How RealtyBridge Connects Real Estate Investors and Realtors | Zach Thomas

Zach Thomas (00:00)

A lot of people look at real estate as, the roof needs to be replaced, the HVAC needs to be, updated, things like that. I stopped doing that, understanding that there is the human factor, the emotional intelligence factor. And so in that my conversation with my clients has changed.

that works with me. He’s like, Man, I’ve been working with y’all for a month, been working in the training and doing all that. He’s like, This is my first month of not being cussed out.

Quentin Edmonds (01:01)

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds, and I have in front of me another fantastic guest.

listen, he knows investments, he knows title, he’s helping the investor, he’s helping realtors, he’s helping them and connecting the two together. And he knows if you work with him at the end, you’re gonna know what’s great for the investor and what’s great for the realtor. I’m excited. he has an extensive background. And y’all know what makes me so happy and so excited is when I get to peek through someone’s house experience.

So we got some on here experience today, and I’m so happy we get to peek through the lens of Mr. Zach Thomas. Mr. Zach, how are you doing today, sir?

Zach Thomas (01:48)

Man, I am doing great. I appreciate you having me on today and I look forward to, talking and breaking down everything. this is y’all’s background and viewpoint on community is one that I admire.

Quentin Edmonds (02:00)

Love that. I think that’s something that we share in common is the communicator. I think I said that right, but the community aspect. And so let me say this, Zach. Thank you for your time, man. I value time. I think time is our most precious commodity. So the fact that you gave us some of your time, please now value that. And I thank you. And I’ll probably say that again in my closing, but I really appreciate you being here. And Zach sir, I’m the type, I really like to dive right in.

So I would love for you to tell the people what’s your main focus these days, what you’re up to today. if you don’t mind, give us a little origin story, how you got into the space where you are. And then man, tell them where you are in the world. People like to know where people are geographically. And my friend Zach, you got the floor, my friend.

Zach Thomas (02:43)

Yeah, so I’m actually from Wilmington. I currently operate my business out of the Wilmington area, fastest growing area on the East Coast right now. I originally started off in title and escrow, handling investor closings, assignments, novations double closes, all that good stuff. led me into more arguing with the state senate rule and their legislative action.

what everybody sees nowadays is how they define wholesaling. And in that it birthed what i am now. And what I run now is RealtyBridge. It’s a software platform that is building community. Right? seeing this legislative action, it’s trying to put distinct boxes, right? you’re either a wholesaler.

Or investor, a realtor. And what we’re trying to do is give a platform for investors to come and post their deals, say, hey, I’ve got this and I need this. I need a realtor for novation I need a realtor for a short sale deal that I’m doing, or I’m doing a wholesale I need somebody in that area. But it’s more than that, right? It’s community’s great, but

You want to make an educated decision. And in that is where we’ve put everything together. So when you connect the realtor and the investor, you get to see the background of both. Yeah. Right. You get to see what their success rates are. Is that realtor good with short sales or are they more leaning towards novations? do they do flat fee listings? their background to make you have that educated decision, right? Yeah. Because in my experience.

And handling all these closings, I see closings get to the finish line and it fall apart because of a disconnect of whether a person’s not experienced in doing that type of deal or it being misinterpreted.

Quentin Edmonds (04:37)

Yes, sir.

Zach Thomas (04:38)

it’s that community. It takes a village to do real estate, and that’s what we’re trying to build here, is that way for everybody to connect, right? And that’s

why I did it is to give those investors I’m currently involved in talking with the state senate now in my state because novations have once again now come up to legislative action. And one of the things I understand is you don’t have to know everything, man.

that’s the thing. You don’t have to know everything. You can’t know everything. Yeah. but you gotta know who to ask. And sometimes you as an investor need a little extra help or what I would think is training wheels, if it’s your first novation you need that realtor. Yes, sir. That realtor that has, twenty under their belt that can say, Okay, this is how we’re gonna do this, this is how I would explain it to people.

Things like that. And that’s what I’m hoping to build. Yes. That ability to prevent any issues moving forward by providing the connection of education and those individuals being educated in doing these certain types of deals.

Quentin Edmonds (06:21)

Sir man, absolutely just love it, Zach. Thank you, man. Thank you for everything you’ve said. I was listening. I love your community outlook. I love how going to the state senate, fighting, talking about these things. And so Zach, I often say destiny has no wasted moments.

we are learning from each leg of the journey, right? And it sounds like sometimes that our pain points push us into the passion that we’re currently, in now. And it sounds like that may be similar to you. So I would love to know, Zach, throughout this journey, man, this real estate journey, title, the Senate. What has this journey revealed to Zach about Zach?

Has it made you more disciplined, more humble, increased your tenacity? what does this journey reveal to you about yourself, sir?

