MLO | Mortgage & Real Estate Podcast

Hiring a Real Estate Agent & Lender. What to Ask & What to Look For?

June 03, 2020 Season 1 Episode 15
MLO | Mortgage & Real Estate Podcast
Hiring a Real Estate Agent & Lender. What to Ask & What to Look For?
Show Notes Transcript

How do we choose a Buyers Agent or Listing Agent? What are the key questions to ask? What are the differences between and experienced professional and a Rookie? 

Today MLO has the opportunity to interview Amy Donaldson: a published Real Estate Author, Industry Coach and Licensed Real Estate Agent. Amy brings her dynamic perspective and experience to enlighten us with Tips & Considerations while interviewing a Agent & Lender.

Addison Nett :

Hey, thanks for tuning in for this week's episode of MLO on this livestream episode we have published real estate author, Amy Donaldson, we are going to unpack a few of the complicated subject in real estate, including how to interview a lender how to interview a buyer's agent. later on in the show, we tackle down the complicated situation of working with friends and family. My name is Eddie net. This is m enjoy the show the music, the music, the vibe, we're live for the music. We're live. Good day. Good day, everyone. It's the top of the month I want to welcome you all to a bonus edition of m l o This is a live stream podcast recording with our new guest a published author of real estate Amy Donaldson. Thank you so, so, so, so much, Amy. Welcome to the show.

Amy Donaldson :

Thank you. Addison. Thank you for having me.

Addison Nett :

Oh yea, it's a super big pleasure. And I'm just fantastic. We excited there's a new descriptor for you. I'm fantastically excited to bring this topic of conversation delight because really what we're looking to discuss today is what should the consumer the client, the homebuyer, or the seller, Amy experience from their lenders and their real estate agents, because with all the long lists of different ways with technology, you've got old school, you've got internet, a lot of different ways to close real estate now, how are consumers supposed to know if they're getting a good experience or not? So today, we're going to dive into that with someone who's got a real objective point of view. Once again publish author Amy Donaldson here. She's not only A real estate agent, but she is a coach for industry professionals. And I do just want to preface like Amy and I don't do a ton of deals together we originally met last year a mutual client of random introduction and closed a transaction together. So this isn't a one sided deal where Amy's one of my top referral partners or vice versa, this is a true objective and objective opinion. And this goes back to just the entire mission of ml. The modern loan officer is giving transparent environment information for consumers, home buyers and sellers in a place that, you know, is in attack. So Amy, thanks so much for being here. And once again, I'm stoked so let's dive into it. Tell me about you know, your book, what you've been a little bit of the resume and then we can get into questions, comments and the earlier

Amy Donaldson :

well my book is written for real estate agents get off the cashflow rollercoaster, um, which I'm sure most people are familiar with that ups and downs. And it really the, the whole The reason that I wrote the book was I had taught the licensing course for a number of years and newer agents would come to me after a few years in the business with with some challenges. And this book basically answers that some very specific challenges that were unique to all of them. then more recently, you know, I become a coach and I was coaching exclusively real estate agents and I'm now getting certified through Southwestern, consulting. And we'll be coaching all industry perfect, you know, loan officers title and escrow. So not just real estate, and just helping people grow their businesses so that they can, you know, sell more, earn more and enjoy, just enjoy their work and their time off more.

Addison Nett :

Yeah, no, that's fantastic. And you bring such a diverse list of experiences within the real estate industry. Not only within the consumer side helping as an agent in your career, but also now coaching other top performers and, and new industry professionals. So this is the entire objective is like being able to describe to our listeners homebuyers, home sellers, industry professionals, what the difference is between a quality service level experience for the home buyer and seller. So I wanted to dive right into that, like, what should the experience be like a me from your point of view, and let's, you know, as you describe from your point of view, I'll try to summarize for our listeners and viewers. bullet point takeaways.

