Hello and welcome to the Spotlight Vancouver
podcast. I am your host, Doug Varenas, licensed
real estate agent in Washington and Oregon. Today
on the show, I have my good friend Nick Aufenkamp.
He is a real estate agent and founder of DIY
Homebuyer Academy, a consultation service for
buyers who want to go it alone without an agent.
He provides consultative services for them, as
well as full service real estate services. I
think it's a really interesting conversation
because We talk about changes in the real estate
industry and how he is empowering homebuyers
to take charge of that process and save themselves
a lot of money. So I think this is a really great
episode just to inform yourself on what's going
on in real estate and how the consumer is being
empowered more and more and just that you can
buy a home by yourself. So I think this is really
interesting and I had a great conversation with
Nick and I hope you enjoy it. Let's get into
it. Hey, everybody. Today, my guest on the show
is Nick Offenkamp. He is a real estate agent,
an entrepreneur. He is the co -host of the Abundant
Journey podcast and the founder of DIY Home Buying
Academy, which is set to disrupt. how people
buy homes. And he's an all around good guy. And
I consider him a friend. Welcome to the show,
Nick. I appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much,
man. I consider you to be one of my greatest
friends, especially in the real estate industry.
I have loved getting to know you over the past
couple of years and the number of times that
we've gotten together. And so this feels like
the most natural thing in the world other than
the microphones. Yeah, we had some technical
difficulties before we got started. And yes,
we don't usually talk with microphones. But if
you're a real estate agent, you're on social
media quite a bit. So you're always sort of,
I don't know, I feel like I get tired of myself
sometimes. It's part of having a business is
putting yourself out there. But it's always a
joy. I tell people that you're one of the people
that's just a real day brightener. Just getting
together and chatting is always just like, I
always feel better. um and like more energized
when we get together and talk so i appreciate
you for that and i haven't had a guest in a while
man thank you yeah i haven't had a guest in a
while so i'm hoping not to pounce on you too
hard like i'm just excited to like be talking
to somebody it's been like a lot of solo episodes
so i guess like i i'd love to hear like we're
gonna get into diy home buying academy because
this is like gonna it's pissing off a lot of
people It is. I wouldn't normally associate that
with you. Like, I don't think Nick often can't
piss their offer of people. And so we're going
to get we're going to get down to the bottom
of why people this is like kind of upsetting
to people, especially other real estate agents.
So for the record, I think it's cool and think
it's actually a net positive for the real estate
industry and for realtors in general. I really
do, because I feel like the more the consumer
knows, the more they appreciate their own role
in it. So like they have the information that
they can take responsibility for their own stuff,
but then they also appreciate what a realtor
can do. for them too. So I feel like it's a net
gain. And again, we're going to get into that.
But I wanted to kind of just get some background
of how you got into real estate. And have you
always been a rebel rouser? Yeah, that's a great
question. I think while all throughout kind of
growing up in early adulthood, the most common
description, yeah, Nick, he's such a nice guy.
But I do think that I have a strong contrarian
streak that runs all the way through me. And
I also just The way that I look at the world,
I always am asking why. Why do we do it this
way? Is there a better way? Why did we establish
things? And I really struggle to just accept
the status quo, which has made it difficult.