Zach Thomas (07:08)

Gonna sound weird. It has revealed to me that I am more stubborn than I thought. Right. everybody gets it. they get it. Well, you can’t do this. This isn’t possible. especially for me. I’m in the title curative space. You get told this isn’t insurable. You can’t do it. Right. I had one just last week. in South Carolina, you can’t get title insurance for 10 years.

After you buy a tax auction. And so they’re like, nah, you gotta go file quiet title. It’s six months, it’s gonna cost you about eight grand. Well, I don’t take that. And that’s why I learned is I’m stubborn. So I learned how to dissolve that issue for the title insurance company to, get this insurable for our clients.

Quentin Edmonds (07:55)

yeah.

Zach Thomas (07:56)

and that’s the thing. Stubbornness can be viewed as bad. My wife, if you’re married, you see that sometimes. But it’s also good.

Quentin Edmonds (08:05)

So well said, man. I appreciate that. And so how you talked about being stubborn, one of the things I realized about myself, and you said this may sound weird, mine may sound weird, but I realized my anger. I’m angry at times. And when I looked up the word angry, it literally means you just have a passion towards something. And so how you talking about just stubborn, I realized that.

There are times that my anger is pointing towards something that needs to be productive. something is out of line and it needs to be corrected. So I realize that these emotions that I feel, whether it be stubborn or anger, is just a signal what’s going on. I have a right to point that emotion at something.

And so I love how you’re pointing at my stubbornness, I’m pointing at the Senate. my anger, I’m pointing at making sure nobody is excluded. everybody’s inclusive to the community. And so I’m with you. this journey teaches us things about ourselves. And that’s the whole point of asking the question. Would it be real to yourself? Right. It don’t matter what everybody else thinks. This is what I know about me. And this way, when I got the recognition, I can point it to where it needs to go.

Zach Thomas (09:10)

And

in honesty over time, you get to accept it. You

Quentin Edmonds (09:15)

Date you

Zach Thomas (09:15)

accept that part of it, Right? ‘Cause again you have certain stigma betype between being angry or sober and things like that, but it’s not a bad thing.

Quentin Edmonds (09:23)

There you go.

Zach Thomas (09:24)

Without that a lot of stuff would never happen.

Quentin Edmonds (09:27)

There you go. we talk about our wives, my wife was the first person to say to me, She’s like, Quentin anger is a secondary emotion. So, what’s really going on? So I’m like, that to me just put things in perspective again. Like you said, it may be a stigma, but forget what everybody else says. I’m turning that into my superpower now. I get it, so as we know, with building businesses, building systems, you’re building reality bridge. And so you have to build out some systems, operational things. So I would love to know.

What’s one operational thing that you have identified your business that is helping you be successful or even maybe changing the way you do things? But what’s one operational thing that you use as a tool to help you be successful?

Zach Thomas (10:09)

I think at real estate as brick and mortar.

Because you as an investor, you deal with distressed real estate. and

a lot of people look at real estate as, the roof needs to be replaced, the HVAC needs to be, updated, things like that. I stopped doing that, understanding that there is the human factor, the emotional intelligence factor. And so in that my conversation with my clients has changed.

that works with me. He’s like, Man, I’ve been working with y’all for a month, been working in the training and doing all that. He’s like, This is my first month of not being cussed out.

He’s like, I’ve not been cussed out, and I realize my conversations are longer. I’m like, Yeah, everybody in the distress situation, those human beings want help. Give them a year, you understand and help them pay the path forward to solve that problem in real estate. So

I stopped looking at just brick and mortar. I started looking at the people and understanding what situation caused people to get there in the situation they’re in, because in that it’s been able to help me go back and look for those issues in other people to help get them to them before it becomes an issue like a foreclosure or back taxes or things like that.

Quentin Edmonds (12:01)

man, I appreciate that. people is the process. I love that the process and the people and they connect it. And it shows your through line, man, with the community. You talking about community. So I love that. What’s next, Zach? What’s your next real goal? What are you looking to solve next, sir?

Zach Thomas (12:16)

My next goal is to be able to actually get RealtyBridge expanded into more of a connection platform that also gives a background of where individual realtors and investors can talk. Because right now it’s private. Right now it’s you post a deal, you send that out there, you’re able to say, Hey, this is what I have and this is my need.

And it doesn’t show it to anybody but the realtors that are in that geographic area that are approved to fit that style. but what I want is to provide more of that connectivity so they can have a discussion, and be able to talk on that platform back and forth rather than just see each other’s backgrounds. because looking at people on paper is one thing, but actually sitting here talking.

understanding how everybody, handles things, that’s a whole different story.

