Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown

Now displaying: January, 2017

Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #39 with Steve Westmark 0

Jan 31, 2017

Steve Westmark knew he had to keep his cool when he found his seller asleep and the house a mess minutes after the open house was scheduled to begin. Little did he know, he’d be dealing with paramedics and questioned by the police in this unfortunate, real estate story. In this episode, Leigh interviews Steve Westmark, from Minneapolis, Minnesota—a realtor who stayed calm in a terrible situation.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:20 – Introduction to today’s episode
00:28 – Today Leigh welcomes Steve Westmark!
- 01:03 – Steve started in 1973, right out of elementary school
- 01:09 – Steve works in the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis, Minnesota
01:56 – Steve is finally sharing his real-estate story!
- 01:57 – Steve was planning his open house from 1:00-4:00pm
- 02:04 – Steve arrived at the house at 1:05 and luckily no one was there
- 02:21 – When Steve walked into the house, the seller was not prepared
- 02:40 – Steve started cleaning everything and making the house presentable
- 03:10 – Someone rang the bell, but the seller was still sleeping in bed
- 03:37 – Steve walked the client around the house
- 04:00 – Steve told the client about the potential of the house and took a look at the lot
- 04:24 – Steve walked up the bedroom to wake up the seller
- 04:37 – The seller didn’t look alive, so Steve called 911
- 05:22 – Steve went back to the room, as advised by 911, to verify whether the seller was dead
- 06:09 – Steve closed the open house, even though interested buyers kept coming
- 07:00 – Another client arrived for the open house at the same time as the police
- 07:51 – Steve walked in the house with the police and answered their questions
- 08:42 – The paramedics came and it was confirmed that the seller died from a heart attack, Steve was released by the police
- 09:18 – Steve called the pastor who referred him to the seller and told him the sad news
10:43 – The family of the seller gave Steve back the listing after 6 months
10:50 – Steve was still able to sell the house
11:08 – Leigh’s takeaways from Steve’s story
12:10 – Contact Steve Westmark through his website at com or at SteveWestmark.com

3 Key Points

Plan and organize your open house—be there AHEAD of the scheduled time to make sure everything is in order.
Stay calm and keep your cool, even in the most stressful and unplanned situations.
Do your due diligence and check in with your seller before the open house.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #38 with Susanne Casey 0

Jan 27, 2017

Have you ever considered using Craigslist for your next home purchase? Perhaps it’s just reserved for that broken toaster or teal ottoman you’ve had your eye on. Susanne Casey not only helped one client purchase a house on Craigslist, but THREE clients for the SAME house, over a span of 2 years—poor woman. In this episode, Leigh interviews Susanne Casey from Columbus, Ohio, who takes us into her Craigslist buying fiasco and why sometimes we’re just better off calling a realtor.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:20 – Introduction to today’s episode
00:40 – Today, Leigh welcomes Susanne Casey!
- 01:00 – Susanne is located in Columbus, Ohio
- 01:05 – Real estate is Susanne’s 3rd career
- 01:20 – She started as an agent and now has her own team
- 01:39 – Susanne does charity work with a client
03:00 – Susanne is finally sharing her real-estate story!
- 03:02 – Susanne had a Craigslist house that she helped a buyer purchase 3 times in 2 years
- 03:27 – In 2008, Susanne had a great client that saw a house in Craigslist that was listed for sale by the owner
- 04:25 – The house was overpriced and had 3 owners/decision-makers involved
- 05:20 – Susanne asked for a lower offer than posted
- 06:10 – Susanne and her buyer went to visit the house and made an offer
- 07:00 – The seller rejected the offer and Susanne’s buyer agreed to go with the listing price; the house was sold
- 07:44 – After almost a year, Susanne saw the house listed again on Craigslist by her client that she had helped purchase the house in the first place
- 08:19 – The previous owners wanted to move back
- 08:50 – Susanne brought in new buyers who bought the house
- 09:06 – 8 months later, the house was on Craigslist again!
- 09:13 – The couple who bought the house was getting a divorce
- 09:38 – Susanne brought another buyer in who was represented by a family member that was a commercial agent
- 10:00 – The buyer lived in the neighborhood for 20 years before and the house hasn’t been on Craigslist since
10:43 – Leigh’s takeaways from Susanne’s story
12:20 – Contact Susanne Casey through her Susanne@SusanneCasey.com and at 614-313-8198

