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RUNNIN' VEGAS - The John McNamara Sports Podcast
Talking all things Las Vegas sports-from UNLV to the pros, and everything in between.
RUNNIN' VEGAS - The John McNamara Sports Podcast
🔥 The Vegas Housing Market Is Changing — Here’s How Buyers Can WIN
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Welcome And A Deal Saved
SPEAKER_02Hey guys, John McElhon, host of Run in Vegas. We're talking local sports, business, real estate. If you guys like what we see today, subscribe. Follow us on Run in Vegas podcast today. Woo! We've got a special guest, Mr. Courtney Boofer in the house.
SPEAKER_03Long time coming. Long time, long time. We met in a funny way, huh? We did. We did. We had a very interesting deal. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Are we gonna go right into it? Yeah, might as well. Uh, we had a very interesting deal that was kind of falling apart. And uh basically you saved the day. So we'll put it that way.
SPEAKER_01I put on a cape, I grabbed John here, I threw him on my back, and I flew it. No, I'm kidding. No, no, the funny part was that we were doing that transaction and we were both at the same conference. That part was funny. I'm like, wait a minute, are you here? Because I think you text me that you were out of town. Like, where are you? Like, I'm in Salt Lake, I'm in Salt Lake. It was funny. It was crazy, but it also lets me know what kind of person you are. If you're there doing stuff to make yourself better, then you're somebody that can be around. You know what I mean? And vice versa, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So we had a deal, it was kind of going sideways, getting a little hairy. And uh I was like, I was glad you were actually there because I was like, I I need to go see you in person, tell you in person because I didn't want to text you it. I don't want to, I was like, I'm gonna, I saw you. So like and you were nothing but professional, cool about it. We were trying to keep this deal together, and uh, we got it done.
SPEAKER_03Yep, we did. We did.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. It's uh they're always messy, right? Yeah, you know, the the difference
Building Trust Under Pressure
SPEAKER_01between a good agent and a great agent is getting through the mess, you know. Yeah, you know, and hopefully seamlessly that your your clients don't even see the mess. You just sweep it and keep going. Just keep going. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02But I was impressed with you. Thank you. And I appreciate your uh how professional and how nice you were going through that because not all agents are are like that. So I knew you were you're a good agent. Thank you. I appreciate that, yeah, for sure. Let's get a little background. Where are you from? What's like what's your story?
SPEAKER_01How'd you get into real estate? So, where I'm from, uh my dad was in the Air Force, um, and he spent 22 years in the Air Force. I was born in Japan, on an Air Force base. Um, I've lived all over the world. I've I was born in Japan, I lived in Holland, I've lived in California, I lived in Massachusetts. Uh I moved here uh from New Mexico. And so we came here because my dad was part of the the stealth fighter project, the F-117. And so is it F-117, B-117? One of the two, the stealth fighter, everybody knows, the very first stealth fighter. And so that's how we landed here, and uh, and I've never left. I love it. This is home. Um, it's funny when you're younger and you you move every two or three years, it sounds cool, but and you get a lot of experience, but there's nothing like setting down roots and calling a place home. And so that's what Las Vegas is to me now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Vegas is a great town. I moved here, gosh, 18 years ago. I've seen a lot of change. You've seen a lot more change than me. A ton. Because I did look you up. You've been here for a while.
SPEAKER_01Yep, 41 years.
SPEAKER_02So what a long time. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you've been in real estate for a while and like the changes of Vegas. The changes in Las Vegas are really the most epic part of just my experience being here. I mean, I remember when they were building the lakes. Yeah, I worked, I went to Bonanza High School. I remember my my best friend Heath and I used to run down uh Fort Apache before it was Fort Apache, um, while they're building the lakes. And so, and now lakes is kind of you know built out, done, almost old at this point, and um, and we have all kinds of new stuff. So, you know, the good thing about Las Vegas is we're constantly growing, constantly um getting better. You know, our restaurants have gotten better, our entertainment's gotten better, we have sports teams, we have a Stanley Cup.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we have a Stanley Cup. I mean, I never thought we'd have any kind of sport team. So the fact that we even have that to me is huge. And who's your team? Uh of course it's the Knights, but I'll be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02Is hockey is hockey your sport or what's your sport?
