Building a Successful Real Estate Business Across Two Coasts with Cara Ameer

[0:00] Welcome back to the REI Agent. I wanted to quickly plug our website before we get into our awesome guests today. We have redesigned the REI Agent website, so reiagent.com. Go there and check it out. We’ve got some free tools. We have all the episodes or most of the episodes have now been converted into blogs with a full transcript. So you should be able to find the content you love there. Sign up for a newsletter because we will be also sending out the information from our guests, all the golden nuggets, all the great things that they give us on a weekly basis. So stay tuned for that. But without further ado, my guest today is Kara Amir, a real estate agent who has done something most agents never attempt.

[0:43] Built an active practice in two completely different markets at the same time. Kara works in both Jacksonville, Florida and Orange County, California. Two markets that represent almost opposite ends of the affordability and growth spectrum. She is also a regular contributor in Inman News, where she writes about real estate practice, market dynamics, and the business of being an agent. That combination of hands-on, dual market experience, and industry-level perspective gives her a point of view on this business that is genuinely rare. Kara, welcome to the show. I’m looking forward to this conversation. Thanks so much for having me. Now, talking to people in different markets all across the country, it is very apparent that there’s different outlooks in different markets about what is happening.

[1:31] I have people that are doom and gloom and think that this is going to be the biggest recession we’ve ever seen. Looking at an Arizona market. And honestly, there’s been some doom and gloom from Florida, understandably, with the insurance stuff and all that. So what does that perspective for you, how is that, is California still kind of rolling? And is Florida a little bit more doom and gloom? Can you give us some insight there? You know, the lights have dimmed a little bit on both coasts, let’s just say. You know, and I think, again, to your point, you know, all real estate is local, right? So it depends on where it is, what it is. You know, you can’t even talk anymore about broad areas. I mean, every data point or statistic tells a story.

[2:17] So it really comes down to, you know, what is the property? What is it competing with? What is the condition? What is the price point? And, you know, certainly some things are an easier sell than others right now, I think, in many markets, and certainly both in my Northeast Florida, Jacksonville market and Orange County. No, that makes a ton of sense. Well, let’s hear how you got to be in two markets and how you got to be in this crazy business to begin with. Well, I started in late 2001 when we relocated to the Jacksonville area for my husband’s job. I had been in the legislative sort of legal arena before that. I was a paralegal. And I got really interested in real estate when we were selling our house in the suburbs of Chicago.

[3:00] And I’m like, what do these real estate people do all day? But it was just kind of interesting, you know, who are all these people coming through the house? Then we wouldn’t hear anything. They’d pop up at the last minute, wanted, you know, a showing. So I thought when we were relocating to Florida, this was a chance to use my paralegal skills in a different way. You know, the market in Jacksonville at that time was growing. It’s a young city. And every job seemed to be related to building, development, you know, construction, real estate. And I thought, I don’t want to sit in an office all day. So my husband was in Florida first. I was back in Chicago trying to sell the house. You know, it was on the market and I’m working.

[3:39] And I sent him to a real estate school career orientation night so he could, you know, learn about it. You know, I actually got very inspired by the agent that we were working with on our relocation. She was just so polished, so professional. And to this day, we’re still very good friends. So that was my first opportunity. I had no sphere. I had no connection to real estate. And, you know, I had to build it from the ground up. You know, I was at a very traditional company that offered a lot of training, you know, kind of the old school training they don’t do today. But I did, you know, the old-fashioned things, the floor time. That was highly coveted, you know, where there were newspaper ads and people actually called.

[4:19] It actually went into the office and you got to engage with them. And, you know, my first two sales actually came from floor. Door knocked. Walked a lot of miles in the hot, humid weather of Florida. That was an interesting exercise. You know, went after expires. Kind of did it all. Got involved in a lot of groups to just, you know, establish myself and build that sphere through good, old-fashioned hard work. So flash forward now, you know, many years later, right around the time or before the pandemic, we have family in California. My husband’s in an industry where there’s more in Southern California for what he does, being in sports or related television. So he had an opportunity to come out to the West Coast.

[5:02] We had been out here many times. We came out here to cool off a lot of times, especially in the summer. And, you know, it kind of got me thinking. I was starting to check out real estate. I’m like, you know, what could you get even for an investment? Maybe I want to, you know, buy something out here. And I became very intrigued with some condo properties around the area where I now live. Connected myself with an agent. We hit it off. I became very intrigued. We bought this property. And it was going to be either a rental or a landing place as we transitioned because we had made the decision to move. And that obviously takes time to make a cross-country move like that. But I got my license in advance, doing that at night online, came, you know, into the state to take the test.

[5:42] And, you know, got out here full time in the fall of 2020. And, you know, officially launched my business as a bi-coastal agent. Put a team in place in Florida where I’m still very involved, but I needed boots on the ground. Yeah. Wow. So had you already established like a network of people that could help when you were in another location in Florida when you did this move? Or did you realize you just had to get that rolling when you were making that decision? Well, actually, I had people that wanted to transact in California while I was in Florida. So I did, you know, work through my agent colleague and referred, you know, business to her. It was a great learning experience because I’m like, okay, you know, she set me up on MLS feeds so I could kind of stay connected to, okay, what are these people looking at?

[6:27] You know, I would talk to her a lot and just kind of absorbed the whole process like a sponge because you really couldn’t be in two more opposite markets as far as the way things are done, the volume of forms and, you know, just processes and procedures and sort of those internal customs that you’re not going to find out until you’re, you know, in that market. Yeah, no, I can imagine. What, I mean, what are some of the contrasting things between the two markets? Well, you know, in California, we have several hundred forms. There’s a form for everything, which is great. I appreciate that. Everything is well thought out. There’s a form for that. You don’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to think about it, but that’s a lot.

[7:05] It’s like starting all over. We have active contingency release versus in Florida. We have passive contingency release. Everything in California with the forms is very precise, very technical. You really have to think through things like your contingencies and your deadlines and the strategies, and there’s, you know, things in place to force a buyer to perform. We don’t have that in Florida. So, you know, it’s really two opposite markets, and you really have to be a very sharp thinker. You know, things that are expected in California would not fly in Florida. I mean, as far as, you know, you make an offer, you have to provide, you know, proof of funds, not only for the down payment, but for the closing costs.

[7:47] There needs to be a lot of vetting and verifying. And in Florida, it’s very loosey-goosey, I found in my market. I mean, yes, absolutely. I expect to see at least a pre-approval. But if you start doing a lot of things that they ask for in the California market in Florida, they’ll look at you like you have two heads. It’s like overkill. Yeah, I can imagine. We’re in a tertiary market, and there’s a lot of trust in our culture. And I could imagine, like, asking that many questions or asking for those kind of things. It would be like, who are you? Like, I’m done. I’m not dealing with you. Yeah, that’s fascinating. Is California like a disclosure state? Do the sellers have to make a bunch of disclosures about the property in Florida?

[8:31] Yes. You know, we do have a disclosure in Florida. There’s a home, you know, or seller’s property disclosure and a flood disclosure. But in California, we have two property disclosures, a transfer disclosure statement and a seller property questionnaire. Then if you’re a rental property owner, you’re required to fill out rental disclosures. I mean, we don’t do that in Florida. So it’s just, yeah, the disclosure is extremely important. A lot of the claims post-closing in California stem from lack of disclosure and complete disclosure issues. Wow. That’s, yeah, that’s intense. We are a buyer-beware state. So we have a disclosure form that basically says the seller makes no warranties other than if they know of any zoning or code violations.

[9:16] Wow. Wow. And so there’s a list of things that, like, you know, the buyer has to do their own due diligence on, which most people are expecting. But, yeah, people that come to our market from other areas can sometimes be taken aback by that. Oh, sure. I mean, I’ve had, you know, California buyers or California, you know, people relocating to Florida that are buyers. And they’re, you know, they’re just like, well, what about this, this, and this? I mean, you don’t ask for them? No. Yeah. They’re just not used to it because their brain is so wired for all these things. And, you know, in California, you’re going to get five, six, seven different kinds of property inspections. You know, in Florida, you get a home inspection, termite inspection.

[9:57] If it has a pool, you get that checked out. Where in California, you’re getting every component of that house checked out and then some plus structural, plus soil. So very, very different. Wow. What’s, how much, like, are people spending on those kind of inspections? You know, easily over $2,000. That’s just a baseline, you know, for, let’s say, you know, what’s a normal size house. I mean, you know, something that’s under 2,000 square feet. If you’re starting to get into a large home, luxury property, multiple components, I mean, it would not be unusual that you’re, you know, spending eight, $10,000. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that is totally different from my market as well. What are, what are we dealing with, like, for median sales prices between the two markets?

