Meet the Team- Travis

Left to right: Evangeline, Elizabeth, Travis

A Tampa Native...

Travis has lived in Lutz his entire life and he's proud to call the Greater Tampa Bay area his home. Firmly rooted in both his southern and Italian heritage, parties and food were always a big part of growing up. Strong family ties were integral in shaping who Travis is today. He currently lives with his wife Elizabeth and their firstborn daughter Evangeline. Here at RRB Realty we are so excited to have him as part of our team.

Tell us a little about yourself. Lets start with where you went to school!

First off: Go Spartans! I graduated from University of Tampa in 2015 with my Bachelor of the Arts in Music Education. My primary instrument was trumpet but I also took two years of composition lessons. After that I taught public elementary school music for six years.

A music teacher! How did you end up in real estate? That must have been a tough leap to make.

Well during the worst part of the pandemic I did a lot of reflecting, like a lot of people. And I just wasn't happy anymore with where I was. I loved the summers off and I really loved the kids, but I felt from a career standpoint there was no where to go for me. And as much as I loved making music with my students I just didn't see it as a sustainable career for me for 30 more years.

So my wife and I started discussing other options for me and what life was going to look like for us and post-covid and with a child on the way, and after a lot of research I settled on real estate. Its not as much of a leap as you might think from teaching. In the school system we are used to accountability so I hold myself to a really high standard professionally. I think a big thing that teaching gave me is the ability to create and maintain relationships. I actually saw a great quote the other day about teaching that said something to the effect of "every year teachers start a new family and then say goodbye only to start again the next year". And I think that speaks to the power of relationships in a teacher's job.

Can you talk more about how relationships are important in real estate?

Absolutely! When you mention any kind of sales position to people they instantly get a bad taste in their mouth. They think of a real estate agent as someone who's just out to make money off them and they instinctively go into conversation defensive. But my clients aren't just a number to me. What sets me apart is that every listing I take on I want to go above and beyond for, because that's how I'd want someone to treat my listing. The fact is a home is the most expensive purchase most people make, and when an agent comes in asking to take a piece of your hard earned equity you want to know how they're going to earn it. You want someone you can trust, not someone who wants you out the door so they can move on to the next commission.

How else do you feel your background in teaching and music have been useful in real estate?

Well I mentioned that system of accountability in public school earlier and that's definitely something that sticks with me: the idea of holding myself to a higher standard and then holding myself accountable when I don't reach it. As far as an artistic background goes there's so many benefits its given me not just in real estate but in life. I mean, with the exception of maybe surgeons, there aren't many careers where the acceptable margin of error is less than 1%. Every time you go on stage to perform you play thousands of notes but just ONE bad note in thousands and it's all anyone remembers, so I've learned to be a perfectionist in the things I do.

It's made me obsessive over the details and the numbers. There are so many moving parts to a real estate transaction and being able to keep track of them and understand how they fit together is critical. And whether it's writing lesson plans or a symphony an understanding of start to finish is a big part of that. And don't even get me started on concert planning, I mean listen, if you can coordinate 150 children (all holding expensive and very breakable noise makers) and 300 parents, run lights and sound, and somehow manage with just 4 volunteers just about anything is easy after that!

Okay, now for the fun stuff! What does your dream house look like?

Oh boy, now that's a rabbit hole... I've always been a HUGE fan of the old English cottages and gardens. Exposed wood and natural materials are a must. I'm a big outdoors person so natural light is big for me, but not in every room. I like my living room dark for watching movies. But a library or study with tons of natural light and real wood book cases (no Ikea here!) would be a dream. I love to have a quiet place to read and reflect or listen to records with no distractions.

The fellowship of a shared meal was central to my formative years. I have so many fond memories of playing in the yard with my cousins and running inside when it was time to eat orzo or cheesy rice and broccoli (sorry Aunt Elaine, I have to call it what it is!). As I've gotten older I've developed a real love of cooking and hosting, so a formal dining room off a big kitchen with a gas stove and a rack of cast iron pots with plenty of storage for spices is the way to go for me.

Now, I'll go back and forth on this but I've always wanted a Hobbit hole style house like in Lord of the Rings. I'm revealing a bit of my nerdy disposition on this one, but they just look so comfortable and inviting to me with the grass growing over the top and the home being integrated into the landscape.

I love to be outside and reflect so a big yard with a huge garden and plenty of walking paths and gathering spaces would be important. I'm less about having an indoor basketball court and more about having a really awesome fire pit.

There's a lot to unpack there! Sounds like you enjoy cooking, reading, gardening... what else do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I've always had a lot of hobbies. I just find so much joy in little things whether its trying a new sauce recipe for my pasta, the satisfaction of repairing my car, building shelves for the pantry, or the simple pleasure of watching a butterfly float around the garden in search of nectar. I really consider myself a lifelong learner. I just love learning to do new things. Lately I've been taking on 3D printing and home networking. On top of all that we have 3 cats, a rabbit, and a conure, so there's never a dull moment in the Damato house.

And of course the more of that I can do with my wife and daughter the better! She's only 4 months old but Evangeline has already been to 3 car shows with me! And she loves standing in the grass. Her smile truly is one of the greatest joys in my day to day. Between her and my wife I'm just constantly inspired to be the best man I can be.