July 30, 2025 • 46 mins
Navigating the complex world of real estate requires expertise and guidance to avoid costly mistakes and maximize your investment potential.
• Understanding the difference between realtors and real estate agents – realtors subscribe to a higher standard with the National Association of Realtors
• The value a realtor brings goes far beyond showing houses – includes negotiation, market analysis, and spotting potential problems
• Using the LOVE framework for home purchases: Location, Offer, Value, and Exit strategy
• What sellers need to know about market timing, property presentation, and proper pricing strategy
• How to select the right realtor through personal referrals rather than relying solely on online reviews
• The importance of starting with pre-approval and knowing your numbers before house hunting
• Common myths about real estate that can lead to financial mistakes
• Why "buying smart" means considering future equity and having a clear exit strategy
• How realtors help both buyers and sellers navigate the emotional aspects of real estate transactions
For real estate consultation, contact Denetria at Denetria@DBclosers.com or 225-223-0499.
Have an idea for a show or a question for Kim? Send us a text message
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want – brought to you by Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that
focuses on how to use the moneyyou have, make the money you
need and save the money you want.
Now here is your host, ms Kim.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Chapman, imagine losing thousands of dollars
simply because you didn't makethe right call.
Well, we're going to make suretoday that never happens to you,
because we're going to betalking about real estate and
returning is an expert.
I mean, we've been sitting herebefore we went live talking
about the difference between arealtor and a real estate agent
and you might say, well, I'm notready to buy a house, but guess
(00:34):
what?
She's been sitting herechatting with us about how you
can even make money withouthaving your license.
So welcome back, denetria.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hey, thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Glad to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
This is one of my favorite guests.
She knows so much.
I mean, every time we sit andtalk, I learn so much.
So we're going to go ahead andjust kick it off with the basics
before we get to how you caneven make money.
So let's talk about thedifference between a realtor and
a real estate agent.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Okay.
So I think that the simplestway to kind of put that in a
nutshell is that all realtorsare real estate agents, but not
all real estate agents arerealtors.
So if you are, if a person isusing the term realtor, that
means you're a part of theNational Association of Realtors
(01:24):
.
So that is a trademark name andthat just means that we have
voluntarily signed up.
We are held to a higherstandard of professional
liability, and that is a part ofthe commitment that we've
chosen to make by becoming apart of that association and
(01:44):
following in the code of ethicsthat has been outlined for us.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Awesome.
So why should a person ifyou're?
Because, of course, realtorscan be used for the buyer or the
seller.
So what is it?
What are the benefits of havinga realtor?
Why can't I just do a DIY?
I know I want a four bedroommansion with a swimming pool, a
fireplace.
I need to have 12 foot ceilings.
(02:11):
Why can't I just go out and dothat on my own?
Okay, so let me.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
let me answer that question with a question.
Okay, all right.
So if you were sick and you got, let's say, cancer, would you
solely work on trying to fixyourself, fix or heal yourself
only on your own, withoutseeking any medical advice?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Because I need the experts to help me make sure I'm
making the best decisions.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Exactly and so.
But does that mean that youdon't know anything about how to
heal your body?
No, and does that mean that youcannot find some things on your
own about how to naturally healyour body?
Absolutely not.
But now you have the ability tocompare what you have learned
with a subject matter expert.
(03:05):
I liken that to kind of workingwith a realtor.
A realtor is someone who, or areal estate agent who, says or
has the knowledge to representyou when it comes to purchasing
or selling properties, and Ithink that one of the biggest
myths about realtors is that wejust market properties right, or
(03:28):
we're just showing properties,and I think that that's just a
teeny tiny part of what realtorsdo, especially now that we have
AI and the Internet right, andso, really and truly, this is
your biggest investment.
So, if you had a heartcondition, would you go see a
(03:48):
foot doctor?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Exactly Right, and so it's the same.
I think with this, like buyinga home is probably the biggest
purchase that most of us willever make, and so it's important
then that I make or have all ofthe best information that I
have to make a good decision.
And we have two competingthings right.
The buyer says I want to buy ahouse that has all these bells
(04:15):
and whistles and gives me themost equity for the lowest
amount of money, and on thesales side it's I want to sell
my house at the highest amountpossible, right, and so that I
can have some money that I keepin my pocket.
Knowing your numbers, that's abig piece, and knowing the
(04:37):
market is an even bigger pieceto knowing your numbers.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Okay, so I'm a prospective buyer.
Kind of walk me through theprocess.
If I were to pick up the phoneand contact you, what should I
expect?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So the first thing is is that I would probably start
with asking you have you everworked with a realtor and are
you currently working with one,and that's twofold One, so that
I know kind of what?
Are you a first time buyer andnever sold real estate or
purchased real estate ever?
And then, secondly, though, ifyou're currently working with
(05:10):
someone that's a part of thatcode of ethics that I talked
about we are now obligatedlegally to sign buyer's broker's
agreements, and so when youhave signed that, that's the
agent that now represents you.
And that's important, becauseif you have that signed with
someone else, I can't representyou.
(05:32):
And I also, because I tookbecause of the code of ethics, I
can't tell you oh, go, fireyour agent.
Now, if you want to do that,that's between you and that
agent.
You just can't put thatsuggestion in the air.
I can't put that suggestion inthe air, right, you in that age,
you just can't put thatsuggestion in the air, right.
And so that's again, as much asyou don't just again
arbitrarily like even thoughagain we use that same analogy
(05:53):
about going to the doctor whereyour insurance has people that
are in network and out ofnetwork, and it's not that you
wouldn't use someone out ofnetwork.
It's more that I care moreabout the specialty and
expertise that I do, aboutwhether or not they're in or out
, and I'm willing to pay more,meaning I'll go out of network
if I know that this person isreally the better fit for
(06:16):
helping me.
And so, again, that's where thecostly mistakes can take place,
because you may just go to yourgeneral practitioner and you
have a heart condition, who doesnot specialize in heart issues
and may not have ever seensomething that indicates that
the symptoms that you'reexperiencing is really more of a
(06:39):
heart issue than it is.
You know, a common cold, sayyou know, for example.
And so it's the kind of like.
Those are things that I wouldjust kind of start with first
making sure that I can representyou, and then, secondly, after
that, it would be to actuallysit down and schedule a time
where you and I couldn't meet.
(06:59):
So the first conversation if Iam busy, you're not getting my
full, undivided attention, andif you just picked up the phone
and say, hey, someone told me tocome talk to you, you're
probably not at a place toreally sit down and do the deep
dive and answer questions thatare necessary for me to
represent you appropriately.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So what things should I even consider?
Or information should I haveavailable before we meet, even
consider?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
or information should I have available before we meet
.
So again, kind of having anidea of what you can afford and
I don't mean that by oh, I wantto buy a $250,000 house or I
want a $500,000 house.
I think a lot of times peoplekind of start there like, oh, I
want this really luxurious housethat is in the, you know, a
(07:47):
gated community.
Don't we all we all do, and it'snot to say that you can't get
that right.
But let's start with how muchcan you afford?
How much do, regardless of whatthe bank approves you for?
How much do you think that youcould realistically pay in a
mortgage each month and not notbe a financial burden for you?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
should I go to the bank first and I should never
say that be worth the creditunion right should I get a
pre-approval first, or should Isee you first?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
um, it really is a um .
Um, I'm gonna send you there,right?
I think that, just like you,you would shop with me or other
realtors to see which who likewho's a good fit.
You should do the same thing.
I think sometimes the firstthing that comes to our head is
the B word, like you said, banksand you overlook the fact that
(08:37):
you have local credit unionsthat probably have different
products that are morespecialized and tailored to fit
your circumstances, differentproducts that are more
specialized and tailored to fityour circumstances.
So, again, while you can have aconversation with a financial
institution, that may not be theend-all, be-all that we use, so
it's the same thing, but it's agood starting place.
It gives us a good gauge ofwhere you're at and knowing if
(09:00):
you have the ability to purchaseat this time.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Okay.
So we've kind of gotten pastthat.
I have a painted picture ofwhat I want and I've kind of
done the numbers and I think Iknow what I can afford.
What's next?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So then I think I actually read recently another
realtor use.
This person was out of statebut I was reading an article and
she had an acronym that now I'mlike stealing and I don't
remember her name to give hercredit for it.
But she used a love acronym andI love that because real estate
(09:37):
is an emotional piece.
This is a big piece of yourlife, right, piece of your mind,
right.
And so as we're navigatingthose kind of things, setting
expectations up front andhelping us to have a framework
for us when we're getting backto, okay, we've kind of found
something but it's not quitethere, how do we evaluate those
(10:00):
things?
And so that acronym love it waslike location.
That's important.
It's probably one of thebiggest features of real estate.
That dictates how much we're,oftentimes how much the
properties are settling for.
But bigger than that, on apersonal level location for you.
Where are you driving to?
(10:22):
How far is this from your work?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Don't want to be by the interstate.
Don't want to be the country.
Where are you driving to?
How far is this?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
from your work, don't want to be by the interstate,
don't want to be the countryCorrect, so those kind of things
that are personal.
And so, taking a deep, in-depth, just introspective review for
yourself, some of thesequestions you may not fully know
off top and some of them youwill shoot from the hip until
you because it looked goodonline and you've kind of done
(10:48):
this until you get out there andyou're like you know what?
This is a lot of traffic to getover here.
I'm not really feeling this asmuch as I thought that I would
be.
The offer, what?
So?
That was the O.
What is the property offeringright, and not just in terms of
the things that we can all seeonline on zillow.
(11:10):
What does it offer for youpersonally?
Um, so does this house give youthe three bedrooms?
Does it give you the big bagbackyard?
Does it give you the pool thatyou may or may not have wanted
you?
You know, thinking of thosethings.
And then the value again, notjust the monetary cost to it.
(11:32):
But can I put some things, canI improve some things?
That may again include andthat's one of the pieces that I
think is really good aboutworking with a realtor is
understanding value in terms ofequity right, what kind of
improvements can I put into thisproperty that is going to
increase my property value butalso may be valuable to me?
(11:55):
And so, again, making sure thatyou're putting money in the
right places, especially if youknow if it's not new
construction, it's just like anyother, like a used car is used.
There's going to be some thingsthat are not exactly 100% how
you, how you would imagine theyshould be, and that's kind of a
(12:18):
thing I feel like most realtorsuse is the 80, 10, 10, right,
want 80 percent of um, all thethings that you kind of want 10
percent of, you know I have somewiggle room.
And then the 10 percent likelike 10 percent, like I can fix
up to improve it, and the other10 is I can live with it.
(12:39):
You know, I mean it's not thedeal breaker it's not the deal
breaker, and so those are thethings that kind of help us.
And then that last little E she, I think, may have said equity
or something along that.
I'm going to change it up.
I say exit strategy because Ithink that a lot of times, even
when you think it's your lasthouse, that you're going to.
(13:01):
Forever home, forever home,things happen Right, house that
you're going to forever home,things happen right.
And so buying smart says I havestarted with the end in mind.
So if something happens and Ican no longer afford this, can I
sell this house and not be indebt or have to bring money to
closing?
And so that's a big piece,because I have seen that I
(13:26):
recently had a transactionsimilar to that, where it's a
forever home, they put a lot ofmoney into it, lots of furniture
, and something unexpectedhappened and they had to sell
and they didn't walk away with alot of money, you know, and
almost had to bring money to theclosing.
So that's why it's important tobuy smart right and to factor
(13:49):
those numbers in, because Idon't think that couple had been
in the house maybe just shy ofa year, you know and so that's a
big.
It's a big deal, and I thinkthat it's something that's
totally overlooked.
Nobody would buy a car and sayI'm going to intentionally go
(14:09):
out here and get upside down onmy right.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
It looks that way Sometimes it looks like that.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Right, it happens, it happens Right.
And.
But I think it's a recognizablething.
Recognizable thing thateverybody, like.
No one would argue with thatpart Like, look, if you buy this
after all, that you're going tobe upside down on this.
We know, soon as you drive thatcar off the lot, we know that
it's depreciated instantly.
We don't think about that interms of real estate, we only
(14:38):
think about appreciation andvalue, and that's good.
But we also need to look at howmuch has this neighborhood
appreciated in value, or is itjust holding steady?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
And so I think, when we think about the term realtor
you mentioned, you know it's amyth that all you do is show
houses.
So what else would you do forme, after we've kind of ironed
out what I can afford, what Ilike, we've kind of gone over,
you know the location and theoffer what else is entailed in
the services that you provide?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
So with me with me personally, I would say that you
get not only a tour guide butreally a problem solver all
wrapped into one, and I can tellyou that it is.
It is like like walking througha landmine you don't know what
you're going to walk into.
So there's funding challenges.
(15:30):
There can be challenges throughnegotiations.
We have inspections, so there'sthings that we might see or
happen or take place in thatinspection that you can't see
with your naked eye, becausewe're not trained to look for
that.
We have to still get throughlending and I think that, again,
people focus on two parts ofreal estate right, Looking at
(15:52):
houses and the closing table.
So there's a lot that takesplace in between.
And, again, that's why, startingwith that in mind and setting
proper expectations becausesometimes this can go really
quick and sometimes this is amarathon it takes us a long time
because, again, you being themore that you are in tune with
(16:16):
your buying criteria and that iswhat I am helping us to
evaluate throughout our timetogether Because, as I'm knowing
or getting to know you, we maynot have been as close in the
beginning, but through the realestate journey we can become
best friends.
And again, once you start toknow those things, right, like,
(16:39):
okay, I have kids and now we'rethinking through okay, I didn't
know that, you know, maybethere's another parent involved,
there's commuting back andforth between for the kid back
and forth.
There's just someconsiderations that you may not
have thought through that I wantto bring to your attention.
(16:59):
Like, okay, what about daycareduring the summer Summer camp?
Is this mortgage going to be afinancial strain on you during
that time when they're not inschool?
Right, and you have, you know,someone that is taking care of
them while you're at work?
Right, if you lost your job,what would take place here,
(17:23):
reviewing your appraisal report,going over those numbers for
you, making sure that, again,you have buttoned up this deal
left and right is very, veryimportant, and also then being
able to spot some things.
That gives us the ability tonegotiate equity into the house,
(17:43):
and that is always my goal notto just sell you a house that
you can say, oh, I got approvedfor a $300,000 house, I hope to
get you a house that may be less, that appraises for three
hundred thousand, or theopposite, that we get you a
three hundred thousand dollarhouse but it has some built in
(18:05):
equity there, so that again, ifyou are in these kind of tight
spots, you have options.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So what are some other myths?
You mentioned, of course, thatone that they, that we believe
you just show houses and thenclosing.
What are some other myths thatyou know prospective homebuyers
come to you that you have tokind of unlearn?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Actually, I will.
I had a transaction recentlywhere a client had spoken to the
seller, not kind of knowingexactly what they were walking
into about purchasing theproperty, and the seller said,
oh well, I have a realtor.
And the client said, well, okay, well, I'm going to get mine.
(18:48):
And then we go intonegotiations and in this case,
the piece was I did not find theproperty, but I've helped this
client prepare throughoutgetting ready to acquire this
property, and when it got downto negotiations and what have
(19:09):
you one of the realtor mentionedto me.
Well, my client said you didn'tfind the property, and I think
that that's a commonmisconception that real estate
is just about finding property.
I think that most people haveaccess to online tools like
Zillow.
I think we were just talking toour camera guy back here and
(19:31):
he's helping his friend.
They're looking at propertiesthemselves through Zillow.
So most people do oftentimesfind their own properties.
But again, there's a lot ofsteps between finding the
property, negotiating on thatproperty, understanding what
things you can negotiate onentering into your contract with
(19:55):
an offer that is, that you havethe ability to get out of that
contract if you need to forwhatever reason understanding
the contractual laws and stuffthere.
Helping you to navigate thatlegal landscape when it comes to
real estate is, I think is aneven bigger part of the process
than just locating the propertyitself.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So when I opened up this session, you know I kind of
led in with hey, if you don'tmake that right call, you can
lose thousands of dollars.
So what are some of thenegative impacts you've seen for
individuals that try tonegotiate making purchasing a
property on their own, withouthaving your assistance?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Excuse me.
So I also have ownership in atitle company.
So because I am at the closingtable, that means a lot.
I also see deals that do fallthrough and the biggest piece is
again the lack of negotiation.
So you'll see that whenappraisals come back you're
(20:52):
right at that amount.
And I'll use my own self as anexample.
I purchased a home and myproperty I was sure would
appraise for what I had put inthe offer for and it did.
But the appraisal just said itmet the loan amount.
(21:15):
Well, that wasn't good enough.
I mean, of course it meets theloan amount, but my appraised
value is something that somelenders use, amcs, which is
pretty much like the best way Ican kind of explain.
It is like a broker house forappraisers and then that is now
(21:37):
on file and of record with themfor a certain amount of time.
If the appraisal comes back andjust says, look, it meets the
loan amount, you don't know howmuch more equity you have in
this property, right?
Or that it didn't meet the loanamount, this is where a realtor
pulling their own comps,knowing the market, being able
(21:57):
to evaluate, and look at thatappraisal and say, okay, well,
does the appraisal itself meetHUD standards?
What are HUD standards forappraisals?
And I won't even say that everyrealtor knows those things.
