May 1, 2025 • 39 mins
What makes a home sell quickly in today's luxury market? According to veteran realtor Lenny Felberbaum, it's not just location or square footage—it's thoughtful, cohesive interior design.
As a fourth-generation realtor and Elite Private Office Advisor with Engel & Volkers, Lenny brings decades of experience to this fascinating conversation about the critical intersection of design and real estate value. Through compelling stories and market insights, he reveals how design choices can dramatically affect a property's selling potential, including the remarkable tale of a 1979 home where the owners' significant design investment paid dividends four decades later.
We dive deep into the current design landscape of South Florida's luxury market, exploring the prevalence of ultra-modern architecture and whether these contemporary styles will stand the test of time. Lenny offers candid perspectives on staging versus true interior design, explaining how temporary furniture arrangements differ from creating lasting, livable spaces that reflect a homeowner's authentic lifestyle.
Against the backdrop of the pandemic, our conversation shifts to how quarantine has changed people's relationships with their homes and what this means for both the real estate market and interior design industry. From the influx of northern buyers seeking Florida sunshine to community-building initiatives supporting local businesses, Lenny shares insights on how our collective reset might reshape housing preferences and community values for years to come.
Whether you're a design enthusiast, real estate investor, or simply curious about how our living spaces influence our lives, this episode offers invaluable wisdom from someone who truly understands what makes a house not just sell—but feel like home. Subscribe now and join the conversation about designing spaces that create lasting value.
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voice Over (00:00):
This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and
curiosity meet style and design.
Curator of interiors,furnishings and lifestyles.
Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, aninterior designer and a style
enthusiast, along with herserial entrepreneur husband,
scott, idesign Lab is yourultimate design podcast where we
explore the rich and vibrantworld of design and its constant
(00:23):
evolution in style and trends.
Idesign Lab provides industryinsight, discussing the latest
trends, styles and everything inbetween to better help you
style your life, through advicefrom trendsetters, designers,
influencers, innovators,fabricators and manufacturers,
as well as personal stories thatinspire, motivate and excite.
(00:43):
And join us on this elevated,informative and lively journey
into the world of all thingsdesign.
Our special guest today is LennyFelberbaum, an extremely
accomplished entrepreneur.
Lenny is a fourth-generationrealtor.
Selling real estate is quiteliterally in Lenny's blood.
After attending the Universityof Miami, lenny entered the
family business developingcondominiums in Miami Beach.
(01:06):
By the late 2000s, lenny hadbecome one of the top real
estate producers in the PalmBeach County, florida.
In 2018, the international realestate firm Engel Volkers
announced that Lenny wouldbecome the licensed partner and
broker for Engel Volkers DelrayBeach, florida, placing Lenny
into an elite group of realestate advisors worldwide Of the
11,000 real estateprofessionals who represent
(01:28):
Engel and Volkers in over 30countries.
Lenny is one of less than 100advisors selected to carry the
title of Private Office Advisorin North America.
Today, lenny is one of the topreal estate brokers in South
Florida and has made anincredible mark in the South
Florida real estate market.
Lenny, thanks for joining ustoday.
Lenny Felberbaum (01:47):
Tiffany and Scott, thank you for having me.
Scott Woolley (01:50):
So you have the Engel Volkers real estate
business, shingle and DelrayBeach, that we know does a lot
of real estate business in theSouth Florida area.
You're, I'll say, a player inthe community business in this
South Florida area.
You're, I'll say, a player inthe community moving a lot of
real estate.
So a great question to ask youis design design in people's
homes and the way in which thedesign looks in their homes how
(02:13):
important do you think it is tohelping you in selling homes?
Lenny Felberbaum (02:18):
I would say that the design is probably the
most important factor.
Design is probably the mostimportant factor.
When you walk into a home andit's cohesive and has a feel and
a definition, it makes it much,much easier to sell.
And even if clients, potentialclients don't adhere to that
(02:43):
style, like if you walked into amodel, yeah, but people want I
think the models are good tosell things, but I think when
you're selling, like resalehomes, people get a feeling when
they walk into a home.
Scott Woolley (03:02):
So do you notice or do you recognize, when you're
walking into a home for thefirst time, or you're taking on
the listing, or you're showing ahome that maybe you don't have
the listing for, but it's yourfirst time you're seeing it, do
you notice or can you tellimmediately that this home was
put together by a group ordesigner, or the homeowner
(03:23):
really knew what they were doing?
Is there a comparison that youcan tell?
Lenny Felberbaum (03:27):
Absolutely.
You can tell pretty much rightaway how it looks.
In fact, I, just a couple ofmonths ago, sold a house that
was built in 1979.
And it was the people justpassed away and their children
were selling it and they spentthe house was about what it was
(03:50):
called 79, so like 80s vibe.
And they were telling me theycame from Great Neck.
Tiffany Woolley (03:58):
Long Island.
Lenny Felberbaum (03:58):
Okay, right, sophisticated they spent the
same amount the house was$300,000, and they spent
$300,000 on decorating it.
Scott Woolley (04:08):
What was the value then, when they were
trying to sell it?
Lenny Felberbaum (04:11):
All these years later, All these years
later.
Well, they got about almost alittle over $800,000 for it.
Tiffany Woolley (04:18):
So, it sustained the value.
Lenny Felberbaum (04:20):
Yeah, it sustained the value.
And what was interesting is wewere sitting in the living room
and there were three siblingsand their spouses and they
started laughing and I said, didI say something funny?
And they said no, we were justthinking at the same time.
Nobody's ever sat in thisliving room.
(04:43):
They had a beautiful diningroom table.
Scott Woolley (04:48):
That reminds me when I was a kid we weren't
allowed to sit in the livingroom, exactly.
Tiffany Woolley (04:52):
Well, it's like four-bedroom living rooms.
Scott Woolley (04:55):
My sister and I always used to say to my parents
why is it called a living room?
Because we certainly don't livein it.
We don't even go in it.
Lenny Felberbaum (05:04):
They hadn't even eaten in the dining room.
They used their den, theirkitchen and the bedroom, and
that was it.
Tiffany Woolley (05:12):
So when you sold it to the new homeowner,
was that somebody who actuallyappreciated that and wanted to
be able, or would they?
Lenny Felberbaum (05:21):
That's why.
I brought this up.
He walked into the house and helooked around and he said I
have to have this house Right.
And then he looked at his agentand he said I probably should
have said that in front of meand he's keeping most of the
basic elements.
He actually wanted to buy itfurnishedished and that
(05:44):
negotiation didn't work out, butthe cohesive way that it was
designed and I want to show youthe I would love to I want to
show you, because they had thewhole entry hall, was you?
know, floor to ceiling like oaktambour, wow, and all of the
(06:04):
doors I mean.
So it looked spectacular and itstood the test of time.
It absolutely stood the test oftime.
Everything was custom done.
A lot of built-in, a lot ofbuilt-ins, and the built-ins are
still like.
In the master bedroom and theliving room were absolutely
beautiful.
Tiffany Woolley (06:24):
They're not going to change in there, no,
and I feel like that style hasactually come full circle right
now again.
Lenny Felberbaum (06:31):
Yeah, they had beautiful, like a lot of the
tables and the lights wereshowing a lot of brass, which is
I've seen that come back, youknow it was a huge room so there
was a lot of seating areas butthe tables were really nice.
They had a really nice cardtable that was glass, chrome and
(06:55):
brass.
Tiffany Woolley (06:55):
I love it.
Lenny Felberbaum (06:57):
So I mean every part about it was really
interesting.
But to see the way the housewas truly decorated.
Tiffany Woolley (07:07):
It was like a turnkey.
Lenny Felberbaum (07:09):
Yeah.
Scott Woolley (07:13):
So let's go back to design, and today from a
design standpoint in SouthFlorida, because we're in South
Florida.
Tiffany Woolley (07:23):
A luxury market , I would say too, as well as a
vacation market.
Scott Woolley (07:28):
Are you seeing a particular design style that's
more popular than another?
Lenny Felberbaum (07:33):
Well, I would say, architecturally, you're
seeing a lot of modern homes,right how?
Do you feel about that and inthose homes you can only
decorate it one way.
One way it's got to be verymodern, correct and it's
beautiful to look at, appreciateit.
But it's not comfortable living.
Scott Woolley (07:56):
Right, but what happens then with the next
person who's?
When it's going up for sale?
