Today we’d like to introduce you to DD Yates.
Hi DD, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My Mother lost her job during the most recent housing crisis. She had worked her way up the ranks to become a corporate HR manager, thereby enabling her to purchase a house for her two children (my younger brother) and, eventually, her family. She was the first person in my immediate family to purchase a home. However, she came home from work one evening and expressed that she had just been let go. Once her modest severance package and savings had been depleted, the nightmare began. I was in the 11th grade at that time.
For the first time in my life, we were dependent on government services. Divine providence caused the Obama administration to enact a series of housing reforms, which enabled local governments to impede the wave of foreclosures happening throughout America. The same reforms enabled us to stay in the home for 8 years, while my mother worked wherever she could ( school cafeterias, overnight at hotel front desks, hospital trauma registration, etc. ) to make ends meet.
This experience had a profound impact on me and made me realize the value of having a place to call home. As I watched my mother fight to keep hers for the better part of a decade.
About 2 years after graduating from high school, I met a real estate team lead from Pikesville, MD, at a “pyramid scheme” event. He was with a Keller Williams Office based in Baltimore. He “Hired” me as an unlicensed assistant to work his rentals ( generate & funnel leads ), after working for 8 months without pay. I left. But I nurtured the things that I learned and the relationships that I started during that time. One of whom was a close colleague of my Boss at the time, and she encouraged me not to give up on the idea of getting my real estate license. In spite of my initially poor introduction to the real estate industry. Her name is Mel Ledbetter, a very successful agent based in Baltimore City. She still practices Real Estate to this Day, and she has mentored dozens of people like me. She saw that I had potential, so I believed her. I got a job at the Banana Republic in Georgetown, and I saved up to take the classes and the licensee exam. However, after 1 year of saving, while working for $7/hr I decided to take out a loan so that I could expedite my career. I eventually joined a Keller Williams brokerage based in PG County, where I remained for 7 years. From there, I joined Fairfax Realty Elite ( Georgetown Office ), where I remained for 2 years. Then, I met James Sampson, through my childhood barber, and business associate, Johnny. James was the Broker of Realty One Group Assets, based in Greenbelt, MD. The two years I spent with James were monumental. He enabled me to learn so much about Real Estate beyond buying and selling homes. I was able to learn the fundamentals of commercial real estate and the business of constructing million-dollar deals. He supported my efforts to decide to become a broker myself and connected me with the resources I needed in order to accomplish that goal. Then, in 2022, DDYatesInvestments: Real Estate Advisory became a brokerage in three jurisdictions (DC, MD, VA).
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My late paternal grandfather used to say, “The only mistakes you make are the ones that you do not learn from.” Being in Business for myself has taught me the value of taking my time. The hand of ignorance is ruthless, and you can avoid making costly mistakes if you take your time. In the beginning, I was in a rush to do everything. I was in a rush to get agents, which caused me to hire the wrong kind of people, which in turn cost me $15k. That agent was promptly fired, but the bill didn’t leave with them.
Furthermore, I have been referred business by “colleagues” which turned out to be Trojan horses, that caused me another $35k. I thought that I was gonna lose my firm, and my health began to suffer as a result of the stress.
I am grateful to divine providence for all of those experiences, because I wouldn’t be who or where I am today if it were not for those opportunities to become a better version of myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
One of my former Brokers, Emerick Peace, used always to say, “ You are in the relationship business, and real estate is your commodity.” I take that to heart as we are building this firm. We prioritize helping organizations and individuals to see their property as a multifaceted investment. Oftentimes, that means getting to know them, thereby gaining an intimate understanding of their goals relative to their real estate investment. It is not always beneficial to sell immediately, as some brokers will have agents believe. It may be better to wait until market conditions are more aligned with where they want to go. Or, let us manage the property as a rental, then we can sell it or cash-out refinance in a few years when your 8th grader is college-ready and you need the capital. This holistic approach is what sets us apart from our competitors.
I am most proud of being a 3rd generation Washingtonian. This firm is a homegrown legacy in the making. I am not beholden to a franchise agreement, which creates another cookie-cutter real estate brand in another city or with unnamed investors who tell firms how to interact with the communities that support it. We prioritize giving back to the community that helped get us to where we are today.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
One of my proudest moments was when my “not so” baby cousin, Danielle, who is the first person in my generation to graduate from college (Bowie State), decided to join this firm. She closed her first deal in December of 2024, under the banner of DDYatesInvestments: Real Estate Advisory. This is what matters most to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ddyatesinvestments.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ddyatesinvestments/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ddyatesinvestments/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/ddyatesinvestments
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ddyatesinvestments-washington-2
