Latest / The Realtor Who Wines / From The Bachelorette to Home Loans: Baseball, Love & Real Estate

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From The Bachelorette to Home Loans: Baseball, Love & Real Estate · The Realtor Who Wines

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Realtor Who Wines Podcast.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Rochelle Neumeyer, your hostess with the most us, a student of life, a connector, a passionate wine enthusiast, and your local favorite guide.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Join me as we explore the vibrant Pacific Northwest, savor the finest wines, and champion the spirit of entrepreneurship.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring guests, supporting business ownership, and uncovering the stories that make this community unique.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: So grab a glass of wine, settle in, and let's embark on a journey of discovery and connection together.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_03: Cheers! Welcome back to the realtor who wines.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Rochelle Neumeyer, your realtor that loves to wine.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: I am with Chris today, and we are drinking history from Stoller, which is kind of funny.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_03: We kind of both are connected to this business because you they have, what would you say, Shahalab is like their sister company?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they're like under the same umbrella, and you're a member at one, and I'm the member at the other.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_03: So when I pulled it out today, I was excited that you're like, oh, I love history.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, I just had history for the first time this weekend and I loved it so much.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: I thought I'd share it with you.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: So cheers.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Cheers.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having us to your office today.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Chris, do you mind introducing yourself to everybody?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mind at all.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm Chris Siegfried.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am a local mortgage lender uh here in Sherwood, Oregon.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um I do lend in other states.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_03: So Which states do you lend in?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so Washington and Oregon are the primary states I work in, but I also work in Idaho, Arizona, and California.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_03: That makes sense because there's a lot of movement between those states too.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'll have clients leave, I'll have clients come back, or refer, hey, we want a second home in Arizona, right?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_03: So or they leave, but their kids are still here, so there's still like relationship and connections that way.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: Well, how did you get into lending?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like what was it about the lending world that drew you in, or how did you get started?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I started in lending world in 2012.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh my best friend was doing it.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: He had been in it for about two years.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and before 2012, I was playing baseball for a while, and we can get into that.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I finished that, I had my degree, and I was like, what should I do?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I started in finance at Adidas for a short stint, and my buddy said, You shouldn't do that.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: You need to come to the Don't do that.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, You need to come to Seattle and try this uh mortgage thing, and I was like, Okay.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I had recently broken up with a girl or been broken up with a girlfriend, and so I was like, All right, I'll move.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So we moved up to Seattle and became a loan officer assistant uh to learn the business for about a year and a half, and then I said, wait a minute, I can't make this a career as an assistant.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I need to do it.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I want to be in charge.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_03: How long were you in Seattle for?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: I was in Seattle for about eight years.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so a while.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh my wife and I we moved back after we had our second child uh in 2019.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: We moved back to Oregon to be close to family.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, originally from here.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it definitely takes a village to raise kiddos, for sure.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_03: So it's nice to be near family.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_03: How has lending changed since 2012 to 2026?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's lending is always evolving.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and so is real estate and the market, all the things.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um the limits are always going up, which is kind of crazy, right?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because housing is becoming more and more expensive.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: So people want to figure out how to borrow more, maybe put down less, and that's where conventional limits just continue to rise.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um rules, I think, actually are getting a little bit more strict.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, back in the day, certainly in the early 2000s, you can probably just have a pulse and get along.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we want to know a little bit more now.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: Which is why the quote unquote the crash that a lot of people like to talk about that happened in 2008.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: So great movie to watch is The Big Short.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: I just love the movie.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what I did was I read the book, then watched the movie.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh no, I read I watched the movie, then I read the book, so I could put the characters of the voices in the movie to the book.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: And it made it more interesting for me because it's dense.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: But that did that did a good job explaining actually what happened.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um but no, you need more than just a pulse to get a loan now.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Turns out, yeah.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And people people get kind of like skeptical of that.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you need all this information?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, you want to borrow a million dollars, like you should give me some of your information.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and at the end of the day, we need to know if you can pay it back.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: Even if it's over a long period of time.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how I started.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: My my friend called and said you should do this.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been doing it, you know, 14 years ever since.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: What is some advice you would give a first-time home buyer that's just kind of dipping their toes in the water and not sure how to hire a lender or how to like interview a lender, like knowing what the right questions are to talk to a lender?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so most of my business is referral-based, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: So someone said you should talk with Chris to begin your pre-approval process or your home journey, right?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, what questions do you ask when you don't know what questions to ask?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like it's impossible, right?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of people will go on to chat now or go on to Google.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I always say, like, there's no dumb questions, there's no stupid questions because you're the one who wants to borrow the money, right?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So you you can ask all the questions you want.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think there's like certainly a process, like usually a consultation with a first-time home buyer is 30 minutes to an hour.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: So just kind of prep yourself for that, right?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of things come up through conversation, like, oh, I didn't realize I should ask this, or I was thinking about that, my friend told me this, right?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: But um, some of the basics that we look at, right, are your income.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you doing for work?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, have you built credit?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Have you put any money aside for a savings for down payment?