Real Estate Agent Egos (JJ 664)
Real Estate Agent Egos
Transcript:
Jack Butala: Jack and Jill here.
Jill DeWit: Hello.
Jack Butala: Welcome to the Jack Jill Show, entertaining real estate investment talk. I’m Jack Butala.
Jill DeWit: I’m Jill DeWit, broadcasting from sunny southern California.
Jack Butala: Today Jill and I talk about real estate agent egos and what you should know.
Jill DeWit: I don’t know what you’re talking about Jack. I have never experienced that, not at all. I’m a little confused.
Jack Butala: We don’t … On this show, Jill and I have a lot to say about real estate agents and the whole real estate agent environment and market, and so we’re not picking on anyone specifically, but our whole point, real big picture point is, in a light-hearted way, come on everyone. It’s a little bit antiquated.
Jill DeWit: I agree.
Jack Butala: It’s a little bit out of the 50s here.
Jill DeWit: Oh my goodness.
Jack Butala: Do you pick up your phone and do you order an Uber or a Lyft, or do you go and wait, stand on the corner and try to find a taxi? You get a lift.
Jill DeWit: Exactly, right off your phone. It’s easy.
Jack Butala: We don’t have that luxury to sell our house that way, so Jill and I have chosen, in a light-hearted way, to make a little bit of fun of it.
Jill DeWit: Oh, this is going to be good.
Jack Butala: That’s all. That’s what it’s about.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: Keep the hate mail coming, I love it actually. It’s fuel.
Jill DeWit: Totally.
Jack Butala: Before we get into it, let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the JackJill.com online community. It’s free.
Jill DeWit: Okay. Joe asks, I offered $300.00 an acre in Elco County, Nevada, northeast corner of the state. I was fortunate to open my mail today from a seller who is willing to sell me two properties quite close to each other, 1.3 and 2.7 acres in the same subdivision for $2,200.00. They are five miles from Elco proper, where there is a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc. Both have access but not much else. Comps seem to be about $100.00 to $1,500.00 an acre, for properties that are further from town than these. It brings my acquisition price up to $500.00 an acre, and really burns most of my seed money. I’m a little confused about sitting on the properties for too long, since stuff in this part of the country seem to sit for a while. However, taking down two properties in one quick deal may be worth it. Thoughts?
Jack Butala: Well I’ll tell you, you’re asking, you did everything right. You’re asking the right questions.
Jill DeWit: Yep.
Jack Butala: You’re kind of at that moment of truth where you’re staring at the deal saying, “All right, I did everything right, be careful what I wish for,” so you’re going to have to make that decision yourself. I will tell you that this pricing, in this county specifically, and the area where you’re talking about, I’m really familiar with it. We’re intimately familiar, and it’s a little bit pricey for my taste, but do I think you can easily double your money on these deals? Yeah.
If you were priced at $300.00 an acre for a 6,000 acre ranch, I would say you’re off your rocker. That would be closer to $70.00 an acre, but these properties are small, and I think you’re pretty relatively new at this, and I think these are two really good starter deals to purchase and go through the whole process on, and learn.
Jill DeWit: You know what Joe? Don’t be afraid of … I mean $300.00 for comp that brought $1,000.00, this is all, that’s perfect. The way you originally went out of the gate was perfect. I want to say too, don’t be afraid to just stick to your guns and tell them, “Look, I love it at $300.00. I can’t do it at $500.00, and then walk. You know what? Two days later you’re going to get another letter in the mail from someone wanting to sell at your $300.00 price, number one.
Number two, if they really want to sell, give them a week. They might call you back and say, “Okay, let’s just do it,” because we’re talking … It’s not a lot of money, the big difference, and I just, I think you did it right.
Jack Butala: So do I. I’d actually probably do the deal.
Jill DeWit: At $300.00 or the $500.00? I would stick to my guns.
Jack Butala: I know you would.
Jill DeWit: If comps are $1,000.00, that’s what I want to do. I want to offer, I want to do $300.00 an acre. Let’s just be honest here, okay? Then, because by my, time I costs and I get it recorded and all that good stuff, I still want to double my money and get out, and I want it to be under everything else.
Jack Butala: Well let’s not forget, Jill, that there’s two happy ends here.
Jill DeWit: True.
