UNI alum living his dream selling multi-million-dollar homes in Chicago
UNI alum living his dream selling multi-million-dollar homes in Chicago
Dustin Toale (Real Estate and Finance, ‘16) isn’t quite sure what sparked his love for real estate, but he has a strong hunch it might have something to do with the video game “The Sims." As a child, he wasn’t interested in progressing his character in the game. He found his fun designing homes, then moving into new ones, only to do the same again and again.
Now in his role as a real estate agent at Compass, he’s doing just that, but in real life.
“I didn’t really want to get into architecture, so real estate was always the path,” Toale said. “What I do is fun because it’s a mixture of both. I get to work with designers, architects and contractors, then deliver a final product.”
At Compass, Toale usually works with clients to find homes and condos around downtown Chicago and surrounding areas. He connects clients with developers, architects and designers to create customized floor plans. Essentially, it’s helping clients find and create their spaces from the ground up. The group he works for, The Shean Group, within Compass, surpassed $1 billion in residential sales in 2019 and annually sells $150+ million
Toale now has a hefty foundation of clients, but it wasn’t always that way. Like with most residential real estate agents, he had to build his name and reputation in the market. When he launched his career in 2016, he worked with a lot of renters to find apartments around the city. Toale became a trusted adviser, and about two or three years ago, those renters started buying. And that’s when his career trajectory changed.
“Within the team I have an incredible mentor here, and I have been able to focus on single family home and condo developments. Starting with no true base in Chicago, I knew I would have to make the right connections along the way to break into the new construction realm. This team and our team lead were the door that opened this opportunity. .”
Toale gives a lot of credit to the David W. Wilson College of Business as well. He knew going into the real estate program that many classes focused on commercial real estate, but the information he did learn was still incredibly valuable for the residential side.
Toale also threw himself into extracurricular activities. He joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity as well as the Rho Epsilon real estate club. He also took part in the Connecting Alumni to Students (CATS) program through Alumni Association, Student Admission Ambassadors (SAA) and was TC during all four years at UNI.
“UNI built the foundation. In the classrooms, I was able to completely understand the idea of how lending, valuation and appraisals work – the hard skills of brokerage. Outside the classroom, I was able to build people skills. It was a nice mixture between the classroom and out the classroom to give me a good basis for my career.”
In his free time, Toale enjoys boating on Lake Michigan, which he can see outside his home window. His long-term goal is to continue growing relationships, build his client base and take on more projects himself.
For current or prospective UNI students, he also has some words of advice.
“Very rarely do you get time in your life to have four years to try anything,” Toale said. “So I think the biggest thing is to get involved and get involved early and try to do as much as you can in those four years. Take advantage of those connections and opportunities in school, and when you’re out of school, don’t stop looking for those opportunities.”
