September 13, 2023 • 35 mins
Ever wonder how an engineer in aeronautics becomes a real estate aficionado? Our guest, Alex Skeen, takes us through his extraordinary journey from rockets to helping people find their dream home in the Quad Cities real estate market. His fascinating story will captivate you, as he shares his unique experiences, including the awe-inspiring sight of a rocket launch in Florida and the rewarding shift to real estate.
It's time to embark on a detailed exploration of life in Iowa with the expert guidance of Alex, a proud local since 2015. He shares the ins and outs of life in the Midwestern state, from bracing winters to the friendly community spirit. And if you think YouTube stardom is reserved only for beauty gurus and gamers, Alex will prove you wrong. His channel, 'Living in the Quad Cities', has become a major influence in people’s decisions to relocate--and sometimes even leads to unexpected fan encounters!
The journey concludes with an engaging review of the Quad Cities’ real estate market, where Alex seamlessly navigates between Illinois and Iowa. Discover the area's unique attractions, the cost of living, and why it's the perfect blend of metropolitan vibrancy and small-town charm. Listen in as we reveal how Alex utilizes YouTube to build trust with potential clients and how his videos impact the local community. So, whether you're a Midwest local, a potential mover, or a real estate enthusiast, this episode offers an engaging deep-dive into Midwestern life and its thriving real estate market.
#VisitQuadCities #RealEstate #YouTube #Podcast #Influencer
QC, That's Where is a podcast powered by Visit Quad Cities. Through the people, partnerships, and personalities woven throughout the Quad Cities region, you'll meet real Quad Citizens and hear the untold stories of the region.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alex Skeen (00:00):
And I was walking through Walmart with my fiancee
and I see this couple.
They come past me and I don'tthink too much of it.
I noticed they were kind oflooking over at us and we turn
into aisle and they turn aroundand follow me like, oh man, you
know, I don't know what's goingon here, but they ended up, you
know, tapping me on the shoulderlike, hey, are you, alex, am I?
Yeah, I'll be watching YouTubechannel.
(00:22):
And the the crazy part to mewas they're like we watch a
YouTube channel and we movedhere because of the YouTube
channel all the way from Alaska.
Wow, that's Crazy for me tothink about.
My videos were enough value tothem, they made a decision to
move from Alaska to.
Intro (00:42):
Iowa, illinois area.
Where do you find a family ofcommunities connected by the
storied Mississippi River, whereyoung explorers and dreamers,
investors and entrepreneursthrive?
Where can you connect with realpeople living and creating in a
place that's as genuine as itis quirky QC.
That's where.
Katrina Keuning (01:06):
Welcome to QC, That's Where I'm your host,
Katrina, and I'm so excited tobe talking with Alex Skeen today
.
Real estate agent YouTubeExtraordinaire.
What have you, Alex.
I'm gonna throw it over to youand let's talk about living in
the Quad Cities and being in thereal estate game.
Alex Skeen (01:23):
Absolutely Well.
First off, thank you so muchfor having me here.
Pretty cool to be on thepodcast.
I listen to you guys all thetime.
So awesome to be invited and bea part of this so awesome.
Thank you so much.
Katrina Keuning (01:36):
Thank you for coming on.
I know that it's a busy worldin the industry that you're in,
so the time you're spending withme is much appreciated.
Alex Skeen (01:45):
No problem at all.
So, yes, my name is Alex Skeen.
I've Been in the Quad Citiessince about 2015, have a YouTube
channel that Basically goesover what the Quad Cities is
like and you know my originstory and why I have the YouTube
channel is kind of aninteresting path.
Now I moved here, like I said,in 2015.
(02:07):
I was just out of school,living in Ames, went to school
at Iowa State, so go cyclones.
I got my mechanical engineeringdegree and I started working
here as an intern for Alcoawhich, as you probably know, is
Arconic now and Got a full-timejob offer there and started
(02:28):
working for them was amechanical engineer and Really
cool job.
You know, if you don't knowmuch about our conic, they have
some super cool products there.
I mean they supply, like I wantto say is like 98% of the
aluminum for all commercialaircraft.
They have stuff supplied forSpaceX, rockets, tesla, ford,
(02:50):
f-150s.
They have really cool stuffthere and I did enjoy my my time
there.
I worked on those big giantreversing mills as my primary
focus, but at some point I wasjust kind of, you know, feel
like every day was justmonotonous and wasn't getting
the joy out of it like I didwhen I first got there.
(03:12):
So that's where I started tolook at different opportunities
and my different opportunityactually became real estate.
So I came a licensed realtorand when I got it I had never
planned on becoming a full-timerealtor, even when I was doing
my engineering job, becauseengineering you get paid pretty
(03:32):
well and to go to real estatewhere it's very unknown how
you're gonna get paid, it was abig, big jumps.
I never planned on it.
But the funny thing aboutMaking that transition is my
buddy.
He lives in Florida and he's ain the Air Force and he predicts
the weather for NASA and SpaceXin order to launch rockets,
(03:53):
which I went down and visitedhim and I had a part in helping
build those rockets because ofour conic and I watched these
rocket launch, which was awesomeand I don't know, could you
have you ever watched therockets launch down there?
Katrina Keuning (04:07):
Only on TV.
Alex Skeen (04:08):
Yeah, well, highly recommend getting down there and
watching it because it's justamazing.
We watched a night one and Iswear when they lit it it
literally looked like the Sunwas turned back on.
It was so bright, like is thisreally amazing?
But when I watched the rocketlaunch, you know, the thing that
stood out to me is thatNobody's gonna ever know that I
(04:33):
had a part in that and at thistime I was doing both real
estate and the engineering job,and the thing that I noted about
real estate is peopleappreciated what I did and got
thank yous, which sounds kind ofcheesy, but I just really liked
that aspect and that wasactually the moment I decided I
was gonna leave my engineeringjob and go into on this for real
(04:56):
estate thing for full time.
But how does this all kind ofaccumulate which is what we're
here to talk about into YouTube?
Well, the thing that I noticedwhen I was coming here I was
coming here, you know, just outof college 2015 was there wasn't
a lot of great resources tofind out what it's actually like
(05:19):
to live in the Quad Cities and,as part of the real estate job,
you know that's part of ourDuties is to let people know
what it's like to live here, andnobody was making videos about
it.
So, branched out, saw someother markets, some other
realtors in different marketslike Colorado, new York, and a
(05:39):
lot of people were havingchannels that are doing this
sort of stuff, so startedlearning from them and really
just started making content forour local area.
I mean, you guys over there,visit Quad Cities, do a fabulous
job, but you're more geared,and I may be wrong, but it seems
like you're more geared towardslike touristy type stuff and
(05:59):
events versus the actual living.
Is that pretty accurate?
Katrina Keuning (06:04):
So it can be like that we definitely have
like a staked claim in thetourism assets and kind of
highlighting the beauty and thewhat to do on a weekend.
But that's why I was reallyexcited to talk to you, alex,
because we love to partner withpeople who can get more in the
nitty gritty of like what theneighborhood's gonna be like.
(06:25):
I mean, the Quad Cities is solarge and vast that there's just
no way for one entity to see itall.
So partnering with someone likeyou where we can cover like
here's what's happening thisweekend and you can cover like
here's what your morning walk isgonna be like, that's the
beauty of the Quad Cities andpartnerships like this.
And I gotta touch really quickon your switch from engineering
(06:47):
to real estate.
It may sound surprising, butthe times you and I have talked
recently, you're a people person, so it actually totally makes
sense to me that you kind offell into that, as opposed to
the engineering sphere, and youare a literal rocket scientist I
just learned.
So that's awesome, but pleasecontinue.
Alex Skeen (07:09):
Well, I wouldn't go that far.
I helped build the aluminum tomake the rockets.
I never had to do theprojections on how the rocket
would go function, so clarify,I'm not a rocket scientist.
Katrina Keuning (07:20):
Details, details.
Alex Skeen (07:21):
Exactly exactly.
But you know, what's funnyabout that is I don't feel like
I was your typical engineer thewhole time I was in school.
