A Book Can Change Your Life, with James Scruggs

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is James Scruggs. As young adult, James thought stocks were the key to accumulating wealth and making a lot of money. He invested his first bonus in telecom stocks, at just the wrong time and sadly lost everything. This experience shattered James, as he always wanted to be different from his parents, who, James tells us, aren’t savers. Seeking advice, he turned to a friend who recommended the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. Reading this book changed James’ life and helped shape him into who he is today.

James is the CEO and President of Kingdom Development Partners and J.S. & Son’s Construction Company, LLC. A native of Long Island, NY but a Charlottean at heart. James has over two decades in real estate development, construction, and brokerage after leaving a successful career as a Bond trader. He has developed, built, owned, and operated a portfolio of income producing single-family, multifamily, and assisted living communities.

James is a licensed real estate broker, and general contractor in the state of North Carolina. He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2000 and a Master of Science in Real Estate from the UNC-Charlotte where he was the recipient of the distinguished Childress Klein fellowship. After graduation he joined Bank of America as a Commercial Paper Trader. James founded J.S. & Associates, Inc. (JSA) in 2002, which is central to his vision of economic development and self-sufficiency for families in the greater Charlotte area.

Since relocating to Charlotte, James has been making a name for himself in real estate development with a particular focus on the most up-and-coming neighborhoods in The Queen City. After years in finance with Bank of America, he joined Helen Adams Realty because it shares his commitment to customer service, authenticity, and reliability. James’ strengths are unlimited drive and creativity, very strong interpersonal skills, a wealth of investment knowledge, a thorough understanding of real estate growth trends in and around Charlotte, and most importantly, unwavering integrity.

Through JSA, he has acquired 30 single-family homes and two apartment complexes. He has also used JSA to improve neighborhoods by restoring dilapidated homes or even tearing them down in order to construct brand new homes in their place. JSA has also allowed him to educate other investors and new homeowners through a quarterly web-based newsletter he produces on all aspects of investing in real estate in smart, sensible ways. As CEO of JSA, James also delivers free investment seminars that educate folks on buying and keeping properties.

James is married to his gorgeous wife Makila who is the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Trane Technologies. James has an amazing 12-year-old son named Jaden and an eight-year-old son named Malachi. After a successful seven-year career in the financial banking industry, he made a major life and career change by committing his life to serving those with Alzheimer’s Disease. He is the founder and former president of Unlimited Possibilities, a unique ministry dedicated to changing the way elders are cared for today and in the future. A driving influence of his life change was a book called “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It demonstrated that life is essentially about the legacy you leave behind and how you affect others, in business and personally. Helping others have the ability to live a life with dignity, compassion and purpose are the signature of his communities that he has created for older adults. He plans to continue this mission and offer the best care for seniors and older adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia.