Leadership Combines Many Qualities and Motivations
But one of the most powerful is the drive to lift others up toward their own goals. Recruiting and developing talent is one of the core values of business. That’s an area where Mike Montpetit thrives. As Broker/Owner/Founder of Town & Country Realty, Inc., Mike treasures his role of paving the way forward for others around him.
“The teamwork we have is rewarding for me. I enjoy our morning huddles, team comradery and the office culture of working by referral,”
Mike says. People who have worked here over the years sometimes referred to it as a real estate residency to learn the business.
Mike earned his real estate license in 1998, and has been independent, leading his own organization for 22 years.
“I didn’t have an interest in working under the umbrella of one of the large corporations anymore. We have built a reputation and loyal following of people who recognize our brand,”
Mike explains. Before starting his career in real estate, Mike worked for IBM as a Buyer, Contract Negotiator, Sales/Marketing Specialist, and Account Executive with Lexmark International.
In time, he and his wife, Susan, started their family — welcoming twin girls into the world on Father’s Day in 1992. Flexibility has always been his mantra. Mike moved his family six times by the time the twins were nine years old.
“During that time, my wife stayed home for the first three years before going back to work as a pharmacist, and then I took the next two years as a stay home dad with the twins. It was the most challenging and rewarding job I ever had. Both of us enjoyed parenting with a flexible schedule and owning rental properties, so we had a common interest in real estate from our first date,”
Mike explains.
“Any time the twins were sleeping and Sue would let me go to the Century 21 office, I would take real estate classes. After staying home with them from 1996 to 1998, I got into real estate full-time and applied my love of technology in my real estate investment and sales career.”
Step by step, Mike built his own real estate path working with friends, family and today, business is mostly repeat business and word of mouth referrals. In fact,
"...approximately 85 percent of what we do comes from referrals or from past clients. As part of that, we service the local international community and enjoy helping them fulfill their dreams. I kept doubling and tripling that each year until my wife joined me as a partner. Then we hired a Transaction Coordinator. We were working out of my garage and then we started hitting our stride after about five years. We’ve never looked back.”
Since 2005, Mike has been a Top Producer. He took leadership academy training with the Town of Cary and the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors so he could fulfill his desire to give back. At the same time, he started his own team of four to six professionals.
“During the last 10 years, our business has also focused on property management. That complements our listing and buyer business model,”
Mike points out. As third generation real estate investors, Mike and Sue witnessed firsthand the benefits of wealth creation through owning real estate and happily taught this to their clients and friends.
Mike’s life is made richer by family. He and Susan cherish time spent with their twin daughters — Michelle, who lives in Nevada, and Renee, who calls Durham home.
In his free time, Mike is a group fitness enthusiast, taking part in exercise classes three times a week. Taking long walks with Scout, the family Collie is another way to keep moving every day.
He also has a passion for working on their VRBO Farmhouse which was completely rebuilt by Susan who became a licensed Builder for this project.
"It is an Agri tourism venue on a 21-acre farm… with a forest and walking trail. That has been our favorite short term rental. Sue and I really like working outside in the open air. It’s energizing being outside gardening and puttering."
When it comes to giving back, Mike supports Dorcas Ministries, a non-denominational, local community-based service that provides job training, food banks, a thrift store and other support to those in the local community who need a little extra support.
As Mike reflects on his career, he feels a sense of pride in the efforts he and his team take in paving the way forward for their client’s real estate wealth management.
