Name
Nils Petzke
Company/Organization
The Petzke Team at RE/MAX by the Lake
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
With offices in St. Joseph and Stevensville, RE/MAX by the Lake is a customer-driven, community-focused company located in Michigan’s Great Southwest. We strive to improve our community by helping people achieve their dream of home ownership one home at a time. Our mission statement is “Operating a fun, positive, and top producing office by going above and beyond the expectations of our clients, providing them the best service in our market.” The Petzke Team operates within RE/MAX by the Lake and our team consists of 6 Licensed Realtors and 2 Client Care Coordinators. A percentage of every commission check our team brings in, is donated to local charities.
Age
38
Accomplishments
- #1 accomplishment is being a proud father to Lucas (10 yo / 5th Grade) and Finley (8 yo / 3rd Grade)
- 2022 RE/MAX LLC Torchbearer Award (Top 40 Agents Under 40, based on Transactions)
- 2021 RE/MAX of Michigan, Rising Star Award Winner (Top New Agent in State, based on sales production, exceptional client service and community service)
- 2021 RE/MAX of Michigan Platinum Club Award Winner (sales production)
- 2021 Southwest Michigan Association of Realtors ACE Award Winner for continued education – two major accreditations this past year were the Accredited Buyer’s Representative® (ABR) and Seller Representative Specialist® (SRS) designations
- 2021 Southwest Michigan Association of Realtors Public Relations committee member
- 2020 – Obtained my real estate salesperson license and became a member of the National Association of Realtors
- 13-year Whirlpool Corporation career prior to real estate. I was able to provide financial support to many areas of their business, including Global Procurement, Product Development, Sales, and Supply Chain. I had the opportunity to travel to and support many regions across the country as well as spend time in Mexico and China.
- One rewarding aspect of that career was having the opportunity to assist in several projects developing from whiteboard ideas into physical products in the consumers’ homes today.
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
- Obtain my real estate broker license
- Continue to refine the right work / life balance that works for me and my family
Education
- St. Joseph High School, ’03
- Grand Valley State University, ’07 – Bachelor’s of Business Administration, Management
Residence
St. Joseph, MI
Where were you born?
St. Joseph, MI
What was your first job?
- Lawn Care Maintenance Professional by Age 12
- City of St. Joseph Public Works by Age 16
- Whirlpool Corporation by Age 22
- Real Estate by Age 36
Best advice you ever got?
I saw someone post something along the lines of “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it,” the other day. It seems like a great compass to live by in a world where you need to constantly be adapting. Learn from your challenges and find a way to thrive on your opportunities.
Who inspires you most?
Family. For me, it starts with my dad. He instilled a strong work ethic in me and still leads by example today. I think he’d say if you put your head down, work hard, and do things the right way, your contributions won’t go unnoticed.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
Almost 10 years ago I was elected to a local village board of trustees (on a ballot!). I was excited to be approached to serve where there was a need, but ultimately stepped aside to allow for some representation from another area of the municipality that was underrepresented. Until I moved, I continued to sit on their parks board and was responsible for opening and closing the village park along with another resident.
What do you love to do in your downtime?
My standard downtime activities are dominated by my children’s sporting events. It’s also college football season now, so you can catch me in Ann Arbor on Saturdays cheering for the Maize & Blue. Trips to Wrigley Field are always an enjoyable time. I love finding time to break away to enjoy a cold beverage around town with friends and family.
What book are you reading now?
Start with a Win, by Adam Contos. It’s about setting yourself apart from the crowd and finding ways to be successful. Transparently, I need to re-read the chapter about finding time to read books…
Volunteer activity you love the most.
Coaching youth sports – the past few years I have coached rec league baseball and flag football. There’s usually always a need for someone to step in and help out in any capacity. It’s really rewarding seeing the kids have so much fun. This past season coaching my son’s 10u baseball and all-stars made me sit back and reflect on missed opportunities years ago. I wish I had done it sooner.
What motivates you to give back to your community?
It’s a great feeling to connect with people, and to connect others together. Spending a lifetime in SWM, you get the opportunity to meet a lot of great community members. You become a resource to others just by knowing somebody who knows somebody. Now working in real estate, I get the opportunity to not only bring new people into this dynamic, but also connect them with these other great community members like these Top 40 Under 40 peers.
What Superpower would you most love to have? (for example, the ability to fly or to be invisible, or incredible strength, etc)
The power of flight. I have put 20,000 miles on in the past year, so being able to buzz over somewhere real quick would be amazing!
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
I would hope that anybody that I have had the pleasure of meeting, working with, befriended, etc has had some positive take away. That something they interact with or encounter, reminds them of me. Or likewise, when they think of me, it triggers a memory, a laugh, an experience.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
It’s a real honor to be amongst such a diverse group of leaders from our area. They’re friends, they’re peers, they’re industry colleagues. Time can be of the essence, so I catch my news in short blips with Moody on the Market as my usual source of local news – so that’s pretty cool to be recognized on a familiar go-to platform!
