Plain talk, honest help, and the right piece of East Texas.
I grew up riding to livestock auctions all over East Texas. Now Maggie and I help families find the right ground and the right house, with a lawyer on the team watching the details.
Find your place
Meet Ricky
I learned the land before I learned a contract.
I grew up riding to livestock auctions all over East Texas, in Lufkin, Center, Nacogdoches, Emory, Athens, Henderson, Crockett and Elkhart. In high school I rodeoed in THSRA Region IX, the CPRA and the UPRA. That’s how I got to know the towns, the people, and the ground under them.
I’ve been at the table for land deals since I was a kid, listening in on pasture and hunting lease negotiations. Back home from Afghanistan, where I served on disputed ground, I spent more than 15 years in commercial and industrial work to support our family business in Houston. We leased and built out our yards, handled the site work and expansions, and helped design and build the bones of an apartment complex out of shipping containers. We also built custom container homes and helped our customers through the permitting process, and I was invited to a HUD summit on new and sustainable housing while Ben Carson led the agency. I know what’s under the dirt, what the county will ask for, and what a house should cost to build right.
I’m a Marine Corps combat veteran, hand-picked for the Presidential Security Program. I earned my MA in Liberal Arts at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, where searching for the truth led to learning how to listen hard, ask the right questions, and stand firm at the negotiating table.
Maggie, the boss
Maggie is the Training and Compliance Officer and General Counsel at 1st Class Real Estate Elevate. She's a licensed Texas attorney and a licensed real estate agent.
For you, that means a lawyer's eye on the details, a tight process, and confidence at the closing table.
Head of Security
And then there's Arlo.
He inspects every porch, approves every backyard, and has never once read a contract. If you meet with us, you'll probably meet him.
A house is a big deal. We treat it like one.
Your biggest investment: For most families, a home is the largest purchase they’ll ever make. We slow down where it matters.
Built for forever or the next five years: We love helping clients find their forever home, but on average people move about every five years. Whatever chapter of life you're in, we're here to help.
Servant-hearted team: We’d rather earn your trust than close a quick deal.
A lawyer in the building: Our in-house General Counsel is on hand for every transaction. That doesn't mean you've hired a lawyer. It means you get honest, experience-based, vetted options, and your file gets an expert's attention.
Partners we’ve vetted: Title, lenders, inspectors, roofers, HVAC: people we’d send our own family to.
Friends after closing: Working together often grows into a real, lifelong friendship. I still run these back roads and rivers, and now I'm introducing my kids to life behind the Pine Curtain. We treat you like family because we'll probably see each other around. There's no other way.
Free buyer guide
Buying in East Texas?
Get my plain-English guide: what to check on acreage, wells and septic, road frontage, flood zones and taxes, and the questions to ask before you write an offer.
Preferred lender partner
Know your numbers before you fall in love.
Trinity Thompson, Mortgage Loan Officer, Movement Mortgage · NMLS 2146687
Learn the lingo, one word at a time.
Option Period
Your paid window to inspect and walk away in Texas. Here’s how to use it well.
VA Home Loan
A benefit veterans earned. What it covers, and what it doesn’t.
Closing Costs
Where the money goes at the table, in plain English.
From Chambers County to the Red River.
Crosby / Huffman Area
Crosby (77532) and nearby Harris County ZIPs 77346, 77336, 77345, 77338, 77044 and 77562, plus Chambers County.
Chambers County–Houston–Lufkin–Trinity River Corridor
Angelina, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Panola, Rusk and Cherokee counties.
Northeast Texas
Red River, Lamar, Titus, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Wood, Camp, Morris, Upshur, Smith, Gregg and Harrison counties.