Amy Donaldson :

Well, I love it. And I and that's actually one of the things that I teach is being client centric, and as opposed to agent centric, right, calling your client more so than in love with your service. And to me, a really good client experience is should seem as though there's nothing unusual happening. And, and to break that down a little anyone who's been in this industry for a while knows that we as professionals, we learn something on every single transaction. Right? Every single transaction brings something unique. There's a system and a process and a way that things flow, right. There are certain things that are pretty standard every time you but we're constantly learning and there's new things. So the client should never know that when you're facing something in a transaction that you've never had before. Some weird easement or weird, um, you know, a weird agreement between neighbors or a lot line adjustment that wasn't recorded or something that you've never encountered before. It's the first time the clients encountering it. They shouldn't feel like it's the first time you're encountering it.

Addison Nett :

Okay, yeah, the experience should be normal and smooth

Amy Donaldson :

And and and to not hide the fact like, you might just say, you know, this is unmute you, you can acknowledge that it's the first time you've encountered something, right? But without making them feel like this is a big right to say, you know what, I've never seen this before, but it's not that big of a deal. Let me reach out to one of my managers or my principal broker, right, like, bring in the proper help. But like, it's no big deal. Like, you know, I got to ask them a couple questions from someone and I'll get back to you on that and remain cool. Even if it's something where you're totally freaking out. You know, it should never be our job should be the the calm center in the storm. And so agents if their client is, has anxiety of something and a client is upset about something so many agents feel like the best service they can offer is take that off On a jump in the ring and go fight that fight, and I get that they feel that way but but if all we're going to do is get emotional and fight like they can do that without us and actually they can do that better than us so the highest level of service is not jumping in the ring and fighting their fight. The highest level of service is calling this situation and resolving the fight. Right. But you know what, I know this is a big deal to you. Let me see what I can do to resolve it. You don't call the other agent freaking out. My client wants to get it edited it up. You said these repairs would be done done it No, no, you might you know, it was supposed to be done by Friday. It wasn't let me look into it. Call the other agent Hey, so what's going on with this and how do we you know as opposed to this was supposed to get done and this is unacceptable and

Addison Nett :

no and I I really love that you went into a few thing there. And I want to summarize and comment. One One of which being that calm of the storm analogy. So I want to use analogies all the time. And I sincerely believe that in some cases the journey through home buying and selling is somewhat of a venture into the ocean. So you'll find some cases where a storm whether they're seeing or not foreseen has happened. So the industry professionals assisting in the transaction whether it's on lending or agents, the buyer the sell, it's a part of their responsibility for to navigate through and guide through our clients so that they're not feeling so much of that hard hits storm. So that's good to know. I really love that bringing it back to our home buyers and sellers whom are listening and watching. Like sincerely guys like that is really good takeaway. Everything should feel normal. And there are situations where there speed bumps or there's some choppiness in the waters, but yeah, it is amazing. To know that people are proactive, and then solution based is what I'm hearing, essentially to from Amy here, you know, coming to the table with a solution to guide through it. And this is something that I would like to bring up and I wasn't even expecting to Amy, because in the last few months, especially with a lot of the pandemic, and a lot of us there's a huge change in our industry. There's a significant amount of people in all facets of the real estate transaction working remotely. Things aren't as smooth essentially, with computer technology securities, underwriters processors, and I just feel like some transactions when you're saying people screaming, I feel like some of the transactions in the last couple dozen over to the most recent two months during the pandemic. It's either one way or another I'm in a situation from all sides with the buying agent selling agent lenders title that everyone's either on the same boat have a solution based, or they're on the boat of pointing the finger, or it's like, wasn't me, it wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't me or screaming, yelling, obviously, I prefer this solution based,

Amy Donaldson :

