Maryland REALTORS® CEO, Chuck Kasky is joined by Erica Solomon, REALTOR® with Monument Sotheby’s International Realty in Baltimore, Maryland. Erica serves on various local, state, and national boards and committees and has received recognition in the real estate industry by receiving numerous awards and accolades. Erica is an active member and currently serves as vice chair for NAR's global business council forums, NAR she's an NAR federal political coordinator, an NAR SP mentorship program, participant president of FIABCI. The DC Mid-Atlantic council FIABCI is an international real estate federation serving as a business networking organization for real estate professionals globally. Erica has served as treasurer of the DC Metro chapter of Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) , past chair and current member of Maryland REALTORS®, Global Business committee and past chair of the CIPS Institute subcommittee.
In this episode, listeners will learn about the diversity of international real estate markets, the cultural and business practices, how to get started in the international real estate niche, and a few personal experiences from global business expert, Erica Solomon.
For more information on the CIPS designation and how you can incorporate the global market into your business visit: https://www.mdrealtor.org/CIPS or visit https://www.nar.realtor/education/designations-and-certifications/cips-designation
https://www.fiabci.org
Maryland REALTORS® CEO, Chuck Kasky is joined by Erica Solomon, REALTOR® with Monument Sotheby’s International Realty in Baltimore, Maryland. Erica serves on various local, state, and national boards and committees and has received recognition in the real estate industry by receiving numerous awards and accolades. Erica is an active member and currently serves as vice chair for NAR's global business council forums, NAR she's an NAR federal political coordinator, an NAR SP mentorship program, participant president of FIABCI. The DC Mid-Atlantic council FIABCI is an international real estate federation serving as a business networking organization for real estate professionals globally. Erica has served as treasurer of the DC Metro chapter of Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) , past chair and current member of Maryland REALTORS®, Global Business committee and past chair of the CIPS Institute subcommittee.
In this episode, listeners will learn about the diversity of international real estate markets, the cultural and business practices, how to get started in the international real estate niche, and a few personal experiences from global business expert, Erica Solomon.
For more information on the CIPS designation and how you can incorporate the global market into your business visit: https://www.mdrealtor.org/CIPS or visit https://www.nar.realtor/education/designations-and-certifications/cips-designation
https://www.fiabci.org
Global real estate opportunities are everywhere. People move to the United States from other countries, foreign born individuals residing in the us, move to new markets and Americans look to purchase property overseas topics to explore. If you are interested in these opportunities include vacation and second homes, issues, and visa reform international referrals, and working with international clients. The term international or global real estate describes a relatively new phenomenon beginning around the 1980s and keeping pace with globalization, which I know some people think is a bad word, but it really isn't. The term encompasses real property development, sales and leasing transactions across national borders and international real estate could be viewed as one of the most dynamic branches of real estate. Although it is by definition influenced by fluctuating market value in various sec, there between countries and foreign currency issues as well. Of course, as it is here in the us international real estate is best subdivided into commercial and residential transactions. International commercial real estate transactions typically take place between corporations and may involve lead lead to, or be a consequence of legal design, urban planning, engineering, financing, and construction work from a national government perspective. Attracting foreign investment into real estate development projects can be a key priority for increasing revenue and a key strategy for the availability of national infrastructure and amenities. Most international residential real estate transactions are generated by individuals purchasing lots or existing units, whether they be single family homes, apartment buildings, or condominium units, if a person wishes to initiate international real estate investment for the individuals or an institution's portfolio person or financial manager may consider multiple avenues. The indirect method of entering international real estate investment may involve passive investments in securities that are based on international real estate, collateral, or passive investment in international real estate services firms or offices. The direct method of entering international real estate investment may involve total acquisition or partial acquisition of a foreign property. Hello, I'm Chuck Caskey, Maryland realtors, CEO, and you are listening to get real estate, the Maryland realtors podcast. In this episode, we will explore some of the emerging trends in international real estate and provide some ideas for how to explore the opportunities it presents. I'm very excited to be joined today by Erica Solomon, a realtor with monument Sotheby's international Realty in Baltimore, Erica serves on various national state and local boards and committees and has received numerous awards. She's an active member of VA areas, professional organizations, and currently serves as vice chair for NA R's global business council forums, NAR she's an NAR federal political coordinator, an NAR SP mentorship program, participant president of FII USA. The DC C Mid-Atlantic council FII is an international real estate Federation serving as a business networking, uh, organization for real estate professionals. Worldwide. Erica has served as treasurer of the DC Metro chapter of ahea, past chair and current member of Maryland realtors, global business committee and past chair of the C I P S Institute subcommittee, which has gone gangbusters. A lot of people that's the certified international property specialist, and those classes have been full for the last few years. So we know this is an emerging area of interest to our members. Erica's also a board member of the Asian real estate association of America, the DC Metro chapter, a three term member of national association of realtors, affordable housing committee, among many other things. Uh, Erica, welcome to the program. It's great to see you,
Speaker 2:Chuck, thank you for having me. It's good to see you as well.
