The Chemist Who Figured Out That Negotiating Contracts Was Worth More When You Own the Outcome

Matt Brady sat down with Nick May of the CPG Group at EXP Realty for a Behind the Closing Table conversation that covered seven years of real estate, what it actually takes to survive the first six months, the myths he is tired of hearing about renting versus owning, and some specific bourbon recommendations for anyone starting their collection.

Nick has a background that does not fit the typical real estate agent origin story. He spent seven years as a research and development chemist, worked his way up to negotiating bids and contracts with company presidents, and eventually looked at what he was earning for that work and decided those skills were better deployed somewhere the upside was his. He took night classes, got licensed at the end of 2017, quit his job at the beginning of 2018, and jumped in fully with a supportive wife and an empty bank account that was about to get emptier before it got better.

Surviving the First Six Months

Nick is direct about what the early days looked like. The first three or four weeks felt like an unexpected vacation. Nobody forcing you to work, no office to report to, complete freedom. Then the reality of zero income arriving on a specific timeline started to register. He saw a negative bank account number at the six-month mark and that negative number became more motivating than any training program.

His solution was hyper-local focus. A Keller Williams class taught by one of the top agents in the area, Stephen Cooley, gave him a framework that stuck. Until you can own your neighborhood or your local market you do not need to start expanding your territory. Nick took that literally. He became the most active, most visible agent in his Indian Land neighborhood. He hosted events. He sent market updates. He talked to everyone. Four months in a friend called and said they wanted him to list their house.

That listing went to multiple offers in the first few days. The neighborhood noticed. The cascading effect began. Nick has had nearly fifty listings in that neighborhood since his career started and that early decision to dominate one geographic area before expanding produced a foundation that everything else was built on.

Teams Versus Going Solo

Nick's view on this is nuanced and personality-dependent. He credits joining Keith Sandman's team early as fundamental to his development. Real estate school teaches you how to stay out of real estate jail. It does not teach you how to write contracts, negotiate effectively, or navigate the inevitable unexpected situations that arise in every transaction.

Having an experienced team leader to observe and learn from, being part of other agents' transactions without being paid on them, seeing how experienced agents handle difficult conversations with clients and opposing agents, that repetition is something a solo agent starting from scratch simply cannot replicate early enough to matter.

His point about transactions being different every single time is worth internalizing. After seven years for Nick and ten-plus years for his business partner Keith, they still occasionally encounter situations neither has seen before. The response is not to guess. It is to reach out to colleagues, broker in charge, or other trusted professionals and make sure the client gets the right answer rather than a confident-sounding wrong one.

The Most Underrated Skill in Real Estate

Answer your phone.

Nick describes this as the single most underrated skill in the business and the stories that illustrate it are consistent across every experienced agent. When he is writing an offer on a listing with multiple incoming bids he needs to know what matters to the seller. Preferred closing date. Personal property questions. Concession non-negotiables. If the listing agent does not pick up he cannot structure the strongest possible offer. The seller may lose money because their agent is unreachable.

He took calls from Italy during his honeymoon trip. His wife caught him responding to text messages at a restaurant in Rome. He does not present that as the ideal version of work-life balance. He presents it as a reflection of how seriously he takes the relationships that drive his business, all of which comes from sphere of influence rather than paid leads.

What Nick and Keith Are Doing Differently

The CPG Group does not pay for leads. Every transaction comes from people who know them, have worked with them before, or have been referred by someone who has. That model works because of the communication standard they maintain and the follow-up that continues after closing.

In South Carolina, for example, buyers need to register their property as their primary residence or their property taxes will significantly increase. Nick follows up after every closing to make sure that step has been handled. He drops by to see how clients are settling in. The transaction closing is not the end of the relationship. It is the reference point that future conversations grow from.

The Mistakes He Sees on Both Sides

On the listing side the market has changed fundamentally from 2020 and 2021. Charlotte is running at approximately four months of inventory rather than the fraction of a month that defined the peak. Buyers have options. A home that has not been updated since 2012 needs to either be priced to reflect its condition or updated before listing. The photography and videography need to be excellent because that is what drives showings. Presentation has never mattered more than it does in a market with meaningful buyer choice.

He walked through a specific example. A Waxhaw rental property needed $25,000 to $30,000 of work. The options were list at $375,000 as-is or invest the $30,000 and list at $475,000. The client did the work. Nick and Keith helped coordinate it. The house sold for $465,000 and the return on the renovation investment was doubled because buyers at that price point are not willing to take on a major project at current interest rates.

