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back to Trust the Process podcast where we talk
about the real estate industry, the housing market
and everything in between. So throughout the
course of a Custom or any home build there is
a time -lapse that happens and so now you have
personalities the human side of that We have
an agent. We have a buyer. We have the builder
We have all of those people and how that comes
together and some of the fatigue that we feel
and how we get through that and the struggles
that we Conquer together and throughout that
process so thought that would be an interesting
topic and if you've ever bought a home, you know
and for as a builder, you know, you get tired
of Yeah, I'm already tired of just thinking about
it. Yeah, it's a lot to drag yourself through
and worth it at the end result, but there's some
struggle in the middle there. Yeah, I think we're
kind of covering two topics here. So we're talking
about a real estate transaction where someone's
buying one of our builds or buying a build. And
that could be at various levels of completion.
We have two that are completely done so we could
move in next week if they were a cash transaction.
And then we have 13 or 14 more that are at various
stages. Some are two months from being completed,
some are a year from being completed, depending
on, we're just getting out of permitting on one,
six to one, that we're going to be built at the
same time. That's a lot of time. We also have
a brokerage, and even a 30 -day transaction with
a buyer and a seller, you get fatigued. Day seven,
day 10, day 13, but you've got light at the end
of the tunnel. You've got two more weeks to get
through it. Hope the move out goes well. Hope
everything's clean. Hope the buyers are happy.
Hope the house doesn't fall down day two. It's
a much quicker transaction. It's just quicker
so you don't fatigue of each other so much. And
there's a lot less going on. So it's just a couple
of negotiating factors. Appraisal, home inspection,
repair request. There's like three friction points,
including the initial offer. So there's just
not as much friction. When someone comes in and
buys one of our builds, there's a lot of friction
there depending on what stage of the transaction
it's in. If someone were to buy, we have three
right now that are whathed and ready to be stuccoed,
the roofs are on them. They're about two to three
months away from being done. Somebody walks into
that and doesn't see the cabinets there and wonders
why they have to go with the cabinets that we
already specced. Can't you put them somewhere
else? No, this is what is spec'd here. What about
shower towel? The lead time on those, what they
don't realize is that getting to that point,
we had to order those cabinets long before they
showed up on the scene and they were already
in route. So that's one of the first things that
we need to get out of the way. But in the buyer's
mind, they're like, Beau, why not? They're not
here yet. Why can't we just do the other ones?
We'll just change it. Just change them out. Can
you add more? Can you add some plumbing? Can
you add some electrical? No. And when I was new
in this, especially when it was really becoming
a true business about six, seven years ago, I
made a lot of mistakes. I'll humbly admit that
I made a lot of mistakes about letting buyers
come in and rule the show. And you felt so gratified.
Oh, someone wants to buy something I created.
Of course, oh yeah, you want to change this?
I want you to love it. That lasts about three
times. And then now it's no, I mean, the contract
we have is 99 pages long. We have really strict
cutoffs that the whole company buys into that,
nope, I don't care who you talk to on site, I
don't care if you dealt with the sales side,
the marketing side, there's no one person, even
me, that can deviate from that. So we made that
ironclad for those reasons. But it's those friction
points that cause the fatigue. I get tired of
saying no, they get tired of hearing no, they
start getting resentful about buying a two and
a half million dollar home and they can't change.
shower towel because we already ordered it. It's
already sitting at BDG's warehouse. It's ready
to go in. You know, the labor is queued up for
Tuesday and it's Friday. You're asking us to
change it. No, I'm sorry. We can't change it.
Can you have an outlet? No, there's just things
that we cannot deviate from. So you get some
bad blood. It just, it's natural and it's okay.
I've priced that into the equation now. as a
builder to say, you know what, it's not my responsibility
to make them love this house. I'm building this
house. If they love it, then they should buy
it. And if there's things that they want to do
to it after, to make them love it more, that's
on them. I can't be responsible for making sure
they walk in on day one and saying, oh, this
is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. It's just
not realistic. That's not, you can't, you can't
make a business out of that. That's a hobby at
that point. where you say, oh, I build really
great custom homes and I build one house a year.
And I work with a client and blah, blah, blah.
And we basically work as a, like we're basically
being commissioned to build a house. And we do
have some build to suit clients like that, but
they pay accordingly. They pay for that convenience
and they're looking down the barrel of a two
to three year commitment with us. So when you
- And there's a fatigue that goes into that too.
I usually fatigue by the time I sign the contract.
