Allen, Global Luxury Realtor?
My tagline is “Your Go To Guy for All Things Real Estate”. On LInkedIN, I have a hashtag #KingofCheap under which I post Real Estate hints and stuff like that. I am a full-service Realtor and tailor my services to the needs of my clients.
I work from my home office/studio and am pretty much always available unless I am out at a listing, showing or client meeting. I love to learn, so I take frequent CE classes so as not to fall behind the curve and this market is changing rapidly.
I am in my 11th year as a Realtor. I spent 8 with Keller Williams and then the rest with EXP Realty, a cloud based brokerage and, in my opinion, the best company on the planet for a Realtor.
I don’t only sell luxury homes, though. I’m working my tail off currently to get a cash strapped disabled Navy Veteran into his first new home……at age 72!!! We have it all worked out but it has been a struggle. It will close for him on June 30th, Lord willing, and it will give me FAR more satisfaction than having sold another 3 million dollar house. (the wife will disagree….she’d rather have the money)! He’s beside himself with happiness and you can’t buy that!!!
Anyway, THAT is why I do it: to help my friends and family to solve whatever Real Estate problems they have.
I have multiple certifications covering a variety of services, but I won’t bore you with the alphabet of characters there…all that matters is I know what the heck I”m doing pretty well!!
And am good at it!
But I do have a heart for Farm and Ranch properties. I like to go walk them with the owner to get an idea of what they are REALLY like before I’ll list them or buy them. Land is just so much more versatile than just a residential lot in the city.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
You can’t please everyone, so don’t take it personally. It almost NEVER is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jerryallen.exprealty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerryallenrealtor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerry.allen.1216/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-allen-76941231a/
- Twitter: https://x.com/JerryAllenEXP