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Those are some of the basics, and then we get into budget and planning.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_03: I think also what the general public doesn't realize is like there's such a variety and difference in like whether or not you walk into where you bank versus calling a 1-800, blah, blah, blah.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_03: Or meeting with somebody like you, do you want to kind of help talk about the differences between all the programs or people that are out there?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I I say this all the time: like when you walk into a bank, it's kind of like the stereotypical, hey, I want to get a loan, and they say, Great, here's a loan and here's your rate.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And there's just so much more to it than that, right?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you actually like put together your plan of, well, this is where I see myself and my family in this period of time, right?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Then we can build out a mortgage strategy for you.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then you can say, okay, no, I want this loan versus that loan, which we can access bank money, credit union money, hedge fund money, right?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Our own money.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: So there's it's kind of like a one-stop shop when you're talking with me or us, right?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because we have all of these different avenues to provide or present.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then you, as the consumer, get to say, I want to do that.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas if you walk into your bank or credit union, most of the time it's like, here's your loan.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then while I have questions, like, okay, right.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And there's no real dialogue back and forth.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: I also, and this isn't like to put down any banks.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_03: So if you work at a bank, this isn't about that.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: It's more about banking, your bread and butter's banking as lending.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: So that's not actually what banks specialize in is mortgage loans.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: They specialize in banking.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: And then also the lenders that work at banks work banker hours.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of real estate transactions take place after those hours.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so there are times where I would need to call Chris on a Saturday morning saying, hey, they just found the property.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: We need a pre-approval for this much.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_03: Because sometimes you're pre-approved for, I'm just gonna make up numbers, 700.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: But you really want to buy in the 500s because that's where you want your payment to be.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_03: And so we you don't want to write an offer and supply a pre-approval for 700, especially if you're offering a little bit under-asking or something like that, because you don't want the sellers to be like, well, they're pre-approved for 700.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_03: Why are they only offering 500 on our 515 home?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_03: So instead, I would call Chris and say, Hey, can I get a pre-approval for 500?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna write today or text him.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: And um, when you work with somebody like you, you can get a pre-approval on a Saturday morning versus when you're working with somebody that's working with a bank, you have to wait till Monday, and sometimes you lose the opportunity to write the offer.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: I say that all the time.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we're going to find your ceiling where your approval is, and you have to find your budget, right?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then you have to put blinders on yourself when you're looking at homes.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like if I can pre-approve you for 700, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: But you only want to look at$500,000 houses, your search criteria should stay within that$500,000 range and not go outside of it.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: Know you have flexibility if you need to, Bend, right?
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: But don't just go there because you can borrow it.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then on the pre-approval front, I almost always say don't send a blanket pre-approval letter.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because in your example, right, if you have a house that's$515 and you want to negotiate, but you show them$700, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, then they know out of the gate that you're negotiating something lower when they know you can qualify for more.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: So don't reveal your entire hand.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: But know in the back of your mind, well, I want to offer$500, but I can get to$515 if they don't want to, because I can still afford it, but I don't want it to do that just yet.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and you might be offering$500 because you toured the home and you love it, but you realize the carpet needs to be replaced, or you're gonna paint all the rooms that were yellow back to white.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: And so you're saying, hey, we're gonna offer$500 because we already know some cosmetic stuff we want to do.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: But if even though it's around that, when they see the$700, they'll be like, you can afford the carpet on your own.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like the sellers are instantly insulted.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: So it's just better to have a pre-approval letter that's for whatever you're offering.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_03: Regardless.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like a lot of the times right now, especially, I don't know what you're experiencing all the time, but I feel like buyers are like are apprehensive.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're not sure if they want to write an offer, they want to see what's going on.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: I just say take a shot.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like take your shot if it's a house you like, put in an offer.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's offensive, they're gonna tell you that's an offensive offer.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: But you don't know until you ask.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're gonna wait, well, someone else is also waiting, right?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because we just don't have that many homes available and we have way more buyers.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and I just recently had buyers where they're like, Well, I like it, but I'm wondering if something better is gonna come on next week.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: And then the next week they're like, Well, what if something else comes on?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: So that's the other thing, too, is just like truly deciding like, does this make sense for you?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: Are you ready to buy?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_03: Because something may or may not come on that's better, but also better's relative.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: So like this home might have been perfect regardless of what else came on the market, kind of a thing.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: What about credit scores?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: There's um a lot of buyers um have misconceptions around what their credit score needs to be or their debt-to-income ratio.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of information out there that can get kind of confusing.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: Is there any kind of clarity comments that you could give them on certain things to focus on?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I always default to ask, right?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like because there's so many different loan programs that offer different credit score requirements, debt to income ratio requirements.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, pretty standard good rule is we're always looking at, which is crazy, we look at 50% of your gross income for a starting point.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then we subtract out all of your monthly debt obligations that would show up on a credit report.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like cars, auto loans, credit cards, right?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: To figure out what your house payment that we will qualify you for will be.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you can afford that or not, right, is up to you.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's how we kind of whittle it down.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um so 50% is a is a good number.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um there are theories out there that you can't you shouldn't have your mortgage more than 23 or 32% of your income.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's relative.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's all based on your own personal finances, right?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um if you can carry a higher payment because you don't like eating out, well then that might be your number, right?
