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From Vineyard Ownership to Real Estate Leadership · The Realtor Who Wines

• 0:00
  Welcome to the Realtor Who Wines podcast.
• 0:02
  I'm Rashelle Newmeyer.
• 0:03
  Your hostest withe mostest, a student of life, a connector, a passionate wine enthusiast, and your local favorite guide.
• 0:10
  Join me as we explore the vibrant Pacific Northwest.
• 0:14
  Savor the finest wines and champion the spirit of entrepreneurship.
• 0:18
  Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring guests, supporting business ownership and uncovering the stories that make this community unique.
• 0:25
  So grab a glass of wine, settle in, and let's embark on a journey of discovery and connection together. Cheers.
• 0:32
  Cheers. Jenny.
• 0:33
  Thank you for sitting down with me today.
• 0:38
  Drinking around the mic as a talent, for sure.
• 0:41
  That was a little challenging.
• 0:42
  Are you a Pinot Noir gal?
• 0:44
  I'm actually a white gal. I am a donné.
• 0:47
  Oh you do? Dang it.
• 0:48
  I should have brought a Chardonnay because you have a little bit of grape and, like, vineyard history, right?
• 0:56
  Yeah, I used to own a vineyard out in South Salem, and it's called Bunker Hill Vineyards. It.
• 1:02
  I sold it about ten years ago now to a Frenchman.
• 1:05
  And it's managed by Lingua Franca.
• 1:07
  And they're out in, in West Salem, Hopewell area.
• 1:13
  So do you still have any, like, stake in the company at all, or are you just sold it all? Yep.
• 1:18
  Just sold it all. Yeah.
• 1:18
  So it was a bittersweet day.
• 1:20
  What did you learn? Really quick.
• 1:23
  I definitely want you to introduce yourself to everybody, but I want to ask, what did you learn about owning a vineyard?
• 1:29
  Like, I learned that it's a lot of work and so much.
• 1:32
  Yeah, yeah.
• 1:34
  You know, we had some fun times.
• 1:35
  It was in my backyard, so it was beautiful.
• 1:37
  It was fun to sit out back.
• 1:38
  But it's expensive when you're vintner and you're not a winemaker.
• 1:42
  Because I didn't make the wine. And.
• 1:45
  But I do miss sitting out back on the porch.
• 1:48
  Totally.
• 1:49
  I bet don't miss the gravel road getting out there.
• 1:51
  So for sure.
• 1:53
  Please introduce yourself to everybody so they know who we're talking to today.
• 1:57
  Well, thanks for having me today.
• 1:59
  My name is Jenny Morrow.
• 2:00
  I am a realtor in Salem, Oregon, and I've been licensed for about 11 years now.
• 2:08
  I've been with Coldwell Banker Mountain West.
• 2:10
  The whole time I've never gone anywhere else.
• 2:13
  We have a great family here and a great support system.
• 2:15
  And I'm also the 2026 president of Mid Valley Association of Realtors.
• 2:22
  Nice.
• 2:23
  What about leadership within our industry?
• 2:27
  Intrigued?
• 2:27
  You like what made you want to raise your hand and get more involved?
• 2:31
  Honestly, I was tapped on the shoulder to run for the board of directors for its Ma is what we call it the Mid Valley.
• 2:42
  And so I ran for that position and got involved, and a few years later I signed up for Oregon Leadership Academy.
• 2:51
  I had no really desire to go into leadership.
• 2:54
  Honestly, I was thinking my direction was going to maybe be on one of the commission's like with the city, like city planning type stuff.
• 3:02
  Yeah, but then I got tapped on the shoulder to be the president.
• 3:07
  And so I kind of reluctantly said yes at the beginning.
• 3:12
  But honestly, it's been a lot of growth, a lot of fun.
• 3:16
  We've had a lot of changes at Mar over the last year and a half or so.
• 3:21
  We have brought on a management company and it's called Pac West and they're amazing.
• 3:27
  And so we're very happy with the direction we're going.
• 3:29
  And it's just there's been a lot of changes, but they've been really good changes.
• 3:34
  Can you give like a quick synopsis for anybody that is not in the real estate world, like what a local association does?
• 3:42
  So a big part of what we do is advocacy.
• 3:46
  So we we fight for property rights.
• 3:49
  That's a big part, the government affairs side of it.
• 3:51
  And we work on education and also like making sure that everyone's in compliance.
• 3:58
  So those are kind of the three main things that we do.
• 4:01
  And for those of you that aren't in real estate, there's different local associations that are also all underneath the state association.
• 4:08
  So depending on where you practice real estate, you might belong to multiple local associations.
• 4:13
  You might just belong to one.
• 4:15
  And so the one that Jenny is a part of is in the Salem metro area and covers the Willamette Valley, Marion County, where Salem up to typically up to Woodburn, Silverton, Stayton, Salem.
• 4:31
  The bulk of our membership.
• 4:33
  What is something you think an everyday realtor that's not involved at all with an association would find interesting or surprising about being a part of a local association on the leadership side?
• 4:46
  Honestly, I think the number one thing I've got out of this is just my personal growth for me.
• 4:52
  I've learned a lot about the industry, and I've learned a lot about behind the scenes things that happened that I was very unaware of that were going on, just especially on the government affairs side of things.
• 5:05
  People don't realize how important it is to for us to be really setting the stage for the future, for home ownership and for, you know, for, for them and their families in that ownership.
