How real estate agent Deba Douglas turned buyer education into a 100-transaction business

After 16 years in education, Deba Douglas walked away from the classroom because she saw a different kind of learning gap.

Today, the former high school and middle school principal runs Dallas-based Deba Douglas Realty Group and teaches a course called Roadmap to Real Estate Investing.

The program has helped double her transaction volume — carving a path to more than 100 last year — while helping first-time homebuyers and prospective investors build wealth.

“I see the disparities of the knowledge that adults have when it comes to money and financial readiness,” Douglas told HousingWire. “This information can really be a game changer, not just for you, for the trajectory of your entire family when it comes to finances and how you can create wealth.

“It gets you out of that box of what you think you’re capable of doing, and seeing what you’re actually capable of doing.”

Douglas left education at the end of 2018 — with she and her husband beginning to invest in real estate and document their journey on social media soon thereafter.

She now owns 30 rental properties, builds houses, flips homes and wholesales, but her focus remains on what she calls the information gap.

“Once you tap in, you really understand how real estate is at your fingertips,” Douglas said. “You need to know what to say, what not to say, how to set yourself up on paper and how to look good in front of these lenders. It’s a game changer. Then you walk around believing in yourself, empowering yourself and empowering your entire trajectory.”

Education program fuels growth

The Roadmap to Real Estate Investing has been operating for roughly three and a half years.

Douglas said she and her team have refined the program based on what works, what contractors to use and how to create the right resources and partners.

“I’ve seen where people have gone through my course, and now their kids are in my course,” she said. “Now their aunts and uncles are buying real estate, and it just started with one person.”

Douglas said many agents struggle to communicate effectively with first-time homebuyers in the current economy.

She believes some agents avoid addressing economic headwinds and instead operate as if conditions remain the same as three years ago.

“We need to be honest that we’re in a very volatile area, in a volatile time in our economy, where job losses are happening every other week and people are depending on their income,” Douglas said. “There’s inflation that’s happening. Gas prices are higher. So I think, as an agent, you have to be knowledgeable about what’s going on, and make sure that you present concrete information that’s going to yield that buyer trusting you.”

She also cautioned agents against steering clients toward their maximum preapproval amount without considering future costs.

Property taxes and insurance rates are rising in Texas, Douglas added, and buyers need to be prepared.

“I feel like some agents are focusing on the commission and not really thinking about the end goal for the buyer,” Douglas said. “They may be qualified for $500,000, but it may be your best to tell them, ‘Hey, maybe we don’t need to go to your max. Let’s go a little bit lower — where you have some cushion, where you’re able to save.’

“You are now being more of a financial consultant and bringing them the true picture of everything.”

Advice for other agents

For agents who want to move beyond sales and into education or community impact, Douglas recommends finding a specific passion within real estate and building a course around it — even if offered for free.

“You become an expert in whatever that niche is, and people are going to automatically gravitate to you,” she said. “And the bonus of what you’re teaching is you’re already passionate about it, and the reward that will come is you’re going to get more transactions.”

Douglas also summed up her philosophy for peers who may be trying to find a new normal for volume while external conditions seem anything but.

“Don’t try to chase a sale where you neglect giving [clients] the proper information,” she said. “They can be getting bills a year later with their property taxes or insurance going up. Really be knowledgeable, be an expert in your field and really give them the value that they wouldn’t find from just any random agent. Show that you care.”