It's limiting the amount ofbuyers because there's not a lot
of opportunity for looking atit and changing it, because to
change something like that is adramatic and drastic and
expensive undertaking.
Lenny Felberbaum (08:15):
Well, it's exactly what people that have
Tuscan homes are going throughnow Right, you can paint the
whole interior white and I thinkeven a Tuscan home you could
modernize it by colors andchanging materials, furniture.
A very, very modern home isvery hard to decorate in a more
(08:37):
traditional way Right ortransitional.
Tiffany Woolley (08:40):
Yeah.
Scott Woolley (08:41):
Or farmhouse.
Tiffany Woolley (08:42):
Right.
And how like do people, whenthey come to you, do they say
they want a specific feel, orwhat are they looking for?
Mainly A certain amount ofbedrooms or a certain amount of?
Lenny Felberbaum (08:57):
That's a good question.
Depends if it's a second homeor a first home.
Tiffany Woolley (09:01):
Right, I feel like that's big with decorating
as well.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:05):
Then they.
I think that they're lookingmore for light.
We feel like we sell alifestyle.
Tiffany Woolley (09:16):
Me too.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:17):
And that ties into decorating designing
because you're designing aroundsomebody's lifestyle.
So I have a house now that wehad it under contract and it
fell apart because of thecoronavirus.
It fell apart because of thecoronavirus, but the buyers
(09:40):
loved the design.
They had a lot of Lily Pulitzerdrapes.
Tiffany Woolley (09:44):
Wow.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:45):
And she asked for certain furniture and it was
two chairs that were kind ofLily Pulitzer Like a palm.
Tiffany Woolley (09:54):
Beach Regency.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:55):
Exactly and it matched the drapes in the room
and everything and the sellerwas so appreciative that they
liked the way she decorated thehouse that it really helped the
buyers.
Not knowing it, it helped themnegotiate a good price because
(10:18):
they were happy their home wasbeing enjoyed and loved again.
Who was buying it appreciated it.
You know you'll get people thatand most of my practice is
resale homes.
We do do a decent amount of newconstruction, but in downtown
Delray Beach we have a lot ofolder homes.
We do do a decent amount of newconstruction, but in downtown
Delray Beach we have a lot ofolder homes, so a lot of them
(10:40):
are resales.
So getting people to eitherlook around the design and
having the vision to make ittheir own or finding something
that looks like it would fitthem.
Scott Woolley (10:58):
Right and well.
In Delray those older homesthat you're talking about go
back 30 years, 40 years, and alot of them are being knocked
down or completely redone.
I mean, it's just a wholechange in the community of how
they're being done.
So I guess most people arelooking at it from a different
perspective and a design thatthey're not really looking at
(11:18):
what it is, but what they couldpossibly do with it.
Tiffany Woolley (11:21):
Exactly, but like take for example, the Lake
Ida area, which I love right.
I have a lot of clients in thatarea.
Lenny Felberbaum (11:30):
And it's got a lot of character because it
wasn't track built.
And you have a lot of characterbecause it wasn't track built
and you have a lot of old.
Scott Woolley (11:41):
Florida Ranch style.
Yeah, ranch style.
We've got a lot of style inthere.
You've got the canals in therethe two big lakes.
Lenny Felberbaum (11:50):
So what seems to be people have been doing
lately is just one style ofmodern Right and it's appealing
to a certain amount of buyers.
I think the big mystery orquestion is the resale.
The resale, and will it stay inthe test of time.
Tiffany Woolley (12:10):
Yeah, In Miami Beach they've been doing it
longer.
Lenny Felberbaum (12:12):
Yeah, In Miami Beach they've been doing it
longer.
Tiffany Woolley (12:14):
But Miami Beach , that architecture of the
modern I feel like, was not asmid-century.
I feel like it was more of thewhite, a lot of windows because
you're on the water or you're atthe beach view and it had more
of a deco circle, feel to itwhen now we're kind of—.
Scott Woolley (12:32):
And the sand.
It kind of went in with thesand because a lot of them are
on the beach but a lot of thesehomes in delray and in boker and
in boynton that are being done,you know, and around the
country, they're not necessarilyon the water or on the beach,
because I think of these ultramodern or very contemporary
homes to the homes that are outon, like on long island, in the
(12:54):
hamptons.
Tiffany Woolley (12:55):
Well, you just kind of know that that area like
there's all the modern homeskind of stick together in the
Hamptons versus them popping upin the middle of this adorable
little.
Lenny Felberbaum (13:05):
It's like it's a peppering of the neighborhood
, correct?
Tiffany Woolley (13:10):
What do you feel is the reaction of the
neighbors regarding that?
Lenny Felberbaum (13:15):
you're hearing A lot of the old timers, the
people that lived here,including a lot of the people in
the real estate business, don'treally care for it.
They feel it's very cold andsterile.
Scott Woolley (13:29):
Well, it's been hot for a while.
I think that the hotness ofthat is kind of tapering off.
Tiffany Woolley (13:37):
Well, and I feel like they're a little more
on the generic side.
But one thing about the designI've noticed regarding those
houses and the resale or theoriginal sale of these houses is
they all have a stagingatmosphere and I feel like all
the pieces are the same.
Lenny Felberbaum (13:57):
Do people viewing the houses ever pick up
on that.
I don't know if buyers actuallydo, but it's interesting that
you brought that up, becausethere's a handful of staging
companies Right and it's like arepeat.
There used to be a differencebetween them and now, in other
words, you would walk into a newhouse and you could tell who
staged it.
Tiffany Woolley (14:16):
Right.
Voice Over (14:16):
Now you can't, because they all look exactly
the same.
Lenny Felberbaum (14:21):
They have the same artwork on the walls the
black and white, and is it?
Tiffany Woolley (14:25):
really enticing people.
Lenny Felberbaum (14:30):
Yes, so it works.
It definitely works.
People I find most buyersYou're talking about staging.
Staging Most buyers don't havea vision, so then do they buy it
Most consumers, like once theybuy a house and now they're
moving into that empty house,don't have a vision of what it
(14:57):
can look like, or how are theygoing to make it look, which
brings.
Tiffany Woolley (15:03):
When they do the staging, do they purchase
the homes furnished at the end?
Lenny Felberbaum (15:08):
A lot of times they do, a lot of times they do
, especially in the newconstruction.
Tiffany Woolley (15:16):
Do you know with the staging, do they sign a
long term?
Is it a lease?
Lenny Felberbaum (15:22):
Yeah, it's usually a three month minimum.
Usually it's a six monthcontract.
Scott Woolley (15:27):
So, as a homeowner who's looking to sell
their house, staging it,realizing well, I don't have the
right furniture or it needs tobe changed and updated or
someone like you, you know, orsomeone on your team going in
and telling the homeowner who'slooking to sell their home, you
really should think aboutstaging this.
Lenny Felberbaum (15:48):
And staging, say it costs $30,000 to $40,000
to stage a house for six months.
Depending on the price range ofthe home and I would say this
is in the $2 million and uprange that expenditure will
(16:10):
usually bring you back three tofour times your investment but,
more importantly, it will getyour property sold.
Tiffany Woolley (16:20):
So is the staging and the decorating
companies that you're aware of.
Are they like interchangeableor how does it?
That's kind of an avenue I'mnot 100% familiar with.
Scott Woolley (16:29):
Well, you've stayed away from staging.
You basically have just focusedon developing a style and a
lifestyle for a person aroundthem and the couple or the
family.
You've had a lot of differentpeople come to you for staging.
Tiffany Woolley (16:45):
I like the process, the staging.
Scott Woolley (16:50):
Well, we did another podcast where we talked
about staging, because how Ilook at staging, it's temporary.
Lenny Felberbaum (16:59):
Exactly.
Scott Woolley (16:59):
Tiffany doesn't, and what she's done with TW
Interiors isn't temporary.
It's creating a lifestyle for afamily.
Tiffany Woolley (17:06):
It's an investment for the future, long
term and an investment for theirhome, hopefully, my clients
will have people like yourfriends that you just sold their
house, that love and appreciateit 30 years later, 40 years
later.
That's where my passion is asfar as that goes.
But I do find it so intriguingbecause, for example, in our
neighborhood there's a house forsale and they staged it and two
(17:29):
days ago, because we'requarantined and I'm riding my
bike, I saw them unloading allthe furniture and I was like I
know the house wasn't sold, butor they probably wanted to stop
paying for it, right.
I just found that so interestingthat it's like a lease, I guess
.
Lenny Felberbaum (17:47):
Yeah, you're basically leasing the furniture.
It's not to be used.
You know, like stagingcompanies don't rent furniture.
You know to be used, got it.
It's to be used in an emptyhouse.
And you know, and that's what'sinteresting, it's like when you
go to models and newconstruction and you see the way
(18:09):
the houses are decorated.
They look beautiful when youwalk through them, but if you
really look at it and sit downon the couch or get comfortable,
it's not comfortable.
No, they're scaled differently.
Tiffany Woolley (18:24):
Differently they're smaller, there's no
doors on anything, Exactly so.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:29):
it's a.
I guess it's like using anairbrush to touch up a
photograph.
You know, they put a lot ofcoverings on the wall.
Tiffany Woolley (18:41):
They are.
They're props, it's true.
Scott Woolley (18:43):
From my background of television and
film.
It's props.
It's temporary.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:47):
Like if you go to GL Homes they do a beautiful
job.
You go into their models.
I've never seen so many walltreatments.
Right All in one house, all inone house, but you know what?
Tiffany Woolley (18:58):
And ceiling details.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:59):
If you ever walked into a newly constructed
house that has no options.
It looks awful.
Tiffany Woolley (19:06):
I know.
Scott Woolley (19:07):
You know you see these expansive walls of
sheetrock, you know it looksawful and they do a brilliant
job of either wallpapering themor which is where most people
majority of people don't havethe vision for what you're
talking about for that wallcovering and what I should, what
they should use and what colorsthey should use, patterns and
(19:31):
layers, and when I even feellike for companies like a GL.
Tiffany Woolley (19:36):
You are buying a mass-produced home or a track
home, so how can you setyourself apart when your
neighbor might have the exactsame model as you?
Lenny Felberbaum (19:47):
Right.
Tiffany Woolley (19:47):
So you want to have some character and
personality brought into thatbig house of sheetrock.
Lenny Felberbaum (19:57):
Yeah, and I think in their case, the
designers that do that.
I think they get credit for itand they refer clients to it.
Scott Woolley (20:08):
So let's talk a little about what's going on in
the world today with this virus.
We know it's certainly hurtingthe real estate market and I
understand that at Engel andVolcker you've started and
implemented a few differentthings.
I know one thing especiallyyou've done to try to reach out,
to give more information.
Lenny Felberbaum (20:32):
Yes, we've been really proactive because we
feel that we're leaders in theindustry and that we feel a
responsibility to our clientsthat we give them accurate and
real information.
And I think, between myself andour firm, we were founded in
(21:04):
the 70s, which, coincidentally,is the same time that I kind of
got into the business world andyou know there's a lot of
experience there and we've seensince the 70s, starting with the
Arab oil embargo.
I've seen the peaks and valleysin the business and each stock
market correction or recession,recession.
(21:27):
At the time we're going throughit it's painful and it's
frightening, but I think whatexperience brings you is
perspective and that's what'shelped Like this time.
It's helped me personallybecause I've lived through a lot
of this.
I see a lot of like my kids'age.
(21:48):
Kids in their 30s.
They only know one thing isprosperity.
I remember as a kid listeningto my grandparents that lived
through the Depression and Icould never relate to what they
had to go through and a lot ofthe way they dealt with their
finances and their approach toacquiring things you know was
(22:14):
completely different than youknow, my parents' generation.
And then, you know, take itdown to now to like the
millennials.
Tiffany Woolley (22:25):
Right, they don't know what to do with
adversity.
Lenny Felberbaum (22:28):
No, no.
And so I think that I feelresponsible as a business owner
in the community to be able togive accurate perspective on
what's going on, even though atthis point in time, it's so
fluid that nobody knows is itgoing to be two months, three
(22:48):
months, six months.
Is it going to be two months,three months, six months?
But, unlike other situationsthat we faced coming into this,
all of the fundamentals of theeconomy here were quite strong.
We're not over-leveraged.
Most of the low yeah, we have apretty low inventory Most of
(23:15):
the homeowners don't havemortgages.
The ones that do are wellqualified.
Put the appropriate amount youknow, 20% down.
Scott Woolley (23:23):
Now you have the Federal Reserve at almost zero.
Lenny Felberbaum (23:26):
I mean mortgage rates.
Are Mortgage rates are athistorical lows?
Scott Woolley (23:31):
I mean mortgage rates are at historical lows.
Yeah, I read that Zillow did astudy on previous I don't want
to say pandemics, but serioussituations like this, and their
study said that they believethat with this outbreak and so
forth, that once it's through,home prices are going to pretty
much stay the same.
We're not going to see a bigdrop.
(23:51):
So that's great for the realestate market in itself.
Lenny Felberbaum (23:58):
Yeah, I think you're going to see pockets.
You're going to see the majorcities like New York is going to
be harder hit than most, soyou're going to see.
Tiffany Woolley (24:08):
Well, they were being kind of harder hit with
taxes and everything People.
I feel like were coming thisway.
Lenny Felberbaum (24:14):
They've seen about a 20% to 25% drop off in
their market value of theirproperties from the high.
So it's all relative becausethey may not have bought high
I'm sure some did but it'sreally all relative to what your
(24:36):
basis is.
Just like in the stock market.
You could have lost $500,000 ina day, but you really don't
lose it until you sell it Right.
You have an opportunity.
Tiffany Woolley (24:49):
Still to wait for it to come back.
Lenny Felberbaum (24:52):
Exactly so.
Scott Woolley (24:53):
I think calmness has to prevail, See we believe
that once this pandemic we getthrough it, we believe that from
the from TW Interiorsperspective, business is going
to pick up quite a bit.
It will pick up because webelieve that most homeowners, or
people who are looking toeither move or change, are going
to probably stay where they areBecause, I think, home
(25:16):
construction is going to be alittle bit slower.
A third of all the buildingmaterials in this country come
from China, and China has beenshut down for two months, for
two months.
So there's a factor that'sgoing to affect the new home
building which will probably, webelieve, will have a good
(25:40):
effect for people who arelooking to upgrade and change,
so they're going to go intodecorating correct, I think that
when you quarantine people havebeen home now two weeks.
Tiffany Woolley (25:50):
They all want it done.
Lenny Felberbaum (25:52):
They're motivated.
Now we're in want it done.
They're motivated.
Now we're in for another month.
They're motivated.
And you're looking at.
Oh my God, either I love myhouse or I want to decorate it
Whereas you know, we're spendingmore time home and enjoying it.
Tiffany Woolley (26:08):
So do you have to get creative during this time
of?
I mean, is anybody looking athouses?
Are you emailing peoplelistings?
I know you just spoke about theconcept of even soliciting
right now.
Lenny Felberbaum (26:22):
There are people that are looking.
We have you know, in SouthFlorida we have people that move
down and are renting something,looking to buy the right thing
for them, so you do have thatand there are people looking at
showing.
Sunday I had one on Friday, butwe've had it change and
(26:43):
fortunately for us, being aGerman company, our technology
is really second to none, sowe've adapted.
We're doing a lot of videopresentations where we're
meeting with our clients viavideo.
I don't yet really think thatsomebody is going to buy a home
(27:06):
through a video, right, they'regoing to want to see it at some
point.
Tiffany Woolley (27:10):
So what about anybody coming down from the
north to quarantine to gothroughout this?
I've even noticed some of thaton social media.
There's been a lot of that canI rent a house to get out of?
Lenny Felberbaum (27:24):
we've had people willing to pay up to
$50,000 a month for a furnishedrental large enough for the
families.
In fact, last night one of myclients texted me because the
house across the street from herwas on the market and all of a
sudden there's like four or fivecars in the driveway and they
(27:48):
all have New York plates, and soI texted the agent who's
listing it in.
It was because it didn't looklike it was sold on MLS and I
said did you rent that house out?
And she said no, we actuallysold it at close this past
Friday and they moved in overthe weekend and that was.
(28:11):
Those were people getting out ofNew York.
So I think we're going to see atipping point.
You have a lot of convergingthings going on.
You have the baby boomers thatare now empty nesters that live
in the northeast and they're inhouses that are pretty much,
(28:34):
most of them, paid for and, um,even though that market's going
to take a hit, it's stillovervalued for what they are
invested in exactly so theycould come down here and buy a
nice home and be done with it.
I think, you know, I knowpersonally a lot of people that
have been flittering.
(28:55):
Do they stay up north becausetheir kids are up there or, you
know, do we have a better lifefor ourselves?
So I think this is a tippingpoint, because people that are
cooped up in apartments inManhattan or it's you know,
we're going to see a big influxof people coming.
Yeah, I mean down here, we'venot been as affected.
Tiffany Woolley (29:19):
I don't see the weather as good.
You're quarantined.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:21):
You're in a pool with your kids.
Yeah, you know they don't havethat up north.
It's still miserable.
Tiffany Woolley (29:28):
Some people don't even have balconies or
anything.
It's like you're literallyquarantined.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:34):
You're going to see a lot of babies being
born.
Tiffany Woolley (29:36):
I know and you're going to see a lot of
divorces.
I know I've seen all thosefunny memes.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:42):
It's true.
Tiffany Woolley (29:43):
There's a lot of good ones.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:45):
Well, so that gives me hope.
The creativity in the memes andeven the turnaround in
television commercials how we'veadapted to this is phenomenal,
and I think, as a country,that's who we are.
I think we're resilient, we'restrong, people aren't going to
(30:06):
give up, and what's unique aboutthis it's the enemy is totally
unidentified and it doesn'tdiscriminate against anybody
whether you're poor, wealthy youknow when you live, where you
came from, so we're all in ittogether, we're all in it
(30:27):
together, we've all beenneutralized and I think, as much
of an economic disaster thatthis has caused, I think there's
been a lot of good.
I saw a meme that said I guesswe all weren't getting along, so
(30:47):
God sent us to our rooms.
Tiffany Woolley (30:49):
I have that one too.
I love that one.
Lenny Felberbaum (30:51):
And when I saw that, I said that's exactly
what it feels like.
Tiffany Woolley (30:56):
It does and it does.
It makes us all take a stepback and look inside and spend
quality time with those we livein the four walls with.
I mean, I personally lovehaving my kids home, but when it
comes to me being home, I'malso wanting to redecorate my
(31:18):
house.
Lenny Felberbaum (31:21):
But it really is like a reset for everybody to
whether on a professional basis, work on your career Absolutely
, it's a good time to learn.
Tiffany Woolley (31:32):
To launch certain things.
I also saw one article like howmany businesses were built in
the recession of what was it2006?
Lenny Felberbaum (31:41):
or whatever.
Tiffany Woolley (31:42):
Yeah, all these amazing companies that came out
of that time.
Lenny Felberbaum (31:49):
Be proactive.
People are creative.
There's a lot of good thingshappening Just in Delray Beach.
In the town is one of my fellowrealtors formed a socially
distant supper club.
Tiffany Woolley (32:04):
Really.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:06):
I think they have about 3,000 members now.
Tiffany Woolley (32:08):
Okay, ian Patterson did it too.
It's the same one.
Ian Patterson did it too.
Yeah Well, it's the same one,ian.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:13):
Patterson and John Brewer.
Tiffany Woolley (32:14):
That's awesome, did it?
Scott Woolley (32:16):
For restaurants For restaurants.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:18):
So they pick a different restaurant every
night.
Yeah, we saw that they put amenu out like two days in
advance, so the restaurant couldactually prepare and be ready
for it and it's prettyinexpensive prices of what
they're charging.
Scott Woolley (32:30):
Yeah, very reasonable prices you call in, I
guess, and they prepare it andyou drive up out front and pick
it up and each night it'spromoting one restaurant, giving
that restaurant a surgence ofbusiness.
Exactly, yeah, we had one ofour favorite restaurants, one of
our favorite lunch stops.
Papa's Topics was last night.
(32:51):
Yeah, they did it last night wewere going to do it, but it was
like last minute for us.
Tiffany Woolley (32:58):
I know, I think there's going to be a lot of
great concepts that come about,and that's where, also, delray
shines where we live.
Scott Woolley (33:04):
That's kind of design.
It's designing a new businessand designing a new way of
trying to help out restaurantswho have been hurt, you know,
and two people who have put alittle bit of effort to that.
We know one of them.
It's a nice thing that they'redoing.
Lenny Felberbaum (33:20):
Yeah, it's a very nice thing.
Scott Woolley (33:21):
Because I think the night before was Flybird, I
think they did, or I know ParkTavern.
Lenny Felberbaum (33:28):
Park Tavern was Sunday night.
Yeah, I think Flybird was maybeFriday night and the owner
posted in Facebook that,thanking them that he made
payroll Isn't that amazing.
So it's sticking togetherInstead of hoarding our cash,
(33:54):
and we all bought toilet paperand a floor for a month, I know
right.
You know, do you stay?
Tiffany Woolley (34:02):
home and cook, or do you?
Lenny Felberbaum (34:04):
support these local businesses and I think it
makes us much more aware of howconnected we all are, because as
a community, the world is small, the world is very small and,
as a community, how we're reallydependent upon each other's
successes.
Tiffany Woolley (34:24):
I agree completely.
Lenny Felberbaum (34:26):
And I think the culture of our economy and
social media was really theopposite.
It was.
You know, people will climbover each other to get what they
want and the reality of it iswe're much better together and
(34:50):
you could spend an insane amountof money on the nicest car, but
if you have nowhere to go, whatgood is it?
You know and I really keepcoming back to the word reset I
think that you know, as asociety or a community, we're
resetting to a much simpler time.
Tiffany Woolley (35:15):
A little bit more neighborly too, which will
also be great for the market inthe long run too.
Lenny Felberbaum (35:21):
Yeah, it'll be much better for the market.
It's like I was tellingsomebody, like when you see an
accident on a highway, you slowdown Right and then, as soon as
they're out of sight, you speedup, and I'm hoping that people
don't forget what we've gonethrough.
It's just like you know livingthrough a hurricane.
Tiffany Woolley (35:44):
I know which is what it feels like.
Lenny Felberbaum (35:46):
It brings us all together and then, once
things get back to normal, it'slike every man for it for
themselves.
So, like even with my business,we have every tuesday brokers
open houses, so it's a time foreach of us to see each other's
listings because we, even thoughwe compete with each other, we
(36:06):
work cooperatively, together andcollaboratively.
And, um, you know, this is Iguess the third week that we
really haven't had that.
So I instituted on I'm doing iton Zoom a socially distant
(36:28):
social hour for realtors, andthe purpose of it is for all of
us to have an outlet to talk toone another.
You know other top producingagents.
And you know, even we invitedyou know everybody that's a
realtor in the Delray communityto join on it, because you know
(36:48):
we have about 24 agents and youknow some people do well, some
people don't do as well and theones that aren't are frightened,
so suffering.
And to them, I tell them thisis a great time.
I mean, there's so mucheducation online, there's so
many things that you could bedoing, master classes are
(37:09):
popular right now too.
Tiffany Woolley (37:11):
Exactly so many , I mean, even for our kids,
resetting online, I mean eventhough we want them to still
read books and learn handwritingand everything.
They also have been a littlebit behind on the technology, so
I feel like even myself it'skind of pushing me to open new
avenues.
Lenny Felberbaum (37:30):
Yeah, I mean I had a few years ago started
playing the guitar and then Igot just too busy to keep up
with the lessons and thepracticing, so I already did a
you know online, like someYouTube on playing some stuff.
Scott Woolley (37:46):
Teaching yourself , teaching myself how to play.
Lenny Felberbaum (37:56):
So you've been doing that during this sort of
downtime?
During this downtime, I've beenCoronavirus.
Tiffany Woolley (38:00):
So how much time do you give that to focus
on?
Lenny Felberbaum (38:03):
I've done probably an hour.
Tiffany Woolley (38:07):
That's fantastic.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:08):
You know an hour a day, I play the drums,
which I haven't really playedthat much, so I'm trying to do
things that I didn't do.
I've listened to albums which Ihaven't listened to in ages.
Tiffany Woolley (38:23):
I know music in the house every day too.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:25):
It's a whole different experience listening
to an album versus downloadingsongs listening to an album
versus downloading songs whenyou listen to the whole album.
It brings you back to exactlywhere you were.
Scott Woolley (38:36):
It's a different sound.
Also, we have the same thing inour house.
We have a record player.
We've got all our old records.
We do that with the kids everyso often it's a lot of fun.
I appreciate the difference inthe sound than the digital sound
, the sound you get out of therecord.
