Hustle Humbly Podcast

Latest Episodes:

248: Mother-Daughter Owned Real Estate Brokerage May 06, 2024

Show notes

Mother Daughter, Business Partners — Locality Real Estate with Lori and Chelsea

Happy Mother's Day! In celebration of the holiday, we brought in a mother-daughter duo who co-own a boutique brokerage together. Lori Bishell and Chelsea McDonald are the co-owners of Locality Real Estate in Phoenix, Arizona — and they are 50/50 business partners.

Lori has 25+ years in real estate, spent 15 years as an appraiser, owned a 200-agent office before working for the largest brokerage in Arizona (thousands of agents), and is now the chair of the largest MLS in the state with over 44,000 members. Chelsea got her license at 21, worked in operations, title, escrow, and on teams before they opened Locality together in October 2020. She also has her broker's license — which she got specifically to open the entity.

They have since organically grown to 70 agents. They interview every single one together. They snooze Facebook groups when the doom and gloom gets too loud. And they will surprise their agents at open houses with their favorite Starbucks order.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- How they came to start Locality together — and how Lori's desire to return to a smaller boutique after years at a corporate giant aligned with Chelsea's readiness to commit full time - How they divide responsibilities naturally: Lori handles compliance, training, education, and industry involvement; Chelsea handles operations, marketing, branding, and social (her degree is in marketing) - They've never set a cap on agent count — they just want the right people on the bus, and they know when someone's a fit - How they handle the mother-daughter dynamic professionally: Chelsea refers to Lori by her first name in professional settings; they became easier to distinguish when Lori remarried and they no longer share a last name - The keys to making it work: open communication, shared calendars, shared email access, intentionally shutting off real estate talk when they need to - Business planning at a nice resort overnight — combining work and fun because they can - Is there such a thing as a non-working real estate vacation? (They don't think so.) - Both of them still actively sell — limited to family and friends mostly — because staying in the trenches helps them understand what their agents are going through - What made Lori such a standout broker according to their agent Haley: she's deeply involved in the industry (MLS chair, state board of directors, national conferences) so their agents are always ahead of changes — and they've been talking about the NAR changes for over a year - Chelsea's superpower: she is the cheerleader. She promotes what agents are doing on social, surprises them with coffee at open houses, shares their content, shows up for them. - The 30-day Reels challenge they did off the cuff with no planning — and how their agents saw results almost immediately - Advice for people working with family: open communication, know each other's strengths, protect your personal time, don't always bring the office home - How they handle potential conflict: they separate sometimes — Chelsea works from the office, Lori works from home, and they both do their thing - Why boutique beats big (in Katy's opinion): you can find your broker; they actually know you; they pop into your open house - The future of the industry: Lori's take is that agents need to show their value and articulate it — and their brokerage is ready - How they handle agents who post problematic content on social media: they're not afraid to have the hard conversation, and their interview process helps filter for the right fit before onboarding - Chelsea as a child: a perfectionist overachiever, people pleaser, and oldest child. "Done is better than perfect" is the ongoing coaching moment.

Toast of the episode: Chelsea toasts Lori — her business partner and her best friend. Lori toasts the friend who introduced her to real estate over 40 years ago, when she was just 15. Cheers to them all!

Follow Locality Real Estate on Instagram or search for them in Phoenix, Arizona.

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

Music: Straight A's by Connor Price → https://connorprice.shop/ The Good Life by Summer Kennedy → https://soundcloud.com/summerkennedy/the-good-life Be The One by Matrika → https://uppbeat.io/t/matrika/be-the-one

247: May Flowers: Benefits of Owning a Home Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

May Flowers — Why Homeownership Is Worth It

Last episode was April showers — all the hard stuff about homeownership. This is the follow-up. May flowers. The good stuff.

