The Young Professionals Shaping the Future of Land Brokerage - Jake Hubbell

The land business is changing, and a new generation of professionals is helping lead that change.

In this episode, Koby Rickertsen sits down with Jake Hubbell of United Country Colorado Brokers. Jake has built a reputation as one of the industry's emerging leaders through his work in ranch sales, hunting properties, recreational land, business brokerage, and valuation services.

Together, they discuss what younger land professionals are doing differently, how technology and marketing are changing client expectations, and why specialization is becoming increasingly important in today's land market.

The conversation also explores Colorado hunting properties, business valuation, personal branding, and the skills land brokers will need to remain relevant over the next decade.

If you're involved in land sales, farm and ranch brokerage, land investment, or simply want to understand where the industry is heading, this episode is for you.

You can reach Jake @: https://aspenranchrealestate.com/

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Jake Hubble

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Today on the American Land Seller, I'm joined by Jake Hubble of United Country Colorado Brokers, one of the rising stars in the land brokerage business. Hailing from Montras, Colorado, Jake represents a new generation of land professionals who are helping reshape our industry. While many know him for his success selling ranches, hunting properties, and businesses across Colorado, what really stands out is how he's combined traditional land knowledge with modern marketing, technology, and business expertise. Jake earned a degree in professional land and resource management from Western Colorado University and became one of the youngest accredited land consultants in the country. In a relatively short period of time, he has built an impressive track record of success while developing a reputation for innovative marketing, strong client relationships, and a deep understanding of both land and business valuation. Beyond real estate, Jake is an avid enforcement, hunter, and conservation-minded land steward, which gives him a unique perspective on the properties and lifestyles that so many of his clients are pursuing. Today we're going to talk about how the next generation of land brokers are changing the business. We'll discuss marketing, technology, hunting and recreational land, and what the future of our profession may look like over the next decade.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

Welcome to the American Land Seller Podcast with your hosts, Kobe Rickardson and Brittany Murphy. Kobe is an accredited land consultant and the CEO managing broker of Iron Horse Land Company, a multi-state land brokerage specializing in farm, ranch, recreational, and development across the hardware. Brittany is the chief marketing officer of Ironhorse, bringing top-level marketing strategy, brand development, and creative execution built specifically for the landfill. Each week, we bring you real-world insight and expert conversations on land sales, marketing, regulations, economics, and the trends shaping the land market across America. Okay, Toby, and our special guest, let's get started.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Hey everybody, welcome back to the American Land Sellers Podcast. This is a great episode. I know it's gonna be. I mean, we're just getting started, but Jake Hubble from United Country, Colorado Mountain Brokers, correct? Jake? Colorado Brokers, yeah. But friend of mine from uh Montrose area, but works all of Colorado for the most part, I think, don't you, Jake?

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah, yeah. Basically, anyway, I put miles in the truck. I bet you do, man. How are you today? We're good, we're good. It's uh it's a little bit

Water, Snowpack, And Farm Reality

SPEAKER_01 2:50

more toasty weather over here, and hopefully it's not as crispy and windy out in uh Nebraska where you are. But it's uh it's a good day. It's nice and balmy, about 85 right now, and yeah, a great day to be in Colorado.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

I've been told today we might get past a hundred. So I'm where I am. But um, it's all supposed to be headed east for the weekend and get back to some more eighty-ish would be great, eighties, even low nineties. But weather, I'm not complaining about the weather so far this summer, Jake. We have not seen any moisture in a long time, and I've seen some moisture early this year, so we don't complain about the rain and and not even gonna touch the heat. God's doing what he's doing, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah. Everybody out here, and I'll be quick with it, but you know, we had it really just it especially in Colorado, because you know, most of our water that people use for ag and these properties is stored in these high mountain reservoirs, you know, collected from melting snow melt, you know, from the spring and into early summer. And man, we had a terrible snow year. I think a lot of basins were at like 30% maximum, you know, like 30% of normal was our snowpack. And so we had a lot of complications and issues. And then even our local reservoir up here, it's a payone reservoir, it feeds to the Fire Mountain Canal, which serves as like 15,000 acres of land, which, you know, in our area that's a lot of ag ground that gets irrigation water. And that canal was like trying to slide off the side of the mountain earlier this spring, so they had to do a whole project, and it's just been a really interesting year between the combination of like bad snowpack, bad snow, having issues that come up with the canal and stuff like that. And you know, it's it's just been a really it's a big test for everybody. And then also in our area, it's big for known for you know, orchards, fruit, pears, peaches, apples, and all that. I mean, there's a a significant portion of our North Fork Valley is in orchards, and we had a a really big heat spell in like March, and then in April it froze down to like 22 degrees and froze every single bud off the trees up here. And uh so I mean it's just been a really hard year for a lot of the the farmers and people in AG, so it's definitely a an interesting summer so far.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Yeah, that's that's too bad. Uh you know, I like I think even uh my local rotary club, I think that's where they get their peaches from in the that they sell here in the fall or whatever, so from your area somewhere. But but anyway, um I'm so excited to have you on here today. I want to talk to you a little bit about you're getting to be like kind of a rising star, especially in the Realtors Land Institute world, because I think you were at one point the youngest accredited land consultant in RLI or ever.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I don't think ever. Uh, but I I know that I think right now I'm the youngest in the state of Colorado, and but no, I I think there's somebody else that did it when they're like, gosh, like 20 years old or 19 or something, and you know, which is really commendable. But you know, I think I was like, gosh, 25 or 26 when I got maybe 27 when I got my ALC. So not too sure. But uh yeah, definitely I guess as far as in the ranks, you see a lot of older guys in the industry. It's definitely a an older industry. So I'm you know, now I'm 30 and still one of the younger ones. But yeah, it's kind of it's interesting to see all the young guys now or young girls coming into the industry as well that are younger than me. And I remember being the youngest one in the room at 21. So it's uh you know, it's kind of a blend of both.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Yeah, we we have uh as you know, Brittany Murphy works for for us with us. She's our chief operating officer, and uh her husband, I think, might have been one of the youngest. He was in his early twenties, I know when he got it. So um, but uh But no, but again, it's I mean I went through the process

