Old School Grit vs. New School Hype in the Real Estate Industry

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Is social media ruining real estate work ethic? We dive into the old-school vs. new-school mindset with Casey Hampton and Austin Pantuso. Volume, sacrifice, and the truth behind success in real estate.

In this unfiltered episode of the Key Factors Podcast – Real Estate AF, Mark Jones sits down with real estate veterans Casey Hampton (25+ year mortgage leader, formerly with D.R. Horton and Meritage Homes) and Austin Pantuso (broker and President of United Realty Group) to break down the massive shift happening in real estate and lending post-2020.

🔥 What we cover:

- Are agents and LOs relying too much on social media and not enough on skills?
- Is lead generation dead or just lazy?
- Why “part-time” real estate careers don’t cut it in 2025
- How today’s buyers are stuck in 2021 mindsets
- Real talk on wealth gaps, financial literacy, and homeownership strategy
- The new rules of building trust and referrals in a digital-first world

Whether you're a new agent, a seasoned broker, or somewhere in between — this conversation cuts deep into the mindset, work ethic, and education gap that’s growing in the real estate space.

📲 Want to empower your buyers with clarity and control?
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 — the smarter way to match homebuyers with the right mortgage programs.

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes every week!
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments — we read every one.

#RealEstateAF #KeyFactorsPodcast #CaseyHampton #AustinPantuso #RealEstateTruth #LoanBot #MortgagePodcast #LenderLife #RealtorLife #OldSchoolVsNewSchool #LeadGeneration #WorkEthic #HomeAffordability #MillennialMoney #GenerationalWealth

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (00:04):
Monday, get better, Tuesday, you better Tuesday too
better.
Five years, ten years, fifteenyears.
How much barrier you are beingmoney to get better every single
day?
That's the question why you isjust taking small steps.

SPEAKER_04 (00:36):
And welcome back to another episode of Key Factors
Podcast Real Estate AF, wherethe AF stands for and finance.
And I'm your host, Mark Jones,and we are powered by LoneBot,
Smarter Mortgage Matching, nowavailable on the Apple App Store
and Google Play.
Um, so guys, gals listening outthere, um, the last discussion
we have was with Tomas, um, andwe talked about gosh, his

(01:00):
journey.
We talked about um howmotivational speaking that he
does isn't really motivationalspeaking.
He's essentially just uh givingyou the roadmap of what he's
been through, and like I say,trying not to stand in the same
landmines that he did before.
Um, and today I wanted to have alittle fun um with some old

(01:22):
friends that I think will be apretty um insightful discussion.
We're gonna be talking about newversus old school.
Uh, and that's in regards torealtors, lenders, all of you
out there.
Uh so without further ado, letme introduce my guests.
I've got Casey Hampton.

SPEAKER_01 (01:39):
How are you doing?
Hey.

SPEAKER_04 (01:40):
Doing well?

SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
Freaking fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 (01:42):
I love it.
Looking fantastic as well.

SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
Thank you.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 (01:44):
And we're also joined by Austin Pantuso.
Austin, how are you?
Fabulous.
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (01:49):
How are you?

SPEAKER_04 (01:49):
I'm good.
I'm good.
Pull that mic closer to you so Ican hear you.
Happy to be here.
Yeah, as usual.
There we go.
Barry Manilo.
So uh at the beginning of thesediscussions, I give you guys a
moment to tell the folks who youare, um, a little bit about your
background.
Um, I don't want to say cliffnotes, but give us a little bit
more.
Who wants to begin?

(02:10):
Ladies, ladies first.

SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
Oh, look at 25 years in the business, mortgage, uh
primarily builder with portonfor 13 years, um, with Meritage,
Sitterly, uh, operations side.
So long time in the game.
Let's just that's I'm gonna doreal cliff notes, get to the
point.
Okay, as I always do.

(02:33):
We'll take it.

SPEAKER_05 (02:34):
Austin.
I gotta vouch for Casey becauseshe is like one of the best.
I can vouch for her too.
She's one of the best of thebest.
I've never met her for a longtime.

SPEAKER_04 (02:41):
I remember walking into D.R.
Horton building, uh, very wetbehind the ears, green
everywhere else.
Let's ask Casey.
You will know.
Casey was peeked her head outthe door and was like, Who are
you?

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Brand newbie.

SPEAKER_05 (02:55):
Yes, but very, very experienced.
So tell us, Austin, who are you?
I am uh a broker and presidentof United Realty Group.
We're located off of Blanco in1604.
We have owned a couplebrokerages.
We have two, but yeah, we rockand roll.

SPEAKER_04 (03:10):
Yeah, you do a little bit of business, a little
bit.

SPEAKER_05 (03:13):
Yeah, yeah.
Every now and then.

SPEAKER_04 (03:14):
So we're gonna be talking today um with no filter
about the changes um that haveoccurred in our industry, the um
we'll call it the personalitiesthat have joined our industry
and the work ethics that uh uhone side brings, one doesn't,

(03:35):
one does sometimes.
I mean, there's a lot of nuanceto this conversation.
Um, but I want to open it upwith the following.
How have you seen the industrychange over the last, let's call
it, 10 years?
Um Casey, you want to startthat?

unknown (03:51):
Woo!

SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
Yeah.
Last 10 years, we havedefinitely gone from true
marketing, visiting real estateoffices, as you probably
remember, a hand-to-handconnection to 100% social media.

SPEAKER_04 (04:04):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (04:05):
Connected but disconnected.

SPEAKER_04 (04:07):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (04:07):
Very much so.

SPEAKER_04 (04:08):
And and what's strange with that is back in
let's call it 2012, 2013, 2014,2015, I was one of those
individuals that was leveragingsocial media to capture
business.
Um and now have switched thatconcept to the boots on the
ground, shaking hands, uh,presentations in person.

(04:29):
Um and I'm seeing that withinour industry, there are plenty
of folks that get in, they throwa couple of social media videos
up and they get attention.
Does that mean they get deals?
I don't know.
Um, but definitely that is wherethe attention is going.

SPEAKER_01 (04:48):
A good one to two percenters.
The top two percenters, I wouldsay yes, the consistency, but
the top one to two percenterswere not always there.

SPEAKER_02 (04:55):
Agree.

SPEAKER_01 (04:56):
They have built and developed over the last like
five, six years.
So it's been very recent.

SPEAKER_03 (05:00):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
The some of these social media explosions.
Um, a lot of builders have justtaken on those concepts.
I remember back in the day wewere all into hot on homes.
Yeah, that was huge.
All that's gone.
Builder marketing departmentswere like really involved with
the real estate community.
They were doing the flyers, theywere doing the email blasts.
Now all builder marketingdepartments, not saying that

(05:21):
they don't do anything, they do,they still do something, but
it's not like it used to be.
It's literally now all salesagents in the builder
communities are realtors.

SPEAKER_04 (05:29):
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (05:29):
They got to go cross-sell, they gotta go run
around, get their own business,they got to do their own social
media marketing.
Whereas before, the sales agentssat in the community, they sold
that community, they focused onthat, and the marketing team did
the blast to the realtors.
Not that the sales agents didn'thave relationships with
realtors, they did, they had to.
But the marketing aspect wasmore focused on you focusing on

(05:50):
your neighborhood, the customerservice, I take care of my
community, to now just everybodyjust everywhere with all the
purpose.
It's it's really changed.

SPEAKER_04 (05:58):
Yeah, I have to agree with that.
Um, Austin, what's your take onthe last 10 years?
Let's call it.

