April 15, 2025 • 45 mins
Florin Patrasciou, a prominent figure in the real estate sector, elucidates the transformative evolution of real estate transactions, emphasizing the profound impact of technological advancements on the industry. He recalls the cumbersome processes of the past, where clients were required to sign multiple original documents, contrasting sharply with contemporary practices that favor efficiency and digital solutions. Through his extensive experience, Florin underscores the necessity of embracing technology to streamline operations and enhance client satisfaction. His journey from a newcomer in the United States to a successful broker owner exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit essential in the competitive real estate landscape. This episode serves as a compelling narrative of adaptation and innovation within the realm of real estate, highlighting the importance of mentorship and continuous learning in achieving success.
A profound exploration of Florin Patrasciou's journey unveils the remarkable evolution of the real estate landscape and the technological advancements that have reshaped the industry. As a broker owner of ReMax Premier in Wesley Chapel, Florin shares his insights on the transition from traditional practices to modern methodologies. He reflects on the cumbersome processes of the past, where multiple original contracts were a norm, and contrasts them with the efficiency of contemporary technology. The discussion further delves into the personal narrative of Florin, an immigrant from Romania who embraced the American dream, highlighting the cultural experiences that mold his perspective on the real estate market today. Florin emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and adaptation within the industry, asserting that the integration of technology does not substitute the role of the real estate agent but rather enhances their capabilities to serve clients more effectively.
In this engaging dialogue, the podcast also touches upon the significance of community development in areas like Wesley Chapel, which has witnessed significant growth and transformation over the years. Florin's passion for fostering relationships within the community is palpable as he recounts the vibrant diversity that defines the area. The emphasis on mentorship and accountability in the real estate field serves as a key takeaway, with Florin advocating for new agents to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset while embracing the wealth of knowledge available through training and professional development. As the conversation unfolds, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the shifting dynamics in real estate and the proactive measures that can be taken to thrive in a competitive market.
Takeaways:
- Florin Patrasciou emphasizes the evolution of real estate transactions, shifting from cumbersome paperwork to streamlined digital processes.
- He highlights the importance of technology in facilitating real estate transactions and enhancing client experiences in today's market.
- Patrasciou reflects on his journey as an immigrant, illustrating how his hospitality background has shaped his real estate career.
- The discussion reveals the significant impact of economic changes on the real estate market, particularly new construction challenges post-2008.
- Patrasciou stresses the necessity of mentorship and continuous learning for new agents in the real estate industry.
- He advocates for transparency in real estate transactions, particularly regarding commission structures and buyer representation.
Links referenced in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
But think of the transaction afew years ago versus the transaction
now. I'm still getting reviewsand interviews, thanking us and my
agents for using technologyand helping them not come somewhere
to or go somewhere. I rememberwhen I started in the late 90s, we
used to have six originals ofthe contract. So a client would sign
(00:24):
six times and initials everypage of everything six times. Because
one was going to the listingbroker, one is going to the buyer's
broker, one was going to thecompany. Want to go in the mortgage
company?
You're listening to the RealEstate Sessions and I'm your host,
Bill Risser. With nearly 25years in the real estate business,
I love to interview industryleaders, up and comers and really
(00:45):
anyone with a story to tell.It's the stories that led my guests
to a career in the real estateworld that drives me in my 10th year
and over 400 episodes of thepodcast. And now I hope you enjoy
the next journey. Hieverybody. Welcome to episode 294
of the Real Estate Sessionspodcast. As always, thank you so
(01:07):
much for tuning in. Thank youso much for telling a friend. Today
I'm going to stay local. I'mgoing to head up towards Wesley Chapel.
Wesley Chapel is this coollittle area northeast of Tampa and
I'm going to be talking to thebroker owner of ReMax Premier. I
met Florin Patrassciou throughMichelle Lawson, one of the sales
executives. She works in thatoffice. When I was with Fidelity
(01:27):
National Title, Florin had mein numerous times to help with technology
things with his operation. Andhe's got a great story. He's a wonderful
broker owner. He does somegreat things in the industry. So
I'm excited to have thisconversation. Florin, welcome to
the podcast.
Thank you, sir. I reallyappreciate inviting me.
Yeah, it's, you know, you andI go way back when I say way back,
(01:50):
way back in my Floridahistory, because I think I met you
very early in the game when Istarted working for Fidelity National
Title here. Right. ViaMichelle Lawson.
Yes, yes, absolutely. It wasfour or five years ago. I think that's
when you moved to beautifulsunny Florida from sunny Arizona.
Right.
Prior to that, sunny SanDiego. So there's a history there.
(02:14):
That's great. Yeah. And weboth love technology and I think
that's how we started. So,yeah. Thank you for connecting and
I'll be more than happy toanswer any questions you have for
your audience and I hopethey'll enjoy it.
Yeah. Thank you. It's reallygoing to be a fun story because first
you're you're my firstRomanian on the podcast. First of
(02:36):
all, let's talk about how youend up in Florida. Right. And, and
I know timing wise, I thinkyou were kind of a young man when
you, when you made the move, right?
Yes. I just finished collegeback in Romania. Moved here at age
24 in 1996. Celebrated my25th, fifth year in the United States
in August, and for the firsttime I can say I lived in the United
(02:59):
States more than I lived inRomania. So I was 24 and I moved
here. So, yeah, I'm a Romanianby birth and an American by choice.
And I still believe that thisis the best country in the world
to live and I will not even goon anything else. But, you know,
people should experience othercultures and other countries, live
there for a month or two, andwhen they come back, they come back
(03:20):
with a renewed appreciationfor what they have.
Ah, let's, let's talk aboutRomania a little bit because I don't.
My. I'm going to be really.I'm going to be bad here. My, my
knowledge is light and so Iknow it's, I know it's probably,
it's just north of Greece.
Yeah.
And I know it's west of, ofRussia and thank God.
(03:41):
Yeah.
So Eastern European area. Iknow. And this is really going to
be bad here, Florin. But, butI know that Nadia Comanich was probably
like a hero.
Yeah, yeah.
Back in the. It was, it late70s, I think it was.
Yeah, yeah. It was the firstgymnast to have a 10 on a scale of
(04:02):
1 to 10. So that's why, that'sher claim of fame. And not many people
achieve that afterwards, but.Absolutely, absolutely. She's an
idea.
Tell me, tell me a little bitabout the country itself.
Yeah. Eastern European. It's abeautiful country. It's, it's just.
And I'm not saying thatbecause I was born there. It's just,
just a beautiful country. Iwas born and raised in Bucharest,
which is a capital. Bucharestused to be called the Little Paris.
(04:25):
And we're just on wrong sideof the map of the Second World War.
So when that happened, youknow, Europe was divided in two.
If I. Sure you remember theBerlin Wall. So half of it was under
the influence of Westerninfluence and the other half, including
Romania, was under the SovietUnion at the time influence. So.
(04:49):
But one interesting thingabout Romanian, and I don't know
if you can detect that in myaccent or not, it's a Roman based
language, it's a Latin basedlanguage and we are surrounded by
Slavic languages. And that'san interesting thing. So, you know,
it's just, it's one of thosethings that for me, learning Italian
or Spanish, it's. It was. Wasfairly easy. I should not say easy.
(05:10):
Easier.
Yeah. Easier, yeah. If we wentway back in history, then. So the
Roman Empire had a hugeinfluence on that part of.
That part of the world.
Y.
That part of the world, yeah.
Awesome. What made you. Asyou're. You're relocating you, you
know, you wanted to come tothe States.
What.
What brought you to Florida?
(05:31):
Readers that just version ofit. So. Okay, a long story short
is dated and married mybeautiful bride. She's a native of
Romania and she moved to theUnited States to Florida a few years
before I did because herfamily immigrated here. And that
was, that was not my choice,by the way. But you know, as soon
(05:55):
as I moved here, as a young,young professional, loved it. And
that's what I call home. Soit's very easy. It was, it was a
very easy decision. And howcan you not live in the Sunshine
State? So, yeah, no, that'sit. So great climate and great, great
environment. Definitely.
When, when you firstrelocated, was it to the Tampa area?
(06:15):
Yes. Straight to Tampa. Yeah.
Okay.
Straight to Tampa.
Career plan at the time whenyou, I think you studied, did I think
to see this right? Did youstudy economics back in university?
Okay, yes, yes, study economiceconomics with a major, international
tourism. So, you know, it allstarted with an internship in a five
(06:37):
star hotel of Bucharest. Sokind of, you know, that's, that's
where all of that, all of thatdeveloped. And that was my career
path. That would have been mycareer path. I don't know if I would
have managed big resorts, butyou know, it would have been like
international travel, tourism.And that's what I learned Italian,
you know, because majority ofour clients are from Italy. So, you
(06:58):
know, developed, you know, anappreciation for all the cultures
around us, you know, all overthe world for that matter. So.
Right. So I have to ask you acouple of questions about. About
what I know about youpersonally, Florin. And you know,
there was, it was a coupleyears ago, I remember showing up
(07:18):
for something at your officeor up at the club, the clubhouse
we used a lot for trainingsand you were in a walking boot of
some kind. And I'm like, whatis that, Florin? And you said, what
did you tell me this firsttime? What'd you tell me?
Just I tore my Achilles tenderplaying soccer.
Playing soccer, Florin, you'vealready given up your age a Little,
(07:42):
little bit. So we know you'renot a young man.
Right.
You're, you know, middle agedbut young in mind. That's fine.
Sure.
What are you doing tearingyour Achilles heel playing soccer?
I have one word for you,passion. So I'm very passionate for
the game. I played the gamefrom a young age. I played competitive
(08:06):
from a young age. I gotinjured when I was fairly young and
I couldn't continue myprofessional career. But I always
play the game and I have apassion for the game. I have a passion
to coach it, play it, watch itand all aspects of it. So yeah, I
tore my Achilles tendon abouttwo, three years ago and in June
(08:27):
this year I tore my, the other one.
So you had to get a matchingset? Absolutely.
I had to. You know, itcouldn't be otherwise, but I think
my playing career is over. Ithink my wife agrees with that. I
don't know how much you knowabout Achilles, Achilles injuries.
(08:48):
It's a long recovery, so.
Right.
It's a one year recovery for anon professional athlete. If you're
a professional athlete,probably can get back on the pitch
in about nine months. But youknow, it's a year recovery. It's,
it's grueling. It's, it's,it's, is not a good, it's not a good
injury to have.
