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Episode 050 - How We Changed Brokerages and Farewell to BTL? PART 1

Real Estate Appraisal Between The Lines
Real Estate Appraisal Between The Lines
Episode • Dec 5, 2020 • 40m

Episode 050 - How We Changed Brokerages and Farewell to BTL? PART 1

All things must come to an end…or do they? In this two-parter, we talk about changing things, then moving on to new beginnings.

In this episode, Brian and Cate talk in-depth about what they have been doing for the past couple of months, including joining a new brokerage. B is appraising again and the podcast is changing to reflect those new realities.

Listen to Brian and Cate's story of the "up and downs", "pros and the cons", and the wide range of emotions that they go through while making changes that affect their professional lives.

Don’t worry…BTL isn’t going away, it is simply transforming into something better. Enjoy the episode!

 

SHOW NOTES

  • 00:45 – Welcome back after a long hiatus from the recording studio.
  • 01:37 – We are recording from Studio Q because Cate had “rona”. B is a like a superhero…or a super spreader.
  • 02:35 – Discussion about “basement” vs. “lower level” vs. “dungeon” vs. “cellar”.
  • 02:55 – Hit the “golden” episode 50.
  • 03:30 – Movie Flash Gordon. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows.
  • 04:40 – Song of the Episode: “So Long”, Sound of Music; Producer Christian went on the Sound of Music Tour in Europe
  • 06:00 – “Our Feet Are Same”, Auf wiedersehen.
  • 06:40 – We are back. Thank you for your patience. We want to tell you about what has happened.
  • 07:10 – History of the most important person: B.
  • 07:44 – B has been an appraiser; owned a real estate company since 1998; real estate instructor.
  • 08:20 – Cate in real estate since 2003 with a big brokerage firm and joined w/ B in 2016.
  • 09:05 – More recent changes in January 2020; focus was changed so B wouldn’t appraise as much because he was worn thin. Went from 60 to 70 appraisals per month to about 10 per month. Focused on the real estate school.
  • 10:25 – Early 2020 we started this podcast.
  • 10:40 – Late summer 2020, we made a huge change with our brokerage. We were happy with our brokerage but were lacking some resources that our agents were missing. We interviewed several large firms.
  • 11:45 – After interviewing with many companies, we chose to align with a local Re/Max franchise.
  • 12:10 – Cate: They added brand awareness, national seminars, training possibilities. Benefits of both worlds: we kept our family “feel” with our agents and added the power and benefits of a national brand.
  • 12:40 – Been focused on the decision and transition, which is what we will discuss later in this episode.
  • 13:00 – Many agents typically consider making a move at the end of the year and we wanted to share our history and what we have gone through to make the change.
  • 13:48 – Producer Christian: has met with many agents that have considered switching brands and brokerages. End/Beginning of Year considerations.
  • 14:12 – Many reasons agents consider making the change at the end of the year. Slowed business and commission structure.
  • 14:42 – B is getting back into appraisal work to get back into doing more of that type of work.
  • 15:20 – Producer Christian: even through the podcast, we get a lot of response from the appraisal episodes, which is a foreshadowing of our future. They see B as an “expert.”
  • 16:00 – Cate’s Side Note Tangent: Statistics. B is excited! Stats: average real estate agent changes brokerages 3 times in 10 years. October 2020 there were 1.4 million REALTORS; 64% of them are females; Average age is 55 (B was a little off); Median experience is 9 years; 20% of agents have had their license for one year or less; Average income for those that work 20 – 39 hours: $46,500; Average income for agent that works 60 hours is $145,000 per year. Average agent sells 12 homes per year.
  • 18:53 – Why did we make the switch? Cate hated B. No amount of money we could spend that would match the national firm’s offerings. Our why was to fill in the gap for the 10% to 15% we could not provide.
  • 21:50 – How? Negotiated with the owner to get what we wanted and what we didn’t want. Important to keep what we had. Values; Ethics over money; Help with the transition for us and our agents.
  • 22:50 – B & C had very heated discussions about making the switch. We did this because we were working too much, being the only resource for our agents, became impossible. Lost some agents, but part of what we knew had to happen.
  • 23:49 – Cate: we felt disappointed that we couldn’t provide everything. Letting go of our real estate company.
  • 24:28 – Personally was very emotional. Cate is not a businessperson and business is not in her heart. She tolerated it.
  • 25:20 – Concerned about our agents and we were going to “lose” Cate if we didn’t make this change. She was dutiful soldier and was drowning.
  • 26:10 – Cate: felt like we were disappointing our agents, each other. We had to let go of some control and hand off some of the responsibility.
  • 26:50 – We wanted to maximize our skill sets and focus on those specific skills.
  • 27:18 – Producer Christian – logical reasons to make the switch; more important is how you feel. Look at your heart and your gut. Something has to be there mentally to make that shift. Need some emotional fuel.
  • 28:20 – The change is a pain, so be prepared mentally. Cannot focus on the current pain. Focus on why we made that change. Agents have to figure out what is most important.
  • 30:00 – The emotional stuff is HUGE!
  • 30:20 – Costs: negotiate for business cards, signs, social media, websites, etc. Voice mail message. Clothing.
  • 31:40 – Lack of control. What Cate said, B had to do. We are not the owner anymore. Rules on advertising. Good side is we don’t have to make some of those decisions.
  • 32:55 – Changes to paperwork, commissions, and accounting.
  • 33:47 – We kept our “virtual office” and added physical locations. Big change: we lost some agents. We hated that it happened, but it was for the greater good.
  • 35:12 – Cate: individual agents may lose some clients with the change. It will end up washing out, but emotionally it can be a loss. Lose part of our “family”.
  • 36:10 – From a pure business standpoint is easier to process but prepare for the emotional ride.
  • 36:48 – During this change, B’s school was making a huge rebranding change.
  • 37:20 – Even though it was tough, we see the light and the benefits.
  • 38:00 – What happens to this podcast? We are leaving you with a cliffhanger. Part 2 next week we will get more into what things will look like in our future.
  • 38:56 – B’s Quote of the episode: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” -Nietzsche

 

SHOW LINKS

 

BETWEEN THE LINES LINKS

Email

brian@brianclee.com

cate@craftsmanrg.com

 

Web

brianclee.com

catelee.com

realestatebetweenthelines.com

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestatebetweenthelines/

https://www.facebook.com/Brian-C-Lee-111822417027919/?

 

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcv4dHU39-b5_QVVCIhbcBA?

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