It's a lot of fun.
Well, I appreciate thedifference in the sound in the
digital sound the sound you getout of the record.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:55):
It's a much warmer.
Scott Woolley (38:59):
Well, we really appreciate you coming in today
and spending time with us.
It was my pleasure.
I know, and going over things.
I mean we wish you continuedsuccess with Angle and Volkers
and what you're doing here inthe South Florida area.
Voice Over (39:13):
I think you're doing some incredible things, so keep
it up, thank you iDesign Labspodcast is an SW Group
production in association withthe Five Star and TW Interiors.
To learn more about iDesign Labor TW Interiors, please visit
twinteriorscom.
This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and
curiosity meet style and design.
Curator of interiors,furnishings and lifestyles.
Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, aninterior designer and a style
enthusiast, along with herserial entrepreneur husband,
scott, idesign Lab is yourultimate design podcast where we
explore the rich and vibrantworld of design and its constant
(00:23):
evolution in style and trends.
Idesign Lab provides industryinsight, discussing the latest
trends, styles and everything inbetween to better help you
style your life, through advicefrom trendsetters, designers,
influencers, innovators,fabricators and manufacturers,
as well as personal stories thatinspire, motivate and excite.
(00:43):
And join us on this elevated,informative and lively journey
into the world of all thingsdesign.
Our special guest today is LennyFelberbaum, an extremely
accomplished entrepreneur.
Lenny is a fourth-generationrealtor.
Selling real estate is quiteliterally in Lenny's blood.
After attending the Universityof Miami, lenny entered the
family business developingcondominiums in Miami Beach.
(01:06):
By the late 2000s, lenny hadbecome one of the top real
estate producers in the PalmBeach County, florida.
In 2018, the international realestate firm Engel Volkers
announced that Lenny wouldbecome the licensed partner and
broker for Engel Volkers DelrayBeach, florida, placing Lenny
into an elite group of realestate advisors worldwide Of the
11,000 real estateprofessionals who represent
(01:28):
Engel and Volkers in over 30countries.
Lenny is one of less than 100advisors selected to carry the
title of Private Office Advisorin North America.
Today, lenny is one of the topreal estate brokers in South
Florida and has made anincredible mark in the South
Florida real estate market.
Lenny, thanks for joining ustoday.
Lenny Felberbaum (01:47):
Tiffany and Scott, thank you for having me.
Scott Woolley (01:50):
So you have the Engel Volkers real estate
business, shingle and DelrayBeach, that we know does a lot
of real estate business in theSouth Florida area.
You're, I'll say, a player inthe community business in this
South Florida area.
You're, I'll say, a player inthe community moving a lot of
real estate.
So a great question to ask youis design design in people's
homes and the way in which thedesign looks in their homes how
(02:13):
important do you think it is tohelping you in selling homes?
Lenny Felberbaum (02:18):
I would say that the design is probably the
most important factor.
Design is probably the mostimportant factor.
When you walk into a home andit's cohesive and has a feel and
a definition, it makes it much,much easier to sell.
And even if clients, potentialclients don't adhere to that
(02:43):
style, like if you walked into amodel, yeah, but people want I
think the models are good tosell things, but I think when
you're selling, like resalehomes, people get a feeling when
they walk into a home.
Scott Woolley (03:02):
So do you notice or do you recognize, when you're
walking into a home for thefirst time, or you're taking on
the listing, or you're showing ahome that maybe you don't have
the listing for, but it's yourfirst time you're seeing it, do
you notice or can you tellimmediately that this home was
put together by a group ordesigner, or the homeowner
(03:23):
really knew what they were doing?
Is there a comparison that youcan tell?
Lenny Felberbaum (03:27):
Absolutely.
You can tell pretty much rightaway how it looks.
In fact, I, just a couple ofmonths ago, sold a house that
was built in 1979.
And it was the people justpassed away and their children
were selling it and they spentthe house was about what it was
(03:50):
called 79, so like 80s vibe.
And they were telling me theycame from Great Neck.
Tiffany Woolley (03:58):
Long Island.
Lenny Felberbaum (03:58):
Okay, right, sophisticated they spent the
same amount the house was$300,000, and they spent
$300,000 on decorating it.
Scott Woolley (04:08):
What was the value then, when they were
trying to sell it?
Lenny Felberbaum (04:11):
All these years later, All these years
later.
Well, they got about almost alittle over $800,000 for it.
Tiffany Woolley (04:18):
So, it sustained the value.
Lenny Felberbaum (04:20):
Yeah, it sustained the value.
And what was interesting is wewere sitting in the living room
and there were three siblingsand their spouses and they
started laughing and I said, didI say something funny?
And they said no, we were justthinking at the same time.
Nobody's ever sat in thisliving room.
(04:43):
They had a beautiful diningroom table.
Scott Woolley (04:48):
That reminds me when I was a kid we weren't
allowed to sit in the livingroom, exactly.
Tiffany Woolley (04:52):
Well, it's like four-bedroom living rooms.
Scott Woolley (04:55):
My sister and I always used to say to my parents
why is it called a living room?
Because we certainly don't livein it.
We don't even go in it.
Lenny Felberbaum (05:04):
They hadn't even eaten in the dining room.
They used their den, theirkitchen and the bedroom, and
that was it.
Tiffany Woolley (05:12):
So when you sold it to the new homeowner,
was that somebody who actuallyappreciated that and wanted to
be able, or would they?
Lenny Felberbaum (05:21):
That's why.
I brought this up.
He walked into the house and helooked around and he said I
have to have this house Right.
And then he looked at his agentand he said I probably should
have said that in front of meand he's keeping most of the
basic elements.
He actually wanted to buy itfurnishedished and that
(05:44):
negotiation didn't work out, butthe cohesive way that it was
designed and I want to show youthe I would love to I want to
show you, because they had thewhole entry hall, was you?
know, floor to ceiling like oaktambour, wow, and all of the
(06:04):
doors I mean.
So it looked spectacular and itstood the test of time.
It absolutely stood the test oftime.
Everything was custom done.
A lot of built-in, a lot ofbuilt-ins, and the built-ins are
still like.
In the master bedroom and theliving room were absolutely
beautiful.
Tiffany Woolley (06:24):
They're not going to change in there, no,
and I feel like that style hasactually come full circle right
now again.
Lenny Felberbaum (06:31):
Yeah, they had beautiful, like a lot of the
tables and the lights wereshowing a lot of brass, which is
I've seen that come back, youknow it was a huge room so there
was a lot of seating areas butthe tables were really nice.
They had a really nice cardtable that was glass, chrome and
(06:55):
brass.
Tiffany Woolley (06:55):
I love it.
Lenny Felberbaum (06:57):
So I mean every part about it was really
interesting.
But to see the way the housewas truly decorated.
Tiffany Woolley (07:07):
It was like a turnkey.
Lenny Felberbaum (07:09):
Yeah.
Scott Woolley (07:13):
So let's go back to design, and today from a
design standpoint in SouthFlorida, because we're in South
Florida.
Tiffany Woolley (07:23):
A luxury market , I would say too, as well as a
vacation market.
Scott Woolley (07:28):
Are you seeing a particular design style that's
more popular than another?
Lenny Felberbaum (07:33):
Well, I would say, architecturally, you're
seeing a lot of modern homes,right how?
Do you feel about that and inthose homes you can only
decorate it one way.
One way it's got to be verymodern, correct and it's
beautiful to look at, appreciateit.
But it's not comfortable living.
Scott Woolley (07:56):
Right, but what happens then with the next
person who's?
When it's going up for sale?
It's limiting the amount ofbuyers because there's not a lot
of opportunity for looking atit and changing it, because to
change something like that is adramatic and drastic and
expensive undertaking.
Lenny Felberbaum (08:15):
Well, it's exactly what people that have
Tuscan homes are going throughnow Right, you can paint the
whole interior white and I thinkeven a Tuscan home you could
modernize it by colors andchanging materials, furniture.
A very, very modern home isvery hard to decorate in a more
(08:37):
traditional way Right ortransitional.
Tiffany Woolley (08:40):
Yeah.
Scott Woolley (08:41):
Or farmhouse.
Tiffany Woolley (08:42):
Right.
And how like do people, whenthey come to you, do they say
they want a specific feel, orwhat are they looking for?
Mainly A certain amount ofbedrooms or a certain amount of?
