Bold Moves Podcast
Introducing Bold Moves — a series that delves into the exhilarating stories of risk-takers. Join your host Mat Torres and embark on an emotional narrative journey with each guest, uncovering stories filled with suspense, growth, and triumphant success. Designed to inspire both cautious decision-makers and adventurous thrill-seekers, these tales provide wisdom and insight to navigate life's uncertainty. Perfect for anyone eager to learn, laugh, and conquer fear!
Bold Moves Podcast
From Rentals to Real Estate Success with Michael Hernandez
From Rentals to Real Estate Success 🚀 – In this episode of the Bold Moves Podcast, host Mat Torres welcomes real estate agent extraordinaire Michael Hernandez to share his remarkable journey from humble beginnings in rentals to building a thriving real estate business. Hear firsthand how bold decisions, personal growth, and calculated risks shaped his path to success.
Michael dives deep into the challenges of navigating various markets, the emotional rollercoaster of real estate transactions, and the importance of building meaningful connections with clients. He shares valuable insights on transitioning from rentals to home sales, leaving a family-run team, embracing new opportunities, and overcoming imposter syndrome. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, or someone seeking inspiration for your next bold move, this episode is packed with wisdom and relatable stories.
🎯 Key Takeaways:
- The power of persistence and finding your niche in real estate.
- Navigating market challenges and leveraging new build opportunities.
- Balancing loyalty with the courage to make independent moves.
- How emotional resilience and strong client relationships drive success.
- Performance-based approaches that redefine the real estate experience.
Join us for an authentic conversation filled with inspiring lessons, bold moves, and actionable advice that can help you take your career or personal growth to the next level. Don’t miss this episode of the Bold Moves Podcast!
#realtortips #boldmoves #michaelhernandezrealestate #veteranrealestate #realestateadvice
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Michael Hernandez’s Start in Real Estate
06:54 - When Did It Start to Click for Michael
08:06 - What Sparked Michael’s Motivation to Succeed
09:58 - The Moment That Changed Everything for Michael
15:14 - Challenges and Roadblocks in Building a Business
17:00 - Significant Bold Moves in Michael's Career
20:51 - Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Overview
22:42 - Emotional Rollercoaster of Real Estate
25:00 - Market Impact on New Real Estate Agents
28:15 - Market Conditions Advisory Insights
29:13 - Key Lessons Learned from Michael
35:10 - Staying Resilient During Tough Times
38:31 - Sci-fi Inspirations
42:17 - Sources of Boldness and Inspiration
43:58 - Best Advice for Aspiring Real Estate Agents
44:34 - Encouragement to Be Bolder Today
45:00 - The Importance of Taking Chances
47:00 - Final Thoughts and Additional Insights
47:31 - How to Contact Micahel
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This is the Bold Moves Podcast, where real people share the decisions that changed everything. Hosted by Matt Torres. All righty. So this is the Bold Moves Podcast, and I got a really cool guest today. So I got Mr. Michael Hernandez. Mr. Michael Hernandez here. He's a real estate agent extraordinaire. He's with Your Home Sold Guaranteed. And I'm really excited to have you on the show, man, because I followed your journey. And we both were at the same real estate office when I first started dabbling in the industry, but you kind of just took off. And so I'm really excited for you to kind of share your story, and yeah, just kind of give a little introduction about who Michael Hernandez is. Sure. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah. So Michael Hernandez, well, I started out in real estate kind of as a gopher. A lot of things I would never really thought to be in real estate. And with my older sister, she was the first one in our family to start doing real estate. And she had an account through Wells Fargo doing foreclosure properties and, of course, a regular residential real estate. And with these foreclosure properties, she was needing to do a lot of reports throughout the valley on these properties, make sure that they're checking in on them. At the time, there was a decent amount of vacant homes in the Phoenix area with the foreclosure rates that we had at the time, the bubble that we had. And so these foreclosure properties being vacant and where they were at naturally invited a lot of vandalism and theft to where I laugh because there's some newer realtors that don't experience the things that other realtors over the markets and little things like having security cages around your air conditioning units in certain parts of the valley. They didn't understand why that would be the case. That's interesting. Yeah. And so that was part of the vandalism of people stealing like copper lines off of the home and or parts out of the air conditioning units because they were vacant. And at the time, there was a vast, vast area of where there was homes where there wasn't a lot of homes around it. So like you may have had a master plan community that was built, but then it was farmland throughout it. So like kind of Maricopa or even Santan Valley for a while, there was areas where there wasn't a lot in between the valley, East Valley or the south part of Phoenix, where there was a lot of people traveling into town. So a lot of these homes were vacant during the day. So it was ripe for burglaries and theft. And so that was kind of the area where they were at was in Levine, where they had a lot of new construction out there, but then it was kind of close to where South Phoenix was. And then, you know, with people traveling into town, there was nobody home. Yeah. And so with the vacant homes, that was especially relevant for theft. So I had to do these property reports for her and, you know, eventually it became a, I needed to get my real estate license. And so once I got that, I took off from there. Nice. Yeah. I remember that whole market and, you know, things getting just lifted, you know, like the piper, the copper mines and everything. But it's funny you mentioned Levine because that was like, that was our first house, my first house to remember. Yeah. And you sold it for that. But it took us a while to get out from under there because we bought like in end of 2008. And then from there, it just kind of like took a downhill spiral. And yeah, we were upside down in that house for a long time. And I remember as soon as we could get out from under it, like we, we jumped on it. I think about it now though, cause like we totally could have made a lot more money on it if we just sat for it, sat on it for a little bit. Sure. I mean, Levine with what it is, you know, great area, but in the area that we were at, you know, it was, it was really close to that South Phoenix border and it just, um, yeah, it was rough. Yeah. Yeah. We, yeah, we, we saw, uh, somebody get shot in front of our house. Oh sure. Yeah. It was, uh, you want to leave real fast. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I think I remember hearing, uh, the SWAT team surrounding, uh, one of the houses down the street. Yeah. And like helicopters and cops, like we're not talking one or two cops. We're talking like they brought presents. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, then all of a sudden like you hear glass breaking and then like it was, it was, uh, it was different. Yeah. I mean, um, when we first got married, we've been in Scottsdale. Uh huh. Oh yeah. So it was something like that. Uh, but we didn't have kids yet. And then once we had kids, we were like, yeah, we got to leave. Yeah. That's crazy. That changes perspective for sure. Yeah. But I remember when we first got, we first met because 2013. Um, that's when I got my license and your sister, uh, Jessica was like the first person I interviewed with to join a team. And like, that's, that's the team I was joined and you were starting at the same time I was. Um, but, uh, I was going to school at the same time. ROTC. Yeah. Like dude, there was, there was no way I would, I would be able to like manage, uh, a real estate business and, um, school and ROTC and now that, and yeah, so I, I, I remember us working, you know, together and even doing a few open houses and, you know, kind of showing me some things. Cause I think you were there for a little bit before I even, yeah, 2000, December, 2012 was when I started. Okay. Yeah. So man, I'm, I'm glad you, you hit the ground running and kept, kept doing it, man. Cause I see, I see some good stuff. Oh, thank you for that. Yeah. The first year was, I didn't sell a house my first year. Uh, that was, yeah, I did. I probably did the most rentals in that office at the time. Then I think most agents have ever done in their entire career. I just found a niche and just happened to run with it really well. Um, and then, you know, that, that groundwork did turn into buyers. Eventually, you know, once they got the, uh, taste of, uh, you know, living in a home, renting in a home for a little bit of time, then wanted to become homeowners. Yeah. I do rentals every so often because it does help with keeping the business going. I don't make it as much of a business model that I did my first year trying to get my feet wet, but I also don't, uh, knock the fact that that was a good source of learning from having conversations with agents or not agent, well, actually agents and the clients and just going through a process and figuring out, okay. Cause there's not with the real estate contract to buy a house and the process there is pretty straightforward. Now with rentals, it's kind of wild, wild west because you've got so many different aspects of probably manager companies that do their own rentals to, uh, Realtors doing their own rentals and how they go about doing them as vastly different. Yeah. And so I don't knock the fact that that was a great learning experience for me. I mean, for the amount of work that it did for me for a couple hundred bucks, it's not, it's not so much for me to continue on as part of my business going forward, but for a newer agent, the return in value from just experience far outweigh what I was gaining in that. Yeah. Wow. So first year, not a lot of home sales. When did it actually start to click for you? Or like, oh yeah, this is like, I can see this happening for me. Um, the first, the first transaction I got was from a lender partner of mine. His name is Brian Iverson and he was with a company called Bay Equity at the time. And I believe it was, if I remember correctly, uh, somebody from their church and he, you know, just was trying to help me out. And I appreciate that to this day. Those were my first clients ever. There was a young couple that just got married, uh, looking to buy a house in Chandler. And I think from that point on, once I had, I guess, the skillset to really deliver on helping somebody buy a home, I never really went back from there. And I can't think of the second transaction that I did after that, but I know I, uh, that first year, I believe I did five or six after, or the second year after that. Nice. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's, yeah. I mean, it's, it's tough, you know, like I, I think we were having like a little training and, and, you know, most agents, you know, be lucky to get 12 a year, you know? And, um, what do you think was it that really kind of just sparked that motivation to say, no, I got, I, I, I need to make this happen. Like this, this has to work. I definitely think it was more of a stubbornness, pridefulness. Uh, and quite frankly, it was also a time in my life where like I was doing a lot of things, just being, I don't want to say teenager. Cause I wasn't a teenager anymore. I was in my twenties, but you know, when you're in the early twenties of, of your life and you're just either out there partying or you're, you're doing the opposite where you're kind of like nose to the grindstone and avoiding the partying. And then you kind of look back at both like, well, I didn't do this, but I wish I did this. And for me, it was, I just didn't want to do that anymore. I think that that was, I've already spent a couple of years of just kind of messing around and I really just wanted to keep moving forward in my life. And that was, uh, that was part of it. And I definitely didn't like doing hourly stuff, like being stuck somewhere from hour to hour. Um, I, I, I missed out on a lot of opportunities to be with my family and do things because I had to work, you know? And I, I think that also drove me to where I just didn't want to go back. Kind of the, um, uh, mentality of like, you know, you, you, I don't remember if it was the conquistadors or the Vikings, whatever, when