Because anything that makes you money is work. And homeownership makes you money.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- Why Katy's house was supposed to be a two-year flip — and why she's still there 10 years later (neighbors, location, an egg chair, and a screen porch that finally gets used) - What Katy made on her first self-built home: $100,000 in equity in just a few years — the power of sweat equity and building your own home - The agent in Alissa's office who never sold her real estate — she now owns 60 properties and manages everything herself. She even keeps a storage unit for extra appliances that sellers and buyers don't want. She sweeps before showings. She is a legend. - Why she never touched stocks: watching her father lose everything in a market crash and being left with a piece of paper that said nothing. "Even if housing markets crash, I have this physical building. I own this." - The Federal Reserve stat: the average net worth of a homeowner is $396,000. The average net worth of a renter is $10,400. - The National Association of Realtors stat: homeowners have 40 times the net worth of a renter. - All of your rent goes to someone else. At least with a mortgage, the principal is slowly going down as the home appreciates — and eventually they pass each other and you have equity. Without even trying. - 26% of buyers in the 2023 NAR report said the primary reason for buying was the desire to own their own home. For first-time buyers, that number jumps to 60%. - The house that was bought for $35,000, neglected for decades, and still sold for $190,000. - The meme: "I was really trying not to be so down on myself for not buying more real estate in 2007. I mean, I was only in the ninth grade." - Investor mindset: the client who pays $100 a month for a house and is fine with it because someone else is paying off his mortgage and it will be worth far more one day — and why that's not crazy - Building equity vs. breaking even vs. actually cash flowing: different goals, different strategies, all valid - The second-best time to plant a tree is today. And the second-best time to buy a house is also today. - Alissa's beach dilemma: she's never bought beach property, the numbers don't work the way the cabin numbers work, and she can't quite bring herself to do it — full discussion ensues - Katy's suggestion: buy a second cabin anywhere, earmark the rental income for beach vacations. Problem solved. - Why homeowners rate their overall happiness at 7.5 out of 10, compared to 6.2 for renters - Katy's credit score story: terrible credit in 2005, subprime loan, 100+ point credit score increase from just owning the home for two years - Benefits of homeownership: building equity, tax benefits, credit building, stable payments, privacy, freedom of customization, pride of ownership, community involvement, civic participation, and all the pets and goats you want - Freedom to have a dog without a pet deposit — an underrated joy - Alissa's porch swing. Katy's egg chair. These things matter. - 70% of homeowners are over 45 — and why we want young people to get in sooner

Toast of the week from Yvette Griffin in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, toasting Connie Kyle — Alissa's broker — for having them prepared for the changing real estate environment two years before it happened. Cheers to Connie!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

246: The Stories in Your Head Apr 22, 2024

Show notes

The Stories in Your Head

Podcast therapy is in session. Grab your tea.

This episode started with Brené Brown and ended with the same agent showing up in both Katy's and Alissa's worst client stories. It's a lot. It's very good.

The concept comes from Brené Brown's book Rising Strong: "The most powerful stories may be the ones we tell ourselves. But beware — they're usually fiction." The idea is that we fill in the blanks when we don't know the full story — and in real estate, there are a lot of blanks.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- The Brené Brown framework: "The story I'm telling myself is..." and how naming it changes the whole conversation - Rumination: the clinical term for telling yourself the same story over and over — and why it's the number one risk factor for depression and anxiety - Common stories agents tell themselves: "Sellers don't want to pay my commission," "My market is oversaturated," "My sphere thinks I'm bothering them," "I can't ask for referrals without being salesy," and "I'm not successful because of my brokerage" - We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are. - Alissa's first clients who disappeared for two years — only to show up at a showing with no hair and significantly less weight, having survived a serious cancer diagnosis, and still managed to apologize for not being in touch. Perspective. Instant. - Katy's client who bought the cutest house ever and used someone else — only to come back years later to sell that house with Katy, after discovering the agent who grabbed them was a master manipulator who gave them a terrible experience - Alissa's current live situation: the builder client who keeps removing her from the email chain, has never denied her value, told her from day one he didn't really want to use an agent but it doesn't cost him, and yet she is in her head about it — full podcast therapy session ensues - Katy's advice for the builder situation: you sold his house for free, he got the buyer you brought, and he didn't pay you a dime for it. Show up at closing, smile, get the check. - The Zillow button story: the couple who used someone else because they clicked "see this home" and an agent showed up immediately and told them they had to use him — and then gave them a terrible experience — and are now coming back to Alissa - Never burn the bridge when you're in your feelings. You will regret it. - "Have you given up on buying a house?" — the one question from Never Split the Difference that ends the ghosting cycle - How to confront the stories you tell yourself: talk it out, journal, challenge the thought, and then actually confront it by asking the question - Ask the client who used someone else: "I hope I didn't do anything wrong. Could you let me know what happened?" You will almost always get a response. It will almost always make sense. And it will almost always be fixable. - Prune your database: give your leads permission to leave — "If you no longer need my help, just let me know and I'll remove you from my list." That email gets more responses than any soft follow-up ever will. - How all the assumptions work on every side: buyers making assumptions about sellers, sellers assuming about buyers, agents filling in the blanks about agents, and everyone wondering what everyone else is thinking while most people are barely thinking about you at all - The meme with the cartoon husband and wife: she thinks he's thinking about other women. He's thinking: if two people on opposite sides of the world dropped a piece of bread simultaneously, would the Earth briefly become a sandwich? - The Hustle Humbly community therapy session happening on Thursday — if you need a place to talk this stuff out, hustlehumblypodcast.com/membership