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: But maybe your friend who makes the same amount of money loves to eat out.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: So they don't want to carry a high payment.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: They want to go travel and eat out every single day.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just it's relative um to you and your own personal finances.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: With credit scores, um most of the time above 700 is is good, but then you get really you get more loan options the higher your credit score is into the 700.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: So like 760, 780, you just have a more you have more available to you to borrow.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: The lower you go in your credit score, the more limited you are in loans.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_03: But for those of you listening, that's like, well, I'm out, because if you don't have a credit score of 700, you're not out.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: You just qualify for a different amount or different rate.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: But there's definitely programs out there to help you.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so a lot of times there's two programs that everyone talks about.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's FHA financing versus conventional financing.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone thinks that an FHA loan is a first-time home buyer loan.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's not.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's a three and a half percent down, uh three and a half percent loan, right?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Down percent down payment is three and a half percent.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas conventional financing is three percent.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: The difference is with FHA financing, you can have a low credit score into the 600s, sometimes into the high fives, um, and you're going to get the same rate, more or less, than someone with a credit score of 700 that needs the same loan.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's more of a standardized loan for everything.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you had a blemish in your past that's pulling your credit down, but you make a bunch of money.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: But this loan might be better for you than a conventional loan, right?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I think most importantly, it's always going through all of the different loan options with your loan officer to figure out what you can qualify for, and then just pick, right?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like what makes sense.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: I always tell clients to before, or even if let's say I'm at a barbecue and someone's like, oh, I'm thinking about buying a house next year, but I want to pay off three credit cards first.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_03: I always, even in that scenario, because you would think most realtors would be like, Oh yeah, pay it off and then give me a call.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, don't pay anything off yet.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_03: Meet with a lender because they might tell you not to pay it off completely, or they might tell you instead of paying off all three, pay off these two and then put money towards the student loan, or pay off this one and put money towards your car payment, or put off this and keep this for down payment.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_03: But meeting with somebody like you is so impactful because you would think paying everything off will help you, but sometimes it actually hurts you and it also changes your credit health as well.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: I agree a hundred percent.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say you have uh$10,000 debt on your credit that you just said I have to pay it off in order to go buy a house.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, how long did it take you to save$10,000, right?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then how much is that payment relative, right, to your ratios?
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we what we'll do is we'll look at everything and say, okay, well, if you spend that$10,000, that's$10,000 you don't have to go buy a house.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you qualify for more, but you didn't want to qualify for more anyway.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: So like you still qualified with that debt obligation, but now you don't have the money to buy the house because you spent it.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it's way more putting together a plan and strategy.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, if someone says, Well, I need to pay off all my credit cards or loans first, pause and then put together a strategy, then decide what you want to do.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that might be six months, twelve months to two years, but at least you know how to plan for the house purchase as opposed to oh, I paid everything off, I don't have any money.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's like okay, well, now start saving again.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_03: And or sometimes people pay it off and close the account and they don't realize that actually hurts your credit because maybe that was a credit card you've had for 10 years, and that shows longevity of payments and credit building and stuff.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: So again, before you do anything, yeah, just partner with somebody that you know, like, and trust.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_03: And if you don't know anybody, please reach out to me or Chris.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like we'd be happy to guide you on like where to get started.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but it's just better to ask before do for sure.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: Thinking about moving to Oregon, don't just Google it.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_03: Talk to someone who lives it.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_03: I help people relocate smoothly and confidently.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_03: Reach out and let's talk about your next move and make sure it makes sense for you.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_03: What about lenders?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: Like if somebody was like thinking about getting into the lending world, like you started as an assistant, is that what you would recommend?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_03: Do you have kind of a journey path that you would mentor somebody in your position?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really hard industry to get into now because gosh, I think the failure rate is like 85-95%.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same in real estate.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's really high.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so who wants to hire someone without any experience, let alone sales experience?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: So um you have to have, in my opinion, if you want to get into lending, you have to have some sort of proven record of sales, right?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Or drive.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um you should find a mentor and go under that person, in my opinion, because that's the best way to learn, right?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people will say you don't learn uh how to do a loan without doing loans, but it's like, well, you don't know what to ask without, right?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of like on the buy side.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say definitely find a mentor.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um interview or talk with a lot of different loan officers, right?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: In the industry to figure out if it's what you want to do.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think that would be a good starting point.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Talk with a bunch of people, is this what I want to do?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's if you're a mortgage loan officer and not working at a bank or a credit union, you're 100% commissioned.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: So you're either going to make money or not make money.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you can only sustain that for so long.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to be willing to start immediately working, right?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: And most people work on their sphere first.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you have to be willing to work really hard because it's not as easy as it is on HTTV.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I know.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_03: We talk about that all the time.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_03: Same in real estate, their industries are very similar where it's a lot of education that I don't think everybody realizes that.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_03: And then it's continuous education because you've already mentioned this earlier, is that it's ever changing.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_03: Rules change, forms change, policies change, programs change.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_03: What all of a sudden there's like an organ home bond, and the next year there is no organ home bond.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like just different things pop in and out.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_03: But then also it is you are building your own book of business within the business, and so many people are not prepared for that.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, that kind of brings me to you being an athlete, because I've had this conversation with other entrepreneurs that are athletes tend to do pretty well because of the driven portion of it.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: But then also we're not afraid to fail.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like we understand, like you don't get to hit in your case, baseball.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like you sometimes you strike, right?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: And the but that doesn't stop you from batting.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: And same.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: I played volleyball and basketball, so it's kind of the same.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like you don't make every shot, but you keep shooting until you make shots.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I feel like athletes tend to have a resilience bounce back factor a little bit.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think sports has played a part in your business life?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think so.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I played baseball forever.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was fortunate enough to play for four years in the minor leagues for the Cubs, which was great, awesome experience.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um it really uh baseball allows you to compartmentalize, you have to compartmentalize because you know I would pitch on a Monday, and if I didn't have any success, I was pitching Tuesday or Wednesday, right?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I had to forget about what just happened and I had to perform that day.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then I was gonna pitch again, right?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: I on average I pitched every third day.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um there was a stint where I started every five days, but my focus was as a reliever pitching almost every three days.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: So you constantly had to forget about the past experience, whether it was good or bad.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: If it was good, right, then you wouldn't want to be on a high horse and know that, oh, no matter what I'm gonna do.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Watch out, boys.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, I'm back.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: You can be hu humbled very fast.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think sports does a good job in helping people compartmentalize what they're doing, right?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Practice is for practice, when we're at the field, this is what we do, when we're in the game, this is what we do, having a routine, right?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Super important because if you don't have your routine, you're just kind of laissez-faire, which runs rampant in our industry, totally real estate and lending.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you don't have a routine, then I think it's really easy to be uh to second guess your ability and get sidestepped with shiny objects, and then all of a sudden, you know, you get to months in or three months down the road and you're like, Well, I haven't done anything.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: So building that routine through sports was really helpful, and I've carried that through business as well.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_03: I think too, along with what you just said, is like we don't forget when we miss certain things in the game, but we don't focus on it while we're in the game, then we refocus on it in a practice.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_03: So like hey, this is a learning opportunity.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: What went wrong here?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's a lot too, where like athletes have a good way of reflecting.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: And instead of being like, Oh, I'm the worst, why would anyone hire me?