they get somewhere, they burnt their ships because, you know, it's a sign we're not going to go back, you know? And that was kind of the idea. It was like, I, I just, I, that ship sailed. I don't want to, I don't want to go back. Yeah. So this show is all about bold news, right? I mean, we, we look at all of the big leaps of faith that we've taken the giant risks and really just kind of look at the outcome and like what good came of grit, what bad came of it, what did we learn from it? You know, that type of thing. So, you know, I'm curious, like with, with your whole journey, what is that, that one dramatic, you know, just moment that sticks out with you that is something that made you stop in your tracks and be like, okay, I need to, I need to make a bold move. Well, I think I got two of them really that's kind of stuck out in my head. One more recent, the other one is somewhat recent, but it was more so, I guess, in a sense, it was more of a familial issue that I chose to make a bold move with. I'll start with that is when I first started out with you and my sister on that team, that was the bold move was deciding to leave the team that I was with on my sister's team and kind of sort of taking over to a certain extent and, you know, leaving my sister, a family member, somebody that got me into the business from the very beginning to having to tell her that, look, you know, this isn't working for me. I'm going out on my own. And I think that the one, one part of that came from both business, obviously that was the main, one of the main factors, but realistically to the same extent where like, I was not wanting to go back to doing the same thing because it was not moving my life forward. And my daughter was about to be born around that time. And in 2019, that was the bold move to talk to her about leaving her team. Wow. So was that amicable? I mean, was there any like hard feelings or anything? Not that anything that was expressed to me from her. And I'll tell you that, but I think it was more so an understanding that this was kind of where we were going because she was also doing things on her own with as far as like progressing in her life. She was, I think at the time going through her school for the Catholic diocese in Phoenix. And so she was working through that. And I don't think she, I don't remember her ever mentioning going back into the military, but I knew that there was still an itch there for her. And I don't know if she saw it or maybe she did, and she just didn't express it to me. I know I didn't see it. I just knew there was just some things moving around that didn't necessarily have real estate in the forefront any longer. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. I see her every once in a while because she's a chaplain in the National Guard. And so it was kind of cool like, oh, hey, that was a good one. Yeah. So that's neat. Yeah. And she's in such a unique space. I always make fun of her and kind of tease her a little bit that she doesn't really answer anybody but God now realistically in the military. And that's such a weird space to be in the military more or less, you know? Yeah. But I'm happy for her that she found something where she was able to marry the her two things that were big in her life with her faith and the military. Yeah. That's cool. So when we look at that risk, why did it matter to you so much at the time? Well, definitely my daughter. I think that was the biggest thing. My daughter and my family. I already had a little boy at the time. And things were working OK with the way that it was. But I think as my family started to expand, I need to look at more so my business instead of, I guess, our business, which wasn't truthfully wasn't really our business. It was still her business. Yeah. So I think that was the biggest thing is where where do I see myself in the next few years? Is it running this team with her, even though that wasn't necessarily her, I think, idea anymore? And does that did that make sense to kind of. I don't want to say dragging or taking on dead weight per se, but it's certainly a lot of baggage that I would have had to navigate versus, I think. Realizing that this was the end of a chapter. Yeah. And being OK with the end of the chapter, that was the part I struggled with, too, because I am too loyal to a certain extent, but I think it was almost becoming loyal to a fault in that moment. Was it primarily because there there wasn't like a you can sense a desire to build the business and the team, or was it like a. Comp decision, business decision reads like what was your. Well, yeah, I think it was more so the ebb and flow of where that team started to where we had a decent amount of agents and then it was just me for a little bit. And then that was kind of like, I think, you know. It wasn't a team any longer as much as it was just me doing the business, and then that was the case, and I think it made more sense for me to be on my own. Gotcha, yeah, yeah, that's always a tough move, you know? Yeah, like when you've got, you know, a team and support and and then you're venturing off and into the unknown, really, because, you know, when you're going solo, you have no idea how it's going to pan out. But yeah, imposter syndrome syndrome became a bigger thing at the time because I was leaving leaving her team and how much of that was her or the team or how. Much could I had been successful in my own. you know, there was, those were a lot of questions that just became more relevant in my mind that I was navigating and, and fighting through in, in my own, I guess, emotional fight. Yeah. So you made the move. you're you're on your, your, your journey here. new like new team, like you're building your, your brand, your team here. like what were some of the challenges and like the roadblocks that you faced? I mean, to, to build your business to where it is now? Um, well, I think that there was a question of where am I going to get my business from? How, how do I go about this stuff? Now I'm taking on all the costs that, you know, I, I got shielded from because of being on a team and the things that my sister had already established, her, her own brand, her own, uh, niche of business. And, you know, her, her leading a veteran team, uh, people that served in the military and, uh, being the focus of veterans and military community with VA loans. It was like, I didn't serve. So how do I still continue on with that message without, you