Latest / The Realtor Who Wines / In Real Estate, No One Succeeds Alone
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the Realtor Who Wines podcast.
- 0:02I'm Rachelle Newmeyer, your hostess with the mostest a student of life, a connector, a passionate wine enthusiast, and your local favorite guide.
- 0:10Join me as we explore the vibrant Pacific Northwest.
- 0:14Savor the finest wines and champion the spirit of entrepreneurship.
- 0:18Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring guests, supporting business ownership and uncovering the stories that make this community unique.
- 0:25So grab a glass of wine, settle in, and let's embark on a journey of discovery and connection together. Cheers.
- 0:31Hi, everyone.
- 0:32Welcome back to the realtor who whines.
- 0:34I'm Rachelle Niemeyer, your realtor who ions.
- 0:37And today I'm with my very good friend and fellow realtor, Whitney.
- 0:40I can't wait for you to learn more about her as we dive into all things real estate.
- 0:45But first I'd like to say cheers.
- 0:48Thank you for being on. Thanks for having me.
- 0:52Whitney likes rosé, so we're drinking rosé today from Cloud Vale.
- 0:57They're out of Dundee, Oregon.
- 0:58Super nice and refreshing.
- 1:00It's also like 8590 today.
- 1:03Yeah, yeah, we're recording in August, even though this will be live in October.
- 1:07But today, in August, it's very today in August. Right.
- 1:09Not perfect. Yeah. We're in the past.
- 1:11Yeah.
- 1:11When you hear this it'll be the past.
- 1:13But today's rosé is amazing. Perfect.
- 1:16Will you please introduce yourself to everybody?
- 1:18Yeah.
- 1:18My name is Whitney Robison, and I am, fellow realtor.
- 1:22I'm with Keller Williams, Portland Premier, and I'm very happy to be here.
- 1:27Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, which was shell and I.
- 1:30That's how we bonded.
- 1:31We were both originally, Remax and I can't remember what training it was or something, but it was like some training and we both walked in and this was before.
- 1:40Okay, don't come for us in the comments.
- 1:41This is before they were winners like they had not won a Super Bowl in years.
- 1:45We've been fans of theirs for a long time because she grew up in the KC area.
- 1:48I lived in KC for about ten years.
- 1:50We went to games when I was like $10.
- 1:52Yeah, and like no one was there.
- 1:53But we both walked in to this like training and she was in a KC shirt and I was on a KC shirt and we were like, whoa, you exist in Oregon.
- 2:03This is amazing. Yeah, instantly.
- 2:05And then besties after that, we're like, oh, how can we not be friends?
- 2:09We have to represent.
- 2:10Now, of course, everyone assumes we're a Chiefs fans because of Taylor Swift, but we also like Taylor Swift, but her fans of them separately.
- 2:17Yeah, it's funny.
- 2:18I mean, I get a lot of heat when I wear Chiefs stuff because now they're good.
- 2:23But, they were terrible my entire life.
- 2:27Yeah.
- 2:27And again in high school, we would pay $10 to sit in the nosebleeds just to go to a sporting event.
- 2:32Yeah. Wasn't because they were good.
- 2:32They just.
- 2:35Well, I like I wanted them to become good.
- 2:38So bad.
- 2:38And now that they are, everyone's hating on it.
- 2:40I know, give them a break.
- 2:42Well, and it's funny, like, I had a Travis Kelsey, jersey before again, they were Super Bowl champs and pretty like Taylor Swift.
- 2:50And I won't wear it now because then everyone assumes I'm a bandwagon like Swifty fan, which is also a weird position to be in.
- 2:57This has nothing to do with real estate, by the way.
- 2:59But anyways, welcome to oversell Whitney.
- 3:02But it's so funny because I do love Taylor Swift and I do love the Chiefs.
- 3:05They're just separate to me.
- 3:06And now I feel like I have to pretend like I don't like one or the other.
- 3:10Like it's so weird.
- 3:12I mean, my six year old, we're flying to Kansas City on Monday and she thinks she's going to see Taylor Swift.
- 3:18You never know.
- 3:19I mean, you never know.
- 3:20That's the reality we live in now.
- 3:21So, Thank you.
- 3:23That's funny.
- 3:23I guess so, yeah. And Taylor. Yeah.
- 3:27Well, thank you for being here.
- 3:29I, wanted to have you on for multiple reasons.
- 3:32We have a lot to talk about with real estate, but we also both have connected through women's Council Realtors and I, slowly trade a real feelin because I knew you'd be, like, amazing at it, but, Whitney is actually the president elect, so she will be president next year of the Women's Council Realtors in Portland, Oregon, which is exciting.
- 3:52When you first got into real estate, was being a leader in real estate even on your radar?
- 3:59No. Yeah, it it's been a very eye opening experience.
- 4:03I will say, when I first I came from college athletics and working in men's basketball for a while, being the only female like you kind of have your own little niche, I guess you would call it.
- 4:17Yeah.
- 4:17And when I decided to follow a dream of real estate, that was really scary.
- 4:23No idea that I could be in the position that I am in today.
- 4:28Yeah, it is definitely helped grow my business.
- 4:31The people I have met and you are one of them have been incredible.
- 4:35But it's also nice to have a group behind you that is going through the exact same things.
- 4:42Like when you're talking to buyers and sellers, you're experiencing the same things and it's great to have a soundboard outside of your little office, I guess, of other realtors that are experiencing the same thing.
- 4:53Well, and like resources and stuff out of your area, like every now and then.
- 4:59I do most of my business on the west side as you do, but of course, like my longtime friends and clients, I'm not going to not hold them on the East side, but sometimes it's harder to get there.
- 5:08And through Women's Council, I've had friends that have met my clients.
- 5:12For me, if I couldn't get there in time to like open a door or go drop something off really quick, or like in a pinch, like if something happens and I had to go get Ryan from schools, I can't make it to the east side, and I wouldn't have the resources or relationships without something like women's Council.
- 5:27Well, and real estate is lonely also.
- 5:29And so having a group to connect with, not only in Portland but outside, obviously Kansas City, like I went to school, college in Kentucky, like my friends are everywhere in the family.
- 5:42And so it's always nice when someone needs a referral, like, I'm, I'm going to Women's Council.
- 5:48Like I'm going straight there because I know that they're in it just as I am.
- 5:52So it's nice to have that network as well that I didn't know existed.
- 5:55Oh for sure.
- 5:57And so for anyone that's listening that doesn't know what Women's Council of Realtors is, is, is a is sub affinity group through the National Realtors Association.
- 6:06There's multiple and Women's Council is all about building women and leadership roles within women's state.
- 6:13But then women's state or real estate.
- 6:15Hello. Good afternoon everyone.
- 6:18But yeah within real estate and like some people are like, well, why can't men be in it like, can we actually have 9% of our membership as men?
- 6:26It's not a men's club by any means.