SPEAKER_05 (06:03):
I think because a lot has happened in the last 10
years.
Like Casey said, that's how itused to be.
You used to boots on the ground,right?
You'd have to go, you'redropping off your cookies and
your cupcakes and whatever elseyou're real.

SPEAKER_04 (06:13):
Builder Pop eyes and realtor pop realtor offices,
right?

SPEAKER_05 (06:16):
You're trying to wine and dine your realtors,
right?
And then um COVID did, and thenyou were an order taker, right?
And then no one did any of that,correct?
Because they were just floodedwith business, um, including the
mortgage industry.
And now you're going back towhat you used to have to do,
which I think that's where a lotof people are falling behind.
They don't they don't know howto do that.

SPEAKER_01 (06:34):
It's different though, because we can't even go
back to we used to, because alot, because COVID got rid of
all the offices.

SPEAKER_05 (06:39):
Yeah, it did.
There's there's still officesthere, but you're right.
You're you're more reaching outto agents over email, calling,
texting, texting.
I mean, I get text all the time.
I know you do.
Yeah, so from from builders.
Um, but I think a lot ofbuilders have like lost their
way on how to actually reachagents.
It's difficult now because, likeyou said, the offices are not
there.
So it's it's a di and same thingwith with lenders, right?

(07:00):
I mean, you just get a bunch ofspam emails.
I don't open probably 90% ofthem.

SPEAKER_04 (07:04):
Absolutely correct.

SPEAKER_05 (07:05):
So um, because it's just another spam email, is what
it is.
Even even if I know the lender,right, or know who they are, I I
usually won't open it.
I get so many emails as it is.
You've got to be more creativethan that these days.
So the question is, how do yoube more creative to reach your
audience?
Right.
So answer that.
How?

SPEAKER_01 (07:22):
So, old school, I would say we gotta coming from
me being in the business 25years, you're a completely
retrained brain now.
You either get in the mode ofwhere it is today, or you
complain and you go away.
That's so true.
There's really no in between.

SPEAKER_04 (07:37):
So, so true.

SPEAKER_01 (07:38):
The social media is the way.
Yeah.
You know, you are co-brandingwith people.
A lot of realtors are nowco-branding with each other,
whereas usually it was dog eatdog.
Absolutely.
Because you only get paid onyour own deals.
Like that's the fact.

SPEAKER_03 (07:49):
True.

SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Well, some people, but anyway, we're not going to
talk about the king back people.
But anyway, keeping it factual.
Sure.
Okay.
True.
Um, you there's a lot ofco-branding, a lot of people
trying to partner up because thefact that it is so tough.

SPEAKER_02 (08:03):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
So you've got to catch on to what the new wave
and the new wave is socialmedia.
It is what it is.
Right.
And if you don't want to joinin, I'm not saying you can't be
successful that way, because Iknow tons of realtors that are
not literally blast it all overFacebook.
Sure.

SPEAKER_04 (08:16):
I'm one of them.
I don't blast out a bunch ofFacebook.
No, I know.
There's a lot.
Now, mind you, here's thedifference is the folks, more of
the folks that we're talkingabout now, don't have the
experience, don't have the timein the business, the tenure.
Yeah.
Well, and it's it's not evenjust tenure, because I know
plenty of agents that you get onthe phone and I've been in the
business for X amount of years,but you don't know shit.

(08:38):
How much they did while theywere in the business.
Yes, sir.
That's key.
You are absolutely one that wasin the trenches.
You were boots on the ground thewhole time.
Uh absolutely.
And and a lot of the folks thatare, let's call it, getting the
attention from the social mediapost, great videos.

(08:59):
A lot of them arenon-educational, which I don't
see that is the type of contentI put out there.
But unfortunately, most don'twant to learn.
So it is what it is.
So you've got to throw some dumbstuff in there at the same time
to get their attention.

SPEAKER_05 (09:13):
Well, and you can only see so many nice houses,
picture, you know, pictures andvideos of nice houses, right?
I mean, and that's that's kindof what they teach you too.
It has to be something that umis is informative and really
like hits home with people andnot just showing a nice house
all the time.
But you do that kind of content,you get no views, Austin.
You know what I mean?
It I think it just depends onwhat you do.
And they want witty, they wantfunny, sure, right?

(09:36):
Catchy.
That's what people like.

SPEAKER_04 (09:38):
And then the next the next uh tier to that concept
is if I get all the attention,now what?

SPEAKER_05 (09:45):
What uh what I think.

SPEAKER_01 (09:47):
That's the biggest part is the education because I
think we've been around longenough to where we saw everybody
do the mass leave from KellerWilliams to exit.
Yep.
That was a big explosion.
Absolutely.
The EXP we see.
The big issues with thosedevelopments and why a lot of
that fizzled, which you and Italked about, was because you
can get the masses under you,but you don't have time to still

(10:10):
be productive and educate andtrain a whole bunch of people
under you because you get thatmulti-level marketing residual.
Sure, sure.
But then you've got all thesepeople that are closing one deal
every five, six months, and theydon't have the knowledge because
there's not enough time for youto bring on the masses.

SPEAKER_04 (10:25):
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
So I also follow your business.

SPEAKER_04 (10:28):
I have a theory on EXP may not like it, uh uh Real
may not like all of them.
But at the end of the day, whenthat started, it was the idea of
we're gonna go cloud-based.
This is going to be a bunch ofprofessionals that know what
we're doing.
We don't need the other stuff,the fluff, but then it quickly

(10:50):
shifted to a multi-levelmarketing type uh pitch, so to
speak.
You can make money and gainstock shares and this and that
when the whole idea of this isnot to close business.
I mean, is it not to sell homes?

SPEAKER_01 (11:04):
Right, still be a realtor.
Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 (11:07):
And I feel as though the new wave is more focused on
recruiting than recruitingbuyers and sellers.
What would you think?

SPEAKER_01 (11:18):
I think it's a combination.
It's a combination of they wantto get the masses under them
because obviously numbersequates dollars.

SPEAKER_03 (11:24):
Sure.

SPEAKER_01 (11:25):
But the scary thing is it's just it's just I don't
think there's just enoughtraining out there for all those
agents.

SPEAKER_04 (11:32):
I would actually say that there's plenty of training
out there, but there's notenough um follow-up, follow-up,
follow-through enough uh uh uhhand holding initially that or
the mindset of that individualthat is seeking training is the
person that still is going tothe trainings that aren't doing

(11:56):
what the training is saying todo.
Because honestly, how manytrainings can you go to before
you start actually putting itinto effect?

SPEAKER_05 (12:04):
Yeah, I mean, if you have no clients, it doesn't
matter, right?
Absolutely matters.
Yes.
So it's it's learning how togenerate that's what most agents
struggle with is learning how togenerate business.
They don't know how to generatebusiness.
So that's it's difficult.
And usually you go with yoursphere of influence first, which
is like four people your aunt,your uncle, your mom, your dad,
your brother, right?
And then after that, then theydon't know how to generate more
business.
And it is difficult, especiallyin this market.

(12:25):
It's very difficult.
And I don't want to knock anyother brokerage because they all
have their own method.
That's not what we're doing.
Their own technique, right?
So, you know, um, and yes, I Ithink if you're focusing more on
recruiting instead of producing,it's eventually going to be a
failing model, right?
Because you you have to haveproduction to keep a brokerage
going.
That's the lifeblood of abrokerage, right?
Absolutely.
So you have to have production.
But in all honesty, we know weknow the stats, like 90, you

(12:48):
know, 90% of the realtors, 10%of the realtors do 90% of the
business.
That's right.
Yeah, 10% of the realtors do 90%of the business.
It really is true.
They say 80-20, but especiallyin San Antonio, it's true.
You see the same guys and girlspopping up over and over and
over again.
Absolutely.
Right.
So the question is how do theydo it?
And that's what I tell ouragents.
You just have to be better thanthe 90%.