• 5:17
  So it's there's a lot more that goes on there, a lot of bills that organ realtors and the local environment that we follow and we support and get behind for our clients.
• 5:29
  Yeah, I think Leadership Academy.
• 5:32
  So Organ Realtors, for those of you that don't know, they put on a leadership academy as a realtor, you apply for it.
• 5:41
  Anybody throughout the state applies and it's a different it's a year.
• 5:46
  Well it's more like eight months ish but long process of different classes, education, development, things like that.
• 5:53
  And Jenny and I met in Leadership Academy.
• 5:55
  We're the best class class of 2024.
• 5:58
  Ask anybody.
• 5:59
  And but one thing I did learn through Leadership Academy, I don't know about you, is so much about the advocacy.
• 6:06
  Like, I kind of was like, oh yeah, they advocate for homeownership, but I like really got to see more of the nuts and bolts about it.
• 6:13
  When we went to the Capitol in Salem and we met with some of our lobbyists and some of them were realtors, and I was like, oh, that it never even dawned on me that somebody as a realtor would also run for politics and like to help change home ownership and like, impact those bills.
• 6:31
  But that for me was just like, so I opening.
• 6:34
  And then ever since Leadership Academy, I've gotten more and more involved, as you have with my local association and organ realtors, partly because of that just exposure of seeing like, oh, we are making a much bigger impact, not just like, here's your keys, welcome home, but like we're helping be able to say, here's your keys, welcome home.
• 6:55
  Which is so cool.
• 6:56
  Yeah, we definitely want to be part of that process because we want to make sure that that we can work on the affordable issues and the like, mortgage interest deduction.
• 7:07
  That's a big thing for our clients, right.
• 7:09
  And ourselves for with our home ownership.
• 7:11
  So definitely organ leadership honestly opened my eyes to all of that.
• 7:16
  And so I'm really grateful they did a great job with their program.
• 7:19
  I agree there was things I learned about myself, about my industry, about nah, about organ realtors and the local associations.
• 7:27
  So yeah, for the realtors that listen to this podcast, I would definitely recommend them looking into it because it's really a it's a great journey and you make some great friends and referral partners and so highly recommend.
• 7:40
  Yeah.
• 7:40
  Well and if you're a realtor listening, that's not an organ.
• 7:44
  Most states offer some sort of leadership academy.
• 7:48
  And if your state doesn't, nah does offer a leadership academy as well.
• 7:52
  So a couple different ways to check it out.
• 7:54
  If your state isn't as cool as Oregon, shout out to Jenny and the team at Oregon Realtors.
• 8:01
  What is some things that you did learn about yourself personally through Leadership Academy?
• 8:08
  Well, we did a desk assessment.
• 8:11
  We have always had a very strong personality, but I feel like the Disc assessment that we that we did really brought words to my personality where I just this is just the way I am.
• 8:25
  And I never put like kind of words to the way I am.
• 8:28
  And I think it made me understanding that made me a better person and a better agent, and just making sure I understand my personality better and other people's personality and how we work together when we have different personalities and how being different can be good, as long as you know how to communicate.
• 8:50
  And I feel like that was a very, like great part that I learned about myself.
• 8:55
  And I think we're always learning and growing and, you know, I have better days that I'm more, you know, like aware of it and other days.
• 9:02
  But I think it's a it's a learning process for sure.
• 9:05
  Totally. Especially when you're kind of a more dominant person as far as like I'm, I'm very.
• 9:14
  Were you a ID like, did you come out as a Heidi?
• 9:16
  So I thought I would be a Heidi and I wasn't.
• 9:19
  And I was like, I'm sorry. What?
• 9:21
  Like because of all the other different personality test I've taken or feedback people have given me in a boardroom and things like that, I thought for sure I was going to be a Heidi and I was and I, I was just like, oh, wait a minute.
• 9:32
  What?
• 9:32
  Are you sure?
• 9:33
  And he's like, yeah, I'm sure the test doesn't lie.
• 9:36
  I was a DNI, so for sure.
• 9:38
  So, you know, and I had I've never been in really a true leadership role.
• 9:43
  I've always just kind of in my own business, made my own terms.
• 9:46
  And so really doing that assessment made me just really think about how to communicate with others when we're not necessarily on the same page, but we need to work together well.
• 9:56
  And being in real estate, we have to give a lot of information, explain a lot of processes, explain a lot of forms, and it does help to know how different people receive different types of information, because sometimes I feel like I'm communicating so well, and then it's clear I didn't because of what gets said back to me or the confusion that's still happening.
• 10:18
  And I was like, I don't understand why she's confused.
• 10:20
  I could have sworn I explained XYZ.
• 10:22
  So just being self-aware and learning how to read things in different ways really helps for the transaction.
• 10:29
  Yeah, and especially when you're a person who kind of takes charge of things, making sure you circle back and make sure that the client understands what you were talking about, because this is new to them, and maybe we do it every day, but they don't.
• 10:41
  And so making sure there's clarity, and I have to say, when I really honestly learned that is a couple of years ago, my daughter bought a house and she was asking questions about like, what to do next in escrow and things like that.
• 10:54
  And I just took over because I was mom.
• 10:57
  Right. Well, and I was like, wait a minute.
• 10:59
  Like, she's growing up.
