Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #63 with Missi Howell

Having multiple customers at one time is part of the job in real estate—but, how about when you have 2 customers ready to make an offer on the SAME HOUSE? This is when things can get tricky...not too trick for guest, Missi Howell. In this episode, Leigh welcomes Missi Howell who has been selling real estate for almost 10 years in Northeast Florida. 

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Time Stamped Show Notes: 

• 00:21 – Introduction for today’s episode 
• 00:35 – Leigh introduces Missi 
• 00:50 – Missi has been selling real estate for 10 years  
• 00:54 – Prior to selling, Missi retired from her 30-year real estate banking business 
• 01:02 – Missi realized that she needed to explore a world outside real estate banking 
• 01:50 – Missi’s market is the NorthEast Florida market 

• 02:05 – The inventory is really low in Florida  
• 03:00 – A year before listing a certain property, the seller called Missi wanting to know how well their house would do a year from then 

• 03:26 – Missi told them their house needed an update 

• 03:48 – The house is a pool home 
• 04:30 – A year later, the seller wanted to list the house  

• 04:49 – The house was updated 

• 05:30 – Missi tells the seller the possible price range of the house 
• 05:49 – The seller priced the house at the top of the price range 
• 06:00 – The house was listed Friday evening 
• 06:43 – After hours, online requests for showings came in and the seller was approving them  
• 06:58 – The next morning, Missi, the seller, and the office’s phones were blasted with calls 
• 07:14 – Within 24 hours of showing, they had 10 offers 
• 08:10 – Sellers can’t handle the stress that much 
• 08:40 – Missi did net sheets with her seller, which is what a professional realtor should be doing 

• 09:42 – It took Missi 2-3 hours to finish her net sheets 

• 10:22 – Sellers don’t always take the highest offer 
• 10:36 – The seller chose to entertain the highest offer and the one with the highest down payment; both had similar requests, equal financing terms, comparable closing dates etc.  
• 12:07 – Missi called the agents to verify the offers 

• 12:30 – Missi called that agent and it turned out that the seller checked the wrong box in regards to seller financing 
• 12:45 – “Make sure your details are correct” because you could lose a deal due to these mistakes 
• 13:13 – A licensee should review the contract so that both parties know what is in the contract 

• 14:34 – Missi had 2 contracts fall apart on a Friday for 2 different reasons 
• 14:56 – On Saturday, Missi got a call from Buyer 1 that a house was going onto the market that they’d be interested seeing  

• 15:31 – The buyer went to the open house and they wanted to make an offer 
• 15:54 – This particular house was priced to sell 
• 16:10 – Missi agreed to write up the offer and that they’d submit it on Monday as the seller was holding offers until then  

• 16:29 – Buyer 2 called Missi and surprisingly, they wanted to look at the SAME HOUSE as Buyer 1 

• 16:44 – Missi told Buyer 2 that she was already writing an offer for the same house for another buyer and explained that she could, legally, represent both of them 
• 17:01 – Missi also gave Buyer 2 the option of being referred to another broker to handle the negotiations—if Buyer 2 wins the negotiations, then Missi would step back in—they agreed to these terms 
• 17:47 – Buyer 1 wanted Missi to represent them and not Buyer 2 
• 18:05 – Buyer 2 still wanted to go with Missi during the showing because they trusted her alongside with their new agent (the agent that would write their offer) 
• 18:43 – Both buyers’ offers were submitted to the seller and they were both Missi’s client 

• 19:08 – What’s the common denominator here? The pool home. If you’re looking for a pool home in Northeast Florida, they’re becoming more popular and people are getting smart  

• 19:49 – The pools are becoming more valuable than they were one or two years ago because of the demand 

• 20:10 – Missi continues to learn and educate herself  
• 20:30 – “The ego takes over for a lot of agents” 
• 20:36 – The buyers need realtors to guide them and not just to sit with them 
• 20:49 – When Missi got into buying real estate, she knew she wouldn’t want additional years to learn something new again 

• 21:05 – “I re-invest back into me” 

• 21:32 – Missi keeps herself committed to her customers  
• 22:17 – Missi thinks that every realtor should be required to obtain the GRI 
• 22:25 – GRI is Graduate for Realtor Institute and it has been updated 
• 22:59 – Missi’s CRS is an advantage for her  

• 23:17 – In CRS, you have the designations everybody can get and then you have designations that no one can get 
• 23:34 – Consumers don’t always know the reference 

• 23:48 – Missi looks for CRS and Women Council of Realtors when referring people 
• 24:40 – “If you don’t make time for your business, then your business will die” 
• 25:23 – Every now and then, Missi has to stop and rebalance 

• 25:28 – It takes practice, commitment and making appointments with yourself and partner in order to manage your load 

• 26:04 – Reach Missi through her email 
• 26:51 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate 

3 Key Points 

1. The realtor should be responsible for the contract and make sure that both parties understand what’s in the contract. 
2. Continue to educate in yourself – invest in your own learning and stay committed. 
3. If you don’t make time for your business, then your business will die. 

Credits 

• Audio Production by Chris Mottram 
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives 
• Cover Design by Two Minds Design 
• Original Music by Rimsky Music