The I Survived Real Estate 2024: Debrief #898

This episode brings you an inside look as Craig Evans and host Joey Romero take you behind the scenes of the I Survived Real Estate 2024 event. Craig opens up about the decision to continue this impactful tradition, sharing its significance for the community, the Norris Group, and his family.

Together, they dive into this year’s updates, including the exciting addition of interactive Q&A sessions, and revisit memorable moments like Bill’s candid reflections on balancing business and family life. Key discussions explore understanding sub-markets, pivoting with purpose, and leading with clarity over emotion.

Craig also shares his optimistic outlook for real estate in 2025, highlighting the potential impact of interest rates, inventory shifts, and immigration reforms.

This episode isn’t just a recap—it’s a heartfelt reflection on legacy, leadership, and what’s next for the real estate world.


In this episode:

• Joey Romero welcomes Craig Evans, CEO of The Norris Group
• Continuing a Legacy: Craig reflects on the significance of preserving The Norris Group's legacy and its impact.
• Leadership Insights: 
  • Bill’s vulnerable moment during the investor panel and its powerful message.
  • The role of transparency and vulnerability in leadership and business success.
  • The importance of efficiency and adaptability in navigating challenges.
  • Staying objective as a leader and avoiding emotional decision-making.
• Looking Ahead: Key economic drivers shaping real estate in 2025.

The Norris Group originates and services loans in California and Florida under California DRE License 01219911, Florida Mortgage Lender License 1577, and NMLS License 1623669.  For more information on hard money lending, go www.thenorrisgroup.com and click the Hard Money tab.


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Episode Transcript

Narrator (00:01):
Welcome to The Norris Group real estate podcast, a
show committed to bringing youinsights from thought leaders
shaping the real estateindustry. In each episode, we'll
dive into conversations withindustry experts and local
insiders, all aimed at helpingyou thrive in an ever-changing
real estate market. continuingthe legacy that Bruce Norris

(00:24):
created, sharing valuableknowledge, and empowering you on
your real estate journey.
Whether you're a seasoned pro ora newcomer, this is your go-to
source for insider tips, markettrends and success strategies.
Here's your host, Craig Evans.

Joey Romero (00:45):
Welcome everybody to The Norris Group real estate
podcast. For the last six weeks,we've been running the I
Survived Real Estate 2024 wehope you enjoyed it. And we
thought today we'd we'd dosomething a little different and
do a little recap show and getCraig's thoughts on this. So

(01:06):
welcome Craig Evans to the show.

Craig Evans (01:10):
Good to be back on this side of it for a little
bit.

Joey Romero (01:12):
Yeah. So, Craig in 2023 we told everybody when
Bruce was retiring that this wasgoing to be the last I Survived
Real Estate, but obviously wecame back in 2024. Why did you
bring it back?

Craig Evans (01:28):
You know, Joey, honestly that was a, it was a
process that for me, taking TheNorris Group over. A lot of it
was really more about the legacyof what the company had been
about before. And I know that,two things, this was an event

(01:50):
that was very near and dear toBruce, and also Aaron's heart,
right, for the charity side ofthat and what it meant to the
community. And, you know, myheart on the legacy piece of why
I did the transaction with Bruceon taking over The Norris Group,

(02:10):
and I just didn't feel like itwould be right one to just end
it right. I felt like, if we'regoing to really carry on a
legacy, that's one of the onesthat we wanted to continue and
to see how we can grow that andeven just make it better and
better every year.

Joey Romero (02:29):
What does that word "legacy" mean to you,

Craig Evans (02:32):
Well, you know, as a dad, I never thought a lot
personally?
about legacy until I started,you know, probably the last 15
years or so of my life, right?
And it was about the time thatwe started having children, and
I started looking at, well, I'vedone all these things in life

(02:55):
and, and that's great. Maybethat's a quote, "name" for me,
but, but what does that mean tothose that I leave behind,
right? Whether, whether it's myfamily, the all the people that
work in our company, thecommunity, what we stand for in
the community, and so legacy forme, really, about 15 years ago

(03:19):
for me and Stephanie, my wife,you know, we it really started
taking on a new role about whatdo we do within this world and
the time that we're given onthis earth to do something that
stands the test of time afterwe're gone, what do we do that
really matters in life? And thisis one of those things as my

(03:39):
companies as a whole, butespecially this event, that what
it is meant to the community andto people in the past, that
legacy of that ,of doingsomething that matters, I felt
like that was the thing thatneeded to continue, because it
matters. You know, how many ofthe the Make-A-Wish kids have we

(04:04):
ever had to the event, right?
We've never seen them. We'veseen pictures, right? But we
don't get to see the effect thatwe actually have on people's
lives. But knowing that we dothings that changes someone's
life, I think that's some of themost impactful and the best
stuff you can do on this earth,you know.

