Joshua A. McGrath
Owner and Broker, Real Estate Central, LLC
NOT MANY PEOPLE find their passion in life during their
formative years, but Joshua McGrath, owner of Real Estate
Central, LLC, started selling real estate at age 18 and has been
doing it ever since. A native of Hurricane, WV, McGrath always
knew he wanted to be in business with his innate talent for
sales and customer service, which he honed on his newspaper
delivery route and while working as a waiter.
In 2008, at age 27, McGrath had just depleted his savings
building his new house and was riding a real estate wave when
the mortgage crisis took full effect.
“The rug was pulled out from under me, and I had no income
for months,” he recalls. “I had to lease the house, move into
one of my rentals and use my mom and dad’s credit card for a
while. I had to make some major life changes on spending and
cut back on all the expenses I could. The lyrics of a Wynonna
Judd song kept playing in my head during this time: ‘When
you hit rock bottom, you have two ways to go—straight up
and sideways.’ For me, sideways was not an option.”
The crisis was a huge turning point for McGrath both
personally and professionally.
“Up until that point, I had not thought about saving or
planning for the future,” he says. “I had been working, making
money and spending money. This obstacle inspired in me a
determination to start planning.”
The recession also influenced McGrath’s role as a real estate
broker. His desire to serve others had always played a role in
his success but being personally affected by something that
also affected his clients was lifechanging. His servant’s heart
also carries over into his relationships with his employees,
and he considers his greatest success leading such a large and
diverse team of Realtors.
“In a world full of divisive and different opinions, it is very
rewarding when I stop and realize that there are 100-plus people
who choose to work for Real Estate Central,” he says. “These
people come from different backgrounds, religions, beliefs,
lifestyles and family makeups, but we all respect one another
as people. We treat each other with the utmost kindness, and,
to me, this is the very definition of success.”
While he continues to cultivate a loving company culture,
McGrath and his team focus this same effort on their communities.
“Giving back to the communities in which we live and work
is the most important part of the Real Estate Central creed,”
he says. “I believe generosity is the driving force of community,
and working together with that community to improve it is
something we all should strive to do.”
While Real Estate Central tries to diversify its community
service efforts from year to year, the company focuses on
organizations dedicated to finding a cure for cancer, as it has
lost many agents to the disease. With this in mind, McGrath
founded the Real Estate Central Kickin’ Cancer Foundation,
which raises money to help families within the company offset
treatment expenses and cover medical payments. Under
McGrath’s leadership, Real Estate Central has also formed teams
for the West Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association
and the March of Dimes, raised funds for the Clay Center for
the Arts & Sciences, sponsored the Ronald McDonald House
Charities of Southern West Virginia McGala and collected and
donated items for Recovery Point West Virginia.
Outside of work, McGrath volunteers his time with Habitat
for Humanity, YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter for Homeless Women
& Families and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central West
Virginia, where he served as a big brother for four years. In
2012, he and his partner fostered three children ages 4, 6 and
9 who have since been returned to their mother and who they
continue to stay in touch with.
While his life has been wrapped up in real estate for 20 years,
McGrath feels blessed to wake up every day excited to do what
he loves in the state he loves. “Everyone should find a career
they love in a place they love,” he says. “This is home, and I
cannot imagine being without the people in West Virginia.”
SAMANTHA CART
McGrath at the
entrance of Waves
of Fun, a community
pool at Valley Park.
TRACY A. TOLER PHOTOGRAPHY
W W W. W V E X E C U T I V E . C O M
FALL 2019
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