In today’s episode of the Kevin and Fred show, I’m joined by real estate powerhouse, leader and entrepreneur, kwELITE CEO, Jeff Cohn. Throughout his real estate career Jeff has broken several records, including running one of the fastest growing teams in the world going from 70 - 700 sales in 6 years, and this year growing his brokerage by 300% in just 10 months.    What’s so unique about Jeff’s journey is how he’s grown his business by scaling himself out of every role so he can focus on where he is most impactful. He took a risk and got out of production early in his team ownership journey, something many people in our industry aren’t willing to do.    The thing that holds most people back from building a team and getting out of production is the need for every single dollar they’ve become accustomed to earning as a high paid salesperson. It’s hard and scary-as-hell to consider a short-term sacrifice that can be life changing in the long run. We don’t necessarily have to be involved in the sales process to be financially successful, and we can actually generate more wealth and make a bigger impact by trading in the money from production in order to get our time back.    Jeff Cohn is a nationally renowned speaker and host of The Team Building Podcast, is CEO of a tech-powered Keller Williams market center in Omaha, NE. As founder of Omaha’s Elite Real Estate Group, now kwELITE, he led his team from 70 to 700 transactions in 6 years, and was awarded the #1 team in unit sales in the world at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2019. Since beginning his real estate career in 2006, Jeff’s team has closed over 5,000 sales, totaling over $1 billion in volume. Devoted to ongoing learning throughout his career, Jeff has forged strategic relationships with industry leaders across the country, listened to thousands of hours of podcasts and read hundreds of books, providing him with a vast knowledge base. Jeff is considered a foremost real estate expert due to these efforts, and as founder and CEO of Elite Real Estate Systems, a coaching company, offers the annual Team Building Summit, monthly workshops, and weekly coaching calls. As a credit to his extensive know-how, Jeff speaks frequently at various events throughout the US and Canada.   The temporary pain that it takes to get out of production is worth it for the people who take the risk. Ultimately, there’s one truth about the most successful people in our industry. The bigger the step backwards they’re willing to take in the short-term, the bigger the leap forward in results, income, impact and growth they’ll have.   Guest Info   Jeff Cohn is a nationally renowned speaker and host of The Team Building Podcast, is CEO of a tech-powered Keller Williams market center in Omaha, NE. As founder of Omaha’s Elite Real Estate Group, now kwELITE, he led his team from 70 to 700 transactions in 6 years, and was awarded the #1 team in unit sales in the world at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2019. Since beginning his real estate career in 2006, Jeff’s team has closed over 5,000 sales, totaling over $1 billion in volume.   Devoted to ongoing learning throughout his career, Jeff has forged strategic relationships with industry leaders across the country, listened to thousands of hours of podcasts and read hundreds of books, providing him with a vast knowledge base. Jeff is considered a foremost real estate expert due to these efforts, and as founder and CEO of Elite Real Estate Systems, a coaching company, offers the annual Team Building Summit, monthly workshops, and weekly coaching calls. As a credit to his extensive know-how, Jeff speaks frequently at various events throughout the US and Canada.   Website:http://growwithers.com/ Social Media:  Follow @jeffmcohn on Instagram 

In today’s episode of the Kevin and Fred show, I’m joined by Denver real estate and mortgage entrepreneur, Daniel Dixon. It’s been great to see Daniel grow his business and forge a different path and the incredible success he’s been able to achieve in 6 years in the business.    He is running a black-owned, women-led, home-grown business, and building an empire that’s big enough for the goals and dreams of everyone on his team. What makes Daniel’s business growth journey so unique is his swift transition from selling to being an entrepreneur early on. Many agents fear and retreat from this for as long as possible, and Daniel is an exception.    Daniel Dixon is the team leader of the Dixon Group, a black-owned, female led and home grown team in Denver Colorado. His team also runs a lending business in house, which services up to 80% of their buyer deals. The Dixon Group offers a full range of real estate services. Their goal is to enhance each client’s life through real estate—whether by finding an amazing family home, selling a property to fund other plans, or getting into real estate investment.   As agents, we have the opportunity to not just have a great income, but to also build a life that allows us to put our families first. But this is only possible if we focus on building an actual business, not just selling real estate. For Daniel, this has always been the goal, or “the sticker on the wall” as he calls it, and that clarity has driven every single decision he has made.     