know, I guess not being taken serious or, because I understand that there is, uh, the camaraderie there is that the unity community from the veteran side that, you know, somebody that didn't serve doesn't understand them, doesn't, can't, can't approach the same conversations as they would with a veteran or even level of. And I think that was part of to kind of, kind of find my own, not honestly niche, but like identity. Yeah. So was there, was there kind of like a, a segment of the market that you gravitated towards? you know, because Trifreedom was, was real estate or veterans, right? And then, you know, your, your brand, was it geared towards any specific like market or anything? No, actually at the time it was just more so just doing, but this is like good and I didn't really want to hitch my horse to something that, uh, you know, that maybe been something that was wrong. Yeah. Okay. So you said there was two bold moves. Yeah. What was the next one? So the next one was a recent move. So I've been in my office at the time for 13 years. And in that timeframe, you know, I I've grown a lot, seen a lot, done a lot there. And, um, to me, I'd always had a great office environment. Um, people there that supported, um, my goals and who I was and slowly, but surely it kind of changed. you know, people laughed and things happened. And at the end of it all, it was, uh, a moment in time where like, was it the market that was my issue? Sure. Market wasn't that great. We got to about 8% in interest rates. And so that was tough to navigate. Um, or was it me or was it my office? So once I was able to kind of pinpoint where that was, it was essentially part of, big part of it was my office and the support I was getting from there and the training I was getting from there, because that's why I do pay them, you know, money out of the compensation that I receive in transactions is, you know, to help support my business. And at that time it just, it wasn't the case. And so I had to, uh, struggle with again, being loyal to a fault at somewhere that really at the end of the day, possibly could have cost me my business by staying there longer. Wow. And, and, and the people also, so my transaction coordinator was amazing. Chris Ashley, you know, him, uh, um, some other agents that were in the office that were supportive of me. And at the end of the day, I had to realize that like, they're not paying my bills either. As much as they are supportive of me, they have their own businesses that they're running. And to some extent they're in competition with me because we're out of the same office, maybe doing the same deals or potentially coming across the same clients. And I had to understand that, like what, I have to make this move again. I have a family, I have things that we want to do. My kids are getting bigger. You know, we've got to take that into account of how to support them. and you know, a different brokerage was a very big thing for me because I also had to kind of go into an unknown of, does this brokerage make sense? And with realtors and lenders, you know, you can go probably three or four places in a year and, and, you know, looking for a fit. And that was really something I was concerned with. Like, I, I, I don't want to move again. Yeah. Uh, because there's obviously costs associated with that. You know, where I was at in my business, it was like, would that also hurt my business to the point where like, I'm out of business because I made the wrong choice of a brokerage for support? Do you feel like you made the right choice? Oh, 100%. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Yeah. I've heard some good things. Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the brokerage that I'm at now, Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty. Um, I mean, just from the name itself. Yeah. Um, that was one of the things that like KW was where my previous brokerage was. Uh, great brokerage, great training, all that stuff to a certain extent, but I never got a piece of business because I was at KW. the the brand that I, that would, that was my brokerage never got me a business and they encourage you to build a brand underneath them, which is great, you know, that's, that's awesome freedom. and at the same time, why am I paying you the, the, the amount of money I'm paying you if your brand doesn't help me get business? And so that's, that was the one thing that I liked about this place and then the training that they offered. And I think it was also a timing thing with the, um, the NAR lawsuit that they had against, uh, you know, a lot of the brokerages and some of the changes that were resulting of that. It just fit what was going on in the market more so than what I've heard from other places, uh, that have given me pitches to switch. Wow. So is there anything, um, that you want to share about the uniqueness or special offering from your brokerage? Cause it's pretty unique, right? I mean, there's, yeah, I mean, it's a, we're, we're, we're, our whole system is centered around guarantees. So your home sold guaranteed it, or I'll buy it, you know, essentially is, is the main tagline with the seller side. Um, the buyer side is, you know, you love your home or, and if you don't, um, within two years, you know, I'll either buy it back or sell it for free. And a lot of it just comes back to a performance-based, you know, uh, style doing business. And I, and I've always been very efficient and I've always, you know, understood that my performance and how I do, you know, should elicit more business, uh, from, um, another Joe Schmo realtor who's, you know, hasn't sold as many houses or doesn't have a system in place or doesn't bring the value for that client to want to continue using them. Um, but I think that the, uh, performance-based aspect was a big thing for us that they would, I'm not here just to sit around like a, you know, pseudo fat cat, you know, and, and hopes that somebody else sells your home. like I'm proactively trying to sell your home and if I don't, here's how the repercussions for me for not doing that. like I'll guarantee to sell your home or I'll buy it, you know, buy it from you or sell it for free. That's cool. You know? So I think there's those performance-based aspects that I really, really liked. And I think for the market right now, like, um, there's a house in my neighborhood who's, um, on their third realtor and they're all big name realtors, um, big name groups. And, you