at times for employers to employ me or have me
on there. So, you know, the path of entrepreneurship
and being my own business owner lends itself
well to being somebody that's kind of always
asking why and challenging the status quo. So
yes, the nice guy who can also be annoying with
all of his questions and pushing for better,
more efficient ways, more equitable ways of doing
life and business. And the way that I got into
real estate, I was living in Minnesota and working
in a totally different industry, but wanted to
get into real estate investing and had a friend
that was a realtor and investor. And so he helped
us buy our first property, which we were able
to convert a basement into an Airbnb. And then
he helped us with buying a fix and flip. And
just the more and more that I was talking about
real estate investing and getting into it, the
more I was also looking at the commissions that
were going to him as the buyer's agent. And I
just thought, wow, I'd really love to be able
to do that myself and hopefully save. some money
that way. So I went and got licensed. And this
was all around the time of COVID. I also had
a career change, moved from Minnesota to Washington,
and then took a job with a builder here in Clark
County, New Tradition Homes, which I love New
Tradition. I could just sing their praises for
the whole rest of this episode if we wanted to
pivot that direction. But I'll leave it at that
for now. It was an amazing way to get introduced
to the real estate industry, but also unique
in that about half of the buyers that I dealt
with did not have a buyer's agent, which is much
more typical in new construction for a buyer
to be unrepresented, as we call it within the
real estate industry. It was just after a few
years with the builder that I decided, you know,
I'm going to expand my horizons a bit and decided
to go out and start my own more traditional real
estate business working as a broker. And so that's
when I started what I call the Tartan team, which
is an homage to my father -in -law. And then
it's been in the last year that I've been the
real estate agent gone rogue, who's now teaching
people how to buy homes without a real estate
agent. So that's broad brush strokes. how everything
has evolved, but it's been a good journey. I've
really, really enjoyed it. Yeah, I mean, that's
certainly an evolution. It's going from the role
of an investor and then wanting to be more involved
in that process and now seeing that shift that's
happening in the industry and then adapting to
it, I think that's really smart and forward thinking.
And we had some conversations about that. The
Sitzer versus Burnett lawsuit came up. I don't
want to get into it too much, but basically it
is decoupling the commissions from the listing
agent and the buyer's agent. So technically,
buyers are responsible for paying that commission
to their agent. Although for the most part, it's
being negotiated with sellers for the most part.
But DIY Homebuyer Academy is set to disrupt this
system. And I want to hear more about how you
came to that business model and what your thoughts
are. And so maybe just give people an overview
of what DIY Homebuyer Academy is. I got my daughter
in the background here. So yeah, tell us more
about DIY Homebuyer Academy and the process that
you went involved to come to that. business model
that service yeah most simply what the diy homebuyer
academy is is it's uh I look at myself as an
educator and empower of consumers. And so as
much as I would like to take credit for inventing
the self -represented or unrepresented buyer,
believe it or not, I did not create that category.
There were people that were buying homes without
real estate agents long, long before I ever entered
the scene. Some people will be shocked by that.
Some of the realtors that are in my comments
on my short form posts that, you know, you. would
think that I was creating a category that had
never previously existed. That's not the case.
There's always been a segment of homebuyers,
albeit small, like three to four percent of all
homebuyers are self -represented by choice. But
with the changes coming out of that lawsuit and
settlement that you mentioned against NAR, buyers
are now being confronted in a way that they weren't
ever before with the cost of having a buyer's
agent. And whether they're paying the buyer agent
out of pocket or whether it's the seller paying
in a concession or a credit, that buyer agent
is adding typically between two and three percent
to the costs of the real estate transaction.
And especially on some of these higher price
point homes and one point five, two million dollar
homes. You know, I was talking with a guy the
other day that was like, I'm buying a two million
dollar home. My buyer agent would be getting
sixty thousand dollars in commission. I don't
know that it's worth it. And that is a fair question
for consumers to ask. What kind of services am
I getting relative to the $60 ,000 that is going
to my agent? So I just recognized pretty early
on that this segment of unrepresented buyers
is going to grow. more people are going to ask
that value proposition and they're going to look
for alternatives. And then looking at what's
available online to educate homebuyers how to
go through the homebuying process themselves,
I just found that there's like this huge void.
Like if you go on YouTube, pretty much anything
that's how to buy a home, the first point is,
well, hire a good buyer's agent. And then it's
kind of, you know, here's what you look for in
a good buyer's agent and all the things that
they're going to do for you, which is great.
Like I am still... a buyer's agent. I still help
people with buying homes, but I'm just realizing,
wow, there's a real opportunity to serve home
buyers and make transactions better for the listing
agents that are working with the unrepresented
buyers if that... consumer is educated. And even
to your point earlier, I just think that an educated
consumer is the best consumer because even if
they get educated and then decide, wow, this
is way more than I want to take on, I am going
to hire a buyer agent. They have a far greater
appreciation of what their buyer agent is doing.
