Dave Price

David Price

Farmer at Heart • Land & Investment Specialist • Numbers Guy • Believer in Hard Work • Proudly Hansonville

Long before real estate became his profession, it was part of his education.

He was the son of a sharecropper farmer, raised on a small farm in Hansonville during a time when hard work wasn't an admirable quality so much as a requirement of everyday life.

His parents had a dream for him: become the first in the family to earn a college degree.

He did.

But some of the lessons that shaped his life came long before a college classroom.

As a boy, he would tag along with his father to local farm auctions. They were social occasions as much as sales, and he listened as the older men talked about land, what it was worth and what owning property could mean for a family's future.

After the work on his own family's farm was finished, he'd sometimes help neighboring landowners put up hay and tackle whatever else needed doing.

He paid attention.

And somewhere along the way, a young farm boy from Hansonville came to believe something that would influence much of the rest of his life:

There is something powerful about owning a piece of the world beneath your feet.

He became the first in his family to graduate from college, earning degrees in Accounting and Finance from Virginia Tech. His career eventually took him to Roanoke and ultimately to Norfolk Southern Corporation, where he retired as Director of Taxes.

Along the way came an MBA from Lynchburg College, Duke University's Executive Management Program, a CPA license and certification as a financial planner.

But he never really stopped being that farm boy.

He became a business owner, landlord, farmer and real estate investor himself—buying, selling, trading and managing properties across the years. Most meaningfully, he sacrificed to hold onto and expand the land his own parents had once farmed to make a living for their family.

For him, land has never just been an asset on paper.

He understands what it means when generations of a family have worked it.

He understands why deciding to sell a farm can be complicated.

And he understands that sometimes the most important question isn't Can I buy or sell this property?

It's Should I?

That's where his approach to real estate becomes a little different.

With 48 years of experience and a lifetime spent as a farmer, landlord, investor and CPA, he enjoys helping clients look at the whole picture—the advantages, the disadvantages, the possibilities and the consequences of a decision before they make it.

For sellers, particularly those parting with farms and family land, that includes an appreciation for something no spreadsheet can measure:

What it can feel like to let go.

For buyers, his knowledge doesn't end at the property line. He can help them think through how land might be used, what improvements may make sense and who they may need to call to help make those plans happen.

His CPA background also gives him insight into an often-overlooked piece of a real estate decision: understanding the potential tax implications that can accompany a transaction.

After retiring from Norfolk Southern, there was really only one place he wanted to go.

Home.

He returned to his farm in Hansonville and to the things he genuinely enjoys—cattle farming, investing in real estate, managing property and helping other people make thoughtful decisions about theirs.

Ask where to find him on an ordinary day and he'll tell you himself:

“If I had an embedded chip, your GPS would probably find me within a mile or two of Hansonville.”

Most likely doing exactly what you'd expect a cattle farmer and landlord to be doing.

His connection to that little corner of Southwest Virginia runs deeper than property.

His father taught him that one of the privileges of living in a small farming community is being there for your neighbors—helping when someone needs a hand, treating people with respect, supporting your church and trying to live by the Golden Rule.

Those lessons stuck.

So did the work ethic.

Perhaps that's why one of the most surprising chapters in his story somehow makes perfect sense:

In his 40s, he ran five marathons.

And finished every one without stopping.

These days, he jokes that he'd simply like to be able to do it again.

After nearly five decades in real estate, what keeps him interested isn't only the land, the numbers or the deal.

It's the people.

He still enjoys meeting someone new, hearing their story and discovering that you really can learn something from people in every walk of life.

Sometimes a transaction even ends with something more valuable than a closing.

A new friendship.

And if there is only one thing he wants a client to know before deciding whether to work with him, it isn't a designation, a degree or the number of years he's been in the business.

It's this:

“I will work as hard for you as I do for myself.”

For the son of a sharecropper farmer from Hansonville, there may not be a bigger promise than that.