Bart Thrasher Always Finds the Right Fit

Bart Thrasher is a problem-solver. Whether it’s repairing the window sash on a historic home, finding the right note for a song, or the perfect home for his real estate clients, he’ll figure it out.

Bart grew up in Oak Cliff. He had quite the journey to his real estate career, but it’s evident from my recent chat with him that this is where he was always meant to end up.  

What did you want to do when you were growing up?

Bart Thrasher: I wasn’t sure. I’ve always drawn. I could build things and create. My dad was a printer, but his dream was to be an architect, which influenced me, so I went to UT Arlington to study architecture and ended up in the studio with Brandon Stewart! As my friends were interning or working, I realized that they were not designing anything, so I thought I’d start my own company. 

That’s pretty bold for a kid just out of college. What made you think you could succeed?

I had worked for my dad on weekends and at night doing camera stripping and darkroom work at his printing company. So my father and I have always been close. It was his idea to buy properties. When the City of Dallas would publish the foreclosed property list, I’d look them up on the old Mapsco. We’d submit bids, and we bought a few. Then I built a spec home and met a carpenter who taught me a lot about remodeling carpentry.

So you were off and running!

Yes, we did a lot of additions, remodeling, and historic preservation projects in Oak Cliff and East Dallas. At one point, I had six people, including myself, so two crews. I was always running around. We trimmed out homes and worked for a builder in Highland Park. I loved it. It would dream about nine-piece crown molding! When my partner relocated to California, I changed the company name to Thrasher Works.

Did you change your focus?

I started focusing on kitchens, bathrooms, and custom furniture. We were living in East Dallas, and I had a woodshop off of Miller and Jupiter. We had our son, Hank, in 2009, sold our house in 2010, and bought in Winnetka Heights. As a kid in Oak Cliff, I remember driving to school and dreaming of living in Winnetka Heights. It’s fate. I’ve always worked on old homes, and now I have one of my own — a 1915 American Foursquare Craftsman. I feel like I’m back home.

How did your wife feel about moving? 

My wife, Karen, grew up in Hiawatha, Kansas, a small farm town. Her dad was a remodeler and was a farmer in his spare time. They had an American Foursquare almost exactly like our house. It even faced the same direction, so she felt like she was moving home, too.

What was the motivation to get out of remodeling and into real estate?

I had always gone to great lengths to build things with integrity, the right way, and to last. It became clear that I was competing with IKEA and remodelers with less skill or pride in workmanship. When you have a small business, you also get tired of being a bill collector. I had thought about getting into real estate, and my wife encouraged the move. It just started to make sense.

What happened to Thrasher Works?

My wife was working in an architecture firm as I was leaving Thrasher Works and decided to start her commercial architecture firm. In 2015 she took the name, made it an LLC, and became Thrasher Works Design. 

How did you choose David Griffin and Associates?

I had always associated the brand with historic, modern, and architecturally significant homes. Brandon has been a friend since college, so I had lunch with him, and he told me about the company. Then I met Robert Kucharski, David Collier, Lori Ericsson, and Diane Sherman, who all became mentors. When I met David Griffin, who is such an intelligent, kind person, he made me feel immediately at home. It’s almost a family environment and there is autonomy because it’s privately owned.

What do you love most about being in real estate?

I love helping people find the right home. It’s a magic moment. Sometimes they don’t know what they want. I can pull from my background in design and construction, and now my knowledge of the real estate market to help people see past the obvious, understand what is possible, or help identify what may be red flags. 

I also get real satisfaction out of the contract side of real estate. I pride myself on being detail-oriented and making sure my client has everything covered. And it’s not just my clients who notice; often, the Realtor on the other side of the transaction does, too. It’s a big honor to have the opposing Realtor thank you for the attention and detail I’ve provided to keep the transaction alive. It can be a lot more than pushing papers and I really love to solve problems. Real estate taps into my cultivated expertise, plus I love to talk!  

I put people first. If they are not friends at the beginning, we have become friends by the end of the transaction!