Toast of the week from Laura Lee Smith with the Life on the Brazos Group in College Station, Texas, toasting her buyer's agent Naomi Smith — who turned into her best friend, biggest cheerleader, and Girl Friday for work and life. Cheers to Naomi!

Referenced episodes: - Episode on rejection (search "hustle humbly rejection") - Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss - Rising Strong by Brené Brown

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Community membership: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/membership

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

245: How to Change Brokers Apr 15, 2024

Show notes

How to Change Brokers — The Complete Checklist

This is not the episode about whether you should change brokers (Episode 56) or how to pick one (Episode 194). This is the nuts-and-bolts, here-is-your-checklist episode on what to actually do when you've decided to make the switch.

Katy has done it a few times. Alissa has never done it. Together they are the perfect pair for this episode.

The checklist has two major categories: physical assets and digital assets. It's long. But it's long because it has to be. The length of this list is probably the reason so many agents stay at brokerages they've outgrown — they just don't know how to do it. Now you will.

Before we dive in: read your contract first. Know when it's up, know how it auto-renews, know what the notice period is. You may also want to have a couples therapy conversation with your current broker before you start this process — give them the chance to address what isn't working before you pull the trigger.

PHYSICAL ASSETS: - Read your current contract: auto-renewal dates, notice periods, any clauses about active listings and pending sales - Get the transfer form from your licensing body — in Louisiana, both old and new broker must sign - Active listings and pending sales: what does your contract say? Those listings belong to the brokerage, not to you. Plan accordingly. - Prep the forms your clients will need to sign if they're following you - Marketing assets: signage (borrow generic from your new broker), business cards (not urgent), flyers, print ads — check your board's marketing rules and update accordingly - Canva templates: update brokerage info, logos, brand colors, required compliance text

DIGITAL ASSETS — Contact Info: - Your email address: your broker's email will be shut off — one button, immediately. Set up a new business email before you leave and forward anything critical. - Email security for wire fraud protection: your new email must meet certain security standards - Email signature: update everywhere - Phone contacts digital card (the one you AirDrop or text) — update brokerage, links, handles - Social media usernames: was your brokerage name involved? What needs to change? - Bios everywhere: your website, Zillow, realtor.com, Google Business profile (takes extra time — they mail you something) - Update your photo while you're at it

DIGITAL ASSETS — Software and Websites: - MLS: update your login, business info, profile, headshot - Showing service: update login and business info - Document storage (dotloop, DocuSign, SkySlope, etc.): download everything before the button gets turned off. Your broker has software to help with the bulk export — ask before you leave. - CRM: this is the big one. Your personal sphere — Aunt Sally and everyone you brought to this brokerage — is yours. Export it to a spreadsheet before you leave. Your broker may own leads they gave you, but not your personal relationships. - Canva: update saved logos and brand colors - Email templates: update signature, any brokerage-specific language, office hours

BEFORE YOU ANNOUNCE: - Do as much as possible behind the scenes before you tell your broker - You want to flip it like a switch — legwork on the back end, then inform