Right. I, I remember back as,as a young man watch in baseball.
(09:10):
I remember a San Diego Padretowards Achilles tendon. It's over.
Back in the 70s, your careerwas over. There was no fixing it.
You know, now, now as we moveforward with you know, the surgeries
that they're doing, the ACLsand all this other stuff that used
to be career ending, they canget back at it and that helps, that
helps the rest of us becausethey develop that, you know, so,
so that's good to know becauseyeah, you're right. I saw you in
(09:32):
Austin, Texas at a. And youwere in a boot on the other foot.
And I'm like, oh no, youdidn't do that.
Yes, I did. So the worst partof it is like it's not being able
to walk. So it's a nonbearing, it's a non bearing injury
for a long time. So I'll say,I think if I remember exactly, it's
(09:52):
like 10 weeks, you cannot evenput your foot down or gradually put
your foot down. And the funnything is the doctor tells you in
the beginning is like, you canput 25% of your weight down on this.
And my question is like, howdo you determine 25 of your weight.
So can I put my phone down ornot? So, anyway, long story short,
I have a scooter, I have aknee peg. I have. I'm all set. And
(10:14):
if anybody on the podcast, Godforbid, has any kind of injuries,
let me know. I have the equipment.
You've got a. You've got awarehouse going. I love it. So. So,
yeah. You passionate aboutsoccer? You. I know that you said
you coach it. When you played,were you a defender? Midfield forward?
What was your specialty? Oh,so you were.
(10:35):
You.
You were. You were. You werethe wonder kid. You were up front.
Yeah, I'm up front. I mean, itwas a tall kid as growing up. And
my coach, I remember my coachsaying, you have. I have two positions
for you, the center back orstriker. So I said, I think I'm gonna
do striker because I'm. I'mskilled, you know, for. For my. For
my size. And. Yeah, true.Number nine. If somebody watches
soccer, they know what I talkabout through number nine. Yeah,
(10:59):
yeah.
And that's. And you are. Youare big. You're how. You're six three,
six, six, two. Yeah, I thoughtI used to be. Seems big for a striker,
right?
Yeah, I mean, it's common.It's common for. For a different.
The style of play. Back in theday, it's very common to have a big
striker on top. You know, it'ssomebody who can hold it and hold
(11:20):
the ball and deliver the ball and.
Yeah.
You know, be more massive. So.Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely.
You're good on the set piecesfor sure.
Sure, sure. I like to believethat I should ask my teammates about
it. That's great.
So obviously you followsoccer. You're. You're a passionate
fan. Is there. Do you have ateam in Europe that you follow? Well,
(11:41):
of course, the Romaniannational team, I'm sure is.
Yeah, yeah. I gotta give propsto my team that I grew up with, Dinamo
Bucharest, played there andgrew up with them, being big fan.
But, you know, I'll sayprobably in England because people
are more. More aware of theEnglish Premier League. Right? Yeah,
(12:02):
I'll say Leicester City. Okay.The. The wonder story. I have a good
friend that played for themuntil last year, won the championship.
1995. What am I talking about?2015. So with them, and he just moved
to the United States. He'll beplaying for Charlotte, the new Charlotte
(12:22):
MLS franchise, you know, sonext year. Yeah, yeah, I see.
I see you traveling up thecoast to catch a game or two.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely,absolutely. I took my son to England
and We watched five games ineight days. That was a lifetime experience.
Yes, yes. And it was a. Was agreat one. We went last year right
(12:44):
before COVID actually. Ialmost got caught by Covid in England.
Yeah. Watching soccer. So thequick trip, you know, two games and
no coming back to the States.
And so did you. Some. Whatwere some of the stadiums you saw?
Now that you're saying this,what stadiums would you get to see?
Oh my God. All over Europe. Imean, I'll give you my trip started
(13:05):
with Leicester, which isLeicester City. It's their own stadium.
King Power. It's called KingPower. Then we saw Chelsea the next
day. Chelsea was playing inthe Northeast Derby against Fulham.
Fulham was a Premier Leagueteam at the time. And then which.
Chelsea is my son's team. Sothat was. That was. That was a must.
(13:25):
Absolutely. Then we saw theLondon Stadium, which is the Olympic
stadium where West Ham Unitedplays. Then we moved to. We traveled
to Manchester to the theaterof dreams. The name of Old Trafford.
So Manchester United Arsenalwas a great. It was a great match,
a great game. And then we wentsouth. So from north south all the
(13:48):
way south of England toBournemouth and we watched Bournemouth,
Liverpool. So. Wow.
Yeah, great stadiums.
I've been to the Emirates.I've been to a lot of stadiums a
lot of times. So yeah, greattimes. Yeah, I love it.
You and I were chatting alittle bit up front. Your daughter
is a Gator, which will make alot of listeners happy. We have quite
(14:10):
a few Gators that listen to this.
Go Gators.
Yeah, Go Gators. Tell me whatyou did last weekend.
I have a good friend who. Afriend of mine who is a season ticket
holder alumni from GatorNation. You have graduated season
ticket holder for 31 years. Solast year was. Is probably. I don't
(14:33):
know, probably, you know, asthis podcast will age though people
not remember. But anyway, theyplayed Alabama, so they play Bama
the Swamp. And when the gamethe full experience from early in
the morning tailgating 3:30game. And it was the fifth largest
attendance at the Swamp over91, 000 people. It was. It was unbelievable.
(14:56):
Was electric and the game was.Was very good. It was very, very
close game for the listeners.Don't know. Ended up 30. Alabama
winning 31 to 29.
Yeah.
On a field kick miss.
Also a really weird two pointconversion attempt that they tried.
They tried the two point andit didn't work.
Yeah, yeah. Quarterback andthe running back weren't on the same
(15:17):
page. And that happens sometimes.
That happens. Needless to say,an unbelievable Game. And guess where
I'm gonna be tomorrowSaturday? Well, the Gators versus
Tennessee. So another bigrivalry game. So. So I don't know
if you have any Tennessee fanshere, but maybe a couple. Maybe a
(15:37):
couple. Good.
Have you. Have you figuredthis out? That this or your daughter
or your friend that? Like,most Gators really don't like Tennessee
for some reason. Like, it's abig deal to them.
I have.
Like, even.
I'll give you an example. Ihave a polo shirt that is. Which
is blue and it has some orangein it. And my daughter made sure
to tell me that I cannot wearthat polo shirt, which has the gator
(15:59):
symbol on it. Yes, it's aGator shirt. Right. So. But, you
know, just a little bit oforange on it. I said you cannot wear
that against Tennessee. Thereis no. It has to be no resemblance
of orange on your attire.
You gotta find some. All blue.
She called it atrocious. Yeah.So anyway. Yeah.
All right, well, let's getback to real estate. Let's. Let's
talk about. So somehow you'rehere. You know, your training is
(16:24):
in the hospitality, you know,leisure industry, but you end up
becoming a realtor.
Yes. Long story short, I mean,I'm an immigrant. What can an immigrant
do? You know, I took Englishin college, you know, but again,
English is my second language.So most year, I started working in
restaurants. You know, Ispeak. Spoke Italian. So obviously
(16:45):
Italian restaurants would bemy. Know, my first. My first choice,
which I did. And truthfully,hospitality industry really prepares
you for anything in realestate. So that's kind of one word
of advice. I have, you know, alot of people. I see a lot of people
from the hospitality industry.Making. Making a. Making it in. In.
In real estate. I had thecorporate world experience. I'm an
(17:08):
entrepreneur by heart. So Ihad a corporate world experience.
For one month. I worked for acompany called Lucent Technologies,
and I lasted one month. I gotfired. I'm proud to say I got fired
because I had the most sales,but I was not making the number of
calls they wanted me to make.It was the craziest thing I ever
heard in my life. I had thehighest conversion rate in the whole
(17:31):
department, but I was making67 calls, and they wanted me to make
100 calls. Wow. And I said,this is not for me. So that was my.
My. My attempt to work incorporate world. So real estate was
a natural progression. Youknow, in the late 90s, I figured
it would be a good. A goodindustry. I fell in love with it
(17:53):
and it's like anything else,you know, you stick with it and you'll
make it work.
Yeah. You, you started withColdwell Banker, right?
Yeah. Yep.
Which, which makes perfectsense because they were, they're.
They're known as like a placewhere you can get some really good
training, right?
Yes.
And you probably, I'm surethat's part of the thought process
was I need to be someplacewhere they're gonna really kind of
(18:15):
let me, you know, teach mewhat I need to know. And then after
being there a few years, youknow, then REMAX enters the pictures.
Let's talk about that. That,that little progression.
That's an interestingprogression. So I've been with two
companies in almost 25 years.Colo Banker at the beginning. Colo
Banker in the beginning forabout seven years. What I call those
(18:36):
formative years in realestate. So absolutely great. Company
Cola Banker here locally wasowned by nrt. They just moved into
the Tampa market at the time.In the late 90s, acquire a company,
a big local independent calledTam Bay. I'll never forget that the,
even the letterhead said ColoBanker, formerly known as Tam Bay
(18:57):
because the brand, the brandof Stan Bay. So those are the formative
years, you know, and then, youknow, little by little, I just want
to do something for myself. Istarted being coached by Buffini
& Co. The beginning of 2000for a long, long time. I consider
Brian and Dermot Buffini myfriends and my mentors. So I've known
(19:18):
them for a long time. Manyconversations over the years. So
they have what, what's calleda heritage profile when you start
coaching with them. Soheritage profile determines what
your best attribute. I mean,what your attributes are. My first
one was entrepreneur, which Iknew that I owned businesses over
the years. I've always been anentrepreneur. That's not, that's
not, that's not something new.But the second and third one were
(19:41):
more eye opening. That made methink more was. Second one was trusted
advisor and the third one is ateam builder. So those are my core
attributes. So it was anatural progression more from, from
being an agent and we. Andmove into the, the brokerage world.
Opening a company in 2005. Atthe end of 2005.
(20:07):
Wow. So this, this is right.
Right.
Just before things are goingto turn a little south in the market.
Bill, let me, let me tell youthe. Let me, let me frame this for
you.
Sure.