It's just that the more dealsthat you see, the more problems,
and I tell people that youdon't learn from the wins.
(22:17):
You learn more from themistakes, the problems that take
place.
That you're like okay, I canbutton up this, and even more so
on the next one, on the nextone, on the next one, and I
think that, once you kind of seethat there is a lot of things
that we can negotiate on, evenin the appraisal process, the
(22:38):
important piece to that, though,is numbers.
So I have this thing that I tellmyself of facts over feelings.
Right, I can't feel like thisis so unfair, and it might very
well be, but I have to provefactually that it is, in a way.
So that's also a piece.
I'm like I've always kind ofbeen a one, two, three like
(23:00):
throw it out there type ofperson, but even understanding
that sometimes, if you serve ittoo hard, it just you know it's
too hard to to grasp.
So, knowing how to present thisback to um, whether it's like
whether we're in negotiations,whether we're talking to the
lender, whether we're talking tothe appraiser, to even have
(23:22):
them open, be open to theconsideration that we're trying
to have them consider.
That in itself is a skill setor an art, that is a true kind
of value add that I think thatthe realtors that close lots of
deals they've mastered.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And I imagine you know this answer.
You may not be able to reallytell me, but in terms of from
start to finish, ideally, onaverage, how long is the process
from when I come to you and Ihave an idea of what I want and
you know the numbers, all ofthose things are in place?
How long on average does ittake to get from day one to date
(24:01):
to closing date?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
average does it take to get from day one to date to
closing date?
So it depends on what side of atransaction you're working on.
So, whether you're an investor,are you a home buyer who is
looking for a forever home oryou're looking for a starter
home, right, I think that thattimeline can be anywhere from a
couple of weeks to a couple ofmonths and a lot of it really
boils down to you Investors.
(24:28):
We tend to close quickerbecause investors don't really
care about all of the things onthe inside of the house.
They see the vision right, like, look, I can fix this thing up.
Homeowners, if they're they'rea little, have the ability to
see past the imperfections thatmight be before them.
(24:49):
Say, look, you know, I canpaint this house, I can do this
those.
Usually you can close them outa little bit quicker 45 days
when you're trying to buy ahouse to live in Just because
there's a lot of pieces that arenot within your control,
(25:10):
especially if you're using alender.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
So what are some?
So you mentioned that there'ssome things that your eyes train
to see.
So if we're visiting a houseand I may think, oh, you know,
I'm looking at all the cosmeticthings, it's, oh, it's so
beautiful, the floors what aresome of those things that an
untrained eye commonly miss?
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I think that again looking for things for your
family, right, Like for you, soas if I know that you're a
single woman.
I'm not just looking at thehouse, I'm kind of looking at
the other houses.
What are the neighbors doing?
Are there people walking?
(25:51):
Who's walking the neighborhood?
How close am I to like?
Is this down a dead end, Likewhere?
How is this house positionedwithin the neighborhood?
I think also looking at things,floors, not just that there are
floors, the feel of the floor,or there are soft spots when I'm
(26:13):
walking and I see it kind ofsloping Again, roof stuff.
I am by no means a person thatdoes anything with tools, but I
do kind of now, after havinggone through this process, like
I'm like, okay, I see the roofkind of, you know, shingles kind
of pulled up a little bit,things like that.
(26:40):
I'm like the, the HVAC right,I'm going where is the HVAC unit
so that I can go see how long,like, how old is it.
Looking at the label right,it's small things like that
because I'm anticipating whatkind of future maintenance are
(27:01):
we going to possibly encounterwith this?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So, and those again are good negotiating points- so
we talked a lot from theperspective of the buyer, so
let's talk a little bit aboutthe perspective of the seller.
How does a realtor help theseller?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
So, again, knowing your numbers in the market,
excuse me.
So I think that there are lotsof people who decide to buy or
not buy, sorry, sell theirhouses on their own.
There is for sale by ownerwebsites.
But even in real estate,realtors don't always get it
right.
We see properties that sit onthe market for a long time.
(27:40):
When properties are sitting, weknow that there is an issue.
What that issue is can only bedetermined when we start asking
questions.
You've gone into the house,we've looked at the market and
being able to analyze that piece, because sometimes it could be
just the price.
The property is overpriced, itcould be that you have a nice
(28:01):
price.
There's other properties thatare moving why isn't yours
selling right?
And so there could be somethings that you may not may have
overlooked, but it's anemotional aspect.
There's a reason that attorneysdon't represent themselves in
court or their family members.
(28:22):
So the same with doctors theydon't operate on themselves or
their own family, because theemotional piece oftentimes puts
up blinders.
Because this is something thatyou've loved, this house it's
been.
It's giving you so manymemories, but that doesn't mean
that other people will love thesame things that you loved about
(28:43):
the house and so kind of havingthat step back and evaluating
that piece but also knowing yournumbers.
I think that a lot of timespeople focus on well, if I just
sell the house, I'm going tokeep a lot of the money.
Well, the buyer can still berepresented by a realtor, and I
think that that's another commonmisconception.
(29:05):
When there's a one-sidedtransaction, unless the realtor
has decided and that has beenokay with the primary person
that the realtor is representing, then that's when they go into
dual agency.
I'm not a big fan of dualagency agency.
(29:26):
I'm not a big fan of dualagency because, as an agent,
what I'm saying is that I'mgoing to zealously represent you
, and now I'm not going to dothat, I am going to do it to
your best interest.
Well, these two people havecompeting interests and
sometimes, like you know, wheneverybody, when it's good, it's
great, like right, here's aprice, they're willing to pay
for it.
Everybody is great, win-winsituation.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Is that the norm?
Speaker 3 (29:50):
I would say not.
I think that sometimes, again,glamour and emotions, right.
So there's a lot of realtorsthat are really good salespeople
, realtors that are really goodsalespeople, and sometimes you
as the seller, will leave moneyon the table because I want to
get a deal done and I'mrepresenting this buyer, which
(30:19):
means I need to look at theirbest interest in addition to
yours, and then if you say, well, I'm just going to let the
other person be represented by arealtor and I'm going to
represent myself.
Well, I mean, I don't think inany boxing ring it's going to be
fair that there's two againstone, even if I don't know how to
fight Right the same thing here.
The realtor, they're going tobe nice to you, of course.
They're going to be nice to you, of course.
(30:43):
But again, the interest there'sactually an old car acronym is
what they do for the fiduciaryresponsibilities that realtors
have for clients, and one of theL in that is loyalty.
My loyalty is to the clientthat I'm representing.
Another one is confidentiality.
(31:05):
So there are some things thatis to my client's benefit or
detriment that, if I disclose ordon't disclose, depending on
who I'm representing can be anegotiating point, right.
So let's think about that.
I know that not yet, but you'reabout to be divorced.
(31:26):
Well, if I tell my client that,or if I'm just talking a lot
and I slip up and say it, andyou probably do it fast, I'm
going to come in with a loweroffer, you know.
But that's also, I think, oneof my things.
I'm like I do a lot of researchon all those things, like to
(31:50):
see what leverage do we have.
And, again, some people arelike you know, people live their
lives on social media now,right, and so I don't think that
people realize just how muchdata is out there and is
available freely, publicly,public disputes.
(32:12):
Now, you know, everything is upfor negotiation, and so those
are the things that again, areblind spots.
Blind spots that I feel like alot of people just don't think
about, blind spots that I feellike a lot of people just don't
think about.
And again, every day that yourproperty is on the market,
you're losing money, and I thinkI had a recent negotiating
(32:36):
experience with that, where Iwas trying to get this deal to
close quickly as a benefit forthe seller, but also in exchange
for what my buyer wanted, andand um, it was like oh, you know
we can wait and I'm like butcan you let's look at the cost
(32:59):
of waiting Right, and I thinkthat, and especially for someone
who's representing themselves,the cost of waiting right, and I
think that, and especially forsomeone who's representing
themselves on the sales side,the cost of waiting you could do
it yourself.
But the longer your property ison the market, every month
you're paying a mortgage,depending on how long you've
owned that.
(33:19):
There's some of that that's notrecoupable.
It's going straight to interest.
It's going straight to interest.
It's not eating down yourprincipal.
So when you do sell, thatprincipal balance is just a
little bit down than what it wasthe month before.
But you still have to pay all ofthat off at closing if there's
a loan on it, utilities, if youhave an HOA fee, if you have,
(33:42):
you know someone to come cut thegrass.
There's what if, between nowand when you do it, a hurricane
comes and a tree falls?
Now you have to deal with allthese kind of things the longer
that it sits on the market, andnow we're moving into that
hurricane, getting closer tohurricane season.
But we've also seen some thingshappen and take place that just
(34:05):
are random and strange.
Right.
