Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Real Estate Profits. I'm Griselda and today we're taking your business from busy to brilliant. You're watching now Media Television.
Hello and welcome to Real Estate Profits. I'm your host, Griselda Abuseliman. And this show is all about helping you protect, grow and maximize your wealth through smart real estate decisions. And today I'm joined by Christopher Nudo, who has been practicing law since 1993.
He has a very unique people centered approach. It's faith based, faith driven, and he specializes in real estate transactions, wills, trust, business succession and not for profit law. So he's known for serving his clients with both legal excellence and compassion. So he leads with heart in all that he does. Now, Chris, welcome to our show.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Excellent. So many of our viewers know how exciting a real estate deal can be, but it can also be very nerve wracking. Right. They worry about, you know, making that one small mistake in the contract that could, as you well know, ruin everything.
But let's start right there.
The topic for today is about protecting real estate deals from falling apart.
And obviously Chris Nudo is here to help us with that and make sure that we look at all the details to make sure that every real estate transaction is most profitable for yourselves.
So, Chris, let's get into the topic.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Sounds great.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: So first of all, let's talk about mistakes. What are some of the common mistakes? I know we've all made them, we learn from those and we bounce forward.
But what are the most common mistakes buyers or sellers make when signing real estate contracts?
[00:01:55] Speaker B: So the biggest problem with real estate contracts is, and this is true throughout the country, is they are form driven. So there is a local form that was either developed by the local board of realtors or a local group. And they do this for simplicity so that, you know, whether you've been selling real estate for five minutes or 50 years, you have the same set of criteria whether you're buying or selling. And so, but, but as much as that is an advantage, it's also a disadvantage because most people just say, oh, it's the form to buy real estate, but they don't read it.
[00:02:45] Speaker A: No.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: The very nature of not reading the language in the contract and just assuming what it says or just by again figuring that, well, it's what everybody uses, so it must be fine. That, I believe, is probably the largest pitfall.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I'm going to dive a little deeper into that, Chris. So you're saying reading the contract and the details within. Now let's take that a little Further, I will read every word in that contract with my non legal mind. It's very different than you reading it, right. And so when you read it now, it's different now I thoroughly understand the details behind it. So tell us a little bit about having that expert eye read through it as well.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: So it's just like everything in life, people just don't know what they don't know.
And so when you're reading a paragraph that might deal with like the condition of like the furnace or the air conditioner as an example, or more highly technical, the condition of title and what, what you should be agreeing to take subject to, which are just all these legal languages that are in all real estate contracts.
If you don't know what you don't know, if you can't see the pitfalls in the language as it's written in the contract, then just reading it isn't going to give you the same, the same scope of knowledge that somebody like myself who has been and just has experience at. Oh well, just working condition of the furnace may not be sufficient or there may be a special use of the property or it may be in a special use district which then affects like the title, the condition of the title, permitted exceptions, all of these words that really to just somebody buying and selling doesn't tell a full story where somebody with lots of experience and who has lived the pros and cons of all of these things can look at it and say, as for your specific property, this is why the contract is adequate or not adequate and why it may need to be changed.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Well, thank you so much for those insights, Chris. Extremely helpful for our audience. Now can you share a story where a deal fell through because the contract wasn't written carefully? So obviously we have to read through all the details. But sometimes there's things that are not as clear or written, not in a way that we intended. Can you tell us about a story in which that happened?
[00:05:31] Speaker B: Oh, sure, countless stories in these cases. Because what happens is both buyers and sellers go in with a set of expectations.
They don't go in to a transaction worrying about the contract and the contract language. You know, husband and wife walks into the property and they look around and it's got vaulted ceilings and it has all the bedrooms and bathrooms they ever dreamt of. Never enough closets, but you know, and they're not thinking about the contract.
Well, in many instances, especially when properties fall within jurisdictions of condominium associations or homeowners associations, I've seen the rules of those associations be a burden on A buyer, which is consequently negative to a seller. So in a very practical sense, they buy a unit for their daughter and their daughter is going to have roommates. But there's a prohibition in the bylaws for roommates or other people to live that aren't on title. Seeing many deals fall apart in those instances. Or you have three cats and you know, some associations will only allow two cats or you know, your dog can only be 35 pounds and you happen to have a 50 pound German Shepherd.