So it was the end of 2005, Iopened the company and we moved from
(20:29):
one month worth of inventoryto six months worth of inventory
in one month alone. Think ofit like, think of it like somebody
had a switch, a light switch,and said, no good market for you,
buddy. So, yeah, go figureout. So it was just nightmare. Everything
started going in Florida, inour market, everything started changing
(20:50):
at the end of five andprogressively got worse as you know,
with the, with a greatrecession. So, yeah, I started the
greatest session. So I don'thave too many bad habits. You know,
brokers before me had a lot ofbad habits because it become, you
know, comfortable with a goodmarket. I did not have that as a
(21:11):
brokerage, so. But I. Passion,that's all. You know, I think I applied
the same thing playing soccerand loving soccer. I applied it to
the business. I had thepassion for it and I, I can't give
up. I mean, you have to get going.
Yeah. I mean, if you look atyour career path in real estate,
the late 90s, things weregood, but man, did they get better.
(21:32):
You're on this progressiveclimb. It's just going up, up, up.
And then we know it wasn'treality, but it kept going up, up,
up. And so you had to bethinking, wow, this is gonna be great.
I'm ready for my brokerage.Let's go.
Yeah.
Once you know, how did, howdid you handle. Lean on some mentors,
some other people, becausehere you are now you're in charge.
(21:53):
You got these agents thatyou've recruited in to your, to your
business and you're trying tosolve and figure things out.
Definitely. Always. I thinkmentorship is a big, it's a big portion
of it and, and I thinkcoaching is a big portion of it.
You have to be open to learn.As an ex athlete, I mean, obviously
that's obvious to me. Youknow, having a coach, that's, that,
that's not the problem. I'vealways believed in that. But again,
(22:17):
you know, you're looking at,you're looking in the late 90s real
estate and you know, wasdecent, was nothing, not absolutely
nothing to, to, to, to writeabout maybe 2, 3% appreciation going
down. Then experienced 911.Then we actually first know. No,
first we experience a dot comboom and then the dot com bust. And
that had an influence on it.And then you have 911 and that had
(22:39):
an influen real estate. So Ihad ups and downs until 2005, but
then 2000, I would say 2001 to2005, straight up run. I mean, unbelievable
run. We all know why and thereasons of the mortgage industry
and how that, how thathappened and what he leaded us to,
but straight up run. Yeah.
(23:00):
Yeah. So you. So I guess sothose having those little blips.
Well, fairly significantblips. Helped it helped you be prepared,
you know, and helped you. Didyou embrace short. I'm just curious,
did you embrace short sales?Were you there on that?
I. I think in Tampa Bay area,I think I was with one of my agents
and one day, you know, weheard about Alex Sharpen, the CDPE
(23:22):
program.
Yeah.
And he was right in thebeginning. I signed up. I think I
was, I had to be if I rememberexactly, because they had a website.
I had probably one of thefirst 10 people signing up. I understood
that I never, never thought ofa, a short sale. The definition at
the time there was not such athing. I don't even know who in the
(23:42):
world came up with the ideaof, with the name of a short sale
because there was nothingshort about it.
Anyway. The longesttransaction you'll ever do in.
The history of real estateprobably happened in the short sale
era. But we had, I remembernegotiating the first time a residential
mortgage with a short payoff.So that's what it started. Short
sell it, short payoff. It wascommon in the commercial world, but
(24:05):
you know, not in theresidential world. So. Right, yeah,
definitely, definitely CDPstill. I just saw something that
they are kind of trying toreinstate that designation and trying
to build something on it. Butdefinitely you had to adapt based
on whatever you are in themarketplace. So yeah, we did. I remember
in 2007, 8 or 2009, I thinkthe max we had, we had about 74%
(24:33):
of our old transactions in thefirm were distressed properties,
either bank owned or shortsales. We dealt with Fannie Mae,
we dealt with Freddie MacChase, we dealt with your name and
we had to Regions bank withthat. We had to.
Yeah. You live in a great partof the Tampa area north of Tampa.
Wesley Chapel is where youroffice is located. One of your offices.
(24:54):
And how would you, how wouldyou describe the whole Wesley Chapel
5654 corridor? It's pretty,it's a pretty unique place in this
space because I'm down in St.Pete and we're completely different
than up there.
Oh, totally different. It's.Think of it, think of it this way.
The major road on WesleyChapel, which is state 056 did not
(25:18):
exist back in 2000. I thinkthey built it in 2002. So it's a,
it's a new community. It'ssuburbs really. Suburbs northeast
of Tampa suburbs. But it's avibrant community. It's a. It's a
strong community. It's. Peoplebuild. People come from all over.
I love. I love the diversity.And then you have the beginning.
(25:38):
You know, obviously we had alittle bit of issues, you know, with.
With not having enough storesor, you know, not having entertainment
around. But now it's growing,and it's growing by leaps and bounds.
And it's. It's justunbelievable to see and watch how
this area has grown, becauseI've been in this area for 20 years,
so there was. There is nothinglike they used to be. So state of
(26:00):
54. You referred to state of54. That was. That was called to
Road to Nowhere because heended in a T. So that was not going
anywhere. So. Yeah. So it'stotally different now. Totally different
now. Vibrant, strongcommunity, and we just love it.
Yeah. And actually, if there'sany. If you're looking for a new
build, head there.
(26:21):
Oh, definitely. Definitely.
That's where all the buildersare. It seems like. Right.
And it seems like it's goingnorth. Like anything else, you know,
become. You know, it becomesmore and more so. Yeah. Yeah. So
Wesley Chapel. A great plugfor Wesley Chapel, I guess. No, it's
over Florida. So. Yeah, wehave the other offices in Tampa.
It's in a more traditionalarea in Seminole Heights, which is.
(26:42):
Which is another greatcommunity. Right. Right outside of
downtown Tampa.
Yeah, that's. That's a vibrantkind of a community. That's. That's
got a lot of. A lot ofactivity going on, and it's so close
to all those great things indowntown Tampa. So it's pretty cool.
Let's. Let's talk about tech alittle bit. Florin, when Michelle
introduced me to you, it wasgreat because, look, I've talked
(27:03):
to. I don't think. Hopefullythey're not listening. I've talked
to a lot of different brokersabout things. And my role in the
Fidelity family was to try tounderstand tech, but then try to
explain it in a way thatagents could understand it. Right.
And sometimes the person whohad the most trouble understanding
it was the broker. That's notthe case with you. You're a tech
nerd. You love this stuff. Youknow, you. You. You knew what I was
(27:27):
talking about. And sometimes alot of times you knew more than what
I knew about what I wastalking about. Let's. Let's share
some of those. Some of thetechnologies right now, because there's
a whole bunch of stuff wecould talk about. But what. What's
going on out there right nowthat kind of excites you things that
you're really trying to getyour agents to adopt.
That's a, that's adoption.It's a big word in the brokerage
(27:49):
world. So I think it hassomething to do with the average
age of a real estate agent.And I have to mention that I'm 49
years old. I'll be 50 nextyear. I'm not, I'm not a techie by
any means in the sense oflike, like I don't grew up with TikTok.
Right. So we barely had emailback then. You know, it's like we
(28:13):
don't even have email. Soanyway, so that's, that's that. But
I love technology and I thinkanybody in any age can implement
technology. And when I sayimplement technology, technology
is not going to replace thereal estate agent. I mean I, I really
don't think so. I think it'sthe opposite. I think agents are
able, able to streamline theirprocesses and make all home buying
(28:35):
and home selling as easy aspossible for their clients through
technology, through cuttingedge technology. Think of it like
a few years ago introducing Esignatures or I remember this because
loving technology, my officebecame paperless 10 years ago. We
use a company. Yes, yes, yes.Talking about adoption, that was
(28:57):
a struggle in the beginning.We used a company called Paperless
Pipeline. They're stillaround. They never grew too big.
But even that, you know, waslike your fi. I used to call it your
file cabinet in the, in thecloud. That's it, that's what it
is. And then, then evolvedwith E signatures and you have the
whole transaction in there. Weuse for property management a company
called Upfolio. I don't knowif you're familiar with it, you know,
(29:20):
in the property managementworld that's not our forte by the
way. But no, yeah, we, we usefor, for real estate, the residential
and commercial transactions,we use app files, which is a Florida
company, I'll say Dot loop,kind of dot loop competitor. But
think of it, the transaction afew years ago versus the transaction
(29:40):
now. I'm still getting reviewsand interviews thanking us and my
agents for using technologyand helping them not come somewhere
to or go somewhere. I rememberwhen I started in the late 90s, we
used to have six originals ofthe contract. So a client would sign
(30:01):
six times and initials everypage of everything. Six times because
one was going to the listingbroker, one is going to the buyer's
broker, one is going to thetitle company, one is going to the
mortgage company. So therewere six original. So you know, that's
that to me, that's, that'swhere it's evolving. And now we're
looking like AI. You'relooking at virtual reality. Look
at Ray Ban and Facebook withtheir new glasses. I mean we use
(30:24):
video, we use bomb bomb, weuse virtual staging. Box brownie.
Check them out. Box brownie.Guys in Australia, I know, God bless
them right now with COVID andthe restrictions they have, but I
have not seen them in a yearand a half. But you know, the companies
like that, I think, you know,again, I think it's high tech. I
(30:44):
know it's overly used. Thisterm, high tech, high touch. But
that's what it, that's what itboils down to CRM. Do you want to
go into CRMs or no?
Oh no, let's hear this becauseI mean, look, you're an owner at
ReMax. Let's talk about CRMs.
Okay? This is my standardanswer now. I'm going to make it
as short as possible. You knowwhat the best CRM is?
(31:06):
No.
The one you use. That's it.Period. I mean we have it, ReMax
technology. We have, we haveboughs, we have everything. We have
from websites, apps and youhave the CRM and you have everything.
If you are using Liondesk, useLiondesk, that's the best one for
you. If you're using Buffini'sCRM, if you're working in that, in
(31:27):
that, you know, niche with bydefault use referral maker. So the
best CRM is the one you use.That's, that's, that's what it boils
down to. So yeah, that's myfeel on it.
Trying to really force peopleinto something is a losing proposition
generally.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Yeah. You gotta let them workin the space they like to work in.
And I think, I think that'sgreat. I love that. That's, it's,
(31:51):
it's hard not to talk to abroker owner and not talk about this
market.
Right.
First of all, nobody knew,right? Nobody knew what was going
to happen in March 2020. Ithink everybody thought, okay, this
is going to be, we got tohunker down. It's going to be rough.