Jack Butala: The hard money facts are, you know, 1.3 acres is about $700.00 at $500.00 an acre, or $600.00. That’s rock bottom for a piece of real estate, it’s $600.00.
Jill DeWit: That’s true. Well maybe he could meet him in the middle.
Jack Butala: I think he’s …
Jill DeWit: Okay.
Jack Butala: Jill is so hung up on price.
Jill DeWit: $2,000.00.
Jack Butala: She loves to negotiate.
Jill DeWit: I’m doing all the work.
Jack Butala: I would just say, “Let’s get the thing done.” He’s purchasing one of these properties for $600.00 or $700.00, for an acre. I think I would do that deal.
Jill DeWit: Okay.
Jack Butala: As long as it’s got access.
Jill DeWit: It does he said.
Jack Butala: Then, 2.7, now you’re in the what, $1,000.00 for 2.7 acres or whatever, $1,100.00, $1,200.00? I think that you’re going to do just fine, Joe. Even though Jill want’s to make it her career, to squeeze every single penny.
Jill DeWit: Well, I mean I want to do it right and if Joe doesn’t have a lot of money, let’s do it right, and then we’re going to sell them really fast.
Jack Butala: Here’s what Jill really means, $300.00 or $500.00 an acre, for these two little properties. They’re not going to say no.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: That’s how Jill goes into this. That’s not going to make or break this. They’ve already decided to sell it.
Jill DeWit: Correct.
Jack Butala: If you sweet talk them like Jill, you’re going to get what you want. That’s really what she’s trying to say through the microphone here.
Jill DeWit: Thank you. Bingo.
Jack Butala: Trust me, Jill gets what she wants.
Jill DeWit: That’s right.
Jack Butala: At work and elsewhere.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Jack Butala: Today’s topic, real estate agent egos, and what you need to know, why they’re good and maybe why they’re not so good. This is the meat of the show.
Jill DeWit: Bring it.
Jack Butala: Real estate agents, for whatever reason, like no other profession that I have ever seen, believe that they have been entitled and empowered. It’s really, really, really … It’s an interesting psyche, psychological situation to be in, where you kind of watch what they do. The more deals they do, the more empowered they feel. It’s based on nothing.
Jill DeWit: Well not even that, I say right out of the gate, there’s like, and you and I both have sat through real estate school, and gone through all the motions, and so we know what’s involved there. We know what the training is and all that good stuff. I don’t understand this mentality and the mindset though. I mean I guess I sat there with my investor hat on, so I knew what I was hoping to get, what I was there to gain.
Jack Butala: I was there to learn.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: Learn about state laws.
Jill DeWit: Well, and … Exactly.
Jack Butala: I wasn’t there to learn how to get a listing.
Jill DeWit: Right, and how to lease a car.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: What to wear. Can you imagine? I’m a little surprised that those classes were there.
Jack Butala: You know that’s the thing, they should have.
Jill DeWit: They should do that.
Jack Butala: They should say what is appropriate to wear.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: Dressing like a hooker is not appropriate.
Jill DeWit: Correct. Yeah, and the best lease rates, you know what man, that’s what Lexus and Mercedes and everybody out there should be doing. They should be going to real estate school, standing outside.
Jack Butala: Oh my gosh, you’re right. Jill, that’s brilliant.
Jill DeWit: Handing out leasing information.
Jack Butala: You know how teachers get special pricing on mortgages and stuff?
Jill DeWit: Yeah, like the credit union?
Jack Butala: Yeah, real estate agents could get sympathy pricing on stuff.
Jill DeWit: Totally.
Jack Butala: Actually, they should be charged more to offset the teachers.
Jill DeWit: Hey, you’re a new realtor. I’m going to put you in a C Class for $300.00 a month. It is new real estate special.
Jack Butala: Oh my gosh.
Jill DeWit: Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
Jack Butala: There’s something about this profession that I, it brings out this certain type of personality.
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: I just don’t get it.
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: I don’t understand this empowerment, you know, after go to school for six weeks, really you don’t learn anything at all. You learn how to pass a test, is what you learn.
Jill DeWit: Right. You really do. You’re just getting the answers.
Jack Butala: That’s what they teach you. Yeah.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, you and I were really there to learn, you’re right, and all they’re doing is like blowing through it, telling you how to answer the questions.