That is a terrible experience for the client when everyone's pointing fingers at each other, right? But then if Addison and I are in a transaction together on the agent, he's the lender and say he does and I don't know him, right? So I don't know what is usual for him or not, I don't know, his level of service. Um, and the client comes to me complaining, the natural instinct and this is what we need to train ourselves against. But the natural instinct is to jump on board with the clients complaint. And oh, and it awful and oh my gosh, I can't believe that and you're right. That should never happen. Let me see what I can do about right um, We feel like because we are agreeing with them and that we're hearing them, we feel like we're serving them at a high level, but what we're doing is increasing their anxiety. And increasing the odds is a bad experience a better thing and to just train yourself that this should be your automatic, always edify the other professional. That should be your automatic goto. So even if you've never worked with them before, that the first thing you should say is, well, gosh, that really doesn't sound like Addison. You know, I know, I know that you're in really good hands. Let a little bit of investigating and figure out where the disconnect might have been. Or you know, maybe there's something about the situation that you're not aware of. And then and you can still have the same conversation with the other professional when you call them up being like, here's what I'm hearing, like, what is going on, and maybe they didn't drop the ball and guess what, anyone listening here? Remember this, there already has been, and will be times that you drop the ball. Okay, like it's going to happen to all of us. So, while that other professional might really have screwed up, be easy on them and think about rather than thinking that should never happen, that's terrible. It's unprofessional and on and on and on. And rather than being on that train of thinking, if your first thought is, wow, that was a mistake. How would I want to be treated if I have made that mistake? Okay, and and what's the quickest path to a solution because blaming somebody and condemning them and criticizing them when they're in the wrong? Isn't the quickest way to get them right? understanding them telling like, Hey, hey, man, it's okay. I understand. And sometimes we make big mistakes. Right, like they didn't lock the loan, and then interest rates went up. And you know, you can tell them like this is going to cost them X number and when we can't qualify anymore, and what are you going to do? Instead of, Okay, how can we fix this? And something's there isn't a solution for others there are. But if you're always looking towards the solution, more often than not, you're going to get to the solution. And in my experience, even the situations that have gotten really nasty, the overwhelming majority of them come to a resolution at some point. So that tells me that most of our situations have a solution. That that is easily discoverable.

Addison Nett :

Yeah, that's a that's a really good point, bringing that together, guys, mistakes do happen. That's a big one. And I want to get to a question we have a question we have from Casey here at Facebook. But before we do remember that guys because it's very rare that there isn't Some sort of hiccup with either on the ones hide insurance title escrow agent, the inspection the appraisal all the hundreds of different points it takes to close a real

Amy Donaldson :

imagine I know there's there's there's agents out there right now, it there's tons of condos in downtown Portland that are currently pending. Imagine you're one of the buyers pending on a condo that had riots downstairs over the weekend. Imagine that right? What does the buyer still want to move forward? Do they want a lower price? Do they want to pull out? Do they want their earnest money back with their past all contingency? and public riots is not one of the contingencies?

Addison Nett :

Yeah, that's a really good point.

Amy Donaldson :

Right? There are things that are so far like wildly outside of our control. And, and if you're constantly thinking, Okay, what's going to be a good experience for the client And not just my client, what's a good experience for both clients, right? Like I was always heavier on the listing side. I always ran my transactions in a manner that I wanted it to be a good experience for the buyer. I didn't want somebody because I knew that my client didn't want somebody moving into their house hating them. Right and feeling like they were jerks. They're now they're leaving a house that they had loved for whatever amount of time made memories there. They want to turn it over to somebody who's going to enjoy it just as much as they did. So you have to think like, is this gonna Is this a good experience for the buyer or the buyers coming in here? When the neighbors come and welcome this new homeowner? Are they going to hear a bunch of trash talk about their previous neighbor that they possibly loved and enjoyed and had block parties with where you want it and when you're the buyer's agent, you want it to be a good experience. That doesn't mean you know, you still negotiate for your client, you still want to get the repairs done. Or if you're on the listing side, you want the buyer to accept it with as few paid repairs as possible. But, but regardless how the nitty gritty gets negotiated, you want it to be a good experience for both clients, not just your client, and really keeping that in mind. It just, it just gives you a different spin on whatever's happening. And it's different.

Addison Nett :

Mm hmm. Yeah. Do we still have Yeah.

Amy Donaldson :

You saw me?

