Tim Garrity has done it all — started his career at his dad's mortgage office at 23, climbed to production manager at Pulte Homes, lost it in 2009, finished his MBA, got licensed, built a $12M solo book, then co-founded an independent brokerage that grew to 47 agents and nearly $100M in volume in under a decade. Then he sunset it on purpose. In this conversation with Seth, Tim (Real Brokerage, Philadelphia) opens the books on what running an independent brokerage actually costs, why he tells most agents not to start one, the real endgame behind the Compass + Anywhere acquisition, and the mall analogy that explains exactly where the American brokerage industry is headed.

What You'll Learn

What it actually takes to run a 47-agent independent brokerage — and why even doing it well isn't worth it anymore. Why "the brokerage is now a support system, not an overarching company" — and how the power dynamic between agents and brokerages permanently flipped. What Tim tells anyone considering starting their own shop today (it's almost always "don't"). Where 5-7 mega-brands will land in the next 10 years, and why your specific logo doesn't matter.

Episode Breakdown

1:05 — Intro

1:47 — Meet Tim Garrity

2:32 — From his dad's mortgage office at 23 to losing his Pulte job in 2009

3:39 — Getting licensed + Brown McKinney: learning the investor game, not scripts

4:56 — Starting Copper Hill Real Estate at the end of 2014 — three founders, one row home

5:25 — Scaling to 47 agents and $100M volume by 2022

6:22 — When the partnership unwound: choosing to sunset the brand rather than rebuild

6:59 — Stumbling onto Real at 46: "an entrepreneur skeleton" for a seasoned operator

9:31 — From broker owner to salesperson: the mindset shift nobody talks about

13:35 — "The brokerage is now a support system, not an overarching company"

19:24 — The power flip: "Are you the right brokerage for me?"

23:51 — What Tim tells anyone thinking about starting their own brokerage today

25:50 — The broker owner who white-labeled under Real and finally felt light

26:37 — How the NAR settlement made independent brokers' lives even harder

28:19 — The hidden killer of independent brokerages: the back office

30:49 — The future of the American brokerage: 5-7 mega-brands in 10 years

31:36 — "All those Compass and Anywhere brands are gone" — what's actually happening

33:48 — Dave Liniger and the RE/MAX cap-model blackballing of the '80s

35:29 — The mall analogy: how brokerage consolidation will actually play out

36:54 — Wrap-up

Why This Episode Matters

Few agents have actually been on every side of this business — mortgage origination, broker of record at a 47-agent independent, and back to representing clients directly. Tim has. This is the conversation for any agent who's ever romanticized starting their own brokerage, any team lead questioning whether their next move actually frees them up or just hands them new problems, and any operator trying to understand which brokerage brands will still be standing in five years.

Resources Mentioned

- Real Brokerage — Tim's home after sunsetting Copper Hill

- Copper Hill Real Estate — the independent Tim co-founded in 2014, sunset in 2023

- Brown McKinney — the small Brewerytown independent where Tim cut his teeth (shout-out to Rudy Brown)

- Pulte Homes — where Tim was production manager for the mortgage department for six years

- LaSalle University MBA — finished while building his first year in real estate

- Rise — Real's annual conference; Tim's first time attending in 2026

- RE/MAX R4 — the 2020 conference Tim attended in Las Vegas right before the COVID shutdown

- Compass + Anywhere Real Estate acquisition — discussed as the harbinger of consolidation

- Tim's podcast with Mooney — 2.5+ years running, built as a personal-brand exercise

👇 Are you an agent who wants to actually talk shop?

Seth takes a few open conversations a month with agents thinking about their next move — whether that's joining a team, switching brokerages, exploring Real Broker, or stress-testing the math on their current setup. No pitch. No pressure. Just an honest 30 minutes, agent to agent.

📅 Book a chat: Make Your Own Key Podcast – Guest Interview - Seth Lejeune

📲 Follow Make Your Own Key

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Your key. Your move.

Justin Heath walked away from a high-paying corporate pharma career at 36 to follow his family's real estate legacy — eight years in, he's not pulling any punches on what this industry gets wrong. In this conversation with Seth Lejeune, Justin (Real Brokerage, Greater Philadelphia) sits down to talk Sunday-night offer deadline madness, why "marry the house, date the rate" got hijacked by loan officers, why brand doesn't matter anymore, and what the next five years of the American brokerage actually look like. If you're a real estate agent rethinking your brokerage, your model, or your sanity — this one's for you.

What You'll Learn

How Justin's eight-year career across three brokerages — KW, Compass, and now three years at Real — shaped his view of agent compensation and where the industry is heading. Why Seth thinks the second iteration of any business model is the one that wins (and what that means for cloud-based brokerages). The two pet peeves every agent commits that drive Justin crazy. The hot take on open houses no listing agent will say out loud.