Now I graduated with honors andall that, but I always say it's
because I was working harderthan most.
I'm not the most technical, notthe smartest, especially when
you get around some of theseengineers that are technical,
(07:42):
it's like, okay, I can see myweakness here and I did enjoy
getting around people and theplan from even from school was
to not be an engineer the restof my life.
It was more to get intomanagement, but when I got to
our conic I saw what managementdid and just wasn't what I had
in my mind of what it was gonnalook like.
(08:03):
So that's kind of where I didstart reaching out and figuring
out what did I like about thepeople side of things and how
could I apply that elsewhere.
So yeah, I mean retrospectively, it does probably make sense
that I'm in real estate versusengineering, but it's not a
typical jump for sure.
I don't know of any otherengineers that are also realtors
(08:26):
, at least locally, unless theyhaven't told me, which is quite
possible.
Katrina Keuning (08:29):
Yeah, so your YouTube channel is focused on.
You know the things that we'remissing.
Basically, when you moved hereand so in one of your YouTube
videos you mentioned how you'velived all over the state of Iowa
.
Go ahead and drill into that alittle bit.
(08:51):
Where have you lived in Iowaand, like in your experience,
how does it compare now to beingon the Iowa side of the Quad
Cities?
Alex Skeen (09:01):
Yeah, so I have lived everywhere.
I grew up in Western Iowa,right on the border of the
Missouri River, about 20 to 30minutes away, I guess, and then
I moved to Ames, which iscentral Iowa, did a stint in Des
Moines for a little bit andthen also did a stint in
Marshalltown, so kind of thatcentral Iowa area, and then,
(09:23):
like I said, in 2015, made thejump over here to Eastern Iowa,
so all along I-80.
Can't say I've lived too muchin the Northern and Southern
parts, but all the central parts, you know, the middle of the
state.
But yeah, that video you know,ironically enough, it's kind of
a negative video on the surface.
The title, I think, it's likeseven reasons you should avoid
(09:45):
moving to Iowa, or somethinglike that.
Yeah, I pulled it up.
Katrina Keuning (09:47):
Avoid.
Okay, here's the kind of coolthing, and if you're not
familiar with Alex's YouTubechannel, so Alex has a YouTube
channel called Living in theQuad Cities and this video we're
talking about All Caps AvoidMoving to Iowa Unless you can
handle these seven things is thetitle, and I'll let you get
into it.
I just have to say I love, Ilove the like anti-advice kind
(10:10):
of like vibe it has, becauseonce you click in and you start
listening, it's genuineinformation, but it's it's just
truths that are like this maynot be for everyone, but it's
not necessarily bad stuff.
Alex Skeen (10:25):
Yeah, and that's why I say you know, on the surface
it looks terrible.
You know, void moving to Iowa,but the way I look at it is, I
don't know about you, but I shopon Amazon all the time, right,
and you see those negativereviews and usually those are
the ones that are the mosthelpful on if you're going to
purchase or not, totally.
(10:46):
And when you look at thechannels, like I want to let
people know what it's like tolive in Iowa, in Davenport,
beton Dorf, moline, all thosebecause you don't want somebody
to get here and then bedisappointed and then leave the
community.
And that's the crazy part aboutthe channel is people reach out
to me and usually the negativevideos are the ones they're most
(11:07):
thankful for.
Katrina Keuning (11:08):
Yeah.
Alex Skeen (11:09):
I didn't know.
You got, you know, 10 inches ofsnow a year or whatever it is.
It's like I'm glad to hear thatand they're excited about it.
I live in Phoenix and I don'tget snow here.
I just want to see snow when Imove there, when us live.
Here we might complain, youknow, ah, snow cold, it's awful.
But somebody that hasn't seenit and they want to, they're
(11:31):
going to be really appreciativeof that.
Katrina Keuning (11:33):
Right, yeah, now you're still right about
those, you know, negativereviews, because what might be a
big deal breaker to somebodymight not be to somebody else or
might be a positive thing.
I like to think it was in thatvideo.
You also said you know, ifyou're moving here, particularly
from the South, be prepared toanswer the question.
Oh, like, how much snow haveyou seen before here?
(11:57):
And I have, I'm like guilty ofthat.
We.
I used to have a coworker at myprevious job who was from Texas
and I would.
Every time it was snowed I'mlike, ah, is this the most snow
you've seen now?
Like, how you liking it?
You know, it's just kind oflike in our blood to to flaunt
the extreme winter weather thatwe get just for fun.
(12:17):
Yeah.
It is something that you needto know if you're coming here.
Alex Skeen (12:21):
Exactly Now it's.
It's fun to see that.
And then, you know, when I getto meet some of these people
that are coming here, it's funfor me to see their perspective
on things.
You know, my fiance is a goodexample.
She's she was born in thePhilippines but she grew up in
Saudi Arabia and then she movedto Rock Island, which are not
the same at all.
(12:41):
So some things that I take forgranted she's, you know, just
mesmerized by, like the snow,for one example, but she also
loves fireflies in the summer.
To me, growing up in Iowa,that's a pretty common thing.
You know, I don't even reallythink about it, but she sees
them, she runs out there andshe's like, oh, this is awesome.
(13:03):
And when you think about itthey are pretty cool.
I mean, what other animalproduces a light like that?
It's not a common thing.
Katrina Keuning (13:11):
And it's not toxic.
You can grab it in your handand actually like up close and
personal.
Alex Skeen (13:17):
Yeah, exactly so it's uh, it's fun to do those
because that's what I keep inmind is, like, the things I find
common may not be common forsomebody else, and I want to
share those sorts of things, andthat's the big goal with the
channel is just share thecommonalities that somebody may
not know or like.
Katrina Keuning (13:35):
And your videos have gotten a worldwide
audience.
Yeah, you know we were talkingbefore.
You mentioned some countriesthat you've reached and actually
gotten like notes from.
Can you dive into that a little?
Alex Skeen (13:51):
Yeah, I mean the thing with the Quad Cities.
I think it's it's known butit's not really known,
especially on the world stage.
And Thing with the videos isit's one of the biggest stages
that you could have out thereand I'm getting people reaching
out.
I've had people from Malaysia,south Africa, brazil.
Brazil is actually a prettycommon one.
(14:13):
I think a lot of them arecoming for John Deere I think
they have a plant down there, soI get people from Brazil,
mexico, all sorts of places, andno, it's just really cool to
show the world what it's likehere, not just the United States
, but outside the world, andpeople do come here much more
(14:34):
often than you might think andit's just really cool to be able
to share that information withthem as well.
Katrina Keuning (14:40):
Yeah, you know what, like you mentioned, you
know people coming for like aJohn Deere job or you know we
have some pretty major likecorporate hubs here and so you
know someone like you providingthat inside.
Look from a local On an easyaccess platform like YouTube how
valuable of a service is thatthat you're giving people for
(15:02):
free?
I I gotta have you talk aboutyour Walmart experience.
Alex Skeen (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, we talked about that beforehand.
You know, it always amazes mehow much people Trust me and,
you know, think of me as thislike quote-unquote celebrity.
And I was walking throughWalmart with my fiancee and I
see this couple.
They come past me and I don'tthink too much of it.
I noticed they were kind oflooking over at us and we turn
(15:32):
into aisle and they turn aroundand follow me.
Normally that's probably alittle bit alarming Like, oh man
, you know well, I don't knowwhat's going on here, but they
ended up, you know, tapping meon the shoulder like hey, are
you Alex, am I?
Yeah, I'll be watching YouTubechannel and the the crazy part
to me was they're like we watcha YouTube channel and we Moved
(15:55):
here because of the YouTubechannel all the way from Alaska.
Wow, that's Crazy for me tothink about.
My videos were enough value tothem.
They made a decision to movefrom Alaska to Iowa, illinois
area.
Like that's a big change andthat was just a real world
change and I get people callingme all the time, but to have it
(16:17):
in in real terms was just areally cool experience.
Katrina Keuning (16:20):
Yeah, and it makes sense.