So the quicker that we can geta deal done, that's a win for
everybody, and I personally,with everything I'm like people
pay a little bit more throughDoorDash, why?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Convenience.
So if I go to googlecom and Iput a realtor, there's going to
be infinite number of realtorsI'm going to come up with.
So how do I find the realtorthat's right for me, right, how
do I find a good one?
And then what might be some redflags that this person is is
not the right realtor.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
So I personally am not an advertiser myself,
because I think that with mostthings, if I'm solely relying on
Google, people are really kindof creatures of habit.
If I love the experience, I'llgive you a five-star review.
(35:03):
If I love the experience, giveyou a five star review.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
If you make me mad one star, and then I'm going to
type if I could give less thanone star.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yes, and then usually if it's like anything in
between that I don't know.
Like I guess maybe I'm a weirdperson.
Like I read the reviews andusually if it's like three or
four stars, it's really becausesomething petty like really,
(35:31):
like you know they didn't dosomething that you felt entitled
to, that wasn't even arequirement here.
But I'm like again it'semotional and then oftentimes
I'm not saying this abouteverybody Oftentimes when it's
all five stars reviews and it'shundreds of them, it's just the
law of numbers.
Like there's a quote I thinkAbraham Lincoln said like you
(35:53):
could please all the people, youcan't please all the people all
the time, but you can't pleasesome of the people some of the
time.
Oftentimes if it's all fivestar reviews.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
It should be a red flag.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
It's a red flag right .
It's probably friends or peoplethat really really like them or
paid right or incentivized, sonot that you have to pay them
Like look, I'll give you adiscount, I'll do whatever if
you give us a five-star Good.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Google review Good Google review, right if?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
you give us a good Google review, right, and so I
just think that, when it comesto legal stuff title companies,
real estate most people aregoing to go with someone that
was referred to them and theyhave a personal relationship
with, and that's in any type ofsales like service type kind of
industry.
Usually it's people do businesswith who they know like and
(36:43):
trust of industry.
Usually it's people do businesswith who they know like and
trust.
The problem with that, though,is sometimes you overlook people
simply because you don'tnecessarily know them, and if
someone else didn't tell youabout them, they just wouldn't
have the opportunity to be seen.
But then we do focus on peoplethat post a lot on social media.
(37:05):
Well, the problem with socialmedia is is that that algorithm
is not specific to ageographical location unless
someone is specificallytargeting you in that
geographical location, right,and so, again having having that
seeing all the closings and allyou know the the happy part you
(37:30):
just you're not seeing all thepieces that took place to get
there, and so I think thatthat's a thing that you just
have to kind of be cognizant of.
That's a thing that you justhave to kind of be cognizant of.
I've seen things.
You ever read a bad review andyou say, oh, I love that bad
review.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Because that's going to be the one review that keeps
me from utilizing that business.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
So have you ever done it to the opposite?
Like I was looking at a reviewfor a school that I was looking
at for my kids and someone leftthe school a couple people left
one-star reviews about how theadministration handled the
situation and I was like Iactually love that review.
Oh yeah, there's some substanceto it.
There's some substance to it,but I was like in a positive way
(38:20):
.
You know what that's the thingthat would give me?
Like the expectation has beenset that what someone else saw
as negative is a positive thingfor me.
I think the same thing in realestate.
All the times I'll see peopleonline say, oh, my realtor
showed me 20 houses.
And I think that sometimes Iknow, like my shocker statement
(38:41):
is I tell people I'm not showingyou 20 houses and it's like oh,
why are you in real estate?
And I'm like it's not that Ijust am being hardcore about 20
houses, and once you've seen 20pairs of shoes, it's hard for
you to choose one pair.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
They all start to look alike.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
They all start to look alike and then nothing
quite fits.
They all start to look alike.
They all start to look alikeand then nothing quite fits.
If we have to get to that manyhouses, that means that I didn't
(39:20):
do enough due diligence withyou up front and asking you
enough questions throughout theprocess for you to get very,
very clear on what is a goodhouse for you.
So after each house that welook at, that's important that
if you say I don't want thathouse, that I take the time to
understand why do you like?
And not that I'm needing toconvince you to buy this
particular house.
I'm wanting to know exactlywhat was the deal breakers for
you for this house, because if Ishowed you the house, that
(39:42):
means that, based on our currentcriteria, it met, or mostly met
, all of the things that wetalked about, and then that's
where we need to go through andcompare those things right.
And also that helps me torefine our search process, and a
lot of that can happen online.
(40:03):
You can see a lot of the housesbefore we go, so that you can
start to say, no, I don't quitelike this, no, I don't quite
like that.
But you're very clear on thatand that's a smoother, that's a
good or better use of both yourtime and the realtor's time,
because I don't feel like peopleunderstand that piece.
The realtor's time because Idon't feel like people
(40:24):
understand that piece the moretime that you're out there, if
you have been pre-approved andthe bank has quoted you numbers
and we don't find you a housetimely, then again there may
have to be another pool on yourcredit.
We may.
We're definitely going to haveto relook at all bank statements
, paycheck stubs, and the moretime that you put out there, the
(40:46):
more things that can go wrong.
You cannot, and we talked aboutthis on the last episode.
One of the things that's anightmare for the banker is
people extending or doingadditional credit while they're
in that loan process, right, yes, and again, sometimes
unexpected things happen.
What if you were laid off?
(41:07):
Maybe it's a blessing indisguise that you didn't find a
house right away, but again, ifthat happens, we got to start
over in the loan process, right?
And so I think that time timeis really a important homeowner
(41:29):
or even a seller that's thinkingI just don't want to have to
give up that money.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
What would you say is the chief reason that they
would want to make theinvestment, take the time and
connect to a realtor?
Speaker 3 (41:59):
Again, I think that having, especially on the buy
side, if you have a good realtorthat helps you define a
property that has built inequity, those numbers should
check out to where, if this iswhat I mean about knowing your
numbers and not buying up tomaxing out yourself and this
(42:25):
property has no equity, becauseat that point I probably would
be mad at the realtor right If Ihad to sell in a year I don't
have any wiggle room Because,again, understanding loan
products, if I'm doing an FHAloan, how much am I bringing
down versus a conventional loan,that I have a bigger down
payment, so I can do that.
But if I'm only bringing three,three and a half percent down
and I got to pay realtors threepercent or more, I'm already
(42:51):
upside down in this and so it'snot just about calculating write
downs, numbers, it is lookingto those future pieces.
But on the sales side, I thinkthat, again, the like anything
else, having somebody that canhandle all those pieces for you
if you bought at a right at agood price and that's the piece
(43:11):
that I say all the time youdon't make money when you sell
real estate.
You make money when you buy thereal estate, having a good,
savvy realtor that can help toagain structure this deal and
present it in a way that you getfull price offers does kind of
really lead to that piece of OK.
(43:34):
I'm willing to give up thisamount because I've gotten the
pieces that I thought wasnecessary.
Like that I needed to pocketand understanding that no matter
there's a cost of doingbusiness, no matter what
business you do, even inrepresenting yourself, you can
do that.
But are you going to beavailable to show that house?
Are you going to be availableto answer all the questions?
Are you going to be availableto understand and negotiate
(43:57):
again with title companies,lenders fighting through
appraisals, so on and so forth?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
So, as you can see, she is definitely full of
knowledge.
So if somebody is listening,how can they reach out and
contact you?
Speaker 3 (44:11):
So the best way I you can certainly email me.
My email is Denetria D-E-N asin Nancy, E-T-R-I-A at D-B
closers, and that'sC-L-O-S-E-R-S dot com.
You could call me.
My cell is 225-223-0499.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I do get a good amount of calls, so if I don't
answer, please leave me avoicemail or shoot me a text
yeah, she's a busy lady, butwe're going to have to get her
back because we didn't evenscratch the surface, because I
definitely want to have her comeback and we, like I said,
explore that conversation wewere having about basically how
you can make money just showingthe house.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Yes, yes.
So we'll talk through some ofthose things of you know, people
who may be interested ingetting into real estate, into
real estate.
We should also have discussionsabout people who are looking to
invest into real estate and howreal estate does allow you to
make money, but it's not like.
(45:12):
I think one of the big piecesright now is everybody saying,
oh, I got to get into realestate to get rich.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
So we'll definitely have to have you come back soon
to talk about, because we know alot of people that are thinking
that way.
So thanks, denetria.
Speaker 3 (45:26):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
It's time for Blueprint Building Blocks Small
changes that lead to bigfinancial wins.
Let's stack up for success.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Don't DIY your biggest purchase.
Don't DIY your biggest purchase.
A realtor brings knowledge,negotiation skills and access to
listings that the averageperson doesn't even know about.
Interview your realtor, askabout their experience,
certifications and, of course,how they communicate, and then
understand their role.
