THE REAL DEALS
The Master Communicator
Matt Milligan, Owner, Trinity Country Real Estate Weatherford since 2008
E
50
very real estate professional has an
obvious strength. Mike Milligan’s
is knowledge of properties in Parker
County. “That and my negotiation
skills,” Milligan said. “It’s easy to
get a property under contract. It’s
another thing to get it closed. You
have to be patient and creative during
the negotiation and closing process.
Communication is the key… Never
assume someone else is on the same
page.”
Milligan is also highly creative and
can visualize what a difference even
the smallest improvements can make
in a property.
“You can put a pond here, an
arena there; I can paint a picture,”
Milligan said.
Building relationships is one of the
main keys to his success. “I still hear
from people I sold land to 17 years
ago that want to talk about what to
plant, or do I have a suggestion of
who can help them build a tank. I
help with day-to-day questions from
people that I sold land to years and
years ago.”
His love and appreciation of the
land is another key. Milligan grew
up in a ranching family. A native of
Nebraska, he came to Texas in 1999
with his family’s cattle business,
and after traveling to all the ranches
where they sold cattle, Matt knew
he wanted to be in the country real
estate business in Texas. He received
his real estate license in 2001 and
since that time has negotiated over
100,000 acres in ranch property and
has sold multi-million-dollar equine
facilities.
Right now, he is developing
a number of sub-divisions in and
around Parker County.
Milligan was drawn to real estate
by his love of the land.
“I think it’s my passion for being
outdoors and the quality of people
that you meet on a day-to-day basis,”
Milligan said. “Real estate is definitely
not for everyone.”
The long hours, the numerous
nights and holidays that realtors work
while almost everyone else plays,
100-hour work weeks that are seven
days long happen more frequently
than not, are all factors that tend to
repel a lot of people. But, Milligan
finds that the things he enjoys most
about his work far outweigh the
hours.
“If I was doing anything else,
working those type of hours, I would
have switched professions years
ago,” he said. “I simply love what I
do, so most days feel like vacations,
even though I might be in the truck
or office for 12 hours. When I have
customers walk in that I sold prop-
erty to 15 years ago and still ask for
recommendations, it makes me feel
good inside. All of my closest friends
are customers that first came to me
looking for property way back when.”
Milligan recalls one extraordinary
man in particular that he met in the
course of his career.
“Years ago a local rancher decided
he was going to retire and he wanted
to downsize,” Milligan said. “This
man was a legend in the Peaster/
Poolville area. He drove me around
to all of his properties and wanted
me to let him know what they were
worth. As we finished looking and
headed back to the house I noticed a
moving truck in the driveway. I said,
‘Sir, you weren’t messing around
when you said you were retiring.’ He
looked at me and said, ‘That must be
momma, I didn’t call a moving truck.’
I looked at him and said, ‘You might
want to run this by momma first. It
doesn’t look like she wants to move.’
Long story short, they stayed happily
married and to this date one of the
sweetest, most loving couples I know
of. The husband passed away a few
years back, but I’m blessed to have
known him and to keep in touch with
his lovely wife on a monthly basis.”
The trend in Parker County that
Milligan finds most intriguing is the
prices of property, both land and
home values. “I’ve always liked to
travel with the family around the
world,” Milligan said. “When we get
to our destination, the first thing I pick
up is some form of a real estate maga-
zine showing the local properties
for sale. It just blows my mind what
people have