Starting Young And Earning Trust

SPEAKER_02 6:20

in my forties, so um, I can tell you it's it's not an easy process to go through. And so kudos to you. But let's talk about some of the pluses, the minuses, the really the things that that you kind of face as being somebody starting in this business at 21 years old. Like I know when I had Remax Home Farm and Ranch, I had a lot of residential agents that were young, and I could tell you the the hurdles that they had to overcome were pretty significant, and I can't even imagine living in a world where your buyers and sellers are either either high-end investment companies that you're trying to to woo over, or an older generation that's used to a seasoned professional on their side trying to tell them, Hey, you know, I'm just as good as as the older guys are, if not better, because of some of the stuff I know. So just kind of free associate on that a little bit and what's it what's it been like?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Yeah. Uh I mean, so kind of go off what you said to start with. I mean, there's a reason why everybody likes experience because I mean you've got experienced brokers, they have a network, they know way too many people, and you know, having that uh you know, the history of doing deals, track records, you know, experience in different transactions, because I mean I learned something on every single deal. And so, I mean, that's that's something to be said with uh why people want people with experience. And so I guess, you know, if I was giving a recommendation to somebody newer and younger in the land industry, I would be, you know, pointing towards them as far as like, look, you're not gonna have that experience, you're not gonna be the person that has been around in that area since you know 30, 40 years ago and knows every landowner and and person like that. I mean, you know, any young kid my age or our age, you know, probably not owning real estate or ranches and that kind of a st a thing, it's not your sphere of influence. So, you know, you you really got a parlay. And in my advice, I would recommend to anybody getting the land industry, which is what I did, was you know, partner with somebody who's experienced and older. And so for me it was a natural fit with my dad, you know, owning and running our company. I kind of tagged along and started filling in the gaps where I could help him. And so, whether that's in technology stuff or just implementing yourself more in like a a secondary position in a listing and being the guy that communicates with the clients every day and you know, helps with the marketing and presentation, that kind of stuff, you know, my my key and tip to somebody younger is, you know, go work with somebody and you know, r be there, you know, attach their hip for the first two, three years of your of your business. And even to this day, I mean, I still, you know, I've sold plenty of real estate and I feel like I'm competent enough to do stuff, but a lot of sellers are gonna want to see somebody with experience or expertise with you. So that's why I co-list a lot of stuff with uh either Lauren or my dad on deals, just because, you know, whether or not uh you know I'm the the driving factor of eventually getting something sold, sellers and and people want to know that somebody experienced and that's been through it is involved in the deal and will have that expertise. So, you know, it's it's pretty good when you got Lauren or Gary with me on on properties and we make a pretty good team because you know I call it like the old dog and the new tricks. That's kind of our thing. But yeah, I mean that's kind of I guess, you know, if you're younger, it's uh it's gonna be harder to get started. And I see a lot of realtors that they go start like in the residential field, kind of like you're talking about, and they just get their license and they're like, Alright, I'm a realtor, like now what? And you know, real estate school teaches you how to do contracts and not like discriminate against certain classes. That's it doesn't teach you how to get clients, have a business or be successful in that business, also communicating with people where to market and do that kind of thing. And that's why it's really important, you know. And it says like, you know, the guidelines of two years underneath somebody else for before you could do whatever else. But I think that really it's important for a younger, if you're younger in the industry, get started and just go try to find somebody who's willing to take you on and mentor you and whether or not you just work for free and try to be, you know, included in deals for a minor percentage. Experience is better than trying to, you know, act like you're you're some big thing and you're not.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

Yeah, you know, the one one of the things just getting to know you over the last few years, Jake, that I really do appreciate about you is that you're a realistic person. I think a lot of people expect someone your age to just have this entitlement attitude, and you have the exact right attitude to be a success in this business, which is I think you told me one day that you're you're gonna go hang out with Lauren and and Gary, and you're gonna just catch the scraps that fall off the table and live off of those until you can prove, you know, prove to the industry that you're that you're bet you know, you're as good, if not better, than those guys are, you know. But and I think that if you're gonna be, I think that's a tale that everybody out there that's listening to this that says, Hey, I really think I could be even in real estate to begin with, is go find that mentor that's willing to work with you, that has so much business that they've got, you know, that they've created a a spot for somebody, and then just go whatever do whatever it takes to, you know, to get your name out there, you know. And so I think that's extremely smart.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Go ahead. Yeah, and and I think,

