RE/MAX Revolution, Kansas City, Missouri
How did you get involved in real estate?
I began my real estate career right out of high school when I got into remodeling homes. I lived in Florida, and a hurricane came through and just destroyed my area. Later, I moved to Kansas City and got into retail. I started reading books to improve myself, and several authors were former real estate professionals. I started thinking, “Well, I know about houses and selling and connecting with people. Why not put the two together?” learned my license in 2014 and haven’t looked back.
How did you become interested in the CRS Designation?
In 2018, I changed offices, and one of our top producers in that office was a CRS. And that got me thinking, “If the CRS Designation has helped her, I should look into that.” Education is important. Long story short, I was just following the leader.
How are you involved in Council activities?
I was the 2023 finance leader for the Kansas RRC because, at the time, I was at an office in Kansas. Now, I’m in Missouri, which is where I live and practice most of my real estate, and I’m the 2024 president of Missouri RRC.
I think the CRS Designation is critical to committing to this profession. With real estate, there are easy and hard days—and during the hard days, we try to talk ourselves out of sticking with it. But having that commitment through a foundation of education is one more link in the chain connecting me to the real estate business.
I was just in Anaheim for the NAR: NXT conference and met tons of great real estate professionals from all over the country. Everybody’s willing to share what’s working in their business. There’s no secret to this. Just having the idea is useless if you don’t do anything with it.
Does your market have any interesting or unique aspects to it?
The first thing that comes to mind is that Kansas City, Missouri, is geographically very large. It covers four counties and more than 310 square miles, and much of that up in the Northland where I practice is undeveloped. Anyone who lives or works in Kansas City, Missouri, pays a 1% earnings tax. Even though they might live in a subdivision with tons of homes and streetlights, the city still has to provide infrastructure and fire and police services to the more remote areas. So, I help people run the numbers on their homes because they’ll probably pay more for a home to avoid paying that 1% earnings tax just to simplify their lives.
Are you involved in any community service activities?
My family and I are involved with the Care Portal, which connects families and individuals in need with resources. Social workers let Care Portal know that somebody has an emergency foster situation and needs bunk beds, for example. In addition, for the Replenish KC backpack drive this year, we collected over 500 backpacks full of school supplies kids would need for the whole year. Then, we delivered them to the school, which distributed them. Kids can come in, and there’s no shame. It’s just awesome.
How do you feel about having established a business in your town?
Growing up, my dad was in the military, so we moved around all the time. So, that’s another piece of my real estate story—moving around growing up. I’ve been in Kansas City for 23 years now. About four or five years after moving here, I felt the itch to move again. Then I realized I didn’t have to move. I get to stay here. I had to work through that and find value in my community. Because if it’s just about me, I can just pick up and move. But there are people here, and I am committed to things. I realized starting a real estate business would plant roots for me and my family so they may experience a way of life that I didn’t.
Paul Sidwell, CRS, achieved the CRS Designation in 2020. He can be reached at paul@sidwellhomes.com or 816-812-4865.
Photo: Nicole Bissey Photography
