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© National Association of REALTORS®
For years, while William Wilson was building a career in the music business, mentor Corey Hammonds was putting another bug in his ear: real estate.
Wilson, a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, started writing country music in college. He pursued a career in the music industry, writing R&B, hip hop, and pop songs along the way, and relocating to North Carolina, Atlanta, and finally Los Angeles. But in 2016, Wilson followed his mentor’s advice and returned to Music City with another ambition in mind: earning his real estate license and joining The Hammonds Group.
Having grown up in Nashville and spent a decade in the music business, Wilson had an impressive contact list from the start. With prominent personalities such as DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God singing his praises on Instagram, Wilson caught the attention of Happy Street Entertainment, producers of the new web series “First-Time Buyer.”
In Wilson’s episode, “Nashville Battle of the Burbs,” couple Alston and Rebecca have priorities that don’t always align, but Wilson remains unflappable. “Real estate is negotiating with everyone, including with your own clients,” he says. Besides, a difference of opinion wasn’t the biggest challenge he faced during the taping: It was the relentless summer heat.
“I didn’t realize how hot it would be,” he says, laughing. “We completed the shoot in three days, and you would not believe how many shirts I sweated through.”
One item on which the buyers agreed: They wanted to stay comfortably within their budget. Wilson helps first-time buyers do that by providing a spreadsheet they can use to plug in their monthly expenses. “It’s huge,” Wilson says. “People don’t budget. They don’t teach that at school.”
As in all great real estate endeavors, a compromise was struck. “We couldn’t be happier with our selection,” Alston says near the end of the episode—music to the ears of any real estate pro.