3 Key Points

Putting your house on Craigslist can cause more hassle than it’s worth.
Realtors can help you make the right decisions to save money and time.
Don’t ever have the two parties, buyer and seller, in the same place.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #37 with Melissa Kennedy 0

Jan 24, 2017

Melissa Kennedy did her due diligence and advised her client to evaluate over and over again, her decision to buy a trainwreck of a house. Did the client comply? Of course not! Otherwise, we wouldn’t have this story. In this episode, Leigh interviews Melissa Kennedy from Pittsburgh. Tune is as Melissa shares just how stubborn a client can be and the repercussions Melissa endured just for doing her job.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:20 – Introduction to today’s episode
00:44 – Today, Leigh welcomes Melissa Kennedy!
- 00:53 – Melissa has been selling in the suburbs of Pittsburgh for 6 years
- 01:01 – Melissa made $9M last year, by herself
01:16 – Leigh explains the current trend in real estate where agents are turning into teams
02:31 – The $9M equates to about 50 properties that were sold by Melissa
03:18 – Melissa is finally sharing her real-estate story!
- 03:25 – Melissa turned down a listing for the first time
- 03:32 – A past client called Melissa and wanted to make an offer on a house
- 04:07 – Melissa went to the property and took a ton of pictures. She was on the phone with the client describing the place and telling the client how it was worse off than other properties
- 04:26 – The client was really determined to buy
- 04:33 – Melissa advised the client to have a home inspection with a structural engineer
- 04:44 – The house was 100+ years old
- 05:10 – The client decided NOT to see the house or have an inspection
06:06 – One hour before closing:
- 06:13 – Melissa suggested to have a final walkthrough
- 06:24 – They met at the house and the client was blown away by the condition and felt it was worse off than she saw in the photos
- 06:37 – Melissa advised her client to walk away if it was too much for her to handle, but the client wanted to follow through on the sale
- 07:00 – The client was really upset during the closing
- 07:19 – After closing, the client started screaming at Melissa
- 07:30 – The client wanted an idea of what the house could sell for once it was finished and Melissa felt she couldn’t offer her a number because it wasn’t a finished product
- 08:05 – 2 hours after closing and throughout the weekend, the client was bombarding her with texts and calls, sending pictures and her complaints about the house
- 08:45 – The client was unhappy and wanted to get out of it, somehow
- 09:20 – Melissa told her that she can’t “un-sign” the papers
- 10:00 – Melissa decided that she could no longer work with the client
- 10:29 – The client flipped out and wrote Melissa a bad review in Zillow
- 11:09 – The client’s new agent was Melissa’s ex-boyfriend
- 11:33 – The property was listed, then withdrawn, then listed again with a different agent
12:22 – Leigh’s takeaways from Melissa’s story
- 13:35 – “The market is so fluid”
14:23 – Contact Melissa Kennedy through email at MelissaKennedy@Northwood.com or at 412-527 -4393

3 Key Points

Having a great track record with previous clients does NOT guarantee a great experience with your next client.
Do NOT blame the agent for your carelessness and please don’t harass them; they have lives, too.
The real estate market is never steady—you cannot price, today, a product that isn’t finished.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #36 with Sean Moore 0

Jan 20, 2017

In this episode, Leigh interviews Sean Moore, a former police officer who shifted his career into full time real estate. Even though crazy stuff happens in real estate all the time, this police officer’s buyer’s experience is one of the most unbelievable ones you’ll ever hear—mind your ears, there’s porn in this one!

