Next Level Agents: The Kevin & Fred Show - Interviews with the best and brightest minds in the real estate industry

Hey you... yes you The one with your phone in your hand...     I think it could be time for a break...   If you’re up for a challenge listen to this and join us in a short, fun,  & energizing challenge...

What about a Down Market?

***Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver launch Referral Guarantee Program Go to https://kevinandfred.com/guarantee     ***National Association of Realtors mulls MLS pocket listing policy The new policy is a response to limited-exposure and 'coming soon' marketing practices and would require agents to share exclusive listings with MLS members   The “Clear Cooperation Policy” was announced Friday and would require agents and brokers to share any listings that “are being publicly marketed” with other members of their MLS, according to a NAR statement. Every listing wouldn’t have to end up in any given MLS’s IDX feed. But the listings would at least have to be “available” somehow “so that other participant brokers have access to them and can bring potential buyers.”   “The center of the policy is Bright’s belief that the practice of marketing properties off the MLS, known as ‘pocket listings,’ puts brokers’ own interests before consumers while creating the appearance of (and enabling) fair housing law violations,” Donnellan argues in the letter.     ***Realogy teams with AARP to launch reward platform for seniors The new cash-back rewards platform is another way for the company to generate leads for its agents Through the program, AARP members will earn either cash-back or a bonus at closing, when they buy or sell a home with an agent at one of the companies brands, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty.    Americans over the age of 50 still represent a large portion of the home buying and selling population, according to Realogy, citing the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) generational trends report, published in August 2019. Americans over the age of 50 made up nearly 40 percent of homebuyers and still represent the largest group of home sellers at 55 percent.   In certain states that don’t allow a cashback bonus, Realogy will offer either a gift card or a commission reduction.     ***OfferPad Choice - check out iMinute episode 3

About the Episode   On this episode, I’m joined by successful agent and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR), Grant Lopez. His story is rare for many reasons, including the fact that he chose a career in real estate straight out the gate, not as a second career. He also joined SABOR because he prioritizes solving the lack of volunteer leadership we have in this industry. Very often real estate agents are only focused on sales, and we ignore making an impact and paying forward everything we have learned. “We’re really only as good as the leaders that step up.” Grant has taken it upon himself to better our industry through volunteer coaching and teaching. On top of that he balances that with listing appointments, following up on leads, and builder clients. He credits his calendar for keeping everything on track. It has all paid off for Grant. Very often real estate agents know the things they need to do to take their business to their next level, but they aren’t committed enough to doing them. Having a calendar is one thing, but if we want to improve at something, we have to be committed to the time we spend on that activity. If we don’t do this, that activity will always fall by the wayside and our businesses will never grow.  In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   - How Grant chose real estate straight out the gate, which isn’t very common. - Inevitable market adjustments and what it takes to thrive through them.  - Why we need to think beyond sales and numbers.  - Why Grant lives by his calendar, and why he’s so committed to it  - How to build relationships with new construction builders. - Things we can do to be better. Guest Info   Grant Lopez is a licensed REALTOR and third-generation San Antonian. Grant is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR), which is the largest trade association in South Texas. At SABOR Grant has served on several committees, most recently as Chair of the MLS committee which has over 10,000 subscribers. Grant is also a proud member of the Greater San Antonio Builder’s Association (GSABA) and currently serves on the Sales & Marketing Council and the Young Professional Leadership Council.    

Where did iBuyers originate? Will they last?

Have you ever considered why are you enjoy doing some activities and why you enjoy hanging out with certain people?   What and who gives you energy?   What in your business is annoying you or weighing heavy on you?   Let’s go through a little exercise together to guarantee we start to get more : ✅ Joy in our work ✅ Output form our work activities ✅ Deeper relationships with those we enjoy being around.

In the News this week: OfferPad Choice!

