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

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? 

🛑 STOP.... Back It Down... all that BIG chatter of anything HUGE you’re gonna do (Believe me it’s now imprinted in your unconscious) ✅ START... Be Attached To... 1. A Micro - Commitment 2. A deadline and someone to measure it 3. Keep that commitment. 4. Get a Victory. 5. Gain Confidence. 6. Momentum.... and leave all the Big Talkers in the dust while they are still planning and figuring out how they are going to do it perfectly and living their life... Getting Ready To Get Ready....

What is an iBuyer?

Compass launches bridge loan program In partnership with Better.com and Freedom Mortgage, Compass aims to help homeowners make a downpayment on a new home before they sell their old one     Compass CEO: No plans for IPO in next 18 months Robert Reffkin told The Real Deal that Compass doesn't plan to go public in the next 18 months, and a Compass spokesperson said WeWork's failed IPO won't impact the company's plans   “We have enough capital where we don’t need to go public,” Reffkin told The Real Deal. Reffkin, in the interview, also declined to disclose how much capital the company has. A spokesperson for Compass declined to elaborate, saying there isn’t any more to tell regarding the initial public offering (IPO), other than what’s been reported. WeWork’s failed IPO doesn’t have any bearing on Compass’ plans, a spokesperson for the company told Inman.       Supreme Court to take on CFPB constitutionality case   The Supreme Court announced Friday it will take on the case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership.   2015-2017 a battle between the CFPB and PHH began, starting with a $103 million increase to a $6 million fine initially levied against PHH for allegedly illegally referring consumers to mortgage insurers in exchange for kickbacks.   And now the Supreme Court has agreed to take on the case. As it stands now, President Donald Trump cannot fire the CFPB director unless it’s for cause. The previous decision made the CFPB director fireable at will, but that’s not the case anymore as the case continues to be challenged in court.     Senate Democrats call on FHFA to undo changes to new Uniform Residential Loan Application 19 Democrats want language preference question restored to main form   But with the deadline looming in early 2020, the FHFA announced earlier this year that it would be delaying the implementation deadline and ordered the GSEs to remove the language preference question and housing counseling information from the updated URLA form.   As part of the change, the language preference question and the homeownership education and housing counseling question were to be moved to a separate voluntary form.

About the Episode My guest today is Brad Inman, a man who has revolutionized real estate by informing and empowering agents through his site, Inman News. His passion for entrepreneurship, giving the underdog a voice, changing the industry to create a better consumer experience and engaging with people, is a huge reason he has gained so much respect in the industry.    The amount of change in our industry is driving so much panic and uncertainty, and Iman News has always been a place agents can turn to for the real truth about where the industry is and where it’s going. By not reporting only on things that are positive or politically correct in the industry, his platform helps agents build stronger businesses that can survive and thrive to different shifts and phases.    Brad is an award-winning journalist and publisher and the founder and owner of Inman, real estate’s leading name in news, information and innovation. His knowledge of the real estate industry dates back to his days as a syndicated real estate columnist with the San Francisco Examiner. In addition, his Inman-branded real estate business and technology conferences bring thousands of thought leaders together each year to share best practices and promote innovation.    In order to navigate these uncertain times in our industry, we need to understand the need for emotional, market and technology intelligence. The emotional intelligence part is key because it helps us serve our people better, and it helps us build relationships, because these relationships will demystify these uncertain times. At the end of the day,  people are looking for collaboration, counsel, and advice. If we provide that, we’ll make it through any shift.   In Today’s Episode, We Talk About; The importance of changing the industry to create a better consumer experience.   What Brad wishes all Realtors were aware of, and how to control the erosion of buyer/seller relationships.   Why Brad operates without calendars and some of the downsides of technology.  Why he advocates for the people that don’t have a voice.   The opiate crisis and how it’s devastating communities and families.   How to make sense of all the uncertainty in the industry now.