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Meet Joshua Mills of Mills Residential Real Estate in West Dallas and Fort Worth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Mills.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got into real estate immediately after college. I was a broadcast journalism major at Texas A&M, and I was doing an internship at Channel 5 while studying for my real estate exam.

Although I was interested in real estate, I was still trying to find my path. I really had no idea exactly what I wanted to do.

I was so distracted, that I passed the National section, but failed the state exam with a 69. 1 point! I’ve actually read that Texas and Colorado lead the way with the most difficult licensing requirements in the US. I’m not making excuses, but you have to prepare. Don’t take it for granted. FYI, I scored somewhere in the 90s the second “go round”.

There are many online options, but I think if you can take real estate classes in person it’s a huge advantage. I enrolled in Purvis Real Estate in Fort Worth.

I think becoming a real estate agent was the best move I ever made in my career.

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?
I wouldn’t say its been a bumpy road, but it’s definitely been a long one. My first love was entertainment, really more of a passion for “show business”. As the saying goes, there’s no business like it, no business I know. That is ‘no business’ until I discovered Real Estate. I’ve worked in entertainment for almost two decades, starting my independent production company in 2008. There are many similarities between real estate and entertainment. Real Property vs Intellectual Property. They both have titles, and they both can carry liens. Running a production company often means we work “360 Production”. That means we discover or create the intellectual property, develop the story, pen the screenplay or script, produce, shoot, then edit the project. Once the “IP” is complete, we spend the next several weeks or months marketing the project for a specific audience. So technically we pick the land, draft the blueprints, build the house then sell to the right buyer.

Although I’ve been a licensed realtor in California for eight years, I relocated back to Texas over three years ago and immediately went to work with my dad David Mills. A veteran farm and ranch broker with over 25 years in the business. As a small business owner for over a decade, I was able to incorporate the experience and discipline needed in a competitive market. I immediately starting “cutting my teeth” in Texas residential real estate, and never looked back.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Until recently, we’ve operated as an independently owned family business. ‘Mills Real Estate Group’ joined Keller Williams in November of 2019, and it was a great decision. Not only do we have the amazing reputation and infrastructure provided by Keller Williams, but our business has grown three fold. We’re calling the team ‘Mills Residential’.

Faith, family values and smart business decisions are the core fundamentals of the ‘Mills Residential’ mission statement. With over 20 years of Real Estate experience, ‘Mills Residential’ is focused on empowering our clients with up to date market knowledge, and the care expected to make those smart decisions.

It’s important that I understand what people really want in a real estate partner. I try not be the smartest person in the room. I’m interested in actually “listening” to my clients. It makes a big difference. Every transaction is unique, and by listening to the client, we get the best results.

Although we are highly active in luxury clientele and investments, we love working with first-time homebuyers. Real estate is the cornerstone of wealth, and everyone deserves a shot at homeownership.

What were you like growing up?
I couldn’t sit still. I grew up on the edge of the suburbs but enjoyed the benefit of living in the “country”. Fortunately our house backed up to about 200 acres of undeveloped native Texas pasture and thick woods. We had a simple nickname for anything beyond my back fence. We called it “The Field”. If you couldn’t find us, chances are we were somewhere in “The Field”. Armed to the teeth with pellet guns, fireworks and the occasional slingshot or blowgun. Of course, we always had tools with us as well for the sophisticated tree house construction. In high school, I was a bit of a social chair. We didn’t really have cell phones yet, so the “LAN line” drove my parents crazy. Ringing seven days a week between the hours of 4-9pm. If we were lucky, one of our buddies carried the “bag phone” cell that he would plug into his car lighter, but we still somewhat relied on payphones. I can imagine the real estate industry was a much different landscape in the 90’s. Real estate is a relationship-based business, and it’s safe to say my personality has meshed well with this career choice.

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Josh Mills

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