SPEAKER_04 (13:07):
Well, I mean, also taking a step back, what is the
best form of training you canpossibly get?
Shadowing.
Hands-on.
Hands-on, shadowing.
Doing it.
I mean, the best way I learnedis when it kicked me in the tail
and I lost something, eithermoney, time, whatever.
But I learned.

SPEAKER_01 (13:23):
Implementation is going to help retention.
That's the bottom line.
If you can't implement it, youit's very hard to retain it.
If you teach me something fromFebruary of this year and then
you ask me to repeat it inNovember, I'm like, You're
right.
I don't remember.
But implementation is what youneed for retention.

SPEAKER_05 (13:38):
But but their excuse is going to be I don't have
clients.
So how am I going to gethands-on?

SPEAKER_04 (13:42):
So then why are you going spending your time going
to trainings when you should bespending your time prospecting?

SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
You should do both.

SPEAKER_05 (13:49):
You should do both.
But again, shadowing is thealternative.
You get with an agent who'ssuccessful, shadow them, let
them assign you tasks, and youlearn.
Right.
We've talked about this on adifferent discussion.

SPEAKER_04 (14:01):
Um matter of fact, with Rick Garza uh and probably
JJ, we were basically talkingabout the idea of back in the
day, including myself, when Igot in the business, I was
shadowing.
Anyone that would allow me to.
I'm hey, you got a customer, andthat was when we met face to
face.
So I'm like, can I sit over herein the corner?
I'll I promise I won't sayanything.

(14:22):
I just want to see how you paintthis picture to them, etc.
I didn't get paid to do that.
He didn't pay me.
Nobody paid me to do that.
It's worth its weight in goldalready.
The knowledge juice.
But would you agree or disagreethat today's generation of
realtors, today's generation oflenders, feel like they need to
be making money in everythingthat they're doing to I don't

(14:46):
even want to say entitlement.
It's more of a um money.

SPEAKER_01 (14:52):
That and they've seen it on social media, so
therefore the problem is they'renot the problem is that the
problems are not being put onsocial media.
You're not seeing, like, you'renot gonna see the hours that I
spent when I was a top producerat Horton.
You're not gonna see that I work17 days a week, 24 hours a day,
getting calls at 7 a.m.
on a Sunday, getting calls at 9,10, 11 o'clock at night during

(15:14):
the week.
Can you just do this pre-callfor me really quick?
Can you do the masses?
You know, for me to close forthat year that I had my last
year there where I closed 520loans for that year.
Boom.
I remember that.
I had to do how well and Ididn't have a team.
Right.
You know, that the LO's justhave one assistant.

(15:35):
And for that, you know, theydon't do my prequels.
I pre-call.
Oh, you touched every file.
I get my collect my own incomedocuments, and then you hand it
to the LOA who submits it to theunderwriter.
And then if it gets suspended,you're responsible for it to get
it approved until it getsassigned to a loan processor.
Yeah.
That's how it was there.
And so nobody sees the timeswhere I'm coming and getting off

(15:56):
at one, two o'clock in themorning.
Yeah.
And sometimes staying, well,when the office with the old
location.

SPEAKER_05 (16:01):
I saw because I was calling.

SPEAKER_01 (16:02):
You did.
And I loved him and his dad.
Love working with the Pantriesofamily.
But you know, they don't seethat.
So because they see that and allthey see now are just, hey, we
got these cute home balloons andthe decorations for people's
closing date, but they don't seewhat the realtors and the loan
officers are dealing with.
If you want to be a volumerealtor and a volume loan
officer, people want the volumeand the paycheck.

SPEAKER_02 (16:25):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
But then when you get into it and you realize the
hours and the stress, if youdon't have a barrier to be able
to not, shall we say, absorbpeople's energies, you'll crack.
Because for me, I'm not sayingI'm cold-blooded, but I'm just
saying I can sit on a phone andlet you cry and let it all out.

(16:46):
And I just let it out, honey.
While I'm working, okay, I hearyou.
Okay, gotcha.
Some people retain all thatsadness and negative energy in
the pain.

SPEAKER_03 (16:55):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (16:56):
And then they take that and then they take that on
to the next buyer.
Correct.
And the next buyer's wanting totalk to you and they're excited
and ready to go, but they'rehearing your energy because you
just got brought down by thisnegative Nelly who's been
blowing you up.

SPEAKER_00 (17:06):
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (17:07):
And that's the same thing is with lenders with
realtors.
You may have one realtor thatfeeds you a bunch of crap deals,
but you're that loan officerthat's like, I want the
business, I need it.
And I teach them in time, allbusiness is not good business.
Amen.
But what I tell you and what youlearn, two totally different
things.
But in time, every loan officerthat I have said that to has
eventually been like, you wereright.

(17:29):
I had to cut off some ties withsome realtors because they blew
up my phone.
They were bleeding me dry witheight, nine, 10 o'clock
pre-calls at night.
Then they were running to thebuilders, getting the incentives
and the rate buy downs.

SPEAKER_04 (17:40):
Yes, they didn't appreciate your time.
They didn't respect what you doas your craft.
Um, and for those that are uhlistening to this, watching
right now, and going, oh my God,500 deals.
Well, she was hand fed.
Okay, my question to you is whenwas the last time you closed a
hundred?

unknown (17:57):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (17:57):
I mean, just and in answer to that, technically,
from an extent, just giving theDR Horton with Horton and their
loan officers, you are to anextent correct.
Um, my numbers were above,obviously, definitely above
average.

SPEAKER_04 (18:09):
Definitely above average.

SPEAKER_01 (18:10):
Because I was mainly the number one loan officer in
San Antonio and then the numberone in the nation for two years.
Um, those numbers are waydifferent.
Oh, sure.
Um, and that is absolutelycorrect.
As a builder loan officer, youare fed deals.
As a DHI loan officer, you dohave to you get what you're fed.
You're not assigned communities,you're not assigned sales
agents.
Right.
The business is brought to you.

(18:31):
Absolutely correct.
Yeah.
And then based on your skilllevel and your abil ability to
call people back.
Sure.
But when I started at Horton,when I came there, I didn't know
anybody.
They found me on Career BuildCareer Builder.
I didn't, I never applied forthem.

SPEAKER_04 (18:44):
But even still, I don't want you to downplay what
that is because the idea oftouching that many deals.
Yes, yes, a lot of experience.
Not only experience, but youhave to have your shit so
together and and and well umsegmented and streamlined that
man, that's a lot oftransactions.

(19:06):
And in addition, I would imaginethat your surveys are off the
charts as well because you'reable to provide that great
customer service, thesolution-based oriented type
loan officer, because let's faceit, you don't get to that point
closing your a paper deals.

SPEAKER_01 (19:23):
Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_04 (19:23):
You just don't.

SPEAKER_01 (19:24):
DPA, TSHAC, TDHCA, MCC, USDA, rapid rescores,
whatever it is, credit repair,you are getting with that
demographic of buyer, you aregetting everything.
Yeah.
But it's okay.
I enjoy it.
I loved it.
That was a great time for me.

SPEAKER_03 (19:38):
Sure.

SPEAKER_01 (19:38):
Praise God.
I'm blessed for it.
But uh the thing about it is inregards to volume, everybody
sees the numbers on social mediafor loan officer, top loan
officer or top realtor, and theywant it.
And then they get in it andthey're crying at night from
their stress.
And that's what you don't see onsocial media.