Addison Nett :

Yeah, no, I thought we cut off half a second. No, that's perfect. I really want to keep this back into the mindset of the homebuyer and home seller two guys. So some key takeaways like how are we How do people handle mistakes? One thing that I always can tie together is that you So I learned something every single transaction as a loan officer and I'm always improving on how I'm handling these things as more experiences under my belt. So I think I want to tie that back into the homebuyer point of view, home seller point of view. And I love Casey's question here. As a homebuyer, is it okay to change your real estate agent if you feel like it's just not working? I would like to ask you, Amy Yeah, when you're going through the interview process of choosing, choosing an agent because right now you say a lot of people are picking up. They're just calling Zillow or Redfin and someone's meeting them out there. And then they're putting in an offer, what are the pros and cons of taking, taking advantage of some of those modern conveniences with technology? Or perhaps going more the traditional route of Hey, I was referred by a friend. You might chat with a couple on the phone. Could you give us some consumer advisement? Like how would you answer View?

Amy Donaldson :

Yeah, well, so first of all, just to answer the actual question, like, Is it okay to change? And then I'll get to kind of your secondary questions, but it depends. So when a homeowner hires a listing agent, there's a contract that they sign, right? When a buyer hires a real estate agent, there's also a contract, except this contract is optional. Okay, so the seller needs to sign a contract or else the other the listing agent literally can't start marketing the home. But with the buyer, it's optional, and the majority of agents are not utilizing this contract. So if they, if you have a contracts and you're using that agent, then you really don't have the option of changing unless you renegotiate that with them somehow. Um, you Most don't have one. And then I would say absolutely. If you feel like it's not working out, I mean, until you found a house once you're already in contract on a house, you're kind of locked in with that agent. So I guess that's the key point is if you've signed anything yet,

Addison Nett :

a buyer sale agreement?

Amy Donaldson :

Yeah, like a buyer sale agreement, or a there's a buyer agent agreement, too. So if you've signed an agency agreement, or if you have signed a contract on a house, then you can't really change midstream. But

Addison Nett :

meaning that some of the first time homebuyers that perhaps aren't familiar with that buyer agent agreement, because those are sometimes used and sometimes not used from what i've,

Amy Donaldson :

yeah, so usually the agent will be the one that brings that up. And what it does is it's what creates the fiduciary responsibility. So it's where the seller the buyers is saying, Okay, I'm gonna hire you as my agent. But they're also guaranteeing that that agent will receive a commission when they that's actually really what it is is guaranteeing the agent will receive a commission when they purchase a home. So it doesn't say that they couldn't go find another agent, but if they did, they would now have to pay agent number one. Does that make sense? So, yeah, guaranteeing them, they're guaranteeing them payment for their services? Um,

Addison Nett :

would you advise people to sign those with agents? What are the pros and cons of doing?

Amy Donaldson :