Joey Romero (04:24):
Yeah, I think that's what the Norris group has
been known for. You know, asthey follow Bruce, changing the
trajectories of people's livesis probably the most impactful
thing that we can do, and that'swhat we hope to continue to do
as a company as a whole. So howwas it, was it hard to prepare
for this event?

Craig Evans (04:46):
Oh, well, you know, you and I spent a lot of time
going through stuff, because,you know, how do you ever become
good enough to walk behind BruceNorris, right? Exactly that it,
right? So I, you know, I knewthat I can't compete. I can't I
don't need to try to be BruceNorris. I just had to figure out

(05:09):
how to be myself. But I knewthat there were expectations of
all the hundreds of peoplewalking into that room about
what that had been in the past,right? So I knew there was big
shoes to fill.

Joey Romero (05:20):
Well, in that regard, the format changed. We
did the format a little bitdifferent than that. Why was
that important to you?

Craig Evans (05:26):
I think we had a kind of a moment that we've got
to say, okay, while Bruce andthem have done this 17 years, I
needed people to see that, hey,while I want this legacy to go
on, I've got visions for what Iwant this to be, and I wanted to
start crafting and shaping whatthat looks like.

Joey Romero (05:46):
One of those things that was the change in the
format we, were accustomed to.
Bruce just standing at a podiumand giving us the economic
update. You guys did it more asa Q and A, you know, almost a
fireside chat like the the restof the panels, was there
anything that Bruce told us inyour interview that surprised
you?

Craig Evans (06:06):
Well, you know, Bruce and I had been talking for
several months about the thingsthat were coming up, so I don't
know that there was things hetold me that surprised me. One
of the things that I think I wasglad to hear him talk about
that, I think is most oftenmissed, you know, we were

(06:26):
looking on for the most part, ona national scale of what the
charts read. You know, we werelooking between California and
Florida. And then we talkedabout several other if you want
to call them sub markets, youknow. But really not other sub
market. I mean, you know, Dallasis not a sub market, you know,
but as he started to talk aboutsub, if you want to call them

(06:49):
sub products, and the sub marketof of how, you know, set points,
you can have too much of a goodthing sometimes. And I was glad
to hear him say that. And itmaybe, if I want to say
surprise, that was probably theonly thing that really surprised
me that he talked about wasbecause most people don't want
to talk about that process that,hey, you know. But the reality

(07:12):
is, if you've got too many of, Idon't know, a 1500 square foot
home in a certain mile radiusand the absorption rate is not
going to cover that. That's akey that a lot of investors
don't focus on, right? So Iloved that he did push that out,
and was encouraging people tolook at, listen, what is it that

(07:33):
we're buying, what is it thatyou're putting on the market
from an investment standpoint?
Because I think that's a big keythat a lot of times people miss,
you know, is understanding it'snot just about three beds, two
baths, attached, detached, onecar, two car, garage, you know,
it's not just about that stuff,but you gotta dig deeper in some

(07:55):
of the markets to see, are theredifferent sub categories of
product that are going to dobetter than others. And
sometimes you can have too muchof a good thing in that sub
market, you know.

Joey Romero (08:11):
So, not to take anything away from any of the
other panels, the investor panelwas my favorite. And I think,
the feedback that I've gottenfrom a lot of people, you know,
they got tons of takeaways. Didyou have a favorite moment from
that panel?

Craig Evans (08:26):
Wow, I think the moment, although I think it
probably maybe shocked his wifea little bit. I think the moment
that bill started to get veryraw and transparent about his
past and what the businessalmost did to his family because
of only focusing on Drive to methat was very impactful, you

(08:50):
know, in settings like that,most people want to they just
want to talk about the positivesand look at me and look how
great we are, and I love thevulnerability of someone in that
status to be able to stand upand say, Hey, because I wasn't
perfect either, and I almostlost it all you know, over what

(09:11):
I was trying to build.

