- 2 hours ago
In this episode of the RealTrending, Tracey Velt sits down with broker-owner Corwyn Melette of Exit Realty Lowcountry Group breaks down what legacy really means beyond a single transaction. He shares how his own family lost generations of rental properties — and how that experience reshaped his mission to help consumers and agents build lasting wealth instead of simply consuming it.
Corwyn explains why Charleston, South Carolina, is a “perfect storm” market, with geographic constraints, strong economic drivers, and intense demand that create both scarcity and opportunity. From workforce and affordable housing with layered funding to educating consumers on equity and long-term value, he walks through practical ways real estate can be the engine for financial freedom.
He also digs into what real leadership and professionalism look like in today’s market amid lawsuits, rate anxiety and commission pressure. Corwyn challenges agents and brokers to lead with service, master their contracts and double down on real human connection, whether that’s picking up the phone or being a true “real estate sherpa” for clients navigating complex decisions.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Eddie Garcia’s Realty of America debuted on the Real Trends Verified rankings in its first full year, hitting number 45 by sides, 63 by volume, and 24 among private independents.
Garcia’s journey from poverty and humble beginnings fuels his mission to create opportunity and a modern path to the American dream through real estate.
Realty of America runs a cloud-based model anchored by a physical 27,000-square-foot Chicago headquarters, emphasizing culture, collaboration, and centralized support.
Related to this episode:
Tracey Velt’s LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyvelt/
Corwyn Melette's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/
Exit Realty Lowcountry Group
https://www.exitlowcountry.com/
Buy one, get one FREE tickets to the Mortgage Banking Summit on October 1st
https://events.housingwire.com/mortgage-banking-summit-2026
Want more from Tracey? Don’t forget to subscribe to Real Estate Daily.
The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
Corwyn explains why Charleston, South Carolina, is a “perfect storm” market, with geographic constraints, strong economic drivers, and intense demand that create both scarcity and opportunity. From workforce and affordable housing with layered funding to educating consumers on equity and long-term value, he walks through practical ways real estate can be the engine for financial freedom.
He also digs into what real leadership and professionalism look like in today’s market amid lawsuits, rate anxiety and commission pressure. Corwyn challenges agents and brokers to lead with service, master their contracts and double down on real human connection, whether that’s picking up the phone or being a true “real estate sherpa” for clients navigating complex decisions.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Eddie Garcia’s Realty of America debuted on the Real Trends Verified rankings in its first full year, hitting number 45 by sides, 63 by volume, and 24 among private independents.
Garcia’s journey from poverty and humble beginnings fuels his mission to create opportunity and a modern path to the American dream through real estate.
Realty of America runs a cloud-based model anchored by a physical 27,000-square-foot Chicago headquarters, emphasizing culture, collaboration, and centralized support.
Related to this episode:
Tracey Velt’s LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyvelt/
Corwyn Melette's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/
Exit Realty Lowcountry Group
https://www.exitlowcountry.com/
Buy one, get one FREE tickets to the Mortgage Banking Summit on October 1st
https://events.housingwire.com/mortgage-banking-summit-2026
Want more from Tracey? Don’t forget to subscribe to Real Estate Daily.
The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
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NewsTranscript
00:00When I asked my next guest to sum up success in one word, he used the word freedom. And that
00:08is very true for the business that he's in. He's a broker of Exit Realty Low Country Group in North
00:14Charleston. Corwin Millett talks all about wealth building and how he trains agents and also how he works with consumers
00:23on wealth building to get that freedom. So enjoy the podcast.
00:38Good to have you.
00:40Well, thank you so much, Tracy. Pleasure to be here.
00:44Thanks. So you've built your work around financial literacy, real estate education and legacy building. So in that context, what
00:56does legacy building mean to you?
00:59So, Tracy, legacy. So legacy is what happens beyond what happens beyond our time here, if you will, in theory
01:09on this earth.
01:10What are we leaving for future generations, whether it's our own or just people in general?
01:15So what I've worked to do is to help people to think about that more because, I mean, we're in
01:22a society where we're so like, ah, like right now, us, et cetera.
01:26Well, you know, what about you? What about your children and so forth and so on?
01:31So that's what I've really been focused on is helping people to create for themselves and within their families legacy
01:38that carries beyond.
01:40And I can give you even more of a personal story if you if you like.
01:45So, you know, one of the things that I tell people, you know, I grew up a family that when
01:49I when I was a kid, kid, you know, we had real estate, you know, we had rentals and things
01:54of that nature.
01:55And it had come from generations prior, people passed, gone on, they left the property.
02:00And, you know, as when and when as I grew older, you know, I had a different understanding of and
02:06most certainly now being in the industry.