SPEAKER_01No, honestly, man, so in my spare time when I'm not injured, I'm currently injured, but I do jujitsu in my spare time. Wow. So I'll watch jujitsu, I'll watch uh college wrestling, um, and I'll watch MMA briefly. But um, you know, football, soccer, all that, I don't really watch, honestly. Okay. Yeah. Let's go. Go nights. I like combat sports, yeah, but go nights, definitely.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if you heard, Virtue Real Estate Group has moved to the lakes. Is that right? Yeah. I did not know that. New office just opened up two weeks ago.
SPEAKER_03Where are you guys specifically?
SPEAKER_02Uh right across the like at Minnie Martin in like the Lakes Lounge. Oh, gotcha. Okay. I know exactly what I've done. I didn't even know this existed. Yeah. I've been here for 18 years. My dentist is right across the street. I never went all the way down. Uh-huh. So that's like a whole new world to me, so I'm loving it.
SPEAKER_01That's funny. You see the Lakes Lounge. I when I was so I went to Bonanza High School. I graduated when I was 17, and then I got a job at Citicorp, right there at that little space there where, you know, that big building that never sold. Yeah. Um, so I started there when I was 17 years old. I worked there for 10 years, but I used to go to Lake's Lounge and uh, you know, for beers and whatever after work. And that dry cleaner right there next to it is where Dana Plato from Different Strokes worked uh before she died. Oh I don't know if you're old enough to remember Different Strokes.
SPEAKER_02No, well, I know of it. I just it's not a good one. What you talking about, Willis? Come on, man. I'm not familiar with that.
SPEAKER_01I'll be 54 tomorrow, so maybe that, you know. Maybe that's the maybe.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, happy birthday.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_02I stopped you on Facebook. Happy birthday. Thank you, man.
SPEAKER_01Appreciate it. That's awesome. Yeah, for sure, for sure. So uh other than that, you know, Las Vegas is just, like I said, it's been my home for 41 years. I love it here. I I don't think I I did actually leave here once. When I was about 25, I left uh to go to Colorado. I thought I'd I would like Colorado, and I lasted about a month and came right back. It's just so different. Once you've been here, to have access to things at any hour of the night, you're not gonna get that anywhere else. I don't care where you are, even if in even in New York, it's just not that way. Yeah, you know, Las Vegas is its own special thing.
SPEAKER_02It really is. I'm originally from New York upstate, not the city, but I agree with you. Like I've been here for 18 years, and there's only a couple, I like Nashville, I like Austin. Yep. San Diego is fine and cool, but there's something different about Vegas. For sure. It's hard to leave. You live in like just a life of luxury to me out here, coming from upstate New York. For sure. Everything's falling apart every day, and it's winter for nine months.
SPEAKER_01It's true. I mean, the only thing we have here, really, if we're being honest about as far as natural disaster go, you know, we don't have, you know, we have a little bit of we have uh, what do you call it, a uh a monsoon season, but that's temporary. We have a little bit of earthquake here there from California, but it's just hot. That's it. We don't have, you know, we don't have uh you know floods that'll you know pull your house away. We don't have hurricanes and tornadoes, we don't have any of that. We just have heat. How do you how do you do the summers now? Uh the same as I did when I first got here, horribly. That's the one thing you never get used to it, man. 41 years and I'm still not used to it. I hate it.
Growing Up In Las Vegas
SPEAKER_02See, I felt like I was when I first moved here, but my like the thing was always going to hike like the beginning of the summer and I was always good. I feel like the last two years, yeah, I've been the biggest baby. Like my energy just gets zapped. I'm like already over it. So maybe like I'm a true local now.
SPEAKER_01I don't know, but it's funny. This year seems to be a little bit harsher. I don't know, I'm not sure why, but look, for example, so my wife does um a lot of uh gardening, and we have this really nice lemon tree. We get a couple hundred lemons every year, but the sun has been so heavy this year, it's literally burning the tree up. Like we've got umbrellas all the way around the tree, and it's just it's been a rough summer, rougher than than normal, in my opinion, at least. But we see that every year too, though. So yeah, you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, let's get a little bit back to real estate. You've been a business 22 years?
