Today we’d like to introduce you to Sade Ogunbode.
Hi Sade, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
About 20 years ago, I came to the U.S. from Nigeria, for a chance at better opportunities. I attended University of Houston with the intention of graduating with a Computer Information Systems degree, but ended up switching to Business Administration because I wasn’t good at computer programming.
After graduating from college, I became more interested in law as I figured it was well suited to my affinity for reading, reasoning, and writing. I specifically applied to South Texas College of Law to ensure that I could attend law school at night while working a day job, to avoid taking on too much debt.
While waiting to start law school, I enrolled in an Alternative Teacher Certification Program and selected the specialization for Special Education, K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th Grade). I landed a teaching job and taught a high school Life Skills class. Although I loved helping my students and their families, my heart was still being pulled in the direction of the legal world.
I later started Law School and worked as a QA Analyst for a Software Company during the day. It was all quite challenging at times. I was glad to be done with Law School in December 2009 and was very happy to pass the Texas Bar exam, which was a 3 day ordeal. I was admitted to the Texas Bar Association in May 2010.
I was never one of the keen students that lined everything up nicely to land a legal job after graduation. Once licensed, I applied for legal jobs but didn’t get any offers. So, I kept working in Software Development. Sometime in Fall 2010, while chatting with my Accountant (CPA), he casually said, “Why don’t you just start your own practice? You can do it, you know.” My awesome CPA had given me a different perspective and the little push of confidence that I needed. I immediately started researching how to start a law firm. The seed was sown.
The law firm was officially launched in May 2011, exactly one year after I was licensed. By then, I had decided to move to Austin as it seemed more friendly to small businesses. It was a lot of trial and error the first two years. The next two years were better, but still came with a steep learning curve. I met a lot of kind, helpful people along the way, who guided and encouraged me. I tried my hand at different areas of practice. It was exhausting and rewarding at the same time. However, I knew that having a narrow-focused area of law would be best.
In early 2012, I met a wonderful Real Estate Broker named JP Rodriguez, who has now become a dear friend. He helped me shift my focus to the Real Estate world, which was an area that I had always been interested in but had no idea how to get into. JP was also very influential in me starting in Equity Recovery, which is a niche area of Real Estate law.
Later in 2012, a colleague of mine connected me with experienced attorneys who were willing to teach newbies about Foreclosure Defense. The small group helped me learn the legal side, but also the business side of things. Together, we figured out how we could help many families while ensuring that we were well compensated for our efforts. I enjoyed the Foreclosure Defense work and have stuck with it since.
It took another four years for me to figure out how to get the Equity Recovery niche running smoothly. I had known since 2013 that this type of work was what I was meant to do, but didn’t quite know the “How”.
Nowadays, my law practice consists of Real Estate matters involving Foreclosure Defense and Equity Recovery (post-foreclosure).
Our firm helps clients recover any funds left over following foreclosure (after the mortgage lender and/or property tax office has been paid from the sale proceeds). Most people aren’t even aware that they have a right to recover any built-up Equity after the property has been sold at foreclosure auction. Our firm is now focused on spreading awareness and educating people on their rights.
It’s a major blessing to be able to make a difficult situation such as foreclosure a little better by getting these funds to the owners so that they can have a better chance at a fresh start. Equity Recovery has also proved to be a very lucrative niche.
Delivering the funds to the clients is by far the best part of my work. Seeing their reactions is priceless. I finally feel like I am exactly where I’m meant to be – bringing good news and making people’s day.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Getting to this point in my career and business has been many years in the making. It was not altogether a smooth road. At times, I doubted my vision and toyed with the idea of shutting down the law practice. A lot goes into running any business and since I had no prior experience in law or business, I was learning both aspects on the fly. There were days when the clients were extraordinarily difficult, opposing counsel very hostile, and funds tight.
Also, being a small firm, all decision making, delegation, capitalization, etc. was up to me and there was often nobody to really turn to share the mental load. However, I learned to reach out to mentors and like-minded colleagues, had a few coaches along the way, and even leaned on YouTube channels for encouragement and perspective. It has all paid off now.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My firm recovers Equity for clients that have experienced foreclosure by a mortgage lender or by a taxing agency.
I’m most proud of being able to change lives instantly by bringing hope and helping claim money that the clients might have never known about.
We operate differently from most law firms because we handle each case as we would handle our own case. The culture here is that “Helping others is helping myself”.
Readers should know that they or their loved ones may be entitled to money after a foreclosure. They should also know that they often have options to prevent foreclosure in the first place, even if there is already a pending foreclosure date.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
It matters most to me that people are able to live life with less suffering and that I am a part of that solution. This is important to me because I strongly believe that what is good for the collective is often good for the individual.
Contact Info:
- Email: admin@sadelegal.com
- Website: www.sadelegal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadelegal/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadelegal
