When Nicole Useful and Jermeshia Goudeau turned licensed actual property brokers in 2012, they didn’t got down to begin a enterprise.
They only needed to know the household enterprise.
Their grandmother, Oscarene Braden, owned rental houses throughout Northeast Houston—an actual property entrepreneur with out formal coaching, however with deep instincts for possession and long-term worth. For these first cousins, getting licensed was about changing into higher traders.
It was private. It was a legacy.
“She [Oscarene] handed us the checks to go to actual property faculty,” Useful says. “She didn’t simply help us—she put her cash the place her religion was.”
Nevertheless, as soon as the cousins entered the trade, they rapidly noticed a much bigger downside.
“There weren’t many individuals who regarded like us within the room,” Goudeau says. “Black girls brokerage homeowners are uncommon. Black brokers? Even rarer. And that absence impacts all the things—entry, illustration, information.”
So in 2019, they launched Braden Actual Property Group (BREG), named in honor of their household matriarch, with a transparent mission to empower their group via actual property training and motion. BREG is now one in every of Texas’s few Black woman-owned brokerages, with a robust presence in Houston and a rising repute past it.
Rooted in household, constructed on objective
BREG is greater than a enterprise—it’s a household operation. Their sisters are brokers. Their aunt manages compliance. Husbands, cousins and even in-laws pitch in. It’s not nearly proximity—it’s about values.
“Everyone has a job,” Useful says. “Identical to in our household, we convey these dynamics into the enterprise. Respect, readability, alignment.”
We’re not on this to promote homes. We’re in it to construct legacy.
Nicole Useful, Co-Founding father of Braden Actual Property Group
This familial construction units them aside in an trade saturated with impartial brokers and viral influencers. Useful was a administration marketing consultant and Goudeau spent over ten years in publicly and privately held companies earlier than leaping into entrepreneurship.
“Individuals say, ‘I’m in actual property,’ however they’re not within the enterprise of it,” says Goudeau. “We took our company backgrounds and constructed one thing structured, sustainable and rooted in excellence.”
In 2024, their household story reached a nationwide viewers as stars of Household Empire: Houston on the Oprah Winfrey Community (OWN). The unscripted sequence follows their household constructing legacies and Braden Actual Property Group is on the middle.
“Being on Household Empire was surreal,” Goudeau says. “We bought to indicate the world not simply our success, however the actual work behind it.”
And so they introduced their grandmother with them. Oscarene, now 89, appeared on the present—proof that this story isn’t simply aspirational, it’s generational.
“She bought her flowers whereas she’s nonetheless right here,” Useful says. “That meant all the things.”
Visibility on OWN helped amplify their mission: displaying viewers that actual property isn’t unique. It’s attainable—with the best mindset, instruments, and help.
Dealing with the hole—and preventing it
The mission behind BREG runs deeper than gross sales. At its core is a dedication to closing the Black homeownership hole—a spot pushed by historic exclusion, misinformation and an absence of intergenerational wealth transfers.
“Individuals suppose they’ll’t purchase a house as a result of their credit score isn’t good or they don’t have 20% down,” says Useful. “However that’s a fable. You can begin with a lot much less. The secret is understanding how.”
To deal with this, BREG hosts frequent homebuyer workshops, educates its brokers to develop into group advocates and promotes a philosophy centered on what is named the “one-home rule.”
“There was one residence in our household that modified all the things,” Goudeau explains. “That one rental home in Kashmere Gardens gave my household a spot to reside, save and develop. One residence created area for legacy.”
“It wasn’t glamorous,” Goudeau says bluntly. “But it surely gave us respiratory room. And now look the place we’re.”
That trustworthy, no-frills message is on the core of their technique: begin small, begin good, begin now.
Strategic perception in a shifting market
With rising rates of interest and rising skepticism about affordability, Useful and Goudeau are life like—however not pessimistic.
“The market has modified, sure,” says Goudeau. “However that may profit consumers. There’s room to barter now. You’re not preventing ten different provides. It’s about positioning.”
They stress the significance of working with professionals who perceive not simply the numbers, however the nuance. “We would like shoppers to purchase good, not quick,” Useful says. “This isn’t about flexing on social media. That is about constructing fairness and choices.”
Wealth is greater than cash. It’s information. And if that information isn’t handed down, the wealth received’t final.
“Generational wealth with out training is momentary,” says Useful. “It’s not simply ‘right here’s a enterprise’—it’s ‘right here’s the way to run it, develop it, and move it ahead.’”
Their brokers are educated to hold this mindset into the sphere. BREG is increasing, however Useful and Goudeau aren’t speeding. Their focus continues to be on the impression of shifting mindsets and rewriting the narrative round Black homeownership.
“It begins with one residence,” they are saying. “One transfer that may change the longer term for your loved ones.”
4 Actual Suggestions for First-Time Consumers from BREG
1. Begin With One. You don’t want your dream residence. Begin with what you’ll be able to afford and construct from there.
2. Discover Down Cost Help. Texas has a number of packages that provide grants or deferred loans for first-time consumers.
3. Assume Fairness, Not Aesthetics. A much less glamorous residence in a transitional neighborhood might supply better long-term worth.
4. Work With Individuals Who Perceive Your Imaginative and prescient. Discover a culturally competent actual property workforce that is aware of your challenges and your targets.