And I could go on and on in instances where what the contract says and what the buyer's expectations are are different and the result is the deal, the deal doesn't go through.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Absolutely amazing. And those very, very finite details that of course we wouldn't think of. We're too excited about the lights and the vaulted ceilings and the rooms and all of that other stuff.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: Right, exactly.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: Not paying attention to how much is my dog weigh or how many cats or all that. But thank you for bringing that to, to our attention because that's critically important. And like you say, a deal could fall through. Now, now obviously when I read through it, I understand it, of course, but when you read through it, you have this fine tooth comb from an attorney perspective. So how can people like myself feel more confident reading and signing a contract that is written, well written, to the point that it's going to benefit all of us?
[00:08:01] Speaker B: I think there's a few ways to do it. So really in the United States there's very few jurisdictions left where attorneys play an integral part in the buying and selling of a transaction. Most of them are escrow based where the realtors aid with the delivery of the documents. And the title insurance company takes on the responsibility of clearing the buyer's money and the lender's money with the seller's documents. And.
But there are still a few jurisdictions, Chicago being one of them, where attorneys play a integral part in the buying and selling of revenue real estate. If you are in a jurisdiction that does not use a real estate attorney, I really believe that there's a couple ways that you can protect yourself.
First, you cannot hurt yourself by hiring a real estate attorney. I know it may not be custom in your area, but when it comes to understanding the finite terms of the contract, a real estate attorney is well equipped to read it and give you their two cents.
[00:09:21] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. And actually I'm going through one of those real estate deals myself and it is in Texas and, and it is a million dollar deal. Right. So it is significant and I don't have the expertise to really go through all of the details of what I need. But obviously, you know, attorney like, you know, Chris Nudo here can help me fine tune exactly what makes sense for, for us as the sellers in this case. Now, from an investor standpoint, what's one simple thing that an investor like myself can do before signing and avoiding any costly surprises? Now, we already made some corrections in the contract that I just mentioned, but what are, what simple things do you advise investors to do before they actually sign?
[00:10:01] Speaker B: So investors, I think it's vitally important that there is a due diligence period that, that is within the contract because you know, you found the property, you're going to be investing in it, which means you're not going to be living in it, you're going to be renting it as a, as a good example.
And so things that you may want to investigate, you want to investigate for a period of time after you've agreed to buy it. Because think about it, it's only a good investment if the, the, you're buying it for the right price and the seller agrees to that price.
Things like earnest money and other closing dates, things like that are very important because they're, they're fundamental to the transaction.
However, you may want to do an inspect, a physical inspection of the property. You may want to do an investigation of what the tax history is you to want, if you may want to know mechanicals in the property, all kinds of things. And so by having a seller agree to a period of time, whether it would be five days or, you know, 90 days, depending on the scope of the transaction, having this due diligence period really will help a buyer get their ducks in a row and decide whether or not this is a worthy investment or not.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: Excellent. So let's do our due diligence and make sure that there are no costly surprises. Thank you so much for all those wonderful insights for buyers and sellers. Now we're off to a commercial break. We'll be right back with more ways to optimize scale and succeed. This is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Griselda and this is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television.
Let's keep building smarter together.
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Now, I'm here with attorney Chris Nudo, and in this segment, we're shifting gear to talk about estate planning. Extremely critical topic. So many property owners feel overwhelmed about passing down their assets. And the thought of losing what they've worked so hard all of their lives is a bit scary and overwhelming. So many in our audience that they don't know how to pass down their properties or all of their assets. And it feels scary that their life's work could potentially be lost in just a few transactions.
But today we have Chris Nudo here to guide us through the process for estate planning for property owners. Hello, Chris.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Hello.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: Hello. So, first of all, let's start with the importance of it. Why is estate planning especially important for real estate investors?
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Well, estate planning is important for everyone, but including investors, because the reality is if you fail to make a plan, you won't know who's going to manage your estate when you pass away. You won't know exactly to whom it transfers. There can be all kinds of unintended consequences that come about.