And that was everyone'sthought. Yet within two months things
(32:14):
just took off. So let's, youknow, let's just chat about that.
You know, I mean, rates arelow and, and demand is high and supply
is low. This, this, there'sgot to be some, something's got to
change. It can't continue, youknow, looking at.
(32:34):
All the data and short tometa. I really don't think much will
change. And the rates arehistorically low so people can qualify.
So think of it this way. A 4%interest rate on a $300,000 home.
How much your mortgage paymentis because most of consumers are
(32:55):
not cash. Most of consumersare financing their properties and
they are, they're living inthe payment comparison to 2.5% or
320,000. Let's say it'ssignificantly lower even though the
sales price is higher becauseof the interest rates are lower.
I think the biggest issue wehave is new construction. And I think
(33:16):
we've been under built since2008 when Lehman Brothers went down
which was the biggest supplierof money for developers. That's when
we started having problemslittle by little. Covid just exacerbate,
just created and amplified theproblem. So new construction, they
have problems. They can buildprice of steel, lumber, supply chain
(33:40):
issues with concrete, laborissues. You know on that some builders
turning to multi familybecause that's where they can make
it happen and they can buildmore units faster. So that's why
it's a huge, huge optic on, onmultifamily. But you know then you
have the investors versus thefirst time home buyers and you know
you, you know you have, youknow, our clients that are first
(34:02):
time home buyers losingagainst cash transactions. Absolutely
happens. But it's aninteresting, it's an interesting
statistic that I read theother day. 25 of the transactions
are investors. So they are notthe majority. The way the media portrays
it is the majority have it.It's not, it's not that large. And
I'll give you another one thatI saw yesterday. The mortgage applications
(34:25):
are up 7% which is the highestsince April. So a majority of those
mortgage applications are inFHA VA VA space. I don't believe
in shadow inventory like weused to have. I mean I can make the
comparison. 2005 was totallydifferent market conditions. Again
I'm a major in economics and Ilove that. So forbearance, I don't
(34:48):
think that's going to affect.I don't think we're going to have
foreclosures because peoplehave equity in their houses, they
don't need to foreclose on it.So right. That's going to change.
So I think short yeah I mightthrow some more properties on the
market because if you come outof forbearance and you're just, you
just can't catch up, you sellit will be absorbed.
(35:09):
Immediately and you know, youdon't have to go to foreclosures.
Which is a great thing.
And I will add one more thingand we can move to the next one.
I don't want to beat this todeath, but, you know, look at the
rental prices. So you think,okay, I cannot purchase a home. I
gotta leave somewhere. Shelteris one of the basic needs. Right?
Shelter, food and water, youknow, it's one of your basic needs.
We have to live somewhere.Rental prices are through the roof
(35:31):
nationwide, not justnecessarily in Tampa Bay area.
Right. And you're. And I thinkthat's, that's really. People need
to understand that it's notjust, it's not just the prices for
the builders. It's the factthat we've under built over the last
decade.
Oh, we built. We built. I'llgive you another one to put in perspective.
We, you. We built less than webuilt during the Great Depression.
(35:52):
And keep in mind, keep in mindthat during the Great depression,
there are 100 million peopleliving in the United States. Now
there are 360 million.
Yeah.
Or so. So the levels, even ifyou look at the levels, you know,
you have to take that inconsideration. I mean, we have triple
the number of population. Theyhave to live somewhere.
I want to keep going down thispath of putting you in uncomfortable
(36:13):
situations with questions.
I know.
Are you worried about what'scoming out of this NAR DOJ thing?
It's, it's really weird. I'mnot an expert on it at all. But antitrust
is a huge concern. It's alwaysbeen a concern in real estate. Every,
every, every place I'm everat. If somebody brings up the commission
word, there's always a, shh.We can't talk about that. The entire
(36:36):
audience. Right.
So because commissions arenegotiable. It's as simple as that.
And we have to. I have. Thekey word to me is transparency. So
I'm going to tell you this. Imean, you know, when DOJ filed a
lawsuit against NAR, it wasback in 2005. So you're talking about
long time ago. Right?
Yeah.
(36:56):
And on July 1st, you know, DOJwithdrew from the proposed settlement
when NAR. And that's wheneverything started. You know, NAR
was willing to do the changesto code of ethics and MLS rules,
but the deal fell apart. So Ithink the main issues that DOJ has
with our industry are it's theBroker Cooperation Commission and
representation. Those are thehot buttons for them. Well, those
(37:20):
things been around for 100years into. But, but the statement
might be a littlecontroversial, but in today's social
and political environment,Everything is questioned and challenged.
Right?
Yeah.
So I'm saying no, I'm all forit. Offer the transparency. We discuss
it, you know, even at thefranchisor level, you know, and I've
(37:41):
seen MLS is already showingthe broker commission, you know,
that should be, that should bestandard. There is nothing wrong
with it. You know,transparency is nothing. There's
nothing to be wrong with it.The problem is, you know, on the
representation side, NAR isjust a national trade organization.
The states regulate licensingand how you represent people. So
(38:03):
in Florida, for example, wecan use, it's not dual agency because
that's a bad word. We can, weuse what's called transaction broker.
We don't represent the seller,we don't represent the buyer, represent
the transaction. We still haveto have certain things in place by
law. We have to disclosehonestly and fairly disclosing all
known facts and materiallyaffecting the property. Operating
(38:25):
faith. It's all of thosethings. So I think showing the co
op fee to the buyer should notbe considered a service charge. I
really don't believe in that.It's not the. Because that's what
we get a hot, hot issues. It'sa seller's charges. Not to me, the
seller doesn't have. DOJ'sproblem with that is that the seller
(38:45):
does not have the opportunityto negotiate that charge. I think
to me, when we check, yes,that's the, that's the issue. So
I think a co op fee, what wecall a co op fee, that broker cooperation
co op, it's just a marketingexpense paid by the listing broker
to a buyer's broker to enticethem into showing the property and
to work through a transactionto a successful closing do. It's
(39:06):
as simple as that. But youknow, not showing that commission,
I don't, I think that's wrong.I think, I think it should be, it
should be shown. And I knowthere are a lot of people, you know,
saying that to the contrary,but you know, I'm all for progress
in that in that matter. Weshould have, you know, we should
have a transparency and going forward.
Yeah, I mean, and part of thattransparency is for the buyer as
well. Right? I mean, because,you know, because there's a chance
(39:28):
a buyer could look at that andgo, well, wait a minute, you know,
I'm paying more maybe becauseof this. But it's, you know, it's,
it's, it's a, it's, it's goingto be interesting to see how this
plays out. That's for sure.
For sure. For sure. Yeah, for sure.
Well, Florin, I've had youhere, as I say a lot because I love
just chatting, but I've hadyou here way past the time I promised
(39:49):
I'd get you out. So I'm goingto ask you the same final question
I've asked every guest. Thatis, what one piece of advice would
you give a new agent just.
Getting rolling, a new agentcoming to the business? That's a
great question, Bill. I thinkone of the things that I've seen
In the past 20 some years inthis business, I think having an
entrepreneur mindset and workethic are absolutely crucial as you
(40:14):
go into the business. When yougo in business, you're a 1099 employee.
You're not an employee or a1099. And you're coming from an industry,
perhaps majority of peoplecome from a different industry and
expect it to be. To be givensomething. No, you have to have that.
You are the CEO, CFO and CEOfor your own business. As a matter
of fact, you're the janitor.You're the tech guru also, and all
(40:36):
the other things above. So Ithink that's, that's one of the major
things that I would say. Imean, you got to be able to learn.
So you asked me one. I'll giveyou a few more if you don't mind.
Right, no worries.
I mean, you know, a few. I'vebeen around the block a few times,
so I think ability to learnand willingness to learn to be a
student of life in general,attend events, training sessions,
(40:58):
listen to podcasts like yours,conferences, I mean, it's, it's unbelievable.
Read, read, read, read. Ifyou, if you're not a big reader,
go to Audible and listen tothe books. Depends how your learning
style is. Accountability. Finda mentor, find an accountability
partner. Fire. Find a coach.Maybe not as soon as you start, but
find somebody. And focus andnarrow and niche are very important
(41:21):
in order to generate leads. Ithink you cannot be the jack of all
trades and the master of none.Absolutely. Over 70% of the business
is referrals only. I'm not thesharpest tool in the shed, but 70%
of the business is there. Whywould I go and, you know, fish there?
Actually, I'm not going to goand fish. I'm going to use the bazooka
and I'm going to go in there.So, you know, just go where the fish
is. And I have. Can I mentionthis, Bill? I have. I just started
(41:45):
something with video and videois very uncomfortable for real estate
agents and real estateBrokers. I just started a video which
is not brand related. It'sjust opinions and training and tips
and techniques for real estateagents. It's called Real Estate Success
Strategies. Just rolled it outa couple weeks ago. As a matter of
fact, you can find it on, onFacebook. We have 57 followers.
(42:10):
They all start like that.
All start like that. But I'mgonna use, I'm gonna say something.
You know, it's like my crappyvideo is better than your non existent
video. So. But you know, RealEstate Success strategies, it's on
YouTube. We have a Instagrampage as well. Real Estate Success
Strategies are on Facebook and.
(42:32):
Awesome.
You know, just subscribe andmaybe you'll pick up an idea or two.
We'll put links to all that inthe show notes. So thank you. People
can get there easy. Yeah,that's great.
Yeah, yeah. And again, that'snot brand, that's not brand specific.
Nothing will be sold there.It's like your podcast. It's absolutely,
it's going to be a pleasurefor, for us to give back to the industry
that gave us so much and wereally appreciate it. And you know,
(42:55):
you know, you, you get more bygiving and not expecting anything
in return. I'm a big believerin that. Yep.
Totally believe that. Youknow, I believe that. Florin, if
someone wants to reach outdirectly to you, is there, is there
a simple way to do that? Easyway to do that?
Yeah, I mean, I'll give mycell phone number. I don't know if
people do that, but you know,I'm that open.
(43:17):
So anything you want to share,you can share.
Yeah, no, you can find me onsocial, all social media platforms,
obviously. I even have a ticktock follow my kids, God bless them
and, but you know, you know,it's, it's funny, it's funny to talk
about that, but you know,yeah, my cell phone, 813-817-4070
(43:42):
via email. I'm sure you'regonna put in the link there. Yeah,
my email address, my website,company name and everything else.
