Agents to Agents

Christian: [0:00] Hello there, and welcome to another edition of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is Christian Awesome of the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty Exchange, Inc, and today we have a terrific topic for everybody. We're gonna be picking the brains of the Awesome Nossum Group agents, and digging into some of the best practices that they have uncovered on their real estate trail. And I say trail because honestly, especially when you're first getting into real estate, it can feel like you're hiking through the wilderness. You never know what is around the next turn. So first off, let's say hi to the team so they can start sharing what they've discovered in their day-to-day adventures as real estate agents. So first off, we have the one, the only, the data guru himself, Mr. Jason Saldarriaga.

Jason: [0:41] Yes, we do.

Christian: [0:44] We have the Seattle native, Ms. Reed Watson.

Reed: [0:47] That's Reed with two Es. It's gonna come up later.

Christian: [0:50] Yes, it will. And the one and only dog whisperer, Mr. Les Cutting.

Les: [0:55] Woof, woof.

Christian: [0:58] All right, so this is gonna be a fun, and I think empowering, especially for anyone brand new to real estate, um, as a, as a real estate agent. Uh, I think this is gonna be a really good, good conversation that we're gonna have. Um, I wish I had access to this kind of candid breakdown of the things that we run into out in the wild world of real estate when we first got started. Um, and for our buyers and sellers, hearing us agents discuss some of these daily ins and outs will probably be a great resource for you and your next venture out into the buying and selling landscape. Uh, one thing I love about this job is that it is never boring. That is for damn sure. Uh, there's always something popping up, and our job as agents is to give you, the client, the best possible experience without necessarily letting you see us sweat. From toilet paper to inspections, we're gonna cover an array of things that agents can do to set themselves up, and other agents up, for success. So let's dive in. Les, let's start with some basic tips for agents. What are the few things that you like to keep on hand that you might need for a listing?

Les: [2:04] Well, I like to have booties. Mm. And the reason why is because we live in the Pacific Northwest, so 9 months out of 12 it's often wet, so sellers, they have to keep the place clean for prospective buyers. So I keep booties on hand. They don't want you trailing through, tracking mud through the house, so booties are an essential item that every real estate agent should keep in their car. Wear the booties. They're good for you, and it keeps the sellers happy, and potentially it'll keep you happy if you step on a nail. So you don't want a nail through your foot.

Jason: [2:37] Amen. Yeah, I can't, I can't believe I'm gonna mention this, but something that, uh, I think is pretty important, it's come in handy on multiple occasions for, for me and my clients. It's nice to have a roll of toilet paper and some hand soap in the property. You know, I realize some sellers, rightfully so, are a little iffy about just letting people use their bathrooms, but emergencies do arise, and, uh, it's not uncommon maybe to allocate one bathroom as the one to use if needed. I carry toilet paper and soap in my car because, again, emergencies arise. Sometimes you're out shopping for hours as a, you know, and then you're meeting your agent three hours later to look at a few properties, and in the middle you're like, "Oh, goodness, I need to use the restroom." And, uh, having that stuff on-hand can be very helpful.

Reed: [3:28] Yeah. Yeah. Speak- speaking of emergencies, everybody should keep a first aid kit in their car, but I've also had that come in really handy just for s- really small things. Definitely recommend a first aid kit as well.

Christian: [3:39] Mm-hmm. Those are both very good points, as well as the shoe booties. Very, very important. And that's really what a lot of our work is about. It's really thinking about all of these little but very important details. Jason, what are some other tips for new agents?

Jason: [3:55] Yeah, kind of continuing on with what Les was saying, when I'm helping clients, I want the experience to be as seamless as possible for them. Um, and this is true whether I'm representing buyers or sellers. So something for any of you agents out there to keep in mind, this can be mutually beneficial and not adversarial or mutually exclusive. So at the, at the root, the smoother the showing experience is, the better impression the buyers will have on the property. This bodes well for you if you are the listing agent, and the flip side's also true. So the more information and care that you put into the listing side of things, the more interest you'll likely obtain from buyers, the more showings. It's a win-win at the end of the day, right? So I do recommend taking time to put yourself in the other agent's shoes. For example, if it's hard to park near a listing- It's great to give the agent suggestions on where to park. Having a hard time parking is, quite frankly, a surefire way to start the showing off on the wrong foot. I've had it happen multiple times, and then the client just has a negative impression of the property. You know? It's not something you want to start with. Relatedly, some listings, and this is especially true for condos, they have gate codes, and the units can be kinda hard to find. So letting showing agents know about any of the quirks regarding access is just really helpful. Um, things like how to find the unit in the complex, maybe which street to approach the property from. There can be really specific things, like sometimes a door sticks or, you know, the lock needs, like, a certain movement to unlock properly. Uh- Mm-hmm … I've had that multiple times.

Christian: [5:46] Oh, yeah.

Jason: [5:46] There's a lot of finicky doors out there.

Christian: [5:48] Mm-hmm.

Jason: [5:49] Along the same lines, if a property has multiple keys, you know, this is, like, really shocking, but labeling them, that can really help make things a lot easier. And, uh, I recommend trying all the locks. If a key sticks or something, a little WD-40 can go a long way. Uh, actually, I had a, an experience once. I was arriving to a property to show a client. Just as I was walking up to the front door, the previous agent that was showing it was just leaving, and she stood at the front door for a bit, kind of messing with the door lock, and then turned around with quite a grim look on her face. The key had broken off in the lock, and-

Christian: [6:35] Geez … Jason: it wasn't, like, protruded. It was, like, in the lock. So- Alongside my toilet paper stash, I also have some tools in my car. And I could not for the life of me get this, this thing out of the lock. So I called the agent, the listing agent, and, uh, fortunately, they were a step ahead. They knew how to do this. Good agents usually do this, experienced agents. He had a duplicate key on the property that was in a contractor's combo lock, and so that saved the day. We were able to access the property from the rear, and then he, of course, dropped by pretty much immediately with a locksmith to fix the, the, the front door. So anyways, moral of the story, too long, didn't read. Anything you can do to help ensure the potential buyer has a positive experience will just increase the likelihood of a sale. Again, this is a win-win. Yeah, and that, that actual situation just happened to me. I just came from setting up a new listing of ours, and there was only one key on site. The owner had moved across the country. So I just ran to Home Depot, got another key made, bought or actually had a combination key box in my car, 'cause that's what we do, put it on the property in a different spot, and just left that in there just in case something like that happens or an agent locks the keys inside the house, which definitely happens from… And that way someone can actually get inside. These are all super helpful examples of ways to kind of set other agents and yourself up for success, especially when an agent might not, might not have time to preview a listing, which means looking at it ahead of time, uh, before you actually show your client. Um, it's not the best look to be, like, messing around with gate codes or wandering around the building while also trying to provide the best client experience. Um, I'm sure we've all been there, where you're in this massive condo complex that you've probably been to before, but they're often a maze, and trying to find the unit can sometimes be very difficult. So having these tips written out would be super helpful, other agents. Uh, Reed, what do you have for us? Uh, what have you learned to help things go more smoothly in this wonderful wide world of real estate?

Reed: [8:53] Yeah, I have a couple of good, um, communication oriented- Mm. Yes … tips. And the first one seems really obvious. It's just be accessible and respond to questions, right? Whether it's, just like Jason was saying, it's mutually beneficial whether you're the listing agent or the buyer's agent. Be responsive, answer questions as promptly as you can so that the buyer has the best experience and best information about the property, and the seller's property is being well represented, and everybody knows what's going on. I think that's a, just a really important one. Another thing that's really helpful is just to make sure all of your contact info in the Northwest MLS system is up to date so that anyone who wants to get ahold of you is able to do so and doesn't have out-of-date information. That one's pretty simple. Something else I like to do, which is great so long as that information is up to date, is just always copy and paste contact info, whether it's a phone number or an email address or even the agent's name Or the seller's name. Don't assume that it's spelled a certain way. I can't tell you how many times people email me at reid@wilsonrealtyexchange, which is not my email address, or they'll email reid@awesomenossum.com, and it's spelled R-E-I-D, and then they're confused about why I didn't respond. And it's because I didn't get it because that's not my email address. Not your name. Um, I've even… My name is Reed Watson. I've even had multiple people write me in as Reid Wilson because they're just reading through things really quick and they see Wilson Realty Exchange, Inc. So it's always just the best practice to copy and paste. It's faster that way, and then you just, you know that you have the right contact info. Yeah. Makes it easier for everyone.

Christian: [10:42] Yeah. So obvious, yet also a really good tip to remind ourselves. Yeah. I mean, this really is about keeping the lines of communication open, right? I mean, l- like for instance, if we have a seller that we're working with that has an offer review date, let's say it's on Tuesday, but on Friday we receive this amazing early offer that we're seriously considering because it's just blown the seller's socks off in terms of either how high the price is and/or how good the terms are, um, before we actually accept that offer, I make sure to reach out to every single agent who has already shown interest in the home before we actually accept the offer. That's doing the best job that we can for our clients because, one, even though it's a lot of extra work on our end as the agent, um, it's definitely the right thing to do for our client to try to see if other a- o- other buyers want to make an offer and, and really drum up the price, get that price better, and the terms better for that matter. So it's very important. I've, I'm sure we've all had situations where we had a client that we showed the house to, they really liked it, they're planning to make an offer, and then all of a sudden, even though the offer review date's a few days away, the s- the listing is now pending and it's no longer available. That just happened to me last week. So, um, it's really annoying when that happens, so please reach out to all the agents that have reached out to you saying they have a client that's interested, and let them know that that's an option. Um, when working with a buyer who's actually making an offer on a home, we also like to send, like, a quick summary of the offer terms in the email, and this helps the listing agent get a quick understanding of the offer without having to flip through all 20 pages to understand what the offer actually looks like. I mean, you could s- you can really summarize the main points of an offer in five or seven bullet points. It's really not that hard. So it's really smart to do that ahead of time when you're making an offer for a buyer. Um, and that actually brings up a good point of interacting with those other agents less. Uh, do you have any tips about that?