• 11:00
  I need to make sure, like, she understands this process.
• 11:02
  This is a learning process, and it's not something that people do every day, right?
• 11:07
  And you do need to make sure that they understand that.
• 11:09
  And yeah, when your person kind of takes charge of stuff and just wants to make sure everybody's taken care of, just kind of have to step back for a second and think about that.
• 11:18
  Yeah.
• 11:18
  Well, and it's such a big moment, so many people's lives.
• 11:21
  And it's so stressful to because they don't know a lot of it.
• 11:24
  So it just feels so fawn.
• 11:26
  But they're making this huge financial decision.
• 11:28
  So yeah, taking a step back and just making sure we're being the right guides and then in our leadership roles is helping other agents learn how to do that as well.
• 11:37
  What have you learned about trying to teach other agents on how to communicate differently?
• 11:43
  Like, has that been a challenge, like learning how to teach communication?
• 11:48
  I wouldn't know, I don't think it's a challenge.
• 11:50
  I just share with them what I feel is successful for me.
• 11:53
  I like to try to have a really open relationship with the agent on the other side of a transaction.
• 11:59
  It doesn't always work.
• 12:00
  You know, you have people on the other side that that's not how they work, right?
• 12:04
  So but I do my best to because I want the whole process to go smoothly for my client.
• 12:08
  And it's it's definitely something that you just you want to make sure that everyone's happy that your buyer or seller are, you know, happy.
• 12:20
  I try to reduce the stress for them the best I can.
• 12:23
  Yeah, because it is a stressful situation.
• 12:26
  It's a big purchase or a big sell for them.
• 12:28
  And and you want to do your best to kind of keep everything nice and and calm.
• 12:33
  Yeah.
• 12:34
  Well, and it's a unique experience, I would say as a buyer or seller, because a lot of what gets highlighted is all the negatives versus all the positives by nature.
• 12:45
  So like for example, a home inspection report, we have to tell clients this all the time, like try to keep in mind it's their job to point out every little thing.
• 12:54
  That's not 100%, but this list doesn't include all the things that are great, right?
• 13:00
  So almost as like reading a list of negatives, but you don't have the list of positives to reassure you.
• 13:05
  So your brain is just like negative negative negative negative, you know, so it's hard to be like, is this house okay?
• 13:11
  And you're like, actually, this house is really great.
• 13:12
  These this list seems long, but it's actually not that long compared to other things.
• 13:17
  But even from a seller side, then it also feels like someone's telling you this is wrong with your house and this is wrong with your house, and this is why I won't pay for this.
• 13:24
  So just even that it's like such.
• 13:26
  It has a negative connotation by nature, but there's so much positive going on, we just don't highlight a lot of the positive.
• 13:33
  Yeah, portions of it.
• 13:34
  And it's definitely like really for a seller, for example, they don't maybe know what's in the attic or crawl space, right.
• 13:41
  And so or in the who's hanging out in those spots.
• 13:45
  Nobody. Yeah.
• 13:45
  So they get this information.
• 13:48
  And even if they've taken really good care of a place, there's things behind, you know, up in the crosshairs that they're unaware of.
• 13:54
  And it makes it very, very stressful and expensive for them.
• 13:57
  So especially if they're to manage that transitioning into another house, they're also seeing an inspection report from the house that they're buying.
• 14:04
  So again, it just feels like a lot of negative space because we're not handing out things like, here's all the things that are amazing about your house or like, here's the way your house shines in the neighborhood.
• 14:14
  We don't really get to talk about that.
• 14:15
  It's definitely the one part of my job that keeps me awake at night.
• 14:19
  I'm always I always sleep the best.
• 14:21
  Once the buyers in the repair addendum are complete and we're moving forward.
• 14:25
  Yeah, but yeah, that's definitely until it's the week of the appraisal that is the most like heart wrenching part of of my whole job.
• 14:33
  I love my favorite part of the job though is I love working with buyers, honestly.
• 14:38
  I mean, I love my sellers too.
• 14:39
  Don't get me wrong, I love working with buyers because of the relationship you build with them.
• 14:43
  Shopping for a house and the excitement, especially first time homebuyers because it's like that, that first, right?
• 14:50
  And it's so exciting and it's very stressful and you get to walk them through the whole process.
• 14:56
  So it's definitely that's, I have to say, my most favorite part.
• 14:59
  Yeah.
• 14:59
  When you do spend a lot more time with like one on one time, face to face time with buyers than you do with sellers.
• 15:06
  And so that makes sense that that would be like the more highlighted spot for you.
• 15:11
  And also just educating like it's always fun to like, oh no.
• 15:16
  Did you know this about this house or did you know this about this area?
• 15:20
  Like, it's just so nice to be that person for somebody else.
• 15:23
  Yeah, I love that too. Yeah.
• 15:25
  I mean, and for my for my buyers.
• 15:27
  I tried after the clothes.
• 15:28
  I tried to be that resource for them to call.
• 15:30
  Like, do you need a plumber or do you need an electrician?
• 15:32
  Do you need a house painter?
• 15:34
  Right.
• 15:34
  Like, I want to be that local, that person that they contact.
• 15:37
  And I've got a great network of people in the local area that are honest and that I love to refer work to.
• 15:44
  Yeah, I help a lot of people with relocation.
• 15:47
  And you even helped some of my clients they bought they live here part time and they live in another state part time.