Like you know, they probablyhad seen enough of your videos
where they could get kind of asense of who you were and what
you were about and could Tellthat you were being real about
you know, about living here,because you're not just trying
to paint it all flowers andrainbows and, you know, happy
stuff, but the real, the reallife living in the Quad Cities,
(16:42):
which can be beautiful andwonderful and it can also come
with, you know, 12 inches ofsnow, you just never know.
But I think that's it really,really shows that Quad citizens,
like as part of our Kind ofbrand here at visit Quad Cities,
we strive to be, you know,genuine and we like to show our
(17:04):
quirky side and I think thatthat's all encompassed in those
videos that you're putting out.
So I'm gonna visit Quad Cities.
Thanks for doing that servicefor the community and beyond.
It's just really, really,really valuable.
I wanted to list a couple, sojust to List a couple of the
more popular videos on yourchannel to illustrate what we're
(17:27):
talking about.
So there's a Avoid moving toIowa one.
There's seven reasons not tomove to Davenport, iowa.
Living in Davenport, iowa, thedark side of moving to Davenport
.
And then seven reasons not tomove to Moline, Illinois.
And I know in at least a coupleof these you mentioned the Iowa
nice or like Midwest nice kindof vibe that people put off.
(17:49):
And Although I'm a MidwesternerI'm originally from Michigan.
It's kind of always been partof my life is that you're gonna
just say hey to someone walkingdown the street.
But you know you're so right inthose videos you mentioned,
like maybe you're coming from acommunity or a state or
something that's.
You know you kind of keep toyourself and you're not
accustomed to like Chattingpeople up on the subway and
(18:11):
that's okay, but just know thatit's, it's gonna happen here,
yeah yeah, it's, it'sinteresting, I mean hearing you
read those titles off.
Alex Skeen (18:20):
I mean I made a lot of those videos year and a half
ago, two years ago.
But it's interesting for me tohear those because those are all
negative titles.
Negative titles and it's kindof the nature of YouTube as well
.
You know, if they're notclicking and they're not gonna
watch.
So a lot of these negativetitles are the ones that get
clicked the most and thenobviously that's the views.
(18:41):
But then they watch it and theyrealize that it is genuine and
it's not necessarily negative.
But the thing I find interestingabout these negative videos is
I have locals will watch it tooand they're the ones that get
the most upset about it becausethey don't actually watch the
video.
They just see the title and thethumbnail and they're like, oh,
(19:01):
how could you talk bad about it?
I'm like, well, did you watchthe video?
I didn't really talk bad aboutit.
It was just, if it snows, itsnows here.
If you don't like snow, don'tmove here, like it's not
necessarily a huge negative.
So it's always fun andinteresting to see those
comments from local peoplebecause they don't actually
watch the whole video.
Katrina Keuning (19:19):
I mean it's it's a great tactic and it's not
clickbait, because genuinelywhat you're saying is real stuff
You'll encounter.
Maybe you'll like it, maybe not, and lay it all out and let
people decide for themselves.
Yeah, I really like the tactic.
I thought it was reallyinteresting.
So talk to me a little bitabout Real estate.
Like the real estate game, Imean your full-time in it.
(19:40):
Your licensed on Illinois andIowa side of the river.
What kind of what kind ofinterest do you get from people
who are coming from outside thearea?
Are they more interested on theIowa side?
The Illinois side is a kind ofa mixed bag.
What are you seeing?
Alex Skeen (19:54):
Yeah, so I, like I said, people contact me.
I mean, if you watch the videosthat my phone number is
literally on the video, myemails on the video for people
to actually reach out, and youknow what I find is it's a
really mixed bag.
As far as where people want toland, it depends on what their
job is here, where they want tolive, if they care about taxes
(20:15):
or if they Just have apreference, one or the other.
It just it really is a mixedbag and it comes down to a lot
of factors.
You know, obviously the peoplecoming here are usually the
buyers.
As far as the actual realestate market, it's an
interesting market right nowwhen our interest rates are up
but our prices are also up.
(20:35):
But the thing I'll say aboutthat is People that are coming
through the videos are comingusually from states that are a
lot more costly, like California, texas.
The price point is a lot higher.
So they see these prices andthey're like oh, that's, that's
nothing, and a lot times they'repre-approved, ready go, and
(20:57):
it's just an interesting dynamicto see, because I work with
local buyers in Salish too, andthe Dynamic shift between where
they're coming from and ifyou're just local, is just
interesting dynamic there, soyeah, when you're guiding people
through the Quad Cities, youknow, based on their preferences
, whether they're looking onthat Illinois or the Iowa side,
(21:19):
do you find that there is, youknow, one or two major selling
points to convince somebody to?
Katrina Keuning (21:27):
You know, live in the Quad Cities, whether it
be the Illinois or Iowa side.
We're all.
We're all in it together.
It's easy to get from one sideto the other, but is there
something major that you're like?
Oh, you should consider this.
Alex Skeen (21:37):
Yeah, I'd say the Quad Cities overall is kind of
homogeneous.
Yes, we have the Iowa Illinoisside, but there's really not one
thing On either side.
That is, like you know, this,the North Star that people look
towards.
Yeah, I think that attracts thisarea, tracks a lot of people to
the area, is the cost of livingin the prices of homes and Just
(22:00):
getting away from people.
A lot of these Individuals thatare coming here are in big
cities where it's crowded andjust congested all the time.
And I don't know about you, butwe complain about the traffic
once in a while.
But if you actually go to areal big city it's a whole
nother level and if you'recoming from that, this is
awesome, like there's no stoptraffic anytime and you might
(22:23):
get a little bit busy and we gotrid of the old I74 bridge so we
don't have those big backupsanymore.
But no, it is Interestingseeing their perspective because
it is the cost of living, isthe getting away from the amount
of people.
You know the Quad Cities.
Obviously it's a pretty bigmetro area but nothing compared
to like a Chicago or an LA Inany means.
Katrina Keuning (22:47):
Yeah, it's, I think it's easy.
The longer you're here that youknow, the more you're kind of
like oh, it does feel like a Bigcity, it does feel like there's
people everywhere all the time,but like that's one thing like.
So I came here from I'm from,like the Ann Arbor, michigan
area and I used to work inDetroit.
So like when I first came hereI was like whoa, I can get to
(23:10):
work in six minutes.
There is literally no commute,and it still holds true.
You know, through the yearsthat I've been here, there's no
commute time and that's a hugeselling point for me.
I love to tell people that myfriends who are still back in
Michigan, I'm like can you driveto work in under a half hour?
No, most people you know.
And then another thing I thinkjust the novelty of like being
(23:32):
able to Get between two statesin just a matter of minutes is
very cool and it's somethingthat people hear, you know, not
in a bad way, but like take forgranted.
It's just like ah, I like youknow North Park Mall and then
I'm gonna go hop over the riverand do some shopping in
watermark corners DowntownLillean or something you know.
It's just, it's very easy toget whatever you need.
(23:53):
It's like that small town feelwith big city amenities.
I like to say but yeah, that's,those are kind of my like
highlight points of the QC.
Alex Skeen (24:02):
So I Even a better point is we're gonna get you
gasoline, you know which side,to one side or the other,
depending on what they want toget.
Katrina Keuning (24:12):
That's so yes, the prices fluctuate, yeah, and
the two states Okay, do you findthis to be, you know, a point
of contention for buyers that,like Iowa and Illinois,
politically are very differentand, you know, tax wise, like
you said, are very different,gas prices very different.
Is that ever something thatpeople are like?
I have to live on X sidebecause of this.
Alex Skeen (24:35):
Yeah, I do get people that do have a strong
opinion about that.
Yeah, because it is a bigdynamic.
I do touch on those things alittle bit in some of my videos.
I try to stay a little bit awayfrom politics Just because it's
so Dividing.
I don't don't like to talkabout it too much.
But you know, I definitely doget people that are like, nope,
(24:57):
can't, can't live in Illinois,nope, can't live in Iowa, and
these are the reasons why.