- 6:28But even though it's like 65, 68% of realtors are women, it's only like 3% are in leadership.
- 6:37So the whole reason behind Women's Council is to continue to develop leaders who are female within real estate.
- 6:44It's not to like hold anybody else back.
- 6:46It's just giving tools and resources to let women grow.
- 6:49And it is national.
- 6:50So we have like 13,000 members nationwide.
- 6:54So to Whitneys point, like we can collaborate with people in other states and we actually meet a lot of them at national conferences, at year conferences and things like that.
- 7:04So it's not just like, oh, I saw them on the website and they're Women's Council.
- 7:07Like we've actually had conversations with them multiple times and they're just invested, as in the code of ethics and trainings and stuff as we are.
- 7:14So you just know they're going to take care of whoever you refer to them.
- 7:18So that's been wonderful.
- 7:20I'm really glad that you did decide to come and tell Women's Council.
- 7:24The first time I pitched it to her, she's like, you are nuts.
- 7:26Yeah, I don't have time for that 100.
- 7:28I don't have a need for that.
- 7:30And I was like, no, you'll be president someday.
- 7:32She's like, lady, you're crazy.
- 7:34I mean, I still think back.
- 7:35Rochelle was like, hey, let's go to lunch.
- 7:37And I was like, why does she want to take me to lunch?
- 7:40And then this whole plan started inventing itself I guess.
- 7:44And yeah, I was just coming off of kind of an online brokerage because I was staying home with my two year old at the time or one year old, and I have two little ones.
- 7:55And so life is busy and I didn't know how much capacity I could put in.
- 8:02But I am a busy bee as Rochelle is very busy.
- 8:05But I thrive when I'm busier and that includes family, work, everything in between.
- 8:12And so as I got into it, people are like, oh, you're going to be pretty.
- 8:16And I was like, I will never be president.
- 8:17And here I am.
- 8:19Here I am, and she's doing amazing.
- 8:21She's an amazing president elect.
- 8:21And you'll be okay.
- 8:24So, it's been quite a process.
- 8:28And I when people ask me about women's council, like, what?
- 8:30Why should I join?
- 8:32And I'm like, well, this is my experience.
- 8:33Like, my business has grown tremendously because I feel like I have the support for all these people behind me.
- 8:40And it's fun to go to some events, there's C classes involved.
- 8:46So it's not just all these fun things, but, well, there's even like just, professional growth is one aspect, but there's a lot of personal growth type stuff that they focus on, too.
- 8:56And just so everyone knows, what do you know, I get no kickbacks, by the way.
- 9:00Nope. Today by Saint talking about women's council.
- 9:02Like, these are true thoughts and feelings and why we're passionate about it and why we've been in leadership about it.
- 9:08But, yeah, like, we're not going to get a check in the mail if you do decide to join C, I know.
- 9:13Yes, please write it out too. Yeah.
- 9:15But again, it's something that I feel like that if not for Rochelle, when I was at Remax, I knew nothing about Women's Council and it would have been a huge piece of my business, especially being a new agent, getting into real estate to have this whole nother network, just support system.
- 9:32Correct.
- 9:33So getting the word out, I think is a big thing, for us that we're still getting new members that have no idea what Women's Council is.
- 9:40Yeah.
- 9:41And that's been a process, but I feel like we're gaining momentum and headed in the right direction to get the word out that come to us.
- 9:49Well, one thing that Women's Council has done for me or has opened doors for me is one.
- 9:55So before I knew women's Council was even a thing I clearly wasn't participating in.
- 10:00Like my local association, which is Portland Metropolitan area, and also like Oregon Realtors and stuff.
- 10:09Like I didn't even realize, like, should I get involved in that, what that even look like.
- 10:13But being in leadership and Women's council, you do a lot of stuff with other local associations, with the state association, with the National Association.
- 10:21And you just see so much more.
- 10:23I will be really honest.
- 10:25I was one of those agents when I first got licensed.
- 10:27I was like, why do I have to pay this fee, this fee, this fee, what do they do for me?
- 10:33I don't even know who they are.
- 10:35I'm just like writing checks.
- 10:35That's one thing that people don't know.
- 10:38Before you get into real estate that like it costs thousands of dollars just to be able to potentially sell real estate.
- 10:45And that has nothing to do with like, your marketing or anything.
- 10:48It's just to like, have all the licensing, and being able to access lock boxes and things like that.
- 10:54But as a like brand new agent, I was just like, what am I paying for?
- 10:57Like, who are them? Like, who are them?
- 11:00At least they speak English.
- 11:01Yeah, it's hard of them.
- 11:03But like, who are they?
- 11:04Like, what do they do for me?
- 11:05And then once I got involved in Women's Council and I started going to these other things, I was like, oh, I didn't know.
- 11:11Oregon Realtors and the local associations help provide a lobbyist at the Capitol that go on our behalf or Oregon leadership, or like the reason we were allowed to sell real estate during 2020 was because we already had things in place that made us essential workers versus like a lot of businesses weren't allowed to do that.
- 11:29Right. And so, like, that's what your dues go for.
- 11:32Oh, they provide all these education credits.
- 11:34I had no idea I wasn't looking.
- 11:36So I think it's really important that any realtors out there listening, whether you're in your first year or your 20th year, get involved in something and be a little bit enlightened.
- 11:47What the associations are doing for you, your state association, and then something like Women's Council, Realtors or any of the other affinity groups, I think is just so important because it just also elevates you as a realtor.
- 11:59Absolutely.
- 12:00I mean, I will say that speaking of the opportunities that you get, when Rochelle was president of WCR, she was very hey, we're going to DC and I'm sitting here going, okay, great.
- 12:14You know when it's time. Yeah, have a great time.
- 12:16And she's like, no, you're going, you know.
- 12:18And so again I was super excited but I didn't know what to expect.
- 12:21And the first time going just being in a room with all these people and I'll never forget a lady from Florida stood up and said, hey, one of you, someone's running for president in this room one day.
- 12:32And I'm sitting here like, oh yeah, people tell me that, you know, it's not going to happen.
- 12:36And she said, no one's going to let you fail.
- 12:38And I took that and kind of ran with it because it was from someone I didn't even know.
- 12:44But that's what it's about.
- 12:46Like, we're not here competing against each other.
- 12:48We're trying to collaborate, support, support and do all that stuff.
- 12:52Well, then next year comes around and I didn't go to the Capitol and speak my first year, but then the second year I'm getting emails and I'm like, who signed me up for this?
- 13:01Like, you're welcome. I'm like, what is this?
- 13:04What is going on?
- 13:05But, going to the Capitol and advocating for fair housing.
- 13:09I am still at a high of.
- 13:12Yeah, what an experience it was.
- 13:15It's kind of cool.
- 13:16Now to one of the, senators I met with was Senator Wyden.