know, to me, it seems like there's no, you know, performance there from, from the, even though as big as they are, you know, there's just lack of what they're, what they're saying they're going to do. Yeah. And there's no, uh, repercussions for what they're saying they're going to do because they just get fired and then they move the next realtor. No. I do have to say, um, I do have to apologize actually, because I mean, you, you helped us buy our second house. Uh, um, and I remember, uh, I, I had a few conversations with you where I wasn't as pleasant as I probably, oh, fair to say. So I remember, uh, I think I remember, I, I, I think I yelled at you over the phone and I think you got a little, I could tell you were a little upset, but you, you kept your cool, like you held it, you were professional. Um, but I still think about that. I'm like, oh man, like I, I shouldn't have. Oh yeah. No. And that's the thing though, is that I didn't put our relationship in the point of like, look, he shouldn't have, you shouldn't have talked to me like that because we are friends. Like, no, it's, this is a business transaction. I understand that there's certain things that are, are going to be sad or, you know, hurt, you know, feelings per se. And to me to hold that grudge or put those things together is not, I'll never be able to do really good business if I'm always going to, you know, mirror those two things together. I think if you separate yourself from those things, then, you know, things like that can happen and then we can go back to being friends later, you know? Yeah. It's so interesting how the transaction of real estate is such an emotional rollercoaster. And I don't know if, I mean, people, anyone who's purchased a or sold a home, they know, but like, you know, if, if they haven't, I don't know if they realize how much it is. And that's where I always, I always come back to, in my mind, part of that compensation that you're paying a sliver of it, I don't know how much of that sliver, but I think is deserved for that agent to deal with the emotional, you know, ups and downs of interacting with their clients that are going through that because, you know, I I've sold some, you know, a little bit of, you know, homes and stuff, and I, I remember almost having to play almost like a counselor type role, you know? Um, and just like calming people down and just sharing, you know, the market. And, you know, because your brain can do some weird things and you get, you know, emotional and those, those two things, you know, you know, they can mess you up and they can mess it up. And so really to save the deal, you kind of, you do have to kind of play that role. Yeah. Have you encountered that a lot? Uh, yeah. I mean, more so now in the last few, few years, I'd say, and I think a lot of it has to do with, uh, sort of a common trend in real estate is that, uh, you know, people see realtors that are, uh, successful and making money and they naturally think that, well, I'm just gonna go get my real estate license. Right. Yeah. Which is, uh, you know, fine, you know, we don't have a very high barrier of entry, although the market will, will kick your butt and spit you out. That's for sure. And so you'll learn that from that side of it, but the ones that do survive, it, it also depends on the market they come into. And that's where I feel like I'm having to deal with that more so now, not, not so much the clients, but also with the agent, the title company, and even the lender now is if they got into business around when COVID was going on and at that time the market was so crazy where you put a sign out front or didn't, and you sell your house with five different offers, you know, or you had to waive this inspection or waive that appraisal or, or pay over asking price, you know, give me your first born kind of deal. Yeah. Um, to now where the market is, uh, currently they are struggling with some of those interactions or things that really, uh, causes to, to have to, where I have to tiptoe around, um, those type of landlines as well. So not only do I get it from the clients now, it could even be the cross agent that I'm working with or the lender that I'm working with. And, and so those, those skillsets are on full display a lot of times is to navigate how to play nice in the sandbox, but also be, um, I don't want to say strong willed or to be, you know, short with people, but you've got to be a little bit more insertive while being nice. Yeah. I remember that there was, I was doing, um, some transaction management and, cause there was a buddy of mine, he had a flat fee brokerage at the time and he was just doing deals all over. Oh yeah. Because I mean, you know, that market and then also at the same time, not charging very much, you know, it was just, I remember. Dealing with the, with listings and it was routine to have like 20 offers first day it listed, you know? And over a weekend having to sift through and go through like 40 to 50 offers. Oh, for sure. Like it was insane. Um, and seeing those weird, uh, you know, oh, no appraisal, you know, we're not even gonna, you know, worry about that or not even going to do an inspection sight unseen, you know, just stuff like that. And you're like, um, are you sure you want to do that? And it's just interesting because now, you know, having to go back and, you know, I've had a few listing appointments where I'm like talking to people and there's just no equity there, there's no, you know, you didn't get in a check if you sell this house, like it, and it's a harsh reality, but you know, when you pay a hundred K over its value, you know, what do you think is going to happen when the market levels out? It's just people get emotional. Yeah. Definitely get emotional. And they, you know, that's where the, that, that story gets created about their real estate experience, which is understandable. And I think it kind of goes back to a little bit of, we have like, we have a form, you know, market conditions advisory, basically the market is super cool and real estate values go up and down. Um, I, you know, we, I think we take a little bit of our forms for granted and in some of the, um, uh, I guess representation or lack thereof when it comes to a good deal or bad deal, you know, I certainly still, still understand from a salesperson's perspective that like, look, if you want to buy something, who's to save for me to, for you to tell you not to buy something. Yeah. From the real estate