And like you said, they're far more invested
just in the process of buying a home. So I see
it as wins all the way around. In practice, the
way that this got started was I was helping some
friends locally sell their home. and then purchase
another home. And they found the home that they
wanted to buy on Airbnb of all places. They were
struggling to find it on market. I found an Airbnb
that they loved. They reached out to the hosts
through the Airbnb platform and asked if they'd
be willing to sell. And the hosts or the owners
of the property said, yes, but we don't want
to involve any real estate agents. We don't want
to pay any of those fees. And so I worked out
an arrangement with these friends of mine to
basically coach them through the home buying
process at a very nominal. fee. And that was
kind of my experiment. Now, these are very entrepreneurial,
competent sort of folks. It wasn't their first
home that they were buying, but... The process
went so smooth. And that was, you know, before
I had formalized DIY Homebuyer Academy, just
experimenting with, can I coach somebody through
this as an unrepresented buyer? And the answer
at the end of that was, yes, I can. And because
they were buying like a $1 .3 million property,
I mean, they saved over 30 grand in real estate
commissions just on the buy side alone. And that
felt really good, like going to bed and being
like, man, I saved my friends. 30 grand. That's
huge in terms of creating value for somebody.
So a lot of this for me is just motivated by
the fact that there are already consumers wanting
to. represent themselves. I want to help them
do that well and create a lot of value for folks
in doing that. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
And I think, to be honest, I can see that sort
of model where all agents have to be able to
express what their value proposition is. What
are they doing for that commission, as you mentioned?
And I do feel like as you go up the price point,
that fee based on percentage, I mean, if you
get some pushback on that, I think that's fair.
And so I do think these are all fair questions.
And I can see a time when like all real estate
agents will have that sort of what you're doing,
plus the traditional way of helping buyers and
sellers like in their back pocket, where they're
just they can help you guide you through the
process and also be more hands on as needed.
Because as those consumers get more educated,
they realize like, I want to do this, I'm motivated,
I have an interest in doing it myself, or Like,
wow, there's a lot involved in this transaction.
I'm okay paying this fee to my agent because
I know what I'm getting. I know the service they're
providing and I'm okay with that. I think there's
a lot of people out there like that too. So really
you're just expanding that addressable market
of people. And like you said, helping people
who are already doing this or want to do this,
but it's pissing a lot of agents off because
it's threatening. Like you're saying you don't
need them and it's like coming after their bottom
line and their livelihood and stuff. So yeah.
I mean, what are the comments? Like what are
the comments you've gotten? Like what's the.
Yeah. I mean, they range from just the, the utterly
absurd to the utterly. incorrect it's funny because
i set out to do a home buyer education and i
feel like a third to sometimes half of what i'm
doing is actually agent education it's it's almost
automatic that whenever i post a short form video
on tick tock i'm gonna have some agent that comes
into the comments and is like, I don't do dual
agency. It's like, okay, let me explain what
the difference between dual agency and working
with an unrepresented buyer is because they're
not the same. There's also a lot of listing agents
that, well, they'll say, I can't show a home
to an unrepresented buyer without having a buyer
broker services agreement or a buyer agency agreement.
That's the new rule and requirement. It's like,
wait a second. No, even on NAR's own website,
Like you can a listing agent can always show
their own listings to a self. So there's there's
a lot of just correcting misconceptions that
I think I think a lot of these agents are sincere,
but they just. don't know better. Now, that still
scares me. I don't see that as an excuse because
these are people that are getting paid extremely
well to help consumers handle some of the most
significant financial transactions of their life.