Mentors, Teams, And RLI Advantage

SPEAKER_01 11:10

you know, at the end of the day, I I'd I'd I'd say that uh like I said, that the best thing you can do is get experience and knowledge and you know, work through deals, learn something. Because I, you know, like I said, you learn something new on every single transaction. I'm learning stuff from my clients about how to do real estate on a daily basis. You know, it makes us smarter as brokers. It makes me think back when I started, you know, basically nine years ago. I'm like, man, I mean, what a hazard to have me out there. But that's why you have somebody with supervision like my dad to you know to oversee things when you are a young agent. And so, yeah, I mean, I guess my tip is find if if you're a younger agent wanting to get into it, you're not the expert. You know, all these guys, as much as we want to be arrogant and cocky, and you know, just because we know how to use Facebook and market better and you know, all the other things I do, I am good at that. But at the same time, there's a reason people with experience continue to get business and you know, make yourself useful to one of those guys where you can say, Hey man, like I'll help you, you know, I'll be basically your assistant, you take me everywhere, I'll make sure you get listing presentations out when they're supposed to be out, I'll make sure I communicate with people, like basically be somebody's assistant, but it's gonna help you out ten times over than if you're just gonna try to go out and lone wolf it. And and there are some people that do that. I know some young young people in the land industry, especially through RLI, some younger gals, like I think Delany Clark down in Texas. I mean, man, she was on a hot streak there for a while. And uh, but uh, you know, just folks like that. But it's it's really harder to as a young person go out there and just procure business yourself. So get experience, you know, work with somebody and help them with you know the stuff that they need help with, which is probably photos, marketing, video, you know, different stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Yeah. Talking you're talking about Delaney Clark from REMAX, she was 30 under 30 with Remax like several years ago. She is yeah, I think the only thing that slowed her down was having uh having a baby, but I don't think it slowed her down much. I just just saw her a couple weeks ago at the land conference, and yeah, you you know, and that's one of the things that's really you know exciting for me is that to watch you guys that you younger, you know, and again, you're 30, so I don't know how young that is, but when you're 50 like I am, you 30's pretty young.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Um have you guys what's that? I said 30 feels old now.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

Wait till you're 40 and you have sleep-related injuries and things like that. Yeah. Like you know, like when you get to be 50, you're almost halfway afraid of the gym. You know, like when you're your age, yeah, you're in there punishing yourself. But uh no, but like I I think like the younger ones like uh like Hallie and you, and you know, like Delaney and um Jake, well, he's not really in the industry anymore, but Brittany, what she's doing, not necessarily in the in the agent world or the broker world anymore, but definitely over neck deep in in the world of of real estate. And so it's just kind of fun to see how that attitude of gratefulness, you know, that I think that we kind of if you watch social media, you just don't you think that that doesn't exist in in that generation that you're in, and it really does. And there's really some high-powered people that are you know completely capable. I mean, I I'm pretty sure, you know, if we went up against each other in a in a list in a listing competition, I I would have a hard time keeping up with you, I'm pretty sure. So but I think if the future looks bright in RLI, I can tell you that from you guys. What was that?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

I said, yeah, vice versa. It'd be it'd be challenged for sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

But that's what makes the industry great is the fact that you know, like if I could just slop it and just win all, you know, win all the listings and be as as you know low bar as I can, then we wouldn't be as excited to to get up every day and come to the jobs that we have because it's the it's the great people in the industry that sharpen each other and keep I wake up and think about what you guys are doing out there and whether what I can do to to uh to elevate my business just a little bit more every single day. And I think it's the same, you know, br vice versa. And so yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

And and that's kind of uh, you know, another thing to to touch on if real fast is you know, get involved with these organizations too. I mean, even from the local level of your local board and go on like the property tours and get to know the other agents because it makes it a lot easier for negotiations, it benefits you and your clients at the end of the day. And you know, joining RLI is probably one of the best things for my business just because you know high tides raise all ships and surround yourself with the 10 best people you can be, and hopefully you'll be the average of them. You know, that's kind of been the the advice I I've always ran by. So surrounding yourself by people that are doing way better than me, I'm just trying to keep up, you know. And there's like I said, there's tons of people in RLI, like Russell Hickey, Justin, and uh Joette, uh you know, Scott Oliver, and I mean all these guys, and they're just you know crushing it, Craig Townsend too. And that's why I really you know appreciate getting to be around people like that and you can talk and you learn so much just about how to, you know, if you're a 21-year-old and you go to listing presentation versus you have some guy like Craig Townsend to Russell Hickey or Justin Osborne with you, you're just gonna learn on how to talk real estate to a client versus just I can sell your property, you know, it's yeah, it's uh it's a it's a big thing that you learn too.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

Yeah, and I think what like you're it's it's to me, it's like you see those old school, like old timey real real estate professionals, especially a lot in the land world where it's kind of like they don't want to cooperate, they don't want anything to do with anybody else, they do it the way they want to, they think it's idiotic to go join these organizations and be a part of this kind of stuff. And in my mind, I'm like, well, you're not even really my competition anymore, because like we're already doing so many more things than than you are for clients, but you know, I but the clients that pick those guys, I'm sure they have their reasons for doing it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

But yeah, well, and that's that's something you I face on a daily basis, is uh and still it's something that happens around here is you see some of the the local old dogs in in the valley that get these listings, and I go, Man, I would make that thing look so good. I know how I'd market that, I know how I'd present it. But I mean that's you know, kind of into another point to to spiral off into, but it's you know, it's all relationships and keeping good relationships, knowing people in your community, and uh keeping your Rolodex, you know, documented so you can reach out and touch people. But obviously somebody has a relationship with that other broker and they used them. And you know, I always kind of get that little jealousy twinge where I'm like, man, I do you know so so many different things on how I present a listing or marketing and whatever. But at the end of the day, it's whoever's got the relationship, and those people trust them to sell one of their biggest assets.