Speaker 1:We're seeing each other, this is a podcast. We see each other, but it's great to have you here. So I'm just gonna let you go. I mean, of all that intro, first of all, did I get anything wrong? And you know,
Speaker 2:You know, the year and the resume wasn't updated oh,
Speaker 1:Well for you
Speaker 2:Together.
Speaker 1:Well, you've done so much. It's hard to keep track. That's the problem. So you are really knee deep in, in the international real estate trends. So give us an idea. Start, we'll start at a high level. What, what is it, what do we, I started to define it, but maybe refine it a little more. What is it that we're talking about? We're talking about global. So, you know, where's the activity, what kind of things are, are you seeing or are you involved in, and then we'll get into some more specifics. And then we'll, we'll end with how people who are interested can get additional information and, and really make this part of, of their long term plan or their professional opportunity. So tell us a little that, what do you think define global real estate for our members who may not know all that much about it? Let's start there.
Speaker 2:Well, what I'll say Chuck is global real estate is not what we do domestically in our respective states. So the way that you, we have historically practiced real estate is totally different and the mindset needs to change. We need to understand the country in which we're doing business and what their rules are. There are a lot of countries who look to the us to adopt our model from the national association of realtors, so that they can be more in compliant and have more structure. There's some countries that quite frankly don't have structure, but when you get involved in a real estate transaction abroad, those are some of the key things you need to know is who's involved in a real estate transaction, are the realtors one on one with each other. In some countries, multiple agents can represent a seller in a transaction. In some countries, Chuck, you have to have attorneys, attorneys, and, uh, they also are known as notaries. So the notary, as we know it, and here in the us typically can handle the entire real estate transaction. And when you look at immigration laws, as it relates to the real estate transaction, you need make sure that the country will allow either inbound business coming to the United States, or if you're taking an American to another country, what that looks like, what documentation you need, um, the movement of money, you know, through the us channels in abroad, having all these components together. When you look at, you know, here, you as Americans, we cannot sell real estate in any particular country. So you have to make sure that the agreements that you make with realtors and networking is a major part of doing business globally, right? Because like your clients know, like, and trust you, you have to be able to establish a relationship with realtors in a different country because there's, they're the conduit between your buyer and the real estate that they're purchasing. So you are there, you have to make sure that that country has an agreement by which you can get paid. And once that connection is made and that's very key
Speaker 1:Getting paid, you get paid for this. You, you
Speaker 2:Get a referral fee. Absolutely. Yeah. You have to make sure that that country is those documents or you come prepared with a document that's been vetted by your broker's attorney, uh, to make sure that you can interact. And you know, this, um, transaction is gonna be one that's gonna be financially benefiting to you. So once you have, um, identified a country, a you have to make sure you understand their governance, right? You need to know, you know, do they own the land? Do they get a D to the property? How long do they own it? Do I need a visa or will I get a visa? When I come to the country, can I open a bank account? These are the little nuances that really affect the entire process. And those are the things that you need to consider when you are looking at doing business abroad,
Speaker 1:It feels like it could get overwhelming very quickly. If you are trying to cast too wide, a net is, do you find that you people tend to focus or specialize in certain countries or certain parts of the world? Cause I mean, if you're going from Asia to Latin America, to Europe, to south Asia, it's a mind numbingly, vast array of, of financing requirements of cultural D of governmental regulations. I can't even imagine how one would sift through all that. So what do you do to keep your arms around all of those different ways of doing business, which are not going to be how we do business necessarily here in the, in the states.
Speaker 2:That's a good question. And I'm glad you asked that Jeff, because there are a wealth of opportunities in the world and you can be, like you said, in Asia, you can be in south America. And I encourage everyone to travel to these countries and have a general understanding how they do this. But the one thing that I recommend that I find most beneficial to myself is specializing in one country, you don't have to be the expert. It's, it's a lot to be the expert in multiple countries. But if you pick one country and specialize in it just like being a certified international proper these specialists, that's a, this is a specialized niche market within real estate. And so you set aside your time and you getting gross in the Institute, and then you decide, okay, once I earn the designation, then you go to a country and you start to research and you do deep but die and you start to learn, you know, what are the moving parts? What do I really need to know? What are the benefits and what, how does it impact the investor that's going? Or you can be, it could be a second home. It could be someone that's just looking to park their money in another country. And because the return on the investment is much greater than here in the us and with the economic well, with the COVID environment that we're in today is so much easier for investors everyday people to decide to move to another country and to take up residency. So being able to be the expert, if you will, in a particular country will far exceed trying to cash in that too wide and not know all the little nuances that you, you need to successfully get an investor or client through that transaction successfully.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And so once you have, you know, one has kind of focused on a specific let's say country or, or two or whatever then do we distinguish is there, or should one distinguish them between whether we're gonna be representing Americans buying abroad or people from that country or that area buying property in the, here in the states or, or do they go hand in hand?
Speaker 2:Well, they kind of go hand in hand because one of the things that I've learned I learned years ago when I went through the C P S Institute and I went to put all the with and on the application, one of the questions we had to talk about the clients that we've served, how many, um, foreign boring clients have we closed transaction with. And when I went through my, um, history of business, I was a, I was practicing global real estate before I even knew it by way of my client's names, where they were born and, uh, the countries that they were coming from. And I had no idea. So I started in, um, global doing inbound, meaning my clients were living abroad. And so they were buying in the us and now I'm cultivating my business to abroad. Now I'm focusing on two countries and I'm hoping that one day that that transaction will happen. But it's interesting because you know, when you look at the resources and you look at your, and you look at the global opportunities, the one thing I will say, that's a common thread that I found to be successful is that you have to show up. And that means you have to use, leave the us and you have to travel abroad. And that's where your business abroad will start to cultivate.
Speaker 1:So inbound, I would think might be easier. I don't know. It, it seems, and I don't know a lot about this, but what I, the little I do know is the laws in the states are pretty generous for allowing non-US citizens to own property here. How different is that in, in other parts of the world, in terms of, let's say us citizens purchasing properties in, in other parts of the world, how does, how does that measure up?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll talk specifically about Dubai because I do know, um, you know, what their, uh, criteria is. They have a golden visa. So if you invest in Dubai, um, you will be issued a golden visa, which will allow you access to the country for five years. Um, then you can apply, um, or, and you can start a business. So not only can you invest in Dubai, but you can start a business in Dubai and not necessarily live in Dubai. So Dubai offers a vast majority of investment opportunities, as well as being able to come in and purchase and sell real estate in Dubai. So those opportunities is there and it's pretty easy. It's not hard. You just have to make sure that, you know, the financing for an example, don't expect to get a 30 year mortgage, if you're gonna and buy real estate in Dubai and no you're gonna pay 50% of the purchase price. And then at best, you're gonna more about years.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And they're in financial institutions that are set up to deal with Americans, uh, to help them with that mortgage process with competitive, um, interest rates I should add.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. I was gonna ask, did know that. And we are kind of, I don't wanna say spoiled. That's not the right word. We are. We're used to the 30 year mortgage, but I, I don't think our listeners come more. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't, uh, understand how unique it is in the world. I mean, I mean, is I don't where else is, can you get a 30 year mortgage?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I think that's one of the attractions from the flooring buy coming into the us it's cause that they can leverage their money by doing. And when you look at financing and you look at the interest rates, yes. A lot of foreign buyers do use cash. And that's what we love to present an offer from, with a cash buyer. Sure. That's a ideal transaction if you, it, well, however, those buyers put themselves in a unique situation because they can leverage their cash by buying multiple properties versus, and getting a mortgage so that they can expand their portfolio easily in the United States. And they're receptive, you know, even the process of showing properties, Chuck, it's a, it's a little different. And the, the process of having a listing, I mean, there could be five agents trying to sell one house if you're in Belgrade, Serbia,
Speaker 1:Is that right? No exclusive. Uh there's.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And, and, you know, we're used to marketing, you know, when you go online, we understand that that's the first tour that a home buyer's going to get or an investor. And when I was in Belgrade, Serbia going through their pictures, and sometimes these countries don't have MLS where used to MLS. Yeah. That may not be the case, but if you see photos, it's not uncommon in certain countries to see photos taken by a cell phone, it's not uncommon to see dishes in a sink apartments of dis. Right. It's the marketing is totally different. The agents are very competitive of course, because everyone's trying to sell one hunts. And so the commission can be compromised as well when you have five people.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. So that's, yeah. I can imagine there's some pressure, um, to negotiate on, on that as on that aspect as well. I wanted you to talk a little bit, I think what we'll end with, you know, in a few minutes here, uh, where, where to go next for information. I know NAR has a lot of information about this. Uh, and Marilyn, we have a very vibrant global business committee. I want you to talk a little bit about that, but you mentioned boy, Dubai and Serbia. And if we would say, well, GI give me examples of two completely different cultures and how am I supposed to integrate myself into and learn about, and, and survive in an environment with two radically different cultures. How do you prepare yourself for that? And what kinds of things have you encountered that are, have been challenging for you
Speaker 2:In general understanding, or the challenge is finding the right fit for my client. Having knowledge about se the development opportunities, uh, that are taking place currently their waterfront development project on downtown Belgrade, understanding how Japan, what their market, their luxury market looks like compared to what our luxury market looks like in terms of the layout of the home, the square foot parking, just understanding where I'm going to get the right buyer for these projects in these countries. That's been one of my most challenging things that tr and growing the global business. However, I find that having the information gives me leverage because when I'm in an environment where I can speak about these various countries, their opportunities for investment, their, their lifestyle, the culture, the economic impact that's happening in those countries for, for, for Americans. It's interesting people that I talk to that are not investors, but they're Americans. And they may consider outside of Florida to, to relocate or, you know, purchase a second home. Is that when I start talking about abroad, the Dominican Republic may come up because of the crisis there and all that you get for the dollar. And, you know, the lifestyle is totally different. You know, where you can get a chef, you can get a cook, you can get made service, and you're talking a couple hundred thousand dollars, got millions. So that's the challenge that I face is having a, a understanding of what's happening in Japan. What's hap what's happening in R narrow Brazil, Maga Spain, just trying to find the right fit for client to be able to place them in, in close that transaction.
Speaker 1:That's very interesting. Thank you for, for that perspective, Erica. I was wondering if, because you've been doing this for a while, what kind of experiences, something that could maybe give our listeners a flavor for what they might expect, an anecdote, a story you must have a bunch, but know, is there one that you can share that give people kind of an appreciation for what's involved? And I'm really specifically fascinated by the cultural differences and how we navigate different ways of approaching business. And, you know, there's a lot, there's a whole episode on that only, but, you know, so if you, if you have one or you know, that you, you would like to share, I think our, our listeners would, would love to hear it.
Speaker 2:Well, I tell you, Chuck one that really resonates with me in terms of an experience that I had when I attended a real estate conference with women's council of realtors in Maga, Spain, and I arrived there in the people was just so welcoming and warm and friendly and authentically happy to see that we were there and to support the women in real estate there. And we had an agenda like every conference, there's an agenda, there's a start and there's a break. There's the end. And then there's networking. Well, I tell you, Chuck, I was surprised that they party, I mean,
Speaker 1:Start
Speaker 2:Our agenda on time. The agenda starts at 7:00 AM. So you're gonna be up at 7:00 AM. You're gonna be sitting the, uh, conference room or, or the, the wherever, the facility where we are. You're gonna be there. You're gonna be present. You're gonna network. The, the session is gonna begin. You're gonna spring for lunch. You're gonna come back for the session that the session may end at 8:00 PM. Wow. Okay. So full, full agenda. Yeah. AP 7:00 AM. 8:00 PM. It's done. Then you go to dinner. Okay. So you go to dinner from 8:00 PM till about 10 ish or so,
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:Then you go dancing
Speaker 1:And then you go out, then you start your evening. You go,
Speaker 2:You go networking to about two or three in the morning. They don't begin to stop. Wow. They're having authentic, pure fun. And they want the Americans to party with them. So you, you, I didn't wanna be rude. I was exhausted. I was, I just wanted to go to sleep because I knew I had to be up at seven and be present yeah. In the room at 7:00 AM. So they take care of business all day and they're about networking. They want to learn, they want to share cultural experiences, the food they want to feed you. You have to have that cultural experience with them. And I did all of that. And I, I was just blown away. It's like, I'm sorry, but it's 2:00 AM. I really have to go.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:It was like, no, no. And I was like, but yes, yes. Seven o'clock is just like four
Speaker 1:Afternoon naps, I think day. When do you take the afternoon nap?