AFTER YOU SWITCH: - Google Image search yourself: where is your old headshot living on the internet? - Keep a running document of every directory, referral list, database, and public profile where your info lives - Update the Hustle Humbly community referral spreadsheet if you're a member - If you're on a team and leaving: honor any agreements about leads you received — teams have software tracking this

GENERAL WISDOM: - Don't switch because of leads alone — it's usually not what you think - Don't switch because of the split alone — they all come out close once you factor in fees - Switching doesn't make you work harder. That's still a you problem. - Don't make a giant public announcement — consumers don't care, only other agents notice - Don't switch impulsively after a hard day — this is a business decision, not an emotional one - The grass is green where you water it. Have the hard conversation with your current broker first.

Referenced episodes: - Episode 56: Should You Change Brokers? - Episode 194: How to Choose a Broker - Spruce Up Your Business episode (search "hustle humbly spruce up your business")

Toast of the week from Kaylee Price in Amarillo, Texas, toasting Carly Moreland — her mentor when she was newly licensed who encouraged her to get involved with their local association. Cheers to Carly!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

244: Our Thoughts on NAR SETTLEMENT Part 2 Apr 08, 2024

Show notes

NAR Settlement Part 2 — Acceptance and Moving Forward

If you haven't listened to the bonus episode (Episode 242.5) that aired on March 27, go there first. That's where we worked through the shock and grief in real time. This is Part 2 — we are in the acceptance phase now, and we are choosing to focus on why this change is actually good for the industry.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

Why this is actually a good moment: - These changes are happening during a stabilized market — not during the 2021 frenzy or the 2008 crash. That matters. - Buyers and sellers are largely unaffected. This is only a change for agents. - First-time buyers especially don't know what the old system was. You're educating from scratch — which is what you should have been doing all along. - The reverse scenario: what if listing agreements were taken away? How would you feel if any agent could show up at your listing and claim the buyer? Now you understand what buyer's agents have been missing.

The buyer representation agreement as a tool: - It differentiates real buyers from lookers. If they won't sit down with you and their lender, they're not ready — and you don't have to spend your time on them. - Not every conversation is going to go well. Just like you lose listing appointments, you're going to lose buyers who won't sign. And that's okay. Your freedom is coming back. - The timeframe: six months to a year makes more sense than two months. And you'll need to set reminders — unlike MLS, no one is going to tell you your buyer agreement is about to expire. - Could there be a buyer database someday, the way listings are in MLS? "Expired buyers" as a prospecting niche — we took this as far as it could go.

Three conversations you need to be having: 1. With yourself — check your mindset. Affirmations for this moment: "This is an easy challenge." "I am a master of change." 2. With your sphere — reach out, let them know you're here, be the voice of calm and professionalism. Don't make it dramatic on social media. 3. With your colleagues — check on your agents. Encourage the ones who are struggling. But if you or your broker is a catastrophizer or in denial, we have an episode on switching brokers coming next week.

The three types of people right now: 1. Catastrophizers — doom, sky falling, industry is ending. Don't let them pull you down. You may need a break from talking about this with them. 2. Deniers — heads in the sand, still planning to get the BBA signed when they send the offer. If your broker is here, go listen to next week's episode. 3. Thrivers — "I will adapt, I will get better at what matters, and I will let go of what doesn't." That is you.

Practical points: - Sellers are not suddenly going to list their houses for X percent less because they "don't have to" pay the buyer's agent. That's not how home values or appraisals work. - Alissa's client situation: a sibling trying to negotiate the family home price down because of commission changes — and why that's wrong and premature - Commission still isn't taken out of the appraised value — appraisers look at comps, not what you paid your agent - Be HBs (Buyer House by Sale): if the ultimate outcome is sellers can't pay buyer's agents at all, we may start seeing this as its own category — like FSBO but for buyers - Don't post the workarounds. Seriously. The DOJ is watching. - facts.realtor is the best resource right now for accurate information — send it to clients who are getting misinformation - Brokers must be communicating with their agents. Agents must be communicating with their sphere. These are the two things in your control. - Don't post social media content explaining what's happening until things are more settled — your consumer doesn't even understand what you're referencing - The Parisian Agency on Netflix: a fun window into how real estate works differently in France

Toast of the week from Ken Dylan in Surrey, BC, toasting his mum — his mentor, his reason for getting into real estate, and still the person he calls for advice. Cheers to her!