Your realtor is your advocate,not your salesperson.
(46:01):
They really should have yourbest interests at heart and then
, of course, get pre-approvedfirst Before calling a realtor,
know your numbers you heard itright here.
Then let your realtor help youshop smart.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
That's a wrap on today's Blueprint Building
Blocks.
Stay on track with yourfinancial journey.
Subscribe to the Money Matterspodcast and visit
neighborsfcuorg slash financialwellness for more tools to help
you build a strong financialfuture.
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that
focuses on how to use the moneyyou have, make the money you
need and save the money you want.
Now here is your host, ms Kim.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Chapman, imagine losing thousands of dollars
simply because you didn't makethe right call.
Well, we're going to make suretoday that never happens to you,
because we're going to betalking about real estate and
returning is an expert.
I mean, we've been sitting herebefore we went live talking
about the difference between arealtor and a real estate agent
and you might say, well, I'm notready to buy a house, but guess
(00:34):
what?
She's been sitting herechatting with us about how you
can even make money withouthaving your license.
So welcome back, denetria.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hey, thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Glad to be back.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
This is one of my favorite guests.
She knows so much.
I mean, every time we sit andtalk, I learn so much.
So we're going to go ahead andjust kick it off with the basics
before we get to how you caneven make money.
So let's talk about thedifference between a realtor and
a real estate agent.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Okay.
So I think that the simplestway to kind of put that in a
nutshell is that all realtorsare real estate agents, but not
all real estate agents arerealtors.
So if you are, if a person isusing the term realtor, that
means you're a part of theNational Association of Realtors
(01:24):
.
So that is a trademark name andthat just means that we have
voluntarily signed up.
We are held to a higherstandard of professional
liability, and that is a part ofthe commitment that we've
chosen to make by becoming apart of that association and
(01:44):
following in the code of ethicsthat has been outlined for us.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Awesome.
So why should a person ifyou're?
Because, of course, realtorscan be used for the buyer or the
seller.
So what is it?
What are the benefits of havinga realtor?
Why can't I just do a DIY?
I know I want a four bedroommansion with a swimming pool, a
fireplace.
I need to have 12 foot ceilings.
(02:11):
Why can't I just go out and dothat on my own?
Okay, so let me.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
let me answer that question with a question.
Okay, all right.
So if you were sick and you got, let's say, cancer, would you
solely work on trying to fixyourself, fix or heal yourself
only on your own, withoutseeking any medical advice?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Because I need the experts to help me make sure I'm
making the best decisions.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Exactly and so.
But does that mean that youdon't know anything about how to
heal your body?
No, and does that mean that youcannot find some things on your
own about how to naturally healyour body?
Absolutely not.
But now you have the ability tocompare what you have learned
with a subject matter expert.
(03:05):
I liken that to kind of workingwith a realtor.
A realtor is someone who, or areal estate agent who, says or
has the knowledge to representyou when it comes to purchasing
or selling properties, and Ithink that one of the biggest
myths about realtors is that wejust market properties right, or
(03:28):
we're just showing properties,and I think that that's just a
teeny tiny part of what realtorsdo, especially now that we have
AI and the Internet right, andso, really and truly, this is
your biggest investment.
So, if you had a heartcondition, would you go see a
(03:48):
foot doctor?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Exactly Right, and so it's the same.
I think with this, like buyinga home is probably the biggest
purchase that most of us willever make, and so it's important
then that I make or have all ofthe best information that I
have to make a good decision.
And we have two competingthings right.
The buyer says I want to buy ahouse that has all these bells
(04:15):
and whistles and gives me themost equity for the lowest
amount of money, and on thesales side it's I want to sell
my house at the highest amountpossible, right, and so that I
can have some money that I keepin my pocket.
Knowing your numbers, that's abig piece, and knowing the
(04:37):
market is an even bigger pieceto knowing your numbers.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Okay, so I'm a prospective buyer.
Kind of walk me through theprocess.
If I were to pick up the phoneand contact you, what should I
expect?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So the first thing is is that I would probably start
with asking you have you everworked with a realtor and are
you currently working with one,and that's twofold One, so that
I know kind of what?
Are you a first time buyer andnever sold real estate or
purchased real estate ever?
And then, secondly, though, ifyou're currently working with
(05:10):
someone that's a part of thatcode of ethics that I talked
about we are now obligatedlegally to sign buyer's broker's
agreements, and so when youhave signed that, that's the
agent that now represents you.
And that's important, becauseif you have that signed with
someone else, I can't representyou.
(05:32):
And I also, because I tookbecause of the code of ethics, I
can't tell you oh, go, fireyour agent.
Now, if you want to do that,that's between you and that
agent.
You just can't put thatsuggestion in the air.
I can't put that suggestion inthe air, right, you in that age,
you just can't put thatsuggestion in the air, right.
And so that's again, as much asyou don't just again
arbitrarily like even thoughagain we use that same analogy
(05:53):
about going to the doctor whereyour insurance has people that
are in network and out ofnetwork, and it's not that you
wouldn't use someone out ofnetwork.
It's more that I care moreabout the specialty and
expertise that I do, aboutwhether or not they're in or out
, and I'm willing to pay more,meaning I'll go out of network
if I know that this person isreally the better fit for
(06:16):
helping me.
And so, again, that's where thecostly mistakes can take place,
because you may just go to yourgeneral practitioner and you
have a heart condition, who doesnot specialize in heart issues
and may not have ever seensomething that indicates that
the symptoms that you'reexperiencing is really more of a
(06:39):
heart issue than it is.
You know, a common cold, sayyou know, for example.
And so it's the kind of like.
Those are things that I wouldjust kind of start with first
making sure that I can representyou, and then, secondly, after
that, it would be to actuallysit down and schedule a time
where you and I couldn't meet.
(06:59):
So the first conversation if Iam busy, you're not getting my
full, undivided attention, andif you just picked up the phone
and say, hey, someone told me tocome talk to you, you're
probably not at a place toreally sit down and do the deep
dive and answer questions thatare necessary for me to
represent you appropriately.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
So what things should I even consider?
Or information should I haveavailable before we meet, even
consider?
Speaker 3 (07:25):
or information should I have available before we meet
.
So again, kind of having anidea of what you can afford and
I don't mean that by oh, I wantto buy a $250,000 house or I
want a $500,000 house.
I think a lot of times peoplekind of start there like, oh, I
want this really luxurious housethat is in the, you know, a
(07:47):
gated community.
Don't we all we all do, and it'snot to say that you can't get
that right.
But let's start with how muchcan you afford?
How much do, regardless of whatthe bank approves you for?
How much do you think that youcould realistically pay in a
mortgage each month and not notbe a financial burden for you?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
should I go to the bank first and I should never
say that be worth the creditunion right should I get a
pre-approval first, or should Isee you first?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
um, it really is a um .
Um, I'm gonna send you there,right?
I think that, just like you,you would shop with me or other
realtors to see which who likewho's a good fit.
You should do the same thing.
I think sometimes the firstthing that comes to our head is
the B word, like you said, banksand you overlook the fact that
(08:37):
you have local credit unionsthat probably have different
products that are morespecialized and tailored to fit
your circumstances, differentproducts that are more
specialized and tailored to fityour circumstances.
So, again, while you can have aconversation with a financial
institution, that may not be theend-all, be-all that we use, so
it's the same thing, but it's agood starting place.
It gives us a good gauge ofwhere you're at and knowing if
(09:00):
you have the ability to purchaseat this time.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Okay.
So we've kind of gotten pastthat.
I have a painted picture ofwhat I want and I've kind of
done the numbers and I think Iknow what I can afford.
What's next?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So then I think I actually read recently another
realtor use.
This person was out of statebut I was reading an article and
she had an acronym that now I'mlike stealing and I don't
remember her name to give hercredit for it.
But she used a love acronym andI love that because real estate
(09:37):
is an emotional piece.
This is a big piece of yourlife, right, piece of your mind,
right.
And so as we're navigatingthose kind of things, setting
expectations up front andhelping us to have a framework
for us when we're getting backto, okay, we've kind of found
something but it's not quitethere, how do we evaluate those
(10:00):
things?
And so that acronym love it waslike location.
That's important.
It's probably one of thebiggest features of real estate.
That dictates how much we're,oftentimes how much the
properties are settling for.
But bigger than that, on apersonal level location for you.
Where are you driving to?
(10:22):
How far is this from your work?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Don't want to be by the interstate.
Don't want to be the country.
Where are you driving to?
How far is this?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
from your work, don't want to be by the interstate,
don't want to be the countryCorrect, so those kind of things
that are personal.
And so, taking a deep, in-depth, just introspective review for
yourself, some of thesequestions you may not fully know
off top and some of them youwill shoot from the hip until
you because it looked goodonline and you've kind of done
(10:48):
this until you get out there andyou're like you know what?