In fact, we've walked away from. as recently
as last month, a massive build that would have
been huge for the company. And we just didn't
have the personality match. And that's exactly
- Just being able to recognize that on the front
end saved so much headache, so much heartache,
so much who knows what it would have taken from.
To use that as an anecdote, I know the build.
builder that they chose, I know the company that
they chose, and I can assure you that we made
the right decision by walking away. I won't get
in any more detail. Maybe off camera I will.
Okay. But we made the right... Yeah, of course
you will off camera. Of course I will. We were
on our second meeting. After the first meeting
I realized it was a foregone conclusion that
I was not going to be able to work with this
guy. And then the second was more of a courtesy
to say, well, maybe it was me. Let's go in with
more concrete numbers at a second meeting and
you saw me turn four shades of red. Like, mmm.
It's not going to work. It's not going to work.
And we walked away from it. And I send a really
nice email. And unfortunately, our personalities
are not compatible for a two -year build on a
9 ,000 -square -foot home. It was a massive home
that hugged the hillside. It was for a celebrity.
Yeah. Huge project. Big project. And it would
have been cool for the company. Great accolades
for the company. And still, your integrity said,
I just can't take it. Yeah. Can't do it. Can't
do it. So those are the fatigues. As a builder,
I fatigue much quicker because even though this
is my business, I already, you know, when you
have young kids and you know they're going to
freak out over one thing and you're so tired
of that friction point, whether it's brushing
their teeth or whether it's going to bed, sometimes
this business feels like that. Like, can we change
this refrigerator to the other side of the kitchen?
No. And when you say no, you're waiting for the
tantrum. You're waiting for the buildup. You're
waiting for the 4 a .m. email or 3 a .m. email
where they're fired up and they've got a bunch
of things to say to you. And it's those, that's
where I fatigue. Here we go. And part of it is
setting an expectation from the start, letting
them know this is the timeline we're under. These
are the things we will and won't change. And
so if you can lay all that up front, it does
help some. You still end up in the battles, but
you at least have some leverage too. We're a
hundred page contract. Yeah. So much of that
is outlined in there. And remember when we talked
about XYZ, let's reference back and see what
our, you know, it gives you something to lean
into and helps them to recognize we're not just
being difficult. These are, this is how we build.
Exactly. And there's a reason why you can come
to us and have a brand new, basically semi -custom.
It's custom to us, but you semi -customized it
and you were in it in three to four months. If
you started from nothing, you're three years.
Minimum two so you're in something within the
same calendar year many times There's going to
be some things that you give up with that. So
it's that friction that really can fatigue all
the entire team That's the other thing too And
if I were to say that I'm not emotional then
I'd be lying because I 100 % get emotional Number
one about the company and about the team if someone's
disrespectful. We had a client couple years ago
so incredibly disrespectful to the team, never
even directly to me. And I just could not, I
could not work with that person anymore. We did
exactly what we were supposed to do. We were
supposed to do another project with them, completely
cancel that. Just not gonna do it. Unfortunately,
you're too mean to the team. You think that you
can speak to people in a manner that doesn't
convey respect and doesn't convey the fact that
we are actually all a team. and you and your
wife change this this and this and you're wondering
why your timeline has been pushed out three months
and you're blowing us up at 4 a .m. with no consideration
of our lives and you don't own us when you go
to contract with us. We are here to perform something.
That's that you don't own us. It's still... And
yes, it's a symbiotic relationship and we're
here to help you and you're here to help us and
we'll work together but... We're all a team.
Right, and we're only as strong as you are. So
if you're gonna be changing things or if you're
gonna be emotional and you're gonna be blowing
up and that's when when you talk about agent
fatigue. We get agent fatigue as well with our
company when we have a buyer's agent coming in
trying to make themselves a hero and all they're
doing is compromising their client's position.
because they don't know the industry standards,
they don't know the steps. Everyone becomes a
building expert the minute they sign on the data
line. And the minute an agent brings a buyer,
they might have done five transactions last year,
and they've done one new construction in 10 years,
but they become a construction expert at that
time. And then they start picking things apart,
and they start looking for different timelines
and trying to win. Yeah, exactly. But all you're
doing is ruining, you're souring the well. because
we ultimately still have to work together. And
we have these discussions even on the brokerage
side. Yes, technically you as a seller don't
have to do X, Y, and Z, but do you want to do
that and keep goodwill? Because maybe you had
some major emergency. You weren't able to get
to the signing table on time, blah, blah, blah.