So? So from a buyer's perspective, the pros of signing one of those is that it's what creates a fiduciary without that the agent who's working with you doesn't have a fiduciary. They're not really they're just showing you. They're showing you houses but the client agent relationship hasn't been established and the relationship hasn't been established. You're going to get a higher level of service. And generally, the agents that use those are the agents that are systematized that are confident. The main reason that an agent doesn't use the agency agreement is they're afraid to bring it up. They're afraid the clients gonna say no. So as a client, think about that for a minute. If you're if your agent is afraid to ask you to sign something, or afraid to ask that you guarantee they get paid for their services. What else are they afraid of? Like how well this is the person who's going to be negotiating the price of your home. You want somebody who's very comfortable talking about money, very confident in the value that they bring, because in my experience, agents start using that contract when they get Tired of being run around by buyers and when they start valuing their own time, right? Agent, you can get someone calling you off of Zillow off of realtor.com off and then you never hear from these people and you give up Saturday mornings and you give up time with your family. And you start saying, you know what, I'm gonna sit people down, have a consultation, ask them to sign a contract. But when an agent gets to that point, it's when they're at the point where they realize, wait a minute, I'm not desperate to make a sale. I bring actual value and I value my time and I value the service that I offer and I value it enough that I want to ask you, I want to invite people into this relationship. So as a buyer, like when you think about that an agent who is at a point in their career, where they're afraid to have that conversation with you. It also means if you haven't signed that contract, it often means that they never took the time to sit down and actually have a consultation. You just pin them on Zillow. realtor.com and they ran out and showed a house to you, but they never sat you down and said, Okay, here's how this, this is going to work. step one, step two, step two, right? We're going to, you're going to need earnest money. And you're going to need that right up front, you're going to have an inspection and here's about what it costs. Here are the other things that could come up. Right that that because usually when you sign that is when you have the buyer consultation, where you say, here's the whole process, here's all the services I'm going to offer you. Here's how I get paid. And then here's a document that says, we're working together when you buy a home, you're gonna purchase it from me, if you go purchase it from someone else, then either you are that agent or someone's gonna have to pay me a commission for the time that I've invested. And I get that that that's a hard it is a hard conversation for agents to have but it the agents who are confident having it are the ones that they have confidence in this, they are bringing a higher level of service. Um, and I know in my career and I've watched this with many of the agents that I coach, as soon as they start using that, everything else because here's what happens as an agent. You can show somebody homes for six months, and then suddenly you text them and you don't hear anything back. Or they walk into an open house and buy from the person that was standing there. So all that time was wasted. And it's, it's a painful experience. And what happens every time you meet a new person, you're working like it's almost like when you're dating and you're kind of trying too hard. Right, it's it that's it, it's just it's a bad feeling. And so you're doing whatever you can and you're and you work actually harder so that that doesn't happen, but without actually bringing out This one simple contract that would prevent it from happening. But the whole time, you're not bringing your best self forward because you're too busy trying too hard to please them and to be their yes person. And that's actually I believe, what causes a lot of the other stuff that we talked about earlier where your client brings a complaint to you and now you just agree with them rather than edifying the other professional because you're already in a state of mind of just trying so hard to please them, rather than focusing on how do I serve them? And those are two different things. Because in a moment when somebody brings a complaint to you, Misery enjoys company, right? So whether this is friendship, professional, personal, when somebody brings a complaint to you, the people pleaser will just agree with that complaint and kind of fuel the fire because that's the most comfortable thing to do. But a professional when you're thinking about serving them at the highest level. You say gosh, That really doesn't sound like something this lender would do. You know, I know that you're in really good hands. And they'll be like, this is what happened. And it's like, You know what? I know that he's super professional, you're really good hands. Let me find out what happened. That is serving them at the highest level, but it's not pleasing, like it's not agreeing with them and pleasing them, if that makes sense. So I think all of these things are tied together. And the agents when agents start using the buyer broker agreement show many things shift in their business that benefit the client. And I think that's why as a homebuyer if you're asked to sign one of those, it's a good it's a good clue that you're working with an agent who is a professional who takes their time seriously who values their own time. is comfortable talking about money, and has thought enough of has thought through the process. So you're more likely to have a good experience.

Addison Nett :

Yeah, I think he makes some really good points there. And you know, it's definitely a hybrid perspective from your coaching experience and then trying to wrap it into some consumer advisements. And I keeps running gears in my head of how do buyers really choose their agent and lenders? And what are things to identify? So I think taking from your feedback there, it's important to note guys like, it's not a bad thing. If you are presented a buyer agent agreement that does a lot of things for you, that takes a lot of confidence from the agent, which typically will come with experience. So there's something don't always take that as someone trained to perhaps just snake in a contract. It's only values, their time they know the service that they provide, has a huge benefit for you and they also value their time. So I think that's one really great tip. away for homebuyers and sellers right there. When it comes to the lender, what I've kind of learned is, I think you get a lot of lenders and you know, I've built many teams at different companies with lenders that I've worked side by side with me. And one thing that I've realized and witnessed is that respect for your own time, because, say what's common in my world is I'll get a call, say it's like a refinance. Someone will get my number, whether it's off a modern loan officer or the internet or Zillow reviews, whatever it is, and they'll just call me they won't even tell me what their name is. And they'll just be like, what's your rates? And it's like, oh, hi, you know, really, what? Sorry, what is your name? Oh, hi, Mr. Smith. It's fantastic to meet you. So, you know, the way I do business is I really like to have an introduction call. And I'm hoping on that introduction call to accomplish a few things. Number one being I want to get to know you, I want to get to know your goals for you and your family. And then your perspective. goals for real estate. Because without knowing those things, I can't service you best. I can't build out a dynamic strategy for your financing, and we're not on the same page. Additionally, I would hope you'd be able to walk away with some key educational points of identifying what interest rate you're actually getting for what cost because those are two different things. Any lender out there can give you any rate, it's just a matter of how many fees and how much money out of your pocket Are you are you gonna pay for it. So So one of those things I think that's a huge difference where like say, you know, redshirt freshmen. I'm just stoked. What are my rates i'm not i'm like so excited. I'm just like, trying to pull up a rate sheet and give them a rate when like, I'm not even a position to a know the person who they are, what their goals are. educate them on what rate really is and what they're paying for it and then providing a professional quote, so just a little push him for me. People go through that all the time, and it's just Taking hundreds and hundreds of transactions to learn to respect my own time and I do prefer setting up that intro call and then a mortgage strategy call and when I review call, and I think those are some really great takeaways. If you're interviewing a lender and in Asia no matter where you are in the nation, I mean, I just had a lady reach out to me this morning from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm not even licensed in that state. But those are great takeaways for anyone to look up value their time and experience.