Speaker 2:You know, that's one of the, the experiences, honestly, that from a business perspective, I, I, I really understood the fact that, um, they focused on the business and they focused on culture with the food and making sure that the Americans were treated like five star all the way through. And then we had that nightlife experience with them and it didn't stop. It went, it ran the entire length of the conference.
Speaker 1:Wow. That's great. Yeah. And, and there are pitfalls though. I mean, you know, some culture is they wanna get right down to business. Some cultures will take their time. Is that right? And that's what I understand. You know, that, that you really do have to understand these things. People are bringing their expectations and their cultures with them, uh, or you're going to them. I think, you know, and, and that's a little tension there, like whose culture, it, that kind of takes precedence even, right? Those are, those are some delicate, uh, decisions we have to make. Right.
Speaker 2:Well, absolutely. And be clear if you're on someone else's soil, you're gonna respect what their procedures are. That culture is now your culture until you leave. And speaking of that on the other side of the spectrum in Dubai, if you have an appointment and you it's at two o'clock, and of course you're gonna get there because where America's gonna get there at least 15 minutes prior to, well, guess what, you could be sitting there for two hours waiting for. So you, you are meeting with, to show up and you, its like, and you think that's rude. No, it's part of their culture.
Speaker 1:That's too ish.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:This afternoon sometime. Right. I've heard that different, different cultures and I, if it's the middle east or not, or yeah, I don't, I don't remember exactly. But, but in some cultures, if you are a minute late, that's rude. Yeah. And oh, and in some cultures it's yeah, we said too, but that's kind of like means sometime this afternoon that's important information to have. And again, I find it end endlessly fascinating personally, but, but people, the bottom line is anybody who is, you know, anticipating or considering doing international real estate. They really have to focus a lot of their attention if they're gonna be successful on how business is conducted in those areas and with those people from different cultures so that you're able to make them comfortable. Otherwise they're just not gonna wanna be around you. Is that the, that the message.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And especially if you're doing business with the Chinese, right. They're gonna have poker face, you know,
Speaker 1:I heard that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know, you're not gonna be able to read them. They may say that they will do business or give you the impression that yes we'll meet. Um, but that meeting may not take place immediately. They're big on cultivating relationships.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So you're gonna sit down, you're gonna eat with them. You're gonna die. You're gonna another family. And it's gonna be a multilayer process before you actually consummate a deal with them.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I've read that. It's even rude to bring it up until they're ready. It's start talking about business. Yeah. Cause we're Americans, we wanna just maybe sometimes just gotta get right down to, to business. And in many cultures, that's a, that's a turnoff. So that's, that's, that's again, one of those interesting aspects of, of this kind of practice and
Speaker 2:This before we transition, but you know, in cultures, um, in the Asian culture, especially the presentation of your business card is so key. Um, and, and, and speaking of root, it's the way that you present it as it's a gift. Right. So you don't just hand it all. No, you present it with both hands, you receive, um, a business card, you acknowledge it, do a slight little dip of the head and you receive it with both hands and then you put it down. Yeah. Your pocket, you put it down and you study it. Yeah. You read. And that shows respect.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I've actually heard. And somebody told me in inadvertently, they witnessed somebody actually put a, it was it, I dunno if it was a Japanese, but let's just say, um, and, and they took the card and then they put it in their wallet and they put their wallet in their back pocket and then they sat on it and they later found out that that's, that was to that person whose card. It was like literally sitting on them, like, that's how, that's how disrespectful that was considered. And of course this person had no idea to that to us it's card stock, you know? It's yeah. I'll, I'll look at that later, but yeah, just those little things, their, their, their potential traps that could undermine your ability to succeed in, in any specific transaction. So that's why, yeah, of course all that other stuff is important, but the cultural stuff I would imagine can make or break your ability to, to, uh, you know, seal that deal.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's why I just think it's fascinating. But anyway, um, so, so if we've, if we've peaked, anybody's interest out there, where do, where would one go for additional information either at the national or state intentionally, even, uh, the local board level, uh, where, where would one go to learn more?
