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Grothuesmann set to make smooth transition from Army to civilian life

Soldiers plan to give back to the military

Going from the Army to real estate was a process. Courtesy photo

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Come January, when Tim Grothuesmann gets out of the Army after serving 20 years, one question he doesn't want to be asking himself is, "What's next?"

Because of some planning, and because of his proactive nature, Grothuesmann's transition from military to civilian life is going to be seamless.

For the past two years, he has been working on weekends and occasionally evenings on his future full-time job - real estate and home remodeling.  

"I got my learning curve over while I still have some security," he said. "That way, when I hit the ground in January, I'll be ready."

Two years ago, Grothuesmann got his real estate license, a feat which took him only about 26 days to accomplish. In addition to starting a real estate company, he and his wife, Karen, who has become an interior designer, have started a remodeling business and a staging company.

"I'm not brand new starting. I'm experienced," said Grothuesmann, who joined the Army at age 19. "Now, I just need to improve my skills and the way I run my business. There's more oil on the machine than if I just started."

He's been busy indeed. Last year, his real estate business, Tooker the Agent, sold almost $4 million in property.

"I think it was about fourteen homes," Grothuesmann said. "I've been doing pretty well on my own."

From August to September, he'll be getting even more training as he does an internship through Keller Williams Realty. While he works as a real estate agent, someone will be looking over his shoulder and critiquing him.

"I'll do some courses, and they'll send me out with some specialists in the field," he said.

Grothuesmann's other business partner is Rob Foor, a sergeant who is also going to be getting out of the Army soon. They do remodeling and renovation together.

"We're learning from the school of hard knocks," Grothuesmann said. "We're starting a business."

He is sensitive to that challenge of transitioning from military to civilian life and recently hired two full-time employees who are former soldiers.

"What I'd like is to continue to give back to the military community," Grothuesmann said. "When they buy a house through me, I give them back a rebate. I let them know I'm there for them. I have a construction company. I have this."

Grothuesmann tries to solve any situation a servicemember may have. He recently helped one soldier whose credit wasn't good buy a home and move out of his apartment.

"It took a little massaging, working here, working there," he said, "but he's in a house now. He loves it. He's got a yard for himself and his kids. A place to call home and to grow roots."

Grothuesmann's wife's nickname for him is "grease man."

"That's because she says that's what I do," he said. "I go in there, and I make sure it's a win-win situation for everyone."

"Answer man" is another nickname that fits.

Now, Grothuesmann is eagerly looking forward to the next chapter in his career.

"I love it. We really love it," he said. "We've had our ups and downs."

They lost $7,000 on one remodeling project he did for a friend.

"We did a lot of stuff verbally," he said. "Wife said ‘want this. Want that.' When it came time to the final bill, the guy said ‘you didn't give me any change orders.' He said he wouldn't have accepted this. So we had to eat a lot of costs."

It was another live-and-learn experience.

Tim Grothuesmann, Keller Williams, Tacoma, 253.355.3320, Tookertheagent@gmail.com

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