Damon and Tarah Harris of Teal House Co. with some of the many people they have helped to realize their dreams of homeownership (Photo by Monica Escamilla)
When it comes to the division of labor between husband-and-wife team Damon and Tarah Harris, founders of Teal House Co., the lines are clear: “Tarah gets everyone to the closing table,” Damon says. “I ensure our process is purpose-driven.”
An outsider looking in might see Tarah as the company’s head, with Damon as its heart. But that would be an oversimplification, as both are committed to enabling and supporting Black real estate ownership.
“It’s one thing to talk about social issues — it’s another thing to see it on paper,” Damon says. “Fair housing laws weren’t passed until 1968. Richmond had redlining, which forced [Black people] into certain areas: Highland Park, North Side, Jackson Ward, South Side. It’s where we’ve been taught we could buy and where we could afford [homes].”
Damon, who was born in Petersburg but grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, met Tarah when both were studying at Johnson & Wales University. Tarah, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, worked in banking after graduation, while Damon was on staff at a social nonprofit. “I was working with men and families,” he says. “Homeownership was not even part of the conversation. It was: How do we eat? How do we have a place to stay? How do we stay out of jail? I burned out.”
The couple moved to Richmond to be closer to Damon’s family, and eventually they launched a successful waste management company, Wrecycleit, which grew to service 300 clients and handle two tons of waste a month.
“One day, I was done. I was just tired,” Tarah says. “I said, ‘I’ve got to do something different. I’m going to be a Realtor.’ ”
After shutting down Wrecycleit, both Harrises earned Realtor licenses and opened a firm called Tarah & Damon. But after the 2016 presidential election, the couple decided to restructure their business.
“I knew there was racism in America,” Damon says. “I knew there were two Americas. But the 2016 election proved to me we are still incredibly divided, that there are people moving forward and people who want to keep things the same.”
“We knew we couldn’t both be licensed Realtors and do real estate the way we knew it needed to be done,” Tarah says. “Damon decided not to keep an active license, which allowed him more freedom to say what needs to be said” — to talk about topics the Fair Housing Act prohibits real estate agents from addressing: crime, demographics, school ratings.
Damon now refers to himself as a consultant and advocate. His salary comes from Teal House Co., not from real estate commissions.
Teal House Co. offers free classes for buyers and sellers, with an emphasis on the first-time buyer who needs to learn about income requirements, credit, lending, what to look for in a home and biases that remain in the housing industry. “We routinely pay a ‘Black tax,’ ” Damon says. “When it comes to real estate, you pay more in your mortgage and insurance and additional fees. Everything is attached to your address.”
“A lot of our first-time buyers think there’s more to [buying a house] than there is,” he adds. “You don’t have to be perfect, with a perfect income. You just have to know how to apply [for a loan]. We offer pre-credit counseling, [helping] move people into a position where they can own.”
Teal House also works with investors who want to support traditional neighborhoods without contributing to price increases that often come with gentrification. The goal is to “decommodify” housing by buying homes, renovating them and selling them below market rate, or renting them with “compassionate” leases that prevent eviction.
“We want intentional homebuying with clients who want to own and to make sure predatory investors don’t have a lock on houses,” Damon says. “If you buy a home on the North Side, you’re not [automatically] a gentrifier. At some point, someone has to buy the house and renovate the house. You’re a gentrifier if you don’t want to embrace the culture of the community.”
Robert Ransome, head of Ransome Realty Group, says he is happy to have Tarah Harris as an affiliated agent, and he supports what the pair are doing with their company.
“There are some issues that Damon will specifically tackle that as a Realtor, we’re not able to,” Ransome says.
Ransome says he and the Harrises agree that relationships come first. “For me, when I started worrying about the dollar, my customer service lacked,” he says. “When I focused on customer service, my business changed. People see you care about them and their situation. That is the same thing I see in Tarah and Damon.”
“I think people take the word ‘disruptor’ and put a negative connotation to it,” he adds. “The type of disrupting Damon is doing is for the betterment of quite a few marginalized people.”
Unlike most other real estate professionals, Damon and Tarah Harris don’t judge success based on the number of transactions they handle or the dollar value of the homes they buy and sell. “We have created a business where we felt like our growth is determined by how many people we have educated,” Damon says, noting that more than 200 people attended their classes in March.
“People determine the value of real estate,” Damon says. “We decided that if we served the people and met the people where they were, and helped them get where they want to go, we would be fine.”
