Pleasanton, CA— January 19, 2016 — NextHome is proud to announce our newest addition to the franchise, NextHome Cape Fear. The brokerage will launch in two locations – Wilmington and Southport.
Owned and operated by top producing real estate broker, Harold Chappell, the offices will provide residential and commercial real estate services to various cities in Southeastern North Carolina including Wilmington, Southport, Leland, and all of the beach communities from Topsail to the South Carolina State line.
Chappell comes from a successful business background. He began in 1987 when he started Illumelex Corporation. The company was in charge of providing lighting services to over 30,000 retail stores in 26 states. As the CEO of the company, Chappell understood the need for strong leadership, trusting your team and providing exceptional customer service.
After starting the company and running it for over nine years, Chappell sold the company. At the age 49, he found himself without the need to go back to the daily grind of day-t0-day work.
But taking it easy isn’t who Chappell is.
“The truth is I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” recalls Chappell. “What I did know is that I wanted to work in an environment that allowed me to be independent and still build relationships with my potential customers. I felt that real estate could fulfill that need.”
In April of 1997, Chappell started with a local real estate brokerage – Prudential Carolinas Realty located just outside of Wilmington. In his first 18 months, Chappell’s hard work and focus on quality relationships allowed him to achieve sales that pushed him to be the #2 agent in the 25+ agent office.
Just four years later, Chappell and a business partner bought into a national real estate franchise in September of 2001. In four years, the partners built the brokerage from four agents to 89 agents and hundreds of closed transactions yearly. In September of 2005, Chappell sold his shares of the company and found himself ready to venture out on his own as a real estate broker.
In January of 2006, Chappell bought into a regional real estate franchise and opened his own brokerage with the concept of the office only housing his own team.
“The original idea was for me to open a brokerage for just myself and my team of three agents,” said Chappell. “When we opened the brokerage, many agents approached me about coming on board. Eighteen months later, we were 30 agents strong and in three locations.”
In mid-2015, Chappell started talking to several different real estate franchises as he was looking for a more modern brand and technology program to provide to his agents. He found NextHome to be the right fit for what he wanted for his agents.
“I truly believe that the franchise should provide the time-saving tools necessary for agents to build relationships with their clients,” said Chappell. “From the branding, to the single sign-on system, to the listing syndication, to the easily understandable back-end technology platform… NextHome is the right fit for our brokerage.”
In 2015, Chappell’s brokerage exceeded $50 million in sales in a market where the average sales price is around $250,000. Chappell’s commitment to working with his 16 agents and their dedication to providing world-class service has the company far exceeding the industry average sales price.
“I have known Harold for several years now,” said NextHome’s Chief Executive Officer, James Dwiggins. “His love for real estate, his passion and his vision for how consumers should experience a real estate transaction is inspiring. His two offices are some of the highest producing brokerages in his local markets and we couldn’t be happier to have him become part of the NextHome family. With Harold leading the company’s expansion into Wilmington, Southport and the surrounding areas, we know NextHome will experience huge success in 2016 and the years to come.”
Chappell and his wife, Inis, have been married for 46 years. When the couple has down time, they enjoy spending time with their son, Brian, his wife Mandi, and their three grandchildren, Jack (12 years old), Molly (10), and Katherine (6).
Please join us in welcoming Harold and the rest of NextHome Cape Fear to the NextHome family!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.