Bizdom U 2009: Andrew Hwang

In House Realty’s President and CEO, Bruce Schwartz, began his entrepreneurial career at the age of eight in Southfield, Michigan by working along side his father, a kitchen ware salesman and former 9-ball world champion.  During the summers as a kid, Bruce followed his father around the country selling pots and pans out of a truck.

After finishing high school in the early 1980s, Bruce attended college for one term and decided that he wanted to change directions by dropping out, moving to Florida, and starting a family business.  Him and his father launched a sports information business, which provided sports fans inside information on game forecasts.  This business ran successfully for only a few years after being shut down by banks not allowing businesses to take credit card information over the phone.

Bruce was quick to start another new enterprise- home improvement.  Bruce and his friend owned and operated a home improvement company that focussed on upgrading homes in nearby neighborhoods.  The business flourished for only a few years until Hurricane Andrew hit and the two entrepreneurs found themselves with more work than they could handle.  What initially looked like a giant opportunity ended up being a disaster and the home improvement business was forced to shut down after having more projects than they could manage.

In 1994, Bruce moved back to Michigan after receiving a phone call from a few old friends who started Rock Financial.  As a mortgage banker, Bruce proved to be the best salesperson year in and year out for several years.  Over the past few years, he and many of the Quicken Loans/Rock Financial executives have bounced around the idea of starting a residential real estate company.  Finally, in January of 2007, a small group of motivated individuals launched In House Realty, which is based in the Quicken Loans headquarters in Livonia, Michigan.

In House Realty continues to grow as it expands its relationship with numerous nationwide real estate companies.  Currently, it is leveraging its connection with Quicken Loans to generate leads.