(19:59):
All the people in the last 25years that I've known that have
gotten divorces.

SPEAKER_04 (20:02):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (20:03):
Um, who have unfortunately been able to not,
you know, see their childrengrow up.
They don't show, they do showyou the pictures of, oh, I'm at
my kids' game on the weekend,take a picture, and then when
the camera goes down, thatlaptop comes right back up.
And they're working while thekid is out there.
And I'm not trying to say thatevery parent is not a good
parent.
Parents are amazing and blessed.
But in this industry, as arealtor, sales agent, loan

(20:24):
officer, if you want to be whereyou think I was or whatever, you
are going to be unfortunatelytied to a phone or a laptop.

SPEAKER_04 (20:32):
Sacrifice, tons of sacrifice.

SPEAKER_01 (20:34):
And I didn't have children.
My biggest kid was my husband,you know.

SPEAKER_04 (20:38):
Shout out, Jeff.

SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
And he's in the industry.
So because we speak the samelanguage, it's easier.

SPEAKER_04 (20:44):
But now, question for you, uh, because my wife's
in the industry as well.
Did you guys, and this is superside note, just because I want
to know.

SPEAKER_01 (20:52):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (20:52):
Did when you got home, did you guys talk about
mortgage and real estate?

SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
I did.
I didn't give a damn.

SPEAKER_04 (20:58):
I love it.
I love it.

SPEAKER_01 (20:59):
I'm like, you're a kid.

SPEAKER_04 (21:00):
I couldn't do it.
Now it it's kind of uh inherent.

SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
Um he tries not to.
He gets the attitude.
He's from New York thing.
And I'm like, whatever.
This hoe was pissing me off.
And uh, you know, calling me 25times in a row, and the 26th
time she called me, I didn'tanswer.
It's like, oh, I can't reachyou.
Listen, honey, I've been talkingto you.

SPEAKER_05 (21:19):
It's your time to 7 o'clock before.
She had an event.

SPEAKER_01 (21:23):
She didn't have to be a good one.
But yeah, I still would.
And and he would try to shut itdown, but he couldn't.
It's just, it's when you docertain volumes, it's in your
blood.

SPEAKER_03 (21:31):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (21:31):
Seven days a week, like on the weekends.
But I absolutely love mycoworkers.

SPEAKER_04 (21:36):
Sure.

SPEAKER_01 (21:36):
That that's the trick.

SPEAKER_04 (21:38):
That's a huge bonus.

SPEAKER_01 (21:39):
The sales agents that I have worked with have
been family, like I have seentheir kids grow up.
I have been to their weddings, Ihave been do other things and
parties.
And when you have that love forthem, I don't care if you're
calling me eight, nine, teno'clock at night because you're
not calling me to check to seehow my hair looks.
Yes.
You're calling me because we'reabout to make some money, and
because I love working with you,I'm like, let's go.
Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 (21:57):
And that actually brings up another point or
question of topic, which is theconcept of relationship
building.
Um, that's back when I was doinggunslinging type loans, not the
numbers that you were, but bygolly, they were pretty good
numbers.
We it was built off ofrelationships, uh, give and
tape, reciprocation, um,respecting one another, knowing

(22:21):
what the other side has to gothrough to get that deal across
the finish line.
Not just the lender, not justthe realtor, but uh
collaboratively, including thelisting agent.
It was built on relationships.
Um do what you say you're gonnado when you say you're gonna do
it, and then do it.
Are you seeing a difference?
And this is for you, Austin,because you you get to deal with
the most of the realtor side ofthings.

(22:43):
You've got realtors underneathyou.

SPEAKER_05 (22:45):
That's where the disconnect's at right now.
Yeah, that's where thedisconnect is, right?
Social media doesn't help that.
Um and I tell people like, ifyou can learn how to generate
referral business, you neverreally have to market a day in
your life.
You should be marketing, still,right?
But you don't have to.
And I tell all our agents, like,my clients, they become my
friends and then they become myfamily.
Yeah.
And that's how I operate.
And I mean, they are, they'relike my family, you know.

(23:05):
I do anything for them.
I'm going to their kids'birthdays, right?
Yes.
And we're spending holidaystogether, and they're coming to
my house.
And we're, you know, I'mthinking about them all the
time.
I'll call them and just to checkon them because I generally
care.
They they know if you don'treally care and you're just
calling to absolutely try andget business out of them.
And I'm never, yeah, if it's atransactional, and I'm never
doing that.
Like I'm really, I really careabout them.
Um, and I think like we weretalking about realtors wanting

(23:29):
money for every little thingthey do.
Yes.
I think it's just it it dependson their life situation, right?
If they have bills to pay, it'shard not to think that way.

SPEAKER_03 (23:37):
Right.

SPEAKER_05 (23:37):
To think, hey, I I have to get paid for what I'm
doing, right?
And I need to make money to payfor my car or my kids' school or
whatever it may be.
So being able to switch that offand not think about the
commission of the money andconsider your client only, that
is the key to success.
It really is.

SPEAKER_04 (23:53):
Well, now you're you're talking about something a
little bit deeper than than atthe surface level.
And that that's the idea of ifthat is your concern, if that is
your struggle at the moment, isthis the right industry for you?
And and the reason why, and I'llpreface and frame this as much

(24:15):
as I possibly can.
Uh, I was on a uh social mediagroup for lenders, and somebody
uh commented or put a post outand said something along the
lines of um, is it possible tobe a top-producing lender
part-time?
And you've got all these peoplegoing, Yeah, it's possible,

(24:36):
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
Go for it.

SPEAKER_04 (24:40):
And then finally I saw somebody say, Absolutely
not.
Like, what are you thinking?
This is an industry where you'vegot to give it your all.
I came back behind them andsaid, Okay, so if you,
part-timer, are the one that isthe customer now, do you want to
work with somebody that's doingthis part-time and part-time of

(25:00):
the deals and part-time of theexperience?

SPEAKER_05 (25:03):
But it's a double-edged sword, right?
What if you want to get into theindustry?
Okay, but most people livepaycheck to paycheck.
We all know that better thananyone.
A lot of people do.
Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_04 (25:12):
And is not the first one of recommendations or or or
tips that realtors give, thatlenders give, if you're getting
into this business, make sure tosave up at least three to six
months.

SPEAKER_05 (25:23):
That's usually what they say.
But most people can't even dothat.
I agree.
Right.
And they want to get into thebusiness.
So why?

SPEAKER_04 (25:28):
Because they saw something on social media,
somebody flashing theirclosings, they're watching.

SPEAKER_05 (25:32):
Or whatever, right?
They think it's easy.
And I understand that, right?
But that shouldn't be a reasonwhy you don't try.
It's just you have to beprepared for that.
It's this is a business whereyou crawl before you walk, you
walk before you run, and you runbefore you fly.
It takes a very long time to.
I remember I was I remember fiveyears in, I was thinking, man,
if I can just close like onehome a month, I'll be doing
really, really good.
You know, one, and that's fiveyears in.

(25:54):
Five years in, right?
And don't get me wrong, I got in2007, right?
But a bubble burst.
So that didn't help, but that'skind of like we're in like a
2014 market right now, right?
2015 market.
It's it's a lot slower than itwas, right?

SPEAKER_04 (26:06):
So 2014 to 15.

SPEAKER_05 (26:09):
I was in there, we were we were killing it.
Don't get me wrong, it was stillgood, it's not bad.
It's just it's not it's not2022, it's not 21.

