Who is Tim Merrell?

Well that is a question that is not easily answered.  Like all of us that have lived through the past 20 years we have had to reinvent ourselves a couple of times.  I’m no different, I’m on at least my third and maybe the fourth version of a career.  If you are on this site it is quite possible that you are here going . . . “What happened to Henderson and Las Vegas homes for sale?”

Well this URL was my primary site for real estate sales from 1998 to until around 2012.  And honestly I really haven’t done sales since 2010 or so, in fact I’ve even let my license lapse.

But this doesn’t mean I’m not still in the real estate industry, because I am, just in a different capacity.  I am now working directly with some of the top real estate companies in North America.  In early 2010 I started working with The Real Recruiter, founded by Jon Cheplak.  Jon and I are long time friends and we came to know each other when he sold me my first house in 1995.

Let’s step back to the early days, I grew up in Idaho Falls, ID and like so many teenagers I couldn’t wait to escape the small town for the big city.  When I graduated from high school I was off to California, my parents moved to the San Francisco Bay area during my senior year.  By the time I was 19 I was in Los Angeles pursuing my first love, the performing arts. I quickly learned that my passion was more aligned with the technical side of the industry than the limelight.

After studying at the Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College I shifted into working for a company by the name of Magicraft building sets and special effects for a wide ranging list of performers.  Just a few of the names you may be familiar with are: Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, American Gladiator, Genesis, Siegfried & Roy, and David Copperfield. This opened up the opportunity for me to go on tour and work for David Copperfield.

From 1993-1997 I toured with Copperfield.  This was one of the most character building and life changing events I have experienced.  I traveled to five continents, partied like a rock star, worked like a dog, met celebrities, slept on a bus, performed on Broadway, performed in TV specials, performed on David Letterman, performed on Oprah, performed on Jay Leno, and met Christy.  Meeting Christy was the highlight of all of those adventures; she is my best friend, soul mate, and sometimes she drives me crazy . . . it’s perfect!

Christy was David’s executive assistant and was on the tour from 1994-1997.  In 1998 we got married in Jamaica, just the two of us.  Did that make our families happy?  Well, no. But we are still married!

In the early 2000’s Christy joined me in the real estate business in Southern Nevada.  It was a wild ride! I think we did a bit of everything! I managed an office, I recruited, we sold, we had a team, CRS, ABR, GRI, property management, LLC’s, partners, investors, we owned land, we owned high-rise condos.  We had houses, cars, flew in private planes, and multi-millions of dollars of net worth . . . then we didn’t.

The real estate crash has left some scars for sure!  We lost our home, lost some friends, created some enemies, and learned some lessons.  I’m still learning to trust financial institutions . . . and just when I start to, I’m reminded again about the total lack of incompetence.  Character building at its best, I’m a better person for it today.  These events sent Christy and me soul searching for peace and happiness.

Christy grew up in the Seattle area, she loves the water and I love the mountains the perfect escape from the desert was the Pacific Northwest. We made a few exploratory trips and in 2011 we moved to Bellingham, WA. Bellingham is an amazing place but in our quest for a bit more remote surroundings we moved to Whidbey Island in the spring of 2014.  This move has been great for us and we are now in a space that allows us to be.

As you explore this site you will come to understand what that means.

~ T for Tim