02:08But all those things that were there is now gone.
02:12So all those rental properties, everything, you know, was lost in my family.
02:17And now I'm looking at it saying, well, look, imagine if we had still had that and everybody had added
02:24to it, what would that look like?
02:26So that is the basis and premise for what I seek to do, which is to help people to get
02:32into a mindset of not consumption, but adding to so that it builds a financial and an educational legacy that
02:41runs for generations.
02:43I love that.
02:44And so you're broker owner of Exit Realty Lowcountry Group and you're in North Charleston.
02:50So what are you seeing in the market today that would surprise people or in other markets?
02:58Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods?
03:02Well, you know, Charleston is the perfect storm.
03:04So I tell people and this is so true if you think about it, but Charleston is half a market.
03:12Downtown Charleston, you have that you can go north to Mount Pleasant.
03:17You can go south in theory to West Ashley, but you and you can go west, but you cannot go
03:22east because you can't build in the ocean, at least not yet.
03:25So what that does is creates an opportunity where opportunity is a little scarce.
03:32We've got half a market to work with.
03:34So the perfect storm is we have ports because we have industry, we have technology, we got schools, we got
03:41we're a perfect place for culture, retirement.
03:44So everybody comes here and everybody has a reason to come here.
03:49And that creates a plethora of opportunities within this market for people to establish themselves.
03:57Yeah, absolutely.
03:59And I want to go back to your kind of wealth building.
04:03You know, a lot of agents talk about helping people buy and sell homes, but your message is actually bigger
04:08than that.
04:09So talk to me about how you train agents to think beyond the transaction and think legacy in their business.
04:16So educating them, educating the agents on what it means.
04:22So I do a tremendous amount of workforce and affordable housing.
04:25That is, quote unquote, I tell people my jam.
04:28And I'm working with, you know, several opportunities that have funding layered in and, you know, homes are being sold
04:38with the layered funding well on the market.
04:40Some of the some of the funding is forgiven over time.
04:43So what it does, it helps people to get into a home for less money because there's no gap there.
04:50But the gap is forgiven.
04:51The market value continues to increase and then you're paying down the home.
04:56And so eventually you get the home to zero and way down on the other end of the spectrum is
05:03the is the market value, which means that all this in between is your equity, which we understand that in
05:09the real estate profession.
05:10Right.
05:11Educating an agent on how to identify and look at that from the bigger picture is what I challenge myself
05:20to do to see the bigger picture.
05:23You know, people are always focused on just today.
05:25And I can understand you've got to live in theory the time that you're here.
05:30But looking at what it could be in the future and helping the agent to identify that and and to
05:37be able to have an understanding of that to articulate it to a consumer is a game changer.
05:43Yeah, absolutely.
05:44And you have a podcast all about this.
05:46It's called Exit Strategies Radio Show and you focus on empowering communities.
05:51So how can real estate professionals do a better job serving as educators and not just salespeople?
05:58Gain some understanding.
06:01So many professionals don't seek to understand.
06:05I had an agent in my office one time that used to say this.
06:08Seek first to understand before seeking to be understood.
06:13Oftentimes agents are so focused and tunnel vision on getting a sale done that they never take the time to
06:18understand what the consumer's real desire is.
06:22They want to own a home.
06:23Yes.
06:23But why?
06:24What's your bigger picture?
06:25Family?
06:26What do you want to be?
06:27Do you have an idea?
06:29Maybe you want to have investment property in the future?
06:31Whatever that looks like.
06:32And making sure that they cater their service to them.
06:36One of the things that I've been saying here lately, Tracy, to people is, you know, fee for service, service
06:42for a fee.
06:44Agents oftentimes are so focused on getting a fee for service that they forget to provide service for a fee.
06:53If you lead with your fee, then all you're thinking about in theory is how you're going to get compensated,
06:58how you're going to get paid.
07:00If you practice leading with service, you'll make more fees than what you can keep up with and count.
07:06Yeah, I love that.
07:08And so in exit strategies, do you also talk about agent exit strategies when they're ready to exit the business?
07:14Or are you looking more at helping them gain wealth through properties and helping them serve their clients to gain
07:23wealth through properties?
07:25So our show is a culmination of everything.
07:28So first of all, we do air the show as a radio show.
07:32It actually is a radio show that we converted or continue to content as a podcast.
07:37It airs on two radio stations in South Carolina and then subsequently is everywhere else, right?
07:41So our focus is educating the consumer.
07:45And we went from the basics.
07:47So agents can take from that, you know, understanding the basics.
07:50We went through credit, budget, all that stuff.