SPEAKER_04 (26:18):
I'd have to say that the sentiment and perspective
and perception of potentialhomeowners, buyers, is totally
different than what it was backthen.
Uh, there was not as much masssocial media, there was not as
much talk about politicseverywhere you look.

(26:38):
Um the idea of information beingreadily available, good, bad, or
indifferent, they're going tofind it formulating their own
opinions.
Whereas back then, your parentswere still telling you the best
thing you can do is buy a home.

SPEAKER_05 (26:54):
And it's funny, you see a lot of like big gurus on
finance say that you shouldn'tbuy a home.
Oh my God.
I'm going, huh?
Yeah, I completely disagree.
I mean it's it's one of thereasons why, at least for me,
why um I thank you know, thankGod that I've been somewhat
successful because I own realestate.
That's right.
So financially, if if that makessense.
So one of my best improvements.

SPEAKER_01 (27:15):
Correct.
Pricing is all gonna skyrocketand go up.
Sure.
Can you explain that topic realquick for the for the folks uh
in the back?
For the people in the back.

SPEAKER_04 (27:22):
Yes, please.

SPEAKER_01 (27:24):
I mean, bottom line is when those rates start going
down, it turns quickly into aseller's market.
Sellers know that the buyers aregonna flood out.
That's right.
They are going to raise theprices of their homes because
that is inevitable.
That's what's gonna happen.
So you're just going to have anoffset of, okay, great.
Now you're back to getting a 4%rate or a 3.99, which is no

(27:44):
longer being bought down by thebuilder.
Correct.
It's market rate.
Yep.
That's gonna happen.
Yeah.
And then now the sellers arejust gonna skyrocket their
prices because there's gonna bemore buyers out there that can
buy.

SPEAKER_04 (27:55):
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (27:55):
And then you're gonna go back into another
situation of a COVID situation.
Everybody overbidding,outbidding homes.
Yeah, then you're gonna go intothe situation that we're in now
post-COVID of a bunch of peoplehaving negative equity because
they bought too high duringCOVID because there was price
gouging.
Yes.
And so now you got people.
I can't tell you this year, Ican tell you this year, I've had
three people come back to methat I did during COVID.

(28:16):
They're getting divorced now.
And they cannot sell theirhomes.

SPEAKER_05 (28:20):
No, because they're competing against the bills.
2021 to 22, you're gonna havetrouble, right?
Yes, you're gonna have trouble.
19 to 20.

SPEAKER_01 (28:26):
I would say 19 to 23, just about 23 was the the
the ending.

SPEAKER_05 (28:29):
It really took off in in like late 2020.
I have people selling homes at2019 around there.
That they're okay.
2019 was a damn good year.
I bought mine in 2019.
But 2020 is when it reallybought for sure.
Is when it really, really tookoff.
And we're at like, you know,because I'm big on stats.
We talk about stats all thetime, right?
So um, we're at like a about a10% decrease from the peak of of

(28:51):
the market for prices.
And would you consider that acorrection?
I wouldn't consider it acorrection.
No, I would consider I wouldconsider it I wouldn't say
correction.
That's that's just more back tonorm.
Things got out of something thatwe've never seen before.
My dad's been doing it 42 years.
He's never seen that happen.
So does not back to norm meancorrecting?
I wouldn't say I wouldn'tconsider it a correction.

(29:12):
Things got way out of hand.
They did.
They got way out of hand.
It's a little bit of all theabove.

SPEAKER_01 (29:17):
I understand.
It's just it's playing with it'swordplay.
Wordplay.
Yeah, yes.
What are they calling?
I mean, giving people a gutcheck.
It's really 2025 is a gut check.
It's really putting a halt onthe COVID years, unrealistic
interest rates, unrealisticpurchase prices.
2025 is just really just puttinga halt to the cray cray.
The thing about it is theexplosion that you're seeing in

(29:37):
the industry, though, are youngpeople.
Yes.
So young people don't have thehistorical data to say, hey
guys, guess what?
These rates are good.
Not that they're notknowledgeable and they can't get
it.
That's not fair to generalizeeverybody.
But most of the people thatwe're dealing with don't have
the historical data that they'retrained to say, hey, five and
six percent are actually great.

(29:57):
Because I remember when I wasquoting 5.75 and 5.5% And a
half, like back in my head,because that was great.

SPEAKER_05 (30:02):
Okay.
So this is where I'm going todisagree.
Okay.
I'm going to disagree on that.
Okay.
Do it, Austin.
Do it.
So and here's why.
So because you got the argument,oh, rates were 18% in the 80s,
whatever it may be.
I know where you're going withthat.
That's what people, that's whatusually people say, right?
Yes.
And then you can talk about thehousing was different prices, et
cetera.
That income, different prices.
That's key.
So even at five or six percent,when you're when you're doing a

(30:24):
builder rate and you're getting$399 or whatever, right?
But we're also not making$20,000.
That's fabulous.
You know, I I understand.
I understand.
But in San Antonio, when theaverage person makes what$28K a
year.
Incorrect.
Right?
What are they making$30K a year?
What do they make?

SPEAKER_04 (30:40):
Oh$65,000.
One person.
60 to 65,000.
And here's the problem with thestats that people blab, okay?
If you include ages 18 to ages20 something, 20, I think you
those are still beginner jobs.
You can do that.
I mean, you brought young age, Ibought it a young age.

(31:00):
We are the what is it called?
The anomaly.

SPEAKER_05 (31:03):
The exception to the rule.
But they are saying that thehome buying age is going higher
and higher for first-timehomebuyers.
And younger, younger.
So that's that's an issue.
So you're right.
The older generation, they'redoing okay, but the younger
generation, in my opinion, isgetting they're getting
decimated right now.
They're having they're havingtrouble.
And I help a lot of thosebuyers.

SPEAKER_04 (31:20):
I personally think that that's the problem right
there with those people is we'rehaving that sympathy to say,
hey, you're having a tough time.
And I know affordable housing istough, but they're also
unwilling to go, you know what?
It's my first home.
Let me go find that$150,000house that I can actually

(31:40):
afford.
It might be a shit show.
That's what I'm saying.
Where are you going to go findthat?
They're there.
They're very difficult to do.
To it.

SPEAKER_01 (31:48):
Lenar?

SPEAKER_04 (31:49):
I mean, they're there.
They are there.
But the mindset and thesentiment is still stuck in
2020, 2021 of I can buy$300,000and it's only going to be a
$1,700 payment.
And it's it's not.
It's just not.
That's what it's never shouldhave been.

SPEAKER_01 (32:11):
But usually the first touch, I would say what, a
good 80-85% is from the realtorfirst.
Yes.
Because I mean, let's just allyou got to do is scroll on
social media.
Lenders are not out there,lenders are not out there
flooding the realtors ofbusiness.
That's not true.
The realtors are the usually 80to 85% the first touch.
Yep.
So the more educated that firsttouch is, because when they get
with the lender, usually it'sover phone, it's over text.

(32:34):
It's very rarely it'sface-to-face.
So that realtor is usually goingto be with them holding their
hand.
You're out there in thetrenches, showing them homes.
You're going to have thetightest bond initially.
So the more educated they are upfront with the realtor, the
better.

SPEAKER_05 (32:47):
I agree.
I agree.
But but this is y'all's, this isyour forte.
Okay, you got a an average youngperson making like 5K a month,
right?
That's pretty good.
About right.
That's that's decent, right?
5k a month.
So this would be you know, let'ssay let's say like 2728.
2728, right?
And then they're looking for ahome, a decent home, right?

(33:07):
And if you're under 200K, it isrough out there.
It is a room.