SPEAKER_01No, no, no, no. So I started in 2011. Silla's lying. Let's see, 2011? Yeah, 2011 is when I got my license. Oh. No, I took my test in 2011 at the end of the year, and then 2012 is when I actually got the license. So since 2012, uh, and I got into real estate uh by happenstance, I was a stage hand uh at the time. I had actually worked for uh Syntex Homes for many years, and before that, I worked for DuPont Flooring Systems. DuPont Flooring Systems was a residential uh flooring contractor. So we contracted uh well, actually, builders contracted us. D.R. Horton, we had at the time it was Greystone, but it's now known as Lenar. Uh we had Richmond American, we had a bunch of uh different builders, and we would supply flooring to them. And through those relationships, I was able to start working for Syntex Homes. Well then Syntex gets bought by Pulti Homes and everybody gets laid off. And then uh the market crashes. And so, you know, I had to kind of reinvent myself. I ended up being a stagehand with my my friend's company, uh Stagehouse. So I did that for uh maybe a little bit over three years, which was a blessing because it really taught me how to work hard in a different way. The the work was very difficult. We would do 14, 16 hour days, uh, and it was physical. You're on your feet, you know, we're we're throwing decks. You know, we did staging. So we did drape and staging for shows. We did a lot of work at the Bellagio, uh, we built stages for presidents, um, things like that. So it was a cool little business. But um, what happened to me there is I got hit on my motorcycle. I ride Harley's in my spare time. I got hit by a uh on my bike, ended up in a wheelchair for about nine months. I couldn't walk because I had shattered my leg in like 10 or 11 places, so I couldn't walk for a while. And while I was doing that, my buddy Darryl, like on the high school at Daryl Hannah, who's also an agent and half of uh our our team leaders, um asked me if I should if I wanted to sell real estate. And I thought about it before. My my first wife was uh was a real estate agent as well, and she always told me I'd be good at it. And I and I do know a lot of people, I've been here forever. And so yeah, so here I am. So I went and took my test while I was still um laid up at home, um, passed it, and from there was off to the races every day, working every day, and then not much has changed since then.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and what year was that when you got here?
SPEAKER_01Uh 2011 is when I took the test, 2012 is when it came in the mail. Okay. Yeah, awesome. Yeah, so a big difference to 2011 today. Yes, it's funny too. I remember calling people, cold calling it. We did a lot of calling. I mean, that and the reason why I was able to walk into real estate and hop on the phone and start calling people is when I worked for Citicorp as a youngster, I was a phone call, uh, a customer service rep. So I was on, I had a headset, I was on phone 10, 11 hours a day. So being on the phone was very comfortable. So getting into real estate and calling people, cold calling people was not never an issue for me. So I'd spend my days uh making calls, and that's kind of how how I kind of got my feet wet. That's great.
SPEAKER_02That's how I built my business over the years. You still cold call or what what are your what are your pillars and missing?
SPEAKER_01Not nearly as much as I should. You know, luckily for yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02We could all call more.
SPEAKER_01For sure, yeah. Well, the luckily the thing happens is over time as you start building and stacking that clientele and word of mouth spreads, it becomes its own machine. So I've got several different sources. Some of it's from cold calling, a lot of it's from uh social media, uh
How He Entered Real Estate
SPEAKER_01my sphere of influence, you know, just the the normal things that we we use to uh to get business. So awesome. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02What do you like most about real estate in the game?
SPEAKER_01Uh I like the deal. I just like doing deals. I like uh navigating and figuring things out and winning. I love that part of it. And it's difficult, it's funny too, because that's also what I hate about it. You know, real estate is the I people ask me, How are you doing? Um what do I always say? What's that what a what's that little term I say? Uh oh, living living the dream and the nightmare at the same time. Because sometimes it's exactly like that. You know, you you you see this this shiny thing at the end of what you're doing, but during it, sometimes you're not sleeping, sometimes you're worried about your client, sometimes you're you know, sometimes that repair might not get done. You know, what's wrong with that roof? All these different things. And you know, I think that's the part that the client doesn't see and they shouldn't see. But a lot of the times, you know, I think what makes an agent great is by caring about that outcome for your customer. I mean, that's the main thing. You know, it's it's really cliche. They say it's not about the money. It's secondary. The money is actually secondary. If you're doing what you're supposed to, you're gonna be making a living. And so once you got to that point, now you really can focus on making sure that you're doing things in the right way, being very ethical. Uh always, you know, that my main thing is I always want to make sure I'm clean. I always always I want people to always be able to say, I did the right thing for them. Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_02I think that's that's something about sleeping good at night. It's true, you know, it's true. But I I agree with you for me for anybody who goes in real estate, a lot of and I'm kind of head on the nose, like you're gonna go through a lot of personal growth, like it or not. For sure. It does not seem it's not like the reality television shows that you watch.
SPEAKER_01No, it's not, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so yeah, you have sleepless nights, you're always growing in different ways. So it's it's uh it's a if you want to grow good, uh real estate's a fun business. And I I agree with you because I've been in the business for now 22 years, and there is months where I'm just like, man, I'm amazing at this. And there's months like months I'm like, do I still got it? Right. 20 years later, it it messes with you, so you gotta work on your mindset and your, you know.
SPEAKER_01It's so funny, you know. You know, and uh like I was saying, I you know, part of my journey was getting connected with Daryl. And Daryl, who I've known since I was 11 years old. Me and Daryl go back to junior high. So we have a huge history, but we always are checking in on each other. He's like, dude, no one's calling me. What is going on? Does nobody like me anymore? What's happening? Right. And we're we both do that because no matter how long you've been in, it's a very, it's a very relationship-driven business. And when things are slow, it's very difficult not to take those things personal, right? Right? You know, sometimes a lot of times when people aren't calling you back, it has nothing to do with you. It's just not their, you know, it's just not that time. It's not the right time, you know what I mean? So you gotta make sure that you understand that it's personal, but then it's not personal, depending on what what the circumstances, you know.
SPEAKER_02It's good to have friends in the business though and talk about it. For sure. Because yeah, I think I know for myself, once I realized like everybody else was kind of going through, I'm like, okay, we're all doing this together. How do we help each other to build our business and work on our mindset? So definitely. Question for you though. Would you take them the bottom of the market? You went to the bottom market back in 2011. Would you take that market when we're selling $110,000 homes? Or would you take this market, half a million dollar homes, less sales?
SPEAKER_01I could do either one. I don't think I care. I don't think I would lean towards either one because I always feel like there's an opportunity in any market. If prices are down, people are going to buy. If prices are up, people are going to buy, especially in our town. We are we are a transient town number one. We have two Air Force bases, we've got um VA hospitals here. We have people in and out constantly. People get orders, they have to go. People get orders, they have to come in. We're always going to have a customer to sell to. So you just adjust your your expectations and you adjust your method to get that thing accomplished. I love that. Yeah. Every market's a good market. Every market's a good market. And I know people say that, but it's so true. Like people are worried about prices. What are you worried for? Yeah. You know what I mean? It's it's either good or for this client or it's good for that client. You know, sometimes it's not the right time to sell. Sometimes it's not the right time to buy. Right now, for me personally, I think it's a great time to buy, especially if you are cash poor. The reason I say that is because people understand now more than ever. The conversations I have with my sellers, the first thing I say after I pull comps is we're gonna need to be slightly under what these comps say. Because that we are in a declining market situation. So that's thing number one. Thing number two, assume that you're going to have to kick in some dollars to help the buyer get in. It's not personal. And I think that's I think because of the way it's been for the last couple of years, that's more palpable to people.
The Mindset Behind Great Agents
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, in our market, because things are usually moving so quickly, sellers are very used to saying, oh, you need closing costs, buy next person. Well, guess what? It's three-quarters of the world that you'd be saying bye to if you had that attitude today. So if you want your property sold, understand you're gonna have to help people maybe get some closing costs, help them buy the rate down, and it's mutually beneficial. So if you've kind of plugged those numbers in and you've set the proper expectations for your seller, yeah, we're getting it done left and right. I'm getting all my buyers' closing costs. I'm getting the price typically that we want on the sell side as well. It might take a little bit longer, but the strategies that I think we use are effective to get the house moved.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that's a great point you bring up because I was on the phone uh the other day with somebody like it's a terrible time to buy. I'm like, this is one of the best times to buy because sellers and builders they're willing to give incentives for closing costs or buy down the mortgage rate. Like this doesn't happen very often. It doesn't. So it's a different market. Yep. Uh but yeah, I I think you're right. I think it's a great time for buyers to get in. And the silver lining, too, is the the we are seeing a little depreciation, but it it's it's not like we're not seeing like back in the market back in 2009 when it was depreciating three percent a month, I think it's depreciated about two percent in the last six months, give or take. Yeah, so it's come down a little bit, yeah, but it's it's nothing harsh.