Lenny Felberbaum (08:57):
That's a good question.
Depends if it's a second homeor a first home.
Tiffany Woolley (09:01):
Right, I feel like that's big with decorating
as well.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:05):
Then they.
I think that they're lookingmore for light.
We feel like we sell alifestyle.
Tiffany Woolley (09:16):
Me too.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:17):
And that ties into decorating designing
because you're designing aroundsomebody's lifestyle.
So I have a house now that wehad it under contract and it
fell apart because of thecoronavirus.
It fell apart because of thecoronavirus, but the buyers
(09:40):
loved the design.
They had a lot of Lily Pulitzerdrapes.
Tiffany Woolley (09:44):
Wow.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:45):
And she asked for certain furniture and it was
two chairs that were kind ofLily Pulitzer Like a palm.
Tiffany Woolley (09:54):
Beach Regency.
Lenny Felberbaum (09:55):
Exactly and it matched the drapes in the room
and everything and the sellerwas so appreciative that they
liked the way she decorated thehouse that it really helped the
buyers.
Not knowing it, it helped themnegotiate a good price because
(10:18):
they were happy their home wasbeing enjoyed and loved again.
Who was buying it appreciated it.
You know you'll get people thatand most of my practice is
resale homes.
We do do a decent amount of newconstruction, but in downtown
Delray Beach we have a lot ofolder homes.
We do do a decent amount of newconstruction, but in downtown
Delray Beach we have a lot ofolder homes, so a lot of them
(10:40):
are resales.
So getting people to eitherlook around the design and
having the vision to make ittheir own or finding something
that looks like it would fitthem.
Scott Woolley (10:58):
Right and well.
In Delray those older homesthat you're talking about go
back 30 years, 40 years, and alot of them are being knocked
down or completely redone.
I mean, it's just a wholechange in the community of how
they're being done.
So I guess most people arelooking at it from a different
perspective and a design thatthey're not really looking at
(11:18):
what it is, but what they couldpossibly do with it.
Tiffany Woolley (11:21):
Exactly, but like take for example, the Lake
Ida area, which I love right.
I have a lot of clients in thatarea.
Lenny Felberbaum (11:30):
And it's got a lot of character because it
wasn't track built.
And you have a lot of characterbecause it wasn't track built
and you have a lot of old.
Scott Woolley (11:41):
Florida Ranch style.
Yeah, ranch style.
We've got a lot of style inthere.
You've got the canals in therethe two big lakes.
Lenny Felberbaum (11:50):
So what seems to be people have been doing
lately is just one style ofmodern Right and it's appealing
to a certain amount of buyers.
I think the big mystery orquestion is the resale.
The resale, and will it stay inthe test of time.
Tiffany Woolley (12:10):
Yeah, In Miami Beach they've been doing it
longer.
Lenny Felberbaum (12:12):
Yeah, In Miami Beach they've been doing it
longer.
Tiffany Woolley (12:14):
But Miami Beach , that architecture of the
modern I feel like, was not asmid-century.
I feel like it was more of thewhite, a lot of windows because
you're on the water or you're atthe beach view and it had more
of a deco circle, feel to itwhen now we're kind of—.
Scott Woolley (12:32):
And the sand.
It kind of went in with thesand because a lot of them are
on the beach but a lot of thesehomes in delray and in boker and
in boynton that are being done,you know, and around the
country, they're not necessarilyon the water or on the beach,
because I think of these ultramodern or very contemporary
homes to the homes that are outon, like on long island, in the
(12:54):
hamptons.
Tiffany Woolley (12:55):
Well, you just kind of know that that area like
there's all the modern homeskind of stick together in the
Hamptons versus them popping upin the middle of this adorable
little.
Lenny Felberbaum (13:05):
It's like it's a peppering of the neighborhood
, correct?
Tiffany Woolley (13:10):
What do you feel is the reaction of the
neighbors regarding that?
Lenny Felberbaum (13:15):
you're hearing A lot of the old timers, the
people that lived here,including a lot of the people in
the real estate business, don'treally care for it.
They feel it's very cold andsterile.
Scott Woolley (13:29):
Well, it's been hot for a while.
I think that the hotness ofthat is kind of tapering off.
Tiffany Woolley (13:37):
Well, and I feel like they're a little more
on the generic side.
But one thing about the designI've noticed regarding those
houses and the resale or theoriginal sale of these houses is
they all have a stagingatmosphere and I feel like all
the pieces are the same.
Lenny Felberbaum (13:57):
Do people viewing the houses ever pick up
on that.
I don't know if buyers actuallydo, but it's interesting that
you brought that up, becausethere's a handful of staging
companies Right and it's like arepeat.
There used to be a differencebetween them and now, in other
words, you would walk into a newhouse and you could tell who
staged it.
Tiffany Woolley (14:16):
Right.
Voice Over (14:16):
Now you can't, because they all look exactly
the same.
Lenny Felberbaum (14:21):
They have the same artwork on the walls the
black and white, and is it?
Tiffany Woolley (14:25):
really enticing people.
Lenny Felberbaum (14:30):
Yes, so it works.
It definitely works.
People I find most buyersYou're talking about staging.
Staging Most buyers don't havea vision, so then do they buy it
Most consumers, like once theybuy a house and now they're
moving into that empty house,don't have a vision of what it
(14:57):
can look like, or how are theygoing to make it look, which
brings.
Tiffany Woolley (15:03):
When they do the staging, do they purchase
the homes furnished at the end?
Lenny Felberbaum (15:08):
A lot of times they do, a lot of times they do
, especially in the newconstruction.
Tiffany Woolley (15:16):
Do you know with the staging, do they sign a
long term?
Is it a lease?
Lenny Felberbaum (15:22):
Yeah, it's usually a three month minimum.
Usually it's a six monthcontract.
Scott Woolley (15:27):
So, as a homeowner who's looking to sell
their house, staging it,realizing well, I don't have the
right furniture or it needs tobe changed and updated or
someone like you, you know, orsomeone on your team going in
and telling the homeowner who'slooking to sell their home, you
really should think aboutstaging this.
Lenny Felberbaum (15:48):
And staging, say it costs $30,000 to $40,000
to stage a house for six months.
Depending on the price range ofthe home and I would say this
is in the $2 million and uprange that expenditure will
(16:10):
usually bring you back three tofour times your investment but,
more importantly, it will getyour property sold.
Tiffany Woolley (16:20):
So is the staging and the decorating
companies that you're aware of.
Are they like interchangeableor how does it?
That's kind of an avenue I'mnot 100% familiar with.
Scott Woolley (16:29):
Well, you've stayed away from staging.
You basically have just focusedon developing a style and a
lifestyle for a person aroundthem and the couple or the
family.
You've had a lot of differentpeople come to you for staging.
Tiffany Woolley (16:45):
I like the process, the staging.
Scott Woolley (16:50):
Well, we did another podcast where we talked
about staging, because how Ilook at staging, it's temporary.
Lenny Felberbaum (16:59):
Exactly.
Scott Woolley (16:59):
Tiffany doesn't, and what she's done with TW
Interiors isn't temporary.
It's creating a lifestyle for afamily.
Tiffany Woolley (17:06):
It's an investment for the future, long
term and an investment for theirhome, hopefully, my clients
will have people like yourfriends that you just sold their
house, that love and appreciateit 30 years later, 40 years
later.
That's where my passion is asfar as that goes.
But I do find it so intriguingbecause, for example, in our
neighborhood there's a house forsale and they staged it and two
(17:29):
days ago, because we'requarantined and I'm riding my
bike, I saw them unloading allthe furniture and I was like I
know the house wasn't sold, butor they probably wanted to stop
paying for it, right.
I just found that so interestingthat it's like a lease, I guess
.
Lenny Felberbaum (17:47):
Yeah, you're basically leasing the furniture.
It's not to be used.
You know, like stagingcompanies don't rent furniture.
You know to be used, got it.
It's to be used in an emptyhouse.
And you know, and that's what'sinteresting, it's like when you
go to models and newconstruction and you see the way
(18:09):
the houses are decorated.
They look beautiful when youwalk through them, but if you
really look at it and sit downon the couch or get comfortable,
it's not comfortable.
No, they're scaled differently.
Tiffany Woolley (18:24):
Differently they're smaller, there's no
doors on anything, Exactly so.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:29):
it's a.
I guess it's like using anairbrush to touch up a
photograph.