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_03: We just pivot, like, oh, I should have done this different, I should adjust this way.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and we're always open to feedback because we've always had coaches telling us what to do or how to fix something, and we don't take it as like a personal attack.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_03: And some people, I haven't said I'm not saying that you have to have been an athlete to success as an entrepreneur.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's just something I've noticed.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_03: And all the people I know that are pretty successful entrepreneurs, yeah.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of them played sports, and I think it's because you learn a lot of that skill set.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: You have to have an open mindset and be open to constructive criticism.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think whether you played sports or not, you have to have that mindset in business because you aren't doing it perfect.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you're not doing it right every single time, and you're gonna have a conversation with a client that you wish you said something different.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you just listen to that moment or learn from that moment, right?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then take the bits and pieces out of it, you know, refine it, and then bring it into the next conversation.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that happens in mortgage and real estate, right?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, totally, or any kind of sales, if you just want to talk about sales in general, is how you speak to one person might not be how you speak to somebody else.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: And sometimes we get a rude awakening or a reminder of that, like, oh, I should have been a little bit more thorough about XYZ with these clients, even though I wasn't with these clients because they didn't need it.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: But sometimes we just forget when we're in the weeds doing stuff and it's a good reminder.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: That reminds me too about a conversation I had yesterday.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, someone was working with a two million dollar buyer, right?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: And they were super excited.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they haven't done that before, right?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I think if you have your plan right in place and how you present yourself, it doesn't matter if it's a$500,000 house you're trying to help someone buy or a two million dollar house.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Your presentation and your planning will have you prepared for that conversation in that moment.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then you don't have to be overhyped and you know overthink the two million dollar house versus the five.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: They both need to be treated the same way, right?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly there are going to be tweaks.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have like a baseline plan going into those conversations, then it won't be as daunting.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's just another person who needs to buy a house in a different financial situation.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: I also give that kind of same advice if you're helping people, because you and I do work a lot by referral with our personal sphere, whether it's your relatives or people you grew up with.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um when if I do like a pie drop off for my clients, I'm still dropping one off at my mom's house because she's been a client, my brother, you know, like and they always look at me weird and they're like, What are you doing?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I'm real to Rochelle right now.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not your sister, I'm not your daughter.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_03: Take the pie.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Take the pie.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: But no, but I like to treat all my clients.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: When you're my client, you're my client.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_03: And then outside of business hours, you're my friend again or whatever.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_03: But like I take it really seriously when my spear comes to me and I know you're the same, like just giving that same customer service across the board, regardless of who it is.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, don't get don't get caught up in, oh, it's a family member, I can treat them different because that's an experience that they need to have, and it needs to be a great experience, especially because you want them to continue to refer you or talk good about you when you're not in the conversation.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: I say that a lot.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like you want to be talked about while you're not there, right?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it has to be positive.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to be talked in a negative way.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_03: Like I wouldn't have used her if she wasn't my sister.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_03: You never want that statement made.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_03: No, no.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: So treat them all equally and have the game plan no matter who it is.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And doing the pies, even if it's a family member, just give them the pie.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_03: Or whatever it is you're doing, just include them.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like they all get my newsletters and all that stuff.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_03: And they still, even though my mom bought a house for me with me, I shouldn't say from me, with me six years ago.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_03: And she's still like, what are you doing?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: And like, you're still on my client list, lady.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_03: It is like sometimes you're my client, sometimes you're my mom.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_03: What other lessons did you learn in baseball, just in general, that you've applied to life?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, um I really so with baseball, you fail way more, right?
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then you succeed.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, to be in the Hall of Fame now is a little different because the anyway, but to be in the Hall of Fame, you have to hit three out of ten times.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's terrible, right?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you can hit 300, you're probably gonna be a Hall of Famer.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Or if you can, you know, give up one run every three innings, you're probably gonna be a Hall of Famer, right?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: If you can last.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I think what that teaches you is that you have to be willing to accept failure.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then move on, right?
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: So same in the business, right?
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to be able to land every single client I talk to.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because if someone else resonated just a little bit different with that person, and that's perfectly okay.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: You can't take it to heart.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: You have to move on and take your and get your next at bat, right?
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then try again and try again.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the idea of just not giving up, right?