[10:43] Well, Jacksonville is very spread out. It’s, you know, one of the largest cities of contiguous landmass in the United States. So it kind of can mean a lot of different things. It’s not broken up into all these different suburbs, like you have other cities. So Jacksonville is a very broad brush. But, you know, if you look at an average of Jacksonville just on paper, I mean, you’ll see average prices in the three to 400,000. Now, you know, are there, is there a luxury property that is, you know, five, 10, $20 million? Sure. But, you know, the beach communities, which are very popular because they’re by the coast, for obvious reasons, that’s a much higher price where you’re seeing, you know, the average price there is around 800, for example.

[11:21] Sure. Now, Southern California, you know, Orange County average price, you know, is a little over a million dollars. And that doesn’t get you much. I mean, that is not a turnkey luxury property. That’s a three bedroom, two bath, you know, single family under 2,000 square feet. And you can expect to have to deal with a lot of not only cosmetic things, but probably structural things. You know, the roof is probably older, the systems are older. So yeah, it’s all about the lifestyle in California and not about the house so much. What about other things that people may not expect? Like, you know, if you do have to go do some renovations to a house, is it a lot more expensive to do that in Orange County?

[12:01] Yeah. I mean, everything is a little more expensive here, certainly because of the regulations, the permits, you know, just the cost of living. The contractors are going to, you know, charge a little more. But, you know, labor and materials have gone up everywhere. I mean, even in Florida, I mean, the cost of putting on a shingle roof in Florida that used to be, you know, under $10,000 is now like 15, you know, on certain size homes. So they’ve certainly seen it too, you know, post pandemic as well. No, absolutely. I have a friend that renovated houses or renovates houses in, I think it’s Portland. And he’s like, yeah, when we would compare notes about like costs of doing things, he’s just like, I don’t understand how you can get that done for that price.

[12:43] So I know that often in higher costs of living areas, it’s going to be a little bit more expensive. Now, what are insurance costs looking like in Florida? Is that tamed down at all? Or is it still pretty crazy? It’s definitely higher, I mean, from a baseline perspective. But it’s, you know, it’s more money. It has tamped down a little bit. But you can expect minimally $4,000 to $5,000, $6,000, you know, on an average property. If it’s new construction, you’re going to get the best deal where you might find something more around, you know, $3,000 and certainly the closer you go to the coast, the bigger the home, you know, you can expect much more. And then there’s flood insurance on top of that.

[13:26] And flood insurance used to be $400. Now, you know, you might be looking at $6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $10,000, maybe more, depending again on size of home, where it is, on the water, on the marsh, you know, those kinds of things. Yeah. Wow. That’s definitely, so that has that impacted then the home values? Have they gone down kind of as a correlated factor with the insurance prices going up? The only sector of the market that has seemed more challenging value-wise has been the condos. Obviously, you know, they’ve been really hit with a lot because of the surfside collapse, you know, all these requirements that were put into place with structural integrity inspections and, you know, having adequate reserves for all these major component replacements that, you know, these buildings just don’t really have the budgets for.

[14:12] So there is, you know, kind of a stigma associated with condos. People don’t want to feel like they’re buying into a problem. Single-family homes, you know, no, the values have held their own. I’d say it’s more, you know, the high prices that shot up after, you know, the pandemic plus the interest rate situation is really what’s caused, you know, the people are still selling, you know, making money unless they bought within the last couple of years and they’re competing with maybe new construction. But, you know, that’s more what’s kind of tamped down the appreciation a little bit. But by no means is it tanking or anything like that. Okay. That’s fascinating. I mean, you really have to. I mean, we’ve just kind of outlined a whole bunch of stuff that, you know, buyers are going to be asking, et cetera.

[14:52] But like, it just shows how much you have to know for two different markets to like be able to do to be successful in two different markets. It’s a lot of knowledge. Um, what about like what strategies were different for you in kind of starting up the business in Orange County later on? Like, did you have floor time, door knocking, those kinds of things, or did you do other things to kind of get involved and build that business? So when I got out to California, you know, most everything was shut down. So no open houses were allowed. You know, there weren’t any groups or clubs or things to get involved in. And so you really were sort of just sitting behind the veil, if you will. So, you know, what I did is I curated lists of people that own property in both my markets.