07:52We spent a lot of time in that.
07:54But over the years, we migrated to talking about real estate investing, syndications, commercial acquisitions and management.
08:04You know, I mean, the whole gamut, fixing flips, apartment communities, all of it.
08:09And how to establish even most recently, we've had conversations about how to do a cap stack, how to stack
08:15the capital, to do a development project and deal.
08:17So that is for our consumers.
08:19But the agent should be picking up how to do it so they can help the consumer get it done.
08:25Yeah.
08:25Yeah, absolutely.
08:26Absolutely. And so, you know, a lot of consumers kind of feel locked out right now of homeownership because of
08:32affordability.
08:33So, you know, or it's credit or it's lack of knowledge about the market.
08:38What can where can the industry be doing more, in your opinion?
08:43And how do we, you know, how do we get that education across?
08:49So first is going back to something I just said about understanding.
08:53I literally shared with my agents here recently the story, if you will, of two economies.
08:59There's an economy currently in our country where people, they're spending, you know, they, hey, this is normal, whatever it
09:05is for them.
09:06And they're still buying homes, they're still selling homes, they're still transacting, and the market is still operating just like
09:12it would any other time for them.
09:14But then there's another economy, which is where people are feeling the crunch of inflation and things of that nature.
09:19So they're a little bit more hesitant.
09:21And unfortunately, you know, as well as I do, Tracy, that those things that are oftentimes considered to be a
09:27hindrance is what people push against.
09:29And it gets the most noise because the people that's in the other economy, they're not saying anything.
09:35They don't care.
09:35Look, it's normal.
09:36We're just going about our, and we're not telling anybody.
09:39But the people who are in the economy where it's a little bit more challenging, they're complaining about it.
09:45And their noise is what many agents hear.
09:48As far as the industry, it's about education.
09:52Have an understanding.
09:53I literally just shared with my agents here recently a 40-year history on mortgage rates.
09:59Why?
10:00Because consumers are thinking that rates are supposed to be 3%.
10:04Within the last 40 years, rates have been as high as 11 and change.
10:09I remember a lender of mine started in the business about 30-some-odd years ago.
10:13He said when he started out, he said, you were lucky to get the $12.99 special.
10:18So giving people that understanding will be helpful to getting the consumer past, but also helping the agent to gain
10:27the greater understanding of what is really going on in the market, what's really going on in the industry, and
10:34in turn, where they fit in so they can be successful.
10:37Okay.
10:47So I'll give you a couple of things.
10:49I literally just said this here recently as well.
10:51Most brokers don't understand.
10:53And they don't have a lot of, some have debt, some don't.
10:58Let's be transparent about it.
11:01Who are your agents serving and make sure that the broker has a responsibility to have an understanding of who
11:07the person is serving.
11:08If your agent is coming in and they're working in a luxury market, then you should have some understanding of
11:15luxury and be able to help them.
11:17Consumers are consumers.
11:19Buyers and sellers are buyers and sellers.
11:21Renters and landlords are renters and landlords.
11:23They all fundamentally have a general, you know, mantra or beat they march to.
11:29They just dress different in the parade.
11:31So with that, understanding the mantra, their beat that they're walking to can help you to help your agent to
11:39make sure they keep pace.
11:41Subsequently, on the other side, if the person is working in working with low, more first time home buyers or
11:49what have you, understanding what is important to those first time home buyers is critical and key to helping the
11:57agent to serve them better and best.
11:59Again, going back to service for a fee or fee for service, if you really understand how to serve people,
12:07then you're going to be just fine.
12:08So the brokerage should have a general knowledge.
12:12It doesn't have to be specific because every person in your office may not be doing the same thing.
12:16If you're a luxury brokerage, then that's all you touch and all you need to know is this.
12:19But if you're a general brokerage and your agent serve a gambit, then you should have a working knowledge across
12:25as many auspices within under that umbrella as possible.
12:30Do you and do any of your agents actually like invest in properties now because of what you've taught them?
12:38And, you know, what what have you noticed through the years of having the brokerage?
12:44So we have agents who are now getting themselves into real estate invest.
12:48We do have a couple that are two or three that are investors.
12:52So a few of them are investors already.
12:55Some are getting into funny.
12:56I just really had that conversation with one today because they say, well, hey, what's the formula in all of
13:01this?
13:02Like, how do you figure this out?
13:03So I had that conversation today.
13:05Not the first time I've had it.
13:07I've had it up on team times before with the same person.
13:11But today it was relevant to them because they was thinking, hey, how do I do this?
13:16So short of it is eventually it'll stick.