Les: [12:51] Yeah, for sure. For sure. Um, I've been in the business long enough to where, you know, you run into the same agents. Um, especially, like, in Seattle area, you start running into the same people if you do a lot of business and, um, you know, you're sh- actively showing clients. So reputation's definitely key. Um, you know, you don't want to come off as a really push- pushy or aggressive person, or as a person that doesn't seem competent or does their job, um, because that can be very frustrating for all part- parties involved. I mean, it, it becomes a chain reaction. If one agent isn't good at their job, they… it just becomes a chain reaction for everybody involved in the transaction. So that's one thing I learned along the way. Just never be super, super pushy or aggressive, but never be the person that doesn't do your job either, because reputation's key. And, um, that's something that agents will consider if you're in a multiple offer situation, for example. You know, um, how you work is, um… You know, what's the saying that Bob says, uh, Christian? How you do everything is… What's that saying? How you,

Christian: [13:53] how you do anything is how you do everything.

Les: [13:57] Right. And that's something that I really live by. So I really do try to be professional as much as possible and, um, you know, make it a really good experience for, you know, whoever I'm dealing with, whether it's the other agent and their client, my client and the agent, lender, escrow, all involved. Um- Another important thing I've learned over the year is to not take things personally. Um, move- remove your emotions from the transaction as much as possible. Now, that doesn't mean to be a cold, heartless person, but at the same time, remember agents against agents, um, it's never about us. It's always about representing our clients and to the best of our abilities. Um, another thing I've definitely learned is to over-communicate as to waiting until something happens, because that could backfire on you. Um, I've been in transactions where, you know, the other side has waited till literally the last second to tell me that something is going to happen, and it just never ends up well. So as soon as you find something out that, you know, whether it's good or bad, just let the other side know. I think other people will have more respect for you as an agent if you're upfront and honest versus if you're trying to sweep things up under the rug. That's never the way to go about stuff. So- Preach. Um, if you wanna, uh, last in this business, it's, you know, your reputation's everything. So just do everything to the best of your abilities, and remember, it's never about you, the agent. It's about our clients and how we, uh, represent them.

Christian: [15:29] Yeah, that's a really good point. And, I mean, also just don't assume things. Don't assume anything. Like, ask. Um-

Les: [15:36] Right.

Christian: [15:36] Right … I, I've definitely learned that lesson the hard way a few times when I first started out a good, oh, 16 years ago. Right. Um, and yeah, it's, it's not about us. It's, it's really about representing that client that has hired us. Right. And that's our job.

Les: [15:50] I'm gonna give a- That's what I'm gonna give another, I'm gonna give another, um, another… Charlie. Charlie's our managing broker, but he always says, "Never assume anything. It makes an ass out of you and me."

Christian: [16:02] There you go. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And that brings up another good point. It, it's really important to, to just be honest all the time. Just be honest. Holding information hostage is not the way to maximize the client experience. And, um, I know, Reed, you've had experience with this. Like, what would you tell a new agent about being upfront when working on deals together?

Reed: [16:26] Yeah, honesty is the best policy. And it's just whether it's good or bad news, be upfront about it. Like Les said, be timely with the information, and just be transparent. So if there's something really wrong with a property that your buyer is really in love with, don't hold off on giving them that information. They need to know that, and they need to know it as soon as you know it. That's a really important one. On the listing side of things, don't lie or really overinflate having multiple offers in an attempt to increase the purchase price and start a bidding war. Sometimes it's, you know, agents will say, "Oh yeah, you know, we do have other offers." And if you do have other offers, then that's great. But if you're lying about that and way overrepresenting the interest in the property, you can get caught up in a lie, and with escalation clauses and things like that these days, you can actually end up in quite a bit of trouble and not have represented your seller to the best- Yeah of your ability. And that, that

Christian: [17:31] piggybacks exactly off of what Les was saying. Mm-hmm. Like, your reputation is everything. Don't-

Reed: [17:35] Totally … Speaker: don't try to get one deal put together, but ruin your reputation for every other deal moving forward. Yeah. Right. I think something else that kind of goes along with being honest, especially as a buyer's agent, is being honest about the market. And in this really crazy market, that's a really important thing to do. So something we like to do is have our clients do a sold search where they do a search of properties that have recently sold, and this helps them understand not just what things are being listed for, but what things are actually selling for so that they have a really good, honest view of the market before they start looking at properties. It just helps everybody out and helps them be able to stick to their budget.