SPEAKER_01No, you know, it's not people have very short memories, though. You know, they always think you know it was so much better then, and that now this is so horrible. The truth of the matter is that the rate is a temporary thing. And I I hated that term with it, you know, that whole marry the house date the rate nonsense. I always hated that because it just didn't, it wasn't helpful. The truth of the matter is that the rate is temporary, it will go down at some point. We don't know when. We're just guessing. I would love to tell you that it's gonna be six months from now, but it's probably not going to be six months from now. But what is important to you uh for you to know is that competition is so much lower. In Las Vegas market, when things are going well, if we had a 4% rate right now, you'd be getting your tail kicked in by people that come in with big uh bags of cash from California that just sold their home that their parents passed on to them, that they originally bought for $50,000, that was now worth $800,000. So they got a big bag of money, they slap it on the table, and now you as a local can't get that home. That's really what it is. So competition is low, your payment's gonna be a bit higher right now because of the rate, but at the end of the day, you slid in under the radar. So when that rate does go down, you know, everybody and their mother's in and you're already done. And guess what? When that all those people jump in, guess what your price does? Yeah, you know what I mean? It's a it's really to me, it's a no-brainer. Yeah, I don't know why more people aren't taking advantage, but the people that are are winning.
SPEAKER_02I agree with you. Yeah, and if you really don't like the right, I would take the closing costs, but if you really don't like the right, you can buy down a point or two. You can make them very it can be a lot more reasonable.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep. And that and like I said, that's a that's a short-term situation for you. The rates are not are not gonna stay where they are now. They're just not. I mean, that's that's a fact. That's not my opinion, that's a fact. It's just a question of when.
SPEAKER_02I agree with you. Yeah. So what are we talking a little, not everybody likes to do market predictions on this show. But we were talking a little market before we hit this.
SPEAKER_01What yeah, what are your thoughts? Yeah, my thoughts, and we were just talking about this in our sales uh meeting Tuesday. Uh we think that we're we're looking at 18 to 24 months of uh questionable rates. Uh I think that's a real I think that's a real number. I think in maybe another year and a half to two years before we start seeing some relief. And that's you know, that we'll blink and that'll be over. I mean, COVID was six years ago. Right. You know what I mean? So I mean it seems like it wasn't that long ago. So you know, the older I get, it seems like the faster time goes. So eighteen months to twenty-four months of just kind of sucking it up, tightening up your belt, dealing with that bigger payment for the big payout, you're gonna do very well. The long play always beats the short. For sure. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And if you're an agent here, this is a great time to get market share because we're gonna have a ton of agents leaving the business. We already have.
SPEAKER_01We already have 87% of agents have not done a transaction this year. Crazy. 87%. That's crazy. That's the highest it's ever been. Yeah. I mean, it's always been kind of skewed, you know, 1%, you know, does 90% of the business, but 87% what I don't know how these people are paying their bills. That's insane, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think yeah, some do this as a hobby, but it it's hard for yeah, that market is gone.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02If you're if but if you're full-time, you're working it, you'll do deals. It's just you gotta dig a little bit, you know, more, so to speak.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't know that it even makes sense as a second, unless you're really doing some numbers as a part-time or side hustle for with real estate. I don't know if the cost for being an agent uh with pencil, if you're only doing one or two deals a year is it doesn't make sense. Now, why would you do that? So yeah, yeah, pack it up until you can jump back in full force, or just let let the professionals do it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir. So is would you give advice to like say there's a new agent out here and they're they're looking at the spot right now? So advice you give to, because you've been doing it on a high level for a long period of time now. What's the advice you give an agent out there that's trying to break into the business?
SPEAKER_01I would say get yourself on the team, a good team that you're comfortable with. I would say don't worry about the split. That's what people worry about the most. What's my split going to be? How much you don't even know what you're doing yet. I mean, it's a good year or two before you somewhat know what you're doing. That's a that's a fact. So um I would say get yourself on the team, get some mentors. I would also say be a self-starter. One of the things I think that gives me an edge is I'm always willing to uh hop in and uh do a seminar or uh do a a um what do you call it, a zoom where I get to learn something new, something that I can use. And it's not always real estate stuff. I do a lot of video, you know, I do I love video stuff, so I do a lot of uh self-improvement where I learn how to operate my cameras and make sure things are you know that can do things on the fly. I think building your skill set to help your customer market their property is phenomenally helpful to making you a great agent. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02For sure. And i especially in the growth part of it, because when I got in real estate, I'm a dinosaur in real estate now, but it I mean the split was 50%.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You know, and I didn't even blink at that. Right. You know, I was like, I just want to learn. I love so I love that advice. Just take two years to just learn. Because I know even myself, if if an agent wants to join our team, if they're talking splits in the beginning, they're not a Right. They're not growth minded and they never last. Right.
