The life you want is waiting, all you have to do is take the first step.
The Dark Side Tribe
We are a proud tribe of licensed real estate agents across the United States. Our agents take pride in their professionalism and the value they provide to our industry. We are looking to consistently add agents from a vast array of cultures, backgrounds, locations, levels of experience, and ages. We want to serve all areas of our industry...no matter the client or their situation!
We aren't independent contractors, we are inspiration contractors in our Tribe partnership.
Our Mission
The Dark Side Tribe is committed to being the preeminent real estate leaders in our area by providing our trusted vendors, referrals partners, and clients with maximized real estate value through innovative technology, high integrity, dedication, market knowledge, community involvement, and overall expertise in our field. We want to overdeliver with our value.
Our Vision
The Dark Side Tribe’s vision is to achieve the highest possible standards of the real estate industry while establishing ourselves as the benchmark of excellence. We strive to be widely recognized by the industry for our extraordinary people, strong core values, and exceptional client service. We are constantly focused on innovation and to provide our clients with the very best experience from beginning to end. We settle for nothing less than excellence in creating raving fans.
Our Core Values
The values that drive our Dark Side Tribe agents forward can be separated into six specific core values:
Excellence
— Attracts and retains the best talent to guide our clients every step of the way.
Tribe Approach
— We are a cohesive tribe with one vision: to be the driving force in the real estate market.
Integrity
— We demand the highest standards of honesty and strong moral principles of our tribe. Doing the right thing, all the time, with no exception to this rule.
Innovate
— Progressive, enlightened, forward-thinkers who constantly engage in new ideas for better solutions, streamlining processes and challenging the industry’s status quo.
Enthusiasm
— To motivate, influence, energize and stimulate the work environment for constant leadership growth of our tribe and those around us.
Dependability
— We do what we say and we will never make promises that we cannot keep.
David Nelson
Dark Side Tribe Leader
Realtor - eXp Realty
Creator of Free Up
Founder of Agent Power Up
Author - Mentor - Star Wars Nerd
I was born and raised on a large grain farm in Northwest Minnesota (the town is Middle River in case you’ve ever heard of it) which taught me hard work and respect. I have two brothers that also live in the Twin Cities and one sister who lives up north with her husband. I went to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where I received a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. The reason why I went into the occupational therapy (OT) field as my father was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in 2000 and OT helped him remain at home until his death in 2001. After graduation, I took my first job in the OT field at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where I worked on the “brain team” that specialized in treating patients with strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Eventually, I moved to the Twin Cities and worked for Fairview Health Services and Brookdale Senior Living in both inpatient and outpatient therapy.
I am married to Nicole and we have two wonderful rescue dogs named Karen (yes, Karen) and Tammy. We love living in west Bloomington and enjoy hitting up the local restaurants and spending time with friends. Since Minnesota summers are so short, Nicole and I try to soak up as much summertime weather as possible with grilling out, going to the lake, firing up the smoker, and taking bike rides! Since I was raised on Lake of the Woods, I am an avid fisherman (summer and winter). I also enjoy movies, cheering on Minnesota sports team, curling (yes…curling), and reading. And if you didn’t know by now, I am a huge Star Wars fan thus one of the reasons why I named our tribe, the Dark Side Tribe. I am confident enough to tell people that I own a movie quality Darth Vader costume that I have had the opportunity to wear it for kid’s birthday parties and for a few movie theaters for the Star Wars premieres.
FAQS
Do I need to be an agent in Minnesota to be a part of the Dark Side Tribe?
Heck no!! Although we are "headquartered" in Minnesota, we have agents located across the country. We are always looking to add agents in areas we are lacking as well as growing the regions we already have. Power in numbers!
I run a team/brokerage, could I bring the entire crew to the Tribe?
100%! We have dedicated team and brokerage support when you do join eXp Realty. Plus, your entire team/brokerage gains access to our Dark Side Tribe benefits. Reach out to David Nelson for more details on bringing over an entire team or brokerage.
Do you offer specific benefits when we join the Dark Side Tribe?
Heck yeah we do! Head over to the benefits page to learn more. We are proud to offer exclusive benefits to aid in our agent's growth...both personally and in business. PLUS, we do this without taking any commissions or requiring fees. Yes, it's a free benefit from being a member our of Tribe.
Do you require agents to pay a commission split or fees to be a part of this amazing Tribe?
No...no...NO! We don't feel charging our tribe agents any commission splits or fees is fair. There is a split with eXp Realty along with monthly fees (which most brokerages have already) but that is for EVERY agent at eXp Realty. Our Dark Side Tribe does not add any additional costs to our agents. Once again, we believe in value, tools, coaching, collaboration, and support without putting added stress onto the agents. That way our agents can invest back into their business the way THEY want to.
Who would be a fit for your Tribe?
We are looking for agents that have a collaborative mindset, positive energy, value-driven, high integrity, and overall fun people. You can join our Tribe from anywhere in the United States along with 19+ countries. We would love to add agents that are multilingual (fluid) and of a variety of cultures to assist all clients properly. New agents and established agents...full-time and part-time... all are welcome! Honestly, if you're a good person, want more from life, and want to be a positive difference maker...let's chat either in-person, Zoom, email, or text.
Could I join your Tribe even if I'm already at eXp Realty?
Yes! We have an option for those agents that have already joined eXp Realty but maybe looking for more or felt duped by the person that brought them to eXp. We realize that there are some "recruiters" in our company that are only wanting bodies to join and don't offer any support or leadership. That has ruined it for the rest of us agents at eXp Realty that truly care for those they sponsor. We would love to show you how great it could be at eXp when partnered with the right people.
When I join, do you have an onboarding system?
Of course we do. David is a systems guy and has systems for almost everything. We want to make sure you transition to eXp and our Tribe is as smooth as possible and to avoid any downtime in your business. Our exclusive onboarding has everything you need to get rocking with both eXp and our Tribe.
Do I have to like Star Wars to join the Dark Side Tribe?
No...but it does help. 😉 David grew up with Star Wars so he wanted to incorporate his fun nature and humor into the Tribe. Plus, it's been great branding over the years. If you're struggling with branding yourself, we can help.