Christian: [18:18] Exactly. Yeah, approaching deals with honesty and integrity is, you know, really number one. And that, it really brings me back to the beginning of my real estate career some 16-plus years ago. And there were some agents that, you know, my first few offers, that really treated me well, and with respect, even though they could tell that I was brand new and still trying to figure everything out. Um, and I really appreciated that so much, and I still know who those agents are to this day. Most of them are still in the business, uh, and I've worked with them on numerous occasions. Um, uh, and I know that that's what our team really tries to do. When we work with new agents, we're not trying to screw them over, we're trying to help them put a deal together with us, uh, because even if they're new, we were all new at one point, and it's really important to really just work together. That is the goal at the end of the day. So we've talked honesty, emotions, and toilet paper Do you have any more technical suggestions for new agents there, Jason?

Jason: [19:21] No. Uh, yeah. Uh, yeah, a, a couple things. So specifically to buyer's agents, I would stress the importance of having your clients get an inspection on every house that they present an offer on. I always get pretty nervous when a buyer waives their inspection contingency just flat out without first consulting an inspection of some kind. That can be through doing a pre-inspection or reviewing a seller-procured inspection report. So there are options out there. Um, in my book, the same goes for waiving pretty much everything: financing, appraisal, title contingencies. In this competitive market that we've been in for years now, but especially in the last year, it can be advantageous if not, quite frankly, just necessary at the end of the day to waive a lot of these contingencies in order to make your offer stronger. But as an agent, I think you really, your service is to advise your clients that by doing so, they are taking on more risk, hence why the offer is stronger in the seller's eyes. So it's important that buyers are okay with that risk and that they understand how they are weighing, at the end of the day, weighing that risk versus the benefit, how that plays out. So keep in mind there are ways to mitigate this risk substantially. A few examples, I just mentioned doing a pre-inspection before waiving an inspection contingency. Perhaps, you know, you can look up comparable sales to see how the appraisal might play out if you're waiving the appraisal contingency.

Here's a big one: [21:09] getting buyers to be fully pre-underwritten upfront so that they have their end of the loan figured out and, uh, just verified before they waive a financing contingency. It's a huge way to mitigate a lot of the risk that you as a buyer would be taking on by waiving all, you know, the financing contingency because by doing so, you are committing to purchasing the property regardless of whether you can get a loan or not. So agents out there Always advise your clients on this mitigation each step forward. Manage it. Understand what the risk is, and work through that with your client. So it does take some planning and effort, but at the end of the day, it's quite frankly worth it. This market moves really fast, so procrastinators don't do as well in my book, and they quite frankly end up putting on more risk that is just unnecessary.

Christian: [22:06] Yep. Totally agree. Those are awesome suggestions. Mm-hmm. Nice work, team. I think we shared a lot of helpful insight into what we do to give our clients the bex- best experience possible. Uh, do we have any final thoughts or advice for new agents?

Reed: [22:20] Yes. Hire a real photographer. Do not use your phone to take pictures of a listing. It's just distracting with off-kilter photos or seeing the agent in the bathroom mirror- … kind of focusing on that instead of the lovely tile work in the bathroom. Those are my favorite photos though. I know. They're fun. Yeah. I

Les: [22:41] actually- Um,

Reed: [22:42] take, get a real photographer.

Les: [22:44] I actually have a funny story about that. So this is when I first started and I was calling on expired listing. For those, um, who don't know what an expired listing is, it's when a listing is on for a period and it goes past its listing term, so it, it becomes an expired listing. So I looked at the pictures and I called the seller up and I said, "The reason why your house didn't sell is because I can see your agent taking a picture with his iPhone. You can see the Apple logo inside the- … in the window." And literally I got professional pictures taken, I got the listing, and it sold at the exact same price.

Christian: [23:22] Sheez. Yeah. It just goes to show, I mean, photos are everything. They're so important. Um, maybe they're not everything, but it's a huge plus, 'cause that's the first really, you know, I guess view into that listing, that home. You gotta, you gotta invest in that. Flip phone photos, iPhone photos, as good as an iPhone is, it is not the same. And a professional photographer, a good professional photographer will also edit like the lighting a little bit and, and really just make the home look its best. Mm-hmm. Uh, thank you everybody for joining us, us on this episode of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. If you wanna put the expertise and experience of the Awesome Nossum Group to work for you, just reach out. You can always schedule a time to chat with us on our website AwesomeNossumGroup.com/schedule. And like everything we do, there's absolutely no pressure in any of these meetings with us. We just wanna answer your questions and help you get the answers that you need to make an informed decision. That's it for this episode of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. Thanks for joining us. Until next time.