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:28 – Introducing Sean Moore
00:48 – Sean was formerly a police officer but has been in real estate for 12 years
01:01 – His background is in education and training helped him in his real estate career
01:43 – Pre-licensing doesn’t teach you everything you’ll face in the field
02:30 – Sean’s story happened in his 2nd or 3rd year in the business
- 02:42 – In Columbia, Missouri where he works, new construction was booming
- 02:48 – A plethora of new construction homes were built and the biggest bracket was the starter home or the 3-2-2 (3BR/2T&B/2CG)
- 03:27 – Sean was referred to a first-time buyer couple
- 03:38 – The couple had been clear upfront, informing Sean that they are very thorough in checking properties
- 03:50 – The couple told Sean they would probably look at a hundred houses before they could make a decision
- 04:01 – Sean set ground rules for the couple – including giving a login portal for the couple to check out properties on their database
- 04:17 – He also instructed them to do “drive-bys”
- 05:03 – The family got into a habit of printing out data sheets on Fridays before driving by the houses
- 05:19 – Their criteria was New Construction ONLY
- 05:42 – One particular Friday, Sean answered a phone call, and the woman from the couple was screaming terribly into the phone
  - 06:15 – It took Sean 30-40 seconds to calm the woman down
  - 06:32 – Eventually, he figured out what was going on—there was a porn shoot happening on the property they went to look at
  - 06:42 – The husband got on the phone and validated what his wife said
- 07:20 – Sean got off the phone and called the listing agent, who happened to be a friend of his
- 07:42 – Sean told the agent what happened and his agent thought he was joking
- 08:08 – Sean asked his agent to look into the issue
- 08:17 – The agent called back after an hour and it turned out the builder of the house had a foreman dating a pornstar – and they had full consent to use the home as a stage!
- 08:36 – Sean called his buyer back and apologized for what happened
- 08:53 – The wife’s only comment was, “Well, if we to buy that house, Sean, they would have to steam clean those carpets”
09:27 – Sean has better stories in real estate than in law enforcement
10:17 – Past career experiences can definitely help you out in real estate
10:33 – Sean’s experiences being a street cop vs real estate agent
11:04 – There was a guy who was a police officer with Sean but left his career for real estate
11:15 – Now, 6 ex-law enforcers in Sean’s marketplace are successful realtors
12:06 – Leigh points out that buyers who want to look at a hundred homes may be difficult to work with
12:26 – Sean’s professionalism led him to make markers and rules around how he and his buyers could make the home-hunt work
13:06 – In real estate, you track 3 numbers – volume, commission earned and units
13:18 – Focus on the units – these are the people and relationships
14:40 – Reach out to Sean Moore Associates at www.sean-moore.com
15:20 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

Your past career experiences can be of great value and help mightily when launching in to a real estate career.
Always be professional with your clients, even when they aren’t behaving in a professional manner.
Be careful of giving your clients free-license to go check out homes unsupervised.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #35 with Veronica Figueroa 0

Jan 17, 2017

In this episode, Leigh welcomes Veronica Figueroa, a realtor based in Orlando, Florida to the Crazy $hit stage! Veronica will talk about her crazy encounters with squatters, agents gone rogue, and agents who flat-out can’t control their temper when they sale goes south. She will also share her most important insights and advice for dealing with foreclosures, short-sales, and possible recessions.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Introducing Veronica Figueroa
01:01 – Veronica is based in Orlando, Florida and she’s been doing real estate since 2001
01:08 – Contact the Figueroa Team at figueroateam.com
01:43 – Every day you experience more crazy shit in real estate
- 02:10 – All people in real estate can definitely share a story or two
02:43 – People don’t realize that squatters are a real issue
- 03:22 – Realtors wear many hats
- 04:31 – Veronica’s squatter stories included being threatened to be killed with a baseball bat if she reclaimed the house
- 04:50 – Veronica talks about an agent who wanted a property with squatters
05:53 – What you really experience in real estate is something never taught in textbooks
06:55 – Not all realtors disclose the facts to their clients
07:15 – The agents who succeed in real estate are those who aren’t exclusively after money
- 08:04 – A professional realtor should disclose foreclosures
- 08:42 – Pros and cons of foreclosures
09:10 – “What makes a home is a roof over your head with your loved ones”
10:07 – Leigh discuss stock trading, and how you aren’t allowed to handle other people’s money if you declare bankruptcy
11:46 – Veronica’s biggest joy is to help families who have gone through a foreclosure own a home again
12:06 – Veronica shares her short-sale experience
13:06 – Leigh discusses her lessons learned from 2008
13:56 – “It’s never fun to see families lose their homes. It’s never fun to see families break up over financial matters”
14:57 – How millennials take on home ownership
15:20 – Live within your means
15:47 – Be prepared for the next recession
16:07 – “You can’t out hustle hard work”
16:57 – For Orlando, Florida real estate needs, call Veronica and her team at 407 625 3749
17:08 – Veronica’s personal phone is 407 301 9574
17:38 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