• 15:54
  And when they came out here, they're at West side of Salem, which I'm not as familiar with as far as like all the shops and things.
• 16:00
  And they're like, we need a dentist, we need this.
• 16:02
  And I was like, Jenny, do you have a dentist?
• 16:05
  Jenny so even for other realtors, you're like the go to resource.
• 16:08
  Like, who should I tell my clients to go to for this?
• 16:11
  And you're like, oh, so-and-so such and such.
• 16:13
  I was like, okay, great. Thank you.
• 16:15
  When you're ready to make a move, make it with someone who knows the market and truly cares about your home journey.
• 16:20
  I would be honored to help you each step of the way.
• 16:22
  Reach out now and let's start your strategic plan and the next move for you.
• 16:28
  It's the benefit of being born and raised in the community.
• 16:31
  Yeah.
• 16:32
  So I definitely have a lot of connections here, which is, you know what?
• 16:36
  Which makes me the local expert and.
• 16:37
  Absolutely. Yeah.
• 16:39
  For real estate needs. Yeah, definitely.
• 16:41
  What is something over the last 11 years that has surprised you about being a realtor, being in real estate, and it can be more than one thing.
• 16:50
  Yeah. Okay.
• 16:51
  Let me think about that for just one second.
• 16:53
  What has surprised me?
• 16:56
  Or like something that, like, maybe you didn't think about would be part of your job.
• 17:00
  That is part of your job.
• 17:02
  Like a lot of people get into real estate thinking, oh, it's a really flexible schedule.
• 17:06
  I get to look at pretty houses all day.
• 17:09
  Yeah. Oh, I have a good one. Okay.
• 17:11
  I remember when I first started, I was so excited to be able to get into the Multiple Listing Service.
• 17:17
  Oh yeah MLS right.
• 17:18
  Because I can just look through all the listings and look at all the pictures, you know, and just have all the information right there.
• 17:24
  Yeah.
• 17:25
  Well, when you look at 500 of those a week, it gets exhausting.
• 17:29
  Oh, yeah.
• 17:30
  And they all blend together.
• 17:30
  Yeah, exactly.
• 17:33
  So I would say that was the most surprising where it's, it's it's really hard to look through those because people will say, did you see this house?
• 17:41
  And when I get really busy, I don't always see all the houses because I'm focused on what?
• 17:47
  Maybe I'm shopping for a buyer.
• 17:49
  So I'm putting in all of their criteria and I'm really deep diving on those.
• 17:53
  Right.
• 17:53
  And so I don't have time to go through every single listing, especially in the higher seasons where there's more listings coming on the market. Yeah.
• 18:00
  And so I would say that is just something that I didn't realize how much time that would take, because that definitely can take.
• 18:09
  I try to do that in the mornings when I'm fresh and like before everyone kind of gets up and around and calls start coming in because it's the only time I feel like I can really focus and look through the pictures and things for them, for my clients.
• 18:23
  I always tell clients that to like when you're buying a house, you're thinking exactly about the house you want to buy.
• 18:29
  Every time a new listing comes on, you're getting a notification from whatever third party app that you're using, and we're helping multiple clients at once.
• 18:38
  And so we're not necessarily looking at every single house that comes on the market the second it comes on the market, because I've had people get frustrated before, like, I can't believe you didn't send me this one.
• 18:48
  And I was like, well, it's only been on the market an hour, and I happen to be in a meeting when I came on the market.
• 18:52
  But it's because for you, buying a house is like everything to you.
• 18:57
  So you're so focused on it.
• 18:57
  So like you're going to see.
• 19:00
  So I just now avoid that elephant in the room.
• 19:03
  And I just said you were going to see houses before.
• 19:05
  I do most of what I'm telling my clients to because they have the algorithms on, let's say they're going to homes.
• 19:11
  Com like things are going to pop up for them because it's in their search criteria and homes.
• 19:16
  Com is going to alert them.
• 19:18
  The second it comes on the market versus us, we're going to see it when we do sit down and go through the MLS report and like, oh, what's new today.
• 19:26
  Oh this would be great for someone.
• 19:26
  So this would be great for so-and-so.
• 19:28
  But yeah, we're not going to know every second as soon as they're not popping up into our feed.
• 19:33
  Like like when they're looking at the third party places.
• 19:35
  So I challenge and I try to very much set the stage with my clients, telling them, you are going to see a lot of properties before me.
• 19:44
  Here's my email address.
• 19:45
  Just send them over and then I'll do more of a deep dive.
• 19:47
  I'll check the location and I'll check the.
• 19:49
  If it's on a busy street, I'll check the seller.
• 19:52
  If it's if it's a cash only, you know.
• 19:55
  So I'll talk to them.
• 19:55
  Like just send it over and I will.
• 19:57
  I will do more of a deep dive. Right?
• 19:59
  Yeah.
• 20:00
  I think that was one thing that surprised me a little bit about real estate is we're not going to see every house right when it comes on, but really the bulk of our job is more the other stuff.
• 20:11
  It's like protecting them.
• 20:12
  Like, yes, we open doors and we do help find them houses and things, but it's more of our job to point out stuff when we're at the house like, and to also do all the negotiating the paperwork to like, make sure everything's the way it's probably with the state.