Referenced episodes: - Episode 242.5 (bonus): NAR Settlement — our first honest reaction - Episode 232: How to Use a Buyer Brokerage Agreement - Episode 214: Buyer Brokerage — Preparing for Changes in Real Estate - Next week (Episode 245): How to Switch Brokers

Resources: - facts.realtor — NAR's resource hub for accurate settlement information

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

243: April Showers: Homeownership Struggles Apr 01, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Homeownership — April Showers

April showers bring May flowers. This week: the showers. Next week: the flowers. Or at least, that's the plan.

We're taking a break from the how-to content and settling in with some hot tea — the most expensive tea in the world, apparently, which smells faintly of cannabis, was purchased by Alissa for Katy's birthday as a Suits reference, and we'll just leave it at that.

This is a storytime episode. The theme is homeownership is hard. We share personal stories, client stories, and a general reminder that when your buyers call you three months after closing because something went wrong, the appropriate response is "welcome to homeownership" — and then give them a resource or two.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- The couple who changed their countertops every ten years — and why Katy now thinks of home maintenance like a wardrobe - Why Katy was nervous to follow up with buyers after closing because the stories were never blissful - Katy's brand new first home with not a single stitch of insulation in the attic — and the builder who delivered it to the wrong house on their street - Jay installing surround sound and stepping through the living room ceiling - Alissa's wallpaper discovery: peeled back the ugly wallpaper only to find even uglier ducks-in-bonnets wallpaper underneath - Rye grass kills centipede: the accidental grass death that led to Katy ripping out her entire backyard this spring - Why you have to renovate your landscape just like you renovate the inside of your house - Yearly home maintenance: exterior paint, caulk around windows, dryer vents, vent boots on roofs, checking baseboards in wet areas - The shower faucet that wasn't caulked and slowly dripped behind the wall for five years until Jay pulled out five gallons of standing water from a closet - Alissa's drainage problem in her first house and the oak trees that came with it - Parapet walls and stucco in Louisiana: beautiful, but absolutely wrong for our climate and weather - Wood-framed windows required by an HOA — and why every house in that neighborhood has eventually had to rip them all out - Crape myrtle roots growing into main plumbing lines - The water oak older than the house: would you prefer to be crushed or sunken into the earth? (The buyer cancelled.) - In-ground pool physics: why you can't fully drain an inground pool in Louisiana or it will pop out of the ground like a cork - The leaky shower drain that turned a baseboard a funny color — and the handy husband who found it was just a gasket - Alissa's dishwasher leaking under the cabinets this week (she thinks) - The vacant house analogy: houses die without eyes on them; things compound when no one is paying attention - Have your home inspected even if you're not moving — the smart inspector who pitched this during the slow market - Alissa's AC disaster: a nail from the accent wall hit a line behind the wall — choice was rip out the wall or reroute everything on the exterior - Termites running behind pavers straight into Katy's best friend's wall — crumbling baseboard, no damage coverage in the HOA termite contract - The buyer's AC that died three months after closing — and why Alissa refused to call the listing agent on their behalf because the sellers met all contractual obligations - The house crushed by a tree during Hurricane Ida: the couple who had just renovated by hand, left with their cat and dog, went to the neighbor's house — and what happened when the house was totaled (mortgage paid off, lot was theirs, construction loan, new house so much better) - Bats in Louisiana: protected species, $5,000 fine per bat, the bat exterminator who doesn't exterminate (just rehomes with funnels), and how Alissa watched them fly out from under a shingle at dusk - Katy's bat in Colorado: woke up, bat fell out of the light fixture, hid on the balcony, made a fruit trail with apple slices, called a 20-year-old coworker for advice, bat flew out for the apples - The townhome with a water closet door that can't close if you're actually sitting on the toilet - Alissa's buyer who found out months after moving in that the previous owner had died in the garage - Mold that appeared on ceilings after the first heavy rain because the area was dry and invisible during inspection - Client with a green pool who thought the seller did it (no, pools just go green) - HOA dues going up, property taxes, insurance, and all the joyful surprises of homeownership - The wrong house story: builder poured the slab for the wrong floor plan — bigger than they chose — and gave the buyers every upgrade imaginable as a sorry - New Orleans police department news story: rats eating the evidence (cannabis) in the building. A fitting end for an episode that started with cannabis tea. - Next week: May flowers

