Matthew Lawrence Scharf was born on June 22, 1970. He is a 1989 graduate of Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS) where he was a standout wide receiver on the varsity football team, and a state champion pole vaulter in 1988 & 1989. Matt was class president his senior year, and he received the received "Senior of the Year" award at his graduation. Matt also served on the CCDS Honor Council.

After graduating from CCDS, Matt went on to attend the University of Georgia (Athens, GA) where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. Matt also served as a head waiter at the local Chili's restaurant throughout his years in Athens. He graduated from UGA in 1993 with a degree in speech communications.

After graduating from UGA, Matt returned home to Charlotte where he began a career selling life insurance for Northwestern Mutual Life. Matt began dating one of his college sweethearts (Loulie Key) and it was during this time that he began to realize his entrepreneural spirit. Loulie, an entrepreneur herself, was instrumental in helping Matt find his true calling, and she encouraged Matt to chase his dreams. Matt resigned his position at Northwestern Mutual Life, and he and Loulie relocated to Ponte Vedra, Florida where they worked for a multi-level marketing firm. Matt began to put a business plan together for his new career in real estate, and shortly thereafter, Matt founded Real Properties, LLC. and realproperties.com. With Real Properties, Matt began to accumulate distressed homes and foreclosures that he would then refurbish and either sell or turn into rental properties. He used realproperties.com to market his homes as well as other available properties, and realproperties.com soon became a profitable business. Matt received a tremendous offer to sell realproperties.com, but was not sure if he was ready to sell. He had built this tremendous company, and struggled with the emotional grip that it had on him. After much deliberation and an enhanced offer, Matt's business acumen won out and he reluctantly sold his business...for a large profit.

It wasn't long before Matt was back in the real estate game. He had Loulie had married while in Florida, and they had since decided that they were ready to start a family. They moved to Asheville, NC where Matt began to, once again, invest in real estate. Shortly after their move to Asheville, Loulie gave birth to their first child, a little boy. Matt went on to establish another successful business in Asheville, accumulating numerous properties. A couple of years later, Matt and Loulie welcomed their second child, a little girl.

Though they loved living in Asheville, Matt & Loulie missed living on the coast. They began looking for a new home near the coast and soon decided on Wilmington, NC. After their move to Wilmington, Matt once again found success in local real estate investments. Matt and Loulie, along with their two children, continue to live in Wilmington where they both serve on numerous boards. Loulie has become a successful artist, and they are also the proud owners of the historic Clarendon Inn (www.clarendoninn.com).