And in addition to, in addition to consequences on who's in control and where they go, it can be ridiculously expensive and can be tied up in the courts for a very long time. So making a plan ahead of time, where you decide who's going to be in control, who it's going to go to, you can set it up so you avoid taxes, you can avoid court, costly court time. All of these things are the reason making a plan, which is your estate plan, is critical, especially for real estate investors.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: There you go. Absolutely. And now, so let's say that, like myself, I was just flying from Texas to Florida yesterday and accidents happen, right? We're on the road, I'm on a plane. So what happens if there is no plan in place and all of a sudden, wow, I knew it was in my to do list, but I never got around to it. Now what happens?
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Well, a lot of it's going to depend on how your title was held.
So if you, obviously, if you held the property by yourself, this is the worst case scenario because now you've passed away, the property is now effectively owned by nobody. It's held by your estate, and transferring it from your estate to Whoever's next is a process that is usually taken care of by the probate court.
Now, the probate court is designed to fill the role that you have left, which is, you know, so you think about this. When you've passed away, all of your authority to be able to sell that property, manage that property, has passed away with you.
The probate court fills in that gap. And, and, and now the probate court decides to whom it goes. Now, they don't just decide, you know, they're going to pick your uncle or your kid or your wife. You know, there, there are very strict rules of what is called intestate succession. And every state has a law and a set of rules to whom the property will go.
But imagine a situation where you die and you've left your spouse and children and it was only you on the title. In most states in our union, that property would be split equally between the surviving spouse and the children.
That may be a desired result if you have adult children.
But now think about the fact that you have some tragic loss and you die young and you leave children behind that are not even teenagers. Now, what is your surviving spouse and those young children supposed to do at the property? You've actually created a bigger problem.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. And then obviously all relationships are different, right? So it's a matter of like, you know, is there a close unity behind the family or is it maybe two different family? There's so many things that can happen.
So absolutely, I see tremendous value in all of those services that, you know, people like you provide. Now, how can a trust or a will, since we're on this topic, how can it protect both the property and the family?
[00:17:40] Speaker B: So I love the concept of the trust because I like people to think of the trust as a family agreement. It's where you design an agreement that says, listen, while I'm alive, my property is going to be held in this trust.
But when I die, I've set up some parameters. One of the parameters is somebody who's going to manage the property after I'm gone, that's going to be the successor trustee. I'm going to assign a beneficiary. A beneficiary is just what it sounds like. It's the person who benefits from the trust. And so by setting up this family agreement, you're really taking a contract of sorts, filling in and exactly how you want your property to succeed when you have passed away.
Now, a will can do that as well. A will just doesn't do it with the same level of effectiveness and with the same level of simplicity. A trust, believe it or not, does it much more simpler.
A will may still need the aid of the probate court. But the good news about having the will is as you've, you still have set forth and identified who's going to be in control and to whom the property will go to.
[00:18:59] Speaker A: Absolutely. And my husband and I actually just went through this a couple of years ago, so I could probably speak to, to the next topic, but I want your expert opinion on it. Tell us about the emotional relief that you see your clients or the people that you help when they finally complete their plan. And like, wow, this is, you know, somewhere it's written, it's documented. Tell us, tell us about that emotional well being.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: Yeah, so really estate planning is, I consider it a love language.
And you know, when you think of love languages, those are things that we do or receive that make a tremendous difference in our life. And an estate plan is for sure one of the missing love languages. Because it's your way of being able to tell your family.
You're important to me because when I go, I want to make sure I have everything lined up. I want to make sure it's easy, I want to make sure it's clear, I want to make sure everything is taken care of. It's all buttoned up tightly. And so the emotional response that people have when completing the process is one of sheer joy. Because while it's a very difficult topic, deal with one wrestling with one's mortality, it also brings a sense of peace knowing that I have set up the next generation. Well, the, the, the one thing I like to always say is this is your one chance to really write your legacy. It's your way of setting, putting in motion the appropriate documents and plan so that when you pass away, your story gets told. And so all of that plays to that emotional response that you're referencing.
