Life didn’t always turn out the way I pictured it, but it always turned out for the best. When we have the faith to follow the path that’s been laid out for us, we always end up where we are meant to be.

I’ve always been responsible and deeply committed to my faith. I grew up in a Christ-centered family, the oldest of 13 kids – which meant shouldering a lot of responsibility looking after my siblings. As a child, I learned to work hard in our family’s homeschool environment and spent my Saturdays mowing acres of grass. My first experience in a traditional school setting was when I entered high school so I could be eligible to play baseball in high school and beyond.

When it came time to choose a college, I looked at a few different schools and prayed for help in making my decision. That was how I found myself in Alabama.  Little did I know my future room-mates picked me up from the airport on my official visit to the University and shared with me about the mission trip they just returned from, and it felt like a sign. This was definitely where I was meant to play college baseball. I’m grateful to have God to lean on when things become difficult, because an unexpected injury cut short my dreams of playing baseball.

In retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened. But at the time, it just hurt, both emotionally and physically. I don’t know that I was good enough to have played in the majors, but I was on my way to the minors and wasn’t expecting my baseball career to end the way it did. Sports injuries are expected and accompanying surgeries are nothing out of the ordinary, but my shoulder was so torn up that I knew my dreams would need to evolve.

When I finished school, I began working in sales. I was newly married, and we were young homeowners! Buying that first house had been an eye-opening experience. Our agent was my former roommate's mom, and she was one of the sweetest people I ever met. That said, she didn’t have the most expertise in real estate. I imagined that if I were in a role like that, I'd want to provide as much value as I could. I had always been interested in residentials architecture/ home design and received the handyman /home renovation spirit from my dad, so my interest in real estate was piqued.

However, I already had a job, the only problem was that the job was starting to weigh on my conscience. I was selling a product that was needed, but the contracts were very one-sided and it took me about six months before I recognized how detrimental it really was. I realized I was helping the company, not the client. I had been so focused on producing at a high level that I didn’t realize how the contracts were structured and how the pricing was subject to change. I realized that I needed to find the place where I was meant to be. My wife and I were starting a family, so I knew I needed to provide financially. But I also wanted to be there to raise my children and show them what God fearing, good, honest work looks like.

I was lucky enough to connect with Drew Taylor who had found success in real estate and was happy to give me some advice and mentoring. After much prayer and discussion, being on the agent side of the real estate industry seemed like a great fit for me. I got my license and went to work with him, quickly discovering how much I loved working as a real estate agent.

After many years of great success with Team Taylor, I’m starting a new chapter working independently with RE/MAX.  I look forward to you and your family being in that chapter!

God’s grace coupled with my family, continues to be the reason for everything I do—my wife, my two rambunctious boys, and my little princess of a daughter.  I wake up each morning excited and eager to tackle the day.

I’ve been a top agent in Birmingham for the past several years. I see myself as an advisor for my clients. I am a licensed residential home builder/remodeler and have a history of helping with flips, so I’m trained to look for things that others may not even think about. I want to know as much as I can in order to provide value to my clients.

I treat every transaction as carefully as if it were my own home purchase and I want to get as many people to the next stage of their journey as I can. My favorite part of this job is the interactions I have with the clients I serve. We’re not looking for a house; we’re looking for the house. I can hardly wait to find that for you!

Sincerely,

JOSH EHMKE
REALTOR®