• 20:26
  Well, or the disclosures that were provided to us are accurate compared to what we see with our own eyes, because sometimes you'll see disclosures and you go to the house and you're like, they never mentioned a hole in the ceiling and there's a hole in the ceiling.
• 20:38
  Do they not know because the house has been vacant for a year?
• 20:41
  You know what I mean?
• 20:42
  But like, it's our job to like, put all those things together.
• 20:45
  And I think for me, as a naive green agent, I was like, oh, HGTV makes us seem like a totally different job.
• 20:53
  First of all, definitely does.
• 20:56
  Yeah.
• 20:56
  Those real estate shows that I'm just like, oh, what are they leaving out?
• 21:00
  Right? Well, yeah.
• 21:02
  And I came from corporate America.
• 21:05
  I was a corporate kid.
• 21:05
  So my first few showings and stuff, I was in like a three piece suit, high heels the whole night, and we were, like, looking at acreage out in, like, Salem.
• 21:14
  And they're just like, what are you wearing and stuff?
• 21:16
  It's so funny.
• 21:17
  But, like, I didn't know I might have to climb a fence to get to a lockbox or something like that too.
• 21:22
  So you'll never see me in a three piece suit at a showing, ever.
• 21:27
  FIA yeah. I'm not.
• 21:28
  I'm a jeans and t shirt kind of girl.
• 21:30
  Well, and part of it is that I literally have had to climb over a fence to get because the lock boxes on the other side of a fence, but there wasn't a gate to get through, and I was just like, okay, okay, can I get a boost going over?
• 21:44
  Yeah, like a lot of things that people don't see behind the scenes that we do.
• 21:48
  Totally.
• 21:49
  You know, all the cleaning and the packing and the goodwill runs and yeah, I've gotten and gotten I've gone to get like, dogs out of the house because the clients couldn't or, you know, things like that, like, I'll go get them, no worry.
• 22:02
  And I'm just like hanging out with the dog park while showings going on.
• 22:05
  Absolutely. No.
• 22:06
  I usually try to take a cleaning kit with me in case like a wider race and some, you know, Windex and things.
• 22:12
  And so, I mean, because you want it to present the best it can.
• 22:16
  Absolutely. Very stressful for them.
• 22:18
  I mean, that is one thing I have to say.
• 22:20
  Like I've bought and sold plenty of houses myself, and the amount of stress that is just trying to keep the house show ready is so much way if you're living in it and if you're more than yeah, I was just going to say, and if it's more than just a couple people, it's hard.
• 22:38
  Well, and even with a couple, you're still living in it to like have to make sure your sink looks perfect every day after you brush your teeth and all that stuff because you don't know if you're going to get a showing your quest.
• 22:48
  That is stressful.
• 22:49
  It is stressful for the. Yeah, yeah.
• 22:52
  So it's definitely it's been such a fun ride though.
• 22:56
  I mean, 11 years, I just learned something new every day.
• 22:59
  And I think that's one of the things that I like the the most about this job is that it's never the same.
• 23:05
  I love just the relationships I get to build with problem solving.
• 23:08
  I love being around people I love.
• 23:11
  I like to have fun, period. So like that.
• 23:14
  That is my that's my jam. Yeah, yeah.
• 23:16
  That's why we get along so well.
• 23:18
  That's right.
• 23:19
  What is some advice you would give to a new agent or somebody that's like, I think I want to get into real estate.
• 23:25
  Like what are some questions you ask them to help see if it's the right fit for them?
• 23:29
  Okay.
• 23:29
  Well, one thing it always makes me chuckle is that I hear a lot that people get into real estate for the flexibility, and you don't really get a break when you're in real estate if you want to be successful.
• 23:42
  Yeah, I work seven days a week, 365 days a year.
• 23:46
  There is flexibility.
• 23:46
  Like I get to travel. Yeah.
• 23:49
  So like, for example, next Saturday I'm leaving for two weeks so I can still take my computer.
• 23:55
  I can still work. Yeah.
• 23:56
  I have a great group of people here at Cobalt Banker that helps support me when I'm away.
• 24:01
  So if I have to open a door or something.
• 24:05
  But, but I think the number of hours that you spend when you're taking care of a client or in transition transaction is a lot more than people, really, when they realize.
• 24:16
  And also, you can never know everything, like when people think they know it all.
• 24:22
  I, I don't believe it because there's so many things in this business that are, you know, education wise, you know, just it's never ending.
• 24:33
  And every house is different, every client is different.
• 24:38
  And balancing all of that and juggling it all, all the time, it's a lot.
• 24:42
  And you kind of have to love your job.
• 24:45
  And I think the other thing is like, if your focus isn't about the commission checks and it's about the people, that's what's most important.
• 24:53
  If your clients always come first, that's mean.
• 24:56
  That's where that's what I love is that I'm not looking at the dollar amount.
• 25:00
  Do I love that I get to make my living this way?
• 25:03
  Sure, absolutely.
• 25:05
  But I don't I don't focus.
• 25:07
  That's not what comes first.
• 25:08
  Well, and people feel that if that's all like you're focused on, like they know it's not about them.
• 25:15
  They know you don't necessarily have their best interest at heart.
• 25:18
  If you're worried about your paycheck, that shines through every time.
• 25:23
  And I get it like there are some agents out there that are like, I really need a paycheck.
• 25:26
  This is how I support my family.
• 25:28
  But if you're leading with that, it's going to come through.