[00:21:01] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And, and many of us, like I was one of those, right, That I heard it on Now Media TV or I heard it from Chris Noodle, I heard it in a meeting somewhere. And so it's at the back of your mind of the I will get to it, I will get to it. But for whatever reason, people just don't prioritize it enough. And I think a lot of it, Chris, is because they're not informed enough and they think it's a scary long process because it's not familiar to them. So talk to us about how can obviously attorneys like yourself help make it simple. What is that simple? First step that someone can take to overall get their estate planning in place.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: So step one is the recognition you need to do it. Right. We just talked about that. Right. Okay. So now there's typically a fear that's holding people back. And some people it's that fear of dying and others it's a fear of the cost or it's a fear of, like you said, the process it being overwhelming. And so there's a few things that I like to encourage people. First of all, I'm a man of faith and I believe that the Lord is in control of everything and we don't know our last day here on earth.
So you need to make peace in the best way you can. My way is through biblical scriptures and my assurance that, you know, I have the right relationship with God and that removes the fear of dying for me.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Yes. Second for that, thank you for that realization. Because it's very real. It is just life, right? And it happens and we've seen whether it's relatives or parents, you know, move on to another life.
But let's face it, right? It is, you know, you pay taxes and you die. It's gonna.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:22:45] Speaker A: Be ready for it. So thank you so much for sharing all those wonderful insights to make sure that it's a simple process. It's not overwhelming. It can be really simple, especially when you partner with someone like Chris Nudo. So how can people get a hold of you, Chris? How can they connect with you directly?
[00:23:01] Speaker B: You know, the best way to reach me is to go to our website, integritylaw.com I think you see it here over my shoulder and and you just go to integritylaw.com we have a ton of video resources and ways to contact us, whether it would be text, chat, email, all the traditional ways and that would be the best way to connect with us.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: Well, thank you so much and for sharing all of your wisdom with us and also with compassion. That's one thing that I love having you on the show because you bring that people centric focus which you don't find in many attorneys by the way. But, but really having that compassion that I care about you and about your estate. And to our viewers, thank you so much for joining us. Now you know all about estate planning for property owners. Any obviously we have a home. So any property. It doesn't have to be 20, it can be 1, 2, any number. Thank you for watching us.
We'll be right back with more ways to optimize, scale and succeed. This is real estate profits on NOW media television.
And we're back I'm Griselda and this is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television. Let's keep building smarter together.
Well, hello everyone. Welcome to Real Estate Profits, where we help you cut through the noise and uncover the strategies that truly make a difference in today's market. I'm your host, Griselda Abuseliman, and today I'm joined by Ricky Chavez, team lead of the Ricky Chavez team at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Gary Green, a retired U.S. army veteran and host of Battle Ready here on Now Media Television. With more than 30 years of leadership experience, Ricky brings discipline, strategy and a people first approach to real estate. So, Ricky, let's start with something almost every homeowner faces and that is the stress of selling a home. Like I mentioned to you, right. I'm going through that process right now and I will admit it is a little bit stressful. So for many of us, selling a home feels like a never ending mountain of stress. And once you solve something, something else pops up, from paperwork to pricing, showings, negotiations.
So it can feel like really no one's on your side.
But Ricky, what do you think makes selling a home so stressful for families?
[00:25:30] Speaker C: Well, like you said earlier when we were talking, it's an emotional attachment. You know, it's not just four walls, it's where your kids grew up, we had holidays, different things like that. So the emotional attachments just is always stuck in your mind. And then there's kind of constant disruptions of your daily life. You know, you live one way, you sell another way.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:25:50] Speaker C: And it's, you know, especially if you have little kids, it's like, are they going to pick up after themselves? What are they doing? You know, the financial pressure, you know, if you're buying something else, you know, the timing, do you have an exit strategy, things like that, you know, timing, coordination and then fear of the unknown, you know, will the home sell quickly? We get the price we need. What, what's the inspection reveals, what's going to happen there, you know, things like that.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Absolutely. And like you mentioned, right, if it's linked to some other transaction, like you're buying another home now the stress is really magnified, Right. Because you got to sell so you can get into the next, you know, location or maybe you're moving states even. So there's so many, many things to think about now. But obviously people like you can simplify the process for us. So how can sellers simplify the process so that they don't feel so overwhelmed?
[00:26:44] Speaker C: Well, you know, the biggest thing they need to do is have a timeline and the other piece is have an exit strategy. And that's what I ask all the time. When I say that word exit strategy, they all look at me like I got a big horn in the middle of my head. It's like, what do you mean? Well see, you know, when you're trying to time things, if you price your home correctly, you get it marketed correctly and it sells quickly and yet you have no place to go, what are you going to do?