13:21Eventually, you know, it's kind of like, you know, for lack of a better way to put it, if you
13:25if you ring the bell long enough, pretty soon people hear the bell bell ring.
13:30Yeah.
13:31Yeah, absolutely.
13:32Absolutely. And so your specialty, you said, is workforce housing.
13:37Tell me a little bit more about that and how you got into that as a as a specialty.
13:42So workforce and affordable housing.
13:44Yes.
13:45So how I got into it is I was working with some buyers that I knew could benefit from having
13:54down payment assistance happened to.
13:57There was a weekly interview that a local nonprofit was doing at the time.
14:03It was on the radio every whatever morning.
14:06It was at this particular time being interviewed and talking about the programs and things they offered.
14:13So what I did was I would hear the hear the hear the conversation.
14:17So I caught the phone number was driving.
14:20I can tell you exactly where I was on the highway when when I caught it.
14:23Memorize the number like as soon as I get the way I'm going, I'm going to call.
14:26So I called and met with one of the housing counselors and, hey, this is what this I'm interested in
14:35knowing more about this.
14:36How does this work? And that got me into that particular arena in space.
14:40You know, a lot of nonprofits.
14:42Now, some do development, some just provide counseling services as far as home education and things of that nature.
14:49So the one that I did, I got introduced through, if you will, provided a home by education piece.
14:56They walk people through, you know, everything they needed to know had, you know, the realtors come in, lenders, attorneys,
15:03all those things and explain how the process works from each perspective to walk them through how to put it
15:10all together and make it make sense.
15:11And what I found was, which was intriguing, that those buyers understood the process is like, oh, we've OK, we've
15:20done this.
15:21OK, this is next. Right.
15:22Right. And it was so exciting.
15:24They pull out what they used to call the little blue Bible.
15:26And they, OK, this is where I am.
15:28And they'd be so excited, but they would be educated and made the process that much easier.
15:33Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
15:35So, you know, what does leadership look like in a brokerage today?
15:39So much is going on.
15:40Now the agents are navigating a slower market.
15:43There's lawsuits galore, consolidation, commission pressure.
15:46What do you think leadership looks like from a brokerage standpoint?
15:52So leadership is educating.
15:55It is having the conversation with facts, not having the conversation with headlines.
16:02The headlines come in and says that the sky is falling.
16:06The fact is, you can go outside and you can see the sky.
16:11It's not on top of you.
16:12You ain't in the sky.
16:13You are right here on the ground.
16:16So reminding people of the facts of the situation, which is this is what's going on.
16:22Lawsuits in our industry have been a disruptor.
16:26They have triggered, you know, all this fanfare, all these speculation.
16:33But the fact of the matter is, the real estate agent, the realtor, if you will, is fundamental in the
16:40real estate economy in this country.
16:42We're we're not necessarily the center, but we're definitely in in that swirling storm where consumers understand that we are
16:50a resource, that we have value.
16:52And in turn, we oftentimes are needed to help navigate.
16:56I tell people we're real estate Sherpas.
16:59You know, we're climbing the mountain of a transaction.
17:02We're telling you we're not the step.
17:04We're telling you where it's safe to grab.
17:06We're giving you guidance along the way.
17:08And just like in the Alps, without a Sherpa, you may be at peril.
17:14So for people to understand that, for agents to understand that and grasp that and not listen to the headline,
17:21because what we know as practitioners, people that are actually doing this every day, we understand our value.
17:27So it's just a matter of articulating our value and continue to deliver on our service.
17:32Yeah, absolutely.
17:33And so you're a broker.
17:35You're also a media voice.
17:37So how is hosting your radio show really changed the way you lead or recruit or connect with your community?
17:44So the initial purpose of the radio show is to provide service to our community.
17:48It's education.
17:50You know, the guests that we have, we don't charge, you know, we don't make sponsorship dollars or anything.
17:55It's literally a give back to the community because the community has given us so much.
17:59I want to help them to understand.
18:01So to answer your question, putting it all together, putting it all together, in my opinion, is paramount to being
18:12a better service, being a better steward within the overall community.
18:16So that's the reason why, in theory, Tracy, why we do it and what we get out of it, it
18:24helps us to have a voice in front of agents.
18:27We have agents that listen to the show.
18:29And it helps us to have a voice and to give them a perspective that sometimes they may not have
18:34thought of in how to serve people, but also what people are asking as far as questions and things of
18:39that nature.
18:40Yeah.
18:41Yeah.
18:41I bet that would be really interesting.
18:43You know, the questions that you get can be really a jumping off point for a lot of agents serving,
18:49you know, the clients who may have similar questions as well.
18:53So in looking ahead, where do you see the next generation of real estate professionals?