- 13:20And just to see, like, all of his things that he's currently doing now because not getting into politics, but, just the advocating that he's doing for Oregon.
- 13:30And it's cool to see that I got to meet with him and talk to him and talk about fair housing and how it does make a difference, because I don't think a lot of people realize if people are not going to the Capitol on the advocating, then we will not have housing for everyone.
- 13:46Yeah, well, and in real estate, we like to say we're the purple party because we want everyone to have a house and we believe everybody should, you know, have the right to homeownership.
- 13:56So it doesn't really matter what side of the lane you're on and, even still, like, so even if you're blue, you'll sit with red, red you'll start with.
- 14:04But it doesn't matter to whoever's in legislation.
- 14:06You're going to be sitting with them and talking to them about what's going on.
- 14:10And it is really cool to see them take us seriously.
- 14:13I the first time I went to the Capitol, I did not know what to expect.
- 14:16And I thought they'd just be like, that's nice.
- 14:18Okay, take a picture. Have a great day.
- 14:18You know how I think.
- 14:20But they're really like, oh that's interesting. Yeah.
- 14:23So your clients are experiencing xyzzy.
- 14:25So we did this.
- 14:26Do you think that would change or impact it or how do you think this bill would do this to your clients. You know.
- 14:33And it's like they are truly invested.
- 14:35And they asked a lot of questions.
- 14:36And then we gave suggestions like only we come prepared, right?
- 14:39It's not just off, off the cuff like we know what's on the docket and we come like prepared on certain topics that we're like, really hoping will help them make a decision on how they vote.
- 14:50On their doing that.
- 14:51But I never once have felt, not heard or like them.
- 14:57They always felt like every time I've gone to the Hill now that they, like, truly appreciate the real life examples that we're giving them that are from our clients.
- 15:05And then also we talked to them about the job, the profession, real estate, like one of the things we talked about this year was health insurance for realtors, because we're all self-employed.
- 15:15Yeah, and self-employed insurance isn't the best and it's not the easiest.
- 15:19And so now we end up with a lot of agents running around with no health insurance because they, you know, choose to buy marketing or whatever.
- 15:26Right.
- 15:27And so just talking to them about like, what are some options that we can offer like better health insurance especially to like, you know, single moms or like anybody out there that's like trying to do it.
- 15:36So it's pretty cool.
- 15:38But we would have never just randomly went to DC on our own.
- 15:41No, we're not having a girls week.
- 15:43And we're like, you know what?
- 15:43We should do the capital. Exactly.
- 15:46And then this past year, we had someone on our board, Angie who?
- 15:51Her agent.
- 15:53Yeah. Is the head florist at the white House.
- 15:55The chief there. Chief.
- 15:57She's like. Yeah, her. It was.
- 15:59We had no idea.
- 16:01I just thought we were going on the white House tour and.
- 16:03Okay, great.
- 16:03And then all of a sudden we got back.
- 16:07Back of the house. White House tour was really cool.
- 16:09It was a really cool experience.
- 16:11And again, something we were in D.C.
- 16:13we are already there doing different things.
- 16:15So again, you never know, like what's going to come out of it, but you meet different people from all these different brokerages and obviously I know Rochelle's background, but there's some people that I don't I was in sports my whole life until real estate.
- 16:29A lot of people don't know that. And that's okay. Yeah.
- 16:33But it's always, like, ever changing.
- 16:36I feel like.
- 16:36And even though, I mean, I'm going.
- 16:39Well, you're almost done with year five in real estate, I feel like I'm still like, no, Whitney's in real estate now.
- 16:46Whitney is not in sports anymore, but still the sport.
- 16:49And that's on it.
- 16:50I mean, it is.
- 16:51You get the adrenaline and you want to get the offer and also the, the physicality of like sometimes putting a lock box in certain spots or whatever.
- 17:00I was actually giggling the other day because some people think like the scariest part or the most dangerous part of our job is like meeting strangers at strangers houses.
- 17:09Try putting out open house signs.
- 17:11It's like a game of Frogger.
- 17:12You're like car, person, dog.
- 17:14So true. Like, where do I put this sign?
- 17:17Where people will see it and where it's actually helpful?
- 17:19And then also, how do I not die or get hit because you're running to pick them up in a hurry?
- 17:25And where do you park your car?
- 17:26Because there's not sometimes like a side lane where you can just pull off to the side and put your flashers on?
- 17:30Yeah, in a safe spot or whatever, especially if you're like in certain areas that I was just thinking that the other day I was like, we need to talk more about open house signs.
- 17:38This is dangerous.
- 17:39It is.
- 17:40Well, it's funny you say that because I was putting out signs for an open house and I had my car, like on the side of the road talking about being dangerous.
- 17:48Yeah, and I'm a girl female.
- 17:50We want to be, you know, safety.
- 17:53And this big truck, like, pulls in front of me and I'm like, all right, what's going on here? Whatever.
- 17:57Well, anyways, he gets out, he's like, hey, I need to sell, you know, my uncle's house over here.
- 18:01Can you come take a look?
- 18:02And at the time now looking back, like, what was I doing?
- 18:05But yeah, I left the door open.
- 18:09Sure. So there we go.
- 18:11And you have another listing, so you never know.
- 18:14But now the open house signs, you never know, like what's going to happen.
- 18:17And that just happened on a random Saturday, but not my sense.
- 18:21But what's so wild about our profession, too?
- 18:24Like, never ever would you randomly be like, hey, I need a haircut.
- 18:28Can you just like, come over like you would make an appointment to go to the business?
- 18:33And then also no one's negotiating with, like, the hair? No.
- 18:36Or the mechanic or the doctor.
- 18:38The dentist, like, none of these other professions have to justify what they're doing for you.
- 18:42Yeah.
- 18:43You just pay whatever their service fee is and you understand, like you're hiring them.
- 18:47It's so crazy. Like, we're just like, oh, sure.
- 18:49Yeah, I'll come to your house and and that's I feel like, okay, there you are.
- 18:53And then, you know, turn around and you sign listing paperwork and you're just like, wait, where did this come from?
- 18:59But again, that is are so similar to sports.
- 19:02You never know. Like what is coming.
- 19:04I would love to know what's happening tomorrow, but I have no idea.
- 19:09And then it kind of goes into just like the way the market is right now too.
- 19:14Not only are we realtors, but we're also like giving out our opinions and our professional of, hey, this is how the market is, and people don't like what we're telling them right now, and they don't want to hear that they have to pay for.
- 19:30Yeah, the buyer's closing cost, closing costs and all that stuff. But, it's a real thing right now, and we'll see what happens.
- 19:39But, that's been an adjustment for sure.
- 19:42So I've been in therapy mode the past couple of days.
- 19:44So I think your sports background, because I have a sports background too, I think it helps make us resilient though, because it's always like fourth quarter push all the time lately, or just like we're good at giving ourselves pep talks on like the days that it's like terrible, like, well, we're down by 22 and it's half time.
- 20:01What are you going to do to not be down by 22?
- 20:04How are we changing the game plan?
- 20:05And so yeah, but a lot of times because we are by ourselves, you're just like hyping yourself up in the car, like here we go.
- 20:10You're not going to get hit by a car.
- 20:12I put these open house signs out and and sell this person's house for them today and even, like, just prepping to, like, call a client and being like, okay, like I'm expecting the worst.
- 20:21Hopefully it doesn't go like that, but hopefully it goes better than expected.
- 20:24But you never know the day they're having you there because that right.
- 20:28Or sometimes it's opposite.
- 20:30Like sometimes I'm like nervous.
- 20:31Like, man, I really don't want to make this call just because no one likes being the bearer of bad news either.
- 20:36Like, you know, the inspection report came back and like, there's a lot going on in your house that you probably didn't even know about.
- 20:42You know, it's not even like the negative calls where it's like they said, your house stinks or something, you know, and then you call and they're like, oh yeah, oh, well, yeah, we'll take care of that.
- 20:52And you're like, oh, that was so much easier than I thought.
- 20:54And then other times you think you have good news and you call and they're like, what?
- 20:57What do you mean? And you're like, whoa, why are you mad?
- 20:59What's happening?
- 21:00What's going on?
- 21:01So it's a roller coaster for me. It is.
- 21:04But I will say, like the when you find out there's like multiple offers or something like, that's when it, like, kicks into gear of, like, okay, how can I be creative and make sure that my client's offers looks better than yours? Oh.
- 21:17Or whatever that is. Yeah.
- 21:18So that's like the fun puzzle piece for me where like, the competition comes out.
- 21:23Yeah. For sure.
- 21:23What's one of the most, like creative things you've done to try and get your offer accepted?
- 21:29Oh good question.
- 21:30I think just using some, like, creative financing.
- 21:36Obviously if I don't have a lot of money to play with, then kind of going, not asking for a lot.
- 21:44Maybe we're only asking for things over$5,000, right.
- 21:50Or something like that. Yeah.
- 21:51Depending on the age of the house, what we think it looks like, I'm a big fan of letters to the seller.
- 21:59I feel like that's how my husband and I got our house.
- 22:02It's funny, because a lot of agents have a lot of agents, and a lot of times, I don't like.
- 22:07Again, some people say don't submit it.
- 22:09And I will say, like, during Covid, like, I feel like some of them like my sellers, I remember one of them were like, oh my gosh, if I were to let read the letters before I looked at all the offers, I probably would have gone with this one, right?
- 22:20Well, that was like that was partly why they for a while it was it took it away.
- 22:24Right, right.
- 22:25And so like you have those situations.
- 22:28But I do think that when you especially the sellers who are selling for the first time, they want someone to come in and love their house, right?
- 22:35And so appeasing them, if you're going to come in and rent it out to someone else like they don't, of course they will.
- 22:42But they would like someone to come love their house.
- 22:45Totally.
- 22:46And they just think it goes a long way.
- 22:49And I mean, ours was I felt really weird writing about myself, but, you know, we said, hey, this is our forever home.
- 22:55Like, this is where we want to be and where you run the risk with letters, too.
- 22:59It's like sometimes that'll help our like, oh, another family.
- 23:02Yeah. And their kids were two and four when our kids were two and four about this house.
- 23:06But sometimes you'll get a like, And this is why the letters are, touchy situation as a like some people will not choose them because they're like, all our neighbors are all retired.
- 23:17No one wants kids on the block.
- 23:18Or, like, they'll make that decision, or they've spent so much time and energy on their yard and they love their yard.
- 23:24And you might someone might write a letter that's like our three dogs can't wait to play in their yard.
- 23:28And they're like, they're going to ruin my petunias.
- 23:30I spent all this time in that yard.
- 23:31I'm not selling to these people that have three dogs.
- 23:34So that's why some agents are like, maybe you don't use it because you don't want to sway in one way or the other, but then sometimes it does help get your offer taken.
- 23:42When during the bidding war season, of the low interest rates and all that stuff.
- 23:48I do a lot of coastal homes and a lot of the people that live out there full time are going to miss being on the Oregon coast if they're moving away.
- 23:57So one thing we started doing on offers was including a week to come back and stay in the house after.
- 24:03So like next year, you get to come back and spend a week in the house.
- 24:05So one, it's like you get to see how they're living in it.
- 24:07Yeah.
- 24:08But you, you get to come back and visit for free and your place and we got quite a few offers accepted with that concession.
- 24:15That's awesome I love that. Yeah.
- 24:16I was like, sorry, you guys are gonna have to leave your house for a week.
- 24:19But this is the only way we're getting this.
- 24:20But we're going to get the house. So just.
- 24:20Do you want the house?
- 24:23They might go stay with your mom for exactly.
- 24:24They might say no.
- 24:25So just let's figure it out. Yeah.
- 24:28So when some of them are buying them as investments anyways and weren't going to live there full time, but yeah, that really helped, that's for sure.
- 24:34I love that.
- 24:36Yeah.
- 24:36I mean again, I feel like it's all substantial of like what depending on the situation that you're in right now.
- 24:43I mean during Covid, I remember my client wanted one specific neighborhood and they were not willing to go one block this way, one block this way.
- 24:53And we lost like eight houses and we were going to.
- 24:55So I mean that's $100,000 over asking.
- 24:59And it was my clients were like okay this is the last weekend we're going out.
- 25:04If we don't find anything this weekend we're just going to rent. And there was this house.
- 25:09It stayed on the market. It was a Monday.
- 25:11I called my client and I was like, hey, this house is still there.
- 25:13There's no offers. And she's like, no offers.
- 25:16Let's do it. Exactly.
- 25:17So I said, I'll see you there in an hour.
- 25:19And they wanted like a full gut house and to put their own taste on things.
- 25:24And she walked in and she's like, this is it.
- 25:27And now it's beautiful.
- 25:28They've redone the entire place.
- 25:31But it's just funny how things I always say, and my husband will make fun of me, but if this is meant to be your house, it will be your house.
- 25:38Oh, yeah.
- 25:40And I totally believe that because there's so many things that can fall through in a transaction as, we know, different.
- 25:46Yeah. Not being a realtor, getting through all these contingencies, things can still go wrong the day before closing or the day of closing.
- 25:58You tell clients not to open a credit card or buy a car, and then you see them show up and you're like, well, whose car is that?
- 26:05Yeah. Whose car is that?
- 26:06We just got it.
- 26:07Yeah. It's exciting.
- 26:08And you're like, no, you might not qualify for this house.
- 26:12Yeah. So talk to your lender.
- 26:14So you always you never know what's going to come.
- 26:16Yeah.