[00:27:11] Speaker A: Right.
[00:27:11] Speaker C: And that's a scary thought for people. So you know, we walk through that timeline, we walk through the pressures, we walk through the whole process, you know, from A to A to Z on what's going to happen. You know, things have changed over the last year or so just in the negotiation process itself. So I make sure they understand what the four negotiations are. They will be in facing during the process.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: Yeah, and one thing I noticed also about negotiations is that I don't have all of the data at my fingertips. Now with AI I have a lot of data for sure. I but I don't have the expertise that a real estate agent or someone that runs all the comps on a daily basis has. So I really rely on that information and their negotiation tactics to really make sure that I make the best decision for you know, our investment that we're looking to sell here. There's so many different things that people like you can, can help guide the process.
[00:28:02] Speaker C: Well, you know why people today, and you said it kind of people have a degree in Google now. Everybody you know, looks at Google and lives at the zestament and this amendment and that a med. And all of a sudden they become subject matter experts in their minds. And you know, I actually as a realtor I have a kind of my, my finger on the pulse of what's going on out here.
And that's kind of where the challenges sometimes are, is making sure that you explain to your client exactly what's going on. You know, what's the process, what, what's the price?
You know, just because your house appraises at a certain price, you know, it's not the market value, it's what somebody's willing to pay.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: Oh absolutely, absolutely. And then obviously only you by living in the area. Right. You would know what's happening in that area. Right. What's up build what's in the plan, you know, if you're up with you know, news media, what's coming two, three years ahead. So you can obviously help me get the most out of my money.
[00:29:02] Speaker C: Was the patience.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:29:05] Speaker C: It's a patience thing. You got to help them learn patience when they're in middle of the. When they're in the middle of the transaction. You know, patience is kind of scary for them.
[00:29:13] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I just learned that as well. It's like, you know, let's be patient. Let's not take that first offer. And now, after the same person comes back, you know, several weeks later, wow. Now it's a more attractive offer. But now, what's one common mistake that sellers make that could cost them a lot of money regular?
[00:29:32] Speaker C: They don't listen to the guidance of the realtor on the price.
You know, pricing's big deal. Staging's a big deal, Marketing's a big deal.
And. And they have to be very flexible.
You know, they want to sell their house, but they want to do open houses.
They want to sell their house, but they don't allow the showings to go. They decline showings.
You know, there's just a lot of things like that.
They gotta understand, this is your home, but when you sell it, it's your house. You gotta differentiate between the two. A home is where you're at. A house is where you've been.
And that's kind of the, you know, the guiding that we try to help them with. And it's funny, I just had this yesterday with some clients, and, you know, they're like, they've been here for 20 years.
You know, they. They don't understand that all the pictures of them and their family may need to go away, may need to do. You know, I don't like to use the word declutter because, like I said, you live one way, you sell another. But you have to make the home more neutral so that it can present to the possible buyer and they can visualize, you know, their home and what their furniture will look like.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. And I. Many of us can relate to that. Right. I have, you know, you would have that beautiful wedding picture or those, you know, you know, kid pictures on the wall, and to you, they look amazing. And they do. I'm sure they look lovely. However, when you're selling it, right. It can be a home. They have to see themselves in that home with their mind of their family, their kids. Right? So. So there's a lot of things. Now, you also mentioned the staging, which is critically important.
I remember one of our homes where we had a blue wall that was fabulous. There was a red wall in the billiards room, and there was all these colors all over the home. And we're getting ready to sell it. The agent says all of this has to be this ebony white. Like what? But tell us a little bit about the staging and how critical it is to neutralize it and make sure that it's not the colors that you want, but the colors that others are going to find inviting.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: So, okay, so I'm going to cheat here. I'm going to say, why? So I'm ex military. We talked about that earlier. And I have like, no t. All right. I don't care about colors. I wore the same color for 20 years. So I'm fortunate enough to have my daughter works with me and she's a stager. And what I'll do is I have her go in, you know, I'll talk to them about the number, I talk to them about the marketing. But she'll come in and walk the property and she'll walk it room by room. You know, tell her, Tell them what things they need to put away.