Toast of the week from Valerie Gonzalez in Bryan, Texas, toasting Jennifer Clark — her bestie, her teammate, and her Hustle Humbly family crew. Cheers to Jennifer!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

BONUS: Our Thoughts on THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT PART 1 Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

In this SPECIAL BONUS episode we are giving some history on commissions, explaining who NAR is(and how we feel about them) and discussing the terms of the proposed settlement in response to the numerous commission lawsuits. Want to find out which stage of grief we are in or what scene from Friends came up? Then don't miss this funny, headline debunking, mix of anxiety and optimism. We get into specific scenarios and talk through how this will work logistically and we tackle some big issues like protecting homeownership and our veterans. Come back for Part 2 in a few days and we will give you your action item list to not just prepare for changes, but to thrive in this new real estate landscape.

Leave us a review at ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template

Email Templates 101: emailtemplates101.com

Build Your Own Business 101: hustlehumblypodcast.com/byob

Agent Systems 101: agentsystems101.com

All Resources: hustlehumblypodcast.com

Submit your topic ideas and toasts to team@hustlehumblypodcast.com

242: Real Estate Agent Resume: How To Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

Your Real Estate Resume

You don't need a fancy car, a designer outfit, or a five-figure marketing budget to show your clients you're a professional. You need a resume.

This episode is the one listeners asked for after Episode 239 on speaking to your value. Katy has had one for about 10 years (the first version was black and white, font only, no photo, no logo — and it still worked). Alissa had one from day one because an MBA program requires it. And together they walk you through exactly how to build one — whether you've been in the business 20 years or 20 days.

Katy also created a free three-day email series called the Three Day Resume that walks you through the process step by step. Find it at hustlehumblypodcast.com/courses.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- The origin story of Katy's resume: the ugly black-and-white version that she gave to clients for years — and then the new fancy Canva one she built two years ago - Why Alissa started with one from the beginning — and the LSU business class that graded students on their appearance and interview skills (tight shirts were a no, dangly earrings were a no, open-toed shoes were a no) - Why a resume doesn't have to be fancy — but you have to have one - The seller who chose Alissa's offer because she had a resume. They didn't even read it. They just thought it was cool she had one. - The Three Day Resume framework: - Day 1: Information collection (answering questions about yourself) - Day 2: Writing your bio - Day 3: Actually making the resume in Canva

The eight sections on the information collection worksheet (answer all of these, then choose the three beyond the required):

Required sections (everyone needs these): 1. About Me / Bio — one paragraph, humanize yourself, include a hobby or your favorite show or what you love to drink 2. Contact Info 3. Real Estate — when licensed, by whom, where you work, how long

Optional sections (pick three that fit you best): 4. Focus — who do you love working with? What areas? What kind of transaction? 5. Stats — last year's average days on market, list price to sold price ratio, number of homes sold in your career 6. Recognitions — awards, designations (ABR, CRS, etc.) 7. Skills — tech savvy, social media, customer service background, teaching experience 8. Education — real estate school hours, college, continuing education 9. Buyer/Seller Philosophies — what are your goals for your clients? What do you pride yourself on? 10. Client Experience — what is it like to work with you? What do you always do? 11. Reviews/Testimonials — two of your favorites, ideally from your ideal client type

