Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug West.
Doug, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My father, Neal West, was a builder for 40 years before going into real estate in the early 90s. I had no interest in real estate. I went to USD and studied Hispanic Studies. Then I did grad school at UCSD (Latin American Studies) and Middlebury College (Spanish Philology). Throughout my higher education I had a calling toward teaching. I briefly taught ESL in Mexico. I also taught Spanish, History and Spanish Literature at the high school and college level.
In 2007, I got my real estate license in order to help my father. It was only a part-time thing since I was still teaching at an independent high school up in Orange County; I moved to Oceanside in 2006. I was always very entrepreneurial, so I enjoyed the business side of real estate. In 2011 my real estate business had grown to the point that I couldn’t really be part-time anymore, so I made the plunge into real estate during one of the worse economic downturns the United States had ever seen. Most real estate agents were leaving the business. I was diving in head first. A lot of people thought I was crazy.
As with any business, there’s never a guarantee, but I’m a student of my trade and I felt the timing was right.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Real estate isn’t a part-time job. So, when I was trying to do it while teaching, that was hard. I’d work all day as a teacher. Then, work all afternoon, evening and weekends as a Realtor. I was really working two full-time jobs.
Being a Realtor isn’t easy. My family and I had to make sacrifices in order to make things work. When I left teaching, the market was saturated with short sales. That was tough. Work was limited. And selling homes was not fun since most homeowners either didn’t really want to sell. If it was a short sell, they were most likely experiencing an economic hardship. If it was an equity sale, they were still selling for a lot less than what they paid.
Please tell us about First Team Real Estate – Doug West Group.
I’m a Realtor, and team leader of the Doug West Group. My broker is First Team Real Estate. My team is relatively new and consists of me, my assistant (Samantha Reth), two buyer agents (Jillian Eaniello and Chad Mansell) and my stager (Mayra Soberon). We specialize in Oceanside, but can and have helped our clients with their real estate needed throughout San Diego and Orange County.
I’m known primarily for being a listing agent and specializing in 92057, although we are in growth mode. I suppose I’m most proud of putting my clients first. My goal is to do what’s best for my clients, and sometimes that has meant convincing them NOT to buy or sell. I’m also proud of being a specialist. I don’t know everything, but I have an insatiable curiosity about the real estate industry. And I’m always learning new things. That’s important! Perhaps it’s the educator in me. I feel today there are too many people in real estate who don’t know what they are doing. And this is why the real estate profession often has a bad name. When I left teaching, people questioned why I would leave a such a noble profession in exchange for one of the less perceived professions. As a Realtor we have a code of ethics, and I believe in that code. I’m also asked if I miss teaching. My answer is simple: I’m still teaching, it’s just a different subject matter and my students (aka clients) are often a little older.
Within my geographic “farms” (territories where I work), I insist on knowing everything I can about the houses and the area. I don’t like NOT knowing the answer to something, so I come prepared. I love talking to prospective buyers and providing great information. Often, I’m told by potential buyers that they already have an agent. That’s fine. My motto is “I’m just here to provide information.” I’m the local specialist. If people find my services helpful, I hope they’ll consider using my team and me then or at a later date.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Hard to say. The things I know now would have made sense 10 years ago. For example, I read a lot. Some of the books that I read early in my career went over my head. I wasn’t ready for the material. Then, five year later I read the book again, and it makes total sense.
It’s important to have great training. Some brokerages are just looking for numbers. Others don’t offer much mentoring. Having my father in the business was helpful, but his niche was different.
The expression “sweat equity vs check equity” is famous within the real real estate community. Early in my career everything was “sweat equity” because I didn’t have any extra money to spend. As a business owner, I now know that that was a mistake. There were a number of activities that I should not have been doing myself. Marketing was one. But I did what I needed to do to stay in business. The smartest thing I ever did, however, was hire an assistant. I can’t do it all by myself. And my assistant, Samantha Reth, is amazing!
Contact Info:
- Address: 427 College Blvd, Suite J
- Website: www.DougWestGroup.com
- Phone: 7607107345
- Email: Doug@dougwestgroup.com
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/doug.west.realtor
Image Credit:
SDAR
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