Jack Butala: Now you have to pay, by the way, so you’ve got to pay for the class, $500.00 or $700.00, probably more now. It’s been years and years since I went through it. By the way, we never took the test. We just went there to get educated, and it’s worth it. I would advocate that you go through real estate school for sure, even if you’re an investor. Don’t take the test or get the license or anything.
Jill DeWit: Don’t get licensed.
Jack Butala: It is, for $500.00 it’s pretty, lot of education.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, it’s really, really good.
Jack Butala: You go through the whole thing, you take the test, probably take it two or three times, because it’s pretty tough, and there’s this sense of false empowerment, where you do a couple deals. You get a $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 check. All the while you’re paying, right?
Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Jack Butala: You’re not, it’s not like you get a job and you get a paycheck two weeks after the job, and you’re learning from people. You have to pay. You got to pay the National Association of Realtors.
Jill DeWit: Get your own business cards.
Jack Butala: You have to pay the broker. You have to pay for your desk. You have to pay, pay, pay.
Jill DeWit: You pay to put the signs in the yard.
Jack Butala: The designated broker is, they’re in the business of attracting as many real estate agents as they can to pay this desk fee, to go out and make them money.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: It’s … The system’s all cockeyed backwards.
Jill DeWit: It’s crazy. I have to point out one thing.
Jack Butala: I have a lot to say, go ahead.
Jill DeWit: Oh go ahead, I’m sorry.
Jack Butala: No, go ahead.
Jill DeWit: Well one thing about this whole six weeks thing. Six weeks, pass the test, you’re walking around with this license, and you just have … There’s this ego, that’s what we’re talking about.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: Okay, an esthetician, who waxes people, they go for six months, and they don’t have an attitude. I just, let’s all think about this.
Jack Butala: Well they go to work and they do a job, and they get a paycheck.
Jill DeWit: Exactly, but they could be freelance, they could do their own thing, but they’re licensed, and then if you really want to go and do the full cosmetology, so you could do hair, it’s two years, okay? It’s all more than these guys. I just had to throw that out there. I just thought that timing is funny.
Jack Butala: You go through school, you pay all this money, probably close to $5,000.00 these days. You’re $5,000.00 out of your pocket, and you’re sitting at a desk somewhere that’s not, that you share with everyone, and all the people that are in the brokerage office with you are in competition of each other.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: They’re not here, like most jobs, everybody works together, and you help.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: You’re competitors are sitting directly next to you, looking at what you’re doing, because they want to steal your deals.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: None of this makes any sense to me. This is what this show’s about.
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: You forget about that because you’re smart, and you go out and you sit down with somebody who wants to sell their house because you want to get the listing. What do you do? Do you try to help them get the best price for their house? No.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: No, you don’t do that. You try to get them to list the house for as cheap as possible because you want to make a commission.
Jill DeWit: Right. Exactly.
Jack Butala: It doesn’t make any sense.
Jill DeWit: You have to get it to sell. Yep.
Jack Butala: Do you try to charge them as little as possible and help them? No, no. You charge them full price. Cheap as you can get the house listed for.
Jill DeWit: It’s true.
Jack Butala: Charge them the full six, maybe seven percent of the listing price, and because you’re motivated to get as many listing as possible, because you went to the Sweat Hogs School of Listings, there’s this thing called Sweat Hogs.
Jill DeWit: Shut up, really?
Jack Butala: Yeah. You gotta pay extra money, and you know what they say? Here, I’ll save everybody their money.
Jill DeWit: What?
Jack Butala: This is what you learn at Sweat Hogs. Get as many listings as you can. Never work with the buyer. Never put anybody in your car. It’s a waste of time, and they’re right.
Jill DeWit: Wow, just get the listing. Sit back and let it happen.
Jack Butala: This is the sweet old lady who just signed the listing agreement. It’s an exclusive agreement, by the way. If anybody comes knocking on the door because they thought about next door, their sister needs a house, they have to pay.
Jill DeWit: You still get your money, yep.
Jack Butala: There’s a bunch of stuff on little old lady’s mind, the seller, that she needs help with.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: Do you think the real estate agent is going to help her with any of that stuff?
Jill DeWit: Nope.
Jack Butala: No way, why would they? They’re not motivated to.
Jill DeWit: Call your kids, not my thing.