To learn more about the charitable foundation please visit. https://www.jlkfoundation.com/   Guest Info   Daniel Dixon is the team leader of the Dixon Group, a black-owned, female led and home grown team in Denver Colorado. His team also runs a lending business in house, which services up to 80% of their buyer deals. The Dixon Group offers a full range of real estate services. Their goal is to enhance each client’s life through real estate—whether by finding an amazing family home, selling a property to fund other plans, or getting into real estate investment. For more information, follow @dixonsoldit on Instagram and send an email to daniel@dgdenver.com.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by entrepreneur, real estate investor and founder and CEO of the Rastegar Property Company, Ari Rastegar. With investments in 38 cities, 12 states, and 7 different asset classes, Ari has a unique perspective on the real estate market we’re in right now and the changes and opportunities we can expect.   2020 was a year of big political and economic shifts, and they all impacted real estate in interesting ways. 2021 promises a market correction, but there’s still a lot to be optimistic about.    Ari is the founder and CEO of the Rastegar Property Company. Rastegar Property Company is a vertically integrated, real estate investment firm based in Austin, TX that focuses on recession resilient assets that generate current income with the ability for long-term appreciation. Leveraging his 10+ years of institutional real estate investing, Ari founded Rastegar Property Company with a single mission: make it simple to access high-quality, recession-resilient, income producing real estate investments. He specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and institutional partners to build real estate portfolios in fast-growing markets designed to reduce risk and provide strong returns.   While it seems like it’s all gloom and doom, there’s actually a lot to feel positive about. Success belongs to the people who are optimistic, look for the opportunity while still having a strong conviction around what they’re doing.   Guest Info   Ari is the founder and CEO of the Rastegar Property Company. Rastegar Property Company is a vertically integrated, real estate investment firm based in Austin, TX that focuses on recession resilient assets that generate current income with the ability for long-term appreciation. Leveraging his 10+ years of institutional real estate investing, Ari founded Rastegar Property Company with a single mission: make it simple to access high-quality, recession-resilient, income producing real estate investments. He specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and institutional partners to build real estate portfolios in fast-growing markets designed to reduce risk and provide strong returns.   https://rastegarproperty.com/

Quotes    Coaching companies have become so prevalent in our industry because of the abdication by the broker of the training of the people in their organizations. -Kelley Skar     Even though real estate is a hyper-local business, you have to have a world view, unless you’re in it for the short run. -Kevin Kauffman  Key Points    The competitive advantage of leading with value  Teaching and being of value in our industry can be a competitive advantage in the market. Instead of having the scarcity mindset that we might be training our competition, we need to focus on giving without an expectation of what will and won’t happen.    Focus on the right numbers Many top teams aren’t making as much money as we think because their overhead is too high. Teams often grow so rapidly and uncontrollably that they end up losing money. In our industry, we make the mistake of highlighting the top line number instead of the amount of money we’re actually keeping.     The issue with many coaching programs in our business  One of the biggest problems in our industry is the fact that the people and the institutions that have a platform are trying to sell something or get into our pockets. There’s nothing wrong with selling, but when everything we do is about getting people to swipe their credit cards, we’re missing out on the opportunity to truly impact lives and empower people.    Disruption can be good for agents  The disruption in our industry by companies like Zillow is good because it’s forcing people to up their game at the highest level. If agents want to remain relevant, they can’t be complacent, they have to figure out how to keep up and adapt.  What real estate will look like in the future  The real estate agent will still be necessary in the future, but what’s still to be determined is the level and capacity. There’ll be fewer agents, and through technology we’ll be able to process a lot more transactions, a lot easier and faster with a lot less BS in the transactional part. But this future only exists for agents who put the right pieces in place to remain relevant.    The biggest indicator of the future of real estate  Consumer buying behavior is one of the greatest indicators of the direction our industry is taking. The generation of people who are going to be buying homes in 2020 years are digital natives. The capacity that we’re going to exist in is going to be dictated by the service the consumer is going to expect.    How agents are becoming more empowered  The brokerage world is antiquated and still only exists because of the laws that are in place and the way the legalities of this industry work. But agents on the front lines are realizing their power and forcing disruption into the model. We’re responsible for the revenue of this industry and that means we have a voice that can create change if we use it. 