- 26:17And it's not I feel like when I first started to think about real estate I was like oh this is going to be fun.
- 26:22I get to go in these cool houses and see these cool things.
- 26:26Yeah. It is so far beyond that.
- 26:29A day in the life of a realtor, you never know what's going to come your way when it's so much more than just opening doors.
- 26:36I think like things HGTV like selling.
- 26:39Seriously.
- 26:40Seriously, it's nothing like we don't have our short skirts on and our high heels.
- 26:45Oh my God.
- 26:46I'm like, how do you get to any like, seriously, any lock boxes?
- 26:50Yes, I barrow like sometimes.
- 26:52They put lock boxes on the other side of a fence in the backyard, but like, you can't get the latch unless you reach over the fence.
- 26:58So like, sometimes I'm like, half like, almost like a Winnie the Pooh situation.
- 27:02Like half over the fence, trying to reach the lock, the gate things open while I'm on the gate. It's like.
- 27:07It's like there's no way I'm doing that in a mini skirt.
- 27:10Oh, yeah. Nope.
- 27:12Not happening. It's.
- 27:13It's wild.
- 27:14It is.
- 27:15Well, and to your point, like, the thing about like it's there's all this different roller coaster emotions for our clients through the transactions, but also through us.
- 27:23Because I was explaining myself the other day that, like, I always feel like a duck because, like, on the outside, like above water, I'm just floating around like everything's great.
- 27:31But if you saw what was going on under the water, it's like nonstop movement.
- 27:34And that's like being a realtor.
- 27:36Like you are supposed to be the calm to the storm for your clients.
- 27:40And if you're a good agent, I at chasing bananas when an agent gets their clients riled up because, like, sometimes your clients don't know how to be mad about something.
- 27:49Yeah, or like the audacity of something.
- 27:51But then you're like, can you believe the buyers are asking for x, y, z?
- 27:55And it's like the sellers might not have even cared if you just said, hey, the buyers are asking for this.
- 28:02That's yeah.
- 28:03And they're like sure. Done less.
- 28:06But if you approach it with like can you believe after we gave them this and this and that, the buyers want the chairs in the backyard like something stupid and then the sellers would be like, oh, I think I'm supposed to be mad about this.
- 28:17Like, no, I can't believe it.
- 28:19Not only you, they're not getting the chairs.
- 28:20No, I don't want to pay for the repair or whatever.
- 28:22And you're just like, what is happening?
- 28:24Why did you get them riled up?
- 28:25Well, and I think that in this market right now, you have everyone like sellers think they're still getting top dollar, which they're not.
- 28:34They're not they're everyone's coming in with concessions because they need it for closing costs.
- 28:37They need it for my down.
- 28:40Everything is more expensive right now. Right.
- 28:43And so, you know, less is more.
- 28:45And I feel like I've learned, you know, you keep evolving, but just provide them with the information.
- 28:52That's all that you can do well and keep like, obviously, we advocate for our clients and we we do everything they can to have their best intentions at heart.
- 29:01It's their money, it's their transaction.
- 29:03But I think so many times we personalize it and like we're offended by like the offers.
- 29:09And I remind other agents all the time when they're like getting heated, even on a call with me, I'm like, you clearly care a lot about your clients.
- 29:16And that's awesome.
- 29:16You care about my client, too.
- 29:18But at the end of the day, it's their money.
- 29:20Yeah, this is what's going on with my client financially.
- 29:23Can this work for your client?
- 29:23Can you find out?
- 29:26Like, we're not trying to make you angry.
- 29:28We're not trying to be offensive.
- 29:30But this is what they need to make this pencil out.
- 29:32But, like, this isn't.
- 29:34I'm not trying to attack you.
- 29:35And normally when you approach it that way, all of a sudden the other agents like, oh God, I should chill out like I am getting heated.
- 29:42It's true, though, because I mean, it's refreshing when you get a good agent on the other side because you know they're not working against you.
- 29:50Like we are both trying to keep the deals together and and where everyone wins like no seller is hoping to, like, screw over a buyer.
- 29:59No buyer's going to the market.
- 30:00Like, what seller can I take advantage of?
- 30:03You know, like everybody is trying to come out as fair and as even as possible to do whatever they need to do for themselves or their family.
- 30:11And so when you work with an agent like that, that has that same mentality.
- 30:16Those transactions are so much better for everybody because there's just not this war going on.
- 30:20Yeah, but yeah, it's crazy, like the stuff that we do behind closed doors or the conversations that we have.
- 30:27But you're right.
- 30:28Right now sellers really want top dollar.
- 30:30But unfortunately a lot of houses are hitting the market overpriced.
- 30:34So like you're not going to get asking and people are asking for concessions.
- 30:38So that's pretty.
- 30:39And again we're recording today in August.
- 30:42This will air in October.
- 30:43So if interest rates or the market changes by the time you hear this.
- 30:46But as of August this is what's going on.
- 30:50I didn't love on the interest rates for like 2 to 3%.
- 30:55I don't know about you.
- 30:55I mean, it was awesome for our clients.
- 30:57Yes, it was awesome because, like, ultimately our buyers were paying way over asking to get their offer accepted.
- 31:05And I had buyers that wrote we wrote 18 offers before we finally got one accepted, which was just like they were getting defeated and frustrated.
- 31:15It's a ton of paperwork, it's a lot of emotions.
- 31:18But then sellers, they're like jazzed when they get these offers, but they then have to turn around and buy.
- 31:23So then all of a sudden they went from this high to this like low, because now they're on the other side of it and they're like, well, now you're having to offer 100 over to get your offer accepted.
- 31:35Which kind of sucks because like if you qualify for like a $500,000 house, you were shopping for 400,000 houses so you could offer up to five, have to even be considered when the interest rates are that low.
- 31:47I would love to see them come back to like five.
- 31:49I feel like five would be doable for a lot of people in their area.
- 31:53People, now that they've been at seven ish, floating around the sevens for a while, I feel like people would be grateful.
- 32:00Oh, I see them at five, but it wouldn't cause the chaos that it caused when they were like 3%.
- 32:06I mean, I remember again, not that I didn't always lock the door, but people would be banging on the doors of like, oh my gosh, hey, it's my appointment time.
- 32:14And I'm like, well, the person before me was 15 minutes late.
- 32:17So sorry that we are now running late. Yeah.
- 32:20But if you didn't get to a house within an hour of it going on the market, there was already three offers in.
- 32:23Oh my gosh.
- 32:25And I'm like, wait, it just came on the market and you just called me back.
- 32:30So, I mean, I am very thankful that is passed for now.
- 32:36And again, like, you're still seeing some multiple offers, but I feel like some of the I feel like if they're priced right, if the house is priced right and they have like a price meet feature those one two or something.
- 32:49Yeah.
- 32:49Like multifamily living situation which has been really popular.
- 32:53Absolutely, absolutely.
