WI Father And Son Biz Owners Talk Relationships And Real Estate

BROOKFIELD, WI—A Milwaukee County father and son are using their experience in real estate to lead more than 150 agents at Re/Max Realty 100.

Jim Purell and his son, Adam Purcell, took ownership of four Re/Max Realty 100 offices in Southeastern Wisconsin in Greenfield, Brookfield, Hales Corners and Menomonee Falls.

Re/Max Realty 100 has been around for more than 40 years in the Southeastern Wisconsin area. "It's an institution in the area for real estate," Adam Purcell said.

Adam Purcell joined the company after his father recruited him. Before becoming an agent, he worked as a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual. "It is a similar business model to being a realtor," he told Patch. "You are working with clients with financial service products versus homes and investment properties."

Both father and son worked on the Client First Realtors team together. At first, it felt like a test run, Purcell said. "We enjoyed working together and have a great partnership," he said.

Separating personal family relationships from work is essential. "The most difficult and most important thing about a business partnership is being able to give each other constructive criticism," he said.

Business partners must be able to tell someone if he did or said something that wasn't good for the business without a fight, he said. He and his father have been able to give each other feedback. "When we leave the office, we are still father and son," he said.

DIY Weekends

During the weekends, the Purcells try not to bring up work. What do two successful real estate experts do in their spare time?

Purcell said they are huge do-it-yourself enthusiasts around their homes as they come from a line of family builders. Adam's grandfather (Jim's father) was a builder, as was Jim.

Purcell attending University of Wisconsin-Madison for business. But, he said, "You can't fight your genetics."

When he bought his first home with his wife, he took the house down to the studs and redid the whole place. "I wasn't professionally trained," he said. "I just read books and looked at videos, pulled the permits and went for it."

Both men love the real estate industry and taking care of clients' needs and best interests. "We also like working on homes and using our hands," he said.

Buying A Home In A Pandemic

Working as a real estate agent has become more digital, Purcell said. There is less face-to-face interaction because of the pandemic, he said. The bright side is that Re/Max Realty 100 was already set up for something like the pandemic.

"We already had full digital tools for us to complete a transaction outside of the office," Purcell said. The company already had Zoom accounts, and contract signing was done digitally and remotely. They also had online cloud storage to exchange documents among brokers, clients and agents. Purcell said 95 percent of their team was already using such tools.

"The only time I had to be face to face with a client was during a showing," he said. "We even have digital capabilities for closings."

The digital tools helped the company thrive during the pandemic. Last year, the duo's Re/Max Realty 100 business climbed 25 percent, Purcell said. "We had an exceptionally strong year despite such a disruption," he said.

What Clients Want

It is a great time to sell a home, Purcell said. There wasn't enough housing supply in the area even before the pandemic, and the trend in housing is bigger and more expensive homes. "The pandemic has ratcheted that up. Home is more important than it has ever been," he said.

Clients are obviously spending more time at home. Clients are looking for a home office or having an extra bedroom to convert it into an office. They are also looking for larger outdoor living spaces, he said. "People want more space and privacy knowing those restrictions are out in public," he said.

In The Weeds With Employees

The Purcells purchased the four offices from long-tenured broker owner Jeff Benson, with whom they worked closely over the past five years.

They are passionate about high-quality client care, treating people with respect and operating with a high moral compass, Jim Purcell said. “This is a people business, and that is by far our most valuable asset," he said. "We genuinely care about our people, and we are here to help them not just grow but flourish both personally and professionally. We are here to serve this great team.”

Benson will shift his focus to a new role on the leadership team. “We are confident that Jim and Adam are the perfect fit to continue the Re/Max Realty 100 legacy," Benson said. "We are excited to be a part of it and see what they accomplish. With Jim and Adam as our leaders, the future is bright for Re/Max Realty 100.”

Jim and Adam will provide the brokerage’s top-performing agents with increased training and new technology. They also plan to bring on more agents. Jim and Adam Purcell are "in the weeds" with their employees daily, they said.

Adam is engaged in the strategic route with the company through its digital resources. Jim is involved in the weekly training with agents. "We feel it is important for us to be in the marketplace speaking with buyers, sellers, and investors so we know really know what is going on," Adam told Patch.

For more information on Re/Max Realty 100 visit the website.