WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.800 Hello and welcome to the Spotlight Vancouver 00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:04.780 podcast. I am your host, Doug Varenas, licensed 00:00:04.780 --> 00:00:07.400 real estate agent in Washington and Oregon. Today 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.660 on the show, I have my good friend Nick Aufenkamp. 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:13.359 He is a real estate agent and founder of DIY 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:16.500 Homebuyer Academy, a consultation service for 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:20.219 buyers who want to go it alone without an agent. 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:23.480 He provides consultative services for them, as 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.359 well as full service real estate services. I 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:27.960 think it's a really interesting conversation 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.149 because We talk about changes in the real estate 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:34.130 industry and how he is empowering homebuyers 00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:36.189 to take charge of that process and save themselves 00:00:36.189 --> 00:00:38.670 a lot of money. So I think this is a really great 00:00:38.670 --> 00:00:41.009 episode just to inform yourself on what's going 00:00:41.009 --> 00:00:45.130 on in real estate and how the consumer is being 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:49.609 empowered more and more and just that you can 00:00:49.609 --> 00:00:52.630 buy a home by yourself. So I think this is really 00:00:52.630 --> 00:00:55.469 interesting and I had a great conversation with 00:00:55.469 --> 00:00:57.210 Nick and I hope you enjoy it. Let's get into 00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:02.200 it. Hey, everybody. Today, my guest on the show 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:05.799 is Nick Offenkamp. He is a real estate agent, 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.859 an entrepreneur. He is the co -host of the Abundant 00:01:09.859 --> 00:01:15.439 Journey podcast and the founder of DIY Home Buying 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.890 Academy, which is set to disrupt. how people 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:22.810 buy homes. And he's an all around good guy. And 00:01:22.810 --> 00:01:25.090 I consider him a friend. Welcome to the show, 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:27.890 Nick. I appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much, 00:01:27.909 --> 00:01:31.329 man. I consider you to be one of my greatest 00:01:31.329 --> 00:01:33.390 friends, especially in the real estate industry. 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:36.010 I have loved getting to know you over the past 00:01:36.010 --> 00:01:37.709 couple of years and the number of times that 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:39.810 we've gotten together. And so this feels like 00:01:39.810 --> 00:01:42.170 the most natural thing in the world other than 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:44.609 the microphones. Yeah, we had some technical 00:01:44.609 --> 00:01:47.370 difficulties before we got started. And yes, 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:50.019 we don't usually talk with microphones. But if 00:01:50.019 --> 00:01:53.159 you're a real estate agent, you're on social 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.739 media quite a bit. So you're always sort of, 00:01:55.739 --> 00:01:58.719 I don't know, I feel like I get tired of myself 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.340 sometimes. It's part of having a business is 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:05.980 putting yourself out there. But it's always a 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:10.139 joy. I tell people that you're one of the people 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:12.020 that's just a real day brightener. Just getting 00:02:12.020 --> 00:02:15.060 together and chatting is always just like, I 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.840 always feel better. um and like more energized 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:21.159 when we get together and talk so i appreciate 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:24.039 you for that and i haven't had a guest in a while 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.120 man thank you yeah i haven't had a guest in a 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:29.740 while so i'm hoping not to pounce on you too 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:32.199 hard like i'm just excited to like be talking 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:34.340 to somebody it's been like a lot of solo episodes 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:38.900 so i guess like i i'd love to hear like we're 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:41.060 gonna get into diy home buying academy because 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.379 this is like gonna it's pissing off a lot of 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.840 people It is. I wouldn't normally associate that 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:48.860 with you. Like, I don't think Nick often can't 00:02:48.860 --> 00:02:52.669 piss their offer of people. And so we're going 00:02:52.669 --> 00:02:54.229 to get we're going to get down to the bottom 00:02:54.229 --> 00:02:56.129 of why people this is like kind of upsetting 00:02:56.129 --> 00:02:58.250 to people, especially other real estate agents. 00:02:58.330 --> 00:03:02.009 So for the record, I think it's cool and think 00:03:02.009 --> 00:03:04.889 it's actually a net positive for the real estate 00:03:04.889 --> 00:03:07.550 industry and for realtors in general. I really 00:03:07.550 --> 00:03:09.750 do, because I feel like the more the consumer 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:12.930 knows, the more they appreciate their own role 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:15.110 in it. So like they have the information that 00:03:15.110 --> 00:03:18.069 they can take responsibility for their own stuff, 00:03:18.169 --> 00:03:20.069 but then they also appreciate what a realtor 00:03:20.069 --> 00:03:23.500 can do. for them too. So I feel like it's a net 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:25.639 gain. And again, we're going to get into that. 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:27.620 But I wanted to kind of just get some background 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:30.520 of how you got into real estate. And have you 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.319 always been a rebel rouser? Yeah, that's a great 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.240 question. I think while all throughout kind of 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.340 growing up in early adulthood, the most common 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:42.180 description, yeah, Nick, he's such a nice guy. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.580 But I do think that I have a strong contrarian 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.599 streak that runs all the way through me. And 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:51.479 I also just The way that I look at the world, 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.759 I always am asking why. Why do we do it this 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:56.719 way? Is there a better way? Why did we establish 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.000 things? And I really struggle to just accept 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.960 the status quo, which has made it difficult. 