Joey Romero (09:12):
Just to recap, for folks, just in case you did you
missed that episode, what Craigis talking about is Bill
admitting to entering into acovenant with his wife about the
way he was going to run thebusiness, and then talking about
how he didn't renew thatcovenant year after year after
year, and as the business grewand required more of Bill, he

(09:36):
just took it for granted, anddidn't really understand how
much he had taken it for granteduntil she asked him for a
divorce. And that was, like,just the realest thing. And you
see, like, Bill, like, up there,almost crying. And it was weird,
from the standpoint I wassitting next to his wife when he

(09:57):
did it, like, I wasn't, like, I.
Just kind of making my ways, andand she was just like, you know,
just intently, you could justseal, you could just tell that
they didn't discuss this at all.
And it was just the realestmoment I think I've ever seen at
I Survived Real Estate, youknow. And so I, I thought that
was probably one of my favoritemoments, too, because in this

(10:23):
world of the internet, Facebook,Instagram, you always think
everybody's just killing it andeverybody's just got nothing but
good times. But what we wantedfrom this panel was to tell
people that you're going to makemistakes and it's okay, as long
as you don't give up, and youkeep moving forward and you keep
learning. I think that was oneof the biggest things that this

(10:47):
panel in particular gave all ofus. Now you started by asking...

Craig Evans (10:53):
Joey, the thing about that for me that hit me on
that was Stephanie never askedme for divorce, but we had just
been through that a year earlierof like, Hey Craig, we didn't,
we didn't talk about that we'regoing to push this hard, you
know. And so I loved the realityis, Joey, it was comforting

(11:16):
knowing I'm not the only guy inthe room that's made that
mistake, you know, and I thinkthat's a lot of value that
groups like what The NorrisGroup fosters, and that type of
community is showing that,listen, one, we're all flawed at
times, right? We're not perfectpeople. But man, knowing that

(11:37):
you've got people that eitheryou can learn from and, or like,
and I'm not the only one that'sdone that kind of bone headed
move, right and, and, yeah, thatwas just a very real moment for
me. It was tough to stay upthere and not choke up thinking
about everything was going onwith him and his family in the

(11:58):
past, and knowing that had beenmy situation as well, not to
that extreme. That was a verypowerful moment that I just, I
didn't expect that, and I wasgrateful that he was willing to
be that vulnerable.

Joey Romero (12:11):
You just touched on something that made me think of
you know, we were just at theCollective Genius event just a
little over a week ago, and youtalked about not being the only
one right now, yep. And that's,that's almost exactly what the
Collective Genius is there todo, is, you know, when you're
part of this community, whichwill next week, when we

(12:34):
interview the CEO, we'll learn alot more, but...

Craig Evans (12:38):
...Jason today.

Joey Romero (12:40):
That's what's great about that community, is that,
you know, if you have a biginefficiency or something,
you're not doing great. There'ssomebody in that room that is
and they're willing to help youget through that, share
resources and help you besuccessful in in any way they
can. So with that being said,you you asked right off the bat

(13:03):
in about inefficiencies, and yougot three different answers, but
all of them were focused on twothings, finding things that
investors aren't willing to do,and then number two, being
prepared to pivot when the restof the industry catches up. What
are your thoughts on that?

Craig Evans (13:21):
You know, there's so much that we do in our
businesses. You know, in runningthe amount of stuff that we do,
it, efficiency is the key towhat we do, right? And we don't
always succeed, right? I mean,there's days we're like, man,
did we? Did we just graduatefrom kindergarten in this class?
I mean, what are we doing,right? So I was anxious to hear,

(13:43):
you know, other guys that areextremely successful in their
own in their own rights, andwhat they do as to how they
handle efficiencies, you know.
And it was so interesting to seeand hear the aspect of the
understanding of the time topivot, right? Because, that was
the one thing that we've beenlooking at for a year and a half

(14:09):
of understanding how to how tomaneuver the markets, as they've
been doing the last two years.
And I was so excited to hearthem, discuss that and talk
about that, and what that meantto their business from a
sustainability, excuse me, andfrom an efficiency standpoint,