[00:32:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:11] Speaker C: What things that, you know, that need to change, you know, as far as the colors of the room, she'll, you know, will spot them through the colors of the room. In some cases, if it's just one or two rooms, that might not be issue. But if you have every color of the rainbow in your house, it's probably a little bit easier to change that. But you also said something earlier that's pretty amazing. That's AI and today's world. You know, you can go in with a picture and remove everything. You can change the colors of the wall. You can actually stage it.
You can do so many things with A.I.
[00:32:48] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. You can have a camera or, you know, laptop or something ready and you can say, I mean, maybe I like, you know, there was blues and reds and all kinds of different news, but maybe someone likes the gray tones or black and white and whatever. You can just click of a button, show them what that would look like. Right. But like you say, Ricky, it's best to just neutralize it with that touch of simplicity and elegance, I'll say, because it does end up elegant, for sure. Now let's talk about pricing. Obviously, that's critically important. So. So how important is it to price a home? Right. The very first time?
[00:33:21] Speaker C: Well, so here again, it's going to go back to the AI that, you know, everybody having a degree in Google. So if you, you know, everybody's. I always hear this pretty constant. Well, I want to price it at this because I want to test the market. Well, their test is very visible to everybody else.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:39] Speaker C: So they Put a price out there that doesn't make sense. And then within a week or two, they change the price. We call it a price improvement. Okay? But it's, you know, it's, everybody sees, okay, what happened? Why did they, why did they change the price so fast? Maybe it's really not worth what they priced it at. Now maybe I can get some more money off of it. So, you know, you need to make sure that when you sit down and do the market analysis and you have the conversation with the realtor, that you allow them to guide you through, you know, the pricing and what the market says. And understand this, the realtor works for you. And so ultimately you, if they tell, like I'll tell my, I'll tell myself, well, based on the market, this is, this is the window. This is what I would recommend the price at. They'll say, well, no, I want to price it 20,000 over. I said, listen, I work for you. I'm going to do what you say. But let me tell you why this could possibly hurt you later.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: And that's excellent insight, right? We need to know those things. But like you say, you also mentioned something earlier, Ricky, and that's having the patience, right? So obviously you've been on the market for several days, maybe weeks, and you get your first offer. You really need to step back and kind of take a look at what that is, have patience. And you know, there's that, you know, 48 hour clock. I'm like, oh, we got to respond to this. Are we going to counter offer or not?
48 hours may come and go and that is okay, There'll be another 48 hours and off you go. But, you know, not rushing into it, what I found is extremely helpful to just kind of, you know, put things at ease and really make a fact based decision as you go forward.
[00:35:16] Speaker C: You know, it's the real deal here is, and I, and I, I put it in the realtor's pocket. All right? It's the realtor has to communicate with the other realtor. So the reality is I work from, for the client, whether it's a buyer or seller. But it's very important, it's very important that I make sure and develop a relationship with the other realtor so that we are on the same sheet of music saying that, okay, we want to make sure that our clients both win.
[00:35:49] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:50] Speaker C: You know, and that developing that relationship and communicating. And one thing that I will say is probably 90% of the first offers are the best offer.
[00:36:03] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:36:03] Speaker C: They end up being the Best offer usually.
[00:36:05] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Well, Ricky, thank you so much for all of those insights from, you know, communication, patience and really looking at data and the use of technology. Right. Whether it's AI or other, and staging critically important. So all wonderful tips. Thank you for sharing your expertise with our audience. And now we go to a short commercial break.
We'll be right back with more ways to optimize, scale and succeed. This is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Griselda, and this is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television. Let's keep building smarter together.
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So welcome back to Real Estate Profits. And I'm here with Ricky Chavez. And now we're shifting to a challenge many clients face, feeling like they're all alone in the real estate journey. Right. Especially as they're getting started, not knowing all the intricacies and the complexities of what can happen as you embark in real estate transactions.
So for many buyers and sellers, the process can feel a little bit isolating. They feel like they're carrying the burden by themselves.
They don't have enough support or they need a little bit more communication just to learn all the details. But lucky for us, Ricky Chavez is here. So, Ricky, why do you think so many people feel isolated during this process?
[00:38:15] Speaker C: Fear of the unknown. They don't understand the process. They may have not sold a house ever or they may have not sold a house in years or even bought a house ever, or they had spent a long time between process.
