Celebrating Veterans and their Families at Redfin

Today we thank veterans and honor the sacrifices our veterans and their families have made for our nation. 

Supporting Homes for Our Troops

This week our Veterans at Redfin group organized a panel discussion and fundraiser for Homes for our Troops to support its mission to build and donate specially adapted custom homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans. The discussion featured Retired Army Staff Sergeant Luke Murphy, who shared his story of being severely injured in Iraq, his recovery, and his experience receiving an accessible home from Homes For Our Troops.

“When I found out about Homes for Our Troops, like all the guys that I’ve met, we don’t feel like we’ve earned that,” said Luke. “And honestly I’ve met hundreds of guys who’ve received homes now and I’ve never met one who didn’t think that or say that; it’s just who we are. The kind of people who will risk their lives for their country. It’s just an unbelievable humility. But truthfully they deserve it.” 

Luke says his home changed his life. “When I got my home, I don’t know if it’s Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I felt like I could finally take a breath. I started trusting things again. I ended up getting married. Got my real estate license and wrote a book. Things started to really click for me.”

At Redfin, we know first-hand that finding a home can be transformative. We’re committed to helping current and past military and their families find their place in the world too, as well as providing a supportive workplace and career opportunities for our veteran employees.  

Honor, respect, selfless-service: Fostering military values at Redfin

Rob Foos went from driving ships in the Coast Guard to working as a Redfin Mortgage Advisor. Though very different roles, he believes the Coast Guard’s core values of ‘Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty’ are woven throughout his work helping his customers finance a home purchase. 

“Being in the Coast Guard taught me about honor and doing what you say you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it. Respect is critical to my job now as a mortgage advisor because it is so important to treat everyone the same regardless of their credit score or income or what they look like. And of course devotion to duty means getting the job done and doing whatever it takes to get to closing on time for my customers.”

For Kevin Kudrna, a team manager for the brokerage in Denver, the Redfin mission to put customers first was a major motivator to join the company. “A core value in the Air Force is ‘Service before Self.’ That is something that we live here at Redfin every day and really resonated with me when I learned about our mission to reinvent real estate in the customer’s favor. One of the biggest ways that Redfin drew me was that we are able to serve and put other people first.” 

Brock Edwards, a Redfin agent in Denver, said the esprit de corp at Redfin is similar to the shared purpose he found in the Navy. “There are a lot of similarities between the military and Redfin and the main one is just that camaraderie. It’s nice to have someone you can reach out to for one question or another. At Redfin, everyone is happy to help you, which is what it was like when I started in the Navy. I didn’t find that camaraderie at all in previous jobs, so it was surprising to find that when I joined Redfin.” 

Redfin is hiring. We encourage veterans to apply! 

Redfin values the leadership skills that our veterans bring to the company. If you’re interested in transitioning from the military to a career in real estate, we’d love to hear from you. We’re also happy to put you in touch with our Veterans at Redfin group to chat about the opportunities at Redfin.