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

***IBM sues Zillow over multiple charges of patent infringementIBM alleges in the lawsuit that Zillow built its business on software developed by IBM The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Zillow essentially built its business on the back of IBM’s inventions. “Rather than build their business on their own technologies, Zillow has appropriated the inventions of the [patents named in the lawsuit],” the complaint reads. “The website, www.zillow.com, and the associated mobile applications under Zillow’s control use the technology claimed by the [patents named in the lawsuit], to provide customers access to real estate listings and provide advertisements and other services for real estate agents.” The lawsuit specifically points to patents covering the use of algorithms for computing the desirability of a geographic area using dynamic imaging; methods for providing geospatial, list-based and filter-based search; the use of layers to display multiple object categories; automatically targeting advertisements to individual search results rather than search queries; and a host of other, more technical patents. ***Fed lowers interest rates again. Will mortgage rates follow?Economists and agents offered different opinions on how the 2nd rate cut of the year will impact housing market The Fed is cutting interest rates 25 basis points from between 2 percent and 2.25 percent to between 1.75 percent and 2 percent. It had previously signaled it would not hike rates at all in 2019 – after four rate hikes in 2018 – but now it actually cut rates for the second time. ***Foreclosure starts plummet to 18-year lowLoans in active foreclosure sinks to lowest level since 2005 Foreclosure starts in August sank to their lowest level in more than 18 years, according to the latest First Look report from Black Knight. Foreclosure starts fell to 36,200 for the month, down more than 23% from the same time last year, the report showed. This is actually the lowest number for any single month since December 2000. In fact, the number of loans in active foreclosure continued to improve, dropping to 253,000. This represents the smallest level since 2005.  ***Compass launches new consumer search tools, says IPO 'likely'  & Compass opens West Coast tech hub 2 blocks from Amazon’s headquartersRobert Reffkin announced Monday that Compass has new, artificial intelligence-driven tools that will give consumers home recommendations and let them collaborate with their agents Compass, a real estate brokerage and tech company, opened an office in Seattle that’s two blocks from Amazon’s headquarters and a mile from Zillow’s main offices.New York-based Compass now has three floors of a new building at 503 Westlake Avenue that will eventually house over 100 engineers and 70 operations staff. The Seattle campus will be Compass' West Coast technology hub and will be the nexus of the company's six regional offices in Washington, the company said in a statement. 

About the Episode On this episode, I talk to mega-influencer, media and entrepreneurship powerhouse, Gary Vaynerchuk, a man who has revolutionized how business owners communicate and operate. Through his business ventures, Gary has been able to build massive companies that aren’t just successful in terms of social media popularity, but also run as well oiled machines operationally, something many entities struggle with. Gary’s businesses have been successful because he understands the importance of patience when building something that can dominate for years.    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.   Gary is currently the subject of DailyVee, an online documentary series highlighting what it’s like to be a CEO and public figure in today’s digital world, as well the host of The GaryVee Audio Experience, a top 100 global podcast, and host of #AskGaryVee, a business and advice Q&A show which can be found on both YouTube and Facebook. Gary also appeared as judge in Apple’s first original series “Planet of the Apps” alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba and Will.i.am.   As business owners, we are often so focused on short-term ROI that we kill our own long-term success. Gary’s success at building massive, solid and profitable companies comes down to his ability to put his focus on the future, not getting instant gratification now.      In Today’s Episode, We Talk About; Why we shouldn’t be too worried about short-term ROI.  How to practice patience with an unknown future looming over our heads.  The most misunderstood thing about Gary Vee.  

✅ “Never delay taking corrective action once the problem has been recognized” 😳 If you’re like me, that hit you hard... Take a listen here on this week’s business tip as we dive deeper into The Road Less Stupid. There are so many great lessons in this book that we want to share more with you....

California nears statewide rent control   Now awaiting sign-off from Gov. Gavin Newsom after state's two legislative bodies both approved the measure.   The bill will cap annual rent increases by 5%, including the rate of inflation. In addition to the rent cap, a bill known as AB-1482, the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, will allow “just cause” eviction policies to qualified housing in California.    California, one of the nation's priciest housing markets, is following Oregon’s footsteps in enacting rent control. In March, Oregon approved a law placing an annual limit on rent increases of 7% plus inflation. The bill appears to have Newsom's support, as the governor tweeted that “The rent is too damn high -- so we’re damn sure doing something about it” and “Because there should be a cap on how much you pay for rent...Because your landlord shouldn’t be able to evict you for no reason.”        Zillow Offers is live in San Diego San Diego is the 17th market to offer homebuyers quick-close, all-cash offers from the real estate tech giant - San Diego is the 17th market for its 17-month old iBuyer platform Zillow Offers. WOW!     Ben Kinney partners with early mentor for new real estate coaching service Forward Coaching is the joint effort of Debbie De Grote and Ben Kinney Companies. https://forwardcoaching.com/     Average FICO scores hit all-time high The credit reporting firm said this week that the average score has now hit 706, marking a dramatic turnaround from a decade ago when average scores bottomed out. FICO vice president for scores and analytics Ethan Dornhelm wrote that “there have been nine consecutive years of increases in the national average FICO Score” to bring this year’s average to 706. Average scores had previously bottomed out a decade ago, in October 2009, during the housing and financial crisis. At that time, the average score fell all the way to 686.   “The key driver of this trend,” he explained, “is the improved consumer financial health that has resulted from the steady economic growth that the U.S. has experienced since the Great Recession.”