[15:39] And I did a lot of outreach there, you know, because you could still send letters that was allowed. Um, and you know, as, as things opened up, certainly, you know, open houses are huge, you know, in Orange County, we have great weather and I feel like open houses are a sport. I mean, when a listing comes on, it’s brand new. You’re just mobbed. It’s, it’s, it’s a very different cadence than Florida, but, you know, also a lot of the same building blocks that I did in Florida. I got involved with, you know, things I did there connected with, you know, groups like my sorority alumni group, my Panhellenic group, um, got involved in tennis, you know, just met a ton of people through that, got involved in my homeowners association.

[16:18] I’m on my board there. So again, it’s just sort of this organic, you know, building and networking of making connections and friends. Cause I’m more of a sphere based person and, you know, sort of that cold call, you know, door knocking kind of person and a lot of communities. And this was the same where I was in Florida. There’s a lot of gated communities in both and there’s no soliciting. So you have to be respectful of that as well. Yeah. And I, you know, I don’t, I think the, the amount of calls texts, um, I mean, I think all that stuff has, I think you’re just making people mad than do good. I’m sure there’s still success in it. I shouldn’t, I shouldn’t, you know, hoop who that completely, but I know personally, like I, like I, I’m just gonna be very annoyed if I get a phone call or, or somebody’s coming to my door or whatever.

[17:04] I would much rather, yeah. Work with somebody that I’ve gotten to know through, uh, you know, whatever. I think I swear like a gym or like a tennis club or whatever, that kind of stuff. That thing is like, that’s, that’s gold for, um, you know, building up a network of people. I think like a gym you’re going to go to, especially if you go to a class where you’re like, you know, in the same kind of the same time, you get to know your tribe of people really well. You suffer together. So you have that like trauma bond that you’ve gotten through. And then it’s, it’s, I think it’s a great, great way if you’re new to a market to really, uh, start networking with people. Yeah. I mean, I’m not the type that would respond to somebody knocking on my door that I don’t know.

[17:46] So yeah, I, I approach it the way I would want to be treated and you know, yeah, today, you know, everything is a scam. People are very suspicious. We as agents get bombarded with so many fraudulent, you know, tests and spam calls. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. Yeah, for sure. Well, tell me a little bit about how you’ve gotten involved with Inman. So back in 2015, uh, I was asked to be on a panel about video and real estate, uh, at their Inman connect event, which used to be held in San Francisco many years ago. And that, that summer one is now transitioned to San Diego. So when I was there and I was meeting a bunch of the different Inman people, I met the contributors editor and she asked me, you know, would you ever want to write for us?

[18:30] And I really didn’t know what was involved with that. And she said, Oh, we have this, you know, agent contributors program. And, you know, you can, you know, write on different things going on in the industry. We give you topics or you have an ideas. I said, sure. Great. You know, sign me up. And, uh, you know, it’s a voluntary thing. It’s not paid. But, um, what I did not realize, you know, I just, I’ve always had a knack for writing. Maybe it was, you know, I was channeling my high school newspaper days. I’d brief stint with that, but, uh, you know, just got involved in writing about different things that were going on in the industry or my point of view based on things that I’ve experienced in the industry.

[19:06] And it’s just been extremely rewarding. I mean, it’s just, you know, Inman goes out to so many people, industry thought leaders, and just being able to connect with all kinds of interesting people that I never would have. And it’s just certainly opened up a lot of doors that I never thought with respect to media commentating and speaking. And I just think it’s great to be on the forefront of, uh, you know, knowing what’s going on, especially in light of what our industry went through with Sitzer Burnett and all that class action litigation, you know, consumers would see something, you know, on the news or they’d read some clickbait headline and, you know, they want to come to you and they want you to be able to explain with clarity and confidence what’s going on.

[19:44] So I could help clear up a lot of the noise and the misperception. And then there’d be agents calling me that are like, Oh, what’s going on? I’ve heard there’s some lawsuit and I’m thinking I would never want to be so out of it that I didn’t know what was going on with something that major in our industry. Yeah, that’s, that’s so true. I mean, I, I would, I equate that a little bit to, um, you know, some stuff that I do here with the podcast kind of, you know, we’re, we’re talking to agents for agents, not necessarily growing the, uh, real estate sales business, but then also, uh, my work that I’ve done with, uh, like the, the local real estate board, um, going to, you know, the, the state level conferences and trying to be involved in those things.