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.419 at times for employers to employ me or have me 00:04:06.419 --> 00:04:09.539 on there. So, you know, the path of entrepreneurship 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:12.039 and being my own business owner lends itself 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.159 well to being somebody that's kind of always 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:17.779 asking why and challenging the status quo. So 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:21.100 yes, the nice guy who can also be annoying with 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:23.899 all of his questions and pushing for better, 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.699 more efficient ways, more equitable ways of doing 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:29.399 life and business. And the way that I got into 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.790 real estate, I was living in Minnesota and working 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.689 in a totally different industry, but wanted to 00:04:35.689 --> 00:04:38.550 get into real estate investing and had a friend 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:42.009 that was a realtor and investor. And so he helped 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:45.990 us buy our first property, which we were able 00:04:45.990 --> 00:04:48.629 to convert a basement into an Airbnb. And then 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:51.399 he helped us with buying a fix and flip. And 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:53.279 just the more and more that I was talking about 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.579 real estate investing and getting into it, the 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:57.879 more I was also looking at the commissions that 00:04:57.879 --> 00:04:59.699 were going to him as the buyer's agent. And I 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:01.879 just thought, wow, I'd really love to be able 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:04.620 to do that myself and hopefully save. some money 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:07.259 that way. So I went and got licensed. And this 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:09.319 was all around the time of COVID. I also had 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:11.800 a career change, moved from Minnesota to Washington, 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:15.660 and then took a job with a builder here in Clark 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:18.699 County, New Tradition Homes, which I love New 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:21.060 Tradition. I could just sing their praises for 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:23.160 the whole rest of this episode if we wanted to 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.279 pivot that direction. But I'll leave it at that 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.600 for now. It was an amazing way to get introduced 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.379 to the real estate industry, but also unique 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:33.019 in that about half of the buyers that I dealt 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:36.259 with did not have a buyer's agent, which is much 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:38.879 more typical in new construction for a buyer 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.339 to be unrepresented, as we call it within the 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:45.949 real estate industry. It was just after a few 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:47.990 years with the builder that I decided, you know, 00:05:48.009 --> 00:05:50.730 I'm going to expand my horizons a bit and decided 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:54.329 to go out and start my own more traditional real 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:57.209 estate business working as a broker. And so that's 00:05:57.209 --> 00:06:00.009 when I started what I call the Tartan team, which 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:03.209 is an homage to my father -in -law. And then 00:06:03.209 --> 00:06:05.430 it's been in the last year that I've been the 00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:08.009 real estate agent gone rogue, who's now teaching 00:06:08.009 --> 00:06:10.009 people how to buy homes without a real estate 00:06:10.009 --> 00:06:14.449 agent. So that's broad brush strokes. how everything 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:17.750 has evolved, but it's been a good journey. I've 00:06:17.750 --> 00:06:21.149 really, really enjoyed it. Yeah, I mean, that's 00:06:21.149 --> 00:06:24.350 certainly an evolution. It's going from the role 00:06:24.350 --> 00:06:27.009 of an investor and then wanting to be more involved 00:06:27.009 --> 00:06:32.910 in that process and now seeing that shift that's 00:06:32.910 --> 00:06:35.250 happening in the industry and then adapting to 00:06:35.250 --> 00:06:38.370 it, I think that's really smart and forward thinking. 00:06:38.709 --> 00:06:43.160 And we had some conversations about that. The 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:46.839 Sitzer versus Burnett lawsuit came up. I don't 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.079 want to get into it too much, but basically it 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:53.160 is decoupling the commissions from the listing 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.939 agent and the buyer's agent. So technically, 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:59.279 buyers are responsible for paying that commission 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.420 to their agent. Although for the most part, it's 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:05.480 being negotiated with sellers for the most part. 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:10.860 But DIY Homebuyer Academy is set to disrupt this 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:14.120 system. And I want to hear more about how you 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:18.540 came to that business model and what your thoughts 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:20.420 are. And so maybe just give people an overview 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:23.759 of what DIY Homebuyer Academy is. I got my daughter 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.600 in the background here. So yeah, tell us more 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:28.339 about DIY Homebuyer Academy and the process that 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:31.329 you went involved to come to that. business model 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:34.670 that service yeah most simply what the diy homebuyer 00:07:34.670 --> 00:07:37.689 academy is is it's uh I look at myself as an 00:07:37.689 --> 00:07:41.550 educator and empower of consumers. And so as 00:07:41.550 --> 00:07:44.470 much as I would like to take credit for inventing 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:47.189 the self -represented or unrepresented buyer, 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:50.230 believe it or not, I did not create that category. 00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:52.569 There were people that were buying homes without 00:07:52.569 --> 00:07:56.449 real estate agents long, long before I ever entered 00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:59.170 the scene. Some people will be shocked by that. 00:07:59.250 --> 00:08:02.250 Some of the realtors that are in my comments 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:06.019 on my short form posts that, you know, you. would 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:08.420 think that I was creating a category that had 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:11.240 never previously existed. That's not the case. 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:14.459 There's always been a segment of homebuyers, 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:18.600 albeit small, like three to four percent of all 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:22.160 homebuyers are self -represented by choice. But 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.040 with the changes coming out of that lawsuit and 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:28.360 settlement that you mentioned against NAR, buyers 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.339 are now being confronted in a way that they weren't 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:33.980 ever before with the cost of having a buyer's 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:36.679 agent. And whether they're paying the buyer agent 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:38.919 out of pocket or whether it's the seller paying 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:41.659 in a concession or a credit, that buyer agent 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:44.559 is adding typically between two and three percent 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:47.259 to the costs of the real estate transaction. 