You know, they put a lot ofcoverings on the wall.
Tiffany Woolley (18:41):
They are.
They're props, it's true.
Scott Woolley (18:43):
From my background of television and
film.
It's props.
It's temporary.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:47):
Like if you go to GL Homes they do a beautiful
job.
You go into their models.
I've never seen so many walltreatments.
Right All in one house, all inone house, but you know what?
Tiffany Woolley (18:58):
And ceiling details.
Lenny Felberbaum (18:59):
If you ever walked into a newly constructed
house that has no options.
It looks awful.
Tiffany Woolley (19:06):
I know.
Scott Woolley (19:07):
You know you see these expansive walls of
sheetrock, you know it looksawful and they do a brilliant
job of either wallpapering themor which is where most people
majority of people don't havethe vision for what you're
talking about for that wallcovering and what I should, what
they should use and what colorsthey should use, patterns and
(19:31):
layers, and when I even feellike for companies like a GL.
Tiffany Woolley (19:36):
You are buying a mass-produced home or a track
home, so how can you setyourself apart when your
neighbor might have the exactsame model as you?
Lenny Felberbaum (19:47):
Right.
Tiffany Woolley (19:47):
So you want to have some character and
personality brought into thatbig house of sheetrock.
Lenny Felberbaum (19:57):
Yeah, and I think in their case, the
designers that do that.
I think they get credit for itand they refer clients to it.
Scott Woolley (20:08):
So let's talk a little about what's going on in
the world today with this virus.
We know it's certainly hurtingthe real estate market and I
understand that at Engel andVolcker you've started and
implemented a few differentthings.
I know one thing especiallyyou've done to try to reach out,
to give more information.
Lenny Felberbaum (20:32):
Yes, we've been really proactive because we
feel that we're leaders in theindustry and that we feel a
responsibility to our clientsthat we give them accurate and
real information.
And I think, between myself andour firm, we were founded in
(21:04):
the 70s, which, coincidentally,is the same time that I kind of
got into the business world andyou know there's a lot of
experience there and we've seensince the 70s, starting with the
Arab oil embargo.
I've seen the peaks and valleysin the business and each stock
market correction or recession,recession.
(21:27):
At the time we're going throughit it's painful and it's
frightening, but I think whatexperience brings you is
perspective and that's what'shelped Like this time.
It's helped me personallybecause I've lived through a lot
of this.
I see a lot of like my kids'age.
(21:48):
Kids in their 30s.
They only know one thing isprosperity.
I remember as a kid listeningto my grandparents that lived
through the Depression and Icould never relate to what they
had to go through and a lot ofthe way they dealt with their
finances and their approach toacquiring things you know was
(22:14):
completely different than youknow, my parents' generation.
And then, you know, take itdown to now to like the
millennials.
Tiffany Woolley (22:25):
Right, they don't know what to do with
adversity.
Lenny Felberbaum (22:28):
No, no.
And so I think that I feelresponsible as a business owner
in the community to be able togive accurate perspective on
what's going on, even though atthis point in time, it's so
fluid that nobody knows is itgoing to be two months, three
(22:48):
months, six months.
Is it going to be two months,three months, six months?
But, unlike other situationsthat we faced coming into this,
all of the fundamentals of theeconomy here were quite strong.
We're not over-leveraged.
Most of the low yeah, we have apretty low inventory Most of
(23:15):
the homeowners don't havemortgages.
The ones that do are wellqualified.
Put the appropriate amount youknow, 20% down.
Scott Woolley (23:23):
Now you have the Federal Reserve at almost zero.
Lenny Felberbaum (23:26):
I mean mortgage rates.
Are Mortgage rates are athistorical lows?
Scott Woolley (23:31):
I mean mortgage rates are at historical lows.
Yeah, I read that Zillow did astudy on previous I don't want
to say pandemics, but serioussituations like this, and their
study said that they believethat with this outbreak and so
forth, that once it's through,home prices are going to pretty
much stay the same.
We're not going to see a bigdrop.
(23:51):
So that's great for the realestate market in itself.
Lenny Felberbaum (23:58):
Yeah, I think you're going to see pockets.
You're going to see the majorcities like New York is going to
be harder hit than most, soyou're going to see.
Tiffany Woolley (24:08):
Well, they were being kind of harder hit with
taxes and everything People.
I feel like were coming thisway.
Lenny Felberbaum (24:14):
They've seen about a 20% to 25% drop off in
their market value of theirproperties from the high.
So it's all relative becausethey may not have bought high
I'm sure some did but it'sreally all relative to what your
(24:36):
basis is.
Just like in the stock market.
You could have lost $500,000 ina day, but you really don't
lose it until you sell it Right.
You have an opportunity.
Tiffany Woolley (24:49):
Still to wait for it to come back.
Lenny Felberbaum (24:52):
Exactly so.
Scott Woolley (24:53):
I think calmness has to prevail, See we believe
that once this pandemic we getthrough it, we believe that from
the from TW Interiorsperspective, business is going
to pick up quite a bit.
It will pick up because webelieve that most homeowners, or
people who are looking toeither move or change, are going
to probably stay where they areBecause, I think, home
(25:16):
construction is going to be alittle bit slower.
A third of all the buildingmaterials in this country come
from China, and China has beenshut down for two months, for
two months.
So there's a factor that'sgoing to affect the new home
building which will probably, webelieve, will have a good
(25:40):
effect for people who arelooking to upgrade and change,
so they're going to go intodecorating correct, I think that
when you quarantine people havebeen home now two weeks.
Tiffany Woolley (25:50):
They all want it done.
Lenny Felberbaum (25:52):
They're motivated.
Now we're in want it done.
They're motivated.
Now we're in for another month.
They're motivated.
And you're looking at.
Oh my God, either I love myhouse or I want to decorate it
Whereas you know, we're spendingmore time home and enjoying it.
Tiffany Woolley (26:08):
So do you have to get creative during this time
of?
I mean, is anybody looking athouses?
Are you emailing peoplelistings?
I know you just spoke about theconcept of even soliciting
right now.
Lenny Felberbaum (26:22):
There are people that are looking.
We have you know, in SouthFlorida we have people that move
down and are renting something,looking to buy the right thing
for them, so you do have thatand there are people looking at
showing.
Sunday I had one on Friday, butwe've had it change and
(26:43):
fortunately for us, being aGerman company, our technology
is really second to none, sowe've adapted.
We're doing a lot of videopresentations where we're
meeting with our clients viavideo.
I don't yet really think thatsomebody is going to buy a home
(27:06):
through a video, right, they'regoing to want to see it at some
point.
Tiffany Woolley (27:10):
So what about anybody coming down from the
north to quarantine to gothroughout this?
I've even noticed some of thaton social media.
There's been a lot of that canI rent a house to get out of?
Lenny Felberbaum (27:24):
we've had people willing to pay up to
$50,000 a month for a furnishedrental large enough for the
families.
In fact, last night one of myclients texted me because the
house across the street from herwas on the market and all of a
sudden there's like four or fivecars in the driveway and they
(27:48):
all have New York plates, and soI texted the agent who's
listing it in.
It was because it didn't looklike it was sold on MLS and I
said did you rent that house out?
And she said no, we actuallysold it at close this past
Friday and they moved in overthe weekend and that was.
(28:11):
Those were people getting out ofNew York.
So I think we're going to see atipping point.
You have a lot of convergingthings going on.
You have the baby boomers thatare now empty nesters that live
in the northeast and they're inhouses that are pretty much,
(28:34):
most of them, paid for and, um,even though that market's going
to take a hit, it's stillovervalued for what they are
invested in exactly so theycould come down here and buy a
nice home and be done with it.
I think, you know, I knowpersonally a lot of people that
have been flittering.
(28:55):
Do they stay up north becausetheir kids are up there or, you
know, do we have a better lifefor ourselves?
So I think this is a tippingpoint, because people that are
cooped up in apartments inManhattan or it's you know,
we're going to see a big influxof people coming.
Yeah, I mean down here, we'venot been as affected.
Tiffany Woolley (29:19):
I don't see the weather as good.
You're quarantined.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:21):
You're in a pool with your kids.
Yeah, you know they don't havethat up north.
It's still miserable.
Tiffany Woolley (29:28):
Some people don't even have balconies or
anything.
It's like you're literallyquarantined.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:34):
You're going to see a lot of babies being
born.