So then we just take them andwe show them the side, whatever
side they prefer, and youdefinitely definitely see that
for sure on those things.
Katrina Keuning (25:09):
What's been your favorite in the videos that
you've made.
What's been your favorite videoor your favorite like piece of
advice or nugget that you'veshared?
Alex Skeen (25:19):
That's a hard one.
I mean I think I'm approaching100 videos on there, so it's
hard to remember all of them.
But I think I don't know ifit's my favorite.
But the thing that I talk aboutprobably the most is the
weather.
For whatever reason, I thinkit's the most common one because
everybody talks about theweather.
They want to know what's like,they want to know the natural
(25:42):
disasters, so like tornadoes howmuch of a risk is that or hail,
so it's definitely the one Italk about the most.
Whether it's my favorite andprobably not, I repeated a lot
and I don't stray away fromtalking about it because a lot
of times it's going to be newviewers for the newer videos and
they still want to hear thatsort of stuff.
But that is definitely the mostcommon.
I can't think of my favorite.
(26:03):
I go to Vanderveer Park a lotand I like making videos there.
So I guess in the recordingprocess is probably my favorite
thing to do is be outside, go tothese parks that maybe I don't
go.
And, by the way, about that youknow, baking these videos.
I've learned so much more aboutthe Quad Cities because I have
(26:24):
to think of a video twice a week.
I'm going to talk about anddefinitely have learned a lot
about the Quad Cities that Inever would have learned
otherwise.
So it's really kind of a coolbyproduct of making these videos
, so that's something I doreally like about it.
Katrina Keuning (26:41):
So if you don't have an answer for this, that's
fine, we will bypass it, but doyou have a highlight moment
from your real estate career?
Since you've switched over fromengineering, what stands out to
you?
Alex Skeen (26:53):
The highlight moment is probably just being able to
help people manage the buying orselling process.
One in particular moment wasprobably my first YouTube client
.
They came from, I don't know,texas.
I can't remember where theycame from.
I need to look at it.
(27:14):
It was the first time they is afirst call I ever got and I was
like whoa, somebody actuallywatched this video and decided
to call me, like that wasamazing.
And then when I first met themand this happens all the time,
but it was more impactful, butvery first time I did it is they
felt like they knew me alreadybecause they've been watching my
(27:36):
videos for months.
They had no idea what they evenlook like.
But when they saw me, like, ohhey, alex, how's it going?
I'm so glad that you fit us in.
People call me.
They think I don't have timefor them because they see me on
YouTube or their TV, and Idefinitely have time for people.
The mentality is almost apseudo celebrity where, because
(27:59):
they see you on the phone or ontheir TV or however they watch
it, they do feel like, oh mygosh, this is the guy To me.
I'm just a normal dude.
Yeah, I'm on the YouTube, but Idon't feel like a celebrity,
but having that interaction withmy very first client off of
YouTube was just pretty fun tosee.
Katrina Keuning (28:18):
It was amazing that you were able to see
results from the hard work youwere putting in and I don't know
.
I would say like 30,000 viewsis nothing to shake a finger at
and you're encroaching upon 100videos.
You said like that is you'redefinitely climbing to celebrity
status in my book.
So what are your like longrange goals for your channel or
(28:41):
for your you know, real estatecareer at all?
Alex Skeen (28:45):
So the channel is my favorite clients.
I can't Can I say that, not it.
They're awesome, all my clientsare awesome.
But as far as you know gettingclients, you know sometimes we
do other methods of gettingclients.
You can have Facebook ads orwhatever there's not that trust
there right away.
So I like YouTube clientsbecause they do come to me and
(29:06):
they do feel like they trust meand it's just a better
interaction all together foreverybody involved.
It's not like I have to sellthem on X, y and Z, but long
term goal is to have my YouTubebe the main source of people
coming to me and being able tohave other agents have the
benefit of that interaction withpeople.
(29:29):
So that just making more videos, getting more views I mean the
channel has over a millionimpressions now.
I think it's like 1.2 millionimpressions and then views is
over 100,000.
We just hit the 100,000 mark, Ithink, last week.
Katrina Keuning (29:45):
Congratulations .
That's a huge deal.
Alex Skeen (29:47):
Thank you, yeah, it's.
It's crazy to me that peoplehave watched me 100,000 times,
right, I think it's like 8,000watch time hours, which blows my
mind that people are walking mefor that long.
But now that's.
That's the real goal Helpingpeople, providing them enough
value to where they want toreach out to me and then
(30:11):
eventually to where I can handthese people off and they have
the same trust and loyalty tothe team because we're providing
them so much value up front andthen throughout the process of
buying or selling their home.
Katrina Keuning (30:26):
Yeah, I just I wish you all the best in your
YouTube climbing.
I just I think those videos areso valuable and I wonder I mean
maybe you do or don't know, Iwonder if anybody out there in
your same industry has seen themand gone.
Oh hey, cool idea for mycommunity.
You know, I've maybe probablyno way to know but so there's
(30:46):
nobody locally that I know of.
Alex Skeen (30:49):
But there's definitely other areas.
Like I said I, I just mimickedother markets like Colorado,
might.
My mentor is actually in Denverand I learned from them all the
time on different things thatthey're doing and same type of
information just applied locally.
So, yeah, I definitely getpeople talking to me about the
(31:11):
videos.
They see it and it's just kindof a cool dynamic.
In fact, I'm going to behosting a class Next week or two
weeks from now for realtors inDes Moines and me and a lender
local lender in Des Moines aregoing to talk about it and maybe
we get somebody started up inDes Moines to do the same thing,
because I think it's one of thebest things I've ever done.
(31:33):
It does take a little time toget going, but once you do, you
do gain that trust, you providevalue to people and they just
really like it.
Katrina Keuning (31:40):
And you highlighted, like I want to say,
Urbantique in Walcott.
Is that one that you did like awalkthrough?
Alex Skeen (31:49):
Yep, yep, that was actually one of the first videos
that I made, okay great.
I don't know if you know Diana,but she's awesome.
Katrina Keuning (31:57):
Yeah, I've been out there was able to meet her
and her business and, yeah, Iagree, it's a very it's really
cool, truly unique, and it wasreally like I watched your video
.
I can probably back when youlaunched it, because it was very
helpful to be able to see oh,you know, when you get out of
the outside of the immediateQuad cities, what else there is.
Alex Skeen (32:15):
Yeah, yeah, I remember that one Because you
guys picked it up, I think, forlike Women's Month or something
A small business for women and Iremember thinking like I think
I got like 300 views on thatvideo right away.
And when you start a YouTubechannel for folks that don't
know, if you get 10 views on avideo, that's impressive when
(32:37):
you first start.
So to have 300 views from youguys coming with awesome and you
know, looking back, 300 viewsto me is a great number but it's
not as monumental as I thoughtit was back then.
So it's cool to see that andhow you guys picked it up.
But, yeah, it was cool to makethat video and, like I said,
diana is an awesome person.
(32:58):
Definitely should check herplace out.
Katrina Keuning (33:01):
Shout out to Diana.
Alex Skeen (33:03):
That's right.
Urbantique out there.
Katrina Keuning (33:06):
Well, alex, I think it is time for me to ask
you to fill in the blank QC.
That's where.
Alex Skeen (33:16):
Well, I'm glad you told me about this before I had
to think about it, but I think Ithink I have a good one.
So you know, qc, that's whereHome is.
I think that kind of sums up mygoal with the channel and
having people reach out to me,and I think that's a pretty
simple one, right.
Katrina Keuning (33:34):
I really like that.
I never know what the answer isgoing to be.
It can be something likerelated to the topic we've been
talking about.
It can be something totallyunrelated.
It's always a fun surprise.
I really like that.
It's simple and it's sweet andit totally is Quad Cities.
That's where Home is.
So, alex, where can people findyou on social media before I
let you go?
Alex Skeen (33:55):
Yeah, so a couple different areas.
I run a Facebook group calledLiving in the Quad Cities.
It's a very simple group.
I share articles, events thatare going on.
A lot of times I share yourguys's stuff.