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.019 And especially on some of these higher price 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:52.860 point homes and one point five, two million dollar 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:54.759 homes. You know, I was talking with a guy the 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.059 other day that was like, I'm buying a two million 00:08:57.059 --> 00:08:59.379 dollar home. My buyer agent would be getting 00:08:59.379 --> 00:09:03.139 sixty thousand dollars in commission. I don't 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:05.820 know that it's worth it. And that is a fair question 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:08.980 for consumers to ask. What kind of services am 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:12.320 I getting relative to the $60 ,000 that is going 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:16.059 to my agent? So I just recognized pretty early 00:09:16.059 --> 00:09:19.779 on that this segment of unrepresented buyers 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:22.399 is going to grow. more people are going to ask 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:24.980 that value proposition and they're going to look 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:27.740 for alternatives. And then looking at what's 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:31.759 available online to educate homebuyers how to 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:33.700 go through the homebuying process themselves, 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:36.059 I just found that there's like this huge void. 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:38.899 Like if you go on YouTube, pretty much anything 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:41.980 that's how to buy a home, the first point is, 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:44.080 well, hire a good buyer's agent. And then it's 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:45.679 kind of, you know, here's what you look for in 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.299 a good buyer's agent and all the things that 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:49.080 they're going to do for you, which is great. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:52.320 Like I am still... a buyer's agent. I still help 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.019 people with buying homes, but I'm just realizing, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.360 wow, there's a real opportunity to serve home 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:03.179 buyers and make transactions better for the listing 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:06.559 agents that are working with the unrepresented 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:09.779 buyers if that... consumer is educated. And even 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.139 to your point earlier, I just think that an educated 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:14.620 consumer is the best consumer because even if 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:16.600 they get educated and then decide, wow, this 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:18.940 is way more than I want to take on, I am going 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.620 to hire a buyer agent. They have a far greater 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:24.159 appreciation of what their buyer agent is doing. 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:26.500 And like you said, they're far more invested 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:29.700 just in the process of buying a home. So I see 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:32.360 it as wins all the way around. In practice, the 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:34.940 way that this got started was I was helping some 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:37.940 friends locally sell their home. and then purchase 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:40.919 another home. And they found the home that they 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.960 wanted to buy on Airbnb of all places. They were 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:46.440 struggling to find it on market. I found an Airbnb 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:48.500 that they loved. They reached out to the hosts 00:10:48.500 --> 00:10:50.779 through the Airbnb platform and asked if they'd 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:53.419 be willing to sell. And the hosts or the owners 00:10:53.419 --> 00:10:55.340 of the property said, yes, but we don't want 00:10:55.340 --> 00:10:57.159 to involve any real estate agents. We don't want 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.940 to pay any of those fees. And so I worked out 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.100 an arrangement with these friends of mine to 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:04.620 basically coach them through the home buying 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:08.399 process at a very nominal. fee. And that was 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:10.480 kind of my experiment. Now, these are very entrepreneurial, 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.799 competent sort of folks. It wasn't their first 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:16.419 home that they were buying, but... The process 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:19.080 went so smooth. And that was, you know, before 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:22.120 I had formalized DIY Homebuyer Academy, just 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:24.799 experimenting with, can I coach somebody through 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.720 this as an unrepresented buyer? And the answer 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.580 at the end of that was, yes, I can. And because 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:33.440 they were buying like a $1 .3 million property, 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:37.539 I mean, they saved over 30 grand in real estate 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:41.000 commissions just on the buy side alone. And that 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.080 felt really good, like going to bed and being 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.750 like, man, I saved my friends. 30 grand. That's 00:11:46.750 --> 00:11:49.490 huge in terms of creating value for somebody. 00:11:49.730 --> 00:11:52.549 So a lot of this for me is just motivated by 00:11:52.549 --> 00:11:54.990 the fact that there are already consumers wanting 00:11:54.990 --> 00:11:57.419 to. represent themselves. I want to help them 00:11:57.419 --> 00:12:00.179 do that well and create a lot of value for folks 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.799 in doing that. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:06.580 And I think, to be honest, I can see that sort 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:10.460 of model where all agents have to be able to 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:13.440 express what their value proposition is. What 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.039 are they doing for that commission, as you mentioned? 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.919 And I do feel like as you go up the price point, 00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:22.519 that fee based on percentage, I mean, if you 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.320 get some pushback on that, I think that's fair. 00:12:24.649 --> 00:12:26.409 And so I do think these are all fair questions. 00:12:26.490 --> 00:12:29.830 And I can see a time when like all real estate 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.389 agents will have that sort of what you're doing, 00:12:32.429 --> 00:12:35.250 plus the traditional way of helping buyers and 00:12:35.250 --> 00:12:37.429 sellers like in their back pocket, where they're 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:39.610 just they can help you guide you through the 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:42.509 process and also be more hands on as needed. 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:45.370 Because as those consumers get more educated, 00:12:45.590 --> 00:12:48.629 they realize like, I want to do this, I'm motivated, 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:51.759 I have an interest in doing it myself, or Like, 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:54.080 wow, there's a lot involved in this transaction. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.279 I'm okay paying this fee to my agent because 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.580 I know what I'm getting. I know the service they're 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:03.399 providing and I'm okay with that. I think there's 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:05.840 a lot of people out there like that too. So really 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:08.320 you're just expanding that addressable market 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:11.019 of people. And like you said, helping people 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.799 who are already doing this or want to do this, 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:16.139 but it's pissing a lot of agents off because 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:19.820 it's threatening. Like you're saying you don't 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:21.980 need them and it's like coming after their bottom 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:26.820 line and their livelihood and stuff. So yeah. 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:28.620 I mean, what are the comments? Like what are 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.379 the comments you've gotten? Like what's the. 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:34.320 Yeah. I mean, they range from just the, the utterly 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:38.090 absurd to the utterly. incorrect it's funny because 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:41.029 i set out to do a home buyer education and i 00:13:41.029 --> 00:13:44.350 feel like a third to sometimes half of what i'm 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.669 doing is actually agent education it's it's almost 00:13:47.669 --> 00:13:50.570 automatic that whenever i post a short form video 00:13:50.570 --> 00:13:53.860 on tick tock i'm gonna have some agent that comes 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.279 into the comments and is like, I don't do dual 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:59.220 agency. It's like, okay, let me explain what 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:01.659 the difference between dual agency and working 00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:05.000 with an unrepresented buyer is because they're 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.860 not the same. There's also a lot of listing agents 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:12.059 that, well, they'll say, I can't show a home 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:14.600 to an unrepresented buyer without having a buyer 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.799 broker services agreement or a buyer agency agreement. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.519 That's the new rule and requirement. It's like, 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.039 wait a second. No, even on NAR's own website, 00:14:23.049 --> 00:14:25.789 Like you can a listing agent can always show 00:14:25.789 --> 00:14:28.889 their own listings to a self. So there's there's 00:14:28.889 --> 00:14:32.289 a lot of just correcting misconceptions that 00:14:32.289 --> 00:14:35.330 I think I think a lot of these agents are sincere, 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:38.159 but they just. don't know better. Now, that still 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.519 scares me. I don't see that as an excuse because 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:43.279 these are people that are getting paid extremely 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:47.320 well to help consumers handle some of the most 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:50.940 significant financial transactions of their life. 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:54.379 And so for agents to not know what the rules 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:56.840 are, to not understand the differences between 00:14:56.840 --> 00:14:58.940 dual agency and working with a self -represented 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:02.279 buyer, to forbid self -represented buyers access 00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:05.299 to their listings, I don't think there's any 00:15:05.299 --> 00:15:09.139 excuse. for that but I also I realize that some 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:11.820 of these people are not malintentioned but then 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:13.919 there are the other segment of people that are 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.340 commenting on my stuff where they do they see 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:20.600 it as a huge threat because they half the time 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:23.600 they're buyers agents and if consumers are empowered 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:26.820 to not have to use a buyer agent then that dries 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:30.080 up some of their pool of potential addressable 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.299 market. It's an industry that just doesn't like 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:36.759 change as it is. But most, most of the attacks 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:38.759 that I get from those people are not based on 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:41.200 any sort of rationale or reason. They're just 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.980 personal attacks of, you know, this Nick guy 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:46.419 is an idiot. Don't ever listen to him. He's a 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:48.940 failed agent that couldn't hang. And so therefore, 00:15:49.139 --> 00:15:52.299 you know, those who can't do teach kind of thing. 00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:58.139 And that's like, well. Okay. Right. Just your 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:01.659 standard garden variety troll on social media. 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:04.659 Yeah. Well, you know what? I find that and throughout 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:07.019 history, I'm sure you know this, like the people 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:09.460 that take the most flack and get attacked for 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:11.740 something, an idea that they have or a service 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:13.379 they're providing, it means you're onto something, 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.379 man. So I find that's an encouraging thing to 00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:19.440 see is that you get those trolls and that just 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:24.049 kind of. fear. I want to be the lawsuit that 00:16:24.049 --> 00:16:26.730 Sisser versus Burnett, the NAR lawsuit has just 00:16:26.730 --> 00:16:29.289 caused a lot of confusion for everybody. And 00:16:29.289 --> 00:16:31.009 like you said, I don't think there's ill intent. 00:16:31.269 --> 00:16:33.490 But also, as you mentioned, it's an industry 00:16:33.490 --> 00:16:36.789 that doesn't like change, likes obfuscation and 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:39.190 keeping things kind of vague. And I really think 00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:42.090 we've kind of done it to ourselves because we've 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.190 been keeping consumers in the dark. And a lot 00:16:45.190 --> 00:16:47.370 of times the fee structures haven't been transparent. 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:52.000 And it's created a climate where we're perceived 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.299 lower than used car salesmen. Real estate agents 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:57.720 are perceived by the consumer like the lowest 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:01.179 of the low, the sleaziest, which is unfortunate. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:04.599 It is. I mean, there's so many reasons, I think, 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:08.130 for that. Part of it is just that... the standards 00:17:08.130 --> 00:17:10.890 and barriers to entry to become a real estate 00:17:10.890 --> 00:17:14.750 agent are so low. You need like 10 times the 00:17:14.750 --> 00:17:19.549 hours and supervised training to become a beautician 00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:22.630 or a hairstylist in Washington state than you 00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:25.529 do to become a real estate agent. And it's like 00:17:25.529 --> 00:17:27.730 your hair grows back in three weeks, like if 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:30.089 you get a bad haircut, but like if you buy the 00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:33.509 wrong home or get bad advice from an agent. So 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:37.029 there's so little. oversight. And now there are 00:17:37.029 --> 00:17:40.309 really, really good agents that really can justify 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:44.670 their value to sellers and to buyers. And I have 00:17:44.670 --> 00:17:47.009 no problem with any of those people. That's not 00:17:47.009 --> 00:17:50.089 who I'm trying to pick beef with. And also, those 00:17:50.089 --> 00:17:51.990 are not the people who are concerned about me 00:17:51.990 --> 00:17:54.970 and DIY Homebuyer Academy, because they know 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:57.210 they're confident in the value that they provide. 