So it's very important that they sit down with a realtor. No matter what they think they know they need to just make sure.
I hear echo, sorry, make sure that they got the process down. That's where the realtor goes in. And if they're a buyer, do a buyer's meeting. If they're a seller, do a seller's meeting and go through the whole process, regardless of what they think they know and really lay out the process and that makes them feel a little bit more comfortable.
One other thing that I do that I think is very important is we do a group text.
Husband, wife, myself and my, and my team manager. And we all in one text. So everybody hears the same thing at the same time.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: Oh, that's a great idea. Absolutely. Because now you're communicating real time as things happen and you could be talking to, you know, the husband or the wife, but now everyone's in the know 100.
[00:39:25] Speaker C: And the good thing about it is anybody can throw a question in there, get an answer, see the question, see the answer, and it may spin off to another question. But if it's like myself and my wife, yeah, it's, it's crazy. I'll hear something, I'll tell my wife, hey, guess what? And then she'll ask me another question, like, I don't know, I didn't ask that, you know, so it's kind of a good way to educate them in the group. And then we kind of sign them tasks, you know, and they assign us tasks and we do the follow ups that way.
[00:39:56] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. Great idea. Well, thank you for sharing that. And then so obviously that builds some strong communication. But what can a strong partnership between the client and the agent do to ease up loneliness? To feel that, hey, we're not out there all alone. Right. There's a lot of knowledgeable people helping us in this process.
[00:40:13] Speaker C: Well, I think the big thing is they need to totally realize that we are available for them, you know, that, that it's. If they feel any anxiety, any concern, shoot a text, pick up the phone, you know, either myself or my, my office manager, Brittany, one of us will answer right away. And then we'll set up a call if we need to. You know, it's kind of a temperature check throughout the time. The other piece is every Tuesday, they know they're going to get a market update. This is going to tell them what we've done for the week, what kind of views have happened, you know, what kind of progress we've done with the other people that have come to the house, if we have an open house scheduled. So we give them a big a market update every Tuesday so that they know for sure. But then, you know, like you said earlier in this last segment, patience.
They know they had an open house on Sunday. Today's Tuesday.
I want to know Sunday afternoon after it's over, what happened. So this, you know, just let them know there's a process for sure.
[00:41:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. And now you mentioned that really nifty idea of creating a group chat, whether it's WhatsApp or on text or somewhere.
So now, you know, the family can be included. Right. So how can families include each other? In addition to that, you know, really good tip that you already gave us. So it feels like teamwork and it's actually fun. Right now Abuela is listening to. To it or my Thea or, you know, my son's daughters. But how can families really be included in the process? So it's not a lonely process. It's actually fun and engaging.
[00:41:46] Speaker C: So, you know, that's, that's something. And I have to give my wife credit for this.
She. She was the realtor first. And, you know, especially when you have families that have young kids.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:41:57] Speaker C: And, you know, she put up a little calendar in their, in their rooms, which, and gave them stars. And if they picked up their room, they got a star. And, and if they picked up, if they did something else, they got like a happy face, whatever the team was. But at the end, she would buy them something when they closed, you know, and I think that that was the, that was the key. You know, you got to keep them involved. That makes a lot of less stress because the mom like, hey, you want to get your star? Go get your room picked up. You want to do this? So everybody's kind of involved.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. I call that a dashboard. Right. So this performance, you and I come from the corporate world, right? There's a dashboard of performance measures. And if you do good, that's a thumbs up. If you do bad, we're going to give you sideways and work on that behavior. But. But absolutely. Get everyone involved so that they know the process of like, oh, now we have showings. So now we have this, right? Whatever's happening with that real estate transaction that the families engage with, they're all in the know and they're all participating in some way. So thank you. Really fun tip. I like that. I'm going to copy yours and your wife's idea on that.
[00:43:03] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:43:04] Speaker A: Now, now, what role does clear communication play in helping clients feel supported?
[00:43:12] Speaker C: So sometimes bad news is the news, you know, and not be not sugarcoated. You have to be very transparent with your clients.
[00:43:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:43:26] Speaker C: Because, you know, fear of the unknown is bad.
But I always ask all the people that show, the other agents or the people that are the open house, I would like feedback.