This is a lot of traffic to getover here.
I'm not really feeling this asmuch as I thought that I would
be.
The offer, what?
So?
That was the O.
What is the property offeringright, and not just in terms of
the things that we can all seeonline on zillow.
(11:10):
What does it offer for youpersonally?
Um, so does this house give youthe three bedrooms?
Does it give you the big bagbackyard?
Does it give you the pool thatyou may or may not have wanted
you?
You know, thinking of thosethings.
And then the value again, notjust the monetary cost to it.
(11:32):
But can I put some things, canI improve some things?
That may again include andthat's one of the pieces that I
think is really good aboutworking with a realtor is
understanding value in terms ofequity right, what kind of
improvements can I put into thisproperty that is going to
increase my property value butalso may be valuable to me?
(11:55):
And so, again, making sure thatyou're putting money in the
right places, especially if youknow if it's not new
construction, it's just like anyother, like a used car is used.
There's going to be some thingsthat are not exactly 100% how
you, how you would imagine theyshould be, and that's kind of a
(12:18):
thing I feel like most realtorsuse is the 80, 10, 10, right,
want 80 percent of um, all thethings that you kind of want 10
percent of, you know I have somewiggle room.
And then the 10 percent likelike 10 percent, like I can fix
up to improve it, and the other10 is I can live with it.
(12:39):
You know, I mean it's not thedeal breaker it's not the deal
breaker, and so those are thethings that kind of help us.
And then that last little E she, I think, may have said equity
or something along that.
I'm going to change it up.
I say exit strategy because Ithink that a lot of times, even
when you think it's your lasthouse, that you're going to.
(13:01):
Forever home, forever home,things happen Right, house that
you're going to forever home,things happen right.
And so buying smart says I havestarted with the end in mind.
So if something happens and Ican no longer afford this, can I
sell this house and not be indebt or have to bring money to
closing?
And so that's a big piece,because I have seen that I
(13:26):
recently had a transactionsimilar to that, where it's a
forever home, they put a lot ofmoney into it, lots of furniture
, and something unexpectedhappened and they had to sell
and they didn't walk away with alot of money, you know, and
almost had to bring money to theclosing.
So that's why it's important tobuy smart right and to factor
(13:49):
those numbers in, because Idon't think that couple had been
in the house maybe just shy ofa year, you know and so that's a
big.
It's a big deal, and I thinkthat it's something that's
totally overlooked.
Nobody would buy a car and sayI'm going to intentionally go
(14:09):
out here and get upside down onmy right.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
It looks that way Sometimes it looks like that.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Right, it happens, it happens Right.
And.
But I think it's a recognizablething.
Recognizable thing thateverybody, like.
No one would argue with thatpart Like, look, if you buy this
after all, that you're going tobe upside down on this.
We know, soon as you drive thatcar off the lot, we know that
it's depreciated instantly.
We don't think about that interms of real estate, we only
(14:38):
think about appreciation andvalue, and that's good.
But we also need to look at howmuch has this neighborhood
appreciated in value, or is itjust holding steady?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
And so I think, when we think about the term realtor
you mentioned, you know it's amyth that all you do is show
houses.
So what else would you do forme, after we've kind of ironed
out what I can afford, what Ilike, we've kind of gone over,
you know the location and theoffer what else is entailed in
the services that you provide?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
So with me with me personally, I would say that you
get not only a tour guide butreally a problem solver all
wrapped into one, and I can tellyou that it is.
It is like like walking througha landmine you don't know what
you're going to walk into.
So there's funding challenges.
(15:30):
There can be challenges throughnegotiations.
We have inspections, so there'sthings that we might see or
happen or take place in thatinspection that you can't see
with your naked eye, becausewe're not trained to look for
that.
We have to still get throughlending and I think that, again,
people focus on two parts ofreal estate right, Looking at
(15:52):
houses and the closing table.
So there's a lot that takesplace in between.
And, again, that's why, startingwith that in mind and setting
proper expectations becausesometimes this can go really
quick and sometimes this is amarathon it takes us a long time
because, again, you being themore that you are in tune with
(16:16):
your buying criteria and that iswhat I am helping us to
evaluate throughout our timetogether Because, as I'm knowing
or getting to know you, we maynot have been as close in the
beginning, but through the realestate journey we can become
best friends.
And again, once you start toknow those things, right, like,
(16:39):
okay, I have kids and now we'rethinking through okay, I didn't
know that, you know, maybethere's another parent involved,
there's commuting back andforth between for the kid back
and forth.
There's just someconsiderations that you may not
have thought through that I wantto bring to your attention.
(16:59):
Like, okay, what about daycareduring the summer Summer camp?
Is this mortgage going to be afinancial strain on you during
that time when they're not inschool?
Right, and you have, you know,someone that is taking care of
them while you're at work?
Right, if you lost your job,what would take place here,
(17:23):
reviewing your appraisal report,going over those numbers for
you, making sure that, again,you have buttoned up this deal
left and right is very, veryimportant, and also then being
able to spot some things.
That gives us the ability tonegotiate equity into the house,
(17:43):
and that is always my goal notto just sell you a house that
you can say, oh, I got approvedfor a $300,000 house, I hope to
get you a house that may be less, that appraises for three
hundred thousand, or theopposite, that we get you a
three hundred thousand dollarhouse but it has some built in
(18:05):
equity there, so that again, ifyou are in these kind of tight
spots, you have options.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So what are some other myths?
You mentioned, of course, thatone that they, that we believe
you just show houses and thenclosing.
What are some other myths thatyou know prospective homebuyers
come to you that you have tokind of unlearn?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Actually, I will.
I had a transaction recentlywhere a client had spoken to the
seller, not kind of knowingexactly what they were walking
into about purchasing theproperty, and the seller said,
oh well, I have a realtor.
And the client said, well, okay, well, I'm going to get mine.
(18:48):
And then we go intonegotiations and in this case,
the piece was I did not find theproperty, but I've helped this
client prepare throughoutgetting ready to acquire this
property, and when it got downto negotiations and what have
(19:09):
you one of the realtor mentionedto me.
Well, my client said you didn'tfind the property, and I think
that that's a commonmisconception that real estate
is just about finding property.
I think that most people haveaccess to online tools like
Zillow.
I think we were just talking toour camera guy back here and
(19:31):
he's helping his friend.
They're looking at propertiesthemselves through Zillow.
So most people do oftentimesfind their own properties.
But again, there's a lot ofsteps between finding the
property, negotiating on thatproperty, understanding what
things you can negotiate onentering into your contract with
(19:55):
an offer that is, that you havethe ability to get out of that
contract if you need to forwhatever reason understanding
the contractual laws and stuffthere.
Helping you to navigate thatlegal landscape when it comes to
real estate is, I think is aneven bigger part of the process
than just locating the propertyitself.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So when I opened up this session, you know I kind of
led in with hey, if you don'tmake that right call, you can
lose thousands of dollars.
So what are some of thenegative impacts you've seen for
individuals that try tonegotiate making purchasing a
property on their own, withouthaving your assistance?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Excuse me.
So I also have ownership in atitle company.
So because I am at the closingtable, that means a lot.
I also see deals that do fallthrough and the biggest piece is
again the lack of negotiation.
So you'll see that whenappraisals come back you're
(20:52):
right at that amount.
And I'll use my own self as anexample.
I purchased a home and myproperty I was sure would
appraise for what I had put inthe offer for and it did.
But the appraisal just said itmet the loan amount.
(21:15):
Well, that wasn't good enough.
I mean, of course it meets theloan amount, but my appraised
value is something that somelenders use, amcs, which is
pretty much like the best way Ican kind of explain.
It is like a broker house forappraisers and then that is now
(21:37):
on file and of record with themfor a certain amount of time.
If the appraisal comes back andjust says, look, it meets the
loan amount, you don't know howmuch more equity you have in
this property, right?
Or that it didn't meet the loanamount, this is where a realtor
pulling their own comps,knowing the market, being able
(21:57):
to evaluate, and look at thatappraisal and say, okay, well,
does the appraisal itself meetHUD standards?
What are HUD standards forappraisals?
And I won't even say that everyrealtor knows those things.
It's just that the more dealsthat you see, the more problems,
and I tell people that youdon't learn from the wins.
(22:17):
You learn more from themistakes, the problems that take
place.
That you're like okay, I canbutton up this, and even more so
on the next one, on the nextone, on the next one, and I
think that, once you kind of seethat there is a lot of things
that we can negotiate on, evenin the appraisal process, the
(22:38):
important piece to that, though,is numbers.
So I have this thing that I tellmyself of facts over feelings.
Right, I can't feel like thisis so unfair, and it might very
well be, but I have to provefactually that it is, in a way.