00:17:57.470 --> 00:18:02.289 So it's usually the people that they... They're 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:05.730 very casual about real estate. They look at it 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:08.869 as more of a side hustle, an easy way to bring 00:18:08.869 --> 00:18:12.690 in an extra $40 ,000 to $60 ,000 a year. And 00:18:12.690 --> 00:18:15.019 they're the ones that are really feeling. And 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:18.420 I think that that's a good thing for the industry 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:21.539 and for consumers on the whole. We kind of need 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:25.779 to see a mass exodus of the casual agents, which 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:28.279 is not to say that like every agent needs to 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:31.680 be full time dedicated, like that there isn't 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:35.200 a category for incredible agents who also have 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.720 other jobs and roles. But it's just to say that 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.880 it's like the Aunt Susie who counts on three 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.759 transactions a year from her niece's nephews. 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:46.259 and grandchildren, she might be a lovely lady, 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:49.039 but if she doesn't really understand what's happening 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.019 in the market and is only being used by the friends 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:54.279 and family, most likely those people are getting 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:57.640 underserved relative to she's getting compensated 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.119 for those transactions. Absolutely. I couldn't 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:03.480 agree more. There is a huge disparity in competency 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:07.299 with agents. And I think for agents these days, 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.319 consumers are savvy and you really need to explain 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.789 your value proposition and what... you bring 00:19:12.789 --> 00:19:15.089 to the table as an agent, because there's going 00:19:15.089 --> 00:19:18.029 to be more options. And as consumers get more 00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:20.289 educated, they're going to be asking like, well, 00:19:20.390 --> 00:19:22.890 what do you do? Like, what's the, what am I paying 00:19:22.890 --> 00:19:24.950 you for? Like, what are the services that you're 00:19:24.950 --> 00:19:27.670 providing? And so agents who can't articulate 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.690 that are going to be left behind. And we're seeing 00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:33.049 that already. Like a lot of casual agents dropped 00:19:33.049 --> 00:19:36.589 off when things got slower last couple of years. 00:19:37.520 --> 00:19:41.119 And yeah, so I really think like, as you mentioned, 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:43.519 like the educated consumer is someone who can 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.420 make those who who's going to value the services 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:49.019 of an agent more when they've gone through the 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:51.500 process themselves. And those people are motivated 00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:53.579 anyway, like you said, they're probably have 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:56.380 some real estate experience or are kind of just 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.880 DIYers in general, and they can kind of do it 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:01.640 themselves, but they do need that guidance, as 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.000 you mentioned. And so I just see a time when 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.759 all agents will probably provide that kind of, 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:08.819 you know, different levels of service, like the 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:10.700 coaching model, and then they'll also have the 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:12.740 full service model. It'll be a spectrum of service. 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:15.299 I can definitely see that. And you're kind of 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:17.920 at the forefront of that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.759 about what this time and the regulatory changes 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.299 that were brought on by the settlement. I think 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.000 that there's going to be more. lawsuits and i 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.079 wouldn't be surprised if the the doj steps in 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:31.559 because sort of like you had alluded to earlier 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:34.900 that the point of the lawsuit was to really decouple 00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:37.700 listing agent and buyer agent commissions and 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:39.740 to have each party negotiate those separately 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:43.400 it took all of about five minutes for savvy agents 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:46.160 to find loopholes and workarounds and functionally 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:50.200 today in the market it's still i don't i'm making 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:54.480 up statistics It feels like 95 % of sellers are 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.980 still expecting to pay the buyer agent's compensation. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:03.319 And I think that the DOJ will likely remove like 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:06.380 cooperative compensation entirely and some of 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:08.359 those things, which I think is in the interest 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:10.819 of consumers. Without getting too into the weeds 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:14.480 there, all of this disruption does create an 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.220 opportunity for agents to really think about 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:19.440 their business model. And that was one of the 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.660 other big things when I think about traditional 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:24.779 buyer agency. Buyers are concerned about the 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:27.359 misalignment of incentive structure. between 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:30.839 them and their agent. And that is a really legitimate 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:35.680 concern because as much as I consider myself, 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:38.559 you, the agents that are in our sort of circle 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.480 to be really ethical people and can set aside 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:45.460 our financial gain for the good of our clients, 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:48.819 there is a odd dynamic that I think we all just 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:51.440 need to be honest about that when I'm getting 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:54.579 paid a percentage of the final purchase price 00:21:56.920 --> 00:22:00.319 only get paid if that home closes, it creates 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.700 a financial incentive structure for me, for the 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:06.160 buyer to spend as much as possible and to close 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:09.000 as quickly as possible. And anytime that I help 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.920 them negotiate a price down, I'm working against 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.539 my paycheck. And anytime that I advise them to 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:17.200 pass on a house or to walk away from a deal, 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:20.759 I'm delaying my paycheck. Now, good agents will 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:23.359 make all the arguments, and I agree with them, 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.200 that it's like, and I will gladly do that because... 