She was homeless but now makes millions of dollars from the real estate industry. Terrica Smith’s adventure into the real estate world happened by chance, she said in an interview.
She recalled knocking on doors to sell magazines when she worked in the magazine business. Then, only 17 years old, she sold magazines to some of the wealthiest people in Hollywood and realized that almost all of them were into real estate, according to Black Enterprise.
According to her, she committed herself to God and made a vow never to be homeless again after Hurricane Katrina left her stranded in New Orleans with her child. They slept under the highway for some days before relocating to Lafayette, northwest of New Orleans, where she worked in the mall.
RELATED STORIES
It was during her days at the mall that she became intrigued by a gentleman and his daughter. She asked the gentleman what he did for a living, and he responded, “Real estate.” This inquiry would pique her interest in the sector, especially after the man gave her the name of a real estate school she could attend.
With no knowledge of real estate, she enrolled in a real estate class to kickstart her career. After seven attempts, she passed her real estate exams, and by the time she was a licensed real estate agent, she had only made $5,000 in her first year, describing it as the worst year of her career. Nonetheless, she was motivated to think outside the box.
“Every other real estate agent was focused on buyers and sellers, so I went toward investors,” she said. “Investors would buy different things and get a return on it. Eventually, they would hire me to find, design, or sell the property.”
She recalled an attorney handing her a folder with what she thought was her 3% commission after closing on a property for an investor. She said she saw a six-figure check, but the attorney took it away because he mixed the checks.
Amazed by the numbers, she decided that she would charge investors 50% for the work she was already doing for them at a lower rate. She lost all her clients except one when she took that decision but she was unfazed by that loss.
“I gave that investor all of my attention, and he made so much money that year,” said Smith. “The thing I believe is true is that one rich person knows another rich person. He told all of his friends about me, so when they approached me, they all knew I charged 50%.”
She later started working with a builder who was constructing new homes in older neighborhoods throughout Lafayette. This inspired her to start building a community of homes, leading to a multimillion-dollar development in Lafayette.
Despite her success in real estate as an agent and building single homes for families, banks and investors did not want to initially lend her the money to create the development. She became her own bank with a real estate crowdfund in Louisiana.
“I made hundreds of thousands of dollars for my investors, and they just didn’t see the vision,” Smith recounted. “I got three people to tell me yes. We put all of our money into the first development. I put my son’s name on the street sign and named the community. Now, it’s a $21 million mixed-use community.”
According to her, the banks that initially rejected her are now investing in her, adding that her success in real estate was her understanding that it was okay to fail.