- 32:54Is that like more people are working remotely and instead of like your parents downsizing into their own place, a lot of there's multi-generational like like us, for example, we both have younger kids.
- 33:07We're seeing a lot more people our age where their parents are living with them, helping with the kids.
- 33:11And then you're also helping with the parents.
- 33:13So it's like a full circle situation, but you need a house to accommodate all of that.
- 33:16Or like you don't want to like, go crazy.
- 33:19So like 80 years and like to master two main suites is like a really big deal.
- 33:25Absolutely.
- 33:26I just saw one this morning in my neighborhood.
- 33:27I was like oh that looks lovely.
- 33:29Yeah. We didn't do that okay.
- 33:31Oh gosh I know that's the hard part about being a realtor.
- 33:34I was saying that the other day, I was like, I think this is how people feel that like, love pets and volunteer at shelters.
- 33:39Like, I can't adopt all the pets, but I want to help other pets.
- 33:42Like we can't buy all the houses, but we're always tempted.
- 33:46Like we're just like, well, do I need a pool?
- 33:49Well, do I cause you see it all the time?
- 33:50Do degrees like I would be nice. It's all winter.
- 33:53And you're like, how do I winterize it? Yeah, exactly.
- 33:55Yeah. How do I do that?
- 33:57Yeah, it's true though, but I feel like also you go in so many houses and then I go home and I'm like, well, I don't know that I would like that when the whole open concept was like a huge thing and that's what everybody wanted.
- 34:09Yeah. I was like, oh, that would be great.
- 34:10And then now I'm like, no, because then my kids stuff would be ever at least.
- 34:14It's like hidden behind the wall or like an a playroom or something like that.
- 34:19So it's the give and take I think a little bit. But I also my three year old would just I mean, I want to redo my kitchen, but he walks around with a Sharpie and it's all over the cabinets.
- 34:30So why would I do that? Right?
- 34:32Right now, you know, that's the way.
- 34:33Yeah. Yeah. So it's like okay.
- 34:35And then they're driving their cars and bikes and denting the walls and it's like, okay, it's fine.
- 34:41Like don't care right now. Yeah.
- 34:43But yeah, you're in so many cool houses and you're like, oh, this would be so.
- 34:47But then my furniture wouldn't fit.
- 34:48Like, it's not the vibe.
- 34:50Like, I would have to start all over again.
- 34:51And, you know, it keeps going up and up.
- 34:54So yeah, it is funny to you to see the different trends to like there is for a while, like you go in and every house, like, all the walls are gray like gray was like huge, huge, huge.
- 35:03And now it's back to like, cream and stuff.
- 35:06For a while it was like the farm house, like shiplap everywhere and like live, laugh, love was everywhere and like all that stuff and, like, you don't see that as much, just more like minimal type decorating and stuff is more popular again.
- 35:18So that's that's crazy.
- 35:21What is some advice that you would give an agent if they were just starting out as a realtor?
- 35:26And like, how would you guide them?
- 35:30Yeah, I mean, it's very eye opening because you go and you pass the test and you think like, oh, this is great.
- 35:35Well, you just passed the test.
- 35:37Now it's reality of, this is what a realtor does and there is no training for it sometimes.
- 35:44But I think putting yourself like in the best situation, I had a great mentor.
- 35:50I still do.
- 35:52And so that has helped me tremendously.
- 35:55To just watch her and go with her to things.
- 35:58So I think do your due diligence, like, don't just go to a brokerage just because it's down the street, like go for based on fees, like she was more beyond the fees.
- 36:08Correct.
- 36:08Don't look at those because they will eventually even itself out.
- 36:12Like we both started at Remax.
- 36:14And I thought the fees were really high.
- 36:16And now looking back I'm like oh yeah they're they were minimal right.
- 36:20Yeah.
- 36:22I know when I was shopping around it was interesting and you try not to steer yourself into just because the fees are so low, but you're not getting the support.
- 36:32Right.
- 36:33So it's the give and take of my advice would be, make sure you find a place where people are willing to help you, because if you're left on an island, you are not going to succeed.
- 36:43Yeah, well, you and I have both moved brokerages a couple times, which some people in the industry think that that's like bad and others are like, whatever.
- 36:53And we both made the decisions based off of like more life situations versus like what was going on at the brokerage.
- 37:00But like when you decided to go for Remax exp, you knew you weren't going to be like going to the office meetings because you had a young child at home that you were going to be at home.
- 37:09So you're like, well, I'm not going to be going to office meetings.
- 37:11I'm not going to go out in person trainings.
- 37:13I'm not going to need those and all that stuff.
- 37:15So it made sense.
- 37:16But as soon as, he was ready to be in a more of a daycare situation, you're like, okay, I miss in-person trainings.
- 37:22And then you made the change again.
- 37:22Totally. And I think that's okay.
- 37:25I think sometimes that happens, too, as someone starts at a brokerage and then they worry about, oh, if I leave, everyone's going to think I failed here or something.
- 37:33And one thing I've learned is you can call I don't know if any of my clients know what brokerage houses.
- 37:39I don't know if they pay attention to that, but I think, I mean, other brokers do.
- 37:44Another realtors do like, oh, she went from this place to this place.
- 37:47I wonder why or whatever.
- 37:48But like, my clients are like, Michelle's a realtor, but they're not like Michelle, the realtor, blah blah blah.
- 37:54They're just like, oh yeah, I wish I was a realtor.
- 37:56Oh yeah.
- 37:56She goes, so that town, oh yeah, she'll do these kind of houses.
- 37:59But so if you're an agent out there and you're, like, wavering or not getting what you need from a brokerage or you're ready for a change, like I want to worry about what the general public thinks.
- 38:09They agree.
- 38:10And to be honest, most of the brokerages, as long as you know, I'll leave like a creep. Like, just be honest.
- 38:16Like I left Remax like you did, like, totally on the up and up.
- 38:20Lots of, like, friends.
- 38:21I was just like, hey, I'm leaving for these reasons.
- 38:23I just need my office to be in a different location, different things.
- 38:27Same.
- 38:27When we were both at Keller Williams at the same time.
- 38:30Jill, you're still there at that office.
- 38:33Same thing.
- 38:34I left because I moved and I was like, I don't like commuting to this office as much, and all these things have nothing to do with, like something that the brokerages are doing.
- 38:44Sometimes it's just a you decision, but also sometimes it is like more you're getting that at that brokerage.
- 38:50I don't like at staples over here or whatever.
- 38:53You know, sometimes you move because of that, but I think just have friends in the industry ask the questions and then like, find what's best for you.
- 39:01I was gonna say, and I think to the more like when we when I started at Remax, I thought that's all I knew.
- 39:08And so as you progress, you want a little more and I wanted more.
- 39:13And it's not that they didn't have it, I just wanted something different.
- 39:16And so then you start looking into other options.