Anything, anything you need oranything I can help anybody in this
industry, I'll be more thanhappy to do it and it would be my
pleasure. And I think itshould be a duty for everybody to
share. I think that's howwe're gonna grow and that's how we're
gonna raise the level ofprofessionalism in this industry,
(44:04):
which is much needed, much needed.
So, Florin, this has beengreat. Thank you so much for your
time and once again, my, mysincerest apologies for waiting this
long to do this. This is, thisis a, this has been great.
Absolutely. It's my pleasure.And thank you for, for inviting me
and thank you for all you doand because you know, you're just
(44:26):
being the inland ambassador orworking with the rate my agent, which
many of my agents use your,your, your company and your services,
those are great things for,for our industry. So yeah, thank
you for having me. I hope youraudience bear with my accent for
whatever long we talked. Idon't even know, I don't even have
the time. But you know, again,it's been my pleasure and looking
(44:49):
forward to talk to you in the future.
Thank you for listening to theReal Estate Sessions. Please head
over to ratethispodcast.comresessions to leave a review or a
rating and subscribe to theReal Estate Sessions podcast at your
favorite podcast. Listening Applause.
But think of the transaction afew years ago versus the transaction
now. I'm still getting reviewsand interviews, thanking us and my
agents for using technologyand helping them not come somewhere
to or go somewhere. I rememberwhen I started in the late 90s, we
used to have six originals ofthe contract. So a client would sign
(00:24):
six times and initials everypage of everything six times. Because
one was going to the listingbroker, one is going to the buyer's
broker, one was going to thecompany. Want to go in the mortgage
company?
You're listening to the RealEstate Sessions and I'm your host,
Bill Risser. With nearly 25years in the real estate business,
I love to interview industryleaders, up and comers and really
(00:45):
anyone with a story to tell.It's the stories that led my guests
to a career in the real estateworld that drives me in my 10th year
and over 400 episodes of thepodcast. And now I hope you enjoy
the next journey. Hieverybody. Welcome to episode 294
of the Real Estate Sessionspodcast. As always, thank you so
(01:07):
much for tuning in. Thank youso much for telling a friend. Today
I'm going to stay local. I'mgoing to head up towards Wesley Chapel.
Wesley Chapel is this coollittle area northeast of Tampa and
I'm going to be talking to thebroker owner of ReMax Premier. I
met Florin Patrassciou throughMichelle Lawson, one of the sales
executives. She works in thatoffice. When I was with Fidelity
(01:27):
National Title, Florin had mein numerous times to help with technology
things with his operation. Andhe's got a great story. He's a wonderful
broker owner. He does somegreat things in the industry. So
I'm excited to have thisconversation. Florin, welcome to
the podcast.
Thank you, sir. I reallyappreciate inviting me.
Yeah, it's, you know, you andI go way back when I say way back,
(01:50):
way back in my Floridahistory, because I think I met you
very early in the game when Istarted working for Fidelity National
Title here. Right. ViaMichelle Lawson.
Yes, yes, absolutely. It wasfour or five years ago. I think that's
when you moved to beautifulsunny Florida from sunny Arizona.
Right.
Prior to that, sunny SanDiego. So there's a history there.
(02:14):
That's great. Yeah. And weboth love technology and I think
that's how we started. So,yeah. Thank you for connecting and
I'll be more than happy toanswer any questions you have for
your audience and I hopethey'll enjoy it.
Yeah. Thank you. It's reallygoing to be a fun story because first
you're you're my firstRomanian on the podcast. First of
(02:36):
all, let's talk about how youend up in Florida. Right. And, and
I know timing wise, I thinkyou were kind of a young man when
you, when you made the move, right?
Yes. I just finished collegeback in Romania. Moved here at age
24 in 1996. Celebrated my25th, fifth year in the United States
in August, and for the firsttime I can say I lived in the United
(02:59):
States more than I lived inRomania. So I was 24 and I moved
here. So, yeah, I'm a Romanianby birth and an American by choice.
And I still believe that thisis the best country in the world
to live and I will not even goon anything else. But, you know,
people should experience othercultures and other countries, live
there for a month or two, andwhen they come back, they come back
(03:20):
with a renewed appreciationfor what they have.
Ah, let's, let's talk aboutRomania a little bit because I don't.
My. I'm going to be really.I'm going to be bad here. My, my
knowledge is light and so Iknow it's, I know it's probably,
it's just north of Greece.
Yeah.
And I know it's west of, ofRussia and thank God.
(03:41):
Yeah.
So Eastern European area. Iknow. And this is really going to
be bad here, Florin. But, butI know that Nadia Comanich was probably
like a hero.
Yeah, yeah.
Back in the. It was, it late70s, I think it was.
Yeah, yeah. It was the firstgymnast to have a 10 on a scale of
(04:02):
1 to 10. So that's why, that'sher claim of fame. And not many people
achieve that afterwards, but.Absolutely, absolutely. She's an
idea.
Tell me, tell me a little bitabout the country itself.
Yeah. Eastern European. It's abeautiful country. It's, it's just.
And I'm not saying thatbecause I was born there. It's just,
just a beautiful country. Iwas born and raised in Bucharest,
which is a capital. Bucharestused to be called the Little Paris.
(04:25):
And we're just on wrong sideof the map of the Second World War.
So when that happened, youknow, Europe was divided in two.
If I. Sure you remember theBerlin Wall. So half of it was under
the influence of Westerninfluence and the other half, including
Romania, was under the SovietUnion at the time influence. So.
(04:49):
But one interesting thingabout Romanian, and I don't know
if you can detect that in myaccent or not, it's a Roman based
language, it's a Latin basedlanguage and we are surrounded by
Slavic languages. And that'san interesting thing. So, you know,
it's just, it's one of thosethings that for me, learning Italian
or Spanish, it's. It was. Wasfairly easy. I should not say easy.
(05:10):
Easier.
Yeah. Easier, yeah. If we wentway back in history, then. So the
Roman Empire had a hugeinfluence on that part of.
That part of the world.
Y.
That part of the world, yeah.
Awesome. What made you. Asyou're. You're relocating you, you
know, you wanted to come tothe States.
What.
What brought you to Florida?
(05:31):
Readers that just version ofit. So. Okay, a long story short
is dated and married mybeautiful bride. She's a native of
Romania and she moved to theUnited States to Florida a few years
before I did because herfamily immigrated here. And that
was, that was not my choice,by the way. But you know, as soon
(05:55):
as I moved here, as a young,young professional, loved it. And
that's what I call home. Soit's very easy. It was, it was a
very easy decision. And howcan you not live in the Sunshine
State? So, yeah, no, that'sit. So great climate and great, great
environment. Definitely.
When, when you firstrelocated, was it to the Tampa area?
(06:15):
Yes. Straight to Tampa. Yeah.
Okay.
Straight to Tampa.
Career plan at the time whenyou, I think you studied, did I think
to see this right? Did youstudy economics back in university?
Okay, yes, yes, study economiceconomics with a major, international
tourism. So, you know, it allstarted with an internship in a five
(06:37):
star hotel of Bucharest. Sokind of, you know, that's, that's
where all of that, all of thatdeveloped. And that was my career
path. That would have been mycareer path. I don't know if I would
have managed big resorts, butyou know, it would have been like
international travel, tourism.And that's what I learned Italian,
you know, because majority ofour clients are from Italy. So, you
(06:58):
know, developed, you know, anappreciation for all the cultures
around us, you know, all overthe world for that matter. So.
Right. So I have to ask you acouple of questions about. About
what I know about youpersonally, Florin. And you know,
there was, it was a coupleyears ago, I remember showing up
(07:18):
for something at your officeor up at the club, the clubhouse
we used a lot for trainingsand you were in a walking boot of
some kind. And I'm like, whatis that, Florin? And you said, what
did you tell me this firsttime? What'd you tell me?
Just I tore my Achilles tenderplaying soccer.
Playing soccer, Florin, you'vealready given up your age a Little,
(07:42):
little bit. So we know you'renot a young man.
Right.
You're, you know, middle agedbut young in mind. That's fine.
Sure.
What are you doing tearingyour Achilles heel playing soccer?
I have one word for you,passion. So I'm very passionate for
the game. I played the gamefrom a young age. I played competitive
(08:06):
from a young age. I gotinjured when I was fairly young and
I couldn't continue myprofessional career. But I always
play the game and I have apassion for the game. I have a passion
to coach it, play it, watch itand all aspects of it. So yeah, I
tore my Achilles tendon abouttwo, three years ago and in June
(08:27):
this year I tore my, the other one.
So you had to get a matchingset? Absolutely.
I had to. You know, itcouldn't be otherwise, but I think
my playing career is over. Ithink my wife agrees with that. I
don't know how much you knowabout Achilles, Achilles injuries.
(08:48):
It's a long recovery, so.
Right.
It's a one year recovery for anon professional athlete. If you're
a professional athlete,probably can get back on the pitch
in about nine months. But youknow, it's a year recovery. It's,
it's grueling. It's, it's,it's, is not a good, it's not a good
injury to have.
Right. I, I remember back as,as a young man watch in baseball.
(09:10):
I remember a San Diego Padretowards Achilles tendon. It's over.
Back in the 70s, your careerwas over. There was no fixing it.
You know, now, now as we moveforward with you know, the surgeries
that they're doing, the ACLsand all this other stuff that used
to be career ending, they canget back at it and that helps, that
helps the rest of us becausethey develop that, you know, so,
so that's good to know becauseyeah, you're right. I saw you in
(09:32):
Austin, Texas at a. And youwere in a boot on the other foot.
And I'm like, oh no, youdidn't do that.
Yes, I did. So the worst partof it is like it's not being able
to walk. So it's a nonbearing, it's a non bearing injury
for a long time. So I'll say,I think if I remember exactly, it's
(09:52):
like 10 weeks, you cannot evenput your foot down or gradually put
your foot down. And the funnything is the doctor tells you in
the beginning is like, you canput 25% of your weight down on this.
And my question is like, howdo you determine 25 of your weight.
So can I put my phone down ornot? So, anyway, long story short,
I have a scooter, I have aknee peg. I have. I'm all set. And
(10:14):
if anybody on the podcast, Godforbid, has any kind of injuries,
let me know. I have the equipment.
You've got a. You've got awarehouse going. I love it. So. So,
yeah. You passionate aboutsoccer? You. I know that you said
you coach it. When you played,were you a defender? Midfield forward?
What was your specialty? Oh,so you were.
(10:35):
You.
You were. You were. You werethe wonder kid. You were up front.
Yeah, I'm up front. I mean, itwas a tall kid as growing up. And
my coach, I remember my coachsaying, you have. I have two positions
for you, the center back orstriker. So I said, I think I'm gonna
do striker because I'm. I'mskilled, you know, for. For my. For
my size. And. Yeah, true.Number nine. If somebody watches
soccer, they know what I talkabout through number nine. Yeah,
(10:59):
yeah.
And that's. And you are. Youare big. You're how. You're six three,
six, six, two. Yeah, I thoughtI used to be. Seems big for a striker,
right?
Yeah, I mean, it's common.It's common for. For a different.
The style of play. Back in theday, it's very common to have a big
striker on top. You know, it'ssomebody who can hold it and hold
(11:20):
the ball and deliver the ball and.
Yeah.
You know, be more massive. So.Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely.
You're good on the set piecesfor sure.
Sure, sure. I like to believethat I should ask my teammates about
it. That's great.
So obviously you followsoccer. You're. You're a passionate
fan. Is there. Do you have ateam in Europe that you follow? Well,
(11:41):
of course, the Romaniannational team, I'm sure is.
Yeah, yeah. I gotta give propsto my team that I grew up with, Dinamo
Bucharest, played there andgrew up with them, being big fan.
But, you know, I'll sayprobably in England because people
are more. More aware of theEnglish Premier League. Right? Yeah,
(12:02):
I'll say Leicester City. Okay.The. The wonder story. I have a good
friend that played for themuntil last year, won the championship.
1995. What am I talking about?2015. So with them, and he just moved
to the United States. He'll beplaying for Charlotte, the new Charlotte
(12:22):
MLS franchise, you know, sonext year. Yeah, yeah, I see.
I see you traveling up thecoast to catch a game or two.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely,absolutely. I took my son to England
and We watched five games ineight days. That was a lifetime experience.
Yes, yes. And it was a. Was agreat one. We went last year right
(12:44):
before COVID actually. Ialmost got caught by Covid in England.
Yeah. Watching soccer. So thequick trip, you know, two games and
no coming back to the States.
And so did you. Some. Whatwere some of the stadiums you saw?
Now that you're saying this,what stadiums would you get to see?
Oh my God. All over Europe. Imean, I'll give you my trip started
(13:05):
with Leicester, which isLeicester City. It's their own stadium.
King Power. It's called KingPower. Then we saw Chelsea the next
day. Chelsea was playing inthe Northeast Derby against Fulham.
Fulham was a Premier Leagueteam at the time. And then which.
Chelsea is my son's team. Sothat was. That was. That was a must.
(13:25):
Absolutely. Then we saw theLondon Stadium, which is the Olympic
stadium where West Ham Unitedplays. Then we moved to. We traveled
to Manchester to the theaterof dreams. The name of Old Trafford.
So Manchester United Arsenalwas a great. It was a great match,
a great game. And then we wentsouth. So from north south all the
(13:48):
way south of England toBournemouth and we watched Bournemouth,
Liverpool. So. Wow.
Yeah, great stadiums.
I've been to the Emirates.I've been to a lot of stadiums a
lot of times. So yeah, greattimes. Yeah, I love it.
You and I were chatting alittle bit up front. Your daughter
is a Gator, which will make alot of listeners happy. We have quite
(14:10):
a few Gators that listen to this.
Go Gators.
Yeah, Go Gators. Tell me whatyou did last weekend.
I have a good friend who. Afriend of mine who is a season ticket
holder alumni from GatorNation. You have graduated season
ticket holder for 31 years. Solast year was. Is probably. I don't
(14:33):
know, probably, you know, asthis podcast will age though people
not remember. But anyway, theyplayed Alabama, so they play Bama
the Swamp. And when the gamethe full experience from early in
the morning tailgating 3:30game. And it was the fifth largest
attendance at the Swamp over91, 000 people. It was. It was unbelievable.
(14:56):
Was electric and the game was.Was very good. It was very, very
close game for the listeners.Don't know. Ended up 30. Alabama
winning 31 to 29.
Yeah.
On a field kick miss.
Also a really weird two pointconversion attempt that they tried.
They tried the two point andit didn't work.
Yeah, yeah. Quarterback andthe running back weren't on the same
(15:17):
page. And that happens sometimes.
That happens. Needless to say,an unbelievable Game. And guess where
I'm gonna be tomorrowSaturday? Well, the Gators versus
Tennessee. So another bigrivalry game. So. So I don't know
if you have any Tennessee fanshere, but maybe a couple. Maybe a
(15:37):
couple. Good.
Have you. Have you figuredthis out? That this or your daughter
or your friend that? Like,most Gators really don't like Tennessee
for some reason. Like, it's abig deal to them.
I have.
Like, even.
I'll give you an example. Ihave a polo shirt that is. Which
is blue and it has some orangein it. And my daughter made sure
to tell me that I cannot wearthat polo shirt, which has the gator
(15:59):
symbol on it. Yes, it's aGator shirt. Right. So. But, you
know, just a little bit oforange on it. I said you cannot wear
that against Tennessee. Thereis no. It has to be no resemblance
of orange on your attire.
You gotta find some. All blue.
She called it atrocious. Yeah.So anyway. Yeah.
All right, well, let's getback to real estate. Let's. Let's
talk about. So somehow you'rehere. You know, your training is
(16:24):
in the hospitality, you know,leisure industry, but you end up
becoming a realtor.
Yes. Long story short, I mean,I'm an immigrant. What can an immigrant
do? You know, I took Englishin college, you know, but again,
English is my second language.So most year, I started working in
restaurants. You know, Ispeak. Spoke Italian. So obviously
(16:45):
Italian restaurants would bemy. Know, my first. My first choice,
which I did. And truthfully,hospitality industry really prepares
you for anything in realestate. So that's kind of one word
of advice. I have, you know, alot of people. I see a lot of people
from the hospitality industry.Making. Making a. Making it in. In.
In real estate. I had thecorporate world experience. I'm an
(17:08):
entrepreneur by heart. So Ihad a corporate world experience.
For one month. I worked for acompany called Lucent Technologies,
and I lasted one month. I gotfired. I'm proud to say I got fired
because I had the most sales,but I was not making the number of
calls they wanted me to make.It was the craziest thing I ever
heard in my life. I had thehighest conversion rate in the whole
(17:31):
department, but I was making67 calls, and they wanted me to make
100 calls. Wow. And I said,this is not for me. So that was my.
My. My attempt to work incorporate world. So real estate was
a natural progression. Youknow, in the late 90s, I figured
it would be a good. A goodindustry. I fell in love with it
(17:53):
and it's like anything else,you know, you stick with it and you'll
make it work.
Yeah. You, you started withColdwell Banker, right?
Yeah. Yep.
Which, which makes perfectsense because they were, they're.
They're known as like a placewhere you can get some really good
training, right?
Yes.
And you probably, I'm surethat's part of the thought process
was I need to be someplacewhere they're gonna really kind of
(18:15):
let me, you know, teach mewhat I need to know. And then after
being there a few years, youknow, then REMAX enters the pictures.
Let's talk about that. That,that little progression.
That's an interestingprogression. So I've been with two
companies in almost 25 years.Colo Banker at the beginning. Colo
Banker in the beginning forabout seven years. What I call those
(18:36):
formative years in realestate. So absolutely great. Company
Cola Banker here locally wasowned by nrt. They just moved into
the Tampa market at the time.In the late 90s, acquire a company,
a big local independent calledTam Bay. I'll never forget that the,
even the letterhead said ColoBanker, formerly known as Tam Bay
(18:57):
because the brand, the brandof Stan Bay. So those are the formative
years, you know, and then, youknow, little by little, I just want
to do something for myself. Istarted being coached by Buffini
& Co. The beginning of 2000for a long, long time. I consider
Brian and Dermot Buffini myfriends and my mentors. So I've known
(19:18):
them for a long time. Manyconversations over the years. So
they have what, what's calleda heritage profile when you start
coaching with them. Soheritage profile determines what
your best attribute. I mean,what your attributes are. My first
one was entrepreneur, which Iknew that I owned businesses over
the years. I've always been anentrepreneur. That's not, that's
not, that's not something new.But the second and third one were
(19:41):
more eye opening. That made methink more was. Second one was trusted
advisor and the third one is ateam builder. So those are my core
attributes. So it was anatural progression more from, from
being an agent and we. Andmove into the, the brokerage world.
Opening a company in 2005. Atthe end of 2005.
(20:07):
Wow. So this, this is right.
Right.
Just before things are goingto turn a little south in the market.
Bill, let me, let me tell youthe. Let me, let me frame this for
you.
Sure.
So it was the end of 2005, Iopened the company and we moved from
(20:29):
one month worth of inventoryto six months worth of inventory
in one month alone. Think ofit like, think of it like somebody
had a switch, a light switch,and said, no good market for you,
buddy. So, yeah, go figureout. So it was just nightmare. Everything
started going in Florida, inour market, everything started changing
(20:50):
at the end of five andprogressively got worse as you know,
with the, with a greatrecession. So, yeah, I started the
greatest session. So I don'thave too many bad habits. You know,
brokers before me had a lot ofbad habits because it become, you
know, comfortable with a goodmarket. I did not have that as a
(21:11):
brokerage, so. But I. Passion,that's all. You know, I think I applied
the same thing playing soccerand loving soccer. I applied it to
the business. I had thepassion for it and I, I can't give
up. I mean, you have to get going.
Yeah. I mean, if you look atyour career path in real estate,
the late 90s, things weregood, but man, did they get better.
(21:32):
You're on this progressiveclimb. It's just going up, up, up.
And then we know it wasn'treality, but it kept going up, up,
up. And so you had to bethinking, wow, this is gonna be great.
I'm ready for my brokerage.Let's go.
Yeah.
Once you know, how did, howdid you handle. Lean on some mentors,
some other people, becausehere you are now you're in charge.
(21:53):
You got these agents thatyou've recruited in to your, to your
business and you're trying tosolve and figure things out.