Jack Butala: It’s not part of the system of getting listings. What do they do? They hire a photographer. They’re $200.00, $300.00 out of that, at least, and if they’re lucky, they get the broker’s assistant to input all the stuff in their MLS, which takes like two days, by the way.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: It’s incredibly complicated. Now they have a listing, and it’s in the MLS, and they walk away.
Jill DeWit: Yep.
Jack Butala: They let somebody, other schmo-broker across town, who’s working with somebody, working with a buyer, to do all the work because they’re on to getting the next listing.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: Where the hell is the respect in that?
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: How is that, there’s no respect in that.
Jill DeWit: I don’t understand the whole ego thing. I really don’t.
Jack Butala: I would rather be like a semiconductor salesman, or something.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: The ones who are really, really good at it are the ones who actually are pleasant, and answer the phone. I have never met a real estate agent, in my life, who answered the phone effectively. Have you?
Jill DeWit: No. No, you know, it’s …
Jack Butala: It’s impossible to get them on the phone, and it’s because of their ego.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: It’s because they turned a few deals, maybe made $10,000.00 this month.
Jill DeWit: I think they show up, up front …
Jack Butala: The best ones make $100,000.00.
Jill DeWit: I hate to say this, based on experience, you know they’re all excited up front. They’re your best friend up front, until you sign the paper. Then they go dark, like dating.
Jack Butala: We never talked about …
Jill DeWit: I’m not going to tell you what the sign the paper part is equivalent to because there’s an act that happens and then they disappear.
Jack Butala: It sounds like you have some experience at this, Jill.
Jill DeWit: It’s so … I heard.
Jack Butala: Jill has predatory experience.
Jill DeWit: I heard. My girlfriends were telling me. That’s so funny. Anyway, …
Jack Butala: I think that a lot of people go into this real estate agent/broker thing and they just have no idea what it really is all about.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: It’s, the system’s just set up, it’s a ridiculous system, brokers win. That’s the only person who wins at any of this is the broker, the designated broker with 100 people under them. You know who really wins? People like us.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, you know what? That’s the good part because they’re out there doing their thing, and pissing people off.
Jack Butala: We make a ridiculous amount of money, and everybody’s happy.
Jill DeWit: Yeah well I mean how many people …
Jack Butala: We don’t deal with agents at all, ever.
Jill DeWit: You know it’s interesting that …
Jack Butala: We just got a deal in. I was cracking up. I don’t even know if you knew, you realized you did it. We got a deal in, and it was priced right, from a mailer, and there’s a real estate agent involved. The seller said, “I do have it listed, and your price works for me, but I got to run it through the real estate agent because I signed the listing.” Do you remember what happened?
Jill DeWit: No.
Jack Butala: You said, “Forget it.”
Jill DeWit: Yeah, we’re out. We’re not dealing with agents.
Jack Butala: Forget that … I’m not dealing with it.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: That’s what happened. I happened to be, somebody either told me at the office, or I overheard it. I can’t remember.
Jill DeWit: I think the seller called and said they’re out, right?
Jack Butala: Your immediate reaction was, “Forget it. I don’t care if the deal’s good or not.”
Jill DeWit: Yeah. We don’t work with agents.
Jack Butala: That says it all, right there.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: You know, because we do deals, that’s what we do for a living.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: When we’re not doing this show, we’re doing real estate deals.
Jill DeWit: Yes.
Jack Butala: Nothing kills a real estate deal like a real estate agent.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: That’s been my experience.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, I don’t need that. I don’t need the headache. I don’t need the hassle, so I agree. That’s so funny. Back to the car thing, you like my car idea? I think this is funny.
Jack Butala: I think, I wonder why certain manufacturers, BMW specifically, because it’s just such a dumb car.
Jill DeWit: Oh, BMW.
Jack Butala: A dumb car company.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, that’s perfect.
Jack Butala: I think, you know, people buy BMWs the same way they buy handbags. It’s just a, kind of a, they think it’s a trophy or some kind of status thing. I think real estate agents, they should have a BMW employee in every real estate school.
Jill DeWit: I think that’s good.
Jack Butala: As a plant.
Jill DeWit: There should be, I like this. There should be, why don’t they do this? Then, yeah, you know what? The right purse people, they should be sitting outside too. There should be a Nordstrom’s rep. and a BMW rep. sitting outside of real estate graduation day, when they get their tests back, or whatever. I don’t know.