So that's also a piece.
I'm like I've always kind ofbeen a one, two, three like
(23:00):
throw it out there type ofperson, but even understanding
that sometimes, if you serve ittoo hard, it just you know it's
too hard to to grasp.
So, knowing how to present thisback to um, whether it's like
whether we're in negotiations,whether we're talking to the
lender, whether we're talking tothe appraiser, to even have
(23:22):
them open, be open to theconsideration that we're trying
to have them consider.
That in itself is a skill setor an art, that is a true kind
of value add that I think thatthe realtors that close lots of
deals they've mastered.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And I imagine you know this answer.
You may not be able to reallytell me, but in terms of from
start to finish, ideally, onaverage, how long is the process
from when I come to you and Ihave an idea of what I want and
you know the numbers, all ofthose things are in place?
How long on average does ittake to get from day one to date
(24:01):
to closing date?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
average does it take to get from day one to date to
closing date?
So it depends on what side of atransaction you're working on.
So, whether you're an investor,are you a home buyer who is
looking for a forever home oryou're looking for a starter
home, right, I think that thattimeline can be anywhere from a
couple of weeks to a couple ofmonths and a lot of it really
boils down to you Investors.
(24:28):
We tend to close quickerbecause investors don't really
care about all of the things onthe inside of the house.
They see the vision right, like, look, I can fix this thing up.
Homeowners, if they're they'rea little, have the ability to
see past the imperfections thatmight be before them.
(24:49):
Say, look, you know, I canpaint this house, I can do this
those.
Usually you can close them outa little bit quicker 45 days
when you're trying to buy ahouse to live in Just because
there's a lot of pieces that arenot within your control,
(25:10):
especially if you're using alender.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
So what are some?
So you mentioned that there'ssome things that your eyes train
to see.
So if we're visiting a houseand I may think, oh, you know,
I'm looking at all the cosmeticthings, it's, oh, it's so
beautiful, the floors what aresome of those things that an
untrained eye commonly miss?
Speaker 3 (25:30):
I think that again looking for things for your
family, right, Like for you, soas if I know that you're a
single woman.
I'm not just looking at thehouse, I'm kind of looking at
the other houses.
What are the neighbors doing?
Are there people walking?
(25:51):
Who's walking the neighborhood?
How close am I to like?
Is this down a dead end, Likewhere?
How is this house positionedwithin the neighborhood?
I think also looking at things,floors, not just that there are
floors, the feel of the floor,or there are soft spots when I'm
(26:13):
walking and I see it kind ofsloping Again, roof stuff.
I am by no means a person thatdoes anything with tools, but I
do kind of now, after havinggone through this process, like
I'm like, okay, I see the roofkind of, you know, shingles kind
of pulled up a little bit,things like that.
(26:40):
I'm like the, the HVAC right,I'm going where is the HVAC unit
so that I can go see how long,like, how old is it.
Looking at the label right,it's small things like that
because I'm anticipating whatkind of future maintenance are
(27:01):
we going to possibly encounterwith this?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So, and those again are good negotiating points- so
we talked a lot from theperspective of the buyer, so
let's talk a little bit aboutthe perspective of the seller.
How does a realtor help theseller?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
So, again, knowing your numbers in the market,
excuse me.
So I think that there are lotsof people who decide to buy or
not buy, sorry, sell theirhouses on their own.
There is for sale by ownerwebsites.
But even in real estate,realtors don't always get it
right.
We see properties that sit onthe market for a long time.
(27:40):
When properties are sitting, weknow that there is an issue.
What that issue is can only bedetermined when we start asking
questions.
You've gone into the house,we've looked at the market and
being able to analyze that piece, because sometimes it could be
just the price.
The property is overpriced, itcould be that you have a nice
(28:01):
price.
There's other properties thatare moving why isn't yours
selling right?
And so there could be somethings that you may not may have
overlooked, but it's anemotional aspect.
There's a reason that attorneysdon't represent themselves in
court or their family members.
(28:22):
So the same with doctors theydon't operate on themselves or
their own family, because theemotional piece oftentimes puts
up blinders.
Because this is something thatyou've loved, this house it's
been.
It's giving you so manymemories, but that doesn't mean
that other people will love thesame things that you loved about
(28:43):
the house and so kind of havingthat step back and evaluating
that piece but also knowing yournumbers.
I think that a lot of timespeople focus on well, if I just
sell the house, I'm going tokeep a lot of the money.
Well, the buyer can still berepresented by a realtor, and I
think that that's another commonmisconception.
(29:05):
When there's a one-sidedtransaction, unless the realtor
has decided and that has beenokay with the primary person
that the realtor is representing, then that's when they go into
dual agency.
I'm not a big fan of dualagency agency.
(29:26):
I'm not a big fan of dualagency because, as an agent,
what I'm saying is that I'mgoing to zealously represent you
, and now I'm not going to dothat, I am going to do it to
your best interest.
Well, these two people havecompeting interests and
sometimes, like you know, wheneverybody, when it's good, it's
great, like right, here's aprice, they're willing to pay
for it.
Everybody is great, win-winsituation.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Is that the norm?
Speaker 3 (29:50):
I would say not.
I think that sometimes, again,glamour and emotions, right.
So there's a lot of realtorsthat are really good salespeople
, realtors that are really goodsalespeople, and sometimes you
as the seller, will leave moneyon the table because I want to
get a deal done and I'mrepresenting this buyer, which
(30:19):
means I need to look at theirbest interest in addition to
yours, and then if you say, well, I'm just going to let the
other person be represented by arealtor and I'm going to
represent myself.
Well, I mean, I don't think inany boxing ring it's going to be
fair that there's two againstone, even if I don't know how to
fight Right the same thing here.
The realtor, they're going tobe nice to you, of course.
They're going to be nice to you, of course.
(30:43):
But again, the interest there'sactually an old car acronym is
what they do for the fiduciaryresponsibilities that realtors
have for clients, and one of theL in that is loyalty.
My loyalty is to the clientthat I'm representing.
Another one is confidentiality.
(31:05):
So there are some things thatis to my client's benefit or
detriment that, if I disclose ordon't disclose, depending on
who I'm representing can be anegotiating point, right.
So let's think about that.
I know that not yet, but you'reabout to be divorced.
(31:26):
Well, if I tell my client that,or if I'm just talking a lot
and I slip up and say it, andyou probably do it fast, I'm
going to come in with a loweroffer, you know.
But that's also, I think, oneof my things.
I'm like I do a lot of researchon all those things, like to
(31:50):
see what leverage do we have.
And, again, some people arelike you know, people live their
lives on social media now,right, and so I don't think that
people realize just how muchdata is out there and is
available freely, publicly,public disputes.
(32:12):
Now, you know, everything is upfor negotiation, and so those
are the things that again, areblind spots.
Blind spots that I feel like alot of people just don't think
about, blind spots that I feellike a lot of people just don't
think about.
And again, every day that yourproperty is on the market,
you're losing money, and I thinkI had a recent negotiating
(32:36):
experience with that, where Iwas trying to get this deal to
close quickly as a benefit forthe seller, but also in exchange
for what my buyer wanted, andand um, it was like oh, you know
we can wait and I'm like butcan you let's look at the cost
(32:59):
of waiting Right, and I thinkthat, and especially for someone
who's representing themselves,the cost of waiting right, and I
think that, and especially forsomeone who's representing
themselves on the sales side,the cost of waiting you could do
it yourself.
But the longer your property ison the market, every month
you're paying a mortgage,depending on how long you've
owned that.
(33:19):
There's some of that that's notrecoupable.
It's going straight to interest.
It's going straight to interest.
It's not eating down yourprincipal.
So when you do sell, thatprincipal balance is just a
little bit down than what it wasthe month before.
But you still have to pay all ofthat off at closing if there's
a loan on it, utilities, if youhave an HOA fee, if you have,
(33:42):
you know someone to come cut thegrass.
There's what if, between nowand when you do it, a hurricane
comes and a tree falls?
Now you have to deal with allthese kind of things the longer
that it sits on the market, andnow we're moving into that
hurricane, getting closer tohurricane season.
But we've also seen some thingshappen and take place that just
(34:05):
are random and strange.
Right.
So the quicker that we can geta deal done, that's a win for
everybody, and I personally,with everything I'm like people
pay a little bit more throughDoorDash, why?
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Convenience.
So if I go to googlecom and Iput a realtor, there's going to
be infinite number of realtorsI'm going to come up with.
So how do I find the realtorthat's right for me, right, how
do I find a good one?
And then what might be some redflags that this person is is
not the right realtor.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
So I personally am not an advertiser myself,
because I think that with mostthings, if I'm solely relying on
Google, people are really kindof creatures of habit.