standpoint and the fiduciary standpoint, I do need to make sure you're at least aware that, Hey you know, this is not a great deal, but if you want to buy it, I'll navigate this with you, but just no X, Y, and Z could happen down the road and that if you want to sell this house for two, in two years, you're not gonna be able to sell this house for two years, you know? So I think there's a, a balancing act there that, uh, not every agent necessarily follows. Yeah. I will say there was, there was something I learned from you that I, that I actually put into practice whenever I was like working with, with buyers and sellers. Um, and it was, and you do, you do a really good job of this. Like if we're going in a home and I know like me and my wife, we were like, Oh this is great. Like we, you know, this is, this is it. And then you're like, wait a minute. Okay. Like, let's look at this, you know, like, you know, let's look at the, you know, this looks like a flip. So things to be aware of is some things are hidden or, you know, like, you know, lipstick on a pig type thing, um, or, you know, like, Hey this is like facing, uh, you know, your backyard, you have this big plant back there, you know, our plan, or you have this big road or, um, you know, there's power lines going over here, you know? You know, stuff like that, you know, which you don't really initially notice. And sometimes you might not even notice at all until it's too late. Yeah. But that was, that was something that I liked. was that every house you weren't trying to, uh, say, okay, do you want to put in an offer? This is the house. She's heard it, you know, like this is the one. Yeah, exactly. And I re I really appreciated that. And that I told myself if I was going to, you know, sell anything and sell a house, like that's the, that's what I wanted to like emulate. I wanted to make sure I was advising them and I wasn't trying to push anything on them because I've, I've worked with agents. They were like, okay, just let's put an offer in a sec. This is going to go tonight. You know, like that. Oh, yeah. And, um, I just think it means a lot to other people, you know what I mean? Because they don't feel like you're just in it for the cash, you know? For sure. For sure. I think that that was taught to me early on because of the, the things I saw in foreclosures, you know, and, and navigating those, uh, listing. And then also with helping veterans relocate here, um, that was the biggest thing, you know, for helping them understand that, look here, you know, I know it's hard thing for you to trust somebody that, you know, on a property that you're not here, especially somebody that's trying to help you buy something. Um, I just had this happen the other day. He's, he called me and said, I have, I got all these, um, I got this house. It matches all the boxes. I really like it. There's a lot of things I like about it. I just want you to go check it out because, you know, from the photos, that's why we pay photographers to take great photos of a property. Just go see what it looks like. So I went over to look at it and I, after looking it up, because he doesn't see this on Zillow is the previous listing was on there, it was about, um, $75,000 higher. and now it's obviously$75,000 lower, which now put it into a short sale. And so I went over there to look at it, short sales, whatever, we're fine. As long as the house looks okay. And he was VA. So there's some VA requirements from, um, from the VA standpoint that the home has to meet. And, you know, from that standpoint, we'd probably be okay. Um, there was some peeling paint. The VA doesn't really like that. And, uh, but when I walked into the garage, which there was no photo of in, in the, on the listing, there's a ginormous wet spot that already had a black mold growing, a water heater didn't look like it was operating, um, air conditioning units look, man, I don't know if they would have worked or not. But, uh, the black mold spot was a big one. And then once I started digging into it, as far as the short sale goes, there was a, uh, there's solar on it, which solar it's a crapshoot nowadays, but it's more so crapshoot, especially with the people backing the solar loans or the solar, the solar, uh, care or the warranties, uh, because there was falling like dominoes left and right. Yeah. And this one had a, uh, company called mosaic, which is, uh, when is in bankruptcy right now. And so just from that standpoint of the, you know, the house might be okay. When you start throwing all these other things into the play, like the solar and how to satisfy the solar lien that's on that property, you're essentially paying it, if it's a lease, you're going to have to pay it to get the, the, uh, what is it called the, the lien against the property for the solar off. So that way the short sale can be approved. But if it's a lease, then they're going to remove those solar panels because you don't own them. Now, if it's a, if it's owned, that's great. Then at least what you're paying for on to get that lien satisfied, you're going to keep those panels. But in this particular case, since they're in bankruptcy as well, mosaic, you're probably not going to get this short sale done. Uh, you're just going to be wasting time and energy on a property that may never ever close. Yeah. I don't know how many times I roll up to a house and I'm like, oh, there's solar. Yeah. It's like, cause you don't know, you know, like the, the, the deal with it, you know, and also even if it's owned and there's still upkeep and maintenance. Oh yeah. I know. And that's not cheap, especially if something's got to be repaired or, or fixed or something, you know? Um, my mom's dealing with that. I helped her buy her house when the rates were smoking, like, I think she's got like a, like a 2.5 or something. Um, but yeah, she's having to, you know, drop like $1,000 to, for the solar, because there's like something that needs to be done or something. I don't, I don't know. Yeah. I know. I know it's, it's not, um, it's not cheap, but I mean, it was owned, you know, so they owned it as part of the warranty thing or something. Yeah. I don't know the details, but I know like there's still stuff, you know, you gotta deal with. Um, yeah, I don't think I'd ever get solar. You know, it's, it's, it's hard to show it as a benefit any longer because at the time there was a lot of benefits to having solar, both from, you know, leasing to purchasing to