19:00What do they what how are they different and how what is it that they need in order to understand
19:07the wealth building acts, the wealth building aspect of real estate?
19:13So I think we're going to have two or more, maybe more, but at least two.
19:18We don't have those people that that focus on connection.
19:21Technology has made it so easy for people to be disconnected.
19:25So those that focus on connection, I believe, will have a richer business because we long for a connection, whatever
19:34that is.
19:34But we long for it.
19:35So if you focus on connecting, you will have a richer business because people will talk about you more because
19:41you have connected and they'll want to connect you to other people because they know that you are a connector.
19:47The other side of it, I believe, is going to be those who focus on I literally caught last night,
19:52you know, up and down one side of me, you know, to the other, you know, thanking me because he
19:59said, well, you don't communicate simply by text message.
20:01You ain't sending a bunch of text messages in person.
20:04You're taking the time to explain things to me and, you know, and taking time to really help.
20:10And, you know, he talked about so many other people he had worked with and other, you know, other moves.
20:16And that was not the case.
20:18So I think that agents that focus on those connections are going to do better than those who don't.
20:26But I think we're going to end up in the future with two agents.
20:29I think we're going to have one agent that really focuses on, you know, being in the community, being a
20:32part of it and making a difference and connecting with people in the process.
20:36And another person is just there just trying to do whatever.
20:39And they're going to find themselves with less opportunity.
20:43Yeah, absolutely.
20:44All right.
20:45I have a lightning round for you.
20:46So first thing that comes to mind, one habit every agent should build.
20:51Call people.
20:56I'm sorry.
20:58I'm sorry.
20:59No, I agree.
21:01Call people.
21:02Don't just let, one, return voicemails with a phone call, not necessarily a text message.
21:10And talk to people.
21:11Call people.
21:12Yeah.
21:14One thing agents should stop doing immediately.
21:18They should stop.
21:21This might be a little bit funny.
21:22One, stop that same pose on Facebook, on social media, on flyers, right?
21:27The one where you got your leg up and all this stuff.
21:29Stop now.
21:30Stop that.
21:34And be consistent in your brain.
21:36I don't have this one.
21:37Exactly.
21:38Stop now.
21:39It's almost as big.
21:40I don't have it anymore.
21:41But it's almost as big as, remember the hair used to be all big and all that stuff.
21:45And it was the same pose.
21:46Stop that.
21:48And really get to making your brand consistent without the cheesiness.
21:57Yeah.
21:57Yeah.
21:58Best advice you ever received.
22:00Oh, God.
22:01Oh, this is a, okay.
22:03This is a good one.
22:04Best advice I ever received.
22:06And I won't call it advice, but it was something my former car guy, a client of mine said to
22:11me, business is slow for slow-minded people.
22:15So, you know, if you think it's slow, if you think it's a down market, it is.
22:19If you think it is a good market, it is.
22:22Business is slow for slow-minded people.
22:24You think slow is slow.
22:26Yep.
22:26Absolutely.
22:28Most underrated skill in real estate.
22:30I know what you're going to say on this one.
22:32Most underrated is definitely calling people.
22:34I mean, that's underrated nowadays.
22:38What I would probably say, and, you know, maybe take a different tone because I've said
22:43that already in theory, is know the contract, know your agreements.
22:47Guys, look, know your contract.
22:50Know what is, what, what the clause, why the clause is there.
22:53If you don't understand, not every state is different.
22:56Like, for example, our state, we have a forms committee.
22:59Yeah.
23:00Go to the form, go to somebody in the form.
23:03Why did y'all do this?
23:04Not to change it, but why?
23:06So you have an understanding.
23:07So know your contract.
23:08Right.
23:08Because you're the person that the consumer sees, you know, either with the contract
23:13or, or, or, or, or shortly, or shortly before you're the person that sent it to them or
23:18you're the person that's explaining it to them.
23:20Okay.
23:20My last one is what does success look like to you in one word?
23:26Freedom.
23:27That's great.
23:29I love it.
23:29Yeah.
23:31We, we had a death in the family, an illness and subsequent death in the family and the
23:36ability to be able to be present where you're needed versus feeling you have to be a place.
23:43Yeah.
23:44That's, that's immeasurable.
23:45So freedom, the freedom to be able to be present for your family, your friends, or whoever else
23:50you need to be present for, but, and not feel like the world is caving in and your business
23:56is going to fail.
23:58Yeah, absolutely.
23:59Well, Corwin, thank you so much for joining the Real Trending Podcast.
24:02It's been a pleasure speaking with you.
24:04Thank you so much.
24:05Thank you so much for having me, Tracy.
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