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by inspirational entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and co-founder of GoBundance, Pat Hiban. He has built an incredible legacy that goes beyond real estate and business. He has put work into helping other entrepreneurs build legacies and inspired the masses by showing what it takes to have staying power in entrepreneurship. Pat has done the leg work in the real estate business, including being a pioneer in the realm of building a real estate team, growing a team of 54 members, losing almost all his savings in the stock market crash, and building it all back up from the ground. Now, he’s on a mission to inspire people and provide much needed mentorship to those who need it. He wrote “6 Steps to 7 Figures, A Real Estate Professional’s Guide Building Wealth and Creating your Destiny.” He co-founded GoBundance, a mastermind organization that has grown to 200 members. He has taken this further by writing a second book Tribe of Millionaires, in which Gobundance members share valuable life lessons.  In our industry, one of the things that’s really lacking is the combination of hard work and consistency, and as a result, many agents are failing to build businesses that have long-term success. Another big issue is the lack of mentorship for all of the agents. Pat and other top-producing entrepreneurs are evidence that success requires us to roll up our sleeves, stay consistent and persistent, put ourselves around the right people. “Proximity is power, and it does matter who we hang out with. We can all get better from the sum of our parts.”    In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   02:54 - How Pat grew a team of 54 people.  08:19 - Marketing campaigns, main lead levers and the value of follow-up. 16:53 - How Pat lost $800k in retirement savings in the stock market crash and bounced back.  22:06  - Pat’s new book, Tribe of Millionaires   27:50 - The value of masterminds Guest Info   Pat Hiban is an Author, Speaker, Podcast Host of Real Estate Rockstars and Co-founder of GoBundance. He is also an avid real estate investor, and a venture capitalist.  Website: http://www.gobundance.com/.   To get a FREE copy of his new book Tribe of Millionaires, and only pay for shipping, go to https://www.tribeofmillionaires.com/.  Buy the Kindle version of the book here. 

Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac The Trump administration released its long-awaited plan to reform the nation’s housing finance system and privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, calling it the "last unfinished business of the financial crisis." The recommendations include: "simplifying" the Qualified Mortgage rule and eliminating the so-called QM patch that allows Fannie and Freddie to sidestep some regulations; reducing "unnecessary regulatory impediments" for private-label securitization; and promoting private-sector competition.   Realogy makes major structural changes amid market stumble The company is consolidating its Coldwell Banker operations, launching an expansion brands portfolio and carving out a new product and innovation footprint Amidst the changes, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO Sherry Chris will shift into a new role as chief executive across the expansion brands portfolio of Better Homes and Gardens, ERA Real Estate and Climb Real Estate, for which she’ll be tasked with building a leadership team. ERA Real Estate CEO Simon Chen will head up Realogy’s new product and innovation team.   Former Realogy exec temporarily barred from Compass' alleged 'dummy' job A New Jersey judge says Compass was complicit in accepting proprietary information and created a 'dummy job' to recruit Urvin Pandya   IBuying giant Opendoor acquires title and escrow company Opendoor believes that by acquiring OS National it will be able to provide consumers the 'most streamlined and easiest closing experience'   Zillow seeks $1.1B in fresh capital The company is offering $600M in senior notes due in 2024 and another $500M in senior notes due in 2026

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by real estate team owner, coach and someone who is equally a student and a master of our industry and our craft, Matt Fetick. He already knows a lot, but has never put continued learning on the backburner for himself and his agents. He has built a real estate and business empire that doesn’t just span states, it stretches to England too! He focuses on unlocking high productivity, seeing solutions not setbacks, and reminding agents that the deal is never about them.     Matt Fetick is the Owner and CEO of The Matt Fetick Team, which he started in 2006. His care for clients and calm in any crisis were drawn from years as a police officer and a paramedic. Matt has quickly become the leading real estate agent in the greater Philadelphia region ranking in the top 100 of Keller Williams Real Estate internationally and number 1 locally. Matt's team delivers excellent real estate services to buyers, sellers, builders, banks and short sale loss mitigation. Matt teaches real estate agents and is a highly sought after speaker both in the United States and Internationally. He owns and operates not only a successful sales team, but also 3 brokerages, a title insurance agency, a mortgage company, and real estate investments.    It takes a certain level of being of service to be able to achieve the level of success that Matt has, and it all starts with understanding that we are consultants who are there to serve the client not the deal. Most agents think the customer is their buyer or seller but the problem with agents is that mindset gets in the way of serving the client. We need to always remember that once the client signs an agreement with us, we are no longer salespeople, but consultants who are there to serve them. The minute we treat the deal like it’s ours, is the minute we lose sight of what we’re in this business for.   In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   05:45 - Taking advantage of the short sell market.  11:03 - How agents can get out of the way of the deal.  16:15 - The biggest financial mistakes agents make.  25:21 - Running businesses in different countries.  34:47 - Teaching and being impactful online.  42:55 - Top pieces of advice for a successful life  Guest Info Website: https://mattsmasterminds.com.  To get a 10% discount off the training course the promo code NEXTLEVEL.

What’s the difference between a commitment and a goal?  Is there a difference to you?  There is a huge a difference to me us and we’d like to share why with you in this quick episode.

On this week's episode of Industry Headlines with Kevin and Fred we discuss:  Redfin to publicly display buyer's agent commissions on its listings Opendoor is now a mortgage lender, launches Opendoor Home Loans Amazon dives into home sales with new $105K property AS of January 1, 2020, VA Loans No Cap Guaranty