Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley and Breanna Pritchard.
Hi Wesley and Breanna, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Our Story – Wesley and I were married in January of 2011. We both attended Dutch Fork High School and unknowingly at the time both graduated from the University of South Carolina together but both had lost touch over the years with our lives leading us in different directions. I had always remembered Wesley in High School due to his strong accent because he had moved to South Carolina from England and always stood out like a sore thumb! Everyone knew the “English” guy but although we knew of each other and were friendly, life would ultimately take us in different directions. In 2010 when we reconnected both of us had now been previously married and both had gone through very difficult divorces of which neither of us wanted at the time, only to be left facing a mountain of debt, bad credit, and now a foreclosure. Our story started in 2010 when we reconnected through social media and began dating through our mutual love of Scuba Diving. We dated for three months before Wesley proposed to me, starting our story together where we would later marry in Jamaica after only a short 6 months. Despite such adversity early on in our lives, we just knew we were made for each other and believed God literally picked us up and put us together against all odds! Less than 24 hours after proposing to me, Wesley was offered a new job in Columbia, SC relocating him from his home in Summerville just outside of Charleston SC. This was a home he purchased in the summer of 2008 only to be $80,000 upside down in the fall during the housing crash of 2008. After our wedding, Wesley relocated to Columbia and moved in with me in our first apartment as a married couple with a then almost 6-year-old son and a very large English Bulldog which was a 1 bedroom 500 square foot studio apartment located above a store in Prosperity, SC. This apartment was provided at the time by Sistercare which had supported me through a very tough and traumatic Domestic Violence relationship for which I was so grateful. This is where our new life and the journey of Pritchard Palmetto Properties began. Due to the housing market crash in 2008 and other financial strains stemming from divorce, Wesley was unable to sell his home in Charleston due to being so far underwater making newly married life very tough. Although Wesley had a great job as a retail store manager, the cost of maintaining a mortgage in a home he did not live in due to work relocation put a strain on our newlywed plans. Eager to start life as a new family, Wesley still relocated in hopes of proving a new home for our newly formed family. Struggling to hold on to his former home, Wesley tried multiple banks seeking a second loan only to be told no by all every single one of them, and understandably so. Things were looking bleak at best for our situation! After Wesley’s persistence one lender was interested in listening to our circumstances and provided us a mortgage product essentially allowing us to obtain a second loan to place an offer on a rundown foreclosed Government property giving our new family a fresh start on life. Our online offer was accepted but although we were granted a loan on the government-owned HUD property, our new home, we battled monthly to maintain ownership of our former home in Charleston with the majority of our income going towards retaining that property trying to avoid foreclosure. Little did we know that once we purchased a new primary residence with a second loan, our taxes on our other property would skyrocket due to no longer being an “Owner occupant” making it even harder to maintain ownership without going through foreclosure proceedings. We were ultimately able to rent that property at a -$350 a month balance to thankfully an amazing tenant while we navigated next steps hoping and praying all would somehow turn out. After moving into our new home, we spent every waking minute renovating our new foreclosure HUD home purchase with the help from some of our childhood friends. Months passed by and as we manually renovated the property top to bottom with paint, flooring, and fixtures with the goal of increasing the value for a potential sale all while struggling to make ends meet while fighting foreclosure with a new baby on the way. As renovations were completed the value of the property increased drastically! To our amazement, our loan officer recommended that we do a cash-out refinance which ultimately was the turning point for our financial turmoil. We were able to refinance the property at a lower interest rate and also pull-out cash to pay off renovation loans and credit cards while also for the first time placing some significant savings in the bank to help us navigate the challenges we faced in Charleston. That moment was surreal for us. We sat out on the back porch and celebrated with a Margarita overlooking the huge resort palm trees that Wesley had installed as part of the landscaping renovation and reflected on the journey to that moment. Wesley loves palm trees from his time in Charleston and insisted on installing huge resort-looking palms on the property. These huge trees were way over the top for the style home in that subdivision but he had to have them. It was these trees that would later set the stage for the company name of “Pritchard Palmetto Properties!” As we sat on the back deck reminiscing with our young son and now another baby on the way Wesley turned to me and confidently said, “If we can do this very same thing 4 or 5 more times it would change our lives forever!” He believed it! He knew it could be done and we never looked back! It was at this moment that at our then hobby and now company, Pritchard Palmetto Properties was formed and our love and gratitude for Real Estate began! To date, we have completed approximately 30 projects and also manage a full rental portfolio! We have a family of five now including a little girl and my teenager continues to learn and support the business and be part of its growth story! I also now have my own full Real Estate license serving the Midlands of South Carolina and we are living in the home of our Dreams!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our journey has been anything but smooth. Our beginning started with facing adversity of debt, unmountable odds, and fear. There have been countless obstacles and roadblocks both personally and professional but God always delivered. One of our favorite quotes is God cares more about your character than your comfort! How do you respond in those moments of utter despair? This is a quote we clung to as I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2018. The battle included a year of chemotherapy and 8 surgeries in 18 months including a double mastectomy again putting our family spirit to the ultimate test. I am happy to report I am cancer-free and we are living the life of our Dreams! My husband and I have a mantra “SMASHLIFE!” We believe in overcoming adversity and living life to the full potential in faith, family, finances, and fitness making the best of every single moment. We even got to achieve our lifelong dream of swimming with Great White Sharks last year in a cage and even discovered an unidentified shark that we were able to name and Record with the Marine Conservation Science Institute! SMASHLIFE now swims the waters of Mexico and is an adopted part of the Pritchard family!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Pritchard Palmetto Properties?
Pritchard Palmetto Properties is a family-owned Real Estate investment company that specializes in Rehabs, Remodels, Rental properties, and Investment Consultation throughout the state of South Carolina primarily located in the Columbia South Carolina market.
What’s next?
Our goals are to continue to grow and positively impact our communities and clients through the renovation of run-down and distressed properties within the community while also providing elite rental properties and homes to clients and families within the state of South Carolina. We have some personal goals of giving back to the communities we serve especially Sistercare that ultimately supported my wife and son when they were practically homeless starting over in life. We have a personal milestone goal that we are not currently able to disclose which will result in us making a large giveback to our favorite cause which will be record-breaking achievement for us and a goal we have aimed to achieve over the last year!
Contact Info:
- Email: pritchardpalmettoproperties@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Pritchardpalmettoproperties
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