SPEAKER_04 (33:10):
And do you do you want to know why it's even
rougher for that agedemographic?

SPEAKER_05 (33:14):
Explain.
Go.
Because they've got a thousanddollar car payment.
That's exactly what I'm talkingabout.
So they do have a car payment,right?
And then they have all theirother bills or whatever else
they took out, right?
So that is the issue, and that'swhere they have their DTI
problems.
And if you're looking for under200K, it's extremely rough.
So what's your payment?
It's going to be a little under1% of whatever the sales price
is for current rates.
What did you say?
Yeah.

(33:34):
Right.
So you're looking at like a$2,000 a month payment for maybe
a$230 home here in Texas.

SPEAKER_04 (33:39):
And that would not be a bad deal if especially
okay, number one, if theyunderstood the concept of I can
refinance later.
I don't like the marry the homedate thing.

SPEAKER_05 (33:49):
But they have the car payment and then they're
pushing DTIs and they don'tqualify, right?
Or they're they're reallypushing the limit.

SPEAKER_04 (33:54):
If we had more lenders that when they jumped on
the Zoom call with the borrowerand said, first thing out the
gate is I'm going to review yourcredit with you.
Let's go through these tradelines.

SPEAKER_05 (34:05):
Most lenders don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_04 (34:06):
Hell no, they do.
Except for you.
Except for you.
I do that.
I don't care who you are.
That's why you're awesome, man.
Go through your shit.
Yeah, and I'm gonna know severallenders out there.
They do.
Sure.

SPEAKER_01 (34:16):
You gotta know, let's for the people in the
back, DTI's debt to incomeratio.
Yes.
Let's refrain from jargon,gentlemen.

SPEAKER_04 (34:21):
Absolutely.
No, you're right.
You're right.
And and the idea of they'retrusting in me to give them the
advice.
And whatever advice I'm alwaysgoing to steer towards buying a
home unless their situation,you're not ready.
You're not ready to buy a home.
You probably should rent andknock out some of this debt,

(34:43):
this debt, that, that, that,that.
But I'm also the person thatwill tell them, okay, so you're
literally telling me that$2,000a month is too much, but I'm
looking at your credit reportright now.
Hold on, let me share screen.
Bang.
This is what you're saying.
Are you seeing what I'm saying?
Okay, great.
You got an$800 car.

(35:04):
You can't live in your car.
And they look at me like, andthen I tell them, let's create a
plan to put you in a positionthat maybe in the next five
years you can go buy this caragain.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (35:17):
And buy out.

SPEAKER_04 (35:18):
Because right now, I think I need you to get rid of
that car.
Or refinance the car.
A lot of people have really highrates.
But then that again is settingthe expectations incorrectly.
Like they they you don't deservethis car right now.
Sure.
You should have a house.
How about that?
Thank you.
Yes.
That's kind of what I'm gettingto.

SPEAKER_01 (35:34):
Is that social media doesn't allow that.
That's the problem with there'sso many issues.
I'm not going into politics.
I'm just going to remote generaland basic.
The world today is not allowingpeople the opportunity or the
mental opportunity to grow orbuild.
You've got so many corporationsand companies that, oh, you've
already been here five, sevenyears.

(35:54):
We're going to lay you off.
We're going to let you go.
Whereas back in the day, ourparents were on jobs for 15, 20,
30 years.

SPEAKER_03 (36:00):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (36:01):
The companies are not keeping people on their
jobs.
So then why would the youth wantto climb a ladder when the
ladder is chopped off by thecorporation?
People are buying each otherout.
There's a job.
So the attitude of let me workhard for something is almost
shot.
And then combine that with inconjunction of social media,
where hey, if I get enoughlikes, if I get enough

(36:21):
followers, I can be the nextmillionaire.
So then I want to, and then theproblem is that you get all
these new people that, you know,over the last five, seven years,
now they're in income bracketsthey've never been before, but
nobody is telling you, don'tlive off of your current great
month.

SPEAKER_03 (36:36):
That's right.

SPEAKER_01 (36:37):
Don't live off of your current great year.
I remember back in the day, youknow, when I was fresh off the
boat in the business and therewas a we were surrounded by a
bunch of people in the carbusiness, you know, making
$30,000,$40,000,$50,000 a month.
And a lot of them now are allbroke, retired.
They were renting, they weregoing through a bunch of cars.
By the end of the month, theywere they were going through a
bunch of cars because they haddeal cars off the lot.

SPEAKER_03 (36:58):
Yep.

SPEAKER_01 (36:59):
They don't even have what they had.
They were flossing at the time.
Correct.
I never followed their lead.
At that young age, early 20s, Ialways asked, you know, what
were your regrets?
What should you be doing?
And it was like, hey, if thismonth you have a great month,
and let's just say, you know,you're young back then, you make
$8,000 that month.
Yeah.
Don't live at$8,000.
Don't go out and upgrade yourcar.
Don't go out and instantlyupgrade your house.

(37:20):
Because if you did have a bigmonth, well, guess what?
If you go and instantly upgradeeverything, well, then now you
got a demotion.

SPEAKER_04 (37:26):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (37:27):
Because now you tripled your debt.

SPEAKER_04 (37:29):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (37:29):
You had a great month, but you didn't have the
consistency.

SPEAKER_04 (37:32):
In addition to a false expectation of real life,
because let's face it, if you'renot a top producer mentality,
meaning that big month, that wasthe first of very many.
This is what I do from now onbecause my needle moving
activities are not going tochange because that's what got
me that big month.
Right.
So it's a it's a trailing.
Every what you do today ain'tgonna happen for 60 days

(37:55):
concept.
If they are riding the rollercoaster, we know it.
Big month, low month, big month,low month.
These days it's low month, lowmonth, big month.
Low month, low month, big month.
You're setting yourself up forfailure.

SPEAKER_05 (38:11):
It's it's the education system, though.
I mean, think about even inschool, right?
They don't teach you reallyanything about finance, how to
manage your money, uh, none ofthat, right?
It's all pushing consumerism,being your own aspiring emperor,
right?
That's right.
That's what they push out insocial media, right?
Now you gotta have the nicestuff.
It's the flash show off.
It's the flash.
Yeah, and I have a saying, don'tgo, don't go broke trying to

(38:34):
look rich, right?
That's that's the saying.

SPEAKER_01 (38:36):
Because half the time you don't, and especially
by being on the lending side.
Yes, as you and I, we get to seeit all.
We see, because I remember howmany times I'm seeing people
pull up with the cars, with thepurse, whatever, and they got 10
pages of credit card debt.
Yes, yep.
And I'm like, why do you have$5,000 in your savings account?
Yeah, but yet you're trying togo get this mortgage payment
that's$6,000 a month.

(38:57):
Yep, you got$5,000 saved, yougot to save for your down
payment, and you're trying tobuy a home that's six, seven,
eight hundred thousand.

SPEAKER_05 (39:04):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (39:04):
Why?

SPEAKER_05 (39:05):
And household debts at an all-time high.

SPEAKER_04 (39:07):
And and the reason for that, I believe, I don't
know this to be factual, but Ibelieve, and it's the same
reason why you have people witha 400 credit score even applying
for a home.
Okay.
Because everybody to that pointhas said yes.
And yes, and yes, and yes, andnow they just ran out when in
actuality they did it allbackwards.

(39:28):
Yes to the clothes, yes to thecar, yes to the this, yes to the
that.
Now you're screwing this up.
Now it's time to actually buy ahome because you've got a family
now, maybe.
I don't know.
Oh man, you can't because youdid it backwards.