If I love the experience, I'llgive you a five-star review.
(35:03):
If I love the experience, giveyou a five star review.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
If you make me mad one star, and then I'm going to
type if I could give less thanone star.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yes, and then usually if it's like anything in
between that I don't know.
Like I guess maybe I'm a weirdperson.
Like I read the reviews andusually if it's like three or
four stars, it's really becausesomething petty like really,
(35:31):
like you know they didn't dosomething that you felt entitled
to, that wasn't even arequirement here.
But I'm like again it'semotional and then oftentimes
I'm not saying this abouteverybody Oftentimes when it's
all five stars reviews and it'shundreds of them, it's just the
law of numbers.
Like there's a quote I thinkAbraham Lincoln said like you
(35:53):
could please all the people, youcan't please all the people all
the time, but you can't pleasesome of the people some of the
time.
Oftentimes if it's all fivestar reviews.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
It should be a red flag.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
It's a red flag right .
It's probably friends or peoplethat really really like them or
paid right or incentivized, sonot that you have to pay them
Like look, I'll give you adiscount, I'll do whatever if
you give us a five-star Good.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Google review Good Google review, right if?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
you give us a good Google review, right, and so I
just think that, when it comesto legal stuff title companies,
real estate most people aregoing to go with someone that
was referred to them and theyhave a personal relationship
with, and that's in any type ofsales like service type kind of
industry.
Usually it's people do businesswith who they know like and
(36:43):
trust of industry.
Usually it's people do businesswith who they know like and
trust.
The problem with that, though,is sometimes you overlook people
simply because you don'tnecessarily know them, and if
someone else didn't tell youabout them, they just wouldn't
have the opportunity to be seen.
But then we do focus on peoplethat post a lot on social media.
(37:05):
Well, the problem with socialmedia is is that that algorithm
is not specific to ageographical location unless
someone is specificallytargeting you in that
geographical location, right,and so, again having having that
seeing all the closings and allyou know the the happy part you
(37:30):
just you're not seeing all thepieces that took place to get
there, and so I think thatthat's a thing that you just
have to kind of be cognizant of.
That's a thing that you justhave to kind of be cognizant of.
I've seen things.
You ever read a bad review andyou say, oh, I love that bad
review.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Because that's going to be the one review that keeps
me from utilizing that business.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
So have you ever done it to the opposite?
Like I was looking at a reviewfor a school that I was looking
at for my kids and someone leftthe school a couple people left
one-star reviews about how theadministration handled the
situation and I was like Iactually love that review.
Oh yeah, there's some substanceto it.
There's some substance to it,but I was like in a positive way
(38:20):
.
You know what that's the thingthat would give me?
Like the expectation has beenset that what someone else saw
as negative is a positive thingfor me.
I think the same thing in realestate.
All the times I'll see peopleonline say, oh, my realtor
showed me 20 houses.
And I think that sometimes Iknow, like my shocker statement
(38:41):
is I tell people I'm not showingyou 20 houses and it's like oh,
why are you in real estate?
And I'm like it's not that Ijust am being hardcore about 20
houses, and once you've seen 20pairs of shoes, it's hard for
you to choose one pair.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
They all start to look alike.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
They all start to look alike and then nothing
quite fits.
They all start to look alike.
They all start to look alikeand then nothing quite fits.
If we have to get to that manyhouses, that means that I didn't
(39:20):
do enough due diligence withyou up front and asking you
enough questions throughout theprocess for you to get very,
very clear on what is a goodhouse for you.
So after each house that welook at, that's important that
if you say I don't want thathouse, that I take the time to
understand why do you like?
And not that I'm needing toconvince you to buy this
particular house.
I'm wanting to know exactlywhat was the deal breakers for
you for this house, because if Ishowed you the house, that
(39:42):
means that, based on our currentcriteria, it met, or mostly met
, all of the things that wetalked about, and then that's
where we need to go through andcompare those things right.
And also that helps me torefine our search process, and a
lot of that can happen online.
(40:03):
You can see a lot of the housesbefore we go, so that you can
start to say, no, I don't quitelike this, no, I don't quite
like that.
But you're very clear on thatand that's a smoother, that's a
good or better use of both yourtime and the realtor's time,
because I don't feel like peopleunderstand that piece.
The realtor's time because Idon't feel like people
(40:24):
understand that piece the moretime that you're out there, if
you have been pre-approved andthe bank has quoted you numbers
and we don't find you a housetimely, then again there may
have to be another pool on yourcredit.
We may.
We're definitely going to haveto relook at all bank statements
, paycheck stubs, and the moretime that you put out there, the
(40:46):
more things that can go wrong.
You cannot, and we talked aboutthis on the last episode.
One of the things that's anightmare for the banker is
people extending or doingadditional credit while they're
in that loan process, right, yes, and again, sometimes
unexpected things happen.
What if you were laid off?
(41:07):
Maybe it's a blessing indisguise that you didn't find a
house right away, but again, ifthat happens, we got to start
over in the loan process, right?
And so I think that time timeis really a important homeowner
(41:29):
or even a seller that's thinkingI just don't want to have to
give up that money.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
What would you say is the chief reason that they
would want to make theinvestment, take the time and
connect to a realtor?
Speaker 3 (41:59):
Again, I think that having, especially on the buy
side, if you have a good realtorthat helps you define a
property that has built inequity, those numbers should
check out to where, if this iswhat I mean about knowing your
numbers and not buying up tomaxing out yourself and this
(42:25):
property has no equity, becauseat that point I probably would
be mad at the realtor right If Ihad to sell in a year I don't
have any wiggle room Because,again, understanding loan
products, if I'm doing an FHAloan, how much am I bringing
down versus a conventional loan,that I have a bigger down
payment, so I can do that.
But if I'm only bringing three,three and a half percent down
and I got to pay realtors threepercent or more, I'm already
(42:51):
upside down in this and so it'snot just about calculating write
downs, numbers, it is lookingto those future pieces.
But on the sales side, I thinkthat, again, the like anything
else, having somebody that canhandle all those pieces for you
if you bought at a right at agood price and that's the piece
(43:11):
that I say all the time youdon't make money when you sell
real estate.
You make money when you buy thereal estate, having a good,
savvy realtor that can help toagain structure this deal and
present it in a way that you getfull price offers does kind of
really lead to that piece of OK.
(43:34):
I'm willing to give up thisamount because I've gotten the
pieces that I thought wasnecessary.
Like that I needed to pocketand understanding that no matter
there's a cost of doingbusiness, no matter what
business you do, even inrepresenting yourself, you can
do that.
But are you going to beavailable to show that house?
Are you going to be availableto answer all the questions?
Are you going to be availableto understand and negotiate
(43:57):
again with title companies,lenders fighting through
appraisals, so on and so forth?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
So, as you can see, she is definitely full of
knowledge.
So if somebody is listening,how can they reach out and
contact you?
Speaker 3 (44:11):
So the best way I you can certainly email me.
My email is Denetria D-E-N asin Nancy, E-T-R-I-A at D-B
closers, and that'sC-L-O-S-E-R-S dot com.
You could call me.
My cell is 225-223-0499.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I do get a good amount of calls, so if I don't
answer, please leave me avoicemail or shoot me a text
yeah, she's a busy lady, butwe're going to have to get her
back because we didn't evenscratch the surface, because I
definitely want to have her comeback and we, like I said,
explore that conversation wewere having about basically how
you can make money just showingthe house.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Yes, yes.
So we'll talk through some ofthose things of you know, people
who may be interested ingetting into real estate, into
real estate.
We should also have discussionsabout people who are looking to
invest into real estate and howreal estate does allow you to
make money, but it's not like.
(45:12):
I think one of the big piecesright now is everybody saying,
oh, I got to get into realestate to get rich.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
So we'll definitely have to have you come back soon
to talk about, because we know alot of people that are thinking
that way.
So thanks, denetria.
Speaker 3 (45:26):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
It's time for Blueprint Building Blocks Small
changes that lead to bigfinancial wins.
Let's stack up for success.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Don't DIY your biggest purchase.
Don't DIY your biggest purchase.
A realtor brings knowledge,negotiation skills and access to
listings that the averageperson doesn't even know about.
Interview your realtor, askabout their experience,
certifications and, of course,how they communicate, and then
understand their role.
Your realtor is your advocate,not your salesperson.
(46:01):
They really should have yourbest interests at heart and then
, of course, get pre-approvedfirst Before calling a realtor,
know your numbers you heard itright here.
Then let your realtor help youshop smart.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
That's a wrap on today's Blueprint Building
Blocks.
Stay on track with yourfinancial journey.
Subscribe to the Money Matterspodcast and visit
neighborsfcuorg slash financialwellness for more tools to help
you build a strong financialfuture.
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