[00:43:38] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:43:39] Speaker C: Give me feedback. Every. All the feedback you can give me on the house and what you thought, because it's from a different perspective, right? And when I give it to my clients, I really don't candy coat it. I'm pretty. Because this is the, this is the thought process of somebody else.
[00:43:57] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:43:57] Speaker C: That's coming into the house. So we need to share with them so that we can kind of figure out, okay, what is our action?
What are we going to do? You know, are we going to take the weeds out of the cracks on the sidewalk? Are we going to pressure wash the driveway? You know, and, and honestly, sometimes it helps validate some of the things that I've said. You're a parent, right? So I'm a parent. I can tell my son, hey, the stove is hot, and he'll burn his hand, but you'll tell him. And all of a sudden it's rocket science.
[00:44:28] Speaker A: Right.
[00:44:29] Speaker C: So just kind of a little validation there.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. You're full of stories. So now. So do you have a story of a client who went from feeling all alone. I don't know what to do. This is a little bit scary. To feeling more like they were engaged in the process and they were cared for by yourself and your, you know, your wife as they went through the journey. Tell us a story about that.
[00:44:51] Speaker C: So I have a young lady, she's a. She works in a, as an administrator school.
[00:44:56] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:44:56] Speaker C: And she wanted to sell her house and if she wanted to move closer to school. Now, I had helped her buy the house a couple years prior, and, you know, her income's not great, but.
So we sat her down with the lender. We understand what the plan was, what she needed to do to qualify for the next house she knows she needed to sell, to buy. Right.
And then we continuously watched the market, looked at houses, talked back and forth, got her house ready to sell so that when she found something, it'd be it work. And so we had constant communication and always check ins, check in all the time.
[00:45:36] Speaker A: Perfect. Okay, wonderful. So obviously a delighted client there. Right. So completes a real estate. Real estate transaction and now probably feels better prepared for the second one and the third one. And now off you go to many more.
[00:45:49] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, it's.
I tell my team, don't chase money, take care of people.
[00:45:56] Speaker A: That's very different. Right. Because many people, agents or whatnot, are out there chasing shiny objects. I will say, but when you take care of people and you focus on the people in the transaction and their hearts and their desires and what they want to do, everyone comes out winning. Right?
[00:46:12] Speaker C: 100. 100.
[00:46:14] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Well, Ricky, thank you so much.
Obviously, I've enjoyed the conversation. Our Viewers have gotten a lot of great nuggets from you and your wife as you share some of her ideas as well. But how can people connect with you? How can they find you?
[00:46:28] Speaker C: So I have, I'm a website Ricky Chavez Team Cypress Realtor Ricky Chavez Team or call me on my phone, 832-541-7545. Text me first so I know to pick it up. You know, today's world, it gets me phone calls. But you text me, I'll make sure that let you know that when I'm available and we can talk and you can see my website. I have a team of five who speak seven languages.
So we have a lot of different cultures, you know, that we are involved with. So we had to help you, you know, make the process stress free.
[00:47:00] Speaker A: Absolutely. Wonderful. And here I was going to close the show with, hey, if you need bilingual support, support, Ricky Chavez is here to help. But I was thinking Spanish and English. Tell me about the seven languages. I did not know that, buddy. So tell me.
[00:47:12] Speaker C: Yeah, sure. German. So I'm a naturalized citizen. My mother's German, so I speak German, English and Spanish. One of the guys on my team speaks Punjab, Urdu and Hindi. Then I have a young lady that speaks Vietnamese. So I mean it's just, you know, and I'm looking for others, you know, having traveled all over the world more, the more colors the better. Right?
[00:47:33] Speaker A: Absolutely. So with your military experience, your corporate experience, obviously you can rally a team that is, you know, cross cultural and very diverse that already to help anyone with any transaction. Right. So thank you. Yeah, thank you so much, Ricky, for sharing your insights. Greatly appreciate it. Now everybody knows how to get a hold of you. And to our audience, thank you for listening. Obviously you got some great nuggets from Ricky and obviously sharing all of his wisdom on how to make the real estate journey.
Not a complicated one, but something that is fun, engaging by involving everyone.
So I'm your host, Griselda Buselman. You're watching Real Estate Profits.
Thank you so much and see you next time.