[20:25] Um, it, it doesn’t have a direct correlation with your, you know, necessarily your business, um, that your actual sales, um, but how could you, how do you, how do you see the benefit in your business? Um, I, I know you just said that, you know, you, you are on top of it on the forefront, et cetera. Have you seen anything else, um, for, from the clients? Do they recognize you for it? Yeah. I mean, you know, brands you as an industry thought leader. And I think, you know, I’ve now in the business, gosh, over 23, 24 plus years, you know, you, you have to have more than just I list and I sell. I think, I think, you know, at this point you do have perspective, you do have insight, you do have, you know, information and perspective to share, and that can be translated to the consumer, you know, all of my inman articles, you know, they’re shared across social media platforms.

[21:17] So someone’s looking for me, you know, and they see that, I think that helps instill confidence. Like, wow, this is a person really involved in her industry. She knows what, you know, she’s talking about and, you know, I should work with her because of that. Yeah. Did you get an increase of people being like, do you have time to work with me? Like, do they, people get the perception at all? Like that you might be too busy for them then? I have not had that. No. So I’m, you know, I’m glad, but yeah, I mean, I know, you know, online perceptions can make people think, oh, they’re here, they’re there, they’re everywhere. They’re, you know, writing about this or that, they wouldn’t have time for me.

[21:48] So no, I’m thankful that has not happened. That’s great. Yeah. No, I, I think that I have not broadcasted this platform as much on my, like a local channel, partly because of that. Um, but definitely I’m working towards, uh, merging the, this kind of everything I do into one kind of, uh, clear thing. And I think, especially with being a team lead, um, attracting other agents, uh, to, uh, be, you know, part of your team, et cetera, could, there’s definitely benefit there. Like, so that, you know, you’re, you’re obviously involved with, with, uh, you’re a great leader because you know, um, you’re involved with what’s happening across the country, especially you, right? Yeah, we would hope so. Maybe not as much in Kansas, but, uh, at least the coast, right?

[22:37] Right. Um, so how much time do you spend between like, uh, both markets? Well, you know, I’m always got my hands in the weeds with both, you know, day to day. I mean, um, you know, you, Florida business tends to be more in the morning because I’m on the West coast. I’m already three hours behind, but, um, you know, I deal with whatever comes up as it comes up. You know, I have, you know, team members that are boots on the ground in Florida, you know, to handle showings and, you know, being present for inspections and anything like that kind of thing, you know, taking the buyer out. So I try to really apportion 50, 50. I mean, I’m equally in touch with my sphere in Florida. I’m always reaching out saying, hi, you know, I go back.

[23:16] I make it a point to visit everybody, you know, visit clients. And what’s really interesting is, you know, when you live there, you’re so day to day, you get so busy in the day to day of where you live and you don’t really make that time. And so I was like, you know, all these years, I never did that when I lived there. And so it’s kind of nice to, you know, when you’re there for a week or two, you, you know, set up all these appointments to, to visit people, meet for lunch, meet for coffee or go over to their house. And it’s just fun, you know, driving around, catching up. And I think that, you know, really means a lot to them. And it means a lot to me because I, you know, I want to keep these relationships going.

[23:48] I’ve built this business from scratch in late 2001 and I don’t want to shut it off. No, that makes sense. That’s, that’s awesome. Um, and do you use a transaction coordinators? Do you have different ones per, um, both states since it sounds like it’d be totally different in California, you definitely need one. So I most certainly use one here in orange County, just the volume of the paperwork and the documents and everything that has to be uploaded to files, you know, for compliance. Sure. In Florida, it’s not as intensive and I’ve been able to manage it. I do have those services, um, available to me at the company I work, but I’ve so far has been able to, you know, manage it. I’m a pretty hands-on person.

[24:30] So, um, I really like to kind of get in the weeds and make sure everything is done correctly. Sure. No, that makes sense. Um, and yeah, it sounds like California would definitely need one. Oh yes. Oh yeah. There’s, you know, every page has initials and different things and it’s very easy to miss something and, you know, you, you get everything negotiated and then it’s sort of like document cleanup when you’re opening escrow. And then, you know, of course you get to each part of the transaction, like after inspections, and then you have these repair requests and all this other stuff that’s going back and forth and contingency release forms that you have to, you have to iron out. So, and you got to make sure you’re on track with your deadlines because you don’t want to risk, you know, our, our escrow deposits are typically 3% of the, you know, offer price.

