Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Sweat. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

When I started my Real Estate career, one of my primary motivations was to help first-time buyers achieve the dream of homeownership. At that time, the housing market was tough for buyers. Homes were only on the market for a few days, prices were rising, and our local inventory was historically low.

One of the very first clients I worked with was a single mom with three teenage kids. She had been renting all her life and saving where she could in hopes that one day, she could afford her own home. She was lower income and when her Pre-approval came back, she called me. I could hear the disappointment in her voice when she told me the amount and how she didn’t think there was anything for her
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At that time, finding a three-bedroom home in her price range was all but impossible. When one in good condition hit the market, it was an excellent investment for a cash buyer and would be under contract often before we ever had a chance to see it. I combed through listings every day, and we toured multiple homes. After about two months, we finally found one and wrote an offer quickly. It was accepted!

The appraisal, inspections, and repairs over the following weeks went well. Thirty days later, we closed on her first home. It was a great feeling to have been a part of making this happen for her. I will never forget that experience.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am very fortunate to be married to an amazing woman and we have three amazing children. We are originally from North Carolina, But fell in love with Charleston years ago and grateful to call it home now.

Prior to my Real Estate career, I spent twenty-five years with the same company in the air filtration industry. I started when I was seventeen in a small manufacturing plant in my home town

From day one, I set about learning everything I could about the industry and manufacturing processes. My pursuit of knowledge and willingness to accept any task opened doors to promotions. Within a couple of years, I had worked in every department and became the final quality inspector for the entire plant.

Over the years, I moved from manufacturing into sales and eventually became the sales manager for the state of South Carolina. I loved it. I was able to meet new people all the time, and I created lasting relationships with many. I learned about marketing strategies, how to listen to people with understanding, and how to provide solutions to their problems. Most importantly, I was helping people and became a partner with them in solving problems. I loved this part of my career.

When the pandemic hit, things changed. Raw material shortages, manpower shortages, and transportation problems, were just a few of the new challenges we faced. Compounded by changes in my company’s management and philosophy, my role quickly changed from being a partner and resource for my customers to being part of their problem and I no longer had the tools to be what I wanted to be for them.

I realized I needed a change. I began to search for a new career where I could be a vital resource and where I could help people again. My friend, Shane, had gone into real estate about a year before, and we talked about it frequently. His encouragement and the amazing support from my wife were critical to my decision. I spent another year learning and researching the industry before taking that terrifying step away from twenty-five years with the same company to becoming a full-time real estate agent.

As in my previous career, I dedicate time to perpetually learning and equipping myself. I spend time with masters in the industry to glean all I can from their experience. I network with lenders, attorney’s and inspectors, setting a high standard of excellence for each of them before recommending them to my clients. I strive to be the best, not just for myself but for families I serve. They deserve it.

To say I feel at home in this industry would be an understatement. I truly feel I was born for it. The opportunity to help so many people with one of the most critical financial and often life-changing decisions of their lives is both fulfilling and rewarding for me personally. I love hearing their stories, learning their needs, and then exceeding expectations. Every day I have the opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes, become their partner, their protector, and ultimately a very positive paragraph in their life story. For me, this is my dream job.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I took a home listing for a couple that wanted to sell their home and purchase a home closer to their workplace. They were dead set on finding their next home before putting theirs on the market. At that time, this was more difficult due having a home sale contingency disadvantaged any offer we submitted. But I had done this before and assured them I could make it happen.  I was able to find them the home that they loved and less than a mile from their workplace. We put their home on the market and I had it under contract four days later.  This turned out to be the easy part.

The buyers for my client’s home had a home sale contingency in Ohio, the sellers for their new home had a contingency on the home that they were buying, and the sellers of that home were already under contract to purchase a home in Florida with a hard closing date.  Within a few days, the situation had changed to involve four home sale contingencies and five closing dates that all needed to be coordinated.  If one domino fell, everything would collapse. I didn’t sleep much that month.

I collected the contact information for the other agents involved, I called them all frequently, and stayed on top of inspection deadlines, loan approvals, and closing dates. I pushed hard for the buyer of the home in Florida to move their date back a couple of days, and pressed the agent in Ohio to move their closing date sooner.  I scheduled inspections and negotiated repairs on my client’s new home while working through the same inspections on the home they were selling.

I didn’t want my clients to experience the stress-storm I was in and to have a great experience. So, I shouldered as much of it as I could. I knew I had found the perfect home for them, and losing it would be devastating to us all. I wanted them to be able to focus on moving and enjoy planning their life in their new home. In the end, we were successful. We had only a one-day gap between the final two closings, and my clients spent that evening relaxing at a hotel while the final piece of this puzzle fell perfectly in place. That was a good day.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met Gray soon after I first started in real estate. We were both part of a small real estate team at Realty One Group Coastal and she had been tasked with my onboarding process. I Immediately liked her and enjoyed working with her. We shared a quirky sense of humor, and a desire to help people. She had amazing organization, administrative and communication skills. Our skillsets meshed well, and we pushed each other to become better. I knew very early on that this was the type of person you only meet a few times in your life and a friend that I wanted to keep for as long as possible.
A few months later, the team owner decided to close the team without warning, and we were suddenly on our own as independant agents. Some of the team members left the brokerage and most drifted apart as time went on. But Gray and I continued to support each other and wanted to stay at Realty One Group. We met frequently to brainstorm ideas, talk about what we wanted our new vision to be, strategized about how to reach new clients, and supported each other through some difficult times. After a few months, we decided to unite our resources, vision, and skills as partners on our own team, Palmetto Dream Homes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://palmettodreamhomes.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattSweatRealtor/