From Handwriting Contracts to TikTok: How This Mother-Daughter Team Succeeds in Real Estate

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:00:13 to 00:00:21

Boom. All right, we are live. Okay, so Mike Mills with Verity mortgage here. This is the Texas Real Estate Finance Podcast. Number 51.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:00:21 to 00:00:54

A lot of these things I've been doing, you wouldn't believe that, but so today we are going to have a unique situation. We have a mother and daughter team showing up today and we are going to chat a little bit about, obviously, real estate in general. Kind of how they got to where they are today, what it's like working together, because that's always fun, whether your mother and daughter, husband and wife, or whatever the case may be, there's always fun little things that come along with that. And then just in general, what the market is doing today, where we're at, what we can look forward to, all that kind of fun stuff. So without further ado, let's welcome Ms.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:00:54 to 00:00:56

Aaron and Zoe.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:00:59 to 00:01:12

All right. So now, Zoe, I'm going to be honest with you. When I did my little promo for this thing, I was trying to get everything all set up. I looked at your last name and I was like, there's no way I'm not even going to try. So I'm going to try right now with you here.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:01:12 to 00:01:17

So you can know that I intentionally know that I would screwed up. So Ben arsdale.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:01:21 to 00:01:37

The hard part is whenever I do the promos and I put them actually on and if I get it wrong, there's no, like, taking it back. You know what I mean? I just screwed it up. So I was like, I'll just say Zoe, and then when she gets here, I'll explain to her why I didn't say her last name. Constantly are saying zoe kirsten.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:01:37 to 00:01:46

That's her middle name. Oh, okay. Well, I appreciate both of you all coming in and traveling over here. I know you had to come all the way from Pantego so far. I know you came from Venus.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:01:47 to 00:02:16

So thanks for popping in here with me for just a little bit. You all have a unique situation in that you've obviously, Aaron been in the business for quite a long time. And Zoe, you're brand new to it. So there's a certain amount of mom's been doing this for a little while and we're going to show or help the daughter along the way. And I can just speak from having a daughter myself that I don't know that I could do that simply because, like I told you before, I've learned in the last five years and I'm pretty much the stupidest person on the planet.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:02:17 to 00:02:31

So I'm pretty sure if I brought my daughter into my business, it would be worse. Now, granted, when they get a little older, I think the appreciation level changes some. She has quit a few times on a daily basis. I think it was there for a while. Yes, it gets a little dicey for a minute.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:02:31 to 00:02:47

If there wasn't tears, then she was definitely quitting. So, Aaron, let's start with you. So how did you get into real estate to begin with? Because I always like to get everybody's backstory a little bit. So we all know because we all come from different backgrounds, especially in this business, because there's so many different types of people.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:02:47 to 00:03:00

How did you get into real estate? And then we'll get into kind of how Zoe kind of joined up with you after that. Yes. So I was graduating from UTA and had a business marketing. So you've been in Arlington your whole life?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:03:00 to 00:03:06

No. So I grew up in Southern California. Okay. I moved here in 95, so I only went to high school here. Got you.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:03:06 to 00:03:33

And really my negotiation back then was that I would just come to high school here and I was going to go back for college. Everybody wants to go back where all my obviously friends and family were. But it didn't take long for Texas to get in your blood. It was in the blood real quick. So went to UTA and business degree, but a lot of marketing and a lot of finance classes.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:03:33 to 00:03:54

My dad was finance director at Johnson and Johnson, like, his entire professional career, and I really always admired that. Well, I used to go with him on the weekends up to the office when he would work. I'd love the big building and the cool big cafeteria, the corporate world. I wanted a corporate job. I wanted a little briefcase.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:03:54 to 00:04:27

And he always worked, I think, like the so it was the Johnson and Johnson building off 360 and 20 that got torn down years ago. And I think that one was only like two stories, but I was like, man, to work in like, a high rise building, like, so cool, super cool. So that was really what I wanted. So graduating from UTA, interviewing for few different jobs, and I actually applied for a listing coordinator position, was being interviewed by Terry Franklin and Mandy Mahoney, her assistant at the time. And like, maybe five minutes into the interview, she literally smacks the table and she's like, no, you are not going to be our listing coordinator.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:04:27 to 00:04:44

And I was like, this lady is so rude. And this was only like my second big girl interview where I was like, am I that terrible? Right? So really what she was saying was, you're not going to be my listing coordinator, but you're going to be my buyer's agent. Well, I didn't know what a listing coordinator was.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:04:44 to 00:04:57

I didn't know what a buyer's agent needed. A job. I needed a job. I had a one and a half year old, and so I was ready to get to work, right? And so she literally said, go get your real estate license.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:04:57 to 00:05:07

And I registered like, that next week. And I went 14 days straight. It was like a four day class and then a three day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, like from 08:00 A.m. To 08:00 P.m. Wow.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:05:07 to 00:05:19

So I did real estate courses in two weeks and then just showed up like, what do I do? Let's go. Yes, I'm ready to sell. Which I really didn't even know that I was selling. I didn't know what that was.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:05:19 to 00:05:36

So this was 2003. Well, real estate courses prepare you for what a contract looked like, and they prepare you for legal stuff that you're never going to use, but they don't really prepare you for how to sell. Right? Yeah. A buyer's agent was such a new concept then.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:05:36 to 00:05:56

Terry was one of the very first mega teams in Arlington, and she was just building it. Like, I was her first buyer's agent. And so super awesome opportunity that I had no idea I was gifted with at the time, because I was her first, so I literally was her little puppy dog. We met at Not Corner Bakery. Cracker Barrel.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:05:56 to 00:06:07

She lived right there in Wimbledon. So I would meet her not to eat breakfast. No, to get in her Suburban. The tiniest little lady in that big old Suburban. And I would just go with her everywhere she went.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:06:07 to 00:06:15

We would pick up clients. We would show a few homes. We would drop them back off. Back in the day, when you would take clients in your car, right in your car. Can you imagine that now, by the way?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:06:15 to 00:06:25

No. We would go back to the office. She would handwrite the contract. We would fax it to the customer to sign, client to sign. Sometimes they'd come in, we'd review it with them.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:06:25 to 00:06:34

But that's like what I did for six months, just follow her around. And then when she felt like I was ready, I was past the pager.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:06:37 to 00:06:41

I got the pager. Do you know what a pager is, Ryan? Do you can you explain?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:06:44 to 00:07:07

So, like, doctors still have pagers, and I felt real important with that pager. But all of her signs had the pager phone number, and so any buyers. And in 2003, there was Realtor.com. That was the only website to find property, and it was two weeks behind. So if you were really looking for property, you were still driving around, you were calling signs they still had when.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:07:07 to 00:07:20

There, like, an MLS fax that would come, like, once a day or something. With like, oh, yeah, the hot sheet to us, but not to not to customers. Yeah. And so they were still driving around. That was like the method of finding your next home was drive the neighborhoods you like, call the sign.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:07:20 to 00:07:30

And so the sign paged me, and then I would return the call. You have to pull over to the pay phone. Right? Do you know what a pay phone is? Yes, I did have a cell phone.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:07:30 to 00:07:45

It was not a smartphone. We didn't have those. That was really for five years, I returned phone calls and showed and sold buyers only. So if you were one of those buyers, and you had a home to sell. We had a listing specialist for you.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:07:46 to 00:07:58

Got you. So it was very specialized team. We had a marketing coordinator, a listing coordinator, a closing coordinator. Like, compartmentalized, it was, which was an awesome way to learn it because I just had to learn my part. Right.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:07:58 to 00:08:09

And with Terry's knowledge, I got really good at that. If she had a listing in Wimbledon, I had to see every home in Wimbledon. Like, it was not an option. Oh, wow. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:08:09 to 00:08:23

Which no one does it. In fact, when I was explaining previewing to her a couple of years ago, there was a couple of agents that were like, Previewing? What is that? I'm like, I had an agent. I put preview on the show, and she's like, what is that?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:08:23 to 00:08:38

They just don't do it anymore. But I did that because the sign was in the yard until it closed. And so I would continue to get buyers that are like, hey, we're really looking for a four bedroom. Well, have you seen the one around the corner? Because that one's actually way better than this one was.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:08:38 to 00:08:49

And that's how I really learned to sell. Yeah. So I did that for five years. Absolutely loved it, but just kind of got to the point where I wanted a little bit more. So I went out on my own.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:08:49 to 00:09:08

Shannon normal progression real estate. Shannon Mulroy and I kind of formed a little team for a couple of years, mainly because we were both moms, and that way, if I wasn't available, she was vice versa. We kind of helped each other out in that. Again, like, awesome time for me. And then I had brayden the market.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:09:09 to 00:09:11

2007.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:09:13 to 00:09:32

If you think it's bad now, right? Live through that. That was real estate specific related to why everything came crashing down, for sure. And I felt like I timed it really well because my number one thing in life is just I wanted to be a mom. And so I didn't even have to struggle with getting to decide if that was going to be you.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:09:32 to 00:09:47

Didn't have a choice. My option. So I got to spend the time that I wanted with Braden at home, I definitely still sold real estate, but not quite the numbers that I used to have. And so in that period of time, also, I started a transaction coordinating business. Agent muscle.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:09:47 to 00:10:06

I was trying to think the other day what it was called, agent muscle. And so Chad and Dennis and all these Kw agents that were really blowing up and building those teams didn't want to do the paperwork side of things. Salespeople never want to do paperwork. And so did that for a few years. Still sold.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:10:06 to 00:10:34

And then really kind of once Braden got into school, I kind of had gave myself permission to kind of really get full back into it. And then that's when I had transitioned to a smaller brokerage and was there for several years. And then just recently, kind of with Zoe coming on and just life changes started my own brokerage. Tell me how, because I always try to look and do a little research for these things. So I have intelligent questions to ask.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:10:34 to 00:10:50

But explain to me how the Collective Living Company works, because are you a broker actually? Do you have your broker's license with them? Is that how that works? Yeah. So I have actually been a broker for, I want to say like three or four years.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:10:50 to 00:11:05

So I got my license when I was up front, broker license. And truthfully, because we got a better deal. You have more education, less likely to be sued. Yes. Being a broker is not rosy.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:11:05 to 00:11:23

I mean, you get into trouble. That was never on my radar at all. And so Amy had really encouraged me to do that. And so I've had my broker's license for several years, and so I still do have it. However, I am still operating under just a Texas broker within.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:11:24 to 00:11:43

There'S like a statewide broker that has all but they don't really do anything, they're just holding the license essentially in the liability. Correct. I'd be curious because you have a little bit on both sides of this, so understanding, because when agents get into the business right. Money is always a thing. I mean, it always is, right?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:11:43 to 00:11:57

So it is, well, what's my split? How much do I get? How much do you get? And when you're new, depending on your point of view, you're okay with sharing your commissions because you don't know anything and you need help and you need mentors and you need people to show you the ropes. Right.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:11:58 to 00:12:15

But then after you're in it for a little bit, then you're like, okay, I don't really need that anymore, I can kind of do my own thing. But I think agents don't understand the liability that comes along with being a broker. And they say, well, they just get to keep the money and they don't do anything. It's like, well, not really. There's actually quite a bit involved there.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:12:15 to 00:12:39

So from your point of view on being a little bit on both sides, I'm seeing that how would you talk to a new agent like your daughter and tell her there is importance to this brokerage side of things and I could do it, but I don't want to. And kind of here's why. Right. So that's actually part of the reason that I did change years ago, was when you are in such a large company, the broker isn't as accessible. Yes.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:12:39 to 00:12:53

And so that person is the one that goes down if things go down. And that's why I've always been like, no thank you. My risk level is real low. Right. And so, like Amy, for instance, up front, super accessible.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:12:53 to 00:13:04

And that's what I absolutely loved about that, because there is more training involved. Eno what's our yearly classes we take, not.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:13:07 to 00:13:27

Continuing education. Yeah. There's just a lot more involved with a broker license. And so when you do have a situation where lawsuit or I'm calling my attorney is involved, you have got to be able to access your broker. And in companies that I've been in in the past, that hasn't always been easy.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:13:27 to 00:13:41

Yes. In fact, Trek, I think, just changed their rule. I think it's two business days now or two calendar days, really. In fact, I'm not sure if it's been officially voted on. I think that was, like, one of the things that's out there now is I think it's been, like, three, maybe four.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:13:42 to 00:14:01

That's just way too long when I mean, if someone says they're going to see you yeah. You cannot sleep. No. And that happens more than people realize, because I think it gets lost in translation sometimes that when you buy a home, it's a very personal transaction. This isn't a business transaction.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:14:01 to 00:14:14

This isn't my company buying another company or buying an office space. This is A. I am relocating my family from A to B, and if anything goes sideways in that, that I wasn't expecting to go. People don't generally just go, oh, well, no, I understand. That makes sense.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:14:15 to 00:14:38

Yes, it does. Not what happens, and unfortunately, in our business, stuff happens, for lack of a better word. Well, and that is why I wanted to educate myself and be able to answer some of those harder questions without going to someone else. But it is important, especially as a new new agent, that is, like, one of the top five questions I have them ask when they are interviewing is who's the broker and are they accessible? Yeah.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:14:38 to 00:14:57

So, Zoe, after seeing your mom do this for so many years and seeing the emotional roller coasters that come along with that, what was it that drew you into wanting to do this? Honestly, just her in 2020, I moved back home from college. She was forced. Yeah. UNT.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:14:57 to 00:15:09

Okay. Oh, you were COVID, right? Yeah. So I moved back in with mom, and she was just really busy at the time and needed some help with the paperwork. Fine.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:15:09 to 00:15:21

Right. Nobody likes paperwork. So we did that for a little bit. Working at home together and living at home together wasn't horrible. The best thing in the world, too much time together.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:15:21 to 00:15:28

I think you need to go back to college. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. There's no doubt about that. Yeah. So I moved out.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:15:28 to 00:15:54

I actually started getting my real estate license. We got an office right by her house, and then I did more of the showing, transaction, coordinating, just learning more and more. Did you have your license at that time, or you were just I did. End up getting yeah, she was doing the transaction, coordinating part, and then when college just abruptly stopped and we were at home with too many hours on our hands. I said, Why don't you go ahead and get licensed while you're here?

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:15:54 to 00:16:10

Yeah, and I can really, with the license. Right. But it was really kind of also the paperwork person should be licensed, and they don't have to be in Texas. But just from a risk reduction standpoint, it just made sense to have her do that, and it gave her something to do. Right.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:16:10 to 00:16:30

We all had way too much free time, and so that was really kind of the thought behind that. But then 21 hit, and there was only one of me. Yes. And 20 different homes to show in a day. And so then she kind of started just showing for me, and so it was like, little by little.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:16:30 to 00:16:53

Well, that's been the craziest thing about our business lately, is that over the last five years, we've had it to where we went from a normal market, let's call it right, in 2018, 2019, and then COVID hits and the brakes just get slammed on. Right. And everything stopped. I mean, everything stops. It was a good probably six months, you say something like that, where everything just completely shut down.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:16:53 to 00:17:09

And then once it opened, it back up again. And of course, being in Texas, things opened up a little bit sooner for us than they did other places in the country. Then it just went balls of the wall. Then it was just like full go, everybody's going. And so you went from nothing to just insanely busy.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:17:09 to 00:17:39

And then the market shifts, rates jump up because inflation gets out of control, and then the brakes get slammed on again. And that's where I want to hear your perspective on it, because, Aaron, I've been in the business long enough. We've seen these up and downs, and you kind of know what they come now. I'd still say I don't think we've ever I can't say even in 2007 and eight, I mean, obviously the issues were related directly to real estate, but these stop and start to such extremes. We've never gone through anything like this before.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:17:39 to 00:17:51

It's completely a unique situation. So from your point of view, getting into the business right, and being brand new to it, and I'm sure Mom's at home going crazy because she's like, this is insane.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:17:54 to 00:18:05

How has that worked out for you so far? Like, just being in it and getting to deal with this all day long? Was it what you expected? No, not at all. Just because of classes and everything, I was not prepared for this.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:18:05 to 00:18:19

But coming in at such a hard, busy time was, I think, really good. It was frustrating to learn go, go. But at the end of the day. It'S trial by fire. Yeah, but at the end of the day, I think I learned a lot more because of it.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:18:19 to 00:18:31

You get a lot more information a lot quicker, and you have to adapt, because if you don't, then you get left behind and then Mom's yelling, I told you to do that. Why did you? Yeah. And, you know, I wanted a lot more work. Not this much work, but a lot more.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:18:31 to 00:18:37

I'm like, go, go. Right? Yeah. So what's the dynamic now with you two as far as, like, how you all are working? Are you all working as a team?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:18:37 to 00:18:53

Are you working individually? I mean, I know with the brokerage there's, you two and Christina. Christina, yes. Are you all working together or how's the dynamic working out? Yeah, so that's kind of, like, ever evolving, too, and kind of shifting as the market shifts.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:18:53 to 00:19:32

So she was doing a lot of showing last summer and she's still showing quite a bit, but really kind of more as a partnership. So anytime we have a new buyer come in, we do a buyer consultation and we do that together. I want them to be familiar with her and for her also to hear their story and what they're looking to do. So right now, I tell people I am still Uber for Braden Bergen, although he'll be 16, like, so soon. So really, after 03:00, if we're during baseball season, I'm just unavailable to show, and that's obviously prime time for people that want to go look at home.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:19:32 to 00:19:51

And so I set that expectation from the very beginning, like, I am fully involved in the transaction. I just might not be able to actually open the door for you on every property. And so that's where we'll create a group text and with the clients. And so when they find a property, it's in there and whoever can get to them first. If we both can, we both do.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:19:51 to 00:20:00

But if it's in the evening, it's mostly her. And so I'm still negotiating and doing all that. Now, she has been working some of her own buyers. Good. Yeah.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:20:00 to 00:20:10

Well, your generation is the one buying houses now. They're moving into that direction, except for the fact they're really expensive. Yeah. She just got a really good deal for some clients on a new build. Oh, nice.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:20:10 to 00:20:18

Yeah. Yes. Well, if there are deals to be had these days, that's where they are. So you brought up your buyer consultation? Consultation.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:20:18 to 00:20:42

So I always want people to be able to pick up stuff from these conversations and learn things. So when you were talking to her about doing the buyer consultations right, walk me through a little bit, like what you do with a buyer, what you feel like is most important in talking to them. And then if you were talking to a new agent like your daughter, what you would say, hey, look, if you're going to talk, make sure you mention this. Make sure you bring up this expectations, all that kind of stuff. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:20:42 to 00:21:01

So I always start by telling them I have this PowerPoint presentation so that I stay on point and remember to tell you all of the points because she will talk all day about it. All day about it. And just ping, ping, ping, ping, all over the place. So it's kind of formal but very informal. It's just more to keep you on track.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:21:01 to 00:21:17

It's 100% to keep me on. So you bring, like, your laptop, you open it up. So we've got a TV. We project to kind of just not funny backstory. But when we got our new office, when we were working at home, we actually had a few clients come in because you couldn't go to Starbucks, right?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:21:17 to 00:21:30

Yes. At this point of my career, most of my clients are my friends. Right. And so we had them in the dining room and just sat and talked about what their goals are and how we can help them. And here's kind of the plan.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:21:31 to 00:21:44

And so getting this new office, I wanted it to feel like you were in my dining room. And so that's literally we kind of designed it. Yeah, we my dining room. And they actually kind of look the same. That's funny.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:21:44 to 00:22:01

And so we sit down at a table. PowerPoint is up. But really the PowerPoint is every mistake that we've made, either myself or a client, in buying a home. We don't want you to make any mistakes in this process. It's so stressful as it is.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:22:01 to 00:22:15

We want to take all that stress out because really, it should be so fun buying a house. Every slide is a mistake. Every slide is a mistake. And so, for instance, we have had a client go on and find a home on Zillow. Zillow says the payment is $2,500.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:22:15 to 00:22:34

They're like, Heck, yes. We show them the home, we get under contract, they have spent at this time, it was probably only like maybe $200 in option fee. They put the earnest money, then the lender sends them their actual payment, like $3,200. So then a super embarrassing for them. Sure.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:22:34 to 00:22:42

Because they're like, Aaron, we can't actually afford this. I mean, they could. They were approved for that amount. Sure. But they didn't know what that boiled down to in payment.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:22:42 to 00:23:03

Right. And so we had to terminate. In fact, I think we even went through our inspection because not all lenders are as great as Mike Mills and provide that information from the get go. And so it's actually something that it's on our list. We kind of make it sound like it's required, but really try to get them to get pre qualified with a preferred lender.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:23:03 to 00:23:24

And all of those preferred lenders, you make sure that they know what that translates to, what that monthly payment is. The sales price doesn't even matter these days. It's like, what is the monthly? Well, we've coached the unfortunate thing is that consumers have been coached by our industry, by lenders, and not necessarily realtors as much, but lenders for sure is. Rates.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:23:24 to 00:23:31

Rates, rates, rates, rates, everybody's. What's the rate? What's the rate? What's the rate? I mean, I get so many phone calls every single week about, hey, we don't want to talk to you about it.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:23:31 to 00:23:41

We just want to know the rate. I'm like, well, there's a lot that goes into that. But either way, right, at the end of the day, it's not the rate, it's the payment. How much of on a monthly basis? And what's funny to me is I don't care what the payment is.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:23:41 to 00:24:19

I just want to know what the rate is. I'm like, well, but those two things, like, very much related to each other because ultimately and that's the biggest difference that's occurred in the last six to eight months of doing this is that home prices have not come down, they've continued to go up, and the crash has not occurred, and interest rates have gone up. So payments have gone up a lot. And having people understand how much the rate impacts it, because depending on the size of the loan, an 8th of a point on an interest rate, the difference between 6.87, five and 7%, other than the fact that one has a seven in front and one has a six, is $30. You know what I mean?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:24:19 to 00:24:51

Obviously, the loan size depends on that. But that mindset of all we care about is the rate and the price. It's like, well, all of those things factor into what's the most important part, which is your payment, because that's the thing that's going to be with you for the next however many years that you have this loan in this house. The one thing that truly dictates if. This is your house or not, the other side of it is that people get into a place where and I try to coach this with my team as well, is to not just give them a payment, explain what is a part of the payment and what you can change and what you can't.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:24:51 to 00:25:04

Because, like, for example, if you're using an FHA loan, mortgage insurance, there's nothing you can do about it. It is what it is. Once you know the size of the loan, you're doing FHA loan, that's what it is. Property taxes. Once you pick the house, it is what it is.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:25:04 to 00:25:14

You can't change that number. There's homestead exemptions. Well, we'll just put a homestead okay, well, you'll save yourself $50. It's not dramatic, right? And then even insurance, homeowners insurance, maybe $25 or $30 a month.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:25:14 to 00:25:27

That's about all you can affect on that number, unless it's a brand new home, right? Then you can get really cheap insurance. But guess what? In three years, it's going to be 200, $225 a month, right? So then the only thing that you can really change of any significance sometimes is a principal interest.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:25:27 to 00:25:49

Well, rates aren't going to go from 7% to 5% overnight. So if someone gets prequalified a couple a week before they're looking or even a month, there's not going to. Be a dramatic shift. And like I said, the difference in an 8th of a point is maybe 30, $40 depend on thing and then even the down payment. Like, I coach people all the time about if I'm you, I don't put down any more money than I absolutely have to.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:25:49 to 00:26:06

Now, today, I might change that a little bit just because rates are so high. But ten grand right now, if you put down in your house is $65 a month, that's it. $10,000 saves you $65. So people think it's like a car. Well, if I just go in and I tweak this and I change that, I can lower my payment $300.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:26:06 to 00:26:28

No, you can't. The only way you can do that is to have a lot of cash or buy a different home. And that's not an uncomfortable conversation, but it's a difficult conversation because as a lender, you end up kind of being the bad guy a little bit. And you're just saying, look, I'm not trying to burst your dreams of home ownership. I'm just saying that your expectation has to be in a good place.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:26:28 to 00:26:47

So that way when you go shopping for houses, you know what you're looking for, right? And we love you for being the bad guy, right? Because then what happens is, like, these people, they were looking at a home that was 450. Well, when they actually this is what we are comfortable spending monthly, that was closer to 353, 75. Well, now they've seen the 450.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:26:47 to 00:27:01

Do you think they are going to be happy at all with a 350? I mean, just miserable experience. It could have been avoided. And so that's where since I've been in the business, it's like make sure they get pre qualified. It's so much more than that now.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:27:02 to 00:27:22

And so we obviously only partner with lenders that will take that time and go through and give them all of the information, not just you're pre approved for 450. Because they were they were pre approved for 450. And yeah, they can afford it. Well, based on our ratio, yeah, but. They just 100% could not correct.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:27:22 to 00:27:37

And so that benefited no one, right. So we kind of went to required really? Now it's just so normal. Like, hey, we want to buy a home this summer. Awesome.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:27:37 to 00:28:12

The very first thing we do is a buyer consult in our office. And no one has said like, no, that's weird. And so it's a lot driven around the financing, but hopefully that portion has kind of been done for them. And if it hasn't, then I tell that same story of why this is so important that you understand what you're going to pay for. But last year really kind of gave us the opportunity to explain the market because what we were finding happening too often was they hear what's happening on the news or whatever, but we'd go and they would fall in.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:28:12 to 00:28:25

Love with this house, and then we would tell them. Okay, well, based on the numbers of this neighborhood the last 30 days, they're going 10% over. And they're like, what in the heck? No. And we're so unprepared for that.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:28:25 to 00:28:35

And we would have to go through and they're like, no, not this one. So of course we'd write the offer. However, what is your best offer? Write it. They'd lose it criteria and we'd move on.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:28:35 to 00:28:47

And it was probably about like house number five that they're like, okay, we've got to offer 10%. Well, guess what? Now it's 15%. Because you've waited because you waited 60 days. I mean, she wrote an offer 22% over and still did not get it.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:28:48 to 00:29:26

How have you told her on that? Because we're dealing with that obviously less now, but back then, how did you explain to her about because it's no different than listing, I think, to some extent because the buyer or the seller in their head has a number that they think it is based off what they're looking at or whatever. And even though you've been doing it for 20 years and you have all the professional knowledge and they hired you for that reason, they still don't want to listen until they actually it's like they have to fail several times in order for them to hear. Have you found a trick to kind of be able to get over that? So we showed them case studies, and they were actual homes that we had sold.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:29:26 to 00:29:43

Okay. And so some of them were listings like, hey, this was a listing that we had. And we would try to find it in their price point. Typically when they're coming in, I know kind of what we're looking for, right, because they've been pre qualified. So we would have a listing that we just sold, and we would be because on a listing, you have all the data from that.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:29:43 to 00:29:50

We got 40 offers. We had one in Woodland West, and I use that one as an example. For a really long time, it was listed.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:29:53 to 00:30:09

I guess our strategy on the listings was always to list it at what we thought it would appraise for, right. Which is kind of like always how we've been doing it. Right. But then telling the sellers, well, based on right now, you'll probably get 1015, whatever those numbers were for that neighborhood. But this house was listed at market value.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:30:09 to 00:30:23

We had 65 offers. Talk about learning how to do I'm. Like a pro at spreadsheets for that. Yeah, 65. I finally just told her if it's not above yeah, if it's not over 300, just don't even put it in the spreadsheet.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:30:23 to 00:30:49

And so we kind of, like, had to document it for the sellers because we want to present everything but 65, that's where we were like, maybe we need to change the spreadsheet strategy, but we got 65. And I think of those 65, like, five of them were cash over 20% of them were 20% over. And so this is real life house. And I would show them the information on the MLS. This is what we've listed it for, this is what it closed for.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:30:49 to 00:31:12

But then the behind the scenes of like, yeah, we did have 65 on this and on this other one, different price point. We had 25 offers. And so that is really where we were able to get buy in much quicker and save them four or five homes of tiers. Right. That really seemed to work because it was Real life information from our market that had just happened.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:31:12 to 00:31:33

And so really, I was updating that spreadsheet. We also made like a good to great offer, I guess, kind of another little worksheet. Like, here's what everyone else is doing and then here's how we've been successful in getting offers accepted. Okay? And not every single category could they do.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:31:33 to 00:31:50

And a lot of it explaining for offering, because a lot of them were like, we'll offer 20% over, we don't care. No, you actually have to have that money in your bank. And then they were like, oh, wait a second, I don't have that. Yes. So really getting them to understand that portion of it too, like what it appraises.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:31:50 to 00:32:10

There was so much more education involved in these last two years because everyone kind of know what an appraisal is. But we haven't had issues for a long time. So really kind of educating them on, oh, if we are going to offer this, you have to guarantee that cash. Right? And so sometimes that wasn't an option for them.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:32:10 to 00:32:25

But there are other things. We can double our earnest money, double our option, pay title, like do all of these things. And so that was kind of constant. We were listing like crazy. And so we had so much of that information that you can't pull that on MLS, right?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:32:25 to 00:33:08

And so I was just constantly updating personal spreadsheet of like, okay, the 10%, by the time we finally got them to get comfortable with 10% over, it really had jumped to 15. And then in some areas, I don't remember what it ended up closing out, but she was 22 over, paid everything, guaranteed it. I think we did an appraisal waiver, like the whole thing and still didn't get it. Well, and now it's flipped because now the listing side of things, because you're dealing with the same, it's a symptom of a similar problem and that now you have sellers that we came. Now granted, I think we're far enough into it now that everybody has a little bit better realistic expectation.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:33:08 to 00:33:21

But either way, you still have sellers that are like, well, no, this house is this much and the neighborhood is like, yeah, they sold six months ago. Well, even going back to seller paid title policy. Yes.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:33:23 to 00:33:47

Literally, the checkbox has always been there, never checked that box that a buyer has ever paid a title policy until and so now that check mark is going back on the seller side, and they're like, no, no one's paying that anymore. And I'm like, well, yeah, actually, you are now. Yeah, because they have other options. I take that back. There's not a bunch of options.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:33:47 to 00:34:12

There is lack of buyers out there, so you just have fewer showings, and there's not as many people coming through the house. So the ones that are there, you got to get them while you can. Back to the collective living thing a little bit, because I did want to ask you, so what was it about that particular setup that attracted you to it when you were looking to make a change? Why was that one the thing that you gravitated to? Yeah, so really control over brand.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:34:12 to 00:34:28

A couple of years ago, it was, like, on Etsy, it was when I had moved to Front, I had, like, a little Aaron Bergen logo made on Etsy. It was, like, $25. And I did my signs and that one in red. Yeah. Everyone was like, oh, my gosh, you have started your own company.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:34:28 to 00:34:36

I was like, no. I don't know why they think that. And I have a bunch of threes Enneagram. Do you do the enneagram? I have no idea what that is.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:34:36 to 00:34:54

Okay, that's a whole other podcast. Wait. It's personality profile. Your threes are kind of like, well, they're achievers, and I have a lot of entrepreneur achiever people in my life, and they're like, Why would you not start your own? You should.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:34:54 to 00:34:59

You've been in it for so long. And again, I just never wanted that responsibility.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:35:01 to 00:35:21

My experience on a team was so fantastic, and any new agent in the business, that's what I tell them, is get on a team. I don't care how much you're paying the camaraderie, just the knowledge, the leads, like, all of it. It just makes sense for a new agent. Yeah. You have to surround yourself with people that know what they're doing in order to get better at the business.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:35:21 to 00:35:38

You can't just be on an island. By yourself for sure, even once. You've been doing it a long time, I think, because it's always constantly changing, and you got to be around people, and you can't just be floating along on your own. Yes. So it was never really kind of on my radar again.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:35:38 to 00:36:10

I think we maybe talked about this preshow where I liked taking my clients from the buyer consultation all the way to being at closing with them if there's something wrong with the paperwork. I did that a lot, a long time myself. But then once she came in, she wasn't having as much interaction with a client. I always wanted them to call me when you already have title and lender involved, throwing another coordinator. She was very kind of behind the scenes.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:36:10 to 00:36:33

Right. That was just how in my world, me being a buyer or seller. That's how I would want it done. There's a gazillion different ways, one's not better than the other, but that's what I wanted for my clients. I wanted just a really high level, and so that's why I've always just kind of ruled out brokerage.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:36:34 to 00:37:14

But having the brand identity like that's just such a big thing now as far as marketing goes, which has been really fun, like the social media part of it, just really embracing that, but wanted just a little bit more control. As far as well, I won't use any brokerage as an example, but you have Banana Real Estate and you and I can both be there and market ourselves completely different. Right? And so, again, I wanted everything like, I don't know if elegance the right word, but just like you had a certain style you wanted to present well. You have to present yourself in a way that you attract that type of client, right?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:37:14 to 00:37:30

Correct. If you want to be a luxury living type agent, then you need to present yourself in a luxury. You can't roll around a Goose T shirt. That's not how that works. Well, that is one thing I noticed about you when we first met years ago that you were doing before.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:37:30 to 00:37:46

Because right now, if you go on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok or anything, it depends on what world you create for yourself. But there's realtors and lender. I mean, everybody's doing social media, or at least some version of it, and there's a lot of people doing it. Not everybody. More people should.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:37:46 to 00:38:24

But what I noticed about you was that you were doing that on a pretty regular, consistent basis before it became the thing that everybody needed to do. Not that there weren't you weren't the first one. But I'm just saying in our area that I saw, especially because you had taken the idea of owning your market, specifically with Pantego, and you were doing the community, going to the bakery and going to the shop and talking to those. And I thought that was brilliant, because when you can endear yourself to a community, whether it be business owners or whether it be people that you interact with on a day to day basis, that isn't just, hey, I'm a realtor ham. A realtor ham.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:38:24 to 00:38:40

A realtor all the time. That's how you grow a business. You don't grow a business by constantly. It's like, I'll see the posts online now about call me to buy or sell your home or I'm here to take your referrals or whatever, and it's. Like, have they not taken a single class?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:38:41 to 00:38:55

That doesn't work. You have to give something of value. And that's something that you did from the very beginning, was giving something of value to the people that you were interacting with. So what was it that put you in a place where you're like, I need to do this? What was the trigger for you on that.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:38:55 to 00:39:20

Yeah, it was a total accident. Oh, really? Yeah, because I think I've just always loved Community, and I really do love Pantego, and I love the business owners there. And so really, I think it actually came from I'm the one that could work technology because we had a Pantego Business alliance. They still meet and they had these ideas of, like, doing mini commercials or whatever, but most of them were like, what?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:39:21 to 00:39:44

And so, Zoe, actually, I don't even know that you were the one videoing then we would go and they were so long, Mike. They're painful now. Five minute long YouTube. But like, all the little stores and all the little restaurants, and I was really just helping them, and I was just kind of like the host of it. It was just like, okay, here's what I love about their store, but show us around.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:39:44 to 00:40:12

Tell us what you guys have. And we just recently did 20. So we celebrated my 20 years in real estate, and so we did 20 days of giveaways. But we highlighted just all the businesses in Pantego or like, things that I loved yeah, sure. And really did that because I want to give back to those and not just the companies, but my following on Instagram, my clients, my friends.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:40:13 to 00:40:54

And that had just way more impact than you would ever think it would. Well, the authenticity of it, and that's the thing these days, especially, and I'm sure your generation is seeing this more and more, is that doing things because you really want to do them, not because you're trying to it's not a means to an end, right? You're like, no, I actually want to do this is really what comes across and gives value to people. Because when you go into that business and you talk to the business owner and you show their place, you're doing that because you want to learn about it. You like going there, you enjoy it, and then all you're doing is adding a layer of, well, if I'm going to do this anyway, then I'm going to use this passion that I have and I want to help this business owner.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:40:54 to 00:41:27

And if that helps me at the same time, then great, right? And there's a reciprocation that happens there. And if you go in and this is the reason that you've stuck with it, because I think that's where a lot of agents lose sight of things because they get to a place where, okay, I'm going to do this particular marketing whatever gimmick they want to run, right? And then when that gimmick doesn't immediately bear fruit, which usually it doesn't, then they quit and they give up on it, and then they move on to something else. And the consistency of something has to be there in order for it to be effective.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:41:27 to 00:41:43

And if you don't care about it and have a passion for it, then you're not going to be consistent with it. So you have to have that real desire. No, I actually want to talk to this business, and I want to go in here, and I want to meet this business owner, and I want to help them because I like it. It makes me feel feel good, not because I think if somebody sees this, they're going to call me to list my house. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:41:44 to 00:42:08

Social media, really? Both from just, like, an engagement, but also from listing advertisement perspective. That's a full time job. Yes. And so when we got real busy, especially with listings, I immediately was like, I cannot do this anymore, and so lucky to have someone close to me start that business.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:42:08 to 00:42:18

And so she's been with us for several years. I have a lot of so you. Have somebody that does. Okay. So I have a lot of the creative ideas, and then, of course, we shoot our own videos.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:42:18 to 00:42:36

We don't have doubles of ourselves. But then I send that to her, and she's the one that makes it beautiful. Yes. That's the hardest part. Definitely not going to pretend that I can do all the things, because that really is a big part of real estate, is realizing what are your strengths or really any job, what are your strengths?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:42:36 to 00:42:46

And it's not that it wasn't well, she definitely is better at it than me, and I am terrible with words. I can say that. Yeah, neither one of us. I passed that Gina on. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:42:46 to 00:42:54

Captions. We'll shoot the video. We'll talk forever. Like, we can definitely do that part. What do we say in the what words do we put on this?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:42:54 to 00:43:12

No clue. And so Rachel, that is her gift, and she knows us well because that's the other thing. There's a lot of companies out there that will do that for you. And then you're like, I don't think that's that person. And not that I want everyone to like, oh, this is all me, by any means, but it does need to reflect you well.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:43:13 to 00:43:34

You have an idea of what you're trying to do and the message you're trying to bring across. And if you give it off to somebody who you don't know and they don't know you. I mean, I've experienced that myself because doing this podcast, I started, like my very first one, I think I was sitting in that room over there, and I was sitting on a stool with, like, a roofer. My buddy Cody. And I was like, hey, will you do this thing with me?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:43:34 to 00:43:48

And he's like, yeah, sure, man. Whatever. So we're sitting there, and it's like, really not awkward, but I kind of knew what I want to do. We were just talking. It was fine because I can talk a lot, but there was nothing polished about it whatsoever.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:43:48 to 00:44:11

But it was one of those things like, well, I just got to start, because when it comes to social media, you're not going to see me pointing at stuff as it rolls down and doing it. That's just not my style. Right, but I can talk and I can have a conversation with somebody, and we can talk about really important things. I'm terrible at the networking stuff. Like, if you ever see me at a networking meeting, I'm probably just found one person.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:44:11 to 00:44:32

I'm talking to that one person because I can't talk about the weather and whatever. It drives me crazy. But my point is that I found this avenue of doing this thing, and I don't get wrapped up in how many people see it or what the downloads are or whatever. I mean, it's getting better, but it's not something I care about that much. But what it is, is I will consistently do it because I like to do it and I enjoy doing it.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:44:32 to 00:45:13

The hard part, though, is that I have hours of content, hours of content, and there is so much that I can do with it to cut it up and put it into micro content and all that stuff. But man, that takes a lot of time. And just even I've gotten better lately at like, when we'll finish up here, I'll go home and I'll put this in a couple of places, and then I'll go through and I'll watch it again. And then I'll go and I'll take little clips that I think, okay, we talked about this topic here, and I'll put it there, talk about this. So I've got three or four minute clips, which I can do that, but then it's the front side of the edit, the backside of the edit, the captions, the zooms and the cuts and all that kind of stuff, which gets really tough.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:45:13 to 00:45:34

And when you're trying to do mortgages, too, or sell real estate, you have. To find people, and then it's changing every day. And that was really where I found huge value in piecing that part out, was the algorithms. I mean, like you even said, 01:00 is a great time for this. That could change all time.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:45:34 to 00:46:00

I cannot spend my time making sure I'm keeping up with that. And so, especially for our listings, we get a lot of views. A lot of people come to our open houses and things because they've seen it on Facebook, Instagram, I really don't even know. At one time, events were doing really good, but then Rachel was telling me last week, that has changed. Now it's something else and it changes.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:46:00 to 00:46:21

I don't have time for that. And so, yeah, definitely huge value in our business when we added her. So, Zoe, because you're younger, and I'm sure not, because I don't mean this you spend all your time on social media, but I'm just saying okay, all right, well, fair enough. Look, we've grown up here, right? I had a conversation with somebody last week.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:46:21 to 00:46:44

She's from Tennessee and she's 25 years old, and she's a Gen Z guru or whatever or has positioned herself that way. And you guys have been raised with social media, and you've been raised with phones, and you've been raised in this world that we were not a part of at all when we grew up. So even though we've adapted right. What year were you born? Not to anyone?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:46:44 to 00:46:55

Anyone? Okay, I'm a little older. I'm 78. But we were born in a time where there were no phones, there were no Internet, there was none of that stuff. We were out till the sun or till the lights came on or whatever.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:46:55 to 00:47:25

But you guys have been under this surveillance world, essentially, because we can watch every move everywhere you go all the time. So you're just used to it. Like, this is just what you have. So what do you think from your generation when you look at the importance of social media and being involved with that? I mean, you all are the first couple of ones when I do my things that actually shared the stories and stuff, because people that I bring on, they just don't think about it because it's like but if you want to get traction on this stuff, that's the thing you got to do.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:47:26 to 00:47:33

So what have you tried to convince? I didn't know how people knew about this. Yes. Somebody texted me yesterday. I was like, It's because she shared it.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:47:33 to 00:47:50

Yes. No, I think that's where a lot of my business comes from is because people my age, my friends, see everything I post on Instagram and social media and things like that, because that's what they want to see. Even a new food place or a boutique. I won't go to the Internet and look it up. I'm going to go on their Instagram and look at their pictures.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:47:50 to 00:48:08

And if they don't have an Instagram. Then don't go there, then don't. And that's crazy because I think even your generation doesn't even use do you all even use Yelp at all? If I need to do a bad. Review, like, if you're just mad, you're like, It's true.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:48:08 to 00:48:23

I'll download it, do my bad review. And then kick it off. Right? Because that was something that Allie that I had last week said. She said that if they're looking for a place to go eat or whatever, that they go to TikTok or Instagram to see if they can find and I never even like, that's never even crossed my mind.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:48:23 to 00:48:33

TikTok for sure. They'll post all the new food places, like, everything. We don't use TikTok that much. Well, and that's another thing going to go away. Well, I don't know.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:48:34 to 00:48:55

I don't think so. I know the whole China thing or whatever, but Google gets way more information on you than TikTok does, okay? They're involved in everything. The difference is in that situation is Google is a US. Company, and TikTok is a Chinese based company, and they are taking Google's money and so Google's mad about that and so they are trying to get them out.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:48:56 to 00:49:10

Not that it's good or bad, I'm just saying that that's the circumstance. No, you can go down rabbit holes with all of that and that's really why we kind of and she may I don't know. Are you on? Well, that's what they use, TikTok. They don't go to Google.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:49:10 to 00:49:16

Right. They use TikTok. Yeah. Do you put your real estate stuff on there? Every once in a while, mainly Instagram, but I'll try and do TikTok, but.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:49:16 to 00:49:31

I'm just saying when they're looking for something right, yeah. If you're looking for a topic or you want to know about if you were trying to buy a house and you wanted to know about what do I need to know about a real estate transaction? They're going to go to TikTok. Yeah. I needed new pots and pans on TikTok the other day.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 00:49:31 to 00:49:39

I said, best pots and pans for Amazon. Ordered it. Well, then you need to be putting more stuff on there. That's true. For my sake.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:49:39 to 00:50:11

It's like you got to pick. Yes. You can't be you cannot be all things. And that's where Instagram has been your lane, and I think you've done a great job with that on growing that, and that's where I think it's important and I'd like you to speak to that on agents trying to do all things to everybody. And you need to be focused, whether it be buyers, agent Listers, I mean, there's a little bit of balance there, but if you're trying to be everything DFW or you're trying to be everything TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:50:11 to 00:50:39

So why do you think it's so important that you have to focus on one area and get really good at that? Yeah, so, years ago, it was kind of described as like a Seal team, right, where I am hyper focused on pantego the O N three. Of course, now we're listing one in Burlson this week and we'll go other areas. But, like, we were talking about Frisco. I have partnered with an awesome agent, she's fantastic at Frisco McKinney, like all that area.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:50:39 to 00:50:53

A, it's a really far drive for me. Yes. B, it has changing so much that competency comes in. It's just not there in Arlington. If you tell me where you want your kids to go to school, I know exactly what neighborhoods and they get funky in Arlington.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:50:53 to 00:51:09

They're not right. People have bought in Wimbledon thinking that their kids are going to go to Martin and they're on the wrong side of the Wimbledon and they're going to Mansfield and that's a real mess. So a Briscoe agent isn't going to have any clue. Right. And in fact, that particular listing, I think, was incorrect on MLS.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:51:09 to 00:51:21

But you know what? When the deal is done, it doesn't matter what MLS says. Yeah. So I think, obviously, being fully engaged in real estate, we still have a. Huge percentage of agents that are part time.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:51:21 to 00:51:44

And for someone who's getting in the business, I just always discourage them from even thinking that that's possible. The last year, well, Zoe just had one this week where it was listed at like, 11:00 in the afternoon, and it said, offers due at 10:00 p.m.. Well, if you're working a full time job, you're probably not even going to be able to show that house until five or six. How are you going to get an offer in? Right?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:51:44 to 00:51:55

You probably haven't written one in a while, so it's going to take you even longer. Right. Like, you're out of practice of all of that. So whoever wrote that doesn't have real. Good understanding of how it's just hard.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:51:55 to 00:52:14

I think this business looks really fun, right? You've got selling Sunset and Joanna Gaines and just all these fun people. But this business really is not about showing homes. Everyone's like, I just want to make it look like I just love homes. And I'm like, yeah, me too, but it's just so much more than that.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:52:14 to 00:52:33

And that's one thing that we were talking about at lunch is just when she was saying she went to school or you go through your courses, it teaches you absolutely nothing. I mean, you have to find the client. And for her, there's been some discouragement there because she is young. I mean, I was young. Well, everybody has to start somewhere.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:52:34 to 00:52:56

Terry was like, you need to go to the Gap and look older. Yes. And so I did. I tried to look older because as much knowledge people still have to trust you. But I was like, Sister, you are learning a just being in homes, showing the amount of homes that she shows is probably more than ten part time agents in a year.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:52:57 to 00:53:07

And again with people not previewing. So she's in the property, she's seeing the pricing. I make her do her own CMAs. She's learning all of that. And then all her friends are graduating.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:53:07 to 00:53:22

They're all getting their big girl, big boy job, and then she's going to be the one that is they're going to get ready for you. Yeah. And so it's just kind of being patient with that. Yeah. I think that's where it's harder when you're younger, because you get the old folk remember doing this?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:53:22 to 00:53:34

I know more than you've ever forgotten. She already knows that. She knows more than most. She's come up against some oldies but goodies and just technology. You got to keep moving along and learning this stuff.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:53:34 to 00:54:02

Well, you're going to position yourself in a good spot because your generation are buying homes. I had something other day I read, it was like the pace at which now, granted, it's changed because the market has changed so much. But up until the last eight months or whatever, gen Z had purchased more homes as a percentage of a generation than even Gen X. We're a part of, I guess are you a millennial? Technically, I'm like, on the border, so I say no.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:54:04 to 00:54:36

But the percentage of Gen Z that are purchasing and buying homes is greater than it was for Gen X generation come through. Now, granted that at the time rates were low and there was a lot more inventory and all that kind of stuff, but it's a desire, and I get frustrated. I don't know if you ever see these things, because I think it's I have a conspiracy brain if you haven't watched any one of my stuff that I do. But I get frustrated with the news media because they make it sound like millennials and Gen Z, they don't want to own homes. They want to live in apartments and condos, and they want to be communal and all this other stuff.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:54:36 to 00:55:04

And I'm like that's true for any young person before you have kids, right? When you don't have kids. And now, granted, the generations are having kids later, so that's part of it. But if you don't have children, then, yeah, you want to go party and hang out and hang out with your friends because that's your world. But the moment the kids show up, you want to get away from all that stuff, and you want to have your own place, and you want to have your own spot, and you don't want Bill banging on your door on your wall next to you telling you what's to come over and have a few drinks.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:55:04 to 00:55:14

That's not what they want. But this idea gets perpetuated out there. But it's going against it because your generation is buying homes. Because they're like, no, I want to have my own place. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:55:14 to 00:55:34

So something that she's constantly saying, too, is like, I'm just throwing away money every month. And so I think they are a little bit more budget like minded. Well, they went through. They also want to retire younger than we have all been retiring and really enjoy life. And so they see home ownership as a path to doing all of that quicker.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:55:34 to 00:55:43

Yeah. She is closing on her first house. All right, congratulations, friend. Or is it listing or a buy or what? Had you oh, no, her own house.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:55:43 to 00:55:50

Oh, your house. Okay. That's really exciting. Okay. She's going to live behind next door.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:55:50 to 00:56:01

Okay. You want to have some drinks? She's going to be knocking on the. Fence, getting a gate put in. Well, hey, look, we're close enough, but we can have our own space.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:56:01 to 00:56:16

We need to be on top of each other. I think that's awesome, and so does my wife. She hopes our daughter wants to do that one day as well. I don't know if she will, but I think she's going to run far away real quick because we're almost an hour into this thing. It goes by fast, right?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:56:16 to 00:56:35

I do want to get your thoughts on the housing market in general. Okay. So we've gone through, like we talked about earlier, all these iterations of home prices up and down, rates up and down. But one of the things that has not occurred that everybody was talking about forever was that this crash was going to happen and all these prices were going to come down. And if you just wait, it'll get better.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:56:35 to 00:56:57

And it hasn't. And in Texas, actually, the peak of home prices were in June of 2022. And we are up almost, not quite 1%, but we're up almost 1% now with rates at seven and 8% from last year. So they've done nothing but go up now. They haven't gone up at the same clip, thank goodness, but they're still going up.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:56:57 to 00:57:17

And I don't see any builds coming on the horizon. I don't see the inventory showing up unless there is just massive job losses and foreclosures that happen, which there's no indication of that yet, anything can happen. But what do you think? Where's the market going? What is it going to look like when Zoe is ready to buy her next house?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:57:17 to 00:57:45

Or when my 15 year old is ready to buy? Where are we going to be? Yeah, so wouldn't we all of the answer, obviously rates are playing into our slower market right now, but it's so funny. Any listing appointment I go to a lot of older people recently, they're like, well, when we bought our first house, it was 18%. And so I think the media is playing such a big role in these sideline buyers, they are terrified by what is being said.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:57:45 to 00:58:15

So that's why we like I've been putting out to all of our clients and on social media, if it's in your thoughts that you might want to buy, let's do a buyer consultation. I mean, obviously we don't charge anything for it. We just want to educate you. And so then we can kind of take some of those lies and help explain what they're actually meaning when they say that and get them with a lender who can. Maybe it's not waiting till it comes down to 5%, maybe they can afford it at 6%.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 00:58:15 to 00:58:51

And seeing what that number looks like as far as affordable housing, I also just think that we're just like, over consuming. Yes, our home is expensive. I bought my first home at 160,000, but I was also making like half. Of what well, when you say the older person that says that the rates were 18% that's right, they were. But that house that they bought for 18% was $60,000 and back in 1955, and this is something I get off on all the time, is if I had my family, there was four of us, me, my wife, my two kids.

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:58:51 to 00:59:06

I could work a solo job by myself, my wife could stay home with my children and help them, because that's part of the issue with society, I think, as whole, is both. We have a lot of working and nobody's raising their kids because they have to work. Because you have to. Right? You have choice?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:59:06 to 00:59:27

Because back then I could have my job, I could have a pension, I could have insurance, I could have all the stuff that I needed, and my wife could stay home and take care of our kids and my kids could go. I could pay for their college, I could buy them cars. I could do all that stuff on my one single income because it was affordable. And nowadays it's not. But were you eating out every meal?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:59:27 to 00:59:43

No you weren't. But the food budget is much that's a small part of it because I. Don'T know about that. Well I read something this was last year so they did a study from 1990, it was from 1995 to 2015 so it was 20 years. Okay?

Mike Mills (Host) | 00:59:43 to 01:00:16

And the average price it was homes, cars, education and there was one other thing but the average price of a house had gone up 350% and there's no inflation. They just said if you just take inflation completely out of it the average cost of education had gone up like 500%. The average cost of a car had gone up like 280% or something like that. But income on average had gone up less than 100% over that period of time. So people's incomes is an imbalance.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:00:16 to 01:00:34

Everything's getting more expensive which is why we have more debt. People have more credit card debt and debt right now than we've had at any point in history, because we're still living the same life that we were living when money was flowing heavily. And now it's starting to contract and everything's much more expensive. And instead of slowing down your lifestyle, we're still spending. You know what I mean?

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:00:34 to 01:00:54

And I'm not saying again it's good, bad, whatever. It's just what it is. And it's unfortunate because the cost of homes have gotten so prohibitive for a lot of people because the starter home like you said I bought my house was $130,000 and this was in 2004 in offshore Wood in Arlington right there by the lake. Nice neighborhood. It was 1400 sqft.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:00:54 to 01:01:15

Perfect little house for my family was awesome. There's no way you're not finding that today. Yeah well and the ones that are like we're going to list a home in Burleson for 252 55, it'll get snagged by an investor and my sellers are really actually being conscious of like hey we'd love to actually sell this to a family. Yeah. And so that'll be something.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:01:15 to 01:01:49

I mean if they want to know that the seller name is on the contract now that doesn't always mean that that family won't then turn around and rent it. But money is money, you know what I mean? We can definitely cash whatever LLC this is an investor that's going to rent this property and that I think is playing a huge role into our issue especially for the first time home buyer. The Dallas Morning News did an article about three months ago, maybe, and actually, Amy was on here. We talked about this a little bit, and I don't know where they get these numbers and how accurate it is, but it was like they said that 50% of the homes in Tarrant County were sold to entities and not individuals in 2022.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:01:49 to 01:02:14

Yeah, I mean, that's even something like, on a very small scale in Pantego. Like, I'm just trying to educate because we're an older community and these people built these homes and they are still living in them. And so, in fact, the home that she's buying, the owner, passed away in December. A lot of families, these kids are like, oh, we'll just dump it off to whoever will just give us quick cash. Well, they don't understand what that means for that neighborhood.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:02:14 to 01:02:30

And these people, I mean, these kids did grow up in the neighborhood. So not that I have to list it, although I'd love to, but that's why it's so imperative on the market. You got to buy a house regardless of the price. You have to figure out how to get it home. Really intrigued, would you agree?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:02:30 to 01:02:58

I mean, of the ones in Panteco that sold this year that were under, like, 325, half of them, as soon as the first sale sign came out of her rent sign came in, I was just crushed by it because it changes the neighborhood, too. But that's why we have to educate people on the importance of why, when they say, you'll know the answer to this. You may not know when's the best time to buy a house, Aaron. Anytime today. Yesterday, anytime right now.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:02:58 to 01:03:27

Because you can't control where rates are going to go. You can't control where prices are going to go, which, if you look at the chart for homes, it's just like this. There's a little bit of this, but it's always on the way up. And it's our job in this industry, doing things like this to help people understand. Like, I know it's expensive, I know that rent is less, but we're moving in a direction that home ownership is going to be so prime for individuals, especially if you want to grow wealth.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:03:27 to 01:03:41

Because when I bought my first house on Shorewood, I bought it right before the crash. I bought it in 2004 and I sold it in 2009. Like, worst time to possibly sell the house, right? I bought it for 130. I sold it for 135.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:03:41 to 01:03:55

In the worst market that there possibly was, I sold it for 5000 more than I bought it. Then. The next house I bought, which was in Mansfield, I bought for $190,000. We did put a pool in, but five years later, we sold it for over $300,000. Right?

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:03:55 to 01:04:30

So there is no other avenue right now, unless you're gambling in the stock market and things that you can put money in a place and get the value and return on your money over a longer period of time than real estate. Would you agree with that? Yeah, well, and being from Southern California and seeing what happened there in the early 2000s, in fact, my two best friends from elementary school, both live in DFW now because we're so affordable. Yes. And so then it's kind of hard to say, like other places, way worse if we're comparing to other parts of the country.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:04:31 to 01:05:03

We are very affordable. And even just talking to her about it the last couple of years, it's make changes in your life now because she is buying a home, she's put it out there. We've been sharing stories on the inspection and of course, the worst inspection I've had in years and years and years, never had a special inspection, didn't appraise, like, all the issues. So her friends are like, well, wait a second, I want to buy a house, but they also want to eat every meal out. And so it's making sacrifice.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:05:03 to 01:05:23

We don't really live in a world of sacrifice right now. And so I think it's everything. Yeah, I don't know if we have time. Do we have time? Embrace Grace is a ministry I've been involved in for several years, and that's a ministry for single women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:05:23 to 01:05:43

But then we also kind of take that to once they've had their babies, like single and parenting. And so I think we've been doing this for about seven years now. So our youngest baby, when mom was pregnant, is now seven. In fact, it was our very first mom that came to the group. She is a teacher, single mom, no child support.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:05:43 to 01:06:17

And so many of them have the goal of home ownership, which is so cool because when I was single mom and young and I was not thinking about buying a house, I'm thinking about surviving the day, trying to get through. And so after years and years of kind of mentoring these women, like this past semester, we just talked about big dreams, like life dreams, and homeownership was one of the goals for a lot of the women. But then they were very quickly defeated by like, well, I'm never going to be able to have 20% down. I'm like, we need to buy our console. You don't need 20% out.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:06:18 to 01:06:42

I'm just never going to be able to do it. Well, that very first mom, Julicia is her name, she purchased a home, single mom, all those things, like no partner, no child support teacher. Now she is in the reserve. So I know that there's like some financial compensation there, but there's not much. But she straight told these other girls, like, I was ready to mom up and where can we cut?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:06:42 to 01:06:53

And all of those things. And she's like, I don't get Starbucks. I have a used car that she's paid off. Like, she doesn't have a car payment and all of these things, and she bought a $325,000 house. So it's possible.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:06:53 to 01:07:18

Absolutely. And that's the thing that your generation actually, I think, because when the old folks talk about these kids these days, I'm like, you know what? The kids these days have a better grasp on their finances than I mean, I was never taught this as a kid. My parents didn't teach me this stuff. And I think you guys, because you went through that crash where you saw the parents struggling and you're like, I'm not going to get myself into that situation.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:07:18 to 01:07:53

I'm going to do everything I can to save and not spend. I mean, granted, there's always extremes on both sides of people that do, but I think as a whole, I think the Gen Z generation is becoming more and more fiscally responsible because they've seen what it leads to if you're not. And I think that that's great. And it's going to give more opportunities for you guys to be able to buy homes and have more available to you so you can actually grow and build wealth over your life, as opposed to spending every nickel you have and living paycheck to paycheck and being in debt, because you just can never get out of that hole. But if you don't have somebody showing you how to do that, then it's very difficult thing to do.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:07:53 to 01:08:11

And I think that ministry that you're running is fantastic because that's the biggest gap between the haves and the haves nots is just the education of how to get there. Because if you can show people how to get there, anybody can do it. You just have to know how, and you got to know the path. Yeah. You're a hoarder of money.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:08:11 to 01:08:23

What made you that way? I like seeing it in my bank account. Well, that's good. I also love to spend my money, but I know the you've saved a. Lot of money just on things that you feel important, right?

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:08:23 to 01:08:26

It's putting the importance on the things. I think a lot of those things are not important.

Zoe Vanarsdel (Guest) | 01:08:28 to 01:08:39

We want to go to the fancy new restaurant. TikTok makes us spend too much. It does. Well, ladies, I really appreciate you all coming in and sitting down. Chat with me for a little bit.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:08:39 to 01:08:57

It's always fun to hear the stories that you have about people and their experiences, especially in our local market here. So I do appreciate your time. Is there anything before we go that you just want to say or leave with or anything that we didn't talk about that you want to discuss? Anything you want to leave people with?

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:09:00 to 01:09:27

I think one of the questions I get a lot in fact, people have been sending me a message on Instagram is like, you're so successful, zoe's doing so great and all these things, and there are a lot of tears behind the scenes. We make it look great. I think we do I think we need some more behind the scenes bloopers, which she does actually do a pretty good job of posting. When I make a mistake, she loves to both my kids. Well, like I said, we're the dumb.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:09:27 to 01:09:40

People, but we are still human. We make a lot of mistakes. We're just trying to learn and grow. Well, no success is ever accomplished without a bunch of mistakes. Like you said earlier, every slide in your buyer's presentation is from mistake that was made.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:09:41 to 01:09:55

And nobody's perfect, and nobody is ever going to be perfect. All you can do is keep trying your best in learning and then sharing what you know to help people out everybody else. Because otherwise, what are we here for, right? Right. Yeah.

Erin Bergin (Guest) | 01:09:55 to 01:10:01

All right, ladies. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you all coming in, and we'll see you guys next week. Audios.

Mike Mills (Host) | 01:10:04 to 01:10:07

All right. There we go. Goes by fast.