**Judge denies Keller Williams' motion to dismiss tech vendor suit**   Keller Williams filed an answer to the complaint, acknowledging it began a relationship with TPI Cloud Hosting in 2015 concerning software development   Keller Williams sought to dismiss the lawsuit under the state’s economic loss doctrine, which precludes claims of fraud in cases where the damages claimed are just the economic loss to the plaintiff of the contract itself.   “Plaintiff’s complaint includes allegations that fraudulent statements were made, identifies three of defendant’s agents who allegedly made the statements, identifies a date range when the statements were allegedly made, the location where the statements were allegedly made, and why the allegedly false statements were false,” Nowlin said in his decision not to dismiss the case.     **Zillow pulls Remine's Zestimate access after 'critical' statement**   Zillow has cut off Remine’s access to its Zestimate application programming interface (API), which will prevent Remine from including Zillow’s automated valuation model in the printed reports, property detail pages and comparative market analyses it provides real estate clients.   Remine Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Spinetto confirmed the move to Inman on Friday, citing recent statements Remine made as one of the reasons for the move. “I do not know all the reasons why Zillow did this,” Spinetto told Inman. “However the reason we were provided is that they took exception to some of our recent statements, which they viewed as critical of Zillow.”     **Total Expert raises $52M, plans to beef up staff and tech**   The financial services company specializes in marketing technology and has so far raised a total of $86M across multiple funding rounds   Total Expert, a banking and lending marketing software company, announced Thursday that it has raised $52 million, which it plans to spend on new staffers and on beefing up its technology.  The new cash came as part of a Series C funding round and brings Total Expert’s overall haul to $86 million. The Minneapolis-based company currently employs 218 people, but now hopes to begin hiring new data scientists and technology other experts, as well as accelerate “the development of its APIs, machine learning and AI capabilities.”

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by Open Door’s Agent Growth Manager, Nima Khanghahi. He has built his career around his passion for real estate, and bringing value to agents, who he believes should always be the center of the transaction, even with all the disruption in our industry. The purpose of his professional life has always been elevating others and this has also seeped into his goal to educate real estate agents about the iBuyer model, so that instead of seeing it as a competition against them, they can recognize the opportunities we have to integrate within it and actually create a better experience for customers. A lot of people still don’t know how to feel about iBuyers, and how to have conversations with clients about them. We’ve made real estate more confusing for the consumer, even though it’s supposed to be simpler, so Nima joins me to not only demystify iBuyers, but to also share why agents shouldn’t feel threatened, and why we are still very necessary in the process of buying and selling homes.    At Opendoor, Nima works with the REALTOR community to help inform them of iBuying trends and how best to capitalize on this emerging real estate technology. Prior to joining Opendoor, Nima spent nearly 15 years in the real estate industry as a coach, trainer and educator to REALTORS®. He is also host of the “Nima the Speaker” podcast, in which he interviews top agents from around the country on trends they’re seeing and how to deploy evolving best practices. As a keynote speaker and customer experience strategist, Nima’s passion comes from helping agents identify what motivates them, uncovering their goals and delivering a creative approach to achieving those goals.   If agents truly want to be the center of the transaction in 2019, iBuyers are part of that conversation, and our clients need us to simplify the options that are out there. We are the ones who can educate them, help them and add to the value we can bring to the table. Agents are an important part of the community, and we have a lot of influence in this space. iBuyers need us to be a part of the process, they are aware of how valuable we can be. In order for us to get in front of the opportunity, we have to be willing to educate ourselves. Not acknowledging and embracing them will do a disservice to our industry and the communities that we serve, and that’s the most important thing.   In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   - Why a good team and crew is the key to long-term success in any industry. - Nima’s life and work before Opendoor, and the power of elevating others.  - Nima’s role as an agent growth manager and how he helps to empower agents.  How does he win at his job within open door.  - The two challenges real estate agents have when it comes to iBuyers.  - A simple definition of iBuyers.  - Why we should see iBuyers as being complementary to our business not competition.  - How iBuyers provide convenience and certainty and why that’s so valuable.  Guest Info   Nima is an agent growth manager at Opendoor, he works with the REALTOR community to help inform them of iBuying trends and how best to capitalize on this emerging real estate technology. Prior to joining Opendoor, Nima spent nearly 15 years in the real estate industry as a coach, trainer and educator to REALTORS®. He is also host of the “Nima the Speaker” podcast, in which he interviews top agents from around the country on trends they’re seeing and how to deploy evolving best practices. Go to https://www.opendoor.com/agents for more information. 

What is the cost structure of iBuyers?