You can join that group to findme personally.
You can find me on Instagram,alex at AlexkeenReal, and then
(34:17):
if I'm gonna be my friend onFacebook and she's Alexander
Skeen, you can hit me up there.
And then, obviously, theYouTube channel.
Katrina Keuning (34:23):
Perfect.
Well, alex, keep doing whatyou're doing.
We love it here and we are hereto partner and support any
extra information that peoplecan get about the Quad Cities.
So thank you so much for beingon.
Alex Skeen (34:35):
Awesome.
Intro (34:35):
Thank you so much Thanks for listening to QC.
That's when a podcast poweredby Visit Quad Cities, visit QC
to 38314 for insider events,activities and updates sent
straight to your phone.
That's V-I-S-I-T-Q-C one wordto 38314.
(34:57):
Message and data rates mayapply.
And I was walking through Walmart with my fiancee
and I see this couple.
They come past me and I don'tthink too much of it.
I noticed they were kind oflooking over at us and we turn
into aisle and they turn aroundand follow me like, oh man, you
know, I don't know what's goingon here, but they ended up, you
know, tapping me on the shoulderlike, hey, are you, alex, am I?
Yeah, I'll be watching YouTubechannel.
(00:22):
And the the crazy part to mewas they're like we watch a
YouTube channel and we movedhere because of the YouTube
channel all the way from Alaska.
Wow, that's Crazy for me tothink about.
My videos were enough value tothem, they made a decision to
move from Alaska to.
Intro (00:42):
Iowa, illinois area.
Where do you find a family ofcommunities connected by the
storied Mississippi River, whereyoung explorers and dreamers,
investors and entrepreneursthrive?
Where can you connect with realpeople living and creating in a
place that's as genuine as itis quirky QC.
That's where.
Katrina Keuning (01:06):
Welcome to QC, That's Where I'm your host,
Katrina, and I'm so excited tobe talking with Alex Skeen today
.
Real estate agent YouTubeExtraordinaire.
What have you, Alex.
I'm gonna throw it over to youand let's talk about living in
the Quad Cities and being in thereal estate game.
Alex Skeen (01:23):
Absolutely Well.
First off, thank you so muchfor having me here.
Pretty cool to be on thepodcast.
I listen to you guys all thetime.
So awesome to be invited and bea part of this so awesome.
Thank you so much.
Katrina Keuning (01:36):
Thank you for coming on.
I know that it's a busy worldin the industry that you're in,
so the time you're spending withme is much appreciated.
Alex Skeen (01:45):
No problem at all.
So, yes, my name is Alex Skeen.
I've Been in the Quad Citiessince about 2015, have a YouTube
channel that Basically goesover what the Quad Cities is
like and you know my originstory and why I have the YouTube
channel is kind of aninteresting path.
Now I moved here, like I said,in 2015.
(02:07):
I was just out of school,living in Ames, went to school
at Iowa State, so go cyclones.
I got my mechanical engineeringdegree and I started working
here as an intern for Alcoawhich, as you probably know, is
Arconic now and Got a full-timejob offer there and started
(02:28):
working for them was amechanical engineer and Really
cool job.
You know, if you don't knowmuch about our conic, they have
some super cool products there.
I mean they supply, like I wantto say is like 98% of the
aluminum for all commercialaircraft.
They have stuff supplied forSpaceX, rockets, tesla, ford,
(02:50):
f-150s.
They have really cool stuffthere and I did enjoy my my time
there.
I worked on those big giantreversing mills as my primary
focus, but at some point I wasjust kind of, you know, feel
like every day was justmonotonous and wasn't getting
the joy out of it like I didwhen I first got there.
(03:12):
So that's where I started tolook at different opportunities
and my different opportunityactually became real estate.
So I came a licensed realtorand when I got it I had never
planned on becoming a full-timerealtor, even when I was doing
my engineering job, becauseengineering you get paid pretty
(03:32):
well and to go to real estatewhere it's very unknown how
you're gonna get paid, it was abig, big jumps.
I never planned on it.
But the funny thing aboutMaking that transition is my
buddy.
He lives in Florida and he's ain the Air Force and he predicts
the weather for NASA and SpaceXin order to launch rockets,
(03:53):
which I went down and visitedhim and I had a part in helping
build those rockets because ofour conic and I watched these
rocket launch, which was awesomeand I don't know, could you
have you ever watched therockets launch down there?
Katrina Keuning (04:07):
Only on TV.
Alex Skeen (04:08):
Yeah, well, highly recommend getting down there and
watching it because it's justamazing.
We watched a night one and Iswear when they lit it it
literally looked like the Sunwas turned back on.
It was so bright, like is thisreally amazing?
But when I watched the rocketlaunch, you know, the thing that
stood out to me is thatNobody's gonna ever know that I
(04:33):
had a part in that and at thistime I was doing both real
estate and the engineering job,and the thing that I noted about
real estate is peopleappreciated what I did and got
thank yous, which sounds kind ofcheesy, but I just really liked
that aspect and that wasactually the moment I decided I
was gonna leave my engineeringjob and go into on this for real
(04:56):
estate thing for full time.
But how does this all kind ofaccumulate which is what we're
here to talk about into YouTube?
Well, the thing that I noticedwhen I was coming here I was
coming here, you know, just outof college 2015 was there wasn't
a lot of great resources tofind out what it's actually like
(05:19):
to live in the Quad Cities and,as part of the real estate job,
you know that's part of ourDuties is to let people know
what it's like to live here, andnobody was making videos about
it.
So, branched out, saw someother markets, some other
realtors in different marketslike Colorado, new York, and a
(05:39):
lot of people were havingchannels that are doing this
sort of stuff, so startedlearning from them and really
just started making content forour local area.
I mean, you guys over there,visit Quad Cities, do a fabulous
job, but you're more geared,and I may be wrong, but it seems
like you're more geared towardslike touristy type stuff and
(05:59):
events versus the actual living.
Is that pretty accurate?
Katrina Keuning (06:04):
So it can be like that we definitely have
like a staked claim in thetourism assets and kind of
highlighting the beauty and thewhat to do on a weekend.
But that's why I was reallyexcited to talk to you, alex,
because we love to partner withpeople who can get more in the
nitty gritty of like what theneighborhood's gonna be like.
(06:25):
I mean, the Quad Cities is solarge and vast that there's just
no way for one entity to see itall.
So partnering with someone likeyou where we can cover like
here's what's happening thisweekend and you can cover like
here's what your morning walk isgonna be like, that's the
beauty of the Quad Cities andpartnerships like this.
And I gotta touch really quickon your switch from engineering
(06:47):
to real estate.
It may sound surprising, butthe times you and I have talked
recently, you're a people person, so it actually totally makes
sense to me that you kind offell into that, as opposed to
the engineering sphere, and youare a literal rocket scientist I
just learned.
So that's awesome, but pleasecontinue.
Alex Skeen (07:09):
Well, I wouldn't go that far.
I helped build the aluminum tomake the rockets.
I never had to do theprojections on how the rocket
would go function, so clarify,I'm not a rocket scientist.
Katrina Keuning (07:20):
Details, details.
Alex Skeen (07:21):
Exactly exactly.
But you know, what's funnyabout that is I don't feel like
I was your typical engineer thewhole time I was in school.
Now I graduated with honors andall that, but I always say it's
because I was working harderthan most.
I'm not the most technical, notthe smartest, especially when
you get around some of theseengineers that are technical,
(07:42):
it's like, okay, I can see myweakness here and I did enjoy
getting around people and theplan from even from school was
to not be an engineer the restof my life.
It was more to get intomanagement, but when I got to
our conic I saw what managementdid and just wasn't what I had
in my mind of what it was gonnalook like.
(08:03):
So that's kind of where I didstart reaching out and figuring
out what did I like about thepeople side of things and how
could I apply that elsewhere.
So yeah, I mean retrospectively, it does probably make sense
that I'm in real estate versusengineering, but it's not a
typical jump for sure.