Now you have a two -day delay in closing, and
you need that buyer's goodwill to make sure this
all stays together. Or you couldn't get out.
The house recorded at four. Technically the contract
says... Any personal property that's left in
the home at time of recording becomes the new
buyer's property. I left a car in the garage
and I wasn't able to get there in time. Well,
technically, I mean, cars are different because
it's a title to it, but still, I mean, you could
have a dispute on your end. So why would you
sour the well and be so belligerent? And unfortunately,
that's probably 50 % of the time we get buyers
that are like that on our bills and they just
... or the agent wants to be here or something.
Yeah, I think the agents tend to... Fluffs up
problems where there maybe wouldn't be problems.
So, we talk about the fatigue that we feel, that's
what we feel. I fatigue first, sorry agents in
the audience, I fatigue first with the agent,
right? Because they're coming in, they're getting
a massive payday. Yes, that payday is associated
with the client that they brought us. But on
a $3 million home, those are big paychecks for
those agents. And instead of working with us
to help better... their clients experience and
iron out things, they're working against us and
they're thinking it's an adversarial relationship.
And you came from a tonnage builder. You came
from a builder that closed a lot of transactions
and was pretty adversarial with agents and didn't
pay them. We didn't need them at the time. That
builder doesn't need the agent interaction and
it does nothing but sour the deal. And then they
come in trying to hardball on on a home that,
you know, we can sell the homes without their
interaction. Right, especially where his niche
was. He was an entry -level, high volume, and
a really bull market. I think luxury is different.
We expect for there to be an agent. A hundred
percent. And I love partnering with agents. Exactly.
And as an agent myself, right? I mean you from
the brokerage and myself as an active, you know,
on the resale side too. So I can respectfully
know that there is a position for that. A hundred
percent. And you want that buyer to have that
support. But you also need for that agent to
understand that we're all in it together, right?
And so we're all working. together to a common
goal. It's not you against me. It's not him against
them. It's us together in this against the obstacles
that building a home will bring. There's already
enough trials and tribulations that come with
it. We don't need to have this kind of adversarial
one -upsmanship and, oh, the house. We had a
great example last year. Clean the house, everything
left. The agent walks through one more time because
the buyer hadn't. wasn't planning on moving in
for two more weeks and she's like this place
is filthy she's sending us pictures of dust on
the pendant lights and things like that and as
it turns out oh also the driveway was dirty all
the pavers are filthy as it turns out in the
two weeks that he lapsed since closing the buyers
had a really robust security system put in which
caused a lot of dust from drilling and the agent
didn't notice there were cameras and sensors
it didn't realize oh that was eagle Well, I won't
say the name of the company. That was the security
company. And then the driveway was filthy because
she neglected to check the garage and the garage
had been epoxied. So when they ground down all
the concrete and pressure washed it, the company
that did the epoxy left the driveway a mess and
it became our problem. And I remember calling
my partner and going, there's no way we left
the house like that. There's no way we left the
driveway like that because I was there in closing
day. I remember, I remember how it looked. I
would have definitely said, Hey, let's send out
somebody to clean this driveway out. Right. And
that caused us to investigate further. And maybe
she was doing it for one -off -smanship or maybe
she was just like automatically ready for a fight.
But it just, all those stories over the years
when you've taken all this risk, because that
was a spec home that I built. I've taken all
this risk. I purchased the land. It had been
a two -year project. They came in 45 days before
it was done, went to contract and closed the
minute we got the certificate of occupancy. And
then the agent blows in and gets a huge payday
and... Doesn't let's say you did find that the
builder could have done a little bit better job
with cleaning Which is not true because we always
clean them right at the very end. Yes, if you
made $93 ,000 on a transaction maybe spend $180
or $250 as a courtesy cleaner Do it as a crazy
for your buyer just to say I'm gonna smooth this
out This is how I built my brokerage business
by doing things like this You can even look like
a hero to your buyers and say Yes, the builder
cleaned it. However, it's not my standard of
clean I'm not going to go sour the well with
you and the builder So I went ahead and just
sent my cleaners and I hope that's okay But the
house looks more in my and on my standards of
how a house should look When you take possession
of it, especially new construction luxury get
through, you know What what are the variables
that may have created all this dust? Okay. Well
if they were doing they have only for two weeks
Maybe we should make sure that they didn't make
this and you don't just assumptively imagine
that the builder left left it a mess, but if
you haven't thought it through, then that would
not be how it looks. Yeah, if your knee jerk
reaction is, well I better show value, I better
beat these guys up, and the buyers are gonna
think I'm a hero. By the way, just candidly,
she didn't look like a hero to them. In separate
conversations with them, we had to do a little
bit of warranty stuff with the pool. That didn't
impress, that type of behavior doesn't generally
impress buyers. Because they were fatigued with
her. They were fatigued with her, exactly. And
we had already built enough goodwill that they
knew, okay, well that doesn't... And she was
wrong, so she lost credibility. And for every
one of those stories, I have 10 more behind it
that I could think of, right, if I really sat
down and thought about what that looks like.