- 39:18And I totally agree.
- 39:20I don't think any of my clients know.
- 39:23I will say for me, being with like a Remax, a Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, the bigger names like my family's all in the Midwest.
- 39:33They know those names versus the smaller brokerages out here.
- 39:37And that does matter to me.
- 39:40Just because I want my family to be like, oh, Whitney works for Keller Williams and people like, oh, I know who that is.
- 39:46When I was at Exp, I did not, you know, I had some older clients are like, well, I've never even heard of this, you know. Yeah.
- 39:52And so not that it's a bad thing.
- 39:54But again, they don't know and they don't care.
- 39:57They want you as their realtor and that's all that matters.
- 40:00Yeah.
- 40:00And if you are starting out to like picking, sometimes one of the bigger names is the best way to start, because I do have way more training and onboarding because I've been doing it for so long, building huge businesses for so long.
- 40:12Yeah, but, you're so right. Though.
- 40:14The license a lot of times, like getting your real estate license, it's all about just like the rules and regulations.
- 40:21It's nothing really about like, how do you fill out a form?
- 40:25What's. Nothing.
- 40:26What's a sales agreement?
- 40:26That's not even a question on that test.
- 40:29Like, yeah, I mean, it's more like the laws around it.
- 40:33And, you know, like things like that.
- 40:34And how can you get fined as a realtor if you break these rules?
- 40:38But there is no like, what do you do in a multiple offer situation or, there's not even stuff like what if the house has a septic?
- 40:47What kind of inspection should you have?
- 40:49Who should you reach out to?
- 40:50What kind of questions you should ask a seller that has a septic?
- 40:53Well, before you list a house so you're prepared when people ask you questions like these are all things you just learn on the go, or from a brokerage and you're running your own business.
- 41:02No one teaches you like that to me.
- 41:04Should be like a side portion.
- 41:06Oh yeah, you are running your own business.
- 41:08And here you go.
- 41:10Luckily I was running summer camps for a while, so I had an idea of running your own business.
- 41:17But that's a whole nother platform that I don't feel like people talk about near us yet.
- 41:24All that stuff.
- 41:24As a self-employed ticket, it is very difficult.
- 41:27And like we were talking about earlier, it takes thousands of dollars.
- 41:32Yeah, just to be able to be a realtor, that does not count.
- 41:38And I remember my mentor was like, plan on one year and not having a sale.
- 41:43And so I took that to heart and I was like, okay, one year and my husband's like, yeah, it's gonna take you one year to sell one house.
- 41:49And I was like, well, that's, that's what people are telling me.
- 41:52Whatever.
- 41:52That's the word on the street. Exactly.
- 41:54So like mentally and I have told some new agents in my office, two of like mentally prepare for that because you don't know when it's going to come.
- 42:04I've had a bunch of listings recently and I've had some new agents doing open houses and talking to a new.
- 42:10And she's like, well, it was a slow open house.
- 42:12They only had three groups through.
- 42:13And I was like, oh no, that's great.
- 42:16Those are three opportunities that you have to talk to people to give your business card out.
- 42:21That's okay.
- 42:22Yeah, but I the grind of keep doing them and keep doing them even if no one comes, I'm like, okay, fine, that gives me two hours to get some work done.
- 42:31That's what I didn't get to do, leverage that time.
- 42:34So like, let's say the open house is quiet, which sometimes happens, especially during the summer.
- 42:37I think a lot of people assume open houses are really busy during the summer.
- 42:40They're not know because kids are still in sports, are still like travel teams going up.
- 42:45People are enjoying vacations.
- 42:46Sometimes they're enjoying the weather, sometimes they go out because it's hot.
- 42:49Sometimes they stay in because it's it's like this whole thing.
- 42:51So but if you do get three people through, at least you got three people through.
- 42:55So it was three opportunities to one help sell the house or to prospect for clients that aren't being represented yet.
- 43:02But two, that's a great time to be uninterrupted with anything doing emails, doing marketing, following up with clients, putting together other like CMAs and things like that.
- 43:13And I always do a lot of social media stuff.
- 43:15Open houses, of course.
- 43:17For those of you listening, what I'm just going to say you have to have permission.
- 43:21You can't just be making videos at anyone else, but you have to have a seller's permission.
- 43:24And if it's not your listing, the listing agent, the permission, but most of them say yes.
- 43:29So like that's a great time to come up with like all week's social content around real estate while you're sitting there.
- 43:36Like leverage that time, so many people just sit there and like crews on social media themselves, they don't do any work.
- 43:42And it's like you are working.
- 43:43Think of it as office hours of no one's coming in, just be working well.
- 43:47And I will say to another time, blocking is a real thing for real estate because your day can be turned upside down very quickly.
- 43:56But you also still have timelines and you have to make sure they get done.
- 44:00So if you don't set aside an hour to make sure that I hit that 5 p.m.
- 44:04deadline, because the inspection contingency, oh my gosh, expires, you're not going to have that.
- 44:09And I'm a big fan of that.
- 44:12I need to do more of it.
- 44:13But again, if it's not my calendar, you will not see me and I will not be there because it will be there because like our kids have early release, we're in different schools districts, but we will text each other like it's early release day because like, we'll forget like, oh, it's like someone's going to pick up our kids.
- 44:31So it's like even that's on my calendar.
- 44:33Like my daughter's activities, even when she gets out of school.
- 44:37And some people might think I'm a bad mom for that, that you need that on your calendar. Remember to pick her up.
- 44:41I do, yeah, when I'm in the middle of all this, like paperwork and I'm trying to hit these other deadlines.
- 44:46And then next thing I know, it's 1:30 a.m. like that.
- 44:48Yeah. So.
- 44:49But if I, it's on my calendar, I get a calendar.
- 44:51You're like, hey, you need to leave in ten minutes to go get Rylan. Yep.
- 44:54Then I can wrap up what I'm doing because it's hard and you have some clients are better than others, but we're trying our best to be parents also.
- 45:02And so, I mean, I like to have family time.
- 45:05I get to pick up my kids and I wanted that right.
- 45:09That's why we became realtors. Exactly.
- 45:10We could do the flexibility to have that.
- 45:12But there also is downtime.
- 45:14We are working weekends.
- 45:17We are literally a clients calling, and then we're leaving an hour to go show a house.
- 45:22Yeah.
- 45:23I just compared to the other professions, people get mad and want like we're constantly having to justify the amount of money we get paid, but like, are you texting anybody else that you hire for a service at midnight?
- 45:38Yeah. Like, are you texting your hairdresser?
- 45:40Like, I'm thinking about bangs.
- 45:42What do you think about bangs at midnight?
- 45:44No. Yes. Not.
- 45:45But you are texting your realtor totally.
- 45:47Like, hey, do we ever hear back from the Xyzzy?
- 45:50And like, a lot of times I'm up at midnight and I debate, like, how do I respond?
