Ebby Halliday Realtor Mike Bates is the ‘Turn-Around Guy’

Realtor Mike Bates is known as the ‘Turn-Around Guy.’ From restoring old homes and automobiles, to making an unsellable home into a top-dollar sale, nothing, it seems, is immune to his magic. He has built his career around selling difficult-to-sell listings. Just recently, Bates took a $3 million home that had been on the market for 255 days. He sold it in six weeks.

What’s his secret?

“It’s a combination of the basics,” he said. “Getting houses light, bright, open, smelling good. And priced well.” Not to mention, Bates pours his personal attention into each sale. “I do. I detail every house.”

Last month, Bates joined Ebby Halliday’s Little White House, a move he says felt like coming home. “It’s really about heart,” he said. “I love Ebby Halliday. I felt the Little White House is legendary in Dallas and I wanted to be part of the legacy that Ebby built. They have a local heart and a global reach.”

Community is key to Bates. Born and raised in Abilene, he has been part of the Dallas community since 1998. And now, he says his heart belongs to North Oak Cliff. “I moved there in 2004 before it was cool,” he joked. “Oak Cliff is a very warm and accepting community. It’s very walkable. It has great restaurants and entertainment. I don’t understand why anybody would want to live anywhere else!”

‘My Heart is Really in it’

Bates is extremely affable and it’s fairly easy to connect the dots between his success in real estate and his positive attitude.

“My heart is really in it. I hope people can see that,” he said. “This is a fun business. If you embrace it for what it is, you can really have a fun life.”

In addition to his robust real estate career, Bates is on the board of North Texas Scottie Rescue, he’s renovated several homes and has restored over 200 cars. He loves being busy. It’s another trait that drew him to Ebby Halliday. “It seems like Ebby Halliday doesn’t let grass grow under their feet, they always seem to be on the move and so am I.”

“I think my clients know that I’m very service oriented. Service to me means being honest and transparent at all times, and being accessible. As long as I’m awake, I answer the phone.”

“Maximizing value is what I do best for my clientele,” Bates said. If anything is the secret to his success, it’s that. His clients keep coming back.

“I’ve largely run a referral business my entire career. When you do that time and time again for clients, when you treat clients that well, you make a living consistently in both recessions and times of prosperity.”