And so for agents to not know what the rules
are, to not understand the differences between
dual agency and working with a self -represented
buyer, to forbid self -represented buyers access
to their listings, I don't think there's any
excuse. for that but I also I realize that some
of these people are not malintentioned but then
there are the other segment of people that are
commenting on my stuff where they do they see
it as a huge threat because they half the time
they're buyers agents and if consumers are empowered
to not have to use a buyer agent then that dries
up some of their pool of potential addressable
market. It's an industry that just doesn't like
change as it is. But most, most of the attacks
that I get from those people are not based on
any sort of rationale or reason. They're just
personal attacks of, you know, this Nick guy
is an idiot. Don't ever listen to him. He's a
failed agent that couldn't hang. And so therefore,
you know, those who can't do teach kind of thing.
And that's like, well. Okay. Right. Just your
standard garden variety troll on social media.
Yeah. Well, you know what? I find that and throughout
history, I'm sure you know this, like the people
that take the most flack and get attacked for
something, an idea that they have or a service
they're providing, it means you're onto something,
man. So I find that's an encouraging thing to
see is that you get those trolls and that just
kind of. fear. I want to be the lawsuit that
Sisser versus Burnett, the NAR lawsuit has just
caused a lot of confusion for everybody. And
like you said, I don't think there's ill intent.
But also, as you mentioned, it's an industry
that doesn't like change, likes obfuscation and
keeping things kind of vague. And I really think
we've kind of done it to ourselves because we've
been keeping consumers in the dark. And a lot
of times the fee structures haven't been transparent.
And it's created a climate where we're perceived
lower than used car salesmen. Real estate agents
are perceived by the consumer like the lowest
of the low, the sleaziest, which is unfortunate.
It is. I mean, there's so many reasons, I think,
for that. Part of it is just that... the standards
and barriers to entry to become a real estate
agent are so low. You need like 10 times the
hours and supervised training to become a beautician
or a hairstylist in Washington state than you
do to become a real estate agent. And it's like
your hair grows back in three weeks, like if
you get a bad haircut, but like if you buy the
wrong home or get bad advice from an agent. So
there's so little. oversight. And now there are
really, really good agents that really can justify
their value to sellers and to buyers. And I have
no problem with any of those people. That's not
who I'm trying to pick beef with. And also, those
are not the people who are concerned about me
and DIY Homebuyer Academy, because they know
they're confident in the value that they provide.
So it's usually the people that they... They're
very casual about real estate. They look at it
as more of a side hustle, an easy way to bring
in an extra $40 ,000 to $60 ,000 a year. And
they're the ones that are really feeling. And
I think that that's a good thing for the industry
and for consumers on the whole. We kind of need
to see a mass exodus of the casual agents, which
is not to say that like every agent needs to
be full time dedicated, like that there isn't
a category for incredible agents who also have
other jobs and roles. But it's just to say that
it's like the Aunt Susie who counts on three
transactions a year from her niece's nephews.
and grandchildren, she might be a lovely lady,
but if she doesn't really understand what's happening
in the market and is only being used by the friends
and family, most likely those people are getting
underserved relative to she's getting compensated
for those transactions. Absolutely. I couldn't
agree more. There is a huge disparity in competency
with agents. And I think for agents these days,
consumers are savvy and you really need to explain
your value proposition and what... you bring
to the table as an agent, because there's going
to be more options. And as consumers get more
educated, they're going to be asking like, well,
what do you do? Like, what's the, what am I paying
you for? Like, what are the services that you're
providing? And so agents who can't articulate
that are going to be left behind. And we're seeing
that already. Like a lot of casual agents dropped
off when things got slower last couple of years.
And yeah, so I really think like, as you mentioned,
like the educated consumer is someone who can
make those who who's going to value the services
of an agent more when they've gone through the
process themselves. And those people are motivated
anyway, like you said, they're probably have
some real estate experience or are kind of just
DIYers in general, and they can kind of do it
themselves, but they do need that guidance, as
you mentioned. And so I just see a time when
all agents will probably provide that kind of,
you know, different levels of service, like the
coaching model, and then they'll also have the
full service model. It'll be a spectrum of service.