- 45:54Because I'm a yes, it's hard.
- 45:55Then it's like, I want to encourage you to always text me at midnight, but at the same time, I have the answer right now.
- 46:00So normally I respond, but it's just so funny.
- 46:03Like, there's not a lot of other professions, where you're answering calls or like text emails at all hours of the day.
- 46:11It's we we joke.
- 46:13My in-laws moved from Chicago, and my mentor now, my mother in law used to text her, and she would be here, like, all the time, but she would never give her head up.
- 46:24And it would literally be, hey, I just landed.
- 46:26I want to see five houses tomorrow.
- 46:28And she would literally voice text her when we picked her up at the airport.
- 46:32And at the time, I didn't think anything of it because she responded, the realtor responded, and I wasn't an agent.
- 46:38I wasn't an agent.
- 46:40And now looking back.
- 46:42But she always responded.
- 46:44We saw five houses the next day and I'm like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe.
- 46:49But now sitting here, I'm like, yeah, it happens and I'm ready.
- 46:53And that's why it's hard to commit to things on the weekend.
- 46:56Like if if it's early, that's fine because typically, like not a lot of people want to get in at 9:00 in the morning.
- 47:03Right.
- 47:03Well, and you have to keep in mind too, a lot of it's not just us.
- 47:06Like sometimes when I'm like, oh, that house isn't available.
- 47:09They're like, wait, why can't you show it to me at nine?
- 47:11And I'm like, I can't.
- 47:13What I'm saying to you as the house is not available because people live there and they don't want to be gone yet, or they're.
- 47:19That's right.
- 47:19When the school bus comes or that's right when they're working from home and they have a meeting.
- 47:24So sometimes you're like, it has nothing to do with me or my schedule.
- 47:27I'm just. Yeah. So I would just pet. Yeah.
- 47:30Oh yeah.
- 47:31That too.
- 47:32It's I feel like where, like, real estate is horrible.
- 47:35It's not.
- 47:35It's just so much more robust than people realize.
- 47:38And that's like what we're talking about.
- 47:40I was joking around the other day, too, that, like, being a realtor is like dating multiple people at one time. Yes.
- 47:47And it's like, yeah, I just got, a referral from an agent from out of state, and I just met her client in person for the first time, and she called me yesterday and was like, hey, by the way, he loved meeting you.
- 48:00You loved your vibe.
- 48:00He thought you were great.
- 48:01And I was like, he did I again, I'm just like, dating again because I go, you never know.
- 48:05I go, it's so much like dating where like, you'll have one meeting with a client and then you're like, I hope they call.
- 48:10Or I wonder if they want a second date, you know, or like, we're meeting or whatever.
- 48:14Or sometimes we're always thinking about our clients way more than they're thinking about us.
- 48:18I don't know about you, but I'll even be in a shower like this.
- 48:20Addendums gotta get down.
- 48:20And this has to happen.
- 48:22And this are my clients aren't like, no, I haven't heard from Marshall today.
- 48:26Or I'll be thinking like, oh, I haven't like someone I sold a house to like two years ago and I haven't talked to him in three months, I have it.
- 48:32Oh, I really need to reach out to the Smith family.
- 48:35I haven't talked to them amongst the Smith family.
- 48:37So walking around like we're short and cold and mugs.
- 48:40But I haven't gotten anything for myself. Weird.
- 48:42But it's so funny.
- 48:44Like you were always thinking about them.
- 48:45Like, I just feel like I'm constantly, like, chasing like dates.
- 48:49Like I hope you like me.
- 48:49Please call me back.
- 48:51One, two in a second. It's like that.
- 48:54And then you again.
- 48:54You don't. When you meet, meet people with this whole Na settlement that now you have to have a buyer broker agreement.
- 49:02Oh yeah.
- 49:02I struggled with that for a while because my it happened in August.
- 49:09I had an out-of-town client who I had never met.
- 49:11We've done a couple zooms with them and they flew into Portland to see houses.
- 49:16And I was like, I have to ask them, they don't even know like how I operate.
- 49:20I mean, I've tried to explain to them, they can only learn so much via zoom to totally.
- 49:25And so it was a weird thing, but we worked through lots of questions.
- 49:30It was very good. But and now I feel like it's better.
- 49:33But people are now asking more questions, as you said, of like, oh, you make this much money and sometimes, okay, well, I might be making $10,000.
- 49:43However, yeah, I have to pay out, you know, all these little buckets that people don't realize.
- 49:50Yeah.
- 49:51And it's hard.
- 49:52Well, and sometimes to like, I have a listing on the market right now.
- 49:57And my first conversation with her was October of last year.
- 50:02And we met and talked and like, house prep and all this stuff.
- 50:05And I didn't go on the market till March.
- 50:07And then by the time I close, like I might have been working with her for a year.
- 50:12So it's like, we'll take that lump sum and then you have to take all the fees out and all this other stuff that people don't realize that we have to pay.
- 50:18And then taxes are huge because we're self-employed.
- 50:21So like that's a huge chunk.
- 50:23So like let's say we'll just use $10,000.
- 50:25A lot of times you'll walk away with like four grand of the ten grand.
- 50:28And then if you divide that by 12, that's not even minimum wage. No.
- 50:32So everyone's like, where's your Rolls Royce?
- 50:34I'm like, if you tell me, babe, please, please tell me.
- 50:39Okay.
- 50:40So again but it's always it's always like that.
- 50:43And again I feel like everyone's journey is different, which is a good thing.
- 50:48Yeah.
- 50:48But if you have the support and you have a team behind you, you will be fine.
- 50:52Yeah.
- 50:52And sometimes the team has.
- 50:53Just like friends at another brokerage.
- 50:56You are on my team.
- 50:57Yeah, I was exactly I had a listing out here in Yamhill County and I was like, Rochelle, hey, did that guy.
- 51:03And she's like, do this, this, this here's a photographer, here's this.
- 51:06So yeah, that's another part of Women's Council also is you have a network of different agents and different parts, and we all have the same to each other when like that.
- 51:16Some agents that have been like, Whitney, why didn't you just refer that to me?
- 51:20I'm like, hey, yeah, that's awesome.
- 51:21Okay, you want this person, this person, this person.
- 51:24If you need an open house person and you want come out here, I'm out here.
- 51:26Oh, yeah, why don't I so.
- 51:28But yeah, it's all about just seeing each other when and stuff.
- 51:31Obviously you and I could talk for a minute on rails.
- 51:34This is why I wanted to have you on.
- 51:36Just because there's, like, so much to say.
- 51:38We'll definitely have you back next year, and you'll have to tell us all about how your presidency is going once it's like full fledged.
- 51:44But cheers to you.
- 51:44Thank you very much for joining me.
- 51:47Thanks for and thank you for everyone listening.
- 51:49I can't wait to see you next week. Cheers.