(14:33):
to know whether it personnel,whether it's business model,
whatever their standing wasright Mark de Lautour that was
on the panel that night. He andI had talked some, and have
talked since about a lot ofstuff and and that's one of the
things that we've talked about,is even the understanding of
pivoting with with personnel.
You know, when you've got peoplethat are such a vital part of

(14:57):
what you do. Sometimes it'ssuper difficult to kind of
segregate those two and say,Well, wait a minute, I love this
person. Care deeply for them.
They've been great in theirrole, but my business has now
grown to a point to where it'sno longer efficient having that

(15:18):
person in that role, right? Andhow do we pivot that person into
something else that benefitsthem and the company? And that's
just one component of it, but,but I think understanding that
is just a key factor in runninga business, especially with the
last, you know, the last fouryears of what we've been through

(15:40):
with one administration theprior years of that. What we're
about to go into, there's a lotof things that you've got to
manage as a leader, to look atefficiencies, and I think that
understanding how to pivot is sokey. And I was very glad to hear
those guys talk about that andtheir experience within
pivoting, you know.

Joey Romero (16:00):
Well, they both talked about understanding and
knowing the numbers and beingcompletely honest with what
you're seeing and not gettingemotional about it. That's when
the leadership conversationreally steps in. What stood out
about their opinions onleadership?

Craig Evans (16:16):
Well, alright, so that you just said a word,
getting not getting emotionalabout the numbers, right? I
don't care whether you're abrand new investor or brand new
business owner, a brand newwidget maker, whatever it is,
right? Or if you're seasoned for30 years, I think one of the
hardest things to ingrain in anddevelop self discipline is not

(16:44):
being your own hype man, right?
It's super easy to be that ownhype man. And and everything we
see, and the ideas and all this,every one of them is great, and
every house is great, and every,this is the best deal we're ever
going to put together. And allof a sudden, you know, we don't
look at the reality of it, andthese numbers don't pencil out.

(17:05):
We're not willing all the timeto look at what the real numbers
tell us, right? So I go back toBruce. The data doesn't lie,
right? I love that about Bruce.
I'd never thought about it thatway. But when Bruce first taught
me about looking at data, don'tever look at it and try to prove

(17:26):
a point. Let the data tell youwhat it is, and you got to be
able to accept it. So I thinkthat key, that you said, the
emotional component, I thinkthat's one of the hardest things
sometimes to work through andget over but, to maintain that
discipline is a is a huge key tosuccess.

Joey Romero (17:47):
I don't know who it was. I think it might have been
Bill, but he was talking about,we're going to almost live and
die in the margins.

Craig Evans (17:54):
That's right.

Joey Romero (17:55):
And that leads me to the to the next question.

Craig Evans (17:58):
In tying that back, those are the hard things that
leaders have to do. If you'regoing to be a good leader,
you've got to be able to stepoutside of that realm and
recognize it. I think that'swhat, I think both those guys
portrayed that and showed thatvery well that night, that part
of ,that's the reason they'resuccessful in what they do, is

(18:19):
because they disassociate fromthe emotion when it comes to
that leadership side, becausethey understand that. Listen,
sometimes it's going to bemaking hard decisions, you know.

Joey Romero (18:28):
Bill talked about principles, strategies and
tactics, and he talked about thewillingness of an investor to
exit a little too early ratherthan just get stuck in that
scenario that you just talkedabout. Now, how hard is that
when you're a new investor?

Craig Evans (18:47):
Yeah, I think the two phases of a new investor
are, you know, we hear so much.
There's so many people that arewriting books and doing the
seminars and the webinars abouthow to get into real estate and
and, you know, one of thebiggest things that tell me,
gotta get deals going, gotta dodeals, gotta do deals, gotta do
deals. And you do have to dodeals. But doing the wrong deal,

(19:08):
just because it's a deal goingdoesn't mean we'll never make it
the right deal, you know. And sothat front end basis for the new
investor, it is a big key, butunderstanding when to exit it is
right behind it is that secondnumber that most new investors

