Exploring Life & Business with DeAndre Thomas of Real Home Evolutions

Today, we’d like to introduce you to DeAndre Thomas.

Hi DeAndre, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Kansas City with a very hard-working single mom. We didn’t have much growing up, but she always made sure I was honest, driven, and thoughtful in everything I did. That propelled me through every scenario we ever encountered and allowed me to develop into what I am today. 

I ended up attending Northwest Missouri State University on a football, track, and academic scholarship. I majored in Business Management & Marketing, which was not really in alignment with what I wanted to do in my career, but I figured I’d be able to make it work no matter what degree I received. That thought ended up biting me in the butt my senior year because I kept applying to large construction companies, but they wouldn’t give me the time of day. 

They wanted applicants to have a construction management degree, but NW didn’t offer that degree. As an 18-year-old kid going on college visits, I prioritized winning national championships and potentially going to the NFL over what degrees colleges were offering. Not my brightest idea but we did win quite a few national championships, haha. During my senior year, I struggled to secure a job in the construction field before I graduated. After 15+ resumes had been sent out and no promising responses, I finally heard back from one company, Owen Homes. 

They actually rejected me at first, but I was determined to prove my potential. They said they don’t have any positions available right now but to reach back out in three to four months. Exactly one month later, I reached back out and told them I knew I didn’t pursue the right degree and I didn’t have a ton of experience, but I would start at the very bottom and do whatever they needed me to do to prove to them I would become a great asset for them. 

They took me up on that proposal, and I did exactly that. For the first few months, I was the errand boy, running to Home Depot, cleaning job sites, and digging holes. It didn’t take them long to realize I was very capable, and I started running jobs on my own. After a few months, I became so proficient at running jobs I started my own company Real Home Evolutions.

I had spent a lot of time listening to podcasts about how to become financially free and how to invest properly, so I figured I would start flipping houses with my newfound knowledge. I would work a full day with Owen Homes and then, right after, do all of my real estate investing work. 

I ended up flipping it for a $20,000 profit for only a couple of months of work. That was huge money back then, so I was stoked and dialed in on my business. I ended up getting a real estate license as well so I could buy and sell my own houses.  

That lasted a few months, but there was a lot of risk involved, so I ended up slowing down the flipping side of RHE. I did meet quite a few other real estate investors along the way, though, and they wanted to hire me to run their flips for them on the side. I was working roughly 50-60 hours a week for the next two to three years, pushing out houses for Owen Homes and flips for investors. 

I learned so much from each end of the spectrum because I’m going to these high-end luxury custom homes for Owen Homes during the day and then running these broken-down homes and giving them new life, remodeling them with the flips in the afternoons. This really allowed me to hone in on my construction knowledge and really separate myself from your typical project manager. 

Eventually, my friends and family saw the great work I was doing and wanted to hire me as a general contractor to do their home remodels. That’s what really broke open the walls for me because one of the first remodels I did independently as Real Home Evolutions was my friend’s house in Overland Park, and it happened to be on a TV show. 

My friends had a connection to Tamara Day and her show Bargain Mansions, so they asked if I wanted to do this remodel on TV, and of course, I took that deal! The remodel ended up going great, and the show was very impressive with my work. I became good friends with Tamara, the TV producer, and even the film crew in the process, and that really set me up for success. I did such a great job on the first house the producer set me up to do a few more episodes on the show. 

Since then, I’ve done four episodes on the TV show, and it’s been a great experience. I haven’t become famous yet like I was expecting from being on multiple TV episodes but I’m sure it’s coming, haha. Either way, Bargain Mansions, and those connections helped set my company up to work with a whole new set of clientele, and we’ve been doing awesome luxury remodels ever since. 

The company has grown from just me doing small remodels for flippers after hours around town for some extra spending money to us having five full-time employees and doing half-a-million-dollar remodels around the city in just two years. I’ve loved this transition into a real family-owned business, and I expect nothing less than for this company to grow even larger as we establish a larger name in the Kansas City area. 

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
I don’t think smooth is a term I would use to express our journey over the last few years haha. I know how to do things effectively and efficiently in my business, but unfortunately, that’s not all you need to run a successful business. 