Additional tips: - One page only. No exceptions. You'll have to make hard choices. - Use Canva — the free version has great resume templates - Your photo should probably be on there (think actor headshot, helps people remember you) - Katy's listing stat format: list year, number of homes, days on market, list to sold ratio — and your ranking in the market if you have one - What to put on when you're brand new: company training hours, phone duty, open houses you've hosted, any designations you've earned, previous career skills (teacher? retailer? customer service? healthcare?) - Alissa's favorite addition: "Licensed by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission since 2011" — it sounds official because it is - Update your bio and stats every January at minimum - Katy's buyer philosophy (great for the resume): "I never want to sell a buyer a house they can't come back to me in two to three years and say I want to sell it." - Katy's seller philosophy: "I want to do most of the work on the front end so you have the least showings with the highest offer quickly." - The passive-aggressive MLS ranking sheet Alissa used to attach: "Here's a list of the top 50 agents — you may want to check if anyone else you're interviewing is on it." - The house with a structural wall made of vinyl records that Alissa showed this weekend (someone from New Orleans is buying that)

The Three Day Resume email course: hustlehumblypodcast.com/courses

Toast of the week from Steven Raffaele Jr. in Alexandria, Virginia, toasting Leonard Johnson — his landlord, client, and friend. Cheers to Leonard!

Referenced episodes: - Episode 239: Speaking to Your Value as a Realtor

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Three Day Resume course: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/courses

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

241: Make Your Own Luck/The D's of Real Estate Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Make Your Own Luck — Three Myths Debunked

Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day. Katy and Alissa are not wearing green. They do have green plants. No one is being pinched.

This episode is about making your own luck — because in real estate, luck is just preparation meeting opportunity. The harder you work, the luckier you get. And today they're busting three of the biggest myths agents hide behind when things aren't going well.

This episode is also brought to you by the letter D. You'll understand shortly.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

MYTH 1: My office is small, so I can't get training or leads.

False. The resources available to any agent regardless of office size are limitless: - NAR is offering the ABR class for free all of 2024 — normally $125+ - Classes at your board that you're already paying for - Agent tours and caravan groups - Board committees — show up as an individual, meet agents, find mentors - Masterminds with agents from other offices (Katy was in one with 10-12 agents) - Facebook groups — search what you need, don't read the rants - Hold open houses for agents in your office or outside agents in neighborhoods you want to know - The Hustle Humbly community group

MYTH 2: I just moved to a new area, so I don't have a sphere.

Also false. You're not moving to a place with no people. Try: - The Who Do You Know list (hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere) - Volunteering — free, and you meet people immediately - Church, book club, kids' sports - Your spouse's workplace connections - Meetup.com — hosting or joining local interest groups - Social media as the new person with fresh eyes: you're more excited about the area than the locals - Building a "things to do in [city]" Facebook group as the local expert while you're learning - Christine Cooper's approach: build your audience as you discover your new market alongside them

MYTH 3: The market is bad. I can't sell anything.

Mindset. The affirmation that stuck with Katy from the 2008 crash: "My mindset, not the market, determines my success."

Someone is always moving. Here's where business is hiding even in a slow market — the nine DS: 1. Death (partner with estate attorneys, send market reports) 2. Divorce (partner with divorce attorneys) 3. Debt/Distress (people who can no longer afford their home) 4. Disability (can't manage the stairs anymore, need a different property) 5. Displacement (job transfer, natural disaster, forced move) 6. Downsizing (empty nesters moving to something smaller — who often buy something bigger, by the way) 7. Diamonds (getting engaged — two households to sell, one to buy) 8. Diapers (new baby, family change, elderly parent moving in) 9. Dogs (yes, COVID-era pet moves were real and they're still happening)

How to find these people: - Watch your database for life milestones on social media - Partner with divorce and estate attorneys - Send market reports to HR departments of companies relocating employees (non-traditional RELO) - Contact your local chamber of commerce to find which companies are bringing in employees - Set up a booth at a bridal show if diamonds are your people - Do the open house circuit consistently for three to six months before you judge if it's working - Take a relocation packet to HR contacts when you spot a trend in your transactions

Bonus: Alissa's experience being the second listing agent — and how she makes her own luck by doing the staging work the first agent didn't do, repricing appropriately, and watching houses that had been on the market 100+ days finally sell

Quotes from the episode: - "My mindset, not the market, determines my success." - "Luck is an accident that happens to the competent." — Albert Greenfield - "Luck is believing you're lucky." — Tennessee Williams - "I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity." — Oprah - "Striving for success without hard work is like looking at dirt where you planted no seeds." — country wisdom - "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work." — Thomas Edison - "Excellence is being able to perform at a high level over and over again." — Jay Z

This episode is brought to you by the letter D.