SPEAKER_01Because they're worried about and you're never and you're never gonna hear the end of it. That's all they're gonna worry about. You know, they're gonna get in one deal and they're gonna be worried. Well, how much am I getting? You know, I don't have the energy for that. I'm not very good. I've had a couple of good uh junior agents that have worked under me. Um Christina was my favorite, she was a hard worker. Um, but uh it's difficult to find people that have the same kind of um passion for the business. Because I think to be successful in this job, you
Buyer Leverage With Incentives
SPEAKER_01have career rather, you have to love it. You have to. I mean, I hate it and love it sometimes, you know what I mean? But mostly I love it. I just I like the I like the helping people. I like also seeing what I'm capable of. I remember, you know, when I first got into the business, some of the old the agents had been around. Well, uh, I'm not doing a $50,000 deal. I'm not doing a hundred thousand dollar deal. I'm like, and I'm thinking because I'm broke, three thousand dollars? What are you talking about? Give it to me, you know what I mean? And now I'm kind of like, uh, you know, but all those things have opportunities. Jillian always tells a story about um about this person that she was helping that was a rental that led her to a $25 million land deal. And it's a real story, it really happened. So you can't discount anybody. Um, discernment is is the order of the day, and to be able to kind of identify and like I said before, relationships are so important in our business, definitely.
SPEAKER_02They really are, yeah. Especially with the shift because I've I've always been a big prospector, but yeah, it's hard to get people on the phones now. It is, and I'm like you doing a lot of video, but it's the conversations, it's the relationship building, it's now meeting face to face more. Yep, because I think more people appreciate that now.
SPEAKER_01I don't know what you see in your business, but I agree with you. In fact, we used to back in the old days, me and Daryl would door knock, which I can't door knock now. I you know, back then it we would do it and it was uncomfortable. But now to me, it's a safety issue, you know, especially now that you know I I'm I have my partner at home. I don't want her answering the door to a stranger. Definitely not a six foot two, two hundred and fifty-pound stranger. Right. So I get it. You know what I mean? And and I always I remember walking to the door, knocking in and stepping back a few feet so people felt comfortable. But that's just not for me. I don't think it's a model that works. And I don't think it works for a lot of people just because of how the world is. It's not really me or or you, it's just what it is. But video is very the thing about video that's great, and the thing about social is great is that you're really hitting so many people, you're touching them. You don't even know a lot of those people that you don't even know have viewed your video or paying attention to you, they pop up, you know, a year and a half later, wanting to buy or sell, and you're like, I didn't know you were paying attention. You know, so don't always think because you don't have a gazillion followers or because you're not getting comments or not enough likes. It doesn't matter. None of that matters. What matters is that you're making a calling card for yourself. I'll tell you, if a client wants to use you and they Google you and there's nothing there to see, you're done. Yeah, so you better make sure that you've got your resume in place. And that includes your social media, that includes your website, that includes everything that you do as a professional. The the biggest mistake I think newer agents make is they don't work it as a business. This is a business, and if you don't work, you're not going to eat.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I agree that. Yeah, it's funny on socials are fun because yeah, you'll be out and about, and then somebody's stopping like, oh yeah, you you did that Spartan or whatever, and that was like six minutes. Right, right. It's almost creepy. How do you know that? They're like, oh yeah, it's social media. Like it that's actually normal, it's not creepy.
SPEAKER_01I have a YouTube channel too, and I just and I would what I would do is I would walk around and uh do home tours of all the and that started during COVID when we couldn't do open houses or anything. So I went, I I was at Costco and I got myself a GoPro. I started doing a bunch of videos. But it got to a point where I'd be I'd show up to go do uh videos and people would see me go into the models and like, oh hey, Courtney, I watch your videos. Now, on one hand, I'm excited because I'm like, oh wow, people know who I am. Yeah, but then I'm like, why didn't you call me?