SPEAKER_02 17:25

Yeah, I and and again, like I think part of it is is how do you figure out how to educate the you know, the people, the clients, potential customers, all those on what could be. Because I think um a lot of times it's it's like any other choice. If I need a gallon of milk, I know what store to go to until that store ticks me off and I just keep going back, you know. And so I think being a part of those organizations, like you said, social media, act, you know, being active on social media, being a member of the Rotary Club or the Lions Club or your local, you know, going to the sporting events and things like that in your community uh to be available because people just ask you questions, you know, and so it's a it's a great opportunity. We're gonna take a quick break, Jake, and we will be right back.

Building A Land Value Data System

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Hey ever. The Land Report. The American Land Seller Podcast is proud to be sponsored by the Land Report. For landowners, investors, and land professionals who want more than headlines, the Land Report goes deeper. Market trends, data-driven insight, and long-form storytelling focused entirely on land. This is not residential real estate news. This is land, big land, working land, legacy land. Visit thelandreport.com and see why it remains the most trusted publication in the land industry.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

We're back here with Jake Hubble from United Country Colorado Brokers. Did I get that this time, Jake? I if you want if you've watched this podcast, it's almost assured that even though I've known you for six or seven years, probably will not get your company name right until the third phase. So I think I got it this time.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

So yeah. We're out of it this time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

So we talked about youth in the business and how you overcome it starting out in this business at 21 years old, which I I guess I don't know that I could have handled it at 21 years old. Honestly, I don't think I would like I was a pretty uh late bloomer as far as like not being such a you know, like a kid attitude. So it really kind of takes a more of a I don't know exactly what, but it it takes a little bit more mature of an attitude. And I was kind of as a young sailor at 21, don't think I was very mature. So the Navy was great for me while I grew up, but but now you're in that position where people are calling you instead of Lauren and and your dad. How is it that you're like what you've gotta have competitive intelligence, you've gotta have knowledge about the market and the and what's going on around. How is it you keep up with all this stuff?

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Yeah, I you know, kind of the the basis of it all is it's it's data. And uh the easiest way to to attribute it is, you know, you're you're operating in in an industry where land and data and everything like that matters. And so, you know, one thing that I personally do that I uh I try to, you know, that really qu equips me and gives me what I feel like is a competitive edge or at least like the ability to, like we talked about in the last segment, sound like you know what the heck you're talking about. I try to keep track of all the data and review stuff, look at all the county sales analytics on, you know, what was the size of the acreage, if it was irrigated, where it was located, that kind of stuff. But whether it's you know, higher mountain ground that's gonna be over 7,000 feet to 10,000 feet or whatever for hunting properties and the aspens and pines, and you know, maybe it's just a grazing property for cattle and then a hunting property, what those values are. I try to track, you know, all those sales, and then I track sales in the farm ground areas, lower mountain ranches, you know, kind of irrigated hay ground for you know the primary residents of cattle farmers. I try to keep and track a database and I do it with land ID. I just like you know, whenever I know about sales or I search the sales and MLS and the solds, I make a a map of recording all those sales data and notes on it that I can. So what it does is it equips me to where then, you know, I like yesterday we were out showing a property and one of the guys was kind of asking us about value and you know different metrics and stuff like that, and it was a hunting place, and so I actually sent him a the map this morning where I'm like, hey, here's that map, and this shows every sale in the past two years of mountain ground from 80, 40 acres up to you know five thousand acres in this western Colorado region area, and it shows you, you know, our property priced at $2,493 an acre for mountain ground is a darn good deal. And so, you know, that's it's kind of like I mean, I just think it's really important whether you're you know the I'd say the three or four main asset classes if you're talking about just land specifically, is gonna be like the mountain hunting ranches that are grazing ranches for cattle in the summer. Then you got like, you know, farm ground. Which is like furrow irrigated, you know, corn, soybeans, uh, onion, other stuff like that, you know, in the Montrose area. Or you've got like ranches, which are going to be hay ranches or cattle operations, stuff like that, and then transitional ground, which is, you know, developments coming out of the towns. So, you know, keeping a track on the different values of price per acre for each one of those, like, you know, in the Olatha area between selling 49 acres, 64 acres, and recently another 84 acres, your average price per acre on good irrigated farm ground in the Delta Montrose Aletha area area for irrigated acreage, you're gonna be running 8,900 bucks an acre to 9,100 bucks an acre for over 40 acres kind of pieces. Then if you're looking at mountain ground, we're talking 3,400 bucks an acre up to about 3700, 3,800 bucks an acre for large mountain pieces over a thousand acres. But as you start getting the smaller acreage pieces that are more affordable, quote unquote, to people, you know, you're gonna be looking at more in the 4,000 to maybe 4,500, 5,000 bucks an acre, depending on the piece for mountain ground. So, you know, having the ability to tell people information, it makes you sound more educated. And, you know, kind of like the example I I know I've used with you before is, you know, attribute this like you're a car salesman. I mean, if you if you walked on the dealership lot and you knew, all right, I gotta buy a dually 3,500 and I need a diesel, you know, and I want something newer than 2014, and you ask the car salesman, hey man, like what do you got for you know new dually diesels? Would you want to work with that car salesman who doesn't know crap trucks or diesels or the inventory he has in the lot there? And so that's kind of one of the things too I, you know, talk to young agents about is like, tell me about the best horse properties in the Western Slope. You know, if you want to deal in horse property specifically, or if you want to deal in ranches specifically, do you know your inventory or the data behind it? And so that's one of the biggest ways that I've kind of, you know, just me, you know, being younger, that's the best way you can prove your competency to people.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Yeah, it's well, it's kind of like you said, it doesn't matter what your product is, you have to know your product. And so, you know, our product definitely has a lot of moving parts, a lot of different things that go along with it. And so spending an awful lot of time in the education phase of making sure that you're educated on what's going on. And I love your idea of using land ID to create a map of of the solds in the area.