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and just keep refining your tool and your language and your craft uh is super important.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's something I definitely learned in baseball.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_03: Did you play baseball from a young age?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_03: When did you like know baseball was like your sport that you wanted to continue playing at?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: I so I I grew up playing baseball, soccer, and basketball and I ran.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then it just shifted to soccer and baseball.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: I was mostly a soccer player until my sophomore year in high school uh when I had to pick.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I picked baseball because it was baseball season.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I know.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: Tough when you're like, ah, I guess baseball.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I trapped I was I was I was playing year-round soccer.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: So that was my sport.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Baseball was seasonal.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but my soccer coach made me choose, and I was like, oh man, all my friends are playing baseball right now, so I picked baseball.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so really that's when I started really honing in on baseball.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Even then, uh, I had to walk on to my college team.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I I got invited to walk on, so I still had to try out in college.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that worked out.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then from there, uh three years later, I got drafted uh by the Cubs, and that kind of continued my evolution of playing baseball.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_03: What about being drafted or that whole process?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: Do you think people don't really know about?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like, is there anything about that process that caught you by surprise or that like the general public wouldn't know about?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh now is different.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think that goes without saying about everything.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now is way different and the amount of rounds are different.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um I didn't realize that I was I was gonna have an opportunity opportunity to play professional baseball until my sophomore junior year.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um and really a lot in my junior year when scouts would start coming to watch baseball games, right?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then they'd find out when I was pitching.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: If I was in California, they'd come and watch, right?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure they could come to watch me.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think a fun story about being drafted is when it comes to time for draft day or draft days, um you're just kind of waiting.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you're being told you might go in this round or that round or this team's interested in you.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I really only had one team that I thought was interested.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: There were a couple, but I thought it was the Cubs the whole time.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so I and and so on draft day, I had to, I was playing summer baseball uh in Palm Springs, and it was 120 degrees.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: It was terribly hot.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: Just a yeah, a cool breeze.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, it was so terrible, it was so hot, it was fun, but it was hot.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so on draft day, I was getting ready to go to the ball field, and I was watching the draft, I watched the first round.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't go in the top five rounds, so I was like, okay, maybe next tomorrow.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: And because that's usually the televised rounds where it was back then.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then the next day I'm going about my normal routine, and then I'm like, okay, I just gotta get ready for the ball field.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I have my phone next to the shower, I'm showering, and then all of a sudden my phone rings.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I've gotta grab it, I've gotta go pick this up real quick.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: And then you gotta be cool about like hello.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_03: Even though, like, you just turn the shower off.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hello?
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Are you busy?
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm not busy at all.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just taking a shower.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yep, just waiting.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so that was a really cool experience, certainly a memorable experience, I won't forget.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but there's a and then from there, you're like, now what?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I went home, I got my stuff packed, and then I drove from Oregon to Arizona, and uh started baseball.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_03: And then what about like living in Chicago?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_03: Like, were you prepared for that?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: Did the team help you adjust?
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what does that whole process look like?
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_03: Or at least then, whatever.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so so baseball for me, uh spring training was in Arizona.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I broke and went to a team in Boise, Idaho.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and all the teams kind of shift over the years.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I played in Boise, Idaho for a little bit.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: I played in Peori, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um I play and then all of the surrounding states on traveling on buses and doing that whole 12-hour trip, eating, sleeping on the floor, like all the things.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I played in Daytona, Florida.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: That was another place I played in and traveled the entire state of Florida and played all the other minor league teams.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um I did have a stint where because my manager was Ryan Sandberg, who is a Hall of Famer, was a hall is a Hall of Famer, um, has passed, but uh because he was our manager, we got to play at Wrigley Field as a minor league team against another minor league team.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it was packed out because everyone was a fan of Ryan Sandberg.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: So they all came to see him and watch us play.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: So that was probably one of the better memories that I have of baseball.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I got to pitch at Wrigley because it was my turn in the rotation.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: So family flew in from Oregon, family flew in from Pennsylvania, um, and we all got to experience a pretty cool, memorable moment.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't go as planned.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like I pitched well the first inning and then I pitched terribly the second inning.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, it's not how it's supposed to be.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: But again, uh uh, I I try and forget that part and just remember the the other good parts.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: Do you still play at all for fun, like any pickup games or softball leagues or anything?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_03: No, just pickleball it up.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no softball.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, softball isn't it isn't for me.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I like going and playing, but then I'm like, I'm too sore afterwards to like want to do this again.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I have like so many like different activities that I like to do that I have to like pick and choose because I try to not do it outside of uh family time.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've tried like I'll do alumni games here and there and pitching, but I feel like baseball is a unique sport.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not practicing regularly, like you're going to be sore.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: Well, your body's like, what are you doing?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_03: We haven't done this in years.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's happening.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: There are people who are like, oh, you could throw like just throw 70%.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, there's one speed and it's a hundred percent.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: And like I'm not gonna come in here and just throw away.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_03: And then throw my arm out.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I try not to.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I coach little league and I help the kids, and sure.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'll help other kids, but I'm not personally playing anymore.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: I can still throw long toss and pitch, but I don't I'd rather golf, I'd rather run, play pickleball, work out, yeah, you know, bike, do all the other things.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_03: I like that you incorporated baseball a little bit into your business too with your business card.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_03: It's a baseball card, and I think it's hilarious.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think the business card is like the most boring thing ever, especially this day and age.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and so I was like, you know what?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm gonna have a business card, I'm gonna do something silly.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_03: So I just kind of well, and it's funny, the first time I met you, it was at an open house or broker tour, and I didn't know you had played baseball.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: I just thought you liked baseball.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, oh, I like how creative he is.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_03: This is fun.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_03: And then when as I got to know you, I was like, oh, the baseball thing makes even more sense now.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_03: But even before I knew, I was like, oh, I like this.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: It's different, it's a way to stick out and relate with I mean, a lot of people like baseball, so it's an easy way to connect with somebody too and build relationships.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think I need to change the photo because some people are like, You you look really serious.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: Are you a doctor in this picture?