Amy Donaldson :

Anytime professional if they want to sit down and offer you a consultation. Take it because the the especially in an industry with like ours, where that consultation is optional. A lot of agents don't consult with a buyer. A lot of loan officers don't either they'll just take the application. Give them the loan that they think is best without even knowing how long are you going to be in this loan. Right, different than how long are you going to be in this house? Are you going to refinance in five, he knows that an FHA loan and you're going to be refinancing out of the mortgage insurance once you hit the 20%. Right now that you can't just get, well, how long do you think you'll be in this loan matters? Because those upfront costs then get spread out over? I mean, very few people have their if it's a 30 year loan, very few people are in that loan for 30 years until they pay it off, right. I mean, that's the way our parents and our grandparents generation did it. But on an FHA loan, why would you do that you're absolutely going to refinance once you hit the 20%. Mark. So is that three years from now is that five years from you know, depending on how the market is, but any upfront fees now get spread out over

Unknown Speaker :

10 years, three years, 30. Like,

Addison Nett :

yeah, and just to kind of distill that down what Amy's just Gaming is just like, is a one offs are acting in your best interest? Do they care? No pun intended there? Do they care about your long term strategy, your break even on the structure? I've seen it from people all over. You know, they just want to get a transaction, get it done. They don't care whether it's the right financing, and I talk people out of doing refinances more than refinances that I do, because the first thing I ask always is like, hey, how long are you going to be in? What's your goal with the house? You're gonna rent it out down the road? Are you gonna sell it? Typical breakeven, generally speaking right now in this environment is going to be about three years rounding up on a on a refinance to fee to payment savings. What is your goal with retirement? So I'm glad that I just wanted to reiterate that everyone you know, Amy is describing like, Are people asking you the big picture questions that are best for you in your family in the long run, or they just trying to jam you into a house? Jamie went along. So just because someone's first of the line doesn't mean that they're always acting in your best interest.

Amy Donaldson :

Yeah, I mean, I would say that when somebody offers you a consultation, and this is the thing, what I'm seeing and what agents are reporting to me is that when a prospective buyer is on the internet, they see a house, they click the button and you offer them a consultation. Most homebuyers say oh, no, we're good. We just want to get into the house is sold, I'll get the house. Okay. So to somebody who's buying a home, whether it's your first home or not, I caution you against that, because what ends up happening is now you have a whole bunch of different agents. They're all calling you endlessly or maybe you blocked them. I don't know. Um, but you really you're you're You're allowing the ones who are kind of desperate for a deal to run out and show you a house. And you're, you're shunning the ones who really have professional businesses and can help you at the highest level and will save you. I mean, for most people, your home is the most expensive thing you will ever purchase. Having an advocate is not a bad thing. Right? Like I would say, it's a pretty critical part and somebody who's willing to take the time and sit down with you and get you know, and then that's your good opportunity. The fact that they offer you a consultation, if they're using the buyer broker agreement that they offer that to you. Those are both really good signs. consultations usually last anywhere from 30 to 30 minutes to an hour, so 30 to an hour. You should have a pretty good idea. If you like the person or If they rub you the wrong way, if they, if you enjoy them, like they've already given you the two major signals that they're a professional and that they're competent, they're going to take excellent care of you. Then the third piece, you can discover through that, through that 30 minutes to an hour of getting to know them as somebody that you want to work with for the next couple months. Because there's a lot of competent people and if they have a personality that rubs you the wrong way, move on. But if they have the consultation, they use the contract and they're pleasant and you like them. Sign it, there's there's really no reason not to.