Tiffany Woolley (29:36):
I know and you're going to see a lot of
divorces.
I know I've seen all thosefunny memes.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:42):
It's true.
Tiffany Woolley (29:43):
There's a lot of good ones.
Lenny Felberbaum (29:45):
Well, so that gives me hope.
The creativity in the memes andeven the turnaround in
television commercials how we'veadapted to this is phenomenal,
and I think, as a country,that's who we are.
I think we're resilient, we'restrong, people aren't going to
(30:06):
give up, and what's unique aboutthis it's the enemy is totally
unidentified and it doesn'tdiscriminate against anybody
whether you're poor, wealthy youknow when you live, where you
came from, so we're all in ittogether, we're all in it
(30:27):
together, we've all beenneutralized and I think, as much
of an economic disaster thatthis has caused, I think there's
been a lot of good.
I saw a meme that said I guesswe all weren't getting along, so
(30:47):
God sent us to our rooms.
Tiffany Woolley (30:49):
I have that one too.
I love that one.
Lenny Felberbaum (30:51):
And when I saw that, I said that's exactly
what it feels like.
Tiffany Woolley (30:56):
It does and it does.
It makes us all take a stepback and look inside and spend
quality time with those we livein the four walls with.
I mean, I personally lovehaving my kids home, but when it
comes to me being home, I'malso wanting to redecorate my
(31:18):
house.
Lenny Felberbaum (31:21):
But it really is like a reset for everybody to
whether on a professional basis, work on your career Absolutely
, it's a good time to learn.
Tiffany Woolley (31:32):
To launch certain things.
I also saw one article like howmany businesses were built in
the recession of what was it2006?
Lenny Felberbaum (31:41):
or whatever.
Tiffany Woolley (31:42):
Yeah, all these amazing companies that came out
of that time.
Lenny Felberbaum (31:49):
Be proactive.
People are creative.
There's a lot of good thingshappening Just in Delray Beach.
In the town is one of my fellowrealtors formed a socially
distant supper club.
Tiffany Woolley (32:04):
Really.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:06):
I think they have about 3,000 members now.
Tiffany Woolley (32:08):
Okay, ian Patterson did it too.
It's the same one.
Ian Patterson did it too.
Yeah Well, it's the same one,ian.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:13):
Patterson and John Brewer.
Tiffany Woolley (32:14):
That's awesome, did it?
Scott Woolley (32:16):
For restaurants For restaurants.
Lenny Felberbaum (32:18):
So they pick a different restaurant every
night.
Yeah, we saw that they put amenu out like two days in
advance, so the restaurant couldactually prepare and be ready
for it and it's prettyinexpensive prices of what
they're charging.
Scott Woolley (32:30):
Yeah, very reasonable prices you call in, I
guess, and they prepare it andyou drive up out front and pick
it up and each night it'spromoting one restaurant, giving
that restaurant a surgence ofbusiness.
Exactly, yeah, we had one ofour favorite restaurants, one of
our favorite lunch stops.
Papa's Topics was last night.
(32:51):
Yeah, they did it last night wewere going to do it, but it was
like last minute for us.
Tiffany Woolley (32:58):
I know, I think there's going to be a lot of
great concepts that come about,and that's where, also, delray
shines where we live.
Scott Woolley (33:04):
That's kind of design.
It's designing a new businessand designing a new way of
trying to help out restaurantswho have been hurt, you know,
and two people who have put alittle bit of effort to that.
We know one of them.
It's a nice thing that they'redoing.
Lenny Felberbaum (33:20):
Yeah, it's a very nice thing.
Scott Woolley (33:21):
Because I think the night before was Flybird, I
think they did, or I know ParkTavern.
Lenny Felberbaum (33:28):
Park Tavern was Sunday night.
Yeah, I think Flybird was maybeFriday night and the owner
posted in Facebook that,thanking them that he made
payroll Isn't that amazing.
So it's sticking togetherInstead of hoarding our cash,
(33:54):
and we all bought toilet paperand a floor for a month, I know
right.
You know, do you stay?
Tiffany Woolley (34:02):
home and cook, or do you?
Lenny Felberbaum (34:04):
support these local businesses and I think it
makes us much more aware of howconnected we all are, because as
a community, the world is small, the world is very small and,
as a community, how we're reallydependent upon each other's
successes.
Tiffany Woolley (34:24):
I agree completely.
Lenny Felberbaum (34:26):
And I think the culture of our economy and
social media was really theopposite.
It was.
You know, people will climbover each other to get what they
want and the reality of it iswe're much better together and
(34:50):
you could spend an insane amountof money on the nicest car, but
if you have nowhere to go, whatgood is it?
You know and I really keepcoming back to the word reset I
think that you know, as asociety or a community, we're
resetting to a much simpler time.
Tiffany Woolley (35:15):
A little bit more neighborly too, which will
also be great for the market inthe long run too.
Lenny Felberbaum (35:21):
Yeah, it'll be much better for the market.
It's like I was tellingsomebody, like when you see an
accident on a highway, you slowdown Right and then, as soon as
they're out of sight, you speedup, and I'm hoping that people
don't forget what we've gonethrough.
It's just like you know livingthrough a hurricane.
Tiffany Woolley (35:44):
I know which is what it feels like.
Lenny Felberbaum (35:46):
It brings us all together and then, once
things get back to normal, it'slike every man for it for
themselves.
So, like even with my business,we have every tuesday brokers
open houses, so it's a time foreach of us to see each other's
listings because we, even thoughwe compete with each other, we
(36:06):
work cooperatively, together andcollaboratively.
And, um, you know, this is Iguess the third week that we
really haven't had that.
So I instituted on I'm doing iton Zoom a socially distant
(36:28):
social hour for realtors, andthe purpose of it is for all of
us to have an outlet to talk toone another.
You know other top producingagents.
And you know, even we invitedyou know everybody that's a
realtor in the Delray communityto join on it, because you know
(36:48):
we have about 24 agents and youknow some people do well, some
people don't do as well and theones that aren't are frightened,
so suffering.
And to them, I tell them thisis a great time.
I mean, there's so mucheducation online, there's so
many things that you could bedoing, master classes are
(37:09):
popular right now too.
Tiffany Woolley (37:11):
Exactly so many , I mean, even for our kids,
resetting online, I mean eventhough we want them to still
read books and learn handwritingand everything.
They also have been a littlebit behind on the technology, so
I feel like even myself it'skind of pushing me to open new
avenues.
Lenny Felberbaum (37:30):
Yeah, I mean I had a few years ago started
playing the guitar and then Igot just too busy to keep up
with the lessons and thepracticing, so I already did a
you know online, like someYouTube on playing some stuff.
Scott Woolley (37:46):
Teaching yourself , teaching myself how to play.
Lenny Felberbaum (37:56):
So you've been doing that during this sort of
downtime?
During this downtime, I've beenCoronavirus.
Tiffany Woolley (38:00):
So how much time do you give that to focus
on?
Lenny Felberbaum (38:03):
I've done probably an hour.
Tiffany Woolley (38:07):
That's fantastic.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:08):
You know an hour a day, I play the drums,
which I haven't really playedthat much, so I'm trying to do
things that I didn't do.
I've listened to albums which Ihaven't listened to in ages.
Tiffany Woolley (38:23):
I know music in the house every day too.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:25):
It's a whole different experience listening
to an album versus downloadingsongs listening to an album
versus downloading songs whenyou listen to the whole album.
It brings you back to exactlywhere you were.
Scott Woolley (38:36):
It's a different sound.
Also, we have the same thing inour house.
We have a record player.
We've got all our old records.
We do that with the kids everyso often it's a lot of fun.
I appreciate the difference inthe sound than the digital sound
, the sound you get out of therecord.
It's a lot of fun.
Well, I appreciate thedifference in the sound in the
digital sound the sound you getout of the record.
Lenny Felberbaum (38:55):
It's a much warmer.
Scott Woolley (38:59):
Well, we really appreciate you coming in today
and spending time with us.
It was my pleasure.
I know, and going over things.
I mean we wish you continuedsuccess with Angle and Volkers
and what you're doing here inthe South Florida area.
Voice Over (39:13):
I think you're doing some incredible things, so keep
it up, thank you iDesign Labspodcast is an SW Group
production in association withthe Five Star and TW Interiors.
To learn more about iDesign Labor TW Interiors, please visit
twinteriorscom.
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