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:28.160 that's what good service to my client is. And 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.559 that's what generates referrals. And so sure, 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:33.240 like in the short term, I might be leaving money 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.240 on the table or taking longer to get a deal done, 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.960 but it'll pay for itself in the future. Good 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.400 buyer agents think that way. But when you have 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:45.029 agents that are sometimes as desperate. as they 00:22:45.029 --> 00:22:47.250 are right now when the market is slow and sales 00:22:47.250 --> 00:22:51.630 are hard to come by there are real human nature 00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:54.849 dynamics that i think we would be foolish to 00:22:54.849 --> 00:22:57.990 just close our eyes and cover our ears and pretend 00:22:57.990 --> 00:23:00.690 that they aren't there and consumers are waking 00:23:00.690 --> 00:23:02.910 up to that as well and so i just think it's a 00:23:02.910 --> 00:23:05.990 cool time for agents and the industry on the 00:23:05.990 --> 00:23:08.089 whole to really be thinking through all right 00:23:08.089 --> 00:23:10.769 how do we create better alignment of incentive 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:13.529 structures how do we really make sure that the 00:23:13.529 --> 00:23:16.160 consumer is looked after and make sure the agents 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:18.779 are getting fairly compensated for their work 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:21.380 because that sucks if you're spending four or 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.039 five months showing house after house after house 00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:26.980 and then the buyer's like, you know what, I'm 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:29.019 going to wait or I'm going to move across the 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:31.960 country and you've just spent. all of that time 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:35.079 all of those hours and you don't see a dime from 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:38.500 it as an agent so just the the whole model going 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:41.920 back to being the uh the rabble rouser of asking 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:45.740 why it's just kind of like huh This whole model 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:48.920 seems flawed and like I got to punish the buyers 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:51.500 that move forward with extra high commissions 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:53.940 to compensate myself for all the people that 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:56.559 never do move forward on a home. I don't know 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:59.160 what your thoughts are on any of that. No, I 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:02.819 totally agree. It's easy to say you provide good 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:07.000 service and that you will can a deal. because 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.759 it doesn't work out for your clients or you will 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.480 tell them it's just not the right time to buy. 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:13.539 I've done both of these. Like currently, actually, 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.960 I have told my client to walk on a 130 -year 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:20.599 -old home with some foundation issues. And I'm 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:22.720 just like, I'm not sure this is right. And, you 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:24.779 know, this is like almost a million dollar sale. 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:28.400 And I do have that mindset, but I also aren't, 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.599 I'm not relying on that commission to like feed 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:34.200 my children. And so if you're really grinding 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.319 and you're really depending on that commission 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.920 to like buy some groceries that night, then you 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:43.000 are going to twist yourself into like a moral 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:45.920 pretzel to make that deal happen, possibly against 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.200 your client's best interest. That is understandable 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:52.259 under the current incentives. So I totally agree. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:55.119 Yeah. From my perspective, yes. I've told people 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:57.450 like, it doesn't seem like. this is the right 00:24:57.450 --> 00:24:59.930 time to buy. I think renting is probably the 00:24:59.930 --> 00:25:03.130 best for you right now. And so I lost that commission. 00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:07.230 And then this person I'm telling to walk away, 00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:10.670 we're still working on it. And yeah, my mindset 00:25:10.670 --> 00:25:13.400 is like, I'm going to 5X. whatever I earn on 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:15.319 this commission, because they're going to realize 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:17.680 like, this is, this is somebody who has my best 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:19.160 interests in mind. I'm going to tell everybody 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.900 about it. So I'm, I'm making a long -term investment, 00:25:21.940 --> 00:25:25.160 like you mentioned, but if my situation was different, 00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:28.220 it might just, it's easy to, it's easy to like 00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:31.420 subconsciously maybe not do, maybe not do the 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:33.920 right thing. And, and that is because of those, 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:36.160 the way the financial incentives are set up. 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:38.420 currently. I don't know what that's going to 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:40.099 look like. I don't think you know what it's going 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:42.940 to look like, but it's changing. And I'm hoping 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:46.160 that it's changing for the better for the consumer. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:48.799 I don't know about currently, it just seems more 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:52.839 confusing. But yeah, we've had a lot of discussions 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:56.900 about this. And I think ultimately, it's going 00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:59.480 to take a while to kind of hash out. But I'm 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:02.460 hoping the consumer is going to win because there's 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:04.380 just so much more information out there now. 00:26:05.230 --> 00:26:07.670 And the consumers are savvy and they're going 00:26:07.670 --> 00:26:09.730 to kind of figure it out once people start asking 00:26:09.730 --> 00:26:12.309 questions. And that was the impetus for this 00:26:12.309 --> 00:26:14.970 lawsuit. Like someone just said, hey, why am 00:26:14.970 --> 00:26:18.730 I paying the buyer's agent to bid against me? 00:26:18.829 --> 00:26:22.410 And what's up with that? And so it kind of led 00:26:22.410 --> 00:26:24.829 down this rabbit hole, but we'll see where it 00:26:24.829 --> 00:26:28.450 goes. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting days ahead. And, 00:26:28.509 --> 00:26:31.089 you know, not to turn this into an AI podcast 00:26:31.089 --> 00:26:35.380 by any means, but the. the the disruption of 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:38.839 ai like it it's right there on the horizon and 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:41.740 it It's fundamentally, I think, going to change 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:45.960 how consumers are evaluating properties, how 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:50.700 we do CMAs, even when it comes to contracts, 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:55.240 being able to put together contracts. I've been 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:57.119 talking with different developers and people 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:59.680 that are creating some pretty awesome projects. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.000 And so, yeah, I think smart agents are looking 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:05.680 around the corner at what is to come and trying 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:08.559 to prepare for that. I believe that real estate... 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:11.359 especially residential real estate, is such a 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.980 relational business that I don't think that AI 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:19.640 will entirely replace agents at any point. And 00:27:19.640 --> 00:27:22.240 that's also part of why I've set up the DIY Homebuyer 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:24.279 Academy the way that I have, where it's very 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:28.000 human -to -human, community -centric, live education 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.160 kind of stuff, because I think that something 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:34.029 gets lost when it's just like... have the computer 00:27:34.029 --> 00:27:37.289 find your property, write up your contract, do 00:27:37.289 --> 00:27:40.029 your negotiations. I don't foresee that going 00:27:40.029 --> 00:27:43.430 well, but those are definitely things that are 00:27:43.430 --> 00:27:46.569 on the horizon that the agents need to at least 00:27:46.569 --> 00:27:48.250 be thinking about and kind of have a game plan 00:27:48.250 --> 00:27:52.109 for, or else I do think it's going to be a harsh 00:27:52.109 --> 00:27:55.349 reckoning for many folks in the near future. 00:27:55.869 --> 00:27:58.309 I mean, they literally call them AI agents. They're, 00:27:58.309 --> 00:28:00.670 you know, like a chat bot and there's going to 00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:02.970 be more and more. There's a misconception that 00:28:02.970 --> 00:28:05.269 AI thinks for itself and it doesn't. I mean, 00:28:05.289 --> 00:28:07.170 it's based on prompts and the information it 00:28:07.170 --> 00:28:09.750 gets. So we're not quite to the point where they're 00:28:09.750 --> 00:28:12.589 going to be able to like negotiate or, you know, 00:28:12.589 --> 00:28:15.609 do those kind of on the fly thinking. But yeah, 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:17.690 at some point, I mean, that's in the future. 00:28:17.789 --> 00:28:20.309 But yeah, they're literally called agents. So 00:28:20.309 --> 00:28:23.299 AI agents. We'll see how that works out because 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:26.440 there is a considerable amount of emotion that 00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:29.400 goes into it. So I agree. I don't think agents 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:31.420 are going to be totally cut out and AI is going 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:34.000 to be a tool that's going to help them and consumers. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:36.579 But yeah, it's so emotional. And I realize that 00:28:36.579 --> 00:28:39.799 more and more that your AI agent's not going 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:43.200 to talk you off a cliff or kind of give you that 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.160 encouragement when you need it. There's other 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:48.819 components to the home buying and selling process. 00:28:50.190 --> 00:28:52.049 What does it look like when people come into 00:28:52.049 --> 00:28:54.930 DIY Homebuyer? What does that process look like 00:28:54.930 --> 00:28:57.009 for the consumer? Yeah, that's a great, great 00:28:57.009 --> 00:28:59.589 question. So most of everything that I'm doing 00:28:59.589 --> 00:29:03.710 right now is free, which is not a very sustainable 00:29:03.710 --> 00:29:06.930 business model. I am losing money every month 00:29:06.930 --> 00:29:10.950 on what I'm doing with hosting fees and the amount 00:29:10.950 --> 00:29:14.549 of time. But that's OK, because like you said, 00:29:14.690 --> 00:29:17.769 I'm kind of early. And for many people. just 00:29:17.769 --> 00:29:20.910 creating the category of asking the question, 00:29:21.170 --> 00:29:24.349 can I represent myself? Like what goes into that? 00:29:24.490 --> 00:29:26.990 And so most of the free materials that I've created 00:29:26.990 --> 00:29:29.549 are trying to help people answer that. The number 00:29:29.549 --> 00:29:32.730 one place that I encourage people to join is 00:29:32.730 --> 00:29:36.490 I have a school community for DIY home buyers. 00:29:36.670 --> 00:29:38.609 So that's free to join. There's a essentials 00:29:38.609 --> 00:29:42.109 course there that I've had about 40 people that 00:29:42.109 --> 00:29:43.970 have gone through it now. It's about four and 00:29:43.970 --> 00:29:46.829 a half hours of content with some downloadable. 00:29:46.890 --> 00:29:49.569 worksheets and checklists that really just go 00:29:49.569 --> 00:29:52.430 through the fundamentals of from pre -approval 00:29:52.430 --> 00:29:55.170 or financial preparation all the way through 00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:58.380 escrow and closing what are the the fundamental 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:01.940 steps involved in the home buying process. And 00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:05.500 that's enough to get people probably 85 % of 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:08.180 the way and for them to really determine, yep, 00:30:08.259 --> 00:30:10.819 DIY, self -represented home buying is for me, 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:13.980 or nope, I don't want to take on this risk. Then 00:30:13.980 --> 00:30:16.400 the community element is cool because that's 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:18.099 where we're able to, if there's news articles 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:20.920 or live issues that people are running into, 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:23.500 they're able to ask questions of the whole community, 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:25.779 share their experiences, share feedback that 00:30:25.779 --> 00:30:27.789 they've gotten as they've gone to open houses 00:30:27.789 --> 00:30:30.710 and talked with listing agents. We do a weekly 00:30:30.710 --> 00:30:33.809 happy hour call in there for kind of Q &A and 00:30:33.809 --> 00:30:36.609 just touching base. So that's like, that's everything 00:30:36.609 --> 00:30:38.930 that's just, and it's a lot that's available 00:30:38.930 --> 00:30:41.990 to anybody and everybody for free. I don't know 00:30:41.990 --> 00:30:44.130 that it'll be free forever, but it's, it's been 00:30:44.130 --> 00:30:47.269 a good way to just establish trust and for me 00:30:47.269 --> 00:30:50.339 to also be able to. get more and more data about 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:53.400 what homebuyers across the United States. This 00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:55.680 isn't just Washington, though surprisingly, there've 00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:57.480 been a number of folks from Washington in there. 