Definitely. Always. I thinkmentorship is a big, it's a big portion
of it and, and I thinkcoaching is a big portion of it.
You have to be open to learn.As an ex athlete, I mean, obviously
that's obvious to me. Youknow, having a coach, that's, that,
that's not the problem. I'vealways believed in that. But again,
(22:17):
you know, you're looking at,you're looking in the late 90s real
estate and you know, wasdecent, was nothing, not absolutely
nothing to, to, to, to writeabout maybe 2, 3% appreciation going
down. Then experienced 911.Then we actually first know. No,
first we experience a dot comboom and then the dot com bust. And
that had an influence on it.And then you have 911 and that had
(22:39):
an influen real estate. So Ihad ups and downs until 2005, but
then 2000, I would say 2001 to2005, straight up run. I mean, unbelievable
run. We all know why and thereasons of the mortgage industry
and how that, how thathappened and what he leaded us to,
but straight up run. Yeah.
(23:00):
Yeah. So you. So I guess sothose having those little blips.
Well, fairly significantblips. Helped it helped you be prepared,
you know, and helped you. Didyou embrace short. I'm just curious,
did you embrace short sales?Were you there on that?
I. I think in Tampa Bay area,I think I was with one of my agents
and one day, you know, weheard about Alex Sharpen, the CDPE
(23:22):
program.
Yeah.
And he was right in thebeginning. I signed up. I think I
was, I had to be if I rememberexactly, because they had a website.
I had probably one of thefirst 10 people signing up. I understood
that I never, never thought ofa, a short sale. The definition at
the time there was not such athing. I don't even know who in the
(23:42):
world came up with the ideaof, with the name of a short sale
because there was nothingshort about it.
Anyway. The longesttransaction you'll ever do in.
The history of real estateprobably happened in the short sale
era. But we had, I remembernegotiating the first time a residential
mortgage with a short payoff.So that's what it started. Short
sell it, short payoff. It wascommon in the commercial world, but
(24:05):
you know, not in theresidential world. So. Right, yeah,
definitely, definitely CDPstill. I just saw something that
they are kind of trying toreinstate that designation and trying
to build something on it. Butdefinitely you had to adapt based
on whatever you are in themarketplace. So yeah, we did. I remember
in 2007, 8 or 2009, I thinkthe max we had, we had about 74%
(24:33):
of our old transactions in thefirm were distressed properties,
either bank owned or shortsales. We dealt with Fannie Mae,
we dealt with Freddie MacChase, we dealt with your name and
we had to Regions bank withthat. We had to.
Yeah. You live in a great partof the Tampa area north of Tampa.
Wesley Chapel is where youroffice is located. One of your offices.
(24:54):
And how would you, how wouldyou describe the whole Wesley Chapel
5654 corridor? It's pretty,it's a pretty unique place in this
space because I'm down in St.Pete and we're completely different
than up there.
Oh, totally different. It's.Think of it, think of it this way.
The major road on WesleyChapel, which is state 056 did not
(25:18):
exist back in 2000. I thinkthey built it in 2002. So it's a,
it's a new community. It'ssuburbs really. Suburbs northeast
of Tampa suburbs. But it's avibrant community. It's a. It's a
strong community. It's. Peoplebuild. People come from all over.
I love. I love the diversity.And then you have the beginning.
(25:38):
You know, obviously we had alittle bit of issues, you know, with.
With not having enough storesor, you know, not having entertainment
around. But now it's growing,and it's growing by leaps and bounds.
And it's. It's justunbelievable to see and watch how
this area has grown, becauseI've been in this area for 20 years,
so there was. There is nothinglike they used to be. So state of
(26:00):
54. You referred to state of54. That was. That was called to
Road to Nowhere because heended in a T. So that was not going
anywhere. So. Yeah. So it'stotally different now. Totally different
now. Vibrant, strongcommunity, and we just love it.
Yeah. And actually, if there'sany. If you're looking for a new
build, head there.
(26:21):
Oh, definitely. Definitely.
That's where all the buildersare. It seems like. Right.
And it seems like it's goingnorth. Like anything else, you know,
become. You know, it becomesmore and more so. Yeah. Yeah. So
Wesley Chapel. A great plugfor Wesley Chapel, I guess. No, it's
over Florida. So. Yeah, wehave the other offices in Tampa.
It's in a more traditionalarea in Seminole Heights, which is.
(26:42):
Which is another greatcommunity. Right. Right outside of
downtown Tampa.
Yeah, that's. That's a vibrantkind of a community. That's. That's
got a lot of. A lot ofactivity going on, and it's so close
to all those great things indowntown Tampa. So it's pretty cool.
Let's. Let's talk about tech alittle bit. Florin, when Michelle
introduced me to you, it wasgreat because, look, I've talked
(27:03):
to. I don't think. Hopefullythey're not listening. I've talked
to a lot of different brokersabout things. And my role in the
Fidelity family was to try tounderstand tech, but then try to
explain it in a way thatagents could understand it. Right.
And sometimes the person whohad the most trouble understanding
it was the broker. That's notthe case with you. You're a tech
nerd. You love this stuff. Youknow, you. You. You knew what I was
(27:27):
talking about. And sometimes alot of times you knew more than what
I knew about what I wastalking about. Let's. Let's share
some of those. Some of thetechnologies right now, because there's
a whole bunch of stuff wecould talk about. But what. What's
going on out there right nowthat kind of excites you things that
you're really trying to getyour agents to adopt.
That's a, that's adoption.It's a big word in the brokerage
(27:49):
world. So I think it hassomething to do with the average
age of a real estate agent.And I have to mention that I'm 49
years old. I'll be 50 nextyear. I'm not, I'm not a techie by
any means in the sense oflike, like I don't grew up with TikTok.
Right. So we barely had emailback then. You know, it's like we
(28:13):
don't even have email. Soanyway, so that's, that's that. But
I love technology and I thinkanybody in any age can implement
technology. And when I sayimplement technology, technology
is not going to replace thereal estate agent. I mean I, I really
don't think so. I think it'sthe opposite. I think agents are
able, able to streamline theirprocesses and make all home buying
(28:35):
and home selling as easy aspossible for their clients through
technology, through cuttingedge technology. Think of it like
a few years ago introducing Esignatures or I remember this because
loving technology, my officebecame paperless 10 years ago. We
use a company. Yes, yes, yes.Talking about adoption, that was
(28:57):
a struggle in the beginning.We used a company called Paperless
Pipeline. They're stillaround. They never grew too big.
But even that, you know, waslike your fi. I used to call it your
file cabinet in the, in thecloud. That's it, that's what it
is. And then, then evolvedwith E signatures and you have the
whole transaction in there. Weuse for property management a company
called Upfolio. I don't knowif you're familiar with it, you know,
(29:20):
in the property managementworld that's not our forte by the
way. But no, yeah, we, we usefor, for real estate, the residential
and commercial transactions,we use app files, which is a Florida
company, I'll say Dot loop,kind of dot loop competitor. But
think of it, the transaction afew years ago versus the transaction
(29:40):
now. I'm still getting reviewsand interviews thanking us and my
agents for using technologyand helping them not come somewhere
to or go somewhere. I rememberwhen I started in the late 90s, we
used to have six originals ofthe contract. So a client would sign
(30:01):
six times and initials everypage of everything. Six times because
one was going to the listingbroker, one is going to the buyer's
broker, one is going to thetitle company, one is going to the
mortgage company. So therewere six original. So you know, that's
that to me, that's, that'swhere it's evolving. And now we're
looking like AI. You'relooking at virtual reality. Look
at Ray Ban and Facebook withtheir new glasses. I mean we use
(30:24):
video, we use bomb bomb, weuse virtual staging. Box brownie.
Check them out. Box brownie.Guys in Australia, I know, God bless
them right now with COVID andthe restrictions they have, but I
have not seen them in a yearand a half. But you know, the companies
like that, I think, you know,again, I think it's high tech. I
(30:44):
know it's overly used. Thisterm, high tech, high touch. But
that's what it, that's what itboils down to CRM. Do you want to
go into CRMs or no?
Oh no, let's hear this becauseI mean, look, you're an owner at
ReMax. Let's talk about CRMs.
Okay? This is my standardanswer now. I'm going to make it
as short as possible. You knowwhat the best CRM is?
(31:06):
No.
The one you use. That's it.Period. I mean we have it, ReMax
technology. We have, we haveboughs, we have everything. We have
from websites, apps and youhave the CRM and you have everything.
If you are using Liondesk, useLiondesk, that's the best one for
you. If you're using Buffini'sCRM, if you're working in that, in
(31:27):
that, you know, niche with bydefault use referral maker. So the
best CRM is the one you use.That's, that's, that's what it boils
down to. So yeah, that's myfeel on it.
Trying to really force peopleinto something is a losing proposition
generally.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Yeah. You gotta let them workin the space they like to work in.
And I think, I think that'sgreat. I love that. That's, it's,
(31:51):
it's hard not to talk to abroker owner and not talk about this
market.
Right.
First of all, nobody knew,right? Nobody knew what was going
to happen in March 2020. Ithink everybody thought, okay, this
is going to be, we got tohunker down. It's going to be rough.
And that was everyone'sthought. Yet within two months things
(32:14):
just took off. So let's, youknow, let's just chat about that.
You know, I mean, rates arelow and, and demand is high and supply
is low. This, this, there'sgot to be some, something's got to
change. It can't continue, youknow, looking at.
(32:34):
All the data and short tometa. I really don't think much will
change. And the rates arehistorically low so people can qualify.
So think of it this way. A 4%interest rate on a $300,000 home.
How much your mortgage paymentis because most of consumers are
(32:55):
not cash. Most of consumersare financing their properties and
they are, they're living inthe payment comparison to 2.5% or
320,000. Let's say it'ssignificantly lower even though the
sales price is higher becauseof the interest rates are lower.
