Sharing a passion
Design affinity leads agents to new venture
Jeff Taylor and Nick Testo met over a real estate deal and clicked. Soon, they realized they made good business partners, too. Taylor, 36, tagged along on his father's plumbing and heating jobs as a kid. He has been in real estate since 2012, a career he chose after finding out he was miserable in a 9-to-5 job. Testo, 29, started in the business in 2014 after working for Testo Kitchens Inc., his family's kitchen and bath company. He still works there part-time. Both men grew up in the Brunswick area and are affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices, Blake.
In 2019, they took the leap from helping clients buy and sell homes to becoming homeowners themselves — with the intention of renovating a house and reselling it. They bought a circa-1891 farmhouse along Luther Road (state Route 151) in East Greenbush for $120,000 in April 2019. The house was little more than a shell because the previous owner intended to renovate it. Taylor and Testo said more than an investment opportunity, the house was an opportunity to unleash their design ideas.
"We see a lot of flips and they are all similar. We wanted to show what we can do," Taylor said.
The result is a sleek take on a modern farmhouse finished with sharp contrasts. The first floor has an open layout with wide-plank, oak floors. The lower cabinets in the open kitchen are painted black, as are the kitchen hood range and island, topped with a white marble counter. The upper cabinets are light-colored natural wood with black hardware. The black splash is white subway tile. A dining area has a black accent wall, lit by a simple, modern Oslo-designed chandelier. A wall-mounted gas fireplace has a marble surround against a black wall. The other walls in the house are white.
The black and white theme can be found in the largest bathroom as well, where a tub with a black exterior sits on a white, marble tile floor.
The look is daring for the Capital Region. "If you're going to make a name for yourself, and go big, it needs a 'Wow' factor," Taylor said.
The house sold in one day to a fellow real estate agent who watched the project from the beginning. Taylor and Testo listed the house at $449,000 and accepted an offer at asking price. The deal is expected to close this month.
The sale was one of several highlights for Taylor and Testo. Taylor was chosen by the Albany publisher of the national Real Producers magazine as an "agent on the rise," in September and while the men were demure about their earnings in 2020, they said Testo had his best year ever in real estate.
Jay Christiana, president of Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices, Blake, named Taylor "agent of the month" two consecutive times.
Christiana is enthusiastic about the agents. Positive attitudes, followthrough skills and great personalities make them both wonderful salespeople, he said. "Both are incredible human beings, real estate agents and
entrepreneurs. I am very proud of their achievements in real estate and their new 'William James Home" venture."
William James Home is Taylor and Testo's new design company; its name is a combination of the men's middle names. They hope to open a store in Troy designed like a home to give every piece context. All of the staging at the Luther Road house was pulled from the men's own collection. Until forming William James, Taylor and Testo confined their expertise to staging their listings, and often spend hours on staging because they have seen the difference it makes when marketing a home. Now, they are taking on design clients.
"It's not work for us. We're giving people what we love," Taylor said.
We see a lot of flips and they are all similar. We wanted to show what we can do." Jeff Taylor
It's the most fun when a client gives them free rein over a design concept. The partners said they usually see things the same way and have similar, modern taste.
"We have a shared vision, guided by Instagram," Taylor said. "We only argue over how to make the image work, based on what's available."