Speaker 2:Good question. Start with NAR, just go into your log into NAR realtor. And then the search bar type global, everything under the sun will appear that's on a national level and
Speaker 1:I can attest to that. That's how I, for today, there's so much information. Really good information.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It, it will take you into the Abys. However, it it's a great place to be because you can learn what you don't know. Yeah. And you can become involved. The national association of realtors does it extremely well. Every year during the convention, the annual conference, there's a global pavilion. You've never been, I would encourage you in, uh, Orlando to visit the global pavilion. You will meet so many people you have to show up and you have to network. Yeah. I can attest to that because my first international speaking, uh, engagement was in Belgrade se and it's because I met the team from Serbia while at the conference.
Speaker 1:See,
Speaker 2:So that you have to follow the N AR global track. And then locally you come to the state, Maryland realtors by far is exploring everybody out of the water will, we're doing, it's a great, the, the, the com the council or, um, the committee council,
Speaker 1:Global business committee,
Speaker 2:Both. Right. Um, the global business council, um, for MES have grown. Yeah. Since the inception. And I was just amazed at, I was a part of that inception and to see where, um, the vision has just continued to expand and the number of, um, members that sit on the committee, the C I P S subcommittee that continues to not only bring new designees C I P S design to Maryland, but abroad. I mean, so we're, we're are global with what we're doing in our state and Maryland realtors is we're, we're just like at the top of our game right now. And I'm proud to be a member of that committee.
Speaker 1:And, and we we're gonna do more. And I, to tell you, you know, the C P S Institute is selling out twice a year, which I would not have predicted, but, but makes perfect sense. In retrospect, of course, and we have people, like you said, from all over the country, and even from foreign, uh, either from other countries that have, especially now that it's, you know, a hybrid or a virtual event can, can come in from anywhere, we've had people travel from different parts of the country to attend our C I P S Institute. And, uh, so we're gonna continue to do that. We're gonna also continue to explore opportunities for some, some trade, maybe, you know, maybe MI in our future. Um, I would like the committee to prepare, you know, make a proposal for that. So anybody's interested sign up for the CIP P S Institute. You learn a lot, whether you're gonna get the designation, cuz you have some transactional requirements, but it's a, it's a wealth of knowledge applied to join, uh, the, the global committee, which is, again, as Erica said, it's a great opportunity to, to dip your toe into some of these issues. And so there's a lot, there's a lot of opportunities for exploring what's out there in, in the global real estate space. So,
Speaker 2:And you have got there's some other resources as well in terms of organizations. You know, the questions I get quite often is what do I do after I achieve my C P S designation and you know, they affiliate with AA, the Asian real estate association of America. They're in our backyard, they're right in DC, DC, Metro chapter, um, theys, the international real estate Federation. That's the criminal CRI for all disciplines that touch real estate and they travel abroad. So you better be prepared to meet with world leaders in being countries that you probably would not have imagined being in Egypt, Paris, France, you know, just the list goes on and on not Ali Indonesia. When I joined fi that was my first business trip B Indonesia and met a developer. Wow. And I've been cultivating a relationship with that developer ever since, but Maryland realtors. I would say once you go on the website with the national association of realtors, come back to Maryland realtors and get involved with the global business committee, um, enroll in the C PS Institute, which is coming up real soon and we're adding the Africa, uh, session to the last day and that's gonna be in person, it's gonna be a hybrid over at, uh, national Harbor and, um, yeah, take your business global. That's where we're going.
Speaker 1:Great. Great. And for anybody who's interested, fi is F I a, B C i.org, F I a, B C i.org to get to, uh, that website. And again, there's a wealth of information there as well. Some of it's in foreign languages, which is also cool, uh, final thoughts, Erica,
Speaker 2:Uh, make sure that you have your passport and make sure that you, it, it's not due expire in the next six
Speaker 1:Months, six months. I know that caught me by surprise the other day. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And make sure you have some extra pages, so, oh right. Do your global entry. Uh, it helps in precheck and clear get it all because you're gonna need it because if you're going global, that will get you through the checkpoints in a breeze.
Speaker 1:Good to know. Good to know. Thank you. Uh, it's been a real pleasure, Erica. So thanks again for joining us and to our listeners. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Uh, this is get real estate, the Maryland realtors podcast. Again, I'm Chuck Caskey, Maryland realtors, CEO. Thanks as always to our esteemed producer, Joshua Woodson, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts like us. Share us, give us five stars. If we've earned them and give us feedback, including guests you'd like us to invite or topics to explore, be well, stay safe. Today's wisdom comes from Omar. Kayam who said be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.