Honest Pricing Versus Buying Listings

SPEAKER_02 24:10

You you know, like when you're doing that, do you divide that into like you were talking about higher mountain ground or ranch land or whatever, so that you can just if you're talking to somebody, just pull that up on your tablet and be like, look, we haven't seen you know a price that high for six months, you know, eight months, whatever. Nobody so it, you know, like is that is that something that you're that you're using as a tool to like leverage people when they think their their properties are worth two, three times what reality is?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah, yeah, and that's something we deal with on a daily basis. I think that you know, accurate representation to people with uh correct pricing is the honest way to do business. And, you know, I see a lot of people that go out there and they just price properties for what their seller tells them they want for it so they can add it to their collection. And you know, I'd rather do business with the people that are realistic, being straightforward about, you know, and listening to my counsel on looking at comps and sales because it's let's be honest, it's not that hard. This is the day and age of data, and buyers have the accessibility to look at most of the data that we all have too, especially in Colorado, it's a disclosure state. You can see what people paid for it, when, and the only difference in if it's worth more now is that like what other improvements did somebody make to that property over the period of time since it's last sold to now. So, you know, that like you said, it's a big tool we use. I use that all the time. And you know, because I I get I get a lot of like out of state hunters who want to buy, you know, different properties, whether it's for an archery hunting property in the mountains or you know, what name it. And for me to show them, you know, that map, I can like send it to them and they can see like how I track the sales and the areas and the data and and whatnot, and then I can explain to them, you know, what a property they're looking at is actually worth because a lot of agents, you know, there's I'd say right now in the in the industry, like almost every other property out there listed currently for sale, there's a reason it's still listed because they're priced too high. So uh, you know, I I can use that and then we can we can go after you know making an acceptable offer from based off of data. And I I did that on a ranch up the road here, beautiful property, another local uh counterpart that I I I'm very fond of has it listed, but you know, their price is more than my data analysis, you know, is for that property. And so, you know, we presented them a good offer, but they their seller decided they declined it. But you know, my stuff's based off of data, price per square foot for the cabin, what that stuff up there, conservation stuff is worth, and uh, you know, so that that's how I operate my business. I'm not trying to get people to overpay for things.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Well, I think that one of the things that like as a true professional is what you just said. I'm maybe not the right person for that particular client, right? I've had those conversations with people before where they're like, I know they're, you know, $2,500 to $3,000 over on the price per acre that they're looking for. And it's like, you know what, I'm gonna disappoint you at this point. You know, like I don't believe that that's a realistic number. I I'm sure there's other people that'll list it for you. I I'm in the business of selling things, not enlisting things. So I think it's really smart when you when you said that is that's that's a sign of a a true professional is knowing when you know that you talk about that client avatar when that doesn't line up with what what you can achieve goals for somebody, you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah. And you know, from day one, I mean I'm I'm still young in the industry, but I've had enough experience to know that it's a heck of a lot easier to work with somebody when your both your expectations are aligned versus you know, going in there and if it's a if it's a three million dollar house on some acreage and you go, Oh, I can easily get you three and a half or you know, whatever, and that three, six months down the road, you're trying to make excuses why you're not selling the property. And at the end of the day, I mean, for the most part, you know, it really comes down to once the marketing is in place and I do what I what I do and I'm getting views and the market's seeing it, and we're not getting activity, a lot of it's just price. And so then you got to have that difficult conversation with clients about, you know, you basically like lied to them that you could get more if you didn't know your metrics or whatever. So yeah, I think it's just it's more reasonable and honest to be realistic about prices from day one.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Yeah, and I think like you talking about car dealers in the nice way of the knowledge of the business and things like that. And I think there's that stereotype of a used car dealership that that's exactly what that is, that you spend all of your time instead of figuring out how to position this property to get it the right way, and what are you gonna tell your client when they come back and you've disappointed them and you have to ask them to drop their price 10%, you know, so that you can get it closer, you know, because I mean the one thing we know about this world is if you get zero calls on a property or zero contacts on it, you're at least 20 to 25 percent overpriced, you know. So, or it's some sort of an anomaly where, you know, people aren't aren't seeing it for some reason. But no, that's so I think that's interesting. And I I always call it buying the listing when you tell somebody something that um they're buying they're bought the listing from you and now they're just gonna chase that that price down on a uh you know, chipping away at it over a few years or a few months or whatever. But but no, that's really like I said, that's really smart. I and again, I think that a lot of agents are gonna just be shaking their head right now, agreeing with you that it's you know, like you don't want you don't need the hassle or the expense of dealing with those clients that are are gonna be unrealistic. Let's you know what we've kind of this kind of drives us right into

Story Driven Marketing That Converts

SPEAKER_02 29:22

that. All of this that we've talked about is basically how to set up our marketing for success, right? And you guys at United Country, um, well, the big company, but even your uh brokerage, Colorado brokers, you guys do some of the best photography, marketing, social media that that's out there. What like we've got a few minutes in this segment. Let's still vent you just a little bit about what does that look like? Because like I've seen videos of years where you have your clients involved in the video where they're actually telling a story, you know, and it's it's almost more of a short film than it is a marketing video. Um, and I kind of but you know, like watching the one, I was kind of by the end, I forgot it was for marketing a property until you popped up the information, you know, about where it was and and what you were doing with it. But how do you guys come up with this stuff? Like, and and how fun is it to just get to go play on some of these incredible properties out there?

