Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb McLemore
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got into real estate in June of 2022, which to say was not the best timing market-wise, is an understatement. That is when rates quickly shot up. My reason for joining real estate was two-fold. The first was that I needed a career change and the second was from the urging of my cousin who has been very successful in the industry.
My previous career was in film acting and like many industries, was brought to a sudden stop due to Covid. As I worked to try and regain the momentum I had pre-lockdown (acting is all about what you’ve done lately), I got engaged and realized I couldn’t continue to live on the maybes and potential of an acting career now that I had someone else in my life.
After getting my license, I went with Keller Williams. I didn’t know that they’re the biggest in the world, they simply took the time to speak to me and not just send a couple of emails. I spent the first year of real estate as a single agent and it wasn’t going well. I joined a team and for a time, it went great! I had plenty of leads to follow up on and really felt like I was getting the needed training.
2024 was a turbulent year. In January, my team dissolved, but I was referred to a new team so I wouldn’t be left out to dry. Then in September, my new team moved brokerages to LPT. I made the jump with them, but many of my fellow agents did not. So in the span of about nine months, I went to two different teams (technically three since we had to rebrand upon leaving KW), moved brokerages, and went from a medium-sized team of agents to single digits. All of this of course happening with the standard realtor issues of renewing your license, getting new clients, and the market that refused to lower interest rates.
Now I am with my current team of the Ryse Realty Group. I love my team and all the ups and downs have really brought us together. June of 2025 will be three years since becoming a realtor and I look forward to seeing what that will bring!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been anything but smooth. There are the more obvious things that everyone knows with the market, the big lawsuit with sellers over commission, and finding new clients when you are brand-new.
The less obvious things was the amount of money needed to not just get into real estate, but to stay in as well. Combine this with the aspects of splitting compensation that my license courses never brought up, and working to get my feet under me was quite the trial.
There’s also the people that take exception when I reveal what I’ve done in the past. Acting and driving Uber/Lyft doesn’t overlap with real estate (though both have brought advantages), so if I brought either up in conversation, I would have my credentials questioned. Any job that deals with the public will come with many strange reasons people refuse to work with you, but I didn’t think one of them would be my past jobs being seen as a detriment.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a real estate agent, I work to ensure that whether buying, selling, or investing, each client is set up to win. While I’m open to anyone looking to make a move, I’ve found that I love helping first time homebuyers. I’m a millennial, so for most of my life, all I’ve seen about real estate is how impossible it is for anyone under 50. As I learned about the industry, I’ve come to see how inaccurate that is, so anyone I can help get into a home is a major victory.
That’s why I’m most proud of the friends I have helped get into homes. None of them ever thought home ownership would be possible. So to see the smiles on their faces on closing day showed that regardless of how my career ultimately ends up, I can be assured that I have made a positive impact.
What sets me apart is being stubborn, or to put it more professionally, persistent. I don’t give up easily and if I don’t know something, I will quickly find an answer. Part of what I love about real estate is that although it is a sales job, I’m not trying to make someone impulse buy, so I can slow down and get to know them first.
What matters most to you? Why?
For me personally, it is my Christian faith. It is my foundation and bedrock that keeps everything else upright. With all the uncertainty I’ve dealt with whether in acting, stand-up comedy, or real estate, God has been the consistent thing that has been there for me. I owe all of it to Him and have only gotten to this point because of Him.
This is why I work as hard as I do in real estate. No matter our job, we are a called to do it to the best of our ability because it is an act of worship to God.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://caleb.rysehomes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebzmclemore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalebRealty/