(19:31):
struggle with. Just like mybuddy, you know that he's,
that's, it's not real estate. Itwas the market. But they look at
it, they say, boy, I've hadgreat cash flow for this time
period. And that they may notwant to exit that product, but
they miss the fact that, hey,this product is now about to be
12 years old, and my cap x isstarting to increase because I

(19:56):
gotta have a new roof put onnext year. And so, you know, a
lot of times the newer investorsaren't looking at the fact that,
yeah, I've cash flow great fortwo years. But if that thing's
only cash flowing, you know,$300 a month and our $400 a
month one year isn't going topay for a roof, right? So,

(20:17):
understanding those things andlooking at one, when they buy,
but two, when to exit, those arekeys for young investors. Are
they moving too soon? Are theynot moving soon enough, right?
That the whole exit strategy is,I believe, where a lot of young

(20:38):
investors struggle to know whatthat is.

Joey Romero (20:44):
I want to talk about the economic panel a
little bit. This year wasdominated by two major factors.
You know, inflation, but theinterest rate conversation
really dominated theconversation. Do you think
that's going to be the biggestdriver of real estate in 2025?

Craig Evans (21:02):
So me, personally, I mean, you know, we just had
Fed rate dropped another 25basis points yesterday. I don't
know that we're going to see abig move on the market because
of that at this point, but Ithink there's going to be three

(21:23):
things that will be big driversfor 2025. I do think the first
will be interest rates,depending on where they go. And
there's a lot of things thatback into that, as far as what
the Fed does, and how thatrelates, obviously, to bonds.
You know, the Fed really changedunder Powell. The Fed changed

(21:43):
the way they operate and whatthey're looking at, and they're
Powell's main focus, and how hewas driving the Fed when he came
in, was really focusing on theaspect of unemployment first and
then inflation second, right?
We're in an aspect where he'sdriving down inflation, but
we've still got really goodnumbers on employment for the

(22:03):
most part. So I think he's got atricky job ahead of him over the
next year again, I think he'sout in May of 26 so this is his
last full year, so I thinkthat's going to be a big play of
what he does, all in line withwhat is this administration.,
you know this administration islaying out some lofty goals of

(22:24):
what they want to achieve. LastFriday, I think the 30 year
fixed was 5.875 was the lowestrate I saw last Friday,
yesterday, even after the ratedrop, FHA rates, lowest rate was
at 5.5 was the lowest I saw. So,you know, when you're looking at

(22:46):
those things and you're saying,hey, you know, we've come from
an eight down to now, we'retouching into the fives. I know
the average rates, you know,because there's other lenders
that are up in the sixes. But Imean, you know, you're starting
for the first time with no buydowns to see numbers in the
fives. You know, Bruce and I'vebeen talking for years, you

(23:08):
know, the last two years now,once we start seeing stuff in
the fives again, products goingto move right? Well, that starts
to free up that, that liquidcapital that people have to
spend. I still think we've got athe, let me back up, Joey and
answer that rates are going tobe number one. I think that's
going to be the number one. Ithink that the second thing that
will drive that will beinventory status, right? What's

(23:32):
the inventory look like on themarket, and the amount of it?
Because right now, it looks likewe've got tons of it in certain
markets, but as soon as youstart to see optimism happening,
because there's an emotionalcomponent to buying real estate,
whether you're buying forinvestments or you're buying as
Main Street buyers to live in,there's an emotional component.

(23:56):
And when they feel like theeconomy is turning around. Rates
are a little bit lower, so I cannow afford that payment. They
want to jump in, right? They'vebeen waiting to get out of the
apartment, or they've beenwaiting to change locations in
the country. I think that's thesecond component. Me,
personally, I think the nextcomponent that is going to

(24:18):
affect the real estate marketwill actually be immigration.
Because, based on the amount ofinventory and the demand that's
out there, I think immigrationis going to have a key play in
that based off labor, so.

Joey Romero (24:42):
Okay, so do you agree that the panel talk
basically, Hey, forget aboutever seen rates of two and 3% do
you think that we're gonna finda sweet spot, you know, going
forward for the next 10, 20,years of five to six?

Craig Evans (25:01):
Yeah, I really do.
I think, I really think thatnext decade is fives, you know,
I think that five to six isreally a spot wherethat's a
that's actually a better ratethan historically we've had over
the last four decades, you know,you get into the fives. That's a

(25:23):
pretty good rate historically,you know, now I will say this. I
don't think that twos and threesare coming back with the Aster.
You know, the only component onthat, that I believe, is
depending on how the Fed handlesthings and how the new

(25:46):
administration handlesimmigration.