On the buyer side he tells clients the exact opposite of what sellers hear. Look for homes that need paint. Look for homes that need flooring. Look for cosmetic issues that feel scary but are actually cheap to fix because those are the homes where you can negotiate, capture instant equity, and put your own preferences into the space rather than paying a premium for someone else's choices. The HVAC, the roof, and the water heater are the items that matter. The paint color and the light fixtures from 2002 are not.

What Actually Returns Value When Selling

Nick's top three value-add items before listing are landscaping, flooring, and paint. Landscaping matters because buyers are judging the house from the curb before they ever get inside. Lighter flooring opens up a space and makes it feel more inviting. Paint is inexpensive and its absence is immediately noticeable.

The primary bathroom renovation returns the most value of any single room investment. The kitchen is the place where he most often sees sellers over-invest. A full kitchen remodel to personal taste preferences at $70,000 to $80,000 is unlikely to return that investment because the next buyer may have entirely different preferences. Minor kitchen updates, painting cabinets, new countertops, yes. Structural changes and full renovations before selling, generally no.

Hidden Gems in the Charlotte Metro

Locust, North Carolina gets Nick's attention as a market that is building out meaningfully with good school districts, accessible pricing on new construction, and the same growth trajectory that Indian Land, Clover, and Fort Mill have followed over the past decade. Red Bridge Golf Course near Locust also earns a specific mention.

His broader framework for finding value is straightforward. Look for where things are growing rather than where they have already grown. New businesses, new construction activity, expanding infrastructure. That is where the appreciation you wish you had captured in Indian Land or Clover in 2012 is available today. The Lancaster area south of Indian Land is showing those signals right now.

His personal example is his most compelling data point. He and his wife bought a new construction home in Indian Land in 2012 for $175,000 when there was nothing around them. They sold it in 2021 for $405,000. The surrounding growth drove the appreciation and they captured it because they bought where things were going rather than where they were already established.

The Myth He Is Tired of Hearing

It is cheaper to rent than to buy. Nick recorded a local news anchor making that statement on the twelve o'clock news and posted it because the math does not support it for anyone planning to stay in an area for more than a couple of years.

Paying $3,000 per month in rent is $36,000 per year. Over two years that is $72,000 with nothing to show for it. No equity. No appreciation. No forced savings. Someone else's mortgage getting paid down with your money.

His $1.2 million listing provides the counter-example at scale. The sellers bought for approximately $750,000 and are about to close on a sale that has generated approximately $74,000 per year in appreciation over five to six years of ownership. There are not many careers that pay $74,000 per year and homeownership delivered it without the sellers doing anything other than living in the house.

What Nick Hopes Clients Remember

He hopes they remember that every time they had a question he answered it. Every emotional moment in the process he was present for. And that when they closed they walked away feeling genuinely educated about what they had done and confident it was a sound financial decision.

Buyers' remorse is real. Getting an offer accepted produces a specific kind of panic in buyers who suddenly realize the commitment is no longer hypothetical. Nick's job in that moment is not to talk them into proceeding. It is to make sure they are making the right decision with full information and genuine confidence rather than proceeding out of momentum.

He follows up after closing to confirm primary residence registration in South Carolina. He drops by to see how clients are settling in. The closing is not the end.

Bourbon Recommendations

For anyone starting a collection Nick recommends 1792 as a hard brand to beat for the price, Blade and Bow as another strong entry-level option. For those ready to step up Weller Full Proof and Taylor Single Barrel and Barrel Proof both earn specific praise.

His general advice is to challenge your palate rather than starting with one style. Try higher proof and lower proof. Try wheated bourbon. Find what suits you specifically. And find a knowledgeable local bottle shop because the people behind the counter at stores like Lazy Day Liquors in Fort Mill know their inventory and their store picks are worth asking about.

Every closing gets a bottle of bourbon. That is non-negotiable.

Fun Facts Worth Knowing

Nick came in third in the state in bowling in high school and earned a scholarship. He is a committed South Carolina Gamecocks fan who describes years of sorrow with the kind of loyalty that only genuine fandom can sustain. He plays golf in the sense that he shows up and suffers through it. His basketball knees are gone and he was never fast enough for anything requiring speed so golf is the logical progression. His real guilty pleasure after a week of being social with clients and colleagues is sitting on the couch in gym shorts watching TV with his wife.

How to Reach Nick May

Nick has had the same phone number since he was sixteen and has no plans to change it. Text is the fastest way to reach him. Everything else including his socials and contact links is available in the show caption.

Matt Brady at Success Lending is the mortgage partner behind every deal. Behind the Closing Table continues with more conversations from the people making real estate work across the Carolinas. Have a great day everyone.

Sources

CharlotteRegionalRealtors.com
NAR.realtor
MortgageNewsDaily.com
NorthCarolinaRealtors.com
Investopedia.com