Ray and Rosemary Peters put their roots down in Smithville, Ohio in 1968 when Ray, at the age of 21, took the job as the local barber.
In 1971, Ray got his real estate license and began working for Dale Wirth Realty. Working at the barbershop gave Ray a vast network of contacts that accelerated his real estate career. Ray continued cutting hair full time for 10 years while his real estate career grew. In fact, Ray was one of the leading producers in the area all 10 years. He accomplished this by continuing his full time work at the barbershop. During this time, Ray and Rosemary’s family grew with the additions of Heather, Megan and Greg.
Ray obtained his Real Estate Broker’s License and in 1983, Ray started his own real estate company called Barber Realty. He continued to cut hair full-time and run the real estate business. Ray had 12 licensed realtors working for him throughout the years.
In 1991, Ray was approached by the CEO of Wayne Savings and Loan and was asked if he could help his two appraisers out because interest rates came down from 18% to 9% and they were overwhelmed with the volume of work and couldn’t keep up with the amount of refinances.
Ray began appraising and continued all three jobs for two years. In 1993, Ray quit cutting hair to maintain the real estate and appraisal businesses. Ray went on to get his Certified Residential Appraiser License and Certified General Appraiser License in order to complete commercial appraisals.
The appraisal business continues to grow and service many lenders. Ray supervised the current three appraisers at the business as part of their licensure requirement. Ray’s knowledge and experience has played a valuable role in the ongoing business and he continues to serve as a great resource.
Ray credits his success by giving all the credit and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, who he says led him every step of the way.
