We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamie Parsons a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

I started my real estate career quite by accident back in the 90s when searching for my first home. I was working freelance as a production coordinator for commercials, but on my days off, I’d scour potential neighborhoods, wanting to know every home on the market and what they sold for. I was relentless. I’d visit every Sunday open house, and if there was a house I was “crushing on” but it wasn’t on the market, I’d put a note in the mailbox asking if they would sell it. I quickly realized I was working harder than most of the agents I encountered, so I decided to get my license and use the commission to help with the down payment. The home we ended up with was an earthquake-damaged foreclosure that was stripped, which meant we literally had to put it back together. And on a very slim budget, that meant DIY.

I had such a great time refurbishing the 1928 Spanish Revival home that I wanted to do it again. I held an open house to see what would happen, and it sold that day over the asking price. AND during the open house, I picked up a client and sold them a home in the neighborhood about a month later. Their closing day was exhilarating. I felt like I had a purpose. My real estate career was born, and I’ve never worked another day in production.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

When people ask, “What do you do?” and “What is your brand?” it used to throw me a bit because the reality is; I have more than one job. And I love them all equally! The first is selling real estate, the second is flipping houses, and the third is owning/managing The Big Blue House, a short-term rental property. All three are real estate related, and #2 and #3 have definitely given me an experiential advantage over your average agent, which is #1.

I have sold real estate for 28 years now, and although I’m sure I haven’t seen it all, I’ve seen and dealt with most. The stories I could tell would make this article more of a book! All that experience has created a calm in me that transfers into every transaction. There is a solution to every problem. And although sometimes the answer may not be the outcome one envisioned, it never ceases to be the best solution in the end. I love working with buyers, and I cannot count the times a client lost their ‘dream home’ in multiple offers or a deal gone south, and they are terribly disappointed. I advise them to trust the process, and we continue their search. It feels like always; clients are thankful they lost that first house because the one they end up with exceeds their needs and desires far above the one they lost. I’ve experienced this numerous times in my own buying and selling, which I’ll get into later.

#2: flipping houses. This is where I get to put my creative chops to use, and I obsessively love it! I’ve remodeled homes, torn them down and rebuilt from the studs up, and even built on raw land. I love building and remodeling, but it’s not for everyone. I know firsthand the time and fortitude a project takes and tell clients the realities of it; the joys and the difficulties. There are definite advantages to a turnkey home – namely, you get to move in the day you close escrow. And new construction today, especially in the luxury market, is breathtaking. Conversely, there is no greater satisfaction than creating and building your dream home, but it’s a tremendous time commitment and requires thousands of decisions. There is no right or wrong way, it’s all personal preference, but my building experience has come in handy when advising clients.

#3: The Big Blue House is an Airbnb/VRBO in Leipers Fork. In 2016, I had to take my own advice in trusting the process when I lost 2 “perfect” homes, both when the sellers changed their minds mid-transaction. I was heartbroken – twice. Then I stumbled upon a house that was everything I wasn’t looking for. I had wanted a small home or cabin on 20+ acres but ended up with a large home on only 5 acres, and it has become my “dream come true” property. When I purchased it, I still lived in California and couldn’t occupy it full-time. I wasn’t in a financial position to carry it vacant month after month, so I made it into a short-term rental. My kids and I would use it when we were in TN, and then I’d rent it when we were in CA. With years of that now under my belt, the ins and outs of STRs have become second nature: the good and the challenging.

So back to the brand question – honestly, it’s still a tricky one to answer. I don’t feel like I fit into one box. For example, last year, my biggest sale was a stunning 150-acre farm in Thompsons Station for $11.4m, and this year (to date), it’s a $12m trophy penthouse in a downtown highrise. Two polar opposite properties! My mission is to do everything I can to surpass a client’s expectations, do it with integrity and authenticity, and have a lot of fun in the process – no matter the location or price tag. If that’s a brand, then I’ll own it!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn, or more specifically, I had to learn, is: It’s okay not to do everything myself.

I continually remind myself of this because it goes against my natural instincts, and aside from that, I genuinely love working. But a brilliant friend once explained that if I “hire out” time-consuming tasks others can do, such as escrow paperwork, painting, or picking weeds (yes, I love a manicured garden), I am actually making money if I put those hours towards things that only I can do – such as cultivating client relationships, previewing properties, design planning, and that sort of thing.

The backstory to this lesson is simple. When I started in real estate and flipping, I was barely scraping by. I HAD to do most things myself because there was no money to pay anyone. Additionally, I can be a perfectionist when it comes to work, so delegating tasks doesn’t come naturally. But once I created working relationships with tradespeople and office staff, it freed me up to focus more on future business, which is vitally important in real estate. It also allowed me more time for self-care, which is equally important, especially for workaholic types.

You’ll still find me spending hours in the garden, triple-checking my paperwork, painting walls, and doing all sorts of things I should hire out, so I am admittedly a work in progress. But the more I manage to delegate, the more I see the benefit of this lesson.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I don’t have a traditional goal or mission that drives me; it’s more emotionally and spiritually driven, as odd as that may sound to some. It’s a follow-your-gut (or follow the spark) philosophy rooted in my faith, and for me, it’s worked. I set specific short and long-term goals and have a general idea of what I want to accomplish, but I do my best to stay open to the outcomes and the direction things may take me in. Several times in my life, that openness has led me to experiences and opportunities I’d never even thought of, yet they were much bigger and better than my plans! I believe God instills specific talents and desires in our hearts for a reason, and when you feel that spark or undeniable pull to pursue something, you should take time, be still, and listen. I’m not saying to be reckless, but it’s worth paying attention to and seeing where it leads. A little saying I have is, “I never want to have any if only’s,” meaning I never want to look back and say, “If only I would have tried this or that.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.compass.com/agents/jamie-parsons/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional&utm_term=collections_&utm_content=&utm_campaign=7/7/17&deliverable_id=646dfa0a04e34a64b3396242&deliverable_type=board_listing_review_stage_activity&deliverable_channel=email&email_tracking=eyJkZWxpdmVyYWJsZUlkIjoiNjQ2ZGZhMGEwNGUzNGE2NGIzMzk2MjQyIiwiZGVsaXZlcmFibGVUeXBlIjozMywiZGVsaXZlcmFibGVDaGFubmVsIjoxfQ==
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamse3
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-parsons-92256b9/