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why do you look so serious?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's going on?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_03: You should get like a bat that says like home loans or something on it and like have it up or whatever, and then have like your brand on you.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_03: So I think it'd be funny.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe a jersey.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that'd be good.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: You could just wear it out when you're coaching.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'll do that for I so I sponsored one of the little league teams here and uh they're like, well, what do you want to put in the jersey?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, my name and number.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_02: Please tell your parents to call me.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we did that, and then I saw it.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, that is so cheesy.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: But whatever.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: You'll have that jersey hopefully for life.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's so funny.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_03: If you love hearing how I talk to Oregon business owners and community leaders on this podcast, just wait until you see how I work as a real estate agent.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: Buying, selling, relocating, I do it all.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_03: Don't do it without me.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_03: Let me help.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: Reach out today.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_03: You also have another unique experience on how you met your wife.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_03: Do you want to tell how did that even come about?
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: Like, was that something you're like, I'm gonna go for this?
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: Or like, how did that even happen for you?
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I met my wife on The Bachelorette.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so in 2012, I moved to Seattle for this job for mortgages.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I was out at a bar with a friend, and someone came up to us and asked us if we wanted to interview for the show.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, uh, does it pay?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, uh no.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, well, no, I guess we're here for a job, like I can't do that.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh my buddy actually picked up uh the lady's card.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I go home and I'm living with my best friend and his fiancee at the time, and they're like, just do it.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Go tomorrow.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, who cares?
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Work will figure itself out.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I sheepishly called back the scout and was like, Can I come and interview?
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, she's like, Of course.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we went down and I I did the I went through the interview process and it was intense.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that time, because it's been some time, 2012-2013.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that time they were like constantly calling, interrupting your day, like, send us videos, send us photos.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, no, I don't have what were you doing?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: No, talk, let's just talk.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't have all these video of me.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_03: And if we keep in mind, 2012, uh, you couldn't record a video that easy on your phone.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_03: Like, it's not like today where you could just do like a real quick video and call it a day.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_03: You actually had to like put effort into it.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: Instagram hit and Snapchat hit around 2013 through 15.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so social media was around, but Twitter wasn't really popular yet.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: Facebook was, but yeah.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: That was like kind of the only thing.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: So it wasn't as popular.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, there were more barriers.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but the interview process was extensive.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, then they get you to you around February, they fly about back then a hundred guys down to LA and interview you there.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_03: And are you like all in a waiting room waiting together, just looking around, like, what are we doing, you guys?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know, right?
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: What are you looking at?
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Why are you looking at it?
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_03: You're like puffing up things like guys.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that was one thing I definitely didn't do on the show.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, we were all there and everyone had their stories, and I was like, if we're gonna be here, we gotta be friends because like this is just otherwise it'd be miserable too.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_03: Correct.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I'm not and I again I took compartmentalization into the show really well.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, like my relationship with you was different than your relationship with her and my relationship with me, and like I just isolated them all, and so I didn't care how you two interacted versus how I did versus we, right?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because we were living together, so we had to be friends, you two were you had your relationship, and then I just had to have confidence in my relationship.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I wasn't really like the jealous type, right?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that helped because it's definitely an environment where you know you mix in alcohol, you mix in to being tired, you mix in hanging out with all these people.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just also a really weird situation that nobody has been on.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Same person, like just weird, right?
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's just an elephant in the room all the time.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: I kind of relate it to like when you're back then, it's been a minute, but when you're dating, you don't know if you're monogamous.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: You hope you are, right?
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the plan.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: And like talking to you.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: You haven't had the conversation.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: No idea, you're just hopeful.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: In that situation, you know you aren't, but you also know that there's not much that can happen.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: So you kind of just go and build the relationship with someone.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it was a wild experience.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_03: When you got selected, did you even then question, like, what am I doing?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: Or at this point, are you like, here we go, I'm all in now.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: I've already gone through this like whole interview process.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: At the beginning, I was skeptic of the whole process, right?
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I have a little bit of that behavior, so I have to like I kind of like what's going on here.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so at the beginning I was a little bit hesitant as like, is this real a real thing?
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: But I wanted to give it a try because I had already dated and I knew what I was looking for.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I found out it was her, I was like, oh, this is great.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, visually she fits the mold, right?
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like, now let's figure out if she's someone like I would actually want to spend my time.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, correct, and see if we both drive.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that um unfolded throughout this season of the show.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_03: Like, well, and you've been one of the most like successful couples and staying together, having a healthy relationship from a lot of the shows like that.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: Do you get still like asked about the show?
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, obviously I'm asking, but like in general, in general public, are people still talk to you about it or bring it up, or is it kind of because that's been a while, right?
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it depends where we're at, right?
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: So if we're both out and about, then we're way more recognizable.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: If it's just me, there, you know, sometimes we'll be like, where did I see you to stupid Instagram or whatever you don't know?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right, sure.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_03: But are you that wonder that dances on Instagram?
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I am.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but when we're together, we're more recognizable, and I think it's more because of her, because she had so much more time on television.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so yes, still recognizable, not nearly as much.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times it's like, where do I know you?
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: And we've gotten to the point it's like, do we want to play the game of like, did you go to school?
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, we didn't go to school with you.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: We know where you know us from.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because we don't know you at all.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: So there's the odds are you saw us on TV or somewhere, right?
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes we'll play along and then sometimes we're at to the point you're just like, no, we were on the show, and and then it kind of breaks the ice a little bit because they know but they don't know.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_03: What about that?
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: Had you ever done anything?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I guess maybe with baseball you had a little bit, but like anything with like cameras, media, like was that whole experience in that regard new to you?