• 25:31
  And those are always the deals that fall apart.
• 25:33
  Those are always the relationships that fall apart, like it's just leading with the relationship first and their needs first.
• 25:39
  That's definitely, in my opinion, that's a very most important about this job.
• 25:43
  Definitely.
• 25:44
  One thing that took me by surprise as a new agent, to your point of there's so much to know and you can't know everything.
• 25:50
  I studied the paperwork in and out as I got to know this contract.
• 25:54
  This is a really big deal.
• 25:56
  I don't want to ever mess up anybody's money situation because I didn't check the right box.
• 26:01
  Right.
• 26:01
  And my very first showing, they're like, oh, I'm going to just make up some verbiage, just as in a real thing.
• 26:06
  Oh, what kind of brick is this?
• 26:07
  This is firehouse Red brick from 1920.
• 26:10
  And I was like, what?
• 26:13
  Is that a thing?
• 26:14
  So I'd be like, oh, I don't know.
• 26:15
  It was like all the aspects of the house itself.
• 26:18
  I was not prepared to answer any of those questions.
• 26:21
  When people are like, oh, what kind of countertop is that?
• 26:23
  Is this the blah, blah, blah quartz that came out and blah, blah, blah and like, and then I felt like I don't know anything.
• 26:30
  And now, you know, like there are things, you know, you're like, oh yeah, this is quartz.
• 26:34
  And oh, yeah, like, you know, as you go.
• 26:36
  But even still I get asked questions and I'm like, yeah, I don't know if that fireplace was built by the same Mason that did x, y, Z, but I'll ask.
• 26:45
  I'll see if I can find out.
• 26:47
  All we can do is try to figure it out.
• 26:47
  Right? Yeah.
• 26:49
  Yeah, it's.
• 26:50
  That part is more fun.
• 26:51
  Like, that's fun for me, because in the past, I've done some remodeling and things, and I actually grew up doing construction.
• 26:57
  So my dad was a he built roads and bridges as a kid.
• 27:00
  And so I was on the construction job.
• 27:02
  So I was never afraid of that aspect of the business.
• 27:06
  I wasn't like, afraid.
• 27:07
  I was just like, surprised and totally unprepared.
• 27:10
  Like, I didn't think about anybody asking me, do you think this wood's original and what year do you think the woods from, you know, and I'm like, we'll see.
• 27:19
  When was it built?
• 27:21
  I don't know, but I can tell you what line 57 is on the contract, because that's what I had focused on.
• 27:27
  So like, that's what I always tell people right away is like, FYI, you're gonna get because all our education for anybody not in real estate, it is around the contracts because that is the most important part.
• 27:37
  It's not about building your business like when you're getting your license.
• 27:40
  They don't teach you how to run your own PNL.
• 27:43
  They don't teach you about taxes.
• 27:44
  They don't teach you about marketing.
• 27:46
  It's really about the contracts and rules and regulations, which is important.
• 27:50
  But then when you go to your first showing and you get asked a question like that, you're like, no one taught me that, I don't know.
• 27:56
  And I didn't have a construction background.
• 27:59
  So I was like, let me find out for you.
• 28:01
  That became my favorite phrase.
• 28:02
  I will find out for you.
• 28:04
  Yeah, yeah.
• 28:05
  Well, there's always like, I think I know quite a bit about the house.
• 28:08
  And then, seriously, I'll have a client that just asked me a question like, I have no idea.
• 28:11
  Like yesterday I was showing a property and they're like, what is this?
• 28:15
  And I'm like, I have no idea. Taking a picture. Yeah.
• 28:17
  You know, that's one thing I love the AI for, though.
• 28:19
  I can take a picture and they can give me suggestions of what it is. Yes.
• 28:23
  Well, and even with like your own listings and stuff, like you said, everything starts to blend together at some point and we're just human.
• 28:30
  So sometimes people will be like, where's the well-located?
• 28:32
  And I'm like, I feel like it's on the south side of the house.
• 28:35
  But then I start questioning myself and then I feel bad.
• 28:37
  I'll ask the seller, like said, well, on the south side of the house, they're like, oh yeah.
• 28:41
  And then I always think about it way more than they do.
• 28:44
  Or I'm like, oh, they're probably frustrated that I didn't know that.
• 28:47
  They probably didn't think twice about it again.
• 28:50
  Are you tired of looking at the same old home maps multiple times?
• 28:53
  Like 47 times this week.
• 28:55
  And you still haven't called an agent and the app still hasn't called you?
• 28:59
  Hi. It's me.
• 29:00
  I'd love to show you a home and take the apps out of it.
• 29:04
  But sometimes I'll do I do that.
• 29:06
  But I'm also trying to confirm because I don't want to give any misinformation, especially when you're under contract.
• 29:10
  Do you want to make sure?
• 29:11
  I want to make double sure that I'm given the right information?
• 29:14
  So yes. Yeah, I totally get it. Yeah.
• 29:17
  What has been a pleasant surprise throughout your journey in real estate?
• 29:26
  Besides me, of course.
• 29:27
  I'm just kidding.
• 29:28
  Yeah. No, all the relationships have been great.
• 29:29
  I've made some really great friends that started as my clients, and so I'm super thankful to have them in my life.
• 29:37
  I think really kind of that is kind of the big one for me, because that's a pretty important part for me.