I don't know of any otherengineers that are also realtors
(08:26):
, at least locally, unless theyhaven't told me, which is quite
possible.
Katrina Keuning (08:29):
Yeah, so your YouTube channel is focused on.
You know the things that we'remissing.
Basically, when you moved hereand so in one of your YouTube
videos you mentioned how you'velived all over the state of Iowa
.
Go ahead and drill into that alittle bit.
(08:51):
Where have you lived in Iowaand, like in your experience,
how does it compare now to beingon the Iowa side of the Quad
Cities?
Alex Skeen (09:01):
Yeah, so I have lived everywhere.
I grew up in Western Iowa,right on the border of the
Missouri River, about 20 to 30minutes away, I guess, and then
I moved to Ames, which iscentral Iowa, did a stint in Des
Moines for a little bit andthen also did a stint in
Marshalltown, so kind of thatcentral Iowa area, and then,
(09:23):
like I said, in 2015, made thejump over here to Eastern Iowa,
so all along I-80.
Can't say I've lived too muchin the Northern and Southern
parts, but all the central parts, you know, the middle of the
state.
But yeah, that video you know,ironically enough, it's kind of
a negative video on the surface.
The title, I think, it's likeseven reasons you should avoid
(09:45):
moving to Iowa, or somethinglike that.
Yeah, I pulled it up.
Katrina Keuning (09:47):
Avoid.
Okay, here's the kind of coolthing, and if you're not
familiar with Alex's YouTubechannel, so Alex has a YouTube
channel called Living in theQuad Cities and this video we're
talking about All Caps AvoidMoving to Iowa Unless you can
handle these seven things is thetitle, and I'll let you get
into it.
I just have to say I love, Ilove the like anti-advice kind
(10:10):
of like vibe it has, becauseonce you click in and you start
listening, it's genuineinformation, but it's it's just
truths that are like this maynot be for everyone, but it's
not necessarily bad stuff.
Alex Skeen (10:25):
Yeah, and that's why I say you know, on the surface
it looks terrible.
You know, void moving to Iowa,but the way I look at it is, I
don't know about you, but I shopon Amazon all the time, right,
and you see those negativereviews and usually those are
the ones that are the mosthelpful on if you're going to
purchase or not, totally.
(10:46):
And when you look at thechannels, like I want to let
people know what it's like tolive in Iowa, in Davenport,
beton Dorf, moline, all thosebecause you don't want somebody
to get here and then bedisappointed and then leave the
community.
And that's the crazy part aboutthe channel is people reach out
to me and usually the negativevideos are the ones they're most
(11:07):
thankful for.
Katrina Keuning (11:08):
Yeah.
Alex Skeen (11:09):
I didn't know.
You got, you know, 10 inches ofsnow a year or whatever it is.
It's like I'm glad to hear thatand they're excited about it.
I live in Phoenix and I don'tget snow here.
I just want to see snow when Imove there, when us live.
Here we might complain, youknow, ah, snow cold, it's awful.
But somebody that hasn't seenit and they want to, they're
(11:31):
going to be really appreciativeof that.
Katrina Keuning (11:33):
Right, yeah, now you're still right about
those, you know, negativereviews, because what might be a
big deal breaker to somebodymight not be to somebody else or
might be a positive thing.
I like to think it was in thatvideo.
You also said you know, ifyou're moving here, particularly
from the South, be prepared toanswer the question.
Oh, like, how much snow haveyou seen before here?
(11:57):
And I have, I'm like guilty ofthat.
We.
I used to have a coworker at myprevious job who was from Texas
and I would.
Every time it was snowed I'mlike, ah, is this the most snow
you've seen now?
Like, how you liking it?
You know, it's just kind oflike in our blood to to flaunt
the extreme winter weather thatwe get just for fun.
(12:17):
Yeah.
It is something that you needto know if you're coming here.
Alex Skeen (12:21):
Exactly Now it's.
It's fun to see that.
And then, you know, when I getto meet some of these people
that are coming here, it's funfor me to see their perspective
on things.
You know, my fiance is a goodexample.
She's she was born in thePhilippines but she grew up in
Saudi Arabia and then she movedto Rock Island, which are not
the same at all.
(12:41):
So some things that I take forgranted she's, you know, just
mesmerized by, like the snow,for one example, but she also
loves fireflies in the summer.
To me, growing up in Iowa,that's a pretty common thing.
You know, I don't even reallythink about it, but she sees
them, she runs out there andshe's like, oh, this is awesome.
(13:03):
And when you think about itthey are pretty cool.
I mean, what other animalproduces a light like that?
It's not a common thing.
Katrina Keuning (13:11):
And it's not toxic.
You can grab it in your handand actually like up close and
personal.
Alex Skeen (13:17):
Yeah, exactly so it's uh, it's fun to do those
because that's what I keep inmind is, like, the things I find
common may not be common forsomebody else, and I want to
share those sorts of things, andthat's the big goal with the
channel is just share thecommonalities that somebody may
not know or like.
Katrina Keuning (13:35):
And your videos have gotten a worldwide
audience.
Yeah, you know we were talkingbefore.
You mentioned some countriesthat you've reached and actually
gotten like notes from.
Can you dive into that a little?
Alex Skeen (13:51):
Yeah, I mean the thing with the Quad Cities.
I think it's it's known butit's not really known,
especially on the world stage.
And Thing with the videos isit's one of the biggest stages
that you could have out thereand I'm getting people reaching
out.
I've had people from Malaysia,south Africa, brazil.
Brazil is actually a prettycommon one.
(14:13):
I think a lot of them arecoming for John Deere I think
they have a plant down there, soI get people from Brazil,
mexico, all sorts of places, andno, it's just really cool to
show the world what it's likehere, not just the United States
, but outside the world, andpeople do come here much more
(14:34):
often than you might think andit's just really cool to be able
to share that information withthem as well.
Katrina Keuning (14:40):
Yeah, you know what, like you mentioned, you
know people coming for like aJohn Deere job or you know we
have some pretty major likecorporate hubs here and so you
know someone like you providingthat inside.
Look from a local On an easyaccess platform like YouTube how
valuable of a service is thatthat you're giving people for
(15:02):
free?
I I gotta have you talk aboutyour Walmart experience.
Alex Skeen (15:10):
Yeah, yeah, we talked about that beforehand.
You know, it always amazes mehow much people Trust me and,
you know, think of me as thislike quote-unquote celebrity.
And I was walking throughWalmart with my fiancee and I
see this couple.
They come past me and I don'tthink too much of it.
I noticed they were kind oflooking over at us and we turn
(15:32):
into aisle and they turn aroundand follow me.
Normally that's probably alittle bit alarming Like, oh man
, you know well, I don't knowwhat's going on here, but they
ended up, you know, tapping meon the shoulder like hey, are
you Alex, am I?
Yeah, I'll be watching YouTubechannel and the the crazy part
to me was they're like we watcha YouTube channel and we Moved
(15:55):
here because of the YouTubechannel all the way from Alaska.
Wow, that's Crazy for me tothink about.
My videos were enough value tothem.
They made a decision to movefrom Alaska to Iowa, illinois
area.
Like that's a big change andthat was just a real world
change and I get people callingme all the time, but to have it
(16:17):
in in real terms was just areally cool experience.
Katrina Keuning (16:20):
Yeah, and it makes sense.
Like you know, they probablyhad seen enough of your videos
where they could get kind of asense of who you were and what
you were about and could Tellthat you were being real about
you know, about living here,because you're not just trying
to paint it all flowers andrainbows and, you know, happy
stuff, but the real, the reallife living in the Quad Cities,
(16:42):
which can be beautiful andwonderful and it can also come
with, you know, 12 inches ofsnow, you just never know.
But I think that's it really,really shows that Quad citizens,
like as part of our Kind ofbrand here at visit Quad Cities,
we strive to be, you know,genuine and we like to show our
(17:04):
quirky side and I think thatthat's all encompassed in those
videos that you're putting out.
So I'm gonna visit Quad Cities.
Thanks for doing that servicefor the community and beyond.
It's just really, really,really valuable.