the actual panels themselves, the credit that you get from the, on the tax side of it, but then once the utility companies caught up on it, um, then it became less of a benefit because then they figured they were losing money left and right to solar companies and solar panels and you know, they've really regulated that out of the way. Yeah. So that's too bad. Yeah, it really is. Um, what kept you going during the, the toughest times that, that you experienced? Uh, well, that toughest times probably experienced was when rake shot up to eight, 8%. Yeah. You know, that was tough. And ultimately it was just, okay, so that's not going to change. Where do we go from here? And how do we, how do, how do I continue making, you know, money for myself, my family and, and continuing business? And thank goodness that there is new builds. Yeah. Cause that certainly helped a lot. Um, you know, if I wasn't able to help a client get a regular residential home, you know, we were looking at new builds and where they were at. And, um, I think the biggest thing was not developing another system and tools to be able to even navigate new builds because not, there's not an MLS for new builds, you can't just go find one century located place. I mean, there might be some stuff on MLS, but you're going to have to put your feet to the ground and go into the offices, build relationships with those agents and figure out how to, how to, how to direct clients here and there. Be nice. If there was, they wouldn't want it. Yeah. They wouldn't want it. That's too bad. I mean, like it's a pain driving around to find new builds. You know, if somebody wants new builds, I try to go online and try to find some, but yeah, that'd be nice if they were like a central place. Well, and I think that's also where if you take the time to build a system around it, then you can find your value in why you are able to help more clients find new builds. So like, if you know, or have like just getting on an email blast from certain, certain, uh, new builds, uh, for their available properties to where they're at with their incentives and just build an Excel sheet and just keep that updated. You know, you could certainly create your own database, but it's also got to be, uh, a person that's willing to do that, you know, to understand that what value am I offering for my time and effort to do this. A lot of it is, you know, essentially right now they're, they're paying, you know, a decent amount for, for agents. They're giving incentives to clients, you know, and you know, the prices are, they're okay in certain areas. In your opinion, what do you, what do you think, who do you think has the best new builds right now? What builder? Um, best new builds, to be honest with you, you can go from one new build community to another and have a completely different experience, the same builder. Yeah. What do you think as far as like pricing costs for value? Oh, pricing costs for value. Probably, probably DR Horton. Yeah. Yeah. Just, just, they've got a pretty big community called Radiance over there off of Ellsworth. I'm sorry, Ironwood. And, uh, I think it's Ray and, uh, yeah, they've, they've got a pretty good master plan community in there. I've sold a couple of clients in there, about 425 for 1500 square foot home. Um, got their closing costs covered. I was able to get a lower rate and, uh, you know, walked in within 30 days of it being built. That's pretty cool. Yeah. I mean, so they're, they're, they're people there. That's always going to be the thing in any, in any, uh, service based industry is the people. Yeah. Uh, and that's why I said you can have a completely different experience from one DR Horton community or Meritage community to the other is whoever's building the houses, you know, level care there to the sales agents there as well. Nice. So I didn't know this until, you know, you mentioned it at our B and I meeting, but you like sci-fi you're a Star Trek kind of guy, right? Yeah. I mean, I'm, I'm a nerd by heart for sure. And a lot of aspects, uh, just, you know, from, from video games to even being a nerd about sports, you know, I'm pretty big sports fan too, but sci-fi has always been something that I've, I don't know, just, I'd like the idea of what that comes with. You know, um, I know we've talked about Star Trek a lot, you know, if I'm Star Wars fan too, as well. But I think, uh, that kind of stuff just elicits, uh, imagination, you know, and elicits the aspect of like, you know, Star Trek is kind of based around exploring as much as we would love to see the battles, you know, with the ships and all that stuff, it's always been around the exploring the stories, interactions with people, um, from discovering new races or, or, uh, alien beings or whatever, uh, to how they interact with them and just. Person to person stories as well. Yeah, no, I was, I was a real big fan of TNG and Voyager. Um, you know, I started to watch the, the newer stuff and like discovery and it, it's hard to watch, you know, like, I don't know, I can't, I was telling, um, I was telling someone else, this is just, it's hard to watch with your family, your kids, you know, when they're like throwing F-bombs and stuff on the show and it's like, come on, man, like Star Trek, you know? All right. Uh, have you seen the Orville? Oh yeah. Yeah. Watched a little bit of that. Yeah. No, that one's cool because that one actually also reminds me of like TNG. Um, it's funny because it was originally supposed to be like a spoof. You're supposed to like, oh, you know, making fun of Star Trek. And then it kind of evolved to where like, no, this is like a legit show that actually like honors Star Trek. Um, I don't know if you, if you've noticed it, but in later seasons, they like tried to really make it their own. And, um, Jonathan Frakes actually, uh, I think directed a couple episodes. Yeah. Yeah. And there's, there was one episode in particular, in particular, I couldn't, I, I don't know which one it was, but the opening scene was like, you would have thought it was an episode of, uh, Star Trek TNG and I was like, what is this and the angle and the, and the intensity and the way they did it and the music and just everything. Um, and then come to find out it was Frakes that, of course. You know? So I just, I just thought that was great on there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think it's just for me, those, those aspects of just, because I deal with that with real