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Yeah. Well, you know, I'd say every property is different. That's the cool aspect of what we do, and you know, also the difficult aspect of what you do because in this in this uh kind of field properties, you know, there's there's no two the same. It's not like selling, you know, subdivision houses in you know different areas in Texas where you can go price per foot for the neighbor to this one. I mean, properties are different, they got different rights, water, whatever it is, hunting might be better on one than the other. So prices are always the same. There's no two properties the same. Yeah, it's kind of an interesting, you know, we put you kind of play it by ear on how you want to market a property. And you look at like who is the buyer on this, what do people want to see, and then what is the story in the property? That's kind of something my dad's big into is uh, you know, tell the story of what the asset is. And so, you know, the one you're referencing is that Gates Ranch up in Burns, Colorado, you know, that's been in his family since gosh, the 1880s when they came over and they patented that property and got it from the U.S. government. So it's never been sold before, you know. What a cool property. There's so much history on that. And our seller, Kip Gates, is just a really pleasant, awesome, you know, older guy. And he's got so many cool stories, and the the family has so much heritage and history there on that ranch. So, you know, I was like, well, shoot, let's get him on camera and have him do kind of an interview and talk about it. And so, you know, like that ranch, for example, we we did more that approach. But, you know, kind of the basics I'd say is, you know, we're in the day and age of presentation visuals and a lot of that stuff. I mean, you got to think of like what's gonna capture someone's attention when there's because you know, you you got so much such little time to capture someone's attention when they're on, you know, internet marketing or stuff and scrolling. I mean, it's I don't know what the metrics are with the data, but it's you know, you gotta make something captivating to capture people just so they click on your property, number one. And then number two, you know, ordering your photos the correct way. Like, are you gonna do 19 or 20 exterior drone photos for a house listing and then like finally get into the to the living room and kitchen and and master bedroom or you know, on a land piece that makes sense, but you know, keep your order.

SPEAKER_00 32:13

The American Land Seller Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Ironhorse Land Company. At Ironhorse, land is not a side business, it is all we do. From farms and ranches to recreational and development companies, our team brings deep land expertise, boots on the ground experience, and high quality marketing to every listing. Whether you own land today or are planning for the future, Ironhorse Land Company helps landowners make confident, informed decisions. Visit Ironhorse Land Company.com to learn more.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

And

AI Tools Without Losing The Human

SPEAKER_02 32:49

we're back with Jake Hubble from United Country Colorado Brokers. Nailed it. I'm we could probably quit. Uh, Jake, that's that's probably as good as it's gonna get for this podcast, but I always try and get it right for the third time. There was one of them I can't even remember what it was, and I had it screwed up all the way through. But all right, Bud, let's let's go back to being young in the business since you're 20 years, my junior. What is it you think that the younger generation of land professionals, you, Hallie, you know, we talked about Delaney, trying to think even you know, Brittany. Um what are you guys, you know, like doing different, or what do you feel like we can attribute you guys bringing into the land professional world that has improved the industry, or maybe it's just you know just something that you can kind of claim in your kind of youthfulness that's that's really been helpful in in your business.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Yeah. You know, I I think that uh moving forward, something that's gonna make the the distinguishment between younger and older land agents, you know, obviously it's all gonna be client-based relationships. I mean, I I follow a lot of Jared James. I think he's a very uh informational guy in the real estate industry. We've had him for a couple United Country conferences, and when I was younger especially, I really enjoyed his uh his uh speeches and you know mentorship and all that. And I still follow him, you know, in his podcasts and whatnot. But it's still a relationship business. I don't think that we're gonna see AI take out people like us in what we're doing. I mean, yeah, you see those stories of the guy in Florida who sold his house using AI and blah, blah, blah. And yeah, that's easy. That's a house with a water tap, a sewer tap, an electrical and natural gas. I mean, you know, you have an inspection, you're done. But with more of these complicated land deals and the uh the knowledge of working with stuff on the county, I mean, you know, you're working on vacant land, okay. Like what's the the county requirements for square footage and what do you have to do for the building process and codes? Like, can you do spray foam installation or the other installation? What you know, there's there's so many things and uh, you know, relationships between you and contractors or attorneys, or if you're reviewing water rights or just knowing the areas, you know, it's it's gonna be something that it's still a relationship game and a knowledge game, and getting that expertise and and experience is gonna be really useful for us younger agents. But you know, back to the AI topic, uh, you know, AI is great, but it's also a tool. And, you know, like most people, like you know, you were just saying to me, I know you said you had like probably 10 or 11 different AIs that you are subscribed to that you use for different stuff, and you know, me too. Like I I use the Claude and I use uh ChatGPT, I use uh 11 labs for voiceovers and stuff, and those are just the three basic ones that I use. I mean, but at the same time, there's people out there that are way better at this than me with you know knowing how to use AI and how to implement it in your business and do more stuff. I know David Whitaker, who out there and uh with his land auction stuff and his his marketing, he's incredible. I mean, he's way better at marketing than I am, but you know, it's it's never gonna replace agents, in my opinion. I think that uh, you know, people want to have that personal relationship. And it's just like when you get on a website or you're trying to do customer support and you're dealing with a chat bot. I mean, I don't know about you, but I just get like ultimately frustrated trying to communicate or figure out my problem with a chat bot. And so I think that people, you know, to think that people are gonna want to buy or sell these multi-million or just you know, even small pieces of land, but the small to big pieces of land and having AI or some technology which is known to mess up, be the representative on that, you know, it's it's I I don't see that happening with the industry. I think that uh yeah, there's gonna be some of that that gets taken over with, you know, the easier residential stuff, and you know, it's gonna be less of a relationship thing, and I think the the industry might suffer from it, and that's why agents, the good ones, are gonna stay with it. But you know, you just gotta do like anything, it's just like when drones came out, you know, people started using drones and it didn't replace realtors or photographers. You know, photographers started using drones. So, you know, it's kind of yeah, that's I guess that's my take on it.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

