James Becker

Over ten years ago, I owned a mortgage company and hired Louis. I didn’t interview him but I did train him and I saw his potential immediately. His quality of character and his ability to stick with things, no matter what, is why we are still a team after all these years.

I came to real estate early in life but it happened after I hit a wall in what I thought I wanted to do. I’ve always loved sports and even played college football for Cal Poly. But after a while I realized I didn’t like the program or the coaches and I really wanted to go to work. I wanted to do something real. Having always felt like I’d be a business owner, I left and wound-up getting into real estate a few years later at the suggestion of a friend, when I was 25. I sold close to 30 homes in my first year and really loved it.

I was married and had a baby on the way so things looked bright. But right after finding this great new career, the market crashed the same year I started. Suddenly I was broke and scared to death. I wanted to make sure I fulfilled my obligations to my family so I worked my tail off to survive in a very tough market. I learned a lot through that experience but I couldn’t figure out how to leverage myself for more growth. So, I started Becker and Associates, a business development consulting business, to have a business separate from my real estate work that would allow me to do bigger things.

I was running Becker and Associates when I had a meeting with a man who would become my business mentor, Kirk Reisig. It was the kind of meeting that was so life changing it felt like the lights dimmed and my approach towards people would never be the same. It resulted in me shutting down my consulting business within three months and going to work for Kirk. I knew he was onto something that I needed to understand to be successful and to make my clients successful.

Kirk, who runs American Pacific Mortgage, one of the top lending firms in the U.S., has been a mentor to me ever since. When I created Becker Mortgage it was under their umbrella. I really felt like I was in my element running that company. But I was in for a surprise.

One day I learned that good friends of my brother lost their 4-year old son only a day after he was diagnosed with leukemia. As a parent of two by that time, I was beside myself hearing what they had gone through. I saw how the parents created the Brayden Durant foundation and started raising money for sick kids who needed help. Watching them do that made me become aware of how self-centered I was. I was really just focused on my own immediate needs and that of my family. It got to the point where I was embarrassed by it so much that I had to do something.

So without knowing anything about it, along with Louis and my company, I put on an art auction. Over 400 people showed up and we raised $25,000 for the foundation. So we did another auction, and then I was asked to run for Leukemia Man of the Year and I participated in the foundation’s program of giving. All of it was incredibly hard work but very positive, and it was life changing.

When I look at my life now, the amount of friends I have and how full my life is, it’s primarily because I focus on serving others. I realize now how working from a place of service propels and fulfills me far more than anything else can.

Several years ago, I made the decision to create an exciting and innovative new agency. Louis joined the new company because we share the same values as the agency does—to treat others the way we want to be treated. It allows us to have a fulfilling career helping others, with the freedom to be there for our families. It feels good knowing that we can provide better service by working under our own names and our own principles. And that we are helping other agents learn to be successful long-term by working from a place of service for their clients. We are both very gratified to be running a real estate business based on service.

Louis Schuette

While James came to real estate early in his career, it took me a while longer to get there. Surprisingly, we both have in common that we were really good at sports when we were young. I had a full-ride football scholarshipto the University of New Mexico but after playing for a while, I also quit my college football pursuits. At the age of 20, I not only left the sport but also college to start my career as a as an assistant golf professional. I was a natural at sports in high school and had college scholarships for golf, baseball and basketball too but I chose football because it seemed like the right fit. But after doing it for a year, I found out how much of a wrong fit it was for me.

The whole reason I got into football was because my best friend at the time, and future pro football player, Rodney Peete, told me he needed someone to throw to. So I lied to my parents who didn’t want me to play and started playing football the fall of my senior year. They only found out I was playing when they got a letter from the varsity football team. Since my parents never wanted me to play football in the first place, they weren’t upset when I decided to leave college football.

The decision led me to work for the largest retail golf store in the country at the time, Nevada Bob’s, where I worked my way up to management. I even moved from my home state of Arizona to run the store California. After 18 years working there, I was laid off.

This was life altering. My son was a year old, I had 20 horses to feed, I had a new-ish mortgage to pay, and a wife and two step-kids to take care of. While figuring out what to do next, I rode, trained and sold horses to make the mortgage payments for nine months. I also was a stay-at-home dad to my son Justin, who is now 11. Luckily a friend who had just passed the real estate test suggested I start taking classes so I went for it. In 2003, I got my license and later interviewed at Becker Mortgage because they offered training which appealed to me since I was new to the industry.

I was hired as a loan officer and enjoyed it. I loved being able to create my own schedule while helping people. I met James when he was training us. I liked what he was doing with the company and how he treated employees and clients. Before long, I was partnered with him to help grow Becker Mortgage and to take care of his personal real estate clients. Ever since then, we’ve been working as tight-knit teams to make sure our clients are getting what they need.

If you work with us, it’s important that you know us as people. We believe you feel the way we do–much more comfortable doing business with people who you understand how they work and why they’re in business. We are the type of Realtors that are always working to find the right solution for YOU. We’re not here to sell you anything; we don’t own these houses. We are here to guide you through the process of purchasing or selling a home. We don’t take shortcuts and we’re always there to answer questions and guide you before, during and after your transaction.

We want you to pick a Realtor that’s the right fit for you and we would never be upset if you chose someone else as your Realtor. Even if that’s not us, it won’t risk our friendship. When you or someone you know is in need of a Realtor, we ask that you give us the opportunity to demonstrate our services and interview for the job. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We greatly appreciate it and hope that we can earn your business should you ever need a Realtor.

Supporting Staff

	DANSKE GROVE - MARKETING COORDINATOR As a Marketing Coordinator, Danske works hand-in-hand with Fusion real estate agents, overseeing the execution of their marketing plans. Her dedication and expertise ensure a streamlined marketing process for every agent.
	COURTNEY WOOD  -TRANSACTION COORDINATOR As a transaction coordinator, Courtney assists Fusion agents in moving towards the close of escrow by gathering documents, obtaining signatures, and corresponding with cooperating agents. Courtney’s diligence is an integral part of achieving a smooth transaction experience from beginning to end.