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60 long time, and aren't going anywhere. In fact, one could argue there's nothing radical about the nuts and bolts of what USRES does—and Guenther would probably be the first person to admit that. What makes USRES special is not what its business is, but rather how it does business. In an industry notorious for its ups and downs, Guenther has expertly leveraged a trifecta of qualities to help his company weather the real estate storm cycles. He's a keen observer and listens well to his clients' requests. He trusts his employees to do what they need to do, when they need to do it. And he's not afraid to take a less-than-common route if it's the right thing to do for his business and the industry. More importantly, however, he's done an impressive job of passing these lessons on to his team. GETTING INTO THE GAME A near ringer for actor Sam Elliott in his Conagher days (with a matching mustache, to boot), Guenther founded USRES in 1992. At that time, rising interest rates, overdevelopment in commercial real estate, deregulation of savings and loan lending standards, and reduction in capital reserve requirements had converged. e United States was in the throes of the early 1990s recession, and multiple industries were reeling from the savings and loan crisis and accompanying real estate market slowdown. e Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), created specifically to clean up the S&L mess, closed or resolved more than 700 savings and loans institutions between 1989 and 1995. Additionally, by 1991, construction on new homes had plummeted to its lowest rate since World War II. New construction prices had also fallen, and it would take six years for above- inflationary growth to return them to normal. Having been in the real estate industry for years, Guenther had already served time as an agent and managed offices, including a real estate office for major industry player Tarbell. But it wasn't until a conversation with a fellow broker that the idea occurred to him to start his own enterprise. e industry buzz was that there was a need for real estate agents to help with the valuation side of things, and then, later on, with disposition. Guenther explains that the real estate market runs in 10-year cycles, and that he and others could see the savings and loan "debacle" coming based on what they'd experienced in the '80s. Ultimately, he took the plunge. "We started with the savings and loan prob- lem, the RTC auctions and all of that property," he explained. "A lot of people didn't understand "We started with the savings and loan problem, the RTC auctions, and all of that property. A lot of people didn't understand what short sales were, which we were doing some of at the time, so they said there was a need for companies like that. But this was all new." (Standing) Keith Guenther, CEO; (Seated) Rob Pajon, SVP Marketing and Product; Michael Bull, CFO; Rida Sharaf, SVP USRES Operations