I think the biggest issue wehave is new construction. And I think
(33:16):
we've been under built since2008 when Lehman Brothers went down
which was the biggest supplierof money for developers. That's when
we started having problemslittle by little. Covid just exacerbate,
just created and amplified theproblem. So new construction, they
have problems. They can buildprice of steel, lumber, supply chain
(33:40):
issues with concrete, laborissues. You know on that some builders
turning to multi familybecause that's where they can make
it happen and they can buildmore units faster. So that's why
it's a huge, huge optic on, onmultifamily. But you know then you
have the investors versus thefirst time home buyers and you know
you, you know you have, youknow, our clients that are first
(34:02):
time home buyers losingagainst cash transactions. Absolutely
happens. But it's aninteresting, it's an interesting
statistic that I read theother day. 25 of the transactions
are investors. So they are notthe majority. The way the media portrays
it is the majority have it.It's not, it's not that large. And
I'll give you another one thatI saw yesterday. The mortgage applications
(34:25):
are up 7% which is the highestsince April. So a majority of those
mortgage applications are inFHA VA VA space. I don't believe
in shadow inventory like weused to have. I mean I can make the
comparison. 2005 was totallydifferent market conditions. Again
I'm a major in economics and Ilove that. So forbearance, I don't
(34:48):
think that's going to affect.I don't think we're going to have
foreclosures because peoplehave equity in their houses, they
don't need to foreclose on it.So right. That's going to change.
So I think short yeah I mightthrow some more properties on the
market because if you come outof forbearance and you're just, you
just can't catch up, you sellit will be absorbed.
(35:09):
Immediately and you know, youdon't have to go to foreclosures.
Which is a great thing.
And I will add one more thingand we can move to the next one.
I don't want to beat this todeath, but, you know, look at the
rental prices. So you think,okay, I cannot purchase a home. I
gotta leave somewhere. Shelteris one of the basic needs. Right?
Shelter, food and water, youknow, it's one of your basic needs.
We have to live somewhere.Rental prices are through the roof
(35:31):
nationwide, not justnecessarily in Tampa Bay area.
Right. And you're. And I thinkthat's, that's really. People need
to understand that it's notjust, it's not just the prices for
the builders. It's the factthat we've under built over the last
decade.
Oh, we built. We built. I'llgive you another one to put in perspective.
We, you. We built less than webuilt during the Great Depression.
(35:52):
And keep in mind, keep in mindthat during the Great depression,
there are 100 million peopleliving in the United States. Now
there are 360 million.
Yeah.
Or so. So the levels, even ifyou look at the levels, you know,
you have to take that inconsideration. I mean, we have triple
the number of population. Theyhave to live somewhere.
I want to keep going down thispath of putting you in uncomfortable
(36:13):
situations with questions.
I know.
Are you worried about what'scoming out of this NAR DOJ thing?
It's, it's really weird. I'mnot an expert on it at all. But antitrust
is a huge concern. It's alwaysbeen a concern in real estate. Every,
every, every place I'm everat. If somebody brings up the commission
word, there's always a, shh.We can't talk about that. The entire
(36:36):
audience. Right.
So because commissions arenegotiable. It's as simple as that.
And we have to. I have. Thekey word to me is transparency. So
I'm going to tell you this. Imean, you know, when DOJ filed a
lawsuit against NAR, it wasback in 2005. So you're talking about
long time ago. Right?
Yeah.
(36:56):
And on July 1st, you know, DOJwithdrew from the proposed settlement
when NAR. And that's wheneverything started. You know, NAR
was willing to do the changesto code of ethics and MLS rules,
but the deal fell apart. So Ithink the main issues that DOJ has
with our industry are it's theBroker Cooperation Commission and
representation. Those are thehot buttons for them. Well, those
(37:20):
things been around for 100years into. But, but the statement
might be a littlecontroversial, but in today's social
and political environment,Everything is questioned and challenged.
Right?
Yeah.
So I'm saying no, I'm all forit. Offer the transparency. We discuss
it, you know, even at thefranchisor level, you know, and I've
(37:41):
seen MLS is already showingthe broker commission, you know,
that should be, that should bestandard. There is nothing wrong
with it. You know,transparency is nothing. There's
nothing to be wrong with it.The problem is, you know, on the
representation side, NAR isjust a national trade organization.
The states regulate licensingand how you represent people. So
(38:03):
in Florida, for example, wecan use, it's not dual agency because
that's a bad word. We can, weuse what's called transaction broker.
We don't represent the seller,we don't represent the buyer, represent
the transaction. We still haveto have certain things in place by
law. We have to disclosehonestly and fairly disclosing all
known facts and materiallyaffecting the property. Operating
(38:25):
faith. It's all of thosethings. So I think showing the co
op fee to the buyer should notbe considered a service charge. I
really don't believe in that.It's not the. Because that's what
we get a hot, hot issues. It'sa seller's charges. Not to me, the
seller doesn't have. DOJ'sproblem with that is that the seller
(38:45):
does not have the opportunityto negotiate that charge. I think
to me, when we check, yes,that's the, that's the issue. So
I think a co op fee, what wecall a co op fee, that broker cooperation
co op, it's just a marketingexpense paid by the listing broker
to a buyer's broker to enticethem into showing the property and
to work through a transactionto a successful closing do. It's
(39:06):
as simple as that. But youknow, not showing that commission,
I don't, I think that's wrong.I think, I think it should be, it
should be shown. And I knowthere are a lot of people, you know,
saying that to the contrary,but you know, I'm all for progress
in that in that matter. Weshould have, you know, we should
have a transparency and going forward.
Yeah, I mean, and part of thattransparency is for the buyer as
well. Right? I mean, because,you know, because there's a chance
(39:28):
a buyer could look at that andgo, well, wait a minute, you know,
I'm paying more maybe becauseof this. But it's, you know, it's,
it's, it's a, it's, it's goingto be interesting to see how this
plays out. That's for sure.
For sure. For sure. Yeah, for sure.
Well, Florin, I've had youhere, as I say a lot because I love
just chatting, but I've hadyou here way past the time I promised
(39:49):
I'd get you out. So I'm goingto ask you the same final question
I've asked every guest. Thatis, what one piece of advice would
you give a new agent just.
Getting rolling, a new agentcoming to the business? That's a
great question, Bill. I thinkone of the things that I've seen
In the past 20 some years inthis business, I think having an
entrepreneur mindset and workethic are absolutely crucial as you
(40:14):
go into the business. When yougo in business, you're a 1099 employee.
You're not an employee or a1099. And you're coming from an industry,
perhaps majority of peoplecome from a different industry and
expect it to be. To be givensomething. No, you have to have that.
You are the CEO, CFO and CEOfor your own business. As a matter
of fact, you're the janitor.You're the tech guru also, and all
(40:36):
the other things above. So Ithink that's, that's one of the major
things that I would say. Imean, you got to be able to learn.
So you asked me one. I'll giveyou a few more if you don't mind.
Right, no worries.
I mean, you know, a few. I'vebeen around the block a few times,
so I think ability to learnand willingness to learn to be a
student of life in general,attend events, training sessions,
(40:58):
listen to podcasts like yours,conferences, I mean, it's, it's unbelievable.
Read, read, read, read. Ifyou, if you're not a big reader,
go to Audible and listen tothe books. Depends how your learning
style is. Accountability. Finda mentor, find an accountability
partner. Fire. Find a coach.Maybe not as soon as you start, but
find somebody. And focus andnarrow and niche are very important
(41:21):
in order to generate leads. Ithink you cannot be the jack of all
trades and the master of none.Absolutely. Over 70% of the business
is referrals only. I'm not thesharpest tool in the shed, but 70%
of the business is there. Whywould I go and, you know, fish there?
Actually, I'm not going to goand fish. I'm going to use the bazooka
and I'm going to go in there.So, you know, just go where the fish
is. And I have. Can I mentionthis, Bill? I have. I just started
(41:45):
something with video and videois very uncomfortable for real estate
agents and real estateBrokers. I just started a video which
is not brand related. It'sjust opinions and training and tips
and techniques for real estateagents. It's called Real Estate Success
Strategies. Just rolled it outa couple weeks ago. As a matter of
fact, you can find it on, onFacebook. We have 57 followers.
(42:10):
They all start like that.
All start like that. But I'mgonna use, I'm gonna say something.
You know, it's like my crappyvideo is better than your non existent
video. So. But you know, RealEstate Success strategies, it's on
YouTube. We have a Instagrampage as well. Real Estate Success
Strategies are on Facebook and.
(42:32):
Awesome.
You know, just subscribe andmaybe you'll pick up an idea or two.
We'll put links to all that inthe show notes. So thank you. People
can get there easy. Yeah,that's great.
Yeah, yeah. And again, that'snot brand, that's not brand specific.
Nothing will be sold there.It's like your podcast. It's absolutely,
it's going to be a pleasurefor, for us to give back to the industry
that gave us so much and wereally appreciate it. And you know,
(42:55):
you know, you, you get more bygiving and not expecting anything
in return. I'm a big believerin that. Yep.
Totally believe that. Youknow, I believe that. Florin, if
someone wants to reach outdirectly to you, is there, is there
a simple way to do that? Easyway to do that?
Yeah, I mean, I'll give mycell phone number. I don't know if
people do that, but you know,I'm that open.
(43:17):
So anything you want to share,you can share.
Yeah, no, you can find me onsocial, all social media platforms,
obviously. I even have a ticktock follow my kids, God bless them
and, but you know, you know,it's, it's funny, it's funny to talk
about that, but you know,yeah, my cell phone, 813-817-4070
(43:42):
via email. I'm sure you'regonna put in the link there. Yeah,
my email address, my website,company name and everything else.
Anything, anything you need oranything I can help anybody in this
industry, I'll be more thanhappy to do it and it would be my
pleasure. And I think itshould be a duty for everybody to
share. I think that's howwe're gonna grow and that's how we're
gonna raise the level ofprofessionalism in this industry,
(44:04):
which is much needed, much needed.
So, Florin, this has beengreat. Thank you so much for your
time and once again, my, mysincerest apologies for waiting this
long to do this. This is, thisis a, this has been great.
Absolutely. It's my pleasure.And thank you for, for inviting me
and thank you for all you doand because you know, you're just
(44:26):
being the inland ambassador orworking with the rate my agent, which
many of my agents use your,your, your company and your services,
those are great things for,for our industry. So yeah, thank
you for having me. I hope youraudience bear with my accent for
whatever long we talked. Idon't even know, I don't even have
the time. But you know, again,it's been my pleasure and looking
(44:49):
forward to talk to you in the future.
Thank you for listening to theReal Estate Sessions. Please head
over to ratethispodcast.comresessions to leave a review or a
rating and subscribe to theReal Estate Sessions podcast at your
favorite podcast. Listening Applause.
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