Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Jason Dauphin has been interested in real estate since he was a young man.

“This is a new career for me. Since college I have been in the medical sales industry — equipment and pharmaceutical. Then, I worked in the medical service industry in palliative care and hospice for the last 13 and a half years. And, I was administrator at Magnolia Village for a year after that. However, working in real estate was something I always wanted to do.

“I remember the first house I bought and how well taken care of I was by the agent,” Dauphin said.

However, the opportunity to make good on that interest did not present itself until recently. In November 2023, Dauphin completed his real estate salesperson licensing education and passed required testing.

“I actually took my exam in November, and I interviewed with a number of brokers here,” Dauphin said.

It was over the Christmas holiday that he began talking real estate with Marla Gibson, who has been in real estate for more than 20 years, and Tammy Pack, who leads a real team in Texas, brokered by the international brokerage firm eXp Realty.

Pack and her husband, Wes, are part-time Natchez residents since buying and renovating historic Holly Hedges. They are full time residents of Fredericksburg, Texas, where they have Absolute Charm Real Estate Group, which is brokered by eXp Realty.

Since coming to Natchez, the Packs also purchased the property at the corner of Main and South Pearl streets, and are opening an eXp Realty branch office in Natchez in part of that building.

Gibson, wife of Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson, will be managing broker and Dauphin will be a real estate salesperson. Pack will be their sponsor, providing training and support.

“It is unbelievable all the education and help you get through eXp. It has brokers nationwide and it is a cloud-based company, which means you have access to experts at all times,” Dauphin said.

“This company is very straightforward. You have a 20-80 split of the commission on the home until you reach a cap of $16,000. Then, for the rest of the year, 100 percent of the commission goes to you,” he said.

Dauphin still works in medical sales for Eliza Medical of North Carolina, selling laboratory tests, such as genetic testing, to medical professionals.

“That’s the beauty of this. I have the freedom of working for both,” he said.

Gibson has been in real estate “pretty much my whole life. I took an interest in high school and worked part time in a real estate office. I fiddled with it in college, but didn’t get serious until around 2000.”

Gibson worked in the Houston-Sugarland, Texas, area as an independent broker.

“Ex-pats from all over the world would come to Houston and I would find houses for them to rent or buy. They have to go back to their country at the end of three years, and from that point on, I would manage their property here,” she said. “I have an ex-mortgage broker background and I love working with investors. That’s my sweet spot. However, I also enjoy working with the FHA first-time homebuyers.”

When Gibson came to Natchez, she was still operating her business in Texas. She came here thinking she was going to semi-retire.

“The thing is, I met this wonderful man and fell in love. My part-time job has been hanging with him,” she said. “I am now getting back into real estate actively.”

Gibson said she chose to work with the eXp Realty brokerage for several reasons.

“The training it offers is incomparable to anything I’ve experienced before. It can be as simple or as in-depth as you want it. They have these masterminds who are willing to share with you everything they have learned from the good to bad to indifferent,” she said.

Gibson and the Packs have been friends for a couple of years and they found they have a number of things in common.

“Tammy does short-term rentals, which I do, too, and we have a number of things in common. I have met her team in Texas and one thing just led to another,” she said. “One of the most difficult things for anyone who decides to make a career in real estate or to revamp a career in real estate is the street training, getting that practical wisdom. That’s where eXp and Tammy in particular come in. They openly share their knowledge and wisdom. They can help with what to do, the best practices, the pitfalls to watch out for, and it’s there 24/7 since the company is Cloud-based.”

To reach Jason Dauphin, email him at jason.dauphin@exprealty.com or call 601-807-7759.

To reach Marla Gibson, email her at marla@spectrumftbend.com or call 713-291-1441.