[25:15] That’s a lot. Yeah. You’re talking about, you know, 1 million, 2 million plus properties. That’s a lot more than Florida where we just don’t even have any hard guidelines in Jacksonville. It’s kind of like, well, whatever, you know, it’s this price range. Yeah. This might work. See, see if that works. If they want more, they’ll, they’ll counter back. Yeah. When I started, it was, man, I want to say like most people are doing like 500 bucks or something, which is crazy. Yeah, exactly. Oh yeah. No, that wouldn’t, that wouldn’t fly today. That’s for sure. That’s actually like a requirement or like a regulated thing in California is how much you need to have down. No, it’s actually just local custom.

[25:53] You know, again, there’s some of these quirky customs that there’s no law. I really don’t know how this came to be that, you know, this is recommended 3%. But, you know, if you even try to do a little bit less, oh no, you know, they’re going to counter back and want three. So. Yeah. No, I can see that. It’s, you know, what is the market norm? Um, and, and again, that’s exactly what is difficult about working multiple markets. And, you know, we all know that, uh, your different areas that you work in, like, you know, the, uh, for us, it’s like the city versus county or the various little towns around, um, are going to be different. They’re gonna have different cultures or have different, um, customs or market norms.

[26:32] Um, but certainly that plus then completely different, like states, completely different coasts. I’m sure that’s a lot to, to keep track of. Do you ever get confused when you talk to a client and like, and be like, oh, wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We’re forward to now. No, no, that, that I’m, I’m pretty good about switch, you know, turning off the switch for one and turning on the switch for the other in my brain. No, thankfully I haven’t, but it is kind of funny because some properties in both my markets, you know, the streets are the same. Like, oh, they have a street named this here too. Oh, how funny. You know, it’s kind of interesting. Um, now what do you do to keep yourself, uh, as I don’t know if balanced is the right word, but just, uh, keep yourself going.

[27:15] I like to have the energy, to have the clarity, to be in the right headspace, um, on the day to day. That’s so important, right? Because we just have so much coming at us all the time from different people. We’re, we’re, we’re incoming. Um, you know, I think leading a healthy lifestyle, I’m very committed to eating healthy and clean holistically. Um, you know, really don’t drink. Um, I try to make my very healthy smoothies where I put like a lot of, you know, good stuff in it, like, you know, beets and blueberries and, you know, spinach and kale, you know, those kinds of things. I think you have to take care of yourself. And then also really committed to fitness, um, you know, play tennis, you know, every week, you know, workout five to six days a week, you know, going for walks.

[27:57] There’s just some amazing, you know, beach trails and things around where I live. And that’s just such a stress reliever to just be able to go on this pretty walk down to the ocean and just look at the scenery and, you know, sort of all these other things that are eating at you or, you know, racing through your mind just kind of don’t matter. So I think really being whole, you know, committed to that holistic lifestyle, because if you don’t take care of yourself, then you’re no good to really anybody else, whether that’s your family or, you know, the clients that you serve. Absolutely. Definitely. There’s times where I, I’m like, okay, I can’t respond to this person until I go to the gym. Um, it’s not going to go well.

[28:31] So we’ll get that done first. Uh, but I think, you know, walking is, is such a, I mean, it’s like the healthiest thing you can do, I think for both your mind and your, your body. Um, it’s just so good for you. And I think, uh, you know, so many writers, um, that’s their way they process information or they, they finally gets things out. Um, I think you can really process that and sleep, right? Um, you can really get through a difficult situation. Um, if you sit there down and try to think about it, your mind might just be kind of racing and cloudy or whatever. Um, but if you, if you go for a walk that can really help, I don’t know, break, break up the noise maybe. Um, but physical activity, I think it was just so important for mental health and clarity.

[29:13] Um, it’s irreplaceable. And I think too, you need in this business, right? You need trusted friends and colleagues that you can talk to. I mean, I have a few of those and, you know, we talk almost every day about what’s going on and just, I think it’s helpful for them, helpful for me, maybe to help, you know, frame a situation that they’re dealing with or that I’m dealing with. And, you know, just to have that support, like, you know, it’s not you, it’s them. It’s the, you know, it’s not, you know, because look, this is a very stressful thing that consumers go through. It’s the single largest transaction they make. And, um, you know, they often turn into instead of bridezilla, real estate zillas.

