Working as a Lexus service consultant, Matthew Birt dealt with customers who were successful in a variety of fields. Hoping to advance his career and and create a more flexible work schedule, Birt decided real estate was the field to make his mark, and earned his real estate license.
His hunch that he could succeed in real estate was spot-on. After six years of buying and selling homes, Birt joined nine other partners in the fall of 2006 to open Keller Williams, a fast-growing Maple Grove-based brokerage that shares many of Birt’s ethics.
“Their mission is to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living,” he says. “It was the first real estate company that talked to me about anything other than commission splits and pay schedules.”
Values and integrity—traits he learned from his grandfather, Jose Vargas, a former Twin Cities real estate broker—are a high priority for Birt. “My grandfather also had a deep love for his Mexican culture,” says Birt. “Even though he came to the United States and assimilated, he never downplayed the rich heritage of his Mexican people.”
When he is not working or spending time with his wife and three daughters, Birt makes time to give back to the community. He drives a church bus of children from the northern suburbs to Sunday school. “It’s rewarding to me to be faithful and be someone they can count on in their life,” he says. “They know I’ll be there every Sunday morning knocking on their door.” Birt’s family and customers know they can count on that same steadfast commitment and integrity.
