Although I am newly licensed, I am not new to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. When my license was issued in May 2018, it was a five digit number instead of six. Why? Because, I managed a real estate and insurance office in Pennsylvania for seven years; though, when we moved to North Carolina from central Pennsylvania (a long time ago!), NC was reciprocal with PA allowing me to transfer my license (the NCREC keeps track!). I worked in real estate for one year and transitioned into mortgage banking for the next fifteen, allowing my license to lapse.

As the banks began their merger frenzy, it was time to do something new. Two of our three sons are chefs and I loved to cook; so, off to culinary school I went. For the last fifteen+ years, I’ve been the baker/pastry chef for Rocky Top Hospitality. I worked at the Twisted Fork for thirteen of those years and finished at the catering division in April 2018. For most of that time, my wife - Jo Smith, has been building her (now our) real estate business. It’s nice to be both new and not - at the same time. Together, we are the Property Smiths at Northside Realty.