Real estate isn’t how it seems in HD TV.
Always disclose everything to your clients.
Be prepared – you never know when the next recession is.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #34 with Dawn Roy 0

Jan 13, 2017

In this episode, Leigh interviews Dawn Roy, an experienced broker based in Virginia. Realtors sometimes compete with one another especially if a buyer is very much ready to purchase a house! At the end of the day, it just comes down to who gives better value to the client. Listen as Dawn shares her crazy experience in an almost-lost client scenario because of a sneaky listing agent.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Introducing Dawn Roy to the show
00:42 – Dawn has just began work as a broker from being a sales realtor
01:04 – The best learnings realtors get are the ones in the start of their careers
01:14 – Dawn’s story happened on her first 3 months in real estate
- 01:19 – She was working as a buying agent and her buyers (a husband and wife) had fallen in love with a home near Dawn’s office
- 01:38 – Being a new player, Dawn immediately made an appointment to view the house by calling the listing agent, who invited them to an open house
- 02:24 – Dawn went to the showing early and—to her surprise—her buyers were already there already too!
  - 03:19 – They were in the house with the listing agent and told her they didn’t need a buyer’s agent anymore
- 03:27 – The listing agent went out to Dawn and told her that her clients are already being contracted
  - 04:16 – The wife loved the house so much, she didn’t want to wait for Dawn and insisted they no longer needed a buyer’s agent
- 05:01 – Carefully, Dawn explained to the couple there would be multiple offers made on this property and that they would need to have all their ducks in a row if they wanted to have a hope of getting it—that’s when the other shoe dropped!
  - 05:09 – The husband told Dawn about his lender who wasn’t available right now
- 05:20 – Dawn saw the opportunity and hit it had, guaranteeing that if the couple used her as a buyer’s agent, they would get the house no matter how many offers came in
- 06:07 – Eventually the husband and wife agreed
- 06:18 – They all went back to Dawn’s office, prepared an offer, and got the lender letter
  - 06:24 – Out of 5 offers, they got the house – and below list price!
- 06:44 – Dawn knew the listing agent was just after the dollar
- 06:56 – When you’re a new agent, you just have to do what you’ve got to do
- 07:36 – A phone call does NOT guarantee the buyers are yours
- 07:48 – Explore your clients’ needs and desires and help them understand the process
- 09:24 – Leigh loves the agent in Dawn’s story who gave her the heads up about her client being contracted
- 10:02 – There’s just good timing in everything
- 11:09 – The questions you ask your clients are what gives them the value
- 11:30 – Reach Dawn through 804 986 9911 or send an email at dawn@dawnroyrealestate.com
- 12:48 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

Always set an appointment prior to any showings – you will have to know your clients well if you’re going to help them buy the house they truly want.
Know your client’s needs and desires and give value to them by helping them understand the real estate process.
Sometimes you just have to go the extra mile to get the deal DONE.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #33 with Drew Fristoe 0

Jan 10, 2017

In this episode, Leigh interviews Drew Fristoe from Fredericksburg, Virginia. You can see the most unexpected things when you walk into a client’s home. What do you do when what you see is a cause for concern when it comes to listing a property? Listen as Drew shares his hilarious story on the Crazy Shit in Real Estate Podcast and how he stumbled upon a very awkward scenario.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:33 – Today Leigh welcomes Drew Fristoe
00:43 – Drew is from Fredericksburg, Virginia

00:52 – Drew is with Coldwell Banker Elite

01:00 – One should visit Fredericksburg if they want to know more about the Civil War
02:12 – Drew worked with an older realtor
02:22 – They had a client who was also an older gentleman that wanted to list his house

02:30 – When Drew had the house viewing, the client was really sick
02:50 – Drew was told to just go around the house, so that’s what he and his partner did
03:00 – Drew’s partner asked him to go into the master’s bedroom and there was a mannequin

03:47 – Drew and his partner talked about the mannequin in the car
04:15 – Drew was wondering what they were going to do with showings
04:35 – The mannequin was gone when the house was listed

05:29 – It was a bit awkward for Drew to explain the mannequin to his older partner
06:18 – The house did sell
07:00 – Leigh mentions she can have a show like “Scandal”
07:50 – Find Drew on social media as Drew Fristoe and call him at 540-847-1212
08:30 – Consumers can also tweet Leigh Brown with their own crazy story