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Canadian agent Kelley Skar. There are so many parallels between Kelley’s journey in real estate and our own journey, from the early wins, to a book that completely changed the trajectories of our businesses, to some of the hard-won lessons we’ve learned along the way. Kelley’s evolution in real estate is jam-packed with powerful insights and lessons, and sharing it is just one way he uses his experience to help other agents and to give back to the industry.    Kelley is a second generation REALTOR® in his 14th year of business. He is an internationally-known speaker, coach, co-host of the popular Real Estate podcast Real Conversations, and founder of rewrittn. He is a cheesehead through and through, loves to coach baseball, shred up the Canadian Rockies, and watch his twins play every sport imaginable. He is a lover of life and makes every effort to live every day to the fullest. His favourite quote comes by way of his loving wife: “Part of living a full life and showing up on a regular basis is being able to savour the small things, taking a moment to enjoy the sun on your face or finding joy in watching someone you love, do something they love. To laugh and laugh on purpose.”   Kelley started rewrittn to help Realtors® fill a massive void in their marketing that could help to drive traffic to their websites, gain repeat and referral business and stay connected with their clients on a bi weekly basis.   The stories of the most successful people have one thing in common, their ability to keep moving forward even under the toughest circumstances and biggest challenges. The evolution of any business owner is going to involve huge setbacks, wrong turns and wading through the mud to get to the other side. Success doesn’t happen overnight because the lessons that are baked into the hardships are a necessary part of that journey.    Guest Info   Kelley is a second generation REALTOR® in his 14th year of business. He is an internationally-known speaker, coach, co-host of the popular Real Estate podcast Real Conversations, and founder of rewrittn. He is a cheesehead through and through, loves to coach baseball, shred up the Canadian Rockies, and watch his twins play every sport imaginable. He is a lover of life and makes every effort to live every day to the fullest. His favourite quote comes by way of his loving wife: “Part of living a full life and showing up on a regular basis is being able to savour the small things, taking a moment to enjoy the sun on your face or finding joy in watching someone you love, do something they love. To laugh and laugh on purpose.”   Kelley started rewrittn to help Realtors® fill a massive void in their marketing that could help to drive traffic to their websites, gain repeat and referral business and stay connected with their clients on a bi weekly basis.   Podcast: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/real-conversations-kelley-skar-S6dgh3pBXND/ Contact: kelley@rewrittn.com

MBA: Forbearance rate holds, but exits are slowing   After two weeks of slight increases, the U.S. forbearance rate, measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments, remained unchanged from the week prior at 5.54%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA estimates there are still 2.8 million homeowners in some form of mortgage forbearance.   Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance gained for the first time in 25 weeks on Dec. 1, however, they fell once again last week to 3.34% – a 2-basis-point improvement. The GSE’s forbearance rate overall has improved immensely, now down by more than 50% since its peak in late May.   Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, noted that while new forbearance requests declined this week, exits slowed to a new low for the series       Sundae raises $36 million in Series B funding Company pairs sellers of distressed properties with potential buyers   Sellers go to Sundae’s marketplace to request an offer, then a member of the company sets up a brief home visit, or virtual walk-through, and makes an offer on the home. If the seller accepts the offer and an inspection is completed, Sundae offers a $10,000 cash advance prior to closing to help homeowners with moving costs and other expenses. The property is then offered on its marketplace for investors to bid on.   Sundae doesn’t charge closing costs or agent fees, but charges buyers in its investor marketplace a fee when it “assigns” them a property.   Residential real estate marketplace Sundae has announced it closed $36 million in Series B funding on Tuesday, led by QED Investors and with additional participation from Founders Fund, Susa Ventures, Navitas Capital, Prudence Holdings and General Global Capital.     FHA raises loan limit by nearly $25,000 for 2021   Given massive year-over-year gains in home prices, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing its 2021 loan limit in most of the U.S. to $356,362, an increase of nearly $25,000 over 2020’s loan limit of $331,760.   That loan limit figure is determined as a percentage of the national conforming loan limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is increasing in 2021 to $548,250.   FHA’s 2020 minimum national loan limit, or “floor,” of $356,362 is 65% of the national conforming loan limit of $548,250. This floor applies to low-cost areas, which are counties where 115% of the median home price is less than the floor limit.   In approximately 65 high-cost U.S. counties where the median home price far exceeds the FHA’s loan limit floor, the FHA is increasing its 2021 loan limit to $822,375, close to a whopping $57,000 increase over 2020’s total of $765,600.