I can definitely see that. And you're kind of
at the forefront of that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited
about what this time and the regulatory changes
that were brought on by the settlement. I think
that there's going to be more. lawsuits and i
wouldn't be surprised if the the doj steps in
because sort of like you had alluded to earlier
that the point of the lawsuit was to really decouple
listing agent and buyer agent commissions and
to have each party negotiate those separately
it took all of about five minutes for savvy agents
to find loopholes and workarounds and functionally
today in the market it's still i don't i'm making
up statistics It feels like 95 % of sellers are
still expecting to pay the buyer agent's compensation.
And I think that the DOJ will likely remove like
cooperative compensation entirely and some of
those things, which I think is in the interest
of consumers. Without getting too into the weeds
there, all of this disruption does create an
opportunity for agents to really think about
their business model. And that was one of the
other big things when I think about traditional
buyer agency. Buyers are concerned about the
misalignment of incentive structure. between
them and their agent. And that is a really legitimate
concern because as much as I consider myself,
you, the agents that are in our sort of circle
to be really ethical people and can set aside
our financial gain for the good of our clients,
there is a odd dynamic that I think we all just
need to be honest about that when I'm getting
paid a percentage of the final purchase price
only get paid if that home closes, it creates
a financial incentive structure for me, for the
buyer to spend as much as possible and to close
as quickly as possible. And anytime that I help
them negotiate a price down, I'm working against
my paycheck. And anytime that I advise them to
pass on a house or to walk away from a deal,
I'm delaying my paycheck. Now, good agents will
make all the arguments, and I agree with them,
that it's like, and I will gladly do that because...
that's what good service to my client is. And
that's what generates referrals. And so sure,
like in the short term, I might be leaving money
on the table or taking longer to get a deal done,
but it'll pay for itself in the future. Good
buyer agents think that way. But when you have
agents that are sometimes as desperate. as they
are right now when the market is slow and sales
are hard to come by there are real human nature
dynamics that i think we would be foolish to
just close our eyes and cover our ears and pretend
that they aren't there and consumers are waking
up to that as well and so i just think it's a
cool time for agents and the industry on the
whole to really be thinking through all right
how do we create better alignment of incentive
structures how do we really make sure that the
consumer is looked after and make sure the agents
are getting fairly compensated for their work
because that sucks if you're spending four or
five months showing house after house after house
and then the buyer's like, you know what, I'm
going to wait or I'm going to move across the
country and you've just spent. all of that time
all of those hours and you don't see a dime from
it as an agent so just the the whole model going
back to being the uh the rabble rouser of asking
why it's just kind of like huh This whole model
seems flawed and like I got to punish the buyers
that move forward with extra high commissions
to compensate myself for all the people that
never do move forward on a home. I don't know
what your thoughts are on any of that. No, I
totally agree. It's easy to say you provide good
service and that you will can a deal. because
it doesn't work out for your clients or you will
tell them it's just not the right time to buy.
I've done both of these. Like currently, actually,
I have told my client to walk on a 130 -year
-old home with some foundation issues. And I'm
just like, I'm not sure this is right. And, you
know, this is like almost a million dollar sale.
And I do have that mindset, but I also aren't,
I'm not relying on that commission to like feed
my children. And so if you're really grinding
and you're really depending on that commission
to like buy some groceries that night, then you
are going to twist yourself into like a moral
pretzel to make that deal happen, possibly against
your client's best interest. That is understandable
under the current incentives. So I totally agree.
Yeah. From my perspective, yes. I've told people
like, it doesn't seem like. this is the right
time to buy. I think renting is probably the
best for you right now. And so I lost that commission.
And then this person I'm telling to walk away,
we're still working on it. And yeah, my mindset
is like, I'm going to 5X. whatever I earn on
this commission, because they're going to realize
like, this is, this is somebody who has my best
interests in mind. I'm going to tell everybody
about it. So I'm, I'm making a long -term investment,
like you mentioned, but if my situation was different,
it might just, it's easy to, it's easy to like
subconsciously maybe not do, maybe not do the
right thing. And, and that is because of those,
the way the financial incentives are set up.
currently. I don't know what that's going to
look like. I don't think you know what it's going
to look like, but it's changing. And I'm hoping
that it's changing for the better for the consumer.
