When some people reach a certain stage of life, they begin to proclaim that their age is “just a number.” What is 60, for example, but a numeric value indicating a measure of time and not health or vigor?
Landon Bowman is already making this declaration at age 21.
As a Realtor, Bowman occasionally raises eyebrows with his fresh-faced approach to listing and selling homes. After one look at him, many people have asked, “How old are you?”
“I get that question a lot,” Bowman sighs. “I need to grow some facial hair.”
It’s a fair question that no beard or moustache could fend off. Buying or selling a home is no trip to the dollar store for essentials but one of the largest transactions many people will make. But what these potential clients likely don’t realize is that Bowman would be much older if age were measured in life experience and know-how rather than years alive.
Take, for instance, Bowman’s launch of a car detailing business at 18. It was no teenage pocket money endeavor but a full-blown commercial enterprise with an LLC at the end of the name, insurance and a deal with a used car lot to make new acquisitions sparkle.
Detail Freak, as Bowman dubbed it, was doing well, too – until it fell victim to the ravages of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We had a mobile unit that would clean vehicles all over Chattanooga,” Bowman recalls, his marginally deep voice projecting the confident tone of a seasoned businessperson. “But then people stopped paying $300 to have their car cleaned because they weren’t driving anywhere.”
This shift in his fortunes was a problem for Bowman, who was in debt for the equipment he’d purchased for Detail Freak. So, he borrowed more money and flipped a house.
Yikes, some people say upon hearing about Bowman’s gamble. But the housing market was still moving like greased lightning, and the young man purchased the property from a friend and experienced real estate investor who mentored him every step of the way.
In the end, Bowman’s calculated risk paid off.
“We bought a little house in Cleveland for $35,000, put $52,000 into it and then sold it for $142,500,” he notes. “I was able to pay off my debt and buy another house the same day I closed on my flip.”
By “we,” Bowman means himself. However, his use of the royal “we” is more than a charming bit of lingo he’s picked up from the entrepreneurial ether; it’s also part of the growth-oriented vision he has for his business efforts.
Take, for instance, the wholesaling business that followed Bowman’s first few flips. After building momentum in investing, Bowman morphed into a wholesaler who connected homebuyers and sellers for a fee.
Bowman was successful with this line of work. However, as he scaled his new enterprise throughout 2021 and 2022, its sometimes-unsavory nature began to prick his conscience.
“I found wholesaling to be a little predatory,” he says. “If someone is selling you their house for 50 cents on the dollar, they’re in trouble. They’re facing a pre-foreclosure or a tax auction or medical debt, and they need as much money as they can get. When I saw some of the families and what they were going through, I started to feel bad about what I was doing.”
Bowman decides this is the best place for him to reveal the many bits and pieces that make up who he is – the life experiences, philosophies, and things that press him forward each day.
Although his labors since high school might suggest he’s seeking financial success, he claims money is not what gets him out of the bed in the morning. Rather, memories of the scarcity he endured growing up is.
“I don’t know my father, and my mother is in recovery,” Bowman says, his voice not changing from the self-assured tenor he uses when talking shop. “So, we didn’t have anything. That was tough.”
By “we,” Bowman is now referring to himself and his 11-year-old half brother, Daxson. Bowman has been not only a sibling to the boy but also a caretaker. During one of the toughest chapters in his mother’s life, Bowman secured custody of Daxson and became the person responsible for his well-being. He did it at the same age he launched Detail Freak – 18.
So, when people look at Bowman and ask, “How old are you?” he sometimes needs a moment to do the math.
Now Bowman is eyeing a future in which he’ll be a husband and a father, as he and his fiancée became engaged this month and are planning to someday marry and have children. Bowman says he intends to give his family the things he and his brother lacked – namely security in its many forms.
“Money doesn’t motivate me. You can get it and it’s never enough. I just want to be able to provide for my future wife and kids.
“I still don’t know what that looks like. At 18, I felt like having copious amounts of money would make me a better husband and father, but I’m starting to learn that other things matter more.”
To be able to place his family’s feet on bedrock, Bowman left wholesaling behind and became a licensed Realtor focused on residential transactions for buyers and sellers. Fifteen months into his newest venture, Bowman has sold 17 homes and has an additional 15 properties listed on the whiteboard in his office at Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty in Chattanooga.
Even better, Bowman says, he now feels like he’s helping people instead of taking advantage of them.
“I enjoy partnering alongside people and enabling them to do incredible things. This is an exciting business.”
Bowman’s desk is not the only work station in his office; there’s a second one near the door. This is where his mother works.
Although Bowman’s mother is still in recovery, she’s progressing well, he says, and is once again caring for Daxson. She’s also helping Bowman with administrative tasks related to his business.
This business is not named Real Estate Freak, Bowman laughs.
“It’s called Bowman Homes Team. I want my business to have room to grow.”
Bowman seems to have no boundaries when it comes to expanding his prospects. In addition to someday building a real estate team, he’s set his eyes on becoming an attorney. Bowman is nearing graduation from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he’s majoring in criminal justice, and is looking at law schools.
“I can see myself working for the public defender. I’d like to partner alongside people during one of the hardest times in their life. When I was moving and switching schools and asking why I couldn’t stay with my mom, I wanted an advocate. I feel like that’s become a theme in my life.”
For now, Bowman is content with being his own advocate as he tries to convince potential clients that his age is just a number and that his life experience and know-how are more important.
“If I’m preparing to potentially list someone’s house and they ask me, ‘How old are you?’ I’ll say, ‘That’s a great question. Let me go through the material I brought today and show you who I am and how I operate, and if you’re still curious about how old I am, I’ll answer your question.
“Most people don’t ask again. But when they do, all I can say is, ‘I’m 21 and this is what I’ve done. This is who I am.’”