“The whole world would be a much better place if everyone just followed the two greatest commandments. 1. Love God 2. Love others as yourself,” says REALTOR® Rick Angell. He understands the importance of the Golden Rule. As he says, “If everyone followed it, we would have world peace.”

 

Rick applies the Golden Rule to his business in real estate. He comments, “A core value of our team is to always try to put ourselves in our client’s shoes and see things from their perspective then act how we would like to be treated.” With his heart for his clients, he has done very well in his 9 years of real estate with Angell Solutions @ KW with Keller Williams Greenville Central with a career volume topping 75 million dollars.

 

It isn’t about profit, but people to Rick. He wants to be remembered for being a giver, loving God, his family, and helping others. Interestingly, his team is built with people who do the work and ministry of Christ. Rick explains, “Drew is a youth pastor and keyboard player. Kim is a pastor's wife and worship singer and I play the bass for our worship team and lead Bible Quizzing. Leslea is also an active member of her church and used to be a singer.”

 

 

“Real estate is only my third career,” says Rick. This go-getter started working at a grocery store at the age of 16 and started Greenville Tech right after high school. “I was studying to be a mechanical engineer. I then got a job at a manufacturing business in Duncan and ended up working there for 19.5 years. I got married at 21 years old and had my first child at 23,” he says.

 

Although that job helped give Rick and his family stability, both the company and Rick were ready for a change. That’s when he started thinking about real estate. In 2014 there were still a lot of foreclosures and as Rick was driving neighborhoods and looking at houses to invest in, Bruce Bachtel invited him for a cup of coffee and asked if he would be interested in a career in real estate.

 

“I had never thought about it before, but decided to go to a KW Career Night, learned a little about it and decided to start real estate school,” recalls Rick. As he was starting real estate school, his boss decided to let him go. “It was totally unexpected but a blessing in disguise as it forced me to jump into real estate with both feet. Looking back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

 

Rick found his calling in real estate, escaping from the four walls of the manufacturing company and found the opportunity to meet the rest of the world. A coach by nature, Rick interacts well with people. He comments, “I love helping people get from where they are to where they want to be. The consulting part of real estate is my favorite.” He especially likes helping people achieve their financial goals and personal goals.

 

 

Interestingly, Rick was very shy growing up. Real estate has helped him develop into the leader that was inside him all along. He has also learned to take risks, such as embarking into real estate.

 

“I'm conservative financially by nature,” he admits. “Two big leaps that I've taken in my life were the jump from my 8-5, M-F, getting paid the same thing on the 1st and 15th of each month, to taking a job with 100% commission, 24/7, unknown, in the chaotic real estate world.” Rick then took the leap of faith to start his own team and had his first W2 employee hired.

 

Rick, a huge Dave Ramsey fan, is proud to be one of his endorsed local providers (now known as Ramsey Trusted) and has led about a dozen Financial Peace classes. It’s rewarding for him to see someone go through his Financial Peace class and then buy a home “the right way“ 2 ½ years later debt-free (other than the house), with money still in the bank. Just as Rick has learned to stretch outside his comfort zone, he helps his clients do the same.

 

“I love helping others win in life and achieve their goals! That includes both clients of ours and now my team members. I have the heart of a teacher and love coaching our clients toward success as well as my team members,” says Rick.

 

A self-described consistent and persistent person, Rick never settles for average. Although he describes himself as “a pretty laid-back kind of guy,” he’s also a competitor and refuses to settle for average.

 

That’s why he is a KW Real Estate Planner, a “licensed real estate agent who is certified and has the knowledge, training and experience to compassionately guide a real estate owner in ways to create generational wealth, minimize taxes and facilitate the goals of the family.” Rick explains, “A Real Estate Planner is much more than a real estate agent. The typical real estate agent is transactional.” However, a Real Estate Planner builds relationships that last a lifetime, developing a plan that is good for you and your future.

 

Rick loves working at Keller Williams because the culture is just a great fit with God first, family second, and business third. This man of faith raves, “I love how our team meetings start with prayer requests and prayer.”

 

Starting out as a single agent, he was on the boards with top agents in his office with multiple listings in his first month. He is grateful to Mark Rucker, who was a 10-year real estate veteran at the time, who saw his success and potential and invited him to join his team as a buyer’s agent.

 

“This helped accelerate my career as he provided me with leads which allowed me to work more transactions and gain experience quicker than I would have been able to do on my own,” explains Rick. With his drive and determination, he did 23 transactions his first year, then did about 40 per year for the next 3-4 years. After about 3 ½ years of being with Mark Rucker, Rick decided to go start his own team. In his first full year of being on his own (2020), he did 54 transactions then 68 (2021) and then 74 in 2022.

 

Outside of Rick’s job, he is happily married to his wife (Becky) of 27 years and loves playing the bass as part of the church worship team. His faith is near and dear to him. He is proud to also serve as South Carolina District Bible Quizzing Coordinator for the United Pentecostal Church International organization. He jokes, “I'm Alex Trebec, the quiz master asking the questions.”

 

His three boys grew up doing Bible quizzing, Tae Kwon Do and music. Now his boys are older (ages 24, 22, and 20). Rick says, “We did Tae Kwon Do as a family for 7 years and the four of us boys became black belts. After that, Becky and I got each of them started with learning an instrument. The oldest (Collin) is a keyboard/piano player. The middle one (Connor) plays the electric guitar, the youngest (Colton) is a drummer and I play the bass.” One of the highlights of Rick’s life is when they were all playing together for the church worship team.

 

The boys are all blazing their own trails in life. Collin went to USC, majored in Math and minored in Japanese. He will be moving to Japan in July this year to learn how to be a translator. Connor has been at Indiana Bible College for the last 3 years and will be headed to New Zealand for a missions trip in August. Colton is finishing up his associate's degree with Greenville Tech and then headed to Indiana Bible College in August. “We will be empty nesters,” comments Rick. Rick’s wife, Becky, is also a goal-setter, hard worker and super mom. She has been an RN for 15 years and is currently a student at Anderson University; she will be a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2024.

 Closing Comments

 

Rick is a man who truly cares about others. He’s making a difference with every listing and coming into contact with his clients. He concludes “We truly love, care for and are compassionate about helping others. Our mission statement at Angell Solutions is to lovingly, caringly and compassionately guide others through the home buying or selling process with an emphasis on building relationships that last a lifetime. We model our mission statement after Jesus's.” With God as his guide and care for his clients, Rick is building a solid foundation for his future and beyond.