I don't know about currently, it just seems more
confusing. But yeah, we've had a lot of discussions
about this. And I think ultimately, it's going
to take a while to kind of hash out. But I'm
hoping the consumer is going to win because there's
just so much more information out there now.
And the consumers are savvy and they're going
to kind of figure it out once people start asking
questions. And that was the impetus for this
lawsuit. Like someone just said, hey, why am
I paying the buyer's agent to bid against me?
And what's up with that? And so it kind of led
down this rabbit hole, but we'll see where it
goes. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting days ahead. And,
you know, not to turn this into an AI podcast
by any means, but the. the the disruption of
ai like it it's right there on the horizon and
it It's fundamentally, I think, going to change
how consumers are evaluating properties, how
we do CMAs, even when it comes to contracts,
being able to put together contracts. I've been
talking with different developers and people
that are creating some pretty awesome projects.
And so, yeah, I think smart agents are looking
around the corner at what is to come and trying
to prepare for that. I believe that real estate...
especially residential real estate, is such a
relational business that I don't think that AI
will entirely replace agents at any point. And
that's also part of why I've set up the DIY Homebuyer
Academy the way that I have, where it's very
human -to -human, community -centric, live education
kind of stuff, because I think that something
gets lost when it's just like... have the computer
find your property, write up your contract, do
your negotiations. I don't foresee that going
well, but those are definitely things that are
on the horizon that the agents need to at least
be thinking about and kind of have a game plan
for, or else I do think it's going to be a harsh
reckoning for many folks in the near future.
I mean, they literally call them AI agents. They're,
you know, like a chat bot and there's going to
be more and more. There's a misconception that
AI thinks for itself and it doesn't. I mean,
it's based on prompts and the information it
gets. So we're not quite to the point where they're
going to be able to like negotiate or, you know,
do those kind of on the fly thinking. But yeah,
at some point, I mean, that's in the future.
But yeah, they're literally called agents. So
AI agents. We'll see how that works out because
there is a considerable amount of emotion that
goes into it. So I agree. I don't think agents
are going to be totally cut out and AI is going
to be a tool that's going to help them and consumers.
But yeah, it's so emotional. And I realize that
more and more that your AI agent's not going
to talk you off a cliff or kind of give you that
encouragement when you need it. There's other
components to the home buying and selling process.
What does it look like when people come into
DIY Homebuyer? What does that process look like
for the consumer? Yeah, that's a great, great
question. So most of everything that I'm doing
right now is free, which is not a very sustainable
business model. I am losing money every month
on what I'm doing with hosting fees and the amount
of time. But that's OK, because like you said,
I'm kind of early. And for many people. just
creating the category of asking the question,
can I represent myself? Like what goes into that?
And so most of the free materials that I've created
are trying to help people answer that. The number
one place that I encourage people to join is
I have a school community for DIY home buyers.
So that's free to join. There's a essentials
course there that I've had about 40 people that
have gone through it now. It's about four and
a half hours of content with some downloadable.
worksheets and checklists that really just go
through the fundamentals of from pre -approval
or financial preparation all the way through
escrow and closing what are the the fundamental
steps involved in the home buying process. And
that's enough to get people probably 85 % of
the way and for them to really determine, yep,
DIY, self -represented home buying is for me,
or nope, I don't want to take on this risk. Then
the community element is cool because that's
where we're able to, if there's news articles
or live issues that people are running into,
they're able to ask questions of the whole community,
share their experiences, share feedback that
they've gotten as they've gone to open houses
and talked with listing agents. We do a weekly
happy hour call in there for kind of Q &A and
just touching base. So that's like, that's everything
that's just, and it's a lot that's available
to anybody and everybody for free. I don't know
that it'll be free forever, but it's, it's been
a good way to just establish trust and for me
to also be able to. get more and more data about
what homebuyers across the United States. This
isn't just Washington, though surprisingly, there've
been a number of folks from Washington in there.