00:30:57.539 --> 00:30:59.599 But for me to just really get a feel for, okay, 00:30:59.660 --> 00:31:01.740 here's the issues that self -represented buyers 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:04.460 are running into. And then the next level of 00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:08.039 service is one -on -one coaching. And I just 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:12.099 do that as a subscription model. It ranges depending 00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:16.619 on what somebody's needs are between like 700 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:19.799 and a thousand bucks a month um but it's just 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:24.759 uh you have unlimited access to me i won't be 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:28.259 there to tour homes with you or to attend your 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:32.839 home inspection but i am there to review your 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:35.119 inspection report, help you set up your housing 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:39.000 search, look over CMAs, talk you through negotiation 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.339 strategies. I make it very clear that I'm not 00:31:42.339 --> 00:31:45.759 your agent when we're doing this coaching setup. 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:49.640 I'm your educator, and I'm also not a real estate 00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:51.980 attorney. And so a lot of the folks that have 00:31:51.980 --> 00:31:55.480 done the DIY homebuyer path will work with me 00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:59.740 for all of the negotiation strategy stuff, looking 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:02.559 at different reports. kind of making sure that 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:04.559 they've got somebody in their corner warning 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.019 them about. what they don't know but they they 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:08.880 may employ the help of a real estate attorney 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:11.900 simply for the contract and contingencies and 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:13.740 to make sure that that's airtight and that they 00:32:13.740 --> 00:32:16.519 have some legal backing and that i think is the 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:18.920 best of both worlds and usually you can hire 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:21.980 a real estate attorney to draft up a purchase 00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:24.500 and sale agreement for four or five hundred dollars 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:27.660 so between say you work with me one -on -one 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:30.180 for three months and you hire a real estate attorney 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:32.859 you're looking at somewhere in the ballpark of 00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:37.400 3500 compared to on a $500 ,000 house, a $15 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:40.759 ,000 commission that might go to a buyer's agent. 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:45.319 And again, the question to the consumer is, what's 00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:48.559 it worth to you, the relative value? And there've 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:50.279 been a handful of folks now that have said, yeah, 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:53.839 I'll go the coaching route. And that's been really... 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:56.400 Really sweet. Yeah, great. That's a ton of value. 00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:00.299 And again, there's plenty of room for I'm sure 00:33:00.299 --> 00:33:02.000 you get a lot of people who also are like, wow, 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:04.539 this is a lot or I don't want to take the legal 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:06.900 risk or, you know, and they want to use an agent. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.299 So it's really sort of an a la carte experience 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:12.400 that provides them with the best tools to get 00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:14.940 what they want. So, I mean. How can you argue 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:17.559 with that? Sounds like a wonderful service for 00:33:17.559 --> 00:33:21.799 DIY buyers. Yeah. Yeah, thanks. It definitely 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:25.039 has been very cool to build. And for those that 00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:27.779 check it out and then decide, yeah, I don't want 00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:30.640 to do it. That's also been great where I've been 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:33.599 able to form such great relationships with agents 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:36.259 like yourself, where I have kind of this trusted 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:38.640 network that continues to grow, a trusted network 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:41.400 of agents really across the country, where I'm 00:33:41.400 --> 00:33:44.440 able to give names of... hey, okay, you don't 00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:46.079 want to do it yourself, but here's somebody that 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:48.519 I think you really will enjoy working with and 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:51.200 that I know will keep your best interests at 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.140 heart. And so being able to take the trust that 00:33:54.140 --> 00:33:56.200 I've been able to establish with some of these 00:33:56.200 --> 00:33:58.420 folks through just the DIY Homebuyer platform 00:33:58.420 --> 00:34:01.599 and be able to help connect them, you know, is 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:03.700 just another way of being able to create more 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:06.460 value for folks, which again, I hope that that 00:34:06.460 --> 00:34:09.019 serves the industry and I hope to bring more 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:12.550 business to... good agents like yourself versus 00:34:12.550 --> 00:34:14.849 just sending people back out into the wild of, 00:34:14.869 --> 00:34:16.869 I hope you find a good one. Right. Yeah. Good 00:34:16.869 --> 00:34:19.650 luck. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate that. I mean, 00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:22.289 we can talk about this forever, but I know you 00:34:22.289 --> 00:34:24.769 got things to do. Where can people find you? 00:34:24.849 --> 00:34:26.610 How can they get in touch with you and work with 00:34:26.610 --> 00:34:29.630 you, whether that be in consultating or as a 00:34:29.630 --> 00:34:31.750 real estate agent? Yeah. Thanks. Well, if you're 00:34:31.750 --> 00:34:35.650 local, I would say work with Doug. Unless there 00:34:35.650 --> 00:34:40.940 is something I said to be like, I got it. Yeah, 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:45.219 yeah, you'll be served even better, I'm sure, 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:47.760 by working with Doug. But if you are thinking 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:51.400 about the DIY route, the best way to get connected 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:54.360 is going to that school group. So that's skool 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:58.199 .com slash DIY homebuyer. If you're not quite 00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:01.480 ready to join a free group, I know for some people, 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:04.000 if another platform and having to give my email, 00:35:04.119 --> 00:35:07.039 if that's not you, just on YouTube. You can find 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:10.380 me at DIY Homebuyer, similar with, I think I'm 00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:13.139 at DIY Homebuyer on TikTok and Instagram if you 00:35:13.139 --> 00:35:15.780 like more of the short form quick hits and want 00:35:15.780 --> 00:35:18.300 to read some crazy comments from agents. Pretty 00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:21.409 much anywhere, just at DIY Homebuyer. Except 00:35:21.409 --> 00:35:24.210 for DIYhomebuyer .com. Somebody else got that 00:35:24.210 --> 00:35:27.269 before me. So it's DIYhomebuyeracademy .com if 00:35:27.269 --> 00:35:30.269 you want the website anyhow. So yeah, you can 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:33.469 find me most places online. Yeah, that's everywhere. 00:35:33.710 --> 00:35:35.969 And I'll have links to this in the description 00:35:35.969 --> 00:35:38.909 so you can check it out. Nick Offenkamp, it's 00:35:38.909 --> 00:35:40.929 always a pleasure. I love talking with you. I 00:35:40.929 --> 00:35:42.849 love what you're doing. Best of luck. And I hope 00:35:42.849 --> 00:35:44.809 to see you soon. Thanks for stopping by the show. 00:35:44.929 --> 00:35:47.710 Thanks, Doug. Appreciate you, man. You too.