SPEAKER_01 (39:42):
Lack of knowledge.
It's just, and unfortunately, itis also unfortunately
generational.
Okay.
To know where you're if you'rejust taught, hey, I got a roof
over my head, I've got food onmy table, I'm good to go.
Everything else is frivolous.
That's why I don't pay my FRMs,that's why I don't pay my
Klarnas, that's why I don't paythose back because I'm paying
the important stuff that I need.
Well, that's just generationalcurses.

(40:03):
Correct.
They're not teaching you like,like for me during COVID.
Yes, I did have the opportunityduring COVID to go ahead and
sell my current house and do theupgrades.
Yeah.
Get the bigger house.
And my husband, I finally justsat back and was like, you got
to get into a for what era.

SPEAKER_03 (40:17):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (40:18):
Take a step.
When you get that burning in youto buy something, take a step
back and say, for what?

SPEAKER_04 (40:23):
For what and for who?

SPEAKER_01 (40:24):
For what?
Okay, yes.
You don't have a mortgage.
Okay, so you now you want to gofrom 3,000 to a 6,000 square
foot home?
For what?
Now I'm locked into having tomake a certain amount of money.
Yes.
Now I'm locking, I'm locked into have to work certain hours to
maintain this.
Again, for what?

(40:45):
If my husband and I don't fullyutilize our house that we have
already, then why did you getthe newest thing?
Why did you upgrade?
And this is with anything,because I love shoes.
You're right.
I live purses.
But me being 48, just beinghonest, I was having this
conversation with several youngpeople recently.
And that life is kind of like arainbow.
I had a conversation with youabout this.
That when you're younger andyou're broke and you don't have

(41:06):
anything, you think you have theworld because you're eating them
peanut butter jelly sandwiches,you're fed, you're happy, you're
in the streets running aroundwith your friends, you're great.
Then you get to an era to whereyou're in your 20s and you're
supposed to like, I'm supposedto go with all these accolades.
I'm supposed to get this, I'msupposed to have this car, I'm
supposed to floss these clothes,I'm supposed to floss this
purse, I'm supposed to take thatpicture with my fingernails up
on the steering wheel, like allthe girls do with the Mercedes

(41:28):
emblem in the background.
Homie, hashtag is text.
Then you get into your 30s, andit's like, oh, okay, you're
learning more and more and more,and you're getting so much crap.

SPEAKER_03 (41:37):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (41:37):
And now you're spending so much time working
hard, the crap you got has duston it.
Yeah.
Then you get into your 40s andhoney, you are downgrading.
You are trying to get rid ofeverything.
You want the one story, you'vealready had it.
You're trying to, you'redecluttering because you realize
that your most happiness was insimplicity.

(41:58):
When I was young and hadnothing, less is more.
Less is more.
Simplicity.
Less is more.
But you can't be told that.
I've told that to many people.
You can't be told that you haveto go through it because they're
like, oh, you've already had theawards, you've had the
accolades, you've done.
And I'm like, baby, thank God Ididn't have kids.
If I had kids, I'm sorry, if Idid have kids and I lost all

(42:18):
those years, those kids, and nowthose kids are teenagers and I
lost all those years, I would besad.
But I chose not to.
That was just not my joy inlife.
But to be in your late 40s andjust want to declutter, like I'm
literally, I can see why peoplego RVing, sell everything, and
just hit the road.
How many times do you go on yourvacations and you are your
happiest?

(42:39):
You have just enough food.
Just about every time.
You got just enough clothes, yougot a great view, and you are
relaxed and relaxed.
I don't care what you look like.
You're right.
And then you come back to theworld and you're like reality,
simplicity, honestly.
But you you I can say that allday long, but people don't
listen.

SPEAKER_04 (42:57):
Now, you saying all of that, how can we tie that or
relate that back to our industryfrom a professional level?
Simplicity.
Um the idea of to me comes upthe idea of the going back to
the basics.
And a lot of you you mentionedit at the beginning of this.

(43:18):
Um Realtors, lenders, they nevergot to learn what the basics
are.
But even if they did, like Caseywas mentioning, are those the
same basics that they are today?
Well, open houses still work.
Um the idea of mailers, ifyou're consistent, those still
work.
They sure do.
Door knocking still works.
Pop buys.

(43:38):
Well, when's the last time youwent by a community and said,
Hi, I'm such and such.
This is what I do for a living.
You may not have anything rightnow, but I'll be back next week.

SPEAKER_05 (43:48):
Yeah.
All the time that works.
You always got to be networking,but nobody's doing it.
Not a lot of people.
Yeah.
And that's what we telleveryone, all of our agents.
No one's gonna wake up in themorning and hold their hand and
tell you what to do.
That's that is the mostdifficult thing about our
industry, right?
Because there is no set gameplan for each day.
You have to wake up and go findit.

SPEAKER_04 (44:08):
And why is that, Austin?
We talked about it with Tomas.
Because you're self-employed.
You're self-employed.
You're self-employed.
Self-employed.
That's right.
That's it.
It's simple.
And I think that there areplenty out there that still see
it as a job and not as their ownbusiness.

SPEAKER_01 (44:23):
Well, people don't understand the magnitude of
being self-employed.
That's also the thing.
You don't understand that youare responsible for waking up in
the morning and getting your daystarted.
Yes.
If you start your morning andit's started with two to three
hours of social media watchingothers be successful, and then
you get in your car, and thenyou're making calls, and then
you're trying to figure lifeout.
If your day is not planned outthe right way, but people have

(44:46):
to train you.
They have to show you how toplan your day.

SPEAKER_02 (44:48):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (44:48):
And then, but the problem is that's the the one
and two percenters are doingamazing.
They're bringing in droves ofpeople, but it's who's sitting
down with them.
And I'm telling you, thequestions that I get from this
new wave of realtors that I hearare What are these questions?

SPEAKER_05 (45:03):
I want to hear these.
Tell me these questions.

SPEAKER_01 (45:05):
We got five more minutes.
What are they asking?
They are they're they're veryjust it's the basics are kind of
sad.
The basics are sad.
If my uh but going back, I'll goback to basics.
Yes.
If my if my buyer goes and wantsto buy this new car, will that
be a problem?
That can go both ways.
You know, hey, they're probablyjust seeing if they have more
room in the DTI, you know, tobuy a car.
When instead of flat out sayingdon't buy it, don't buy anything

(45:27):
at all with me.

SPEAKER_04 (45:29):
And a if an agent is this is just me, if an agent is
asking me that question, I'mgoing to tell that agent, have
your buyer call me and stopasking you lending questions.
Number one.
That's not your lane.
So if you are about to take thisinformation from me and then
turn it into whatever yourtelephone, right, is telling you

(45:51):
that I said, incorrect.
Stop that.
Why do you feel like you need tobe the intermediary when it
comes to the financing side ofthings?

SPEAKER_01 (46:00):
So to speak on that, yes, you are partially correct.

SPEAKER_04 (46:03):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (46:03):
The reason why is also you want to answer the
question to the realtor, educatethe realtor.

SPEAKER_04 (46:08):
Oh, most definitely.

SPEAKER_01 (46:09):
And then tell them, have them call me.
Yes.
Because the more educated therealtor is on the lending side,
a lot of times those buyers,even though they're meeting you
and that is your experience.
No, you are correct.
They keep calling the realtor,they keep calling the sales
agent.
So the more knowledgeable thatrealtor and sales agent is, even
though it's not their job.