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Or for the most part, you go through media training when you're in baseball, um, because you know, all the local news channels maybe want to interview you if you did well or something.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: So there's always media training.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: And and when I was playing baseball, uh, unfortunately, the Cubs hadn't won a World Series in a hundred years.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we had a lot of media training uh where they wouldn't want you to talk about that.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: They want you to divert, right?
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because that was a big question.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what do you think about the hundred year curse and like all this, right?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we had a little bit of that in meetings, which is weird because you just want to play baseball.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: But outside of that, no, no, no camera time, no interaction on on camera on set.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I was guarded, and she would say that too, because you know, I knew my family was going to watch.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: So she's like, You never really gave me a kiss until like the seventh week, and I'm like, Yeah, because my mom's watching, right?
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't want to do this.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_03: And if I don't take my mom on dates with me, it'll watch what I'm doing on a date.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: So there was a little bit of like being guarded, and and you know, kind of, but you can you have to kind of block out the cameras too, because if you're trying to have a serious conversation, you gotta just start asking all the hard questions right away.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like we would all the joke is like you're asking questions like year one, year two questions, like on week one.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, for sure.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to have kids?
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if you were to do that, I think in the dating world now on day one, yeah, it's like, whoa, I just met you.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's like yeah, well, and also kind of depending on ages, too.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe now, if we were both out there dating again today, it might seem normal since we're in our 40s, but like in our 20s, like our 30s, maybe not so much.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and that's when we were on the show, right?
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: In our early 20s.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to ask all the hard questions right away.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: You have to figure out if that's a person you'd want to be with, and you don't have to propose, they don't force you to propose.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you get to choose.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they want you to because it makes better TV.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that was a decision that I had I got to make.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_03: And what helped you make that decision and to do it on TV?
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I met her parents um on the show, they were great.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um her and I had great conversation, and I just felt like she was um someone I could spend my life with, and so I was like, you know what, yeah, I'm gonna propose.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because I had like I said, I had already dated and kind of figured out what I was looking for or not looking for.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I was ready and then yeah, I just decided to go.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_01: I thought our relationship was the strongest, right?
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Not knowing that there weren't other guys there at the time anymore.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you go back, there were you know, the other person that she was interested in left, and then there were three of us left, and then those two people were gone because she didn't want them there.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, then it was just me, and I didn't know that.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I was just running along as if I had the strongest relationship, and that's where I was confident in.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_03: And so yeah, kind of like what you said earlier today, like shoot your shot.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, sometimes you just get your shot.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if it doesn't work out, you better you have to be comfortable with the outcome.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_03: What about post show?
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_03: Was that weird, like doing interviews or promoting the show in general, or did you have any like pressure to like maybe do more media, like, oh, you guys should do a spinoff show?
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: Or like did you get approached with like any interesting or weird projects that you're like, no, it's not really for me.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of different uh shows, and like people would approach us and say, Would you do this, would you do that?
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: Or like, hey, come to Jamaica, right?
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: And support an uh a reopening of sandals, and we're like, Yes, yeah, we'll do that.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds awesome.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of like trips and like tourism boards that reach out and like want you to come and check out their country or city, which was kind of cool, and we definitely took advantage of that.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: We wanted to do that travel, right?
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: Especially before kids.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now, not so much.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um but right after the show, I mean, one of the cool things that we got to do was go on to GMA like the next day, right?
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, which was a lot of fun to meet Strayhan and you know, all the people on GMA, which is kind of a silly but fun time.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_03: But again, it's just like a really unique experience, and it's probably a little surreal.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_03: Like, okay, I got engaged last night and now I'm on Good Morning America.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what is happening?
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: So what uh behind the scenes, um, so I proposed in May and we didn't air live as a couple until August.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: So they're editing the season through the summer as they're airing the season.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_01: And we had to be a quiet couple during that three-month period.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I would fly down to California and see her every other week or so on what we call these happy couple retreats.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: And they would find an Airbnb and put us up and say, You can't leave.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what food do you want?
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to cook?
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to cook, here's your quality.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: Here's your groceries.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if you want to eat out, just let us know.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: We'll get the meals every time.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we got to spend a good amount of time learning more about each other that summer while the show's airing.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um and a lot of people will ask, Well, did you watch the season, you know, as it was airing?
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: And she had to watch it and then blog about it.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: Oh.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I would then be like, Should I watch this episode?
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_03: She's like, Nah, we didn't watch that.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe not.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_03: I want to enjoy the rest of our weekend.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, or we'll watch it together, right?
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: That kind of stuff.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't care.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was a good little stint of kind of being incognito and then becoming a public figure.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: So couple.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_03: Were there like Commercials and stuff offered to you guys too?
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_03: Like what did you say a lot of no's?
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think one of the main reasons that our relationship worked so well is because once the show aired, she moved out of California and into Seattle and we went back to like a normal lifestyle.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we had the promotional things that we were able to do here and there, but she wasn't someone who wanted to become Instagram famous.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't someone who wanted to become Instagram.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to do some of those things, but it wasn't like the main thing.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: That wasn't your goal.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_03: You didn't join the show hoping to get startup, which it happens a lot now.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_03: But to your point, when you were on the show, that wasn't really being an influencer or anything like that, it was not even it wasn't even a thing.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_01: And now people want to go on to become famous.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so you then you question intentions.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_01: Back then you could question intentions, but it was just a different uh environment back then.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we did a couple things, promotional thing, we had some TV pitches that we we did one that was just kind of average at best, but we really got back into our life.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like she was a wedding dress designer, that was her passion.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: So she started designing wedding dresses, opened up her own business, um, and ran that for about five years before COVID.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she was doing her thing, I was doing the mortgage, and that was a prerequisite on the show.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I think I have this like good thing in Seattle, yeah.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like I can't move to California, and she's like, No, I I want to be in the Northwest.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's cool that it all worked out.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it worked out.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thanks for sharing that journey.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sure you still get asked about it all the time.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_03: I was like questioning, like, do I even bother him with it?