estate, you know, it's the people, the stories, you know, the, the things you encounter, like when, um, when the real estate industry was going crazy, you know, I was walking up to a open house with my clients because. There was a certain real estate group out there that was only doing one hour open houses at the time and, uh, you know, driving up the price, you know, I had to tell my clients, like, look, if you see this name attached to this house, you're going to pay double and we don't have the ability to pay it. So don't send it to me because we can't go do it. And, uh, but when we walked into this open house, you know, seeing somebody walking away, crying in their realtors arms saying that I'm never going to buy a house because this is going on right now, you know, those are the type of stories that, you know, you experienced or that first time homebuyer that's at 55 years old, but they're the first time homebuyer and their family, you know, that kind of stuff, or like a veteran that's coming into town that finds something that's, uh, for their, for their kids and their wife while they're deployed, you know, that kind of stuff, or vice versa, the wife and the kids are trying to find a house while the husband's deployed already, you know? Yeah. So there's, there's just so many levels and layers in real estate that it's the people and the stories that I think, uh, are really why I like Star Trek and that kind of, uh, uh, sci-fi stuff. And, um, I just, it just hits home to what I do in real life. Nice. What is your, or a favorite book, podcast, or resource that inspires boldness to you? Hmm. Favorite book, podcast. I, you know, I can't really say I have one or the other. I mean, for those types of things, I try to, I try to either have it be more educational, um, where it's helping me do something or more of a place to unplug. Yeah. I think that's how I utilize those more so than anything else. I think for what I see from other people, I think that's more so where that's elicits that boldness from like history, um, for people that took chances to do the things that maybe they were too scared to do, or, um, you know, like, it's, I'm quoting a movie, quoting a history, but, you know, national treasure, uh, with Nicolas Cage. Yeah. One of the things he talks about is, uh, the invention of the light bulb. It took him a thousand different ways to figure out how to make, not make a light bulb, you only needed the one way to, to learn how to make it work. And I think that's the biggest thing is for, for me is just seeing where people have failed in the past and, or have come, overcome extreme adversity in, in their lives to continue to move forward and, and, and accomplish the goals that they wanted to, to, to do and not let that moment of failure, um, derail the amount of work that they did. Yeah. Hmm. What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received? Who? Um, best piece of advice that I've ever received. I think the best piece of advice I've ever received is, um, I have to say for me, it was, I think more so just directed at my family and knowing that anything that I do in life, that as long as my family, my, my kids and my, my wife are proud of me in that moment, then that's all that matters. Cool. Now in one word, how would you encourage someone else to be bolder today? One word. Anytime I think of, uh, say it in two words or less. I think of that moment of Chuck, Charles Barkley. Yeah. He's, he's like saying two words. He's like Chris and Paul. And they're like, that's three words. If he got two words, I'd just say it I guess to put it in one word chances. Okay. You in the kind of elaborate is that you just take chances. Yeah. Just take shots. You, it's, uh, again, quoting a funny movie, but there is merit in what he says is, uh, you ever seen the movie, take me home tonight. It's with, uh, Topher, Topher Grace, the guy from that semi show. Yeah. Uh, it's about a guy that basically it's in the eighties and he went to MIT. He did all these things. He was a really smart kid in high school. And then he ends up working at Suncoast video and, uh, his dad, who is the, uh, he is, uh, what's the guy from original Terminator, not, not the Terminator, but Reese, Reese, the guy that's actually went back in time to protect Sarah Connor. Well, that's his dad in Terminator. And the first one. Oh, the first one. I don't remember. Yeah. Well, that guy is his dad. And so he, he basically tells him like, look, you can't say that you've ever tried if you never actually took a shot, you know, and I don't care what you do, where you go, just take shots. Yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing is that, you know, you can say I didn't get this or I didn't do that because of, you know, because somebody else, but if you never took the shot, then really it's, it's on you. And I think that's the biggest thing is that we kind of shrink to a level to not take those shots. What's that, what's that quote? Uh, you miss a hundred percent of the shots. You don't take. Yeah. Yeah. It's true. And it could be just talking to somebody and then have to be something that's, you know, uh, earth shattering, you know, or ground shaking for you to take a shot. It could be just start a conversation with somebody one day or sit on a podcast, you know, even though you may not like to be on camera or like to talk or whatever the case may be, you know, just, just take shots. Yeah. Cool. Now, is there anything else that we didn't cover that you want to share before we wrap up today? Um, you know, we covered a lot. I don't, I don't necessarily think there's anything that we didn't cover that I want to, I guess, hit home on again, other than, you know, for me, real estate isn't just about selling houses, you know, um, it's about the people involved. It's about helping those people accomplish what they're wanting to do for their shots that they're taking. Um, and that's really what's important to me when I'm, when I'm, what I do. Cool. And how can people get ahold of you? Uh, the best way, easiest way is my cell phone number. 602-303-8998. I can take text messages. I can take phone calls. Give me a call. Cool. Right on, man. Well, it's been a pleasure having you on the show. I'm glad you came on. Glad you were able to kind of share a little bit and, um, yeah, until next time we are out. Thanks for watching the bold moves podcast for more episodes, visit our website and follow us on social media. Keep making bold moves.