Quentin Edmonds (13:11)

yeah. So true. So well said. I know AI is so big and so prevalent, but that human connection, like you said, talking to people, that human connection is everything and hearing people’s story. Yes, that’s yeah, I love that man. And so talk about humans, we were talking about community. I have to ask this, everyone that comes on, I asked their unique perspective.

when it comes to the word relationship. So I’m gonna love asking you this question. Zach, what’s your unique perspective on relationship building, or maybe what relationships have served you well? what is your unique perspective on the word relationship, Zach?

Zach Thomas (13:51)

So relationship to me is the same as service. I’m a Catholic. I’m a Christian. And I’m all service.

Quentin Edmonds (13:57)

Yeah.

Zach Thomas (13:58)

So that service, if you are there to help and serve and help your wife, help your coworkers, right? Help teach them, help learn from them. And they are the same. They serve you and help put work together. Yeah. That’s what makes the strongest relationships.

Quentin Edmonds (14:17)

Yeah.

Zach Thomas (14:18)

Yeah. It is in that service. and it’s not like the term a servants as being like a butler or anything, but actually being emotionally open to understand and say, Okay, you’re having a bad day. what’s going on and what can I do to help? leaning on each other and helping each other grow. Because that gives you that long term I’ve got good friends

we’ve been friends for 15, 20 years. Yeah. Yeah, and knowing that if there’s an issue, I can call them. They’re gonna be there. Right? Yeah. and I would do the same for them. Having that in your personal life, but also in real estate, that’s needed. Yeah. because there’s gonna be times you trip, there’s gonna be times that you have those problems. Yeah, and you’re gonna need help. And you’re gonna have to have those people with that mentality.

to go to and be like, hey, this is what’s going on. what do you think?

Quentin Edmonds (15:06)

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Again, Zach, so well said, man. One of my favorite verses in the Bible that I actually say on the podcast a lot, it comes from Proverbs 11:25 It says, The soul that refreshes others will in return be refreshed. So when you talk about serving people, we talk about just refreshing them.

it’s not always all about the sale. Sometimes it’s about the connection. It’s about really connecting. what do you need in this moment? how can I serve you? when you refresh people, you in return will be refreshed. And so I love that man. I love your outlook. I love your outlook from the community. Yeah.

Zach Thomas (15:44)

And I could tell you in that mentality, my business has changed. Yeah. Not Royalty Bridge but my personal investing has changed. Yep. Because there’s times where, for instance, I’ve got one now. She inherited her dad’s half place. She’s a paramedic. Place is going into foreclosure.

In talking to her, I understand what the issue is. And my intent is not to sell the home.

Quentin Edmonds (16:03)

Yeah.

Zach Thomas (16:04)

My intent is not to purchase the home. Yeah. Because I realized in this situation and understanding her and where she’s at, and that’s her family home, that I can come in and help work out the situation between them and the lender.

She gets to keep the house. we got with her, we got everything transferred from the estate to her, got the foreclosure canceled, and we’re talking the loss mitigation because they’re going to let her assume the loans.

Quentin Edmonds (16:35)

Yeah.

Zach Thomas (16:36)

And we’re going to make sure all the back payments are put into the loan. And they’re going to assume the loan and she’s going to pay us a fee and she gets to keep her house.

So in that service and understanding, you start realizing that it’s not necessarily wholesale. You’re more in a consulting basis. Yeah. Because your knowledge is able to serve others.

So it quite literally has changed my investing style. It’s what Royalty Bridge came from is the idea that if we serve each other, you can do more.

Quentin Edmonds (17:07)

Come on.

So well said, man. Zach, I really have enjoyed this conversation with you, man. If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you?

Zach Thomas (17:23)

So you can email me at zthomas@hiraethventures.com or just shoot me a call. My phone is always on (704) 698-7660 if anything, you check out our app and reach us through that.

Quentin Edmonds (17:40)

yeah. Zach Man, sir. reiterate one thing. Again, thank you for your time, man. thank you. I value it. I’m glad you was here. Glad we got to do this. secondly, man, thank you for what I call the gift of your integrity, the gift of your authenticity coming on as yourself, the gift of your vulnerability. I believe when we tell our stories, we cast seed.

And when we cast seed out there, that seed can be planted and somebody can reap a harvest just from this conversation that you and I had. So thank you for casting some seed. And lastly, man, thank you for your mindset. Thank you for coming and sharing the way you think on this platform. I greatly appreciate you coming on today, sir.

Zach Thomas (18:21)

Yeah, man. I appreciate y’all having me on there and I’ve really enjoyed talking to you. Yeah. Absolutely. I like those conversations where everybody thinks, we’re on the same page, man.

Quentin Edmonds (18:31)

Yeah,

come on, man. Absolutely, man. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. so listen, y’all heard my friend Zach. His information is in the show notes. Please get in contact with him. But definitely make sure you are subscribed here because I promise you we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people, just like Zach Thomas. So sir, I say thank you again. And everyone else, listen, y’all have a fantastic day.