I wanted to list a couple, sojust to List a couple of the
more popular videos on yourchannel to illustrate what we're
(17:27):
talking about.
So there's a Avoid moving toIowa one.
There's seven reasons not tomove to Davenport, iowa.
Living in Davenport, iowa, thedark side of moving to Davenport
.
And then seven reasons not tomove to Moline, Illinois.
And I know in at least a coupleof these you mentioned the Iowa
nice or like Midwest nice kindof vibe that people put off.
(17:49):
And Although I'm a MidwesternerI'm originally from Michigan.
It's kind of always been partof my life is that you're gonna
just say hey to someone walkingdown the street.
But you know you're so right inthose videos you mentioned,
like maybe you're coming from acommunity or a state or
something that's.
You know you kind of keep toyourself and you're not
accustomed to like Chattingpeople up on the subway and
(18:11):
that's okay, but just know thatit's, it's gonna happen here,
yeah yeah, it's, it'sinteresting, I mean hearing you
read those titles off.
Alex Skeen (18:20):
I mean I made a lot of those videos year and a half
ago, two years ago.
But it's interesting for me tohear those because those are all
negative titles.
Negative titles and it's kindof the nature of YouTube as well
.
You know, if they're notclicking and they're not gonna
watch.
So a lot of these negativetitles are the ones that get
clicked the most and thenobviously that's the views.
(18:41):
But then they watch it and theyrealize that it is genuine and
it's not necessarily negative.
But the thing I find interestingabout these negative videos is
I have locals will watch it tooand they're the ones that get
the most upset about it becausethey don't actually watch the
video.
They just see the title and thethumbnail and they're like, oh,
(19:01):
how could you talk bad about it?
I'm like, well, did you watchthe video?
I didn't really talk bad aboutit.
It was just, if it snows, itsnows here.
If you don't like snow, don'tmove here, like it's not
necessarily a huge negative.
So it's always fun andinteresting to see those
comments from local peoplebecause they don't actually
watch the whole video.
Katrina Keuning (19:19):
I mean it's it's a great tactic and it's not
clickbait, because genuinelywhat you're saying is real stuff
You'll encounter.
Maybe you'll like it, maybe not, and lay it all out and let
people decide for themselves.
Yeah, I really like the tactic.
I thought it was reallyinteresting.
So talk to me a little bitabout Real estate.
Like the real estate game, Imean your full-time in it.
(19:40):
Your licensed on Illinois andIowa side of the river.
What kind of what kind ofinterest do you get from people
who are coming from outside thearea?
Are they more interested on theIowa side?
The Illinois side is a kind ofa mixed bag.
What are you seeing?
Alex Skeen (19:54):
Yeah, so I, like I said, people contact me.
I mean, if you watch the videosthat my phone number is
literally on the video, myemails on the video for people
to actually reach out, and youknow what I find is it's a
really mixed bag.
As far as where people want toland, it depends on what their
job is here, where they want tolive, if they care about taxes
(20:15):
or if they Just have apreference, one or the other.
It just it really is a mixedbag and it comes down to a lot
of factors.
You know, obviously the peoplecoming here are usually the
buyers.
As far as the actual realestate market, it's an
interesting market right nowwhen our interest rates are up
but our prices are also up.
(20:35):
But the thing I'll say aboutthat is People that are coming
through the videos are comingusually from states that are a
lot more costly, like California, texas.
The price point is a lot higher.
So they see these prices andthey're like oh, that's, that's
nothing, and a lot times they'repre-approved, ready go, and
(20:57):
it's just an interesting dynamicto see, because I work with
local buyers in Salish too, andthe Dynamic shift between where
they're coming from and ifyou're just local, is just
interesting dynamic there, soyeah, when you're guiding people
through the Quad Cities, youknow, based on their preferences
, whether they're looking onthat Illinois or the Iowa side,
(21:19):
do you find that there is, youknow, one or two major selling
points to convince somebody to?
Katrina Keuning (21:27):
You know, live in the Quad Cities, whether it
be the Illinois or Iowa side.
We're all.
We're all in it together.
It's easy to get from one sideto the other, but is there
something major that you're like?
Oh, you should consider this.
Alex Skeen (21:37):
Yeah, I'd say the Quad Cities overall is kind of
homogeneous.
Yes, we have the Iowa Illinoisside, but there's really not one
thing On either side.
That is, like you know, this,the North Star that people look
towards.
Yeah, I think that attracts thisarea, tracks a lot of people to
the area, is the cost of livingin the prices of homes and Just
(22:00):
getting away from people.
A lot of these Individuals thatare coming here are in big
cities where it's crowded andjust congested all the time.
And I don't know about you, butwe complain about the traffic
once in a while.
But if you actually go to areal big city it's a whole
nother level and if you'recoming from that, this is
awesome, like there's no stoptraffic anytime and you might
(22:23):
get a little bit busy and we gotrid of the old I74 bridge so we
don't have those big backupsanymore.
But no, it is Interestingseeing their perspective because
it is the cost of living, isthe getting away from the amount
of people.
You know the Quad Cities.
Obviously it's a pretty bigmetro area but nothing compared
to like a Chicago or an LA Inany means.
Katrina Keuning (22:47):
Yeah, it's, I think it's easy.
The longer you're here that youknow, the more you're kind of
like oh, it does feel like a Bigcity, it does feel like there's
people everywhere all the time,but like that's one thing like.
So I came here from I'm from,like the Ann Arbor, michigan
area and I used to work inDetroit.
So like when I first came hereI was like whoa, I can get to
(23:10):
work in six minutes.
There is literally no commute,and it still holds true.
You know, through the yearsthat I've been here, there's no
commute time and that's a hugeselling point for me.
I love to tell people that myfriends who are still back in
Michigan, I'm like can you driveto work in under a half hour?
No, most people you know.
And then another thing I thinkjust the novelty of like being
(23:32):
able to Get between two statesin just a matter of minutes is
very cool and it's somethingthat people hear, you know, not
in a bad way, but like take forgranted.
It's just like ah, I like youknow North Park Mall and then
I'm gonna go hop over the riverand do some shopping in
watermark corners DowntownLillean or something you know.
It's just, it's very easy toget whatever you need.
(23:53):
It's like that small town feelwith big city amenities.
I like to say but yeah, that's,those are kind of my like
highlight points of the QC.
Alex Skeen (24:02):
So I Even a better point is we're gonna get you
gasoline, you know which side,to one side or the other,
depending on what they want toget.
Katrina Keuning (24:12):
That's so yes, the prices fluctuate, yeah, and
the two states Okay, do you findthis to be, you know, a point
of contention for buyers that,like Iowa and Illinois,
politically are very differentand, you know, tax wise, like
you said, are very different,gas prices very different.
Is that ever something thatpeople are like?
I have to live on X sidebecause of this.
Alex Skeen (24:35):
Yeah, I do get people that do have a strong
opinion about that.
Yeah, because it is a bigdynamic.
I do touch on those things alittle bit in some of my videos.
I try to stay a little bit awayfrom politics Just because it's
so Dividing.
I don't don't like to talkabout it too much.
But you know, I definitely doget people that are like, nope,
(24:57):
can't, can't live in Illinois,nope, can't live in Iowa, and
these are the reasons why.
So then we just take them andwe show them the side, whatever
side they prefer, and youdefinitely definitely see that
for sure on those things.
Katrina Keuning (25:09):
What's been your favorite in the videos that
you've made.
What's been your favorite videoor your favorite like piece of
advice or nugget that you'veshared?
Alex Skeen (25:19):
That's a hard one.
I mean I think I'm approaching100 videos on there, so it's
hard to remember all of them.
But I think I don't know ifit's my favorite.
But the thing that I talk aboutprobably the most is the
weather.
For whatever reason, I thinkit's the most common one because
everybody talks about theweather.
They want to know what's like,they want to know the natural
(25:42):
disasters, so like tornadoes howmuch of a risk is that or hail,
so it's definitely the one Italk about the most.