3 Key Points:

Be prepared and be professional—you can see the most unexpected things in a house viewing.
Always be honest with your client about any concerns that come up.
Real estate can be serious and hilarious, at the same time.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #32 with Jennifer Langston 0

Jan 6, 2017

In this episode, Leigh interviews Jennifer Langston from Kansas City, Missouri. Jennifer shares her disheartening experience with an “incarcerated listing” and the events that unfolded that caused her to lose the listing. Listen as Jennifer discusses how this entire process changed Jennifer and her business practices to better prepare for “the worst scenario”.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:21 – Introduction for today’s episode
00:30 – Introducing Jennifer Langston from Kansas City, Missouri
00:39 – Leigh knew Jennifer from the internet, then they met in a senior citizen’s center
01:20 – Jennifer shares about an incarcerated listing

01:36 – Jennifer found out along the way that the seller was in jail
01:50 – The listing was a 1900s farmhouse, in Kansas, that needed a lot of work
02:21 – In Jennifer’s 20 years in the business, the farmhouse was in the worst shape she’s ever seen
02:26 – Jennifer started with a conventional renovation loan
03:35 – The agent wasn’t truly honest about the seller’s incarceration status

04:20 – Jennifer’s buyers started asking her questions about the seller because they googled the seller
04:45 – Jennifer confirmed the seller’s incarceration with the seller’s lawyer
05:35 – In the process, the listing agent had a higher backup offer and did everything to throw Jennifer’s offer out
06:20 – Jennifer’s offer got kicked out because of issues with the power of attorney
07:00 – The listing agent did something unethical
07:31 – Jennifer shares how disappointed she was with the transaction

09:12 – Leigh shares that the consumers are not aware of what realtors have to go through
09:45 – Jennifer discusses the impact of how people treat each other
10:29 – This experience changed Jennifer’s perspective
12:10 – Reach Jennifer at 816-405-2439 and her website
13:27 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

Do your due diligence on the listing agent side RIGHT from the start, so that your set-up well for your contract.
Treat mistakes as a way to improve yourself and benefit your next customers.
Work at a higher standard and be mindful of the way we treat each other.

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Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #31 with Brady Sanford 0

Jan 3, 2017

In this episode, Leigh interviews Brady Sanford from Rockhill, South Carolina. Brady shares how he manages to be both in the appraisal and brokerage world and how choosing his line of work catered to his strengths. Also, Brady shares a key strategy that sellers and listing agents can use to get the most value out of their property when it comes to an appraisal.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:21 – Introduction for today’s episode
00:33 – Leigh introduces Brady
00:52 – Brady is an apprentice appraiser and realtor and is from Rockhill, South Carolina
01:20 – Leigh mentions that South Carolina is a great place for relocation
01:31 – It was intimidating and interesting for Brady to work as an appraiser at his age
02:13 – Brady shares his expectations in the appraisal world
02:35 – Appraising actually takes longer than what Brady expected
03:00 – Brady shares the advantages of how licensing is set up
03:25 – In appraisal, Brady had to work with a supervisor

03:50 – Brady shares a 3,400 sq. ft. house with 2 bedrooms
04:18 – The owners built it on their own land with swimming pool
04:52 – Brady shares the process of appraisal and what his supervisor does
05:40 – It was difficult for Brady to find someone who will take him as an apprentice
05:51 – Brady has been in the business for a few months now
06:25 – Appraisal appeals more to Brady, as he’s good with numbers
07:05 – Brady got advice to get into a brokerage, because it is more profitable
07:21 – Brady has more advantages in his field
07:39 – Brady doesn’t want to be an appraiser forever, but he wants to have patience
08:12 – Brady shares his experience with a realtor
08:45 – It was difficult for Brady to appraise a property in a neighborhood that was obviously increasing in value very quickly
09:15 – Brady shares what the consumers and realtors don’t realize—listing agents can provide supporting documentation to get the value they want out of the property
09:50 – As an appraiser, Brady wants supporting documentation for houses that are fairly similar to the house in question
12:00 – Brady can be reached at 803-318-5473 and by email
12:57 – Tweet Leigh Brown with your very own crazy story in real estate

3 Key Points

Do something you really love and in an area that you are highly skilled.
Appraisal and brokerage go hand in hand – it is absolutely an advantage to be in both.
Supporting documentation that is similar to a house makes an appraiser’s life easier.

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