JT Korkow, Broker

JT Korkow was raised on a South Dakota farm. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science with a minor in Ag Education from Panhandle State University of Oklahoma. In his working career, he formed a diverse professional background that has added to and has complimented his real estate sales service.

JT moved to Montana in 1988, taking his first office job with the previous Farmers Home Administration as an agricultural loan officer. JT spent 12+ years as an agricultural lender/County Supervisor, and District Loan Specialist before retiring his post with the government. After, JT had the opportunity to work 3 years as an independent bank auditor, auditing banks for safety and soundness throughout all Montana and parts of Wyoming and reporting to respective regulating authorities. JT was then offered a job to work as an ag loan officer then bank manager for 5 more years in his home town bank. JT became a licensed real estate agent in 2008 while still working in the bank, and specialized in promoting and selling ranch real estate while working in other capacities. After the bank was acquired by another entity, JT left the bank in 2009.

When he left the bank, JT received an appointment by Congressman Rehberg to be the congressman’s regional director of the eastern Montana district. With his main office located in Billings, JT travelled all counties in eastern Montana and represented the US Congressman’s office in meeting with constituency and reported directly to the Congressmen. JT worked successfully on many landowner issues and cases of conflict that involved various federal agencies while serving the House of Representatives in this capacity. This added to his experiences in dealing with the public on a larger scale and provided him with an expanded network within the public and government.

When Rehberg lost the election in 2012, JT continued to work his small ranch operation and started a freight company, transporting goods across the nation. Being hit with low freight rates a few years later, JT saw a need to assist farmers and ranchers in dealing with their financial difficulties resulting from a significant downturn in the cattle markets.

In 2016, JT formed Northwest Financial Consulting, specializing on debt resolution with emphasis in bankruptcy reorganization, litigation, and business turnarounds throughout the mid-west and northwestern states. His expertise in preparing reorganization plans within the bankruptcy courts won him recognition throughout the legal community as an “expert” in developing reorganization plans and providing testimony as to feasibility of agricultural operations and values of land, livestock, and machinery.

JT has served in other legal capacity for the courts as Receiver, managing land, equipment, and livestock while parties litigate their differences; as Referee for land partitions ordered by courts through litigations, preparing reports to the court as to equitable splits of land as ordered; as Special Master in divorce cases that involved large cattle and land holdings; as court-appointed administrator of probate estates involving large ranch holdings with numerous beneficiaries in conflict. As a trained mediator, JT has been hired to facilitate negotiations within corporate entities as to splits and payoffs of shareholders, dividing assets equitably among the members and avoiding extensive and costly litigations.

Throughout his career, JT continued to sell real estate and obtained his Supervisory Broker’s license in 2012, at which time he joined in partnership as Broker Associate with Jack “Slug” Mills in forming Mills Real Estate, LLC. Since then, JT has obtained measurable experience with 1031 exchanges in real estate transactions, whether it is straight forward or reverse exchanges, and working through complex transactions that required legal partitions and equitable divisions of land. In December of 2022, partner Slug passed away, leaving JT in position as supervising broker as was the purpose and plan of their joining into a partnership business.

In tribute to carrying on the real estate brokerage Slug started, JT plans to continue with Slug’s mission of promoting honest representation and straight forward communication with both sellers and buyers, as well as expand on the business’s territory and service.