Yeah, yeah, I mean you mentioned drones. I think the only person, people that were really affected by drone photography and and being able to were maybe be the airplanes and the helicopters that used to go out and do that for an astronomical amount of money. And again, it comes back to in an industry that's considerably getting more cutthroat on commissions and things like that, you have got to be able to figure out a way to make your deliverables less expensive so that you can afford to have the same deliverables yet at a lower cost. And so that's the way I kind of look at AI. If you work for me and you are worth it, I'm gonna figure out a way to keep you and to and point you in a direction and shoot you in a direction where you are are gonna be successful for me and for your life, right? Whereas if if your entire job depends on something that I can get AI to do, you know, then you're probably not a right fit for my company anyway, right? Because we're supposed to be growing and and and getting better and and making strides every day to be the best in the industry. And I can't do that if somebody's gonna sit here and go, oh, you know, like you can't take away my job. That's my job, you know. And so so I think I mean, like I look at AI as it's a tool. I think, you know, I've heard the comment before that AI is not gonna replace real estate agents, it's just gonna get rid of bad real estate agents. Uh-huh. And if and real estate agents that aren't using it, but we have Steve Atkins from Faye Ranches out in Utah has developed a tool that is like it's gonna be a game changer for our industry. And so we've been working with him on, you know, like we're gonna onboard this tool on into our company, and RLI is taking a look at it right now to be a partner with him. But, you know, like this is something that bring you take all your basically all the data you've collected, you put it into a file system, it organizes that data, searches the internet, find out more information, and it starts organizing all your stuff. And at the end of it, you've got all kinds of different things that it puts out, and up to including who's your buyer for this property. And again, it's not I gotta go through all that and see if first of all, is it right, you know, but but it does save a ton of time in in organizing your thoughts and getting a lot of the copywriting stuff is realistically a lot of what it does, and then you know, like analyzing it to find out what pictures you should be using and in what order and recommending that stuff. It's pretty phen phenomenal. So I I agree with you. I don't see I don't see AI replacing us anytime soon. But with that said, put your crystal ball out in front of you and kind of look down the road 10

What Land Brokerage Looks Like Next

SPEAKER_02 39:22

years. What is our industry, the land real estate world, look like over the next 10 years? Do you have any thoughts maybe on where we're going or because I'm gonna be retiring around that point, hopefully, if I do it right. So it'll be all yours, Jake.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

It'd be sweet if I could be retired too, but uh you know, you're gonna make well. Yeah. Uh you know, I d I guess I don't really have a big crystal ball on where the land industry is going. I I see that, you know, it's gonna be more predicated on people that have information and data. I mean, it they I I don't I don't want to be beating a dead horse, but I think that if you're not somebody that's on top of understanding values, nobody wants to buy something and overpay it. I think that there's gonna be a lot more, like you said, you know, valuation software and things like that that are gonna help with properties. But at the same time, you know, there's just like I was saying before, no two properties are alike and somebody might be willing to pay more for one property than another one. But no, I think the land industry is gonna be going more towards uh probably centralized marketing and or data. You know, it's kind of it still doesn't make sense to me how there's like so many different local, smaller, regional MLSs. Like there should be one bigger, you know, like my state MLS or whatever, and then you have like your sub-regions and that kind of thing, and the data and all that should be on there. So I think we're probably gonna see more merging of data with MLSs and stuff like that, probably with other marketing companies like you know, the land.com or land search and those different people we work on. So that's kind of my two cents. And then, you know, I think we're gonna see more with uh the marketing and presentation side of things. I mean, yeah, photos are still gonna be a piece of it, uh, video obviously still too, but uh, you know, there's different stuff that I've been twined around with, you know, drones and LIDAR technology, and you can do those like big 3D scans of a property. And right now it doesn't make sense to try to do anything over like an acre, maybe 10 acres max. You know, your drone is just way too much memory and all that. But there's definitely stuff where you could like, you know, yeah, I think as as the time goes on, those drones are gonna get better, and you're gonna be able to have like a 3D map of a property from a drone that you know flies the grid, scans the whole thing, and then you can look at a property in a 3D kind of a space. So, I mean, it's just gonna be more technology, but at the end of the day, uh, you know, as a younger guy still doing this, you know, building your relationships and your data is gonna be the most important thing because people want to trust somebody to do it. I mean, just like if you have somebody that's good at the car dealership, or you know, you got the guy in town that does your saddles and tack and he's been doing it for forever and he does a good job, you know, you want to go back and use that person. So keeping those relationships alive with people and you know, being a source and you know, the kind of like we were saying earlier, accurately pricing properties, putting the client first, and not trying to put your commission as your first priority, you gotta keep the client as the first. So that's just I guess my two cents.