In this episode, I’m joined by real estate investor, Katy Klesitz. This year alone, she bought 52 single family rental properties in two midwest markets all from her home out-of-state. She put a remote investing strategy in place, which allows her to grow her portfolio in great markets and use systems to run things at a high level. She’s a bad ass business owner and mom, building something amazing on her own terms.     Katy basically owns a we buy houses company that helps homeowners get a cash offer to sell their home quickly in Omaha and Waco. (her cash offers almost always include the cost of repairs and upkeep to bring the property inline with full market value).    She grew up in a real estate family and around the real estate world her whole life. She has taken her real estate knowledge and applied it to a business model that works for her and allows her to do something she cares about.    Many moms want to build really cool businesses, and it seems intimidating from outside looking in, but it is possible. We just have to start, keep going and let the results compound over time.    https://holdworkshop.paperform.co/   Website: Katy & Frank Home BuyersEmail: katyklesitz@gmail.comPhone: 402-802-9634

In this episode of the Kevin and Fred Show, I’m joined by Garrett Maroon, a real estate team leader who has built a highly successful business through systematic relationship-building and referrals. What makes him unique is that his business thrives on the intention of never working over 40 hours a week.   Garrett is an entrepreneur, coach, the President of Business By Referral LLC and owner of Maroon Group. Business By Referral LLC exists to help real estate agents work less, make more and have fun doing it. Garrett also runs a small, real estate team in Hampton Roads. They have finished in the top 3% out of 7200 agents three years in a row working almost exclusively by referral.    We don’t have to get pulled into a cookie-cutter model that doesn’t align with us or subscribe to so-called industry conventions. The beauty of real estate is that we have the power to decide and design the kind of business we want, and how it fits into our lives.    Guest Info   Garrett is an entrepreneur, coach, the President of Business By Referral LLC and owner of Maroon Group. Business By Referral LLC exists to help real estate agents work less, make more and have fun doing it. Garrett also runs a small, real estate team in Hampton Roads. They have finished in the top 3% out of 7200 agents three years in a row working almost exclusively by referral.    Guest Info: www.businessbyreferral.co https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-maroon-50b06135/

In today’s episode of the Kevin and Fred show, Gary Vee returns for another great conversation. Today, we talk about the lessons we should be learning from what’s going on right now. It’s clear that our world is never going back to the way it was, and that is the new normal.    Many people are unhappy, and could use this time to make a change, but they don’t because they are too invested in where they are right now. This sunk cost fallacy isn’t only false, it’s also a recipe for unhappiness and regret.    Gary Vee’s message: choose happiness over money and status, and have the humility to take a strategic step backwards to create the life you want. A house, car or social status is not worth dying inside.    Gary Vaynerchuk is the chairman of VaynerX, a modern-day media and communications holding company and the active CEO of VaynerMedia, a full-service advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients across the company’s 4 locations.   In addition to VaynerMedia, VaynerX also includes Gallery Media Group, which houses women’s lifestyle brand PureWow and men's lifestyle brand ONE37pm. In addition to running VaynerMedia, Gary also serves as a partner in the athlete representation agency VaynerSports, cannabis-focused branding and marketing agency Green Street and restaurant reservations app Resy.   Gary is a highly sought after public speaker, a 5-time New York Times bestselling author, as well as a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, and Uber. Guest Info   Gary Vaynerchuk is the chairman of VaynerX, a modern-day media and communications holding company and the active CEO of VaynerMedia, a full-service advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients across the company’s 4 locations.   In addition to VaynerMedia, VaynerX also includes Gallery Media Group, which houses women’s lifestyle brand PureWow and men's lifestyle brand ONE37pm. In addition to running VaynerMedia, Gary also serves as a partner in the athlete representation agency VaynerSports, cannabis-focused branding and marketing agency Green Street and restaurant reservations app Resy.   Gary is a highly sought after public speaker, a 5-time New York Times bestselling author, as well as a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, and Uber.