Joey Romero (25:50):
I'm very skeptical of, you know, we haven't had any
meaningful immigrationlegislation for what, 30, 40,
years, my dad was part of that,you know, he got, you know, he
was able to become a citizenbecause of some of that. But
that was in the 80s.

Craig Evans (26:08):
Right.

Joey Romero (26:09):
You know, we're talking about, there hasn't been
anything meaningful in forever.
So I, I'm just on a, on a moreof the skeptical side of that
somebody's got to want to do itand, and I just don't see the
fervor for it.

Craig Evans (26:21):
Well, and I think that's, yeah, it's, it's
definitely going to be a trickysituation, but at some point
somebody's got to be bold enoughto stand up and do it. And it's
not going away, you know, thatwe keep kicking that can, and it
ain't going away, and we got todeal with it, you know, so.

Joey Romero (26:39):
Yeah, were you surprised at all about your
question of energy, with howthey responded? Were you
surprised?

Craig Evans (26:46):
I am surprised that there aren't more people
standing up in the aislescreaming and yelling about
where we're at as a country withenergy. You know, there is, I
will say this, I believe thatthere is zero, absolutely zero,
chance of changing the basis ofwhat materials and products and

(27:12):
things cost if we don't addressour energy crisis. It is
physically impossible to lowerthe cost of products when we're
still paying the amount that wepay to get them to a site. Case
in point, you know, Joey, I wastalking to my dad two days ago.
You know, my dad's in his 80s,right? And I love my dad to

(27:35):
death. Love my parents to death,right? I talk to them every day,
and my dad was all frustrated,like Dad, what's going on? He
said, I went and bought my, youknow, went, bought your mom and
I, you know, our dinner, and Igot us the same two hamburgers
and a french fry that we share.
And I couldn't believe it. It'sso expensive. So how much was

(27:56):
it? So it's $12 for twohamburgers and the fry. I said,
Okay, dad. He said, But Craig,he said, the thing was, he said,
five years ago, that was $4.87he said, I remember that because
that's what I paid for years was$4.87 cent for the two
hamburgers on a fry. And hesaid, What is that cow that more

(28:18):
expensive, that much moreexpensive, right now, yeah, and
it's not the cows. It's not thefarmers. It's like, hey,
everything we touch is driven byenergy, right? We can't get a
tractor into the field to to cuthay without using diesel fuel,
right? It doesn't matter.

(28:40):
Everything we touch is driven byfuel and energy, and if we don't
fix that problem, we will neversee our pricing structure of
what things cost go down, youknow? So, yeah, I have
personally been surprised overthe last several years, and on

(29:00):
the panel a little bit thatpeople aren't screaming and
yelling about energy, that we'rejust not yelling it from the
rooftops. Fix this problem, youknow.

Joey Romero (29:09):
Now, one of the things, one of the best parts of
I Survived Real Estate alwaysis, you know, talking to the
attendees, the panelists,throughout the night, in
between, you know, in the lobby,you know those great
conversations, what type offeedback were you getting from
the folks when you were there?

Craig Evans (29:30):
Well, I will say this, everybody was so gracious.
First of all, they were superexcited about the transition.
Everybody was very excited forme, personally, on the handoff
of the company that was, thatwas humbling, you know, to see
that. But you know, during theevent, you know, I was really

(29:54):
trying to focus on making surethat I did my role and did it to
the best of my ability, right? Ieven screwed up the process of
bringing up the reason we'rethere, you know, for
Make-A-Wish, and I still screwedthat up. But you know, in that
aspect, Joey, I think the factthat I can just sit there and
laugh at myself and and not takemyself too seriously, I hope

(30:20):
that came across. But you know,better than I came up...

Joey Romero (30:23):
We can always, we can always blame it on Jimmy,
right?

Craig Evans (30:26):
That's right.
That's right.

Joey Romero (30:27):
Blame it on Jimmy.
Jimmy, you know who you are.