SPEAKER_02 42:01

Yeah, and we talk about that constantly here is that you're it's like uh it's like any other career. If your primary goal is good service to your clients and your customers, that's an inevitable byproduct that um you're gonna have income, right? So, you know, it's like why is McDonald's the you know still making money after however many years of it? It's because they have a deliverable that is consistent and you know what you're gonna get, right? So I'm not gonna be shocked at the well, you know, that the McDonald's in in Montrose and the McDonald's here. I'm not gonna be it's not gonna be shocking, right? It may not be the best burger in the planet, but it tastes good enough and it's quick and you know, and so you know, like I think I I think you're absolutely right on when you're talking about we we ha we are gonna have technology that's gonna blow the doors off of stuff, you know, in the next 10 years, my guess is but having those relationships, doing the free stuff, I call it to my guys, all the free stuff that you have to do is gonna pay off eventually.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Because informational to people and teaching them because I mean, how many videos or reels do you see where somebody is giving his trade secrets away? But you're not gonna go start his business and do that and replicate it and do all that, but you learn something from what the guy on Instagram reels or Facebook like or TikTok shows you. I mean, I don't use TikTok because I think it's kind of a millennial thing, but uh, you know, it's so I think it's the the day of the information where you know you're showing people why they want to pay you, you know, six, seven, ten percent on your deals because of your expertise, you know. And there's that whatever the old adage is, you know, you're not paying me for my dollars per hour now, you're paying me for the past ten thousand hours I've done learning the experience to do this right. So, you know, and that's kind of in the the day and age of why should you pay a realtor? Well, it's because we have experience. We know how to make it super smooth and easy. And, you know, if you're if you're the client and you're sitting at the closing table and you're going, man, you know, like this guy made a lot of money and it was so easy the whole way through. It's like, yeah, there's a reason why it was easy the whole way through because that guy's got experience and he made a s a seamless, smooth process for you. You know, maybe you think he would have earned his commission more if it was a knockdown drag out the whole deal the whole way through. But you know, it's like a good agent makes things seamless, and maybe sometimes their their clients think they're overpaid at the end of the day, but there's a reason why.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

Yeah, no, it's a I don't know. Like I like I tell people, well, you know, insurance for one thing, and the fact that I have a license to do this are two things, but you're absolutely right. It's it's uh the knowledge that you have, the relationships that you've developed, the marketing opportunities that you have, the dues and subscriptions that you pay to all the websites and all the stuff that you're able to put that onto. And again, it kind it it always goes back. It's like that's the first thing all clients really want to talk about is that commission. Like, what are you gonna charge me? And I always kind of push back and I'm like, well, let's figure out whether or not I even want to do this project before you know, like before we worry about, you know, what before we worry about what I'm charging you. And if you like me and and I like you, then it's I'm a negotiator. So I'm I'm happy to negotiate with you, but I I don't understand how in a world where negotiation is the primary point of your job, why would you why would you you hire the guy that caves on his own negotiation on his own fees right out the gate? You know, like to me that's it seems idiotic.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

Yeah, you go go get a DUI and then go call the cheapest strip mall attorney and think that you're in good hands, you know? Like you're you're gonna pay for the the better guy to represent you and make sure you're everything goes well, and that's kind of you know, that's how it is in the real estate. You get you get what you pay for.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Yep, and we work an awful lot to try and position ourselves to be I always I always admit I'm not the cheapest, but I also work really hard and I'm constantly backing up and thinking about how who can I put this in front of that I'm not thinking about and talking to you know, like it's I talk to my competition all the time, like what am I doing wrong here? What do you you know, like I thought this was right and then I'll find out well XYZ happened and you know, or whatever, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

I get that every once in a while I get uh other folks to call me and they're like, Man, I don't know what I'm doing with this property, or you know, they do. Uh but it's uh you know, they're like, You have any advice on where to market this or what I could do? And so I I just give people my honest advice 'cause I think it's like I said earlier, high tides raise all ships and keeping good relationships with all your co-brokers and people around you and being fair and and having integrity and honesty. You know, that's the most important thing.

SPEAKER_02 46:27

Yeah.

Proving Your Fee And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_02 46:28

Well, Jake, this has been so much fun. You want to give the folks your contact information from all of Colorado. I think you guys handle is it Utah and Colorado?

SPEAKER_01 46:38

Yep, Utah, Colorado, and uh up in Wyoming too.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

Oh, you're in Wyoming too. Good. Good for you. Well, you got uh contact information for everybody that you can give them if they want to get a hold of you.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

Yeah, if you want to reach out, you can uh you can find our website, AspenRanch Real Estate.com, or my phone number is 970-250-9396. Feel free to give me a shout, text me if you have any questions or different things I can help with. I'm happy to help out.

SPEAKER_02 47:03

Perfect. And with your permission, we'll put all your contact in the show notes and all the places that this goes. And uh, we really appreciate you taking the time today to help us out. And uh for everybody else, we will see you all down the road.

SPEAKER_03 47:17

Sounds good. As we wrap up another episode of the American Landseller Podcast, thank you for spending part of your week with us. For more episodes, resources, and updates, visit www.americanlandseller.com. And be sure to find us on your favorite podcast platform. If you found value in today's conversation, please like, subscribe, follow, rate, and review the show on whatever app you are listening or watching on. It helps more landowners and land professionals find the podcast. You can also connect with us on social media for updates, new episodes, and behind the scenes content. Until next week, Kobe and Britney wish you success in all your land endeavors. God bless you and have a great week.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

The American Land Seller Podcast is brought to you in part by the Land Report. The Land Report is the premier publication covering land ownership, land markets, and the people shaping the future of land in America. From farmland and ranches to timber, conservation, and legacy properties, the Land Report delivers deep reporting, trusted insight, and long-form storytelling focused entirely on land. Learn more at thelandreport.com. We are also proud to be sponsored by Iron Horse Land Company, a multi-state land brokerage specializing in farm, ranch, recreational, and development land across the heartland. Built by land professionals, Iron Horse Land Company sets the iron standard through high quality marketing, real world land expertise, and a boots on the ground approach that puts landowners first. To learn more, visit Ironhorse Land Company dot com.