SPEAKER_00So now I'm obsessed over that, right? It's it's never a, you know, it's never a okay, this is it. You know, there's always another layer that you gotta kind of overcome.
SPEAKER_01But again, like I said, it's it's still cool and it's it you do get business from it, and it's it's an amazing, it's fun too. I like it. You know, I enjoy it. It is, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's funny how the business has changed so much because I'm a big caller and uh people don't like to call as much, but I like it because I can get tonality, I can kind of feel, you know, because there's usually questions within questions.
SPEAKER_01You can piss people off with text because text does not display intent or tone or all the things you're talking about. You're so right. And and people don't think there's a lot of people. I'm analytical. Yep.
SPEAKER_02So I'm like, I don't like, you know, I'll text, but I'm like, we're having serious conversations on the phone.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep. We have to. You have to. You have to make sure that you're being received the way that you would like, which is why some of the prospecting I do is I try to go to events outside of real estate events. Real estate events are good because your your relationships with your fellow agents will also help your business. If you know, if you call on one of my listings, dude, you're my guy. What what how can we help? And that helps your client and helps my client. The fact that we are able to figure things out. That deal
Advice For New Agents Today
SPEAKER_01that we did, had we not been, had we been at odds with each other, we just would have been, I'd just be like, fine, cancel, we're done. Yeah, but no, we work together to get that done. It wasn't me, it was us. Yes, and I like that. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02So yeah, we became friends through it too. Exactly. And then you work with each other, and then you're excited to work with each other in the future.
SPEAKER_01For sure, because I know that you're willing to do whatever it takes to get it done.
SPEAKER_02Yep, same. Yeah. I only got a little bit more time with you. So we've been talking a lot of real estate. We have, we have. Well, let's talk a little fun. Like what do you do for fun? You travel.
SPEAKER_01Uh I don't travel much, honestly. Um, and I in fact I need to go on a vacation. I've been on one of them forever. But the things I do for fun, I you know, I do jujitsu when I'm not injured. I have a heart lay I ride. Um, I shoot. I love to shoot. Oh, you shoot? Yeah. Uh what else do I do? That's that's it.
SPEAKER_02You sound like uh yeah, I do photo, I do real estate, all of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, honestly, I mean, if I'm being honest, I work and go home. That's really what I do. I'm the same way. But that being said, for the first 35 years of my life, I did everything. So I'm good. I've done plenty. You know what I mean? I've done plenty. I I can just stay focused now. Okay.
SPEAKER_02So do you have any personal or business goals coming up in the near future?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, always, man. I've always got goals. You know, I I stepped into the luxury um realm of our business the last couple of years and trying to really grow that part and constantly bring up my price points. And I enjoy working with those clients. I enjoy working with all my clients, but I I I find that a challenge, especially when I never could conceive of myself selling a $500,000 home, then a $800,000 home, then a $2 million home, then an eight, you know what I mean? It's it's it's kind of cool. And and you know, the funny funnest part, I I'm a caregiver to my my mom and dad are old, my dad's got cancer. Um, but I enjoy ARC talks because when I tell him these kinds of things, you know, the kind of deals I'm doing and the people that I'm associating with, I I can just see in his face, he's I can tell he digs it. You know what I mean? That's cool. And that means everything to me. I I I enjoy that part of it.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's fun. Yeah, kind of similar. I've been doing this for a while, but the last couple years working with Darren is getting my price point up as well, which we sure we've been able to achieve, which has been great. But what have been the lessons
Luxury Goals And Closing Thoughts
SPEAKER_02within that? Like, what have you learned from?
SPEAKER_01I learned the people are people that put their shoes on, just like you do. Yeah, uh, they may have a different set of problems, but they have problems.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, and at the end of the day, I don't care whether what the price point of the house is, you are the expert. Don't let anybody tell you that you don't know what the best, especially when they're coming from a different market. Uh, they don't do what you do every day. I'm very confident that I know what to do to get the deal done. It's so if the guy is worth $50 million and he's telling me something I know is not accurate, it's my job to protect him from himself. Right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So him or her. So um so I think I I so I appreciate that part. I like that part of it as well. You know, confidence is uh is key in our business. The minute you sound or look weak, you're done. You know, that's true.
SPEAKER_02That's good advice. Yeah. We're gonna wrap up with that. Thanks for anybody on our happy. Hey, you guys are looking to buy or sell real estate, hit him up. Take care of yourself today.