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_03: But it's just so unique and not everybody can speak to it.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's a weird journey, and I think it's a lot of fun for people.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, right after the show, this is actually interesting.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: So people would come up to us because we were in Seattle, so a little bit bigger and out and about quite a bit.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, people would come up and just give hugs, and you're like, whoa, right?
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like now that doesn't really flip.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_03: Well, because they feel like they know you and they went on this journey with you, and they're like, You guys are so cute.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's always fun to share because it's something unique that most people don't get to experience.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's never like a bother, but uh it's certainly it's certainly a unique experience that people get.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_03: And then you came to Sherwood, Oregon, which for those of you that don't know, it's um a suburb off of the Portland, it's right in between actually Salem and Portland Metro.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_03: So you can kind of enjoy both.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: How have you how have you guys been enjoying this part of the Pacific Northwest?
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so in 2019 we moved back from Seattle to Oregon, where I'm I've I was born and raised in Oregon, um in McMinnville, 30 minutes outside of Sherwood.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we moved back to Portland when we moved, and then uh during 2020 we decided to move out of Portland um and found this place, right?
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh where we are right now is my office.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I decided to open up an office in Sherwood because I felt like there was a need for it, uh, mortgage related.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and and the company at the time and currently the company they didn't have any branding in Sherwood.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um I love the community, right?
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just it's just like in my opinion, it's like an inviting community, like everyone's super welcoming and nice.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so I thought it was fun.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's in one country kind of.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: So that's also exciting.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's always a bonus.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_03: What I like too about your office is it's a very welcoming place to come have a loan conversation.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_03: But then also you host a lot of networking, realtor connections.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_03: We both believe in collaboration over competition.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I love that you utilize this space for those types of conversations, growth mindset.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_03: And was that always like the idea when you open this?
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_03: And then you put in the pickleball court too.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: How do you guys utilize that a lot or for events and things?
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: The whole space was like open forum concept, right?
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yes, we have three offices in the back, but I wanted it to be like an inviting, welcoming, homey feel for but still be office-like, right?
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: So people can come and just meet with their clients, uh, meet with me, right?
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't meet with a lot of people in person because most of the time people want to do things over the screen, which is fine.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: But there's been plenty of times where we come in and we'll just sit down and have a presentation on the television, right?
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'll present there.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like a very relaxed conversation with no tension around finances.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is what um warms people up to the idea of buying a house.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I always offer it to other people in the community to use the space because it's it's just a great space, I think, that we're creating.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the pickleball court, so the lot where the office is is big, and we had all this unutilized space, this grass, and I was like, you know what, I like pickleball.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it'd be a great thing and experience for a bunch of people.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we built the pickleball court in August of 25.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_01: And since then it's been a great networking, marketing um usage.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_01: I have, I mean, I had someone just before this text me and say, Hey, can we use the court at 630?
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I'm like, yeah, you can use it.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: I actually started because so many people are reaching out now that it's a thing.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: I built like a calendar, a Calendly invite or a Calendly page, and like you can actually book the court now because I can't manage all the text.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_03: When it just turns into like a full-time job, and you're like, this isn't what that was supposed to be.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_01: But it's fun.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it is super fun.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and it builds community.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm finding that people are talking about it way more than bringing it up to me.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, funny.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: Which is kind of fun.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, did you know there's a pickleball court downtown Sherwood?
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's been a nice connection.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: And really it was the idea was, you know, instead of having events out at all these other places, like maybe let's start having more events at the office.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: And what a great place to have like fun and yeah.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and you're right here in the heart of Old Town where there's like so much stuff going on.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of festivals and stuff that happened down here.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a nice place to build community.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_03: So you picked a good spot.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you for having us to your office.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate it.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_03: And thank you for your time today and for being on the show.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_03: If people want to get in touch with you or have loan questions, what's a good way they can reach out to you?
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you can email me, Chris at cmghomeloans.com.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can call me uh 503-804-5716.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can follow me on social Chris R Sigfried.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh just you'll maybe be able to figure out if you go on the social and keep it open.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: But those are all great places.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_01: My website, yeah.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_03: And you do post like tips and tricks and entertaining things on social too.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_03: I like that you try to approach mortgages with like a more relatable, approachable uh way.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like your Instagram is not stuffy, like you still talk about the nitty-gritty, but it's not like a stuffy approach or just like spreadsheets or anything.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like it's you have a fun approach to it.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: Mortgages are really hard to like convey through social because it's not it's a it's a dry subject, right?
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's a piece.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_03: What a lot of people don't know is you're regulated and you can only talk about certain things.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like you're not allowed to like talk about interest rates because they change all the time.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_03: You're not allowed, like you can talk about interest rates in general, but not you're not allowed to say specific numbers because that number can change.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_03: There's all these rules.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of rules.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_03: So there's only so much that you can share, right?
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_03: I think you do a good job of sharing it.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you so much.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate you.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_03: Cheers to you.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: And thank you for watching or listening.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll see you next time.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_03: Cheers.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for watching.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_03: Make sure you subscribe so you can keep up to date with real estate tips and tune in to the next episode of the Realtor New Winds.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_03: See you then.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_03: Cheers.