Toast of the week from Kathy Sheets in Kansas, toasting her daughter Sunny — who is, apparently, kind of a big deal. Cheers to Sunny!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template + Who Do You Know List: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com

240: Loopholes of Real Estate Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

Contract Loopholes

Button up those contracts, y'all. (Katy's chickens are all buttoned up, so you can be too.)

This episode came out of a conversation with a title attorney who pointed out that most of what people call "loopholes" are actually fraud. True loopholes — ambiguities or inadequacies in a contract that create a legal out — are rarer than you think, and usually exist because someone left a blank unfilled or a deadline unmet. That's the episode.

Katy and Alissa gathered listener stories from around the country, shared their own, and used every single one as a reminder to read your contract, fill in your blanks, and know what you're locking your clients into.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- The difference between a loophole and fraud (buying a car the day before closing is fraud, not a loophole — and advising your buyer to do it is even worse) - Alissa's interest rate loophole story: the attorney-wife who used the rate cap blank to cancel a new construction contract the week before closing — and why Alissa no longer fills in that blank with the pre-approval rate - The title defect automatic extension blank: how a fence encroachment turned it into a 25-day window — and why knowing what every blank does matters - Florida's two purchase agreements: the standard FAR/BAR vs. the as-is, and what happens when an out-of-state buyer thinks they can cancel at their sole discretion on a standard contract — it cost them $45,000 - The Kentucky story: a sight-unseen buyer who requested so many inspections the seller became irate, and how "reasonable access" in the contract became a battle — ending with $0 in repairs for being too demanding - The FHA flip rule: a buyer under contract on a home purchased and flipped within 90 days — FHA didn't approve, buyer got cold feet, and everyone had to start over - The deposit check loophole: the listing agent who tried to cancel Alissa's contract claiming the deposit wasn't delivered — and the broker who stopped it — only for Alissa's buyers to discover a major slab crack and cancel legitimately - Selling your house twice: what happens when a listing agent accepts a second contract before the first is cancelled (spoiler: lawsuits, plural) - The Texas mud district form: a loophole in the water code, not the contract — buyers can cancel up to closing day if the MUD form wasn't provided before contract execution - Louisiana's condo addendum: when the HOA couldn't produce current-year documents in time, the buyer used it to cancel — and they were right - The letter of intent blank: one of the most frequently left-blank fields in Louisiana contracts, and how missing the lender deadline gives the seller a legal out - The school zone rezoning story: a buyer who wanted to cancel because a school rezoning announcement came two weeks before closing — and why it wasn't in the contract - Insurance as a contingency: the buyer who wanted to cancel over flood insurance pricing after their inspection period ended — and why Alissa refused to accept a fake loan denial letter - The radon mitigation system lesson: always specify where the system is to be installed and require buyer approval of the location — or you may end up with a fan in a child's bedroom and a pipe outside the front door - The roof shingle story: "like kind" doesn't mean same color — always specify buyer selection of any aesthetic replacement - The septic system that wasn't installed by closing: seller agreed, didn't do it, mutual release happened — and why the legal system makes it easier to just walk away - The pre-approval letter that wasn't: a buyer using photography business income that didn't qualify, with a lender who issued a letter without reviewing documents - The pre-approval letter contingent on the buyer selling his truck - The 51 appraisers: a single-family home in a condo association near Mount Vernon that no appraiser would touch — and why it required cancellation the day before closing - The buyer who broke their leg before an island move and used their increased DTI to get disqualified from their loan - Make sure you're sure: hustlehumblypodcast.com/freebies — the free resource for buyers to review during due diligence

Referenced episodes: - Episode 109: Navigating Contracts - Episode 169: When Contracts Fall Apart / When We Don't Get Paid

Toast of the week from a conference attendee — details in the episode!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.

Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly

Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere

Make Sure You're Sure (free buyer due diligence resource): http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/freebies

Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com

Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com

All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com