(46:30):
It's not our job to sell thehouses.
But when we get the you know howmany times the buyer has buyer
remorse, and we on the lendingside are reselling the house
that they're under contract.
Everybody needs to have a pieceof knowledge of everybody's
industry, and that's what Ichose to do.
So that way, when somebody didcome to me, I knew the answer on
all ends.
Yeah real estate, builder,inspections, third-party

(46:51):
inspections.

SPEAKER_04 (46:52):
You know who does a great job of that the entire
time I've ever known him in thisindustry?
This guy right here.
We do it together.
We work as a team.
We work as a team.

SPEAKER_03 (47:01):
Yeah, work together.
Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_04 (47:02):
This is this is a pretty solid brain trust, and
he's been doing that for years.
And I would feel comfortable himanswering a lending question,
but he also knows that you knowwhat?
But he didn't start that way.
Correct.
Yeah, correct.
Didn't know much about lending.
I taught me.

SPEAKER_01 (47:17):
He had he had a dad that was been in the business as
well.
So that's again generationalknowledge, and then him feeding
off of us and learning.
But people have to have thatability to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_04 (47:29):
First mistake is you thought he was listening to his
dad back then when we wereyounger until he got in and
started earning his stripes.

SPEAKER_05 (47:36):
But I I asked both a lot of questions.
If I want to know and I canlearn something new, I I always
try and learn something new.
Most definitely.
It's important.
But before we go, back togetting into the business being
brand new.
I think it's important knowingwhat the market conditions are,
statistics, knowing what you'regetting into before you fully
dive in.
Yeah.
Right.
That's important.
How many LOs were there in likeCOVID time compared to now?

(47:58):
Like 295 and 95,000?
Right.
We dropped about 200K LOsnationwide.
Uh there's about 160 left.
So that's I mean, still a decentamount, but we dropped what,
almost half?
Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (48:09):
Well, it's still the refi boom.
A lot of the refines.

SPEAKER_05 (48:11):
That's a lot, right?
And that's like you said, top10% does most are hanging out.
At Realtors, San Antonio Metro,we dropped like 6,000.
We were at like 16, 17,000.
Now we're down to like 12, rightaround there.
I agree.
So, you know, so five, six.

SPEAKER_01 (48:24):
So we're gonna say the basics.
So just to get straight to thepoint, for people that want to
get in the business, whetheryou're a loan officer or you're
a realtor, the basics areeverything.
Yes.
The basics.
Answering your phone, returningcalls.
Don't just be a texter.
That's right.
People are so used to everythingbeing so technological and call
center-ish.
Be a person that calls.

(48:45):
That's right.
Let me hear your voice.
Let me hear the inflection.
Let me understand that okay,yeah, I just get that text from
you, but now because I know youand your personality, I know
what that text meant.
That's right.
The basics.
Follow up.
And the best thing about that isdon't tell somebody you're gonna
call them back that day.
Right.
There's no need.
Give fabricated timelines like,hey, your loan's gonna come out
of underwriting in six days.

(49:05):
Yes.
That way, when it comes out in48 hours, you've superseded
their expectations.
Amen.
Even though you know it's gonnacome out in 48 hours.
Give elongated time framesbecause everybody is on 10.
Everybody needs everythingyesterday.
Everybody's anxiety ridden.
I don't care who you are.
So then give elongatedexpectations.

SPEAKER_04 (49:23):
I love that.

SPEAKER_01 (49:24):
And then for those that you know know, be like, yo,
bro, I'm gonna call you backtoday.
That's right.
But for new people you don'tknow, give elongated
expectations, and then then youwill supersede their
expectations when you come inquicker.

SPEAKER_04 (49:34):
Well, that and and you're not constantly behind,
constantly chasing your tail,trying to figure out the next
lie that you have to tell thembecause what you said was
improper to begin with, but youdon't want to fess up to the
fact that, hey, I said some badexpectations.

SPEAKER_01 (49:50):
And stick to all money is not good money.
Get rid of the realtor that isblowing up your phone and
feeding you a bunch of bad, baddeals because that is what's
keeping you up late at night andsleepless and stressed out,
anxiety because you want toplease.
Yeah, well, then when you removethat negative energy, you will
be surprised as to how yourbusiness doubles and triples.

SPEAKER_05 (50:09):
Same thing goes with clients.
Same thing applies to the city.
Let it go.

SPEAKER_01 (50:12):
Reassign the person.
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 (50:14):
You gotta really know that's true.
It's not disrespectful.
If someone were to ask you guys,is this a good time to get into
real estate, either for a loanofficer or a realtor, what would
you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 (50:21):
I would say yes.

SPEAKER_04 (50:22):
I'd say it's always a good one.

SPEAKER_01 (50:24):
Yes.

SPEAKER_04 (50:25):
If your intention is to learn your craft, become the
best or as good as you possiblycan be, and commit.
That that's kind of what I'mtrying to get to is commit.
Don't don't dip your toe in,jump into that water.

SPEAKER_05 (50:44):
But isn't this that like 70% realtors nationwide
didn't sell a home this year?
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (50:49):
But how am I who am I to tell you that you're gonna
be part of the lower end?
If you get the knowledge and youget the right surroundings, if
you get the knowledge and theright surroundings, you could be
part of the top.
But who am I to tell you thatyou're not gonna be one of the
put it this way?

SPEAKER_04 (51:01):
Could you imagine if somebody would have told me that
when I got in?
You probably wouldn't have doneit.

SPEAKER_05 (51:08):
And we're we're not here to discourage people.
Bullshit.
You would have stolen.

SPEAKER_04 (51:11):
I would have probably closed more.

SPEAKER_05 (51:12):
You would have said, hey, I'm I'm gonna go knock it
out of the party.

SPEAKER_04 (51:15):
Correct.
And do it because I did, andthat was to prove my dad wrong
concept versus shit.
Now I can prove him wrong too.
I'd have had more fuel.

SPEAKER_05 (51:24):
But it's also a mindset.
Did you know that 80% of allarchaeologists are women?
Did you know that?

SPEAKER_01 (51:29):
That's exciting, Austin.

SPEAKER_05 (51:31):
Did you know that?
Oh my god.
Do you know why that is?

SPEAKER_01 (51:33):
Why is that?

SPEAKER_05 (51:33):
Because they're really good at digging up the
past.

SPEAKER_01 (51:37):
On that note, ladies and gentlemen, I knew that.

SPEAKER_04 (51:40):
Guys, guys, guys and gals listening.
This was probably one of thefunnest discussions I've had in
quite some time.
Lots of real talk.

SPEAKER_01 (51:47):
I thought it's because we're dealing with old
bullshit.

SPEAKER_04 (51:50):
Don't bring up the past.
That's awesome.
Um I think I'm going to invitethese two back so we can bring
up a different discussion.
Um, because that was the realestthat uh we've been on here in
quite some time.
And I'm not saying that we'renot real, but the um ability to
just be yourself it right here.
I I appreciate both of you fordoing that.

SPEAKER_01 (52:12):
You're gonna cry in this industry.

SPEAKER_04 (52:14):
Uh it's right.
That's right.

SPEAKER_05 (52:15):
But it can be very rewarding.
It can be very rewarding.

SPEAKER_01 (52:18):
Cheers and rewards.

SPEAKER_05 (52:20):
And don't take that joke offensive.
I love one.
I love my mom.

SPEAKER_01 (52:26):
Oh, and we love you.

SPEAKER_04 (52:30):
Guys, gals, uh, thanks for subscribing.
As always, I commit to bringingyou additional guests just like
this, um, that will share theirstory, share their thoughts,
fully transparent, real talkalways.
Um thank you both for joining meagain.
And to you out there, we'llcatch you on the next one.

(53:02):
If you're still sending outpre-approval letters and praying
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