HOWARD VICTOR RIDINGS REALTY INVESTED IN OTHERS rising star

By Dave Danielson

Photos by Lew Thomas, Adobe House Media Productions

Mardi Venue

While your talents and gifts allow you to achieve certain goals in life, it seems that a person’s true potential is realized when they dedicate their energy and efforts on behalf of others.

That’s the dynamic at work with Victor Howard.

As a REALTOR® with Ridings Realty, he achieves success by being totally invested in the interests of others.

“As I work with people, my hope is that they describe me as genuine and not greedy. I’ve always been that way dating back to my time when I was working in lending, too,” he emphasizes.

“For me, it’s important that people know that I’m here to genuinely help them without chasing the dollar.”

Changing Paths

Victor graduated from high school in 2005.

“I was always doing plays and drama things. My goal was to go to UAB and major in theater arts. That was my childhood career goal,” he remembers.

Like most lives, Victor’s took a bit of a different path than what he had envisioned. When he graduated from high school, he soon learned that his girlfriend was pregnant. That definitely changed his view of the future.

“I said I can’t leave her by herself to deal with a baby. I stayed and enrolled in community college and got my Associate Degree,” he remembers.

Victor had worked what he calls a few dead-end jobs before getting his degree. He went on to work at a car dealership for five years. In the process, he also earned his Bachelor’s degree with a 3.8 GPA.

A New Direction

As Victor moved forward in life, he was ready for a new challenge for his future.

“I knew I needed to grow up and get a career. I was living on my own but wasn’t satisfied with life and wanted to be successful,” Victor recalls. “I had always told my teachers that I would have my name on a desk one day.”

Victor applied for work with a credit union.

“At the time, I really didn’t have experience. I had a restaurant job in high school. And I knew how to talk with people and make friends,” he says. “I feel like I had customer service down. So I applied for the job.”

Gaining Ground

It wasn’t long before he got the phone call that the firm wanted to interview him. Through the course of rounds of interviews, he got the job.

“I started as a Teller. I am hungry for knowledge and want to learn. I trained and got experience … my mom always told me give 110 percent. I did exactly that, I got polished and good at that. I had a gap in my teeth and I saved up for braces and dressed very well. I was always a step ahead,” Victor says.

“As time went by, I got promotion after promotion and moved to Teller Supervisor and then Branch Supervisor and then Branch Manager and then Loan Operation Manager.”

He worked at the credit union for eight years, and then moved to another credit union to serve as Branch Manager there.

In July 2021, Victor made the decision to earn his real estate license. It has been a perfect move for him since then.

“I love the flexibility of this business. I don’t want to be the person to go 9 to 5. I really enjoy when clients call me and then we look at beautiful houses,” Victor says. “I really like furniture, and beautiful houses. This is what I want to do for the rest of my career.”

A Wonderful Life

There have been plenty of signs of success for Victor. In fact, in 2022, he averaged two deals a month.

In his free time, Victor enjoys cars.

“I am fascinated with new cars and the way they look when they are clean,” he says. “I picked up a detailing hobby that turned into a side hustle that I enjoy.”

Victor also has an interest in clothing and shopping. In addition, he has a heart for helping. He likes supporting the efforts of LifeLine Counseling Service, where his mother works.

Congratulations to Victor Howard for making an undeniable difference in the lives of those around him … be demonstrating that he is totally invested in their needs and interests.

For questions or comments about this article, contact Victor at (251) 5452978 or soldbymrhoward@gmail.com