So there were times where I was very disenchanted
with having buyer's agents at all. But unfortunately,
in the luxury market, we build a lot of niche
markets, like SoftShort. I need really strong
agent connections so that when they have a buyer
coming into town, they're a really reputable
agent. I know they're going to make sure they
at least get through my homes and look at my
inventory. So that's goodwill that comes both
ways. I don't just assume that the agent comes
in a submissive position to me and has to have
goodwill. I understand that I want to have goodwill
and a good reputation. But I also will not bend
from my standards and industry standards as well
for the sake of someone's expectations or ego.
Of course, the theory in business, you should
always delight your customer. I know homes are
delightful and if you don't see it that way and
you think that this could have been different
or better Well, then we're just gonna have to
agree to disagree. Yep You know, you walk into
a car dealership, you're spending a big chunk
of money, and you see the car, it's there, it's
finished, you test, you push all the buttons,
you know exactly what it does, you drive it,
it's great, we'll take it, and there's a media
exchange, it happens over the course of the day.
This is a very different thing, and homes are
built on site, and by human hands, and things
might be, exactly, things might be slightly varied
from what your vision may have been, and because
the home, you're looking at a dirt lot when it
starts sometimes, and so we're giving you this
impression of maybe your vision was different
than ours. There's so many things that could
go awry. And another thing, the car example or
that consumer good example, homes aren't consumer
goods. They are really more assets that happen
to be beautiful homes. True. Good point. Trust
Home Builders Building. Yeah. But a car, you
could go get that. Yukon down the street most
likely, or you could go to Phoenix, or you could
go. This is the house on this lot, do you want
it or not? So you're buying the house, you're
not buying the process. And I would have dust
ups many times with agents and even my own buyers
say we are not the Four Seasons. It's not just
about the experience. It is going to be stressful,
it's going to be frustrating, there's going to
be delays, there's going to be things that didn't
turn out the way you thought they were. But this
is not about the experience. This is about the
product that's being turned over and it's one
reason why we took a pause for a couple years
on build to sue clients because After two or
three years you are so fatigued of each other
Yeah, and there's so many things that can change
and didn't turn out the way they thought and
they blame you or whatever There's always somebody
to blame. That's not them their relationship
always struggle you know you're been you're mending
up a marriage many times people are building
a big grand home to save to marry or they've
just gotten married and they don't know a lot
about each other yeah there's just a lot of there's
a lot of bumpiness typically there is some transition
be it move up move down whatever it is there
is a transition or a situation within their own
current life that's pushing them to want to build
exactly right yeah so there might be stressors
there but I always tell the team I am we are
not their therapist Sometimes you feel like it.
Sometimes you feel like it, but we can't let
the client's emotions dictate how the build goes
or the transaction or let it stress out the team.
You said you're not buying the process. I might
argue that you are. Well, you're not buying the
process. You're signing up for that process.
Yes. And we are the expert in that field. Our
train is in motion. We know what happens next.
We know all of the process and everything that
will go step by step by step. If you're going
to get on this train with us, you're going to
ride it in the direction we're taking you and
we can't make stops. Right. That's right. And
we can't answer, are we there yet? Anymore times.
We're not there. Right. So I agree. And I like
that thought. Yeah, they are signing up for it
though. signing up for it right and and it is
it's an inevitable part of building a home right
it has to be built and so there has to be some
there's friction yeah yeah yeah So if you're
signing up to build a new home or another builder
expect that if you're buying a resale home with
an agent expect that and the renovating a home
even if yes if you're entering into a renovation
project expect that there will be fatigue and
frustration and the process itself is Is really
just that but know if you're working with a professional
There's got to be the give and take. You've got
to trust the process. We should name it. We should.
Wouldn't that be a great idea? And thank you
for joining us on that Trust the Process podcast.
We'll see you next time. And until then, bye
bye. Thanks for tuning into the Trust the Process
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