Craig Evans (30:29):
That's right. When you forget the the Pledge of
Allegiance, come on. But youknow, honestly, afterwards, when
I was speaking with people, youknow, I was there for 45 minutes
or so afterwards, and without adoubt, the two things that
everybody talked to me aboutthat they were so excited for.
They loved the investor panel.
They said Craig, it felt soreal, and it felt like we could

(30:53):
really garner really greatinformation. Not that anything
in the past wasn't goodinformation. It was just
different, and it came from adifferent point of view. You
know, the things that kepttelling me is you were bringing
out different points of viewthat made the information fresh
and exciting, that...

Joey Romero (31:16):
I think it led to the most takeaways, is what I
think really people loved aboutit. They were able to get real
takeaways that they canimplement into their careers
right now, right?

Craig Evans (31:28):
And that was, listen, you and I were working
until nine o'clock the nightbefore making sure, is there
anything I'm missing? Is thereanything points I wanted to hit,
right? And I want to make surethat our events are relevant and
provide value to everyone thatwalks through the door, whether
they've never done their firstdeal or whether they got a
billion dollar portfolio,doesn't matter, right? Anywhere

(31:51):
in between, I want to make surethat there's value and relevance
out of all of our events that wedo, and I that was the thing
that I got out of it is theywere really pleased with how
things were shifting, because itgave them the ability to get a
lot of value out of what we did.

Joey Romero (32:10):
Do you think, you know, we're almost close to
wrapping it up? Do you thinkthat 2025, will be a good year
for real estate?

Craig Evans (32:18):
I really do. I really do, I believe, and this
isn't about who was voted intooffice, right? I think there was
the pent up energy of justeverybody, like just the fact
that the election year is over.
We talked about that that night.
You know that that, that, whatis the history show from
election years? Is it, listen,there's always a bounce coming

(32:42):
in, right? But I think that whatwas pinned, you know, kind of
penting getting or getting pentup in saved energy back there,
with interest rates starting totweak and creep down, I really
believe that 2025, will be ayear that we look at and say,
Oh, wow. We the last two yearswas actually the worst of it,

(33:03):
and we made it. We're alreadyout of this. I believe it's
going to be a great year.

Joey Romero (33:07):
Alright? Well, I'm going to close the the show, the
a little recap show, by justexpressing my personal gratitude
for always, first and foremost,especially with I Survived Real
Estate for Aaron Norris, youknow, he was, he grew to be one
of my best friends, my bestfriend, and impacted the lives

(33:30):
of so many others, just like hisdad did. I want to thank Bruce
for, you know, allowing Aaronto, you know, talk him into this
event. And then just grateful toeverybody who still supports us,
who still attends all of theseevents, that still listen to
this show. So that's my personalgratitude. So Craig, I'd like to

(33:53):
give you the option, not theoption, but the opportunity to
express your gratitude also.

Craig Evans (33:59):
Yes, we're rounding out year one of me owning The
Norris Group and and what allthat means and what it's meant.
I am very humbled by the amountof people that one; tune into
the show to hear this oldcountry boy from Georgia talk
about, you know, real estate andput their faith and trust in

(34:21):
what I say. I'm honored andhumbled by that and and I'm, I'm
so excited looking towards 2025,with the things that we're we're
looking to with DBL unlimited,and with The Norris Group, you
know specifically there's,there's so many great things
that's coming, but it couldn'thave happened without the

(34:44):
transition of 2024, and I'mjust, I'm honestly, Joey, I'm
honored that Bruce chose me tobe his successor and take this
company and and lead it into thefuture. I'm honored that he
chose me and. So and so I'mexcited to finish out this year
strong and to go headlong intothe future of what we do as a

(35:07):
company.

Joey Romero (35:08):
Craig, thank you for joining me as the host
today, and thank you all fortuning in. We will see you next
week.

Narrator (35:17):
For more information on hard money loans, trust deed
investing, and upcoming eventswith The Norris group. Check out
thenorrisgroup.com. For moreinformation on passive investing
through the DBL Capital RealEstate Investment Fund, please
visit dblapital.com.

Joey Romero (35:37):
The Norris group originates and services loans in
California and Florida underCalifornia DRE license 01219911.
Florida mortgage lender license1577 and NMLS license 1623669.
For more information on hardmoney lending go to
thenorrisgroup.com and click thehard money tab.