[29:50] I don’t think they really know, you know, sometimes how they’re behaving because they’re just so in it, they’re in the weeds and, you know, they could be the nicest people in the world, but, you know, you start putting money and pressure and, you know, some of these, these price points involved. And it’s, it, it, it just, it’s, you just don’t know how it’s going to turn out sometimes with how people react to different situations. Cause we can’t control the other side. We can’t control, you know, what a buyer or seller does, you know, depending on the side run, you know, the property they’re crossing, we can make them aware of things, but, you know, sometimes, you know, um, you know, these are very personal, um, things to people.

[30:26] It’s people’s, you know, for a seller, this is, you know, they’re looking at this, like this house is my lottery and this is, you know, all I have. And, you know, they’re trying to grab every dollar. And so, you know, when, when a buyer comes at them with these inspection reports, the boxing gloves can come off and that, you know, they get very defensive. Oh yeah. It’s a, it’s an invasion of their, um, you know, their pride, their, you know, their, their home. I mean, it’s such a personal thing. This was, I was just talking to somebody who was telling me about how he was reading about all the money being poured in from all the big names to, to, you know, do away with the agent, basically do away with the MLS, do it with the agent.

[31:03] AI is going to replace us, all this kind of stuff. And I was like, I don’t, I don’t think you understand that side. Like, I know that, uh, some people are treating their AI companion as kind of a therapist. Um, but like, I don’t, yeah, like just the amount of emotional volatility and that stuff that we have to, to, to help with. I mean, it is almost therapy getting through, uh, some of these clients to, to the finish line. Yeah. I mean, AI doesn’t walk through these houses. They’re not present with these conversations or situations that come up and it, you know, AI is helpful. Certainly. I I’m a big fan. I use it, you know, as much as I can to help with my business, but you know, it’s, it’s, it’s going to output what you put in, put in it.

[31:44] And so, you know, there may be things not characterized right or overlooked. And so, you know, the output you get may not fit with really what’s going on in the situation. And if you’re not really reading that, understanding that saying, okay, is this applicable? You could completely screw up a transaction if you’re just relying on that to be your mouthpiece. Yeah. And, you know, there might be a couple people that all they care about, and we’ve all met them that all they care about is the, you know, the saving as much money as possible. Um, what do they say? It’s like 80% of the people want really good service. 10% of the people want, uh, the cheapest thing possible, the cheapest deal possible.

[32:20] Um, and another 10% want to pay more because they think they’re getting, um, better service that way. I don’t know if those numbers are exactly right, but you get the point. Um, I think there, there will be people that would be willing to do it. But then I think a lot of people would just be like, this is a huge, this is one of the biggest things I’m going to do financially in my life. And I’m going to just trust the robot to, yeah, and those are expensive mistakes, right? If it doesn’t go so well, these, these can, these are very expensive mistakes. There’s no returning the property after you bought it either. So yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. Um, Kara, what golden nuggets do you have for us, for our listeners today?

[32:57] Well, one of my favorite, uh, sayings that real estate that I’ve come to, you know, develop is all problems in real estate are solvable, but it’s the people that can make them unsolvable. So, you know, I’ve seen this many times in negotiations and transactions where we were right there, you know, we, there was something that happened, but you know, one of the parties was so stubborn, they dug their heels in and you know, the whole thing blew up all because of that. Absolutely. Um, like zoom out. Yeah. Another one I always say is surprise is never a good thing in real estate. And this goes, you know, speaking to inspections, you know, and it depends on your market and the kinds of homes, but you know, especially here in orange County, you have a lot of homes right now.

[33:43] Sellers that are selling them have been in them a long time. Somebody has passed away, or maybe they’re going into assisted living or they’re selling a long time rental property. And these properties are at the point of needing a lot of things. And that, you know, if the, you know, the walls could talk, what would they say? And so, you know, these buyers go through all these inspections and it’s like shock and awe, you know, there’s all these things, oh my gosh. And, you know, everything just seems so overwhelming and so expensive. Maybe some things aren’t, certainly some things are, but if, you know, more sellers, for example, just took the time to do a pre-listing inspection, we could help avoid this shock and awe surprise, uh, you know, and manage that upfront because, okay, here’s the reports.