• 29:43
  Real estate's interesting because it can feel very siloed, especially if you're an agent that doesn't have an office or doesn't go into an office often because you're kind of just out and about in the wild alone.
• 29:56
  But then for people like us that we both like frequenting our offices, but the more also heavily involved.
• 30:03
  For me, real estate is just a huge community.
• 30:05
  I actually was just telling a colleague about this at Spring Governance.
• 30:11
  We were walking through Oregon Spring governance and I was like, oh, hey, hey! And it's like agents from all over the state.
• 30:16
  But because I've been involved now for so many years, I was like, this feels like walking through a college campus.
• 30:21
  We're like, even the people I don't know, I know who they are or I know like, oh, that's the baseball player that blah blah blah, you know, like, but it's all like realtors like, oh, that's a realtor from bend.
• 30:31
  He's known for ranches or whatever.
• 30:33
  Like, you just know of everybody if you're involved, which is really interesting.
• 30:37
  So it can really be silent for heavily community focused.
• 30:40
  Yeah. You can't.
• 30:41
  And you know, I totally I very much believe in collaboration, not competition.
• 30:45
  Totally. So I mean, my word is my word.
• 30:48
  And, you know, like somebody calls me and let's say it's a referral from out of state and, you know, they don't have to do the paperwork that day.
• 30:57
  I mean, I will never go back on my word.
• 30:59
  My word is everything to me and my reputation is.
• 31:02
  And so I always want to make sure that I'm following with that because, I mean, that's a very important my what people think of me.
• 31:10
  I mean, I do want to be liked.
• 31:12
  I mean, I don't have fun, you have integrity and you want to be known for your integrity.
• 31:17
  There's a difference. Yeah.
• 31:18
  I was actually just talking about referrals.
• 31:23
  For all that I confirmed with her.
• 31:25
  Like, are you okay with this referral fee? And she.
• 31:28
  Does anyone ever say no?
• 31:29
  And I said sometimes, but also it's just good to establish that, like I expect a referral fee because some agents, even though you would think that it's and for those of you listening, aren't in real estate, for example, like what you just said, like if I had a client that was needing help in Salem and I called Jennie and I was like, hey, I have a referral for you.
• 31:51
  Do you mind paying this referral fee?
• 31:53
  She's giving me a fee by way of accepting the referral and the business.
• 31:58
  And so and we discussed that and it's a completely negotiable fee.
• 32:04
  And it's just one way as a realtor, you can pay Zillow a fee for a referral.
• 32:08
  Like so like it's just a common practice through real estate to pay a fee for a good referral, basically.
• 32:14
  But anyways, I was telling her if you don't establish it, some agents will just assume you don't want one and you're just giving a client which that happens to you.
• 32:21
  There's a lot of times I'm like, oh no, just take it.
• 32:23
  I made two phone calls like, I haven't been working with this client long or whatever.
• 32:27
  And she was like shocked.
• 32:28
  And I was just like, oh, you have been burned yet?
• 32:30
  I love that so much because that means that, like, you've only worked with really high integrity people.
• 32:35
  That's good. Yeah, yeah.
• 32:36
  And as we learned in the book Burn Brown Book that we did a report on, yes, we were on a team.
• 32:43
  Clarity is kind.
• 32:45
  It was one of the big which is so true.
• 32:48
  No, it is because I mean, I think that's something that just being clear about what your intentions are or what your expectations are.
• 32:55
  Yeah. It clears the field.
• 32:57
  I mean, it makes it makes everybody just kind of have a clear understanding that there's no questioning.
• 33:02
  There's no if people don't get the information straight from the horse's mouth, they're going to make things up in their heads.
• 33:09
  So why not just be clear?
• 33:11
  And it could be so.
• 33:13
  Yeah. No, that's so true.
• 33:15
  What is something that you're hoping for in your future?
• 33:18
  Like what are some goals that you have for you either within leadership or real estate in general with real estate in general.
• 33:27
  So as you know, so Coal Banker has been acquired by we have a new owner and her name is Lucinda Hague.
• 33:38
  And so that just happened just a few months ago.
• 33:42
  So we're very excited about that transition.
• 33:43
  And we have a whole new marketing for us.
• 33:47
  We have a new marketing department, so that's really exciting.
• 33:50
  I've been leaning into doing increasing my marketing, like with a new website, for example.
• 34:00
  And then for me personally, I am just trying to get myself more organized.
• 34:05
  So yeah, I love what I do.
• 34:08
  There's a lot of running around.
• 34:09
  I'm not necessarily with certain things like my contact management.
• 34:16
  I'm not great about getting it all organized right down.
• 34:19
  So for me, that's going to be a goal of just just making things a little bit more clear for myself so that I'm more productive.
• 34:26
  Yeah.
• 34:27
  Just to provide clarity, Coldwell banker as a whole wasn't acquired by anybody, but we are franchised.
• 34:35
  And so I'm also a banker.
• 34:38
  Professional group and Coldwell Banker Professional Group just acquired Mountain West right.
• 34:43
  Coldwell Banker Mountain West correct.
• 34:45
  Okay. Yeah. See I want to make sure I got the name.
• 34:47
  So one franchise acquired the other franchise, but we're still under all the Coldwell Banker family, which means now we're at the same brokerage title, which is awesome. Yes.
• 34:54
  I love that so much.
• 34:57
  What about. Yes.
