Seth and Carla CLarke
Owners of Rising Realty LLC and Clarke Realty
Ages 32 & 31
Seth Clarke works full time in his family's local business and serves in the U.S. Army Reserves ... which he enlisted in at the age of 28. His wife, Carla, spends her day as an attorney in Downtown Frederick. In the spare time they somehow manage to keep finding, the energetic couple combines forces to pull off an impressive house flipping business.
Under his company, Rising Realty LLC, Seth puts his project management skills to work - organizing the re-positioning strategy and renovation work. As a fully-licensed lawyer, Carla's Clarke Realty then serves as the broker - handling both the buying and selling processes. The accomplished pair is currently working their way through their 12th project.
While juggling it all, Seth took the time to share these thoughts...
On Surprises
We've bought houses without seeing what's inside. Sometimes that’s part of the arrangement. You have no idea what's behind that front door. Signing those closing papers... that's hard. and exciting! and hard. We've had ones when we open the door - it's not that bad! We've had ones when we open the door ...it’s that bad.
At the end of the day, though, not everything is going to work out anyways. Things break. Things flood. The unexpected always happens. It’s really about how you handle surprises and drive on.
On The Rewards of the Job
We go for the worst house in a neighborhood. Honestly, the uglier the better. The goal is to take the worst house in a neighborhood, and turn it into the best one: brand new counters; new, open layout; new HVAC system.
There's nothing more satisfying than taking something that's falling apart and turning it into a home someone can be proud of. When we have a buyer that's a single mom or a young couple, and we see that now they own a place that they can have family in it and really be proud of it – That’s what makes it worth it.
On Having a Side Hustle
It can be difficult to find balance. I'm the type of person that wants to give whatever I’m doing my all. It's tough taking a call from an electrician during my regular work, or trying to organize contractors from another country while on duty. Carla faces the same challenge. As an attorney, that's a long, high-pressure day of work already. You have to learn to do a lot of juggling, and learn how to keep something in the air.
It's a rewarding experience though. I like to think of us as business builders -- We take something little and grow it into something bigger and better. Then we start the next project.
Next Up?
Diversify! Diversify more. We already have our eye on expanding into a whole new industry.. but I'll leave it at that for now.
Advice
Don't think about it, (well... do think about it), but go for it. There will always be the negative voices and thoughts. You just ignore them and make it happen anyways. What’s that phrase? "If its got to be, its up to me."