Jack Butala: I’ve never known a person who owns a BMW who’s right in the head, never.
Jill DeWit: Oh yes, that’s true.
Jack Butala: Over the years, every opportunity I get, because I’m a total car guy, I ask people who purchase BMWs or they’re driving them, “How did you come to that decision? What happened, what was the thought process in that? Is it the engine size or the features?” Every single time they get, they look, they kind of turn their head sideways a little bit, and they get this little smirk on their face, like you know what, Jack? You just don’t get it. Us BMW owners, we get it.
Jill DeWit: That’s hilarious.
Jack Butala: You, I think you need to just, some day you’ll get it. You’ll catch on some day.
Jill DeWit: That’s hilarious.
Jack Butala: It’s the funniest thing, and then they don’t work.
Jill DeWit: I’ve got to tell you something funny.
Jack Butala: Those cars don’t work.
Jill DeWit: Totally, okay, so my whole family, I can go back at least two generations and I’m talking everyone, aunts, uncles, grandparents, my parents, cousins, one person, and you know who it is, has owned a BMW.
Jack Butala: Yep, I know exactly who you’re talking about. That completely makes my point.
Jill DeWit: Only one person, so funny. Anyway, on that note …
Jack Butala: Needless to say, it’s not the ultimate driving machine.
Jill DeWit: Yeah. Is that their logo? Is that theirs?
Jack Butala: Used to be. I don’t know if it still is.
Jill DeWit: Was it?
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: Oh my gosh. That’s so funny.
Jack Butala: Well you’ve done it again, wasted another 30 minutes listening to the Jack Jill Show. Join us tomorrow where we discuss what happens with real estate inheritance. It’s a little bit more complicated than you think.
Jill DeWit: Super cool, and we answer your questions, should you have one, post it on our online community found on JackJill.com. Go there, it’s free.
Jack Butala: You are not alone in your real estate ambition. Good show.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: Probably lost half of our listeners.
Jill DeWit: I know. That’s okay. It’s weed them out week. Just kidding.
Jack Butala: I wish we could do that with the kids.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Jack Butala: Weed them out week.
Jill DeWit: Weed them out week.
Jack Butala: I love weed them out week.
Jill DeWit: Yeah.
Jack Butala: Actually that applies to so much stuff.
Jill DeWit: It really does.
Jack Butala: I’m going to write that down.
Jill DeWit: Again, dating.
Jack Butala: Weed them out week.
Jill DeWit: Weed them out week. Instead of rush week or whatever week, weed them out week. Shark week …
Jack Butala: We should have an acquisition close out week, because there’s always, no matter what you do, I go into our acquisition system, and there’s just stragglers constantly. There’s constantly like 10% of those deals that come in, we’re on the fence about, so they just sit there in the system forever.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, and the people call back like, “Are you sure you don’t want it? Are you sure you don’t want it?” The more they call back, the less I want it.
Jack Butala: Yeah, why is that?
Jill DeWit: Isn’t that funny?
Jack Butala: We should just have no emotion about it at all.
Jill DeWit: I’m like, “Oh.”
Jack Butala: Numbers make sense or they don’t.
Jill DeWit: Well you know, it’s like, you need to make a decision and move on too, I think, so if we say no, then the answer’s no. You know what, that’s a good point. I need to probably get better with the staff of saying, “The answer’s no unless A, B, C and D are done.”
Jack Butala: Right.
Jill DeWit: Unless they do all A, B, C, D we don’t want to talk to them.
Jack Butala: Well, I mean we have, this is how I know our staff is doing their job because they don’t want to kill a deal. They’ll do anything to make the deal happen.
Jill DeWit: I know.
Jack Butala: I think that’s really a great place for us to be, and if they’re complacent, and they’re like, “Eh, I’ll just wait til you guys decide, whatever.”
Jill DeWit: It’s true.
Jack Butala: That would be bad.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, they do want to make the deals.
Jack Butala: Yeah.
Jill DeWit: I get it. That’s really, really good. Hey, share the fun by subscribing at iTunes or wherever you’re listening, and while you’re at it, rate us there please.
Jack Butala: We are Jack and Jill. Information …
Jill DeWit: And inspiration.
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