THE REAL DEALS
Stephen Reich , Clark Realty Group
Began Career in 2008
Stephen Reich had a successful career in insurance before switching careers 10 years ago and becoming a realtor .
“ Something about real estate had always intrigued me ,” he said . “ Someone told me not to get my real estate license until I could go at least three years without a paycheck .”
Although it was nice to have a decent nest egg while getting his real estate business off the ground , it turns out Reich ’ s business took off faster than he expected .
“ Fortunately or maybe unfortunately , even a blind squirrel can find a nut in this market ,” he said with a touch of modesty .
“ But back then I probably needed to be able to survive for a while , so I got in a position where I could survive for a while ,” Reich said . “ Then I did it . I did part-time for a while , for about five years , then full time the last five .”
Although he likes to sell every kind of property imaginable , his heart and soul is in farm and ranch real estate .
“ That ’ s where I grew up ,” he said . “ It has always been my passion .”
Reich is excited about selling commercial properties as well .
“ The Academy account was fun to put together ,” he said . “ The thing about commercial is that a lot of times , it ’ s a lot of work , a lot of wait . It takes a long time to see a deal come to fruition . It took five years for Academy to come to Parker County . Commercial real estate is not easy .”
Reich also likes working with land owners .
“ They have seen Parker County grow ,” he said . “ They were fortunate enough to own property where development is now big and they were where the growth has happened . I like helping them maximize on the return on their property .”
What does Parker County need in the way of retail ?
“ No . 1 , we need a grocery store ,” he said . “ We need a high-end grocery store that carries items you can ’ t find at an ordinary grocery store . It ’ s also time for the next retail development . There are a lot of retail companies that want to come , it ’ s just finding the right space and time .”
Reich is known across the county as the ultimate people person .
“ They say at the office ,” he said , that I turn clients into friends . My business is neat because when you get up , you never know exactly what you ’ re going to do that day . I ’ m not too rigid of a guy . I kind of like to fly by the seat of my pants .”
How did Reich end up with Clark Real Estate ?
“ I did a deal with Tim Clark ,” Reich said . “ The commercial side of the business has always intrigued me . Tim wanted to grow the farm and ranch part of Clark Real Estate . We just sort of saw the value in each other and here we are . I ’ ve been with them for six years .”
What does Reich see going on in Parker County 10 years from now ?
“ Who knows ?” Reich said , flashing his best cowboy grin . “ Everything is changing and I ’ m not sure I like it . I don ’ t know , we ’ ve seen a lot of changes in the past 10 years . We ’ ll have to see !” Will everyone still want to be in real estate ? Hummm . You never know . People compare us to Grapevine . I think the leadership would like to see us going in that direction , we all would , and the Weatherford leadership has changed drastically . A lot more forward thinking than ever before .”
What does he see coming to fruition in the not-so-distant future ?
“ The most exciting thing coming to fruition is a very nice , upscale apartment complex ,” Reich said . “ We will close on the dirt by the end of this month . This is thinking way outside the box for Parker County . It ’ s going to be very nice , an elaborate facility . I ’ m excited to be a part of it .”
As much as Reich is intrigued by commercial real estate , his heart is still with farm and ranch .
“ I have my buggy ,” Reich said . “ It ’ s how I show all the ranches and development properties . It holds nine people . It ’ s not little . It ’ s got six inches of lift …. I got a phone call last minute to show a place . I put it together , then I had trouble with the buggy . By the time we were finished , it looked like we were in a mud fight . The clients wanted to go look at another property so we did . I got slammed by a yellow jacket , which I am highly allergic to . They wanted to take me to the doctor but I just took a bottle of water to my neck , and went on . But in the end , I sold a 225-acre property north of town . The client told my wife that they felt so bad for me .”
Reich is also known to go above and beyond the call of duty for a client . It often pays off .
“ I had a potential buyer who was a friend of mine ,” Reich recalls . “ She was doing residential at the time . I pulled up to the house . As soon as she walked in , she said , ‘ Oh , this won ’ t do .’ Everything was wrong and she left . I locked everything up . As I was backing out of the drive , someone pulled up and blocked me in . He got out of the car and came up to me and asked , ‘ Is that your house ?’ I said , ‘ No . I ’ m a realtor .’ He said , ‘ Well , is it your listing ?’ I said , ‘ No , but I can show it to you , I have an hour .’ So we went back in . I showed him and his wife the house and 30 minutes later we were doing a full-price contract .”
Reich once bailed a client out of jail so he could close on his house .
“ There were a lot of complications to that deal ,” Reich said . “ There were a lot of liens filed on the property . Not all the debts were cleared . One of his debtors had filed on him when he realized the guy no longer owned the property . So , the guy filed on him . I was to meet this debtor to do a quick transaction , but he called me to tell me he was getting a ticket , but , he would be right there . Well , then I couldn ’ t reach him after that . His phone went straight to voicemail . I called his wife and she didn ’ t know where he was . When she called me back , he was in jail . His wife didn ’ t want to go , in case they had a warrant for her as well . So , the next morning , with the wife ’ s check in hand , I went and bailed the guy out .” The couple closed on the house and they all lived happily ever after . And the rest of the story is way off the record !
AUGUST 2018 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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