Addison Nett :

Yeah, I like that. I think you know, some of the takeaways there for me personality and experience. Yeah, play a massive role. And I'm not adverse to I mean, I've only been on I've served for about in the industry really for about five years, but I would say one of the biggest things is one officer I've taken is just doing what It's best for the client. And you know, we summarized mistakes and being there and like everyone's made mistakes, if you've got like somebody saying, okay, I've never made a mistake, I'm flawless. They're just lying to you. Additionally, I think some of the red flags too, is keep an eye on agents and lenders who are actively closing transactions in the current market condition. Because there's a lot of people out there who just don't do that many transactions. And the way business is being done changes all the time. Like there's guidelines for lenders, there's COVID-19, overlays and communication barriers. There's ever so changing county and city law and real estate, education and laws that people need to be well versed on, and you just can't like supplement or exchange not being in the game essentially. Like I think it's really important when you're going to people to keep an eye like hey, you know, how many people do you typically help get Get into homes on a monthly basis. Tell me about your most recent sale or recent purchase. And for me, I would want somebody who's actively doing transactions and just I would say to Don't be afraid of people who do a lot of transactions because that's not a bad thing either. There's typically systems and teams built out for hire producing agents that are even more beneficial than, say, the small boutique agent. So you could argue a lot of different sides. I just think getting a feel for the experience. one takeaway for homebuyers when they're interviewed

Amy Donaldson :

wouldn't worry about how many years somebody has been transactions is more important than yours. I know who have sold five houses a year for 20 years. Well 100 houses I used to sell 50 in one year. Yeah, right. And the agent who sells 50 in one year, I'm telling you, that's a they have a much greater pulse on the the current market than the guy who I for and has done so for 20 years. I mean, my gosh, like that means that they were selling houses before we even had like, I mean, I was selling houses before we even had the internet as a major part of it too. Um, I mean, I was selling houses before we had Zillow and realtor.com. And I will tell you that that experience is completely irrelevant, like that experience does not help. What helps is your last transaction your last 12 months? That's what's significant, not how long? You You know, and there's some great agents who have been doing this for 20 years, and then there's some sense that the amount of time isn't, I would, yeah, focus on the most recent, um, yeah, the most recent six to 12 months is going to tell you a lot more about their capacity to help you today. And I would say that you you want somebody I mean, again, somebody's going to take the time to thank you Take the time to sit you down and have a consultation. They've got systems like that, in and of itself is a system. I would not hire someone just because they're related to you. Unless maybe it's your wife.

Addison Nett :

That's a good point. Man, hey, first of all, I want to, I want to go back to a family member thing and then bring the plane to a landing here. I love what you said about your most recent transaction when when interviewing in an industry professional, I would always throw into throw in what is your most recent mistake you made and how did you overcome it? Because what I've learned is a lot of people talk about how great and easy and what a deal they got. They sold it for this or bought it for this or negotiated this but how did you overcome your most recent mistake as an industry professional, because I truly believe that your personality integrity is proven through how you resolve your mistakes. Not necessary. Sara Lee the trophies on the wall. So I want to put that out there for homebuyers and sellers who are interviewing industry professionals nationwide as a tip there. And then you brought up a thing family member, let's let's have that be our final bullet as we transition. Talk to me more about that because that's a big one. It's like do we work with family? Do we not Tell me Tell me more. It's