There are so many different pieces to the puzzle, and I think the most difficult part of starting a small business from zero is hiring people to take on those responsibilities. Up until this last year or so, I was the owner, salesman, project manager, advertiser, admin, and accountant. It’s difficult to trust someone to take over one of those roles on your behalf, but you also have to train them correctly and make sure your business is making enough money to hire them and keep them full-time. 

This has been one of the biggest struggles along the way because in my business I can’t just throw money at people, and they can plug into the business operation. Construction is so detailed and hands-on that I have to take my time with each hire to make sure they are locked in with the company culture and how I want to present ourselves to the world. All of this takes tons and tons of time, and I’m a new fiancé and father. Family time is very valuable to me, but I definitely don’t get to spend as much time with Brittany, my fiancé, and Adaya, my 18-month-old daughter, as I’d like. 

We have family discussions weekly, and we always have to touch base that “Daddy” is building a business that will take care of us for a long time, but he needs to spend a lot of time this season working on it. The girls were great the entire ride, but I do know it’s difficult for them. I don’t get to come home at four or five every night and watch TV; I’m usually doing all of the back-end tasks for the business till late, so sacrificing the standard 40-hour workweek-life balance is also a huge struggle we’ve all had to endure. 

But it’s all for the better, so the family is all on board. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a residential general contractor and builder. We specialize in large-scale home remodels and additions. If you can dream it up, we can build it. We’ve been on the TV show “Bargain Mansions” twice now and will be on it another two times when the newest season is released in June. We love to do all of the fancy things you see on Instagram, like steam showers in the primary bathroom, tub fillers mounted on the ceiling, and invisa cooktops that cook through the countertop. 

A whole bunch of stuff that you don’t find in your average home. Of course, we do regular home remodels and additions as well, but those off-the-wall things are what really separates us from the pack. We have some of the proudest homeowners once we are finished, and that’s our favorite part of the job. Really taking someone’s vision of what they want their home to be and making it a reality. Real Home Evolutions are who we are and what we do. 

We want to elevate our clients’ homes to the next level and give them something they can really be proud of. For most families, their home is where they spend most of their lives, and we think your home should be a place that brings you joy and peace at the same time. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The industry has definitely shifted drastically over the past three years, and I think it will continue in that direction over the next 5-10 years. Covid really shook up the world and changed how we do things. People were forced to stay home and reimagine their lives from a home base versus in an office or public setting. That really sparked a huge remodel movement. 

Our business was extremely busy during Covid because people wanted to finish their basements or build a home office or gym and even have grandparents move in with them. Homes became even more impactful as a result of Covid, and the market really started doubling down on remodels. We’ve also been affected negatively since Covid. Inflation and the cost of materials and labor skyrocketed. It has recently come down from those crazy numbers, but it is still higher than in the past and continues to rise. It’s a bit concerning because we used to be able to build a brand-new starter home for roughly $200,000-$250,000. 

Now that same exact house with the same materials and same labor would cost us $300,000-$350,000 just a few years later. It’s unfortunate because that is going to prevent young new families from owning homes in their 20s like their parents were able to do. It’s significantly harder for this generation to attain home ownership because inflation has skyrocketed, but average wages haven’t.  

As a result, I think younger people are going to stay in apartments on average longer than in the past. I think apartment complexes will boom for the next 5-10 years, and single-family homes will do fine, but they will be steered by the older generations. 

On the remodel side we don’t have enough people to keep up with demand. The exact opposite of the negative effect of Covid has helped benefit homeowners who have lived in their houses for many years. Half of the clients I work with bought their very large house 30 years ago for roughly $200,000 because that’s all it cost back then. Now, their house is paid off, and it’s worth $800,000+, and suddenly, they have quadrupled their home equity. 

That has led to tons and tons of remodels because they have the money already from the house value, and they want to stay in the home they’ve raised their family in, so they bring us in to bring it up to date. I see this trend continuing for the next 5-10 years, and we hope to position ourselves as the best remodelers in Kansas City, in addition to working our way into building single and multi-family homes so we can navigate all areas of the ever-changing construction industry. 

Contact Info:

• Website: realhomeevolutions.com
• Instagram: @realhomeevolutions
• Facebook: @realhomeevolutions

Image Credits
Taylor Ann