Quick-thinking, fast-talking Richard C. Davis, 43, is the founder and president of Trademark Properties, headquartered in Charleston, S.C., and a 22-year veteran of the real estate industry.
Along with his 40-plus-strong workforce, entrepreneur Davis and Trademark Properties specialize in repositioning both residential and commercial properties. They purchase the properties for a discount and then invest in key improvements before selling them for a substantial profit. Driven, passionate and endlessly energetic, with a keen sense of right and wrong, Davis always gets what he wants and has never lost money on a deal.
Born in Washington, D.C., and one of three siblings, Richard was raised in James Island, S.C., (near Charleston). In 1986, he graduated from Clemson University, earning a bachelor of science in financial management, with a focus in real estate. After he completed school, Richard immediately started assessing real estate full time for the county of Charleston so that he could hone his valuation skills.
Soon after, he convinced a banker to give him his first loan to purchase an undervalued house; he flipped it within months, making a $27,000 profit — almost twice his salary at the time. This prompted Davis to launch Trademark Properties in 1992.
Over the past 14 years, he has flipped hundreds of properties and now oversees a multimillion-dollar business. With over 40 employees, Trademark is considered one of the top real estate agencies in South Carolina.
Davis’ love of sports serves as his inspiration and reflects itself in both his organization and his community involvement. Fostering a team approach to projects that is unusual in the real estate industry, Davis insists that Team Trademark has no organizational charts or hierarchy. He also pushes a "work hard, play hard" philosophy that attracts some of the best people in the business. Outside the office, Trademark sponsors many of the Charleston area’s youth sports teams, including several basketball and baseball teams and an annual summer basketball camp.
This year, he plans to take his dream national, seeking partners to establish new Trademark Properties offices throughout the U.S. and beyond.
Davis has worked with well-known clients such as actor Donal Logue, the NBA’s Anthony Johnson and the NFL’s Roddy White. He also has mentored professional baseball player Josh Hamilton. In addition, Davis and his team restored baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson’s boyhood home in Greenville, S.C., turning it into both a baseball museum and a tribute to Shoeless Joe. The renovation was featured in the TLC special, "Home Run for Trademark".
Davis is the proud father of three boys.