But for me to just really get a feel for, okay,
here's the issues that self -represented buyers
are running into. And then the next level of
service is one -on -one coaching. And I just
do that as a subscription model. It ranges depending
on what somebody's needs are between like 700
and a thousand bucks a month um but it's just
uh you have unlimited access to me i won't be
there to tour homes with you or to attend your
home inspection but i am there to review your
inspection report, help you set up your housing
search, look over CMAs, talk you through negotiation
strategies. I make it very clear that I'm not
your agent when we're doing this coaching setup.
I'm your educator, and I'm also not a real estate
attorney. And so a lot of the folks that have
done the DIY homebuyer path will work with me
for all of the negotiation strategy stuff, looking
at different reports. kind of making sure that
they've got somebody in their corner warning
them about. what they don't know but they they
may employ the help of a real estate attorney
simply for the contract and contingencies and
to make sure that that's airtight and that they
have some legal backing and that i think is the
best of both worlds and usually you can hire
a real estate attorney to draft up a purchase
and sale agreement for four or five hundred dollars
so between say you work with me one -on -one
for three months and you hire a real estate attorney
you're looking at somewhere in the ballpark of
3500 compared to on a $500 ,000 house, a $15
,000 commission that might go to a buyer's agent.
And again, the question to the consumer is, what's
it worth to you, the relative value? And there've
been a handful of folks now that have said, yeah,
I'll go the coaching route. And that's been really...
Really sweet. Yeah, great. That's a ton of value.
And again, there's plenty of room for I'm sure
you get a lot of people who also are like, wow,
this is a lot or I don't want to take the legal
risk or, you know, and they want to use an agent.
So it's really sort of an a la carte experience
that provides them with the best tools to get
what they want. So, I mean. How can you argue
with that? Sounds like a wonderful service for
DIY buyers. Yeah. Yeah, thanks. It definitely
has been very cool to build. And for those that
check it out and then decide, yeah, I don't want
to do it. That's also been great where I've been
able to form such great relationships with agents
like yourself, where I have kind of this trusted
network that continues to grow, a trusted network
of agents really across the country, where I'm
able to give names of... hey, okay, you don't
want to do it yourself, but here's somebody that
I think you really will enjoy working with and
that I know will keep your best interests at
heart. And so being able to take the trust that
I've been able to establish with some of these
folks through just the DIY Homebuyer platform
and be able to help connect them, you know, is
just another way of being able to create more
value for folks, which again, I hope that that
serves the industry and I hope to bring more
business to... good agents like yourself versus
just sending people back out into the wild of,
I hope you find a good one. Right. Yeah. Good
luck. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate that. I mean,
we can talk about this forever, but I know you
got things to do. Where can people find you?
How can they get in touch with you and work with
you, whether that be in consultating or as a
real estate agent? Yeah. Thanks. Well, if you're
local, I would say work with Doug. Unless there
is something I said to be like, I got it. Yeah,
yeah, you'll be served even better, I'm sure,
by working with Doug. But if you are thinking
about the DIY route, the best way to get connected
is going to that school group. So that's skool
.com slash DIY homebuyer. If you're not quite
ready to join a free group, I know for some people,
if another platform and having to give my email,
if that's not you, just on YouTube. You can find
me at DIY Homebuyer, similar with, I think I'm
at DIY Homebuyer on TikTok and Instagram if you
like more of the short form quick hits and want
to read some crazy comments from agents. Pretty
much anywhere, just at DIY Homebuyer. Except
for DIYhomebuyer .com. Somebody else got that
before me. So it's DIYhomebuyeracademy .com if
you want the website anyhow. So yeah, you can
find me most places online. Yeah, that's everywhere.
And I'll have links to this in the description
so you can check it out. Nick Offenkamp, it's
always a pleasure. I love talking with you. I
love what you're doing. Best of luck. And I hope
to see you soon. Thanks for stopping by the show.
Thanks, Doug. Appreciate you, man. You too.