Whether it's my favorite andprobably not, I repeated a lot
and I don't stray away fromtalking about it because a lot
of times it's going to be newviewers for the newer videos and
they still want to hear thatsort of stuff.
But that is definitely the mostcommon.
I can't think of my favorite.
(26:03):
I go to Vanderveer Park a lotand I like making videos there.
So I guess in the recordingprocess is probably my favorite
thing to do is be outside, go tothese parks that maybe I don't
go.
And, by the way, about that youknow, baking these videos.
I've learned so much more aboutthe Quad Cities because I have
(26:24):
to think of a video twice a week.
I'm going to talk about anddefinitely have learned a lot
about the Quad Cities that Inever would have learned
otherwise.
So it's really kind of a coolbyproduct of making these videos
, so that's something I doreally like about it.
Katrina Keuning (26:41):
So if you don't have an answer for this, that's
fine, we will bypass it, but doyou have a highlight moment
from your real estate career?
Since you've switched over fromengineering, what stands out to
you?
Alex Skeen (26:53):
The highlight moment is probably just being able to
help people manage the buying orselling process.
One in particular moment wasprobably my first YouTube client
.
They came from, I don't know,texas.
I can't remember where theycame from.
I need to look at it.
(27:14):
It was the first time they is afirst call I ever got and I was
like whoa, somebody actuallywatched this video and decided
to call me, like that wasamazing.
And then when I first met themand this happens all the time,
but it was more impactful, butvery first time I did it is they
felt like they knew me alreadybecause they've been watching my
(27:36):
videos for months.
They had no idea what they evenlook like.
But when they saw me, like, ohhey, alex, how's it going?
I'm so glad that you fit us in.
People call me.
They think I don't have timefor them because they see me on
YouTube or their TV, and Idefinitely have time for people.
The mentality is almost apseudo celebrity where, because
(27:59):
they see you on the phone or ontheir TV or however they watch
it, they do feel like, oh mygosh, this is the guy To me.
I'm just a normal dude.
Yeah, I'm on the YouTube, but Idon't feel like a celebrity,
but having that interaction withmy very first client off of
YouTube was just pretty fun tosee.
Katrina Keuning (28:18):
It was amazing that you were able to see
results from the hard work youwere putting in and I don't know
.
I would say like 30,000 viewsis nothing to shake a finger at
and you're encroaching upon 100videos.
You said like that is you'redefinitely climbing to celebrity
status in my book.
So what are your like longrange goals for your channel or
(28:41):
for your you know, real estatecareer at all?
Alex Skeen (28:45):
So the channel is my favorite clients.
I can't Can I say that, not it.
They're awesome, all my clientsare awesome.
But as far as you know gettingclients, you know sometimes we
do other methods of gettingclients.
You can have Facebook ads orwhatever there's not that trust
there right away.
So I like YouTube clientsbecause they do come to me and
(29:06):
they do feel like they trust meand it's just a better
interaction all together foreverybody involved.
It's not like I have to sellthem on X, y and Z, but long
term goal is to have my YouTubebe the main source of people
coming to me and being able tohave other agents have the
benefit of that interaction withpeople.
(29:29):
So that just making more videos, getting more views I mean the
channel has over a millionimpressions now.
I think it's like 1.2 millionimpressions and then views is
over 100,000.
We just hit the 100,000 mark, Ithink, last week.
Katrina Keuning (29:45):
Congratulations .
That's a huge deal.
Alex Skeen (29:47):
Thank you, yeah, it's.
It's crazy to me that peoplehave watched me 100,000 times,
right, I think it's like 8,000watch time hours, which blows my
mind that people are walking mefor that long.
But now that's.
That's the real goal Helpingpeople, providing them enough
value to where they want toreach out to me and then
(30:11):
eventually to where I can handthese people off and they have
the same trust and loyalty tothe team because we're providing
them so much value up front andthen throughout the process of
buying or selling their home.
Katrina Keuning (30:26):
Yeah, I just I wish you all the best in your
YouTube climbing.
I just I think those videos areso valuable and I wonder I mean
maybe you do or don't know, Iwonder if anybody out there in
your same industry has seen themand gone.
Oh hey, cool idea for mycommunity.
You know, I've maybe probablyno way to know but so there's
(30:46):
nobody locally that I know of.
Alex Skeen (30:49):
But there's definitely other areas.
Like I said I, I just mimickedother markets like Colorado,
might.
My mentor is actually in Denverand I learned from them all the
time on different things thatthey're doing and same type of
information just applied locally.
So, yeah, I definitely getpeople talking to me about the
(31:11):
videos.
They see it and it's just kindof a cool dynamic.
In fact, I'm going to behosting a class Next week or two
weeks from now for realtors inDes Moines and me and a lender
local lender in Des Moines aregoing to talk about it and maybe
we get somebody started up inDes Moines to do the same thing,
because I think it's one of thebest things I've ever done.
(31:33):
It does take a little time toget going, but once you do, you
do gain that trust, you providevalue to people and they just
really like it.
Katrina Keuning (31:40):
And you highlighted, like I want to say,
Urbantique in Walcott.
Is that one that you did like awalkthrough?
Alex Skeen (31:49):
Yep, yep, that was actually one of the first videos
that I made, okay great.
I don't know if you know Diana,but she's awesome.
Katrina Keuning (31:57):
Yeah, I've been out there was able to meet her
and her business and, yeah, Iagree, it's a very it's really
cool, truly unique, and it wasreally like I watched your video
.
I can probably back when youlaunched it, because it was very
helpful to be able to see oh,you know, when you get out of
the outside of the immediateQuad cities, what else there is.
Alex Skeen (32:15):
Yeah, yeah, I remember that one Because you
guys picked it up, I think, forlike Women's Month or something
A small business for women and Iremember thinking like I think
I got like 300 views on thatvideo right away.
And when you start a YouTubechannel for folks that don't
know, if you get 10 views on avideo, that's impressive when
(32:37):
you first start.
So to have 300 views from youguys coming with awesome and you
know, looking back, 300 viewsto me is a great number but it's
not as monumental as I thoughtit was back then.
So it's cool to see that andhow you guys picked it up.
But, yeah, it was cool to makethat video and, like I said,
diana is an awesome person.
(32:58):
Definitely should check herplace out.
Katrina Keuning (33:01):
Shout out to Diana.
Alex Skeen (33:03):
That's right.
Urbantique out there.
Katrina Keuning (33:06):
Well, alex, I think it is time for me to ask
you to fill in the blank QC.
That's where.
Alex Skeen (33:16):
Well, I'm glad you told me about this before I had
to think about it, but I think Ithink I have a good one.
So you know, qc, that's whereHome is.
I think that kind of sums up mygoal with the channel and
having people reach out to me,and I think that's a pretty
simple one, right.
Katrina Keuning (33:34):
I really like that.
I never know what the answer isgoing to be.
It can be something likerelated to the topic we've been
talking about.
It can be something totallyunrelated.
It's always a fun surprise.
I really like that.
It's simple and it's sweet andit totally is Quad Cities.
That's where Home is.
So, alex, where can people findyou on social media before I
let you go?
Alex Skeen (33:55):
Yeah, so a couple different areas.
I run a Facebook group calledLiving in the Quad Cities.
It's a very simple group.
I share articles, events thatare going on.
A lot of times I share yourguys's stuff.
You can join that group to findme personally.
You can find me on Instagram,alex at AlexkeenReal, and then
(34:17):
if I'm gonna be my friend onFacebook and she's Alexander
Skeen, you can hit me up there.
And then, obviously, theYouTube channel.
Katrina Keuning (34:23):
Perfect.
Well, alex, keep doing whatyou're doing.
We love it here and we are hereto partner and support any
extra information that peoplecan get about the Quad Cities.
So thank you so much for beingon.
Alex Skeen (34:35):
Awesome.
Intro (34:35):
Thank you so much Thanks for listening to QC.
That's when a podcast poweredby Visit Quad Cities, visit QC
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straight to your phone.
That's V-I-S-I-T-Q-C one wordto 38314.
(34:57):
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