• 34:58
  What about leadership?
• 34:59
  Are you thinking about going beyond the local?
• 35:02
  You know, I haven't gotten there yet.
• 35:05
  I am, I need to get through this year.
• 35:08
  Totally, because I actually, my daughter is getting married in a couple of weeks.
• 35:11
  I know, it's very exciting.
• 35:12
  So my focus has just been on that.
• 35:15
  I also acquired I have a couple of houses out in Pacific City and one of them's an Airbnb, and so I'm getting my feet wet with that with the whole Airbnb process.
• 35:28
  And how do I make that work?
• 35:30
  So I'm focusing on some of those things.
• 35:32
  I also need to do some personal remodeling on my own personal home.
• 35:36
  And so I haven't really thought about the next step I wanted to get.
• 35:42
  I'm doing this year as president.
• 35:44
  Next year, of course, as past president.
• 35:46
  Yeah.
• 35:47
  Making sure that things are going great at the association, which I'm very excited about.
• 35:51
  They're going great and I'm very proud of that.
• 35:53
  And I'm proud of the whole board of directors team and the executive committee.
• 35:58
  So yeah, things are going good there.
• 36:00
  At some point I probably will do something at the state level.
• 36:04
  I don't know what that looks like yet, but I just well, there's no rush.
• 36:07
  There's no rush. Yeah.
• 36:08
  Well I don't think a lot of people realize when you do volunteer.
• 36:13
  This happened even with Women's Council, which is an affinity group of the associations.
• 36:17
  But normally if you go for the position of president, you are president elect for a year, then you're president for a year, then you're the immediate past president for a year.
• 36:26
  So really, it's a three year commitment for just that one position.
• 36:30
  And a lot of times you hold positions before that.
• 36:33
  So it and then as president you're pretty much on every committee because you need to know what's going on.
• 36:37
  So there's a lot of you know, there's a lot of time that goes into that.
• 36:42
  But you also learn a lot.
• 36:43
  You get to make great connections with other agents and other affiliates in the in the industry.
• 36:47
  And so it can be a fun thing too.
• 36:49
  Yeah, I love being a part of the process, and I know you do too, for elevating the professionalism and education within our industry because it's yeah, it's so important.
• 36:59
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 37:01
  I personally can't see how people do the I guess the cloud, there's cloud based brokerages because I learned so much in an office being around other people.
• 37:11
  So I mean that's definitely the format I need to have.
• 37:15
  So I know there's a there's a brokerage for everyone.
• 37:18
  But like for me it's like a brick and mortar is very important.
• 37:22
  And because it's about the relationships, you learn and grow and you're around other people, you get ideas you share.
• 37:29
  Your listings can also be like motivating, like if you because everybody knows if you're in real estate, that it can be a little bit of a roller coaster ride when it comes to seasonality, inventory, your own personal business.
• 37:41
  And sometimes if you're in a valley of your business, but you come in to work and there's a couple people like you're in the office and you're like, oh, well, Jenny is killing it.
• 37:49
  She's got five deals going on right now.
• 37:51
  I just need to change x, y, z. Right.
• 37:54
  That it's motivating and inspiring.
• 37:56
  But if you're at home and you just know you're in a valley and that's all you know, then it feels like, well, maybe this isn't for me or this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
• 38:06
  Or, you know, it's easy to get stuck.
• 38:08
  And like I said earlier, the silo.
• 38:09
  So if you are in a cloud based brokerage and this is no discouragement towards them, just get involved with your local association or an affinity group, or try and find other ways to connect with realtors outside.
• 38:23
  If you don't have a brick and mortar, I don't think.
• 38:25
  I think people in general don't understand how important it is to have relationships with other real estate agents.
• 38:31
  Totally.
• 38:32
  When you're on the other side of a deal with somebody and you know them, I mean, I personally find it very helpful.
• 38:37
  I think the communication is better, the stress level comes down.
• 38:39
  It does the negotiating of like the repairs.
• 38:44
  There's, you know, there's a lot of things that are very beneficial for working with somebody that you know.
• 38:52
  Yeah.
• 38:52
  And and so I would love to see more agents coming to the general membership meetings coming.
• 39:00
  You know, coming to some of the social things that we do, just getting to know one another, because it does make it more fun also.
• 39:05
  Yeah for sure.
• 39:06
  Well, and like I said, it really lowers that stress level.
• 39:09
  Like if you and I are in a deal together, even when we weren't at the same brokerage, it's just almost a piece of mind like, oh, I know the other side's going to communicate. Great.
• 39:18
  I know the integrity is there.
• 39:20
  They're going to be very forthcoming with anything important, you know, like it's just totally different when you know the other side of the transaction versus negotiation tactics and all these like games and stuff.
• 39:31
  It's like, I don't want to play mind games.
• 39:32
  I just want to help my clients get at home.
• 39:34
  I want to help your clients get out of their home like, and the most fair way possible.
• 39:38
  Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
• 39:40
  I love that you took time to be with me today.
• 39:44
  I appreciate it so much.
• 39:46
  Cheers to you.
• 39:48
  Thank you. Thank you.
• 39:51
  I know drinking around a mic is an acquired talent.
• 39:56
  An acquired talent or a practice talent?
• 39:58
  Yeah. Cheers.
• 39:59
  Thank you, everyone, for listening and watching.
• 40:02
  I'll see you next week.