Episode Breakdown

1:30 — Intro

2:13 — Meet Justin Heath

2:54 — Justin's background: corporate pharma to real estate at 36

5:21 — What he loves about real estate (and the subscription-platform fatigue)

8:28 — Market update: rates spike 5.5 → 6.5, Iran impact, and buyer/seller psychology

14:26 — "Marry the House, Date the Rate" — useful tool or mortgage-officer marketing slogan?

18:47 — Why realtors have a bad reputation: value-prop failure, HGTV, and the post-COVID hangover

26:52 — The future of the American brokerage: consolidation, cloud-based winners, and the pretenders

28:46 — Lessons from Andy Grove & Peter Thiel: why the second iteration of any model is the one that takes off

34:30 — Agent compensation & why brand doesn't matter anymore — "the consumer doesn't give a shit whether you're with Compass, KW, or Berkshire"

37:29 — Pet peeves: unanswered phones, the feedback-form trap, and sloppy offer packets

40:49 — Sunday night offer deadlines rant: who actually benefits (spoiler: no one)

46:60 — The open house debate: what they're really for, and who they actually serve

50:01 — Wrap-up

Why This Episode Matters

Whether you're a solo agent grinding through Sunday-night offer deadlines, a team lead questioning your brokerage's split structure, or a top producer watching the industry consolidate in real time — this conversation names the parts of the business most agents are too polite to say out loud. Two agents, eight years in each, three brokerages between them, just being honest about what's broken and what's worth your license.

Resources Mentioned

Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove — the framework Seth uses to explain why legacy brokerages either rebuild or get bought

Zero to One by Peter Thiel — the "second iteration wins" theory: EXP broke the mold from KW, Real refined it

Real Brokerage, eXp Realty, Keller Williams, Compass, RE/MAX, Berkshire Hathaway — all dissected in the brokerage-consolidation conversation

👇 Are you an agent who wants to actually talk shop?

Seth takes a few open conversations a month with agents thinking about their next move — whether that's joining a team, switching brokerages, exploring Real Broker, or stress-testing the math on their current setup. No pitch. No pressure. Just an honest 30 minutes, agent to agent.

📅 Book a chat: Make Your Own Key Podcast – Guest Interview - Seth Lejeune

📲 Follow Make Your Own Key

YouTube: Hit subscribe and turn on notifications

Instagram: @‌makeyourownkey

Spotify / Apple Podcasts: Search "Make Your Own Key"

Your key. Your move.

In this episode of Make Your Own Key Podcast, Seth sits down agent-to-agent with Heather Schierloh — a Poconos-based team leader who grew up inside the real estate and construction world before carving out her own lane in it. Heather's path runs through her family's custom home-building business, a stint in dentistry, a team experience that taught her exactly what not to do, and ultimately a leadership style built on equality, culture, and zero ego.

This conversation is for any agent who's ever wondered whether bigger is actually better — or whether building smaller and tighter might be the smarter long game.

What You'll Learn How Heather built a team people actually want to stay on, why she capped her growth on purpose, what she looks for when interviewing new agents, and how she's thinking about scaling across multiple states without losing the culture that got her here.

Episode Breakdown

03:00 — Growing Up Inside the Family Construction Business Sunrise Homes, The Real Estate Shop, and the early years that shaped Heather's view of the industry.

04:00 — Cleaning Up After the Contractors With Her Sisters The unglamorous origin story behind a now-thriving real estate career.

04:30 — Dentistry By Day, Real Estate License in Escrow The double-life chapter — and why she finally pulled the trigger.

05:00 — The Team She Ran From (And Why She'll Never Build Like That) The lessons that became her non-negotiables when building her own team.

07:30 — Why She's Capping Her Team at 15 Agents "Any more than that, you're a babysitter." Heather's hiring philosophy and the rockstar-only rule.

09:00 — How She Runs Team Meetings (Less Is More) Why a monthly meeting beats a weekly Zoom — and what she communicates in between.

11:30 — The "Growth For Growth's Sake" Disease Seth and Heather get real about the quiet pressure in this industry to keep adding bodies — and what they're doing instead.

17:00 — The Brokerage Decision Her Whole Team Made Together How Heather made the move — and why every single agent on her team came with her.

20:30 — The One Thing Every Brokerage Should Get Right (But Most Don't) A conversation every team leader and broker needs to hear.

25:30 — The Real Wallet Trick She's Using To Save For Taxes A simple money habit that's already paying off three weeks in.

44:00 — Heather's "This Or That" Round Coffee vs. tea, beach vs. mountains, $1M listing vs. five at $200K — Heather's answers might surprise you. Why This Episode Matters Heather's story is a masterclass in intentional team building.

Whether you're a solo agent thinking about growth, a team leader feeling the squeeze of scaling, or a broker wondering why your top producers feel restless — there's something in here for you.

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