By Kate Merrihew – Director of Education and Marketing
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Jared Lioi is no stranger to taking chances. From studying graphic design to ice climbing to meeting his wife randomly in Vegas, he has navigated life’s twists and turns by jumping head first. Today, he is a Certified Appraiser on Team Holder and lives in Jackson County with his wife, Ashley and their 9 year-old son, Mason.
Jared is from a big family. His parents each got re-married and he has 4 sisters and 2 brothers in various parts of the country. Family is extremely important and he is closest with his sister who lives in West Virginia. Jared attended Robert Morris University where he studied Graphic Design. He always excelled at art and then decided to settle on it because he wasn’t sure of his next move. In his spare time, Jared has always enjoyed being outside. Being from the north, he was a big winter person. He spent many season backpacking and appreciating the snow as well as hockey season. He played from childhood through college – ice and roller hockey. A true Pittsburgh Penguins fan as well as the Steelers, Jared continues to love watching sports. Ice climbing came about because he was big into rock climbing and randomly met an ice climbing guy who took he and his friend to try it out. Jared remarked that he “wouldn’t mind moving to Montana but not looking to move back north.”
One of the most intriguing parts of this interview was his meet-cute story. He recalled, “Met my wife, Ashley, in Vegas on a bachelor trip. We were at a club called Surrender and were hanging out. I saw her sitting across the way, talked to her, exchanged numbers. Just had our 10-year anniversary. Everyone thought I was crazy but it was worth it.” They dated long-distance for 9 months and then he packed up and moved to Georgia. His wife is a Lawrenceville native. He practiced graphic design for 6 years and got laid off during Covid. Trying to find another job in graphic design was feeling pointless. He thought back on submitting 75 resumes and he didn’t hear back from anyone.
His road to D.S. Murphy began shortly after because his wife and Hudson’s wife are teachers together. Hudson was looking to take on a trainee, Jared took the leap. He admits that he always had an interest in real estate. Early on, he got scared away from it with the risk involved. He graduated in 2007 near the crash and it felt insurmountable. Jared always loved the idea of flipping from watching the HGTV shows but never really looked into the various careers involved. He remembered that being connected to this industry through his wife and Hudson felt “kind of out of the blue, god intervening.” When asked if he’s getting used to Georgia weather, he mentioned that “the longer summers are great – warmer season but I miss winters.” His family loves visiting North Georgia– Ellijay/Blue Ridge – but most of the time enjoy hanging out with friends in the neighborhood and their 2 dogs (a husky mix and a golden).
I asked Jared the following questions…
Q: What made you want to be an appraiser?
A: it would give me more insight into owning properties down the road. Mainly because the top percentage of the nation’s millionaires made their money in real estate. Owning property and leaving something for Mason down the road was attractive. Appraising was being able to understand the market better and being able to find deals to get into the ownership side.
Q: What would you like to do when you are no longer appraising?
A: Sit back and manage the properties that I hopefully own. Or pay someone else to do it.
Q: What the weirdest thing you have come across when inspecting/appraising?
A: Nothing really comes to the top of mind. I see some pretty weird stuff – bathtub in a closet, literally the closet was just a bathtub. I’m kind of in a bubble – Jackson County – I don’t have a lot of weird stuff.
Q: Something no one knows about you?
A: I already talked about ice climbing but it would probably be that.
Q: What words of wisdom can you share with the team?
A: Oh boy, you’re putting me on the spot. A quote that I always think of whenever I feel out of whack, “you can’t control what’s happening to you – you can only control how you react to it.”