Becoming a Successful Real Estate Entrepreneur
Set Goals and Find a Mentor
Brandon Hagins is an independently owned and operated franchise business owner with HomeVestors® of America, Inc. (HVA) in the Greater Atlanta market. He started his franchise, West Dekle Property Solutions LLC, in 2017 after a successful career in business-to-business sales with an international company that created BUBBLE WRAP®.
From B2B Sales to Real Estate
Brandon graduated from the University of South Florida in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was there that he met a fellow student who approximately ten years later would introduce him to HomeVestors.
After a three-year stint as a manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Brandon accepted a position in business-to-business sales with the Sealed Air Corporation, an international company best known as the creators of BUBBLE WRAP®. Brandon stayed with the company for seven years. “I left the company because quite simply I got bored,” explained Brandon. “The job was no longer challenging because I basically put my job on autopilot.”
In 2017, Brandon was introduced to HomeVestors by a franchise owner in Tampa, Florida, who ten years before was a fellow student and friend at the University of South Florida.
Becoming a HVA Business Owner
“I bought my HomeVestors franchise in 2017 but did not officially start advertising until January of 2018. And my job at Sealed Air was very flexible, so I continued to work there until September of 2018, doing two jobs simultaneously,” said Brandon.
Brandon explained that the first year was challenging, doing two jobs and having a young family. “My goal in that first year was to only put four houses under contract in my first six months, but I ended 2018 with twelve homes under contract. After I put my fourth house under contract, I quit my sales job and fully dedicated myself to my real estate business.” During this time, his Development Agent (DA) was John Holman, whom Brandon relied on extensively. “Everybody needs a great coach and mentor,” said Brandon.
Brandon’s business began growing exponentially, putting thirty-one homes under contract in 2019. Even during COVID 2020, his business remained stable. And as Brandon excitedly stated, “2021 was awesome and 2022 was a blowout.” Having successfully navigated the challenging “high-interest rate years” of 2023 and 2024, Brandon is off to a great start in 2025 with a goal of putting thirty-five homes under contract.
In the Present
Brandon’s franchise market is the Greater Atlanta area, but he is also a HomeVestors Development Agent handling most of the state of Georgia. “I love Georgia and there is a lot of competition in Atlanta, but there is also such a huge audience,” said Brandon. Today, much of his business focuses on fix-and-flips, but he is also involved in wholesaling, short-term rentals and vacation rentals. HomeVestors also became a family business as two of his brothers are also franchise business owners and another brother works as his buyer.
When asked what advice he would give to new real estate investors, his advice was simple: “If you are involved in HomeVestors, listen to your mentor and Development Agent. Do not act like you know everything! When your DA gives you advice, FOLLOW IT! Take advantage of the HomeVestors system and use their network and vendors. For investors in general, learn to network and find a mentor you can trust.”
HomeVestors
Whether you are curious about real estate investing or you have dabbled in it and want to make it a full time job, HomeVestors helps entrepreneurs from all walks of life build their own real estate business. Our franchise owners enjoy independence while also benefitting from the famous We Buy Ugly Houses® brand and our best-in-class real estate investing tools, software, and mentorship.
If you are interested in a franchise, call 866-249-6932, email Sales@homevestorsfranchise.com or visit https://franchise.homevestors.com/contact/. Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.
