Nick skipped college at 16 to apprentice in real estate, bird-dogging homeowners with default notices while still in high school. Working one to two days a week, he knocked on doors in clusters of notices to maximize reps. His family bought several properties after he graduated, proving the hands-on approach worked.
I came to you and Mom before that and was like, I just don't— like, the whole school thing wasn't— I don't know, it really, really wasn't working for me. I was just— I did fine. I was able to get A's and B's, but I just was like, I can't see myself doing this for another 4 to 6 years.
Nick, I do remember that, so you can transition, but I do remember Um, mom's saying to you, are you sure you want to do this? Because you said, I don't want to go to college, I want to, I want to go through some of your training. And we put together literally a curriculum of some of my past mentors and present mentors.
This way? Yeah, this, this was still when I was in high school.
Yeah.
Oh, I got my, I got my driver's license when I was a sophomore in high school. So, uh, this would— this was still during that time, uh, right on the same, the same time frame too. When I came to you and just, I wanted to get started and was wondering what I could do. And right around that time, you and your partners are playing with the idea of having someone go around, and I think the term is bird dog that you call it, go around and knock on doors of homeowners that have received the notice of default letter from the bank, meaning that they had missed several payments. If not up to 10 to 12, and the bank still hadn't foreclosed on their house and kicked them to the curb, kicked them out of the house. So I didn't consult anyone on this. I just, in my 16-year-old mind, was like, all right, well, I have to go to school during the week. So whenever I do this 1 or 2 days a week, I want to hit the most amount of doors that I can. in a day. So what that meant was going into cities and going into not so prestigious— uh, nice is a, is a, uh, a nice way to phrase it— areas of cities where literally they were right next— the notice of defaults were right next door to each other, so I could get the most amount of reps in and I could, I could get the most experience. So I did that all throughout the rest of high school, and I think you can attest to that, Dad. We actually owned several properties in the surrounding cities where we are now for years after that, after that time. So then after I got out of high school, I came to you and Mom before that and was like, I just don't Like, the whole school thing wasn't, I don't know, it really, really wasn't working for me. I was just, I did fine. I was able to get A's and B's, but I just was like, I can't see myself doing this for another 4 to 6 years.