[34:22] We’re going to show them to you. We’re going to disclose them to you before you ever write an offer. And, you know, this way you can decide. And so then we’re not losing, you know, all that time and energy spent on trying to get this property under contract and for the buyer to blow it up and walk away. And now it’s stigmatized. Oh my God, what happened? And the property’s back on the market. Oh, there must be something awful. So, yeah. And, and this man, this crosses so many different situations in real estate too. I mean, take the time who, who owns the property, who has authority to sell. I mean, especially in California, we have so many properties held in trusts and LLCs and, you know, you need to verify all that or, you know, have your title company review these things because there could be a problem and, you know, there’s not a problem until there’s a problem and you don’t want to find out three quarters of the way through escrow.

[35:08] And, you know, this, obviously everybody’s stressed there. Now they’re making plans to move. Their rate lock is on the line if they’re getting a mortgage. So that’s my second one. Surprise is never a good thing in real estate. And lastly, I would say, you know, as an agent today, we all need more than, you know, you need a platform. We, you know, it’s not just enough to, you know, list and sell. We all need a platform to showcase our knowledge, you know, our thought leadership, our insight, whatever that is for you. You’re doing, you know, this podcast, social media is an incredible platform to be able to do that. There’s many agents just doing some amazing things, you know, on social media, but it’s not enough to just list and sell properties.

[35:46] To me, that’s just a very one-dimensional agent that there’s nothing more there. Like, I want to know what you’re about. I want to know what your perspective is. I want to know what you have to say about certain things. And I, you know, obviously we have the tools and the technology to do that today. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think the last, last times people have like the, the, the fear of being in front of the camera. I’m, I don’t, I’m not a very good speaker. Listen to me. We all feel that way. But, but, you know, like it’s, it’s one of those things that I’ve told people, if you can just, not everybody has to do videos and, and, you know, reels and Instagram, that kind of stuff. That’s not the only way to do this, but it is a good way.

[36:24] And if you want to practice, like set a challenge up for yourself, do like, just get on and talk about something on, just record it on your phone. You promise yourself, you’re not going to post anything for 30 days, do it every day. And you’re going to be amazed how much easier it is once you get past that 30 days. And maybe you’ll have some content you’ll want to use at the end of it. But if you promise yourself, you’re not going to post it. You take the pressure off of it. You get the reps that you need to get more comfortable with it. It just, yeah, just get out there and start doing it. For sure. And we’re communicators. I mean, that’s a big part of our business. So if we can’t communicate properly, then how are we translating to the people that we are, you know, interacting with that are trusting us with their single largest investment or to help them, you know, buy.

[37:07] 100%. What about a favorite book? Do you have one that you think is fundamental that everybody should read or one that you’re just currently enjoying? So this goes back to communication. Exactly What to Say by Phil Jones. It’s a short book. You can reread it, but it’s all about being an effective communicator and, you know, across any business. Doesn’t have to be just real estate, but, you know, you read that and you really learn, gosh, okay, you know, I need to start maybe editing the way I say things or incorporate this phrase. And it’s all meant to be very, you know, natural, of course. But I think, you know, we can never stop learning to be more effective and better communicators because people are complicated.

[37:49] Communication is complicated. And so many things get misconstrued, right? We have all these different ways to communicate through, you know, messaging on social media platforms and texting and, you know, emails and hardly anybody makes phone calls anymore to people. But, you know, it’s kind of become a lost art, but we can always be, you know, working on our communication skills. Yeah, 100%. I agree completely. Kara, where could people find you if they wanted to follow you on social media, websites, et cetera? I am across all platforms. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn. I’m on YouTube. You can just put my name in Google and come right up. Yep. And we’ll have links in the show notes.

[38:30] So definitely check that out. Well, Kara, thanks so much for being here today. It’s been an incredible conversation. And I know our audience is going to have a ton of value from listening to this. Everybody that’s listening, please don’t forget to subscribe to the REI Agent Podcast, any preferred platform. Leave us a review that would help us grow more. And then again, check out REIAgent.com to sign up for our upcoming newsletter. So Kara, thank you again so much for being on the show. It was my pleasure talking to you. Thanks so much. Thanks for listening to the REI Agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week. Visit REIAgent.com for more content. Until next time, keep building the life you want.

[39:13] All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.