The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
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The Alimond Show
Lisa Colmus - Navigating Life's Waves from Pink Slips to Real Estate Triumphs
Sometimes life throws us into the deep end, and we're forced to swim. That's exactly what happened to Lisa Colmus when she and her husband were simultaneously handed pink slips. But rather than sink, Lisa swam straight into the world of real estate, guided by a steadfast mentor and her own background in education. On today's episode, we sit down with the Remax One realtor to hear about the resilience and adaptability that marked her transition, the importance of treating clients with trust and respect, and the joy she now finds in mentoring the next wave of real estate professionals.
Buying a house can feel like navigating an obstacle course, especially in today's market of low inventory and cutthroat competition. Lisa Colmus joins us to demystify the home staging process, painting a vivid picture of how the right aesthetic touches can turn a lived-in house into a buyer's dream home. She shares insider strategies to help buyers stand out, from escalation clauses to the non-negotiable necessity of mortgage pre-approval. Whether you are looking to sell your space or searching for one to call your own, this episode is packed with actionable insights.
There's more to real estate than just property—there's the personal stories, the shared milestones, and the enduring relationships. Lisa and I reflect on the deeply human side of our industry, highlighting the profound connections that form when helping clients through life's transitions. We also scrutinize the unpredictability of market trends and the vital role of ongoing education in both our professional and personal lives. Lisa imparts a few negotiation techniques worth their weight in gold, and together we explore the wisdom of living within our means. Strap in for a conversation that goes beyond the sale sign and into the heart of what makes real estate truly fulfilling.
My name is Lisa Colmus and I'm a realtor with Remax One and I basically help clients buy and sell houses, properties. And how did you get into real estate? Oh, that's a good story. We're here for a good story. My husband and I got let go of our jobs that we had been at for 25 and 27 years. Got let go on the same day. Wow. And I had just gotten my real estate license. I was going to try it out and kind of had to like dive right in. So my mentor, when I called her to tell her that I'd gotten let go, she was like that's great news. She said you can't just like dip your toe in real estate, you have to jump right in. And so that's what I did.
Speaker 2:And how has it been going for you? When was that? How many years ago was that?
Speaker 1:So that was about six years ago and I think the first six months was a little, you know, like a building phase, because you can't just walk right out and sell a house, you have to build your clientele, and so that took a little bit of time. But because I had a really good mentor who kind of let me go alongside of her, I learned a stage from her. I learned how to do listing appointments and help buyers. Probably within the first year I felt like I was solid and ready to kind of fly on my own.
Speaker 2:I've heard so many people talk about mentors and what they've meant to them. What was your mentor for?
Speaker 1:you, wow, she. I would not be in real estate right now if it wasn't for her. Her name is Christy and she basically held my hand and she even made some financial arrangements that helped me to survive, because she knew where I was. And what's cool about her is she just took me on everything you know. She just said come on, we're going to go do this, we're going to go do that. She didn't ask, she just kind of told me what to do, point and shoot.
Speaker 1:And so I observed and watched and learned, and I kind of still think of her today as I do things especially when I do staging or things that she was really good at. I kind of like hear her words in my head. And recently my broker asked me if I would be willing to be a mentor for someone, and so I jumped at the chance and I've been super excited to show her the things that my mentor showed me, like paying it forward, yeah, how does that feel to give back a little bit to somebody else? I still don't feel deserving of it, like I know enough, but it feels really good, and especially when I see her use tools that I gave her. It means a lot, you know. To know that and to know that she can feel confident and moving forward is very helpful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how was that? After you know, being 25 years on that job, how was that making that pivot? What challenges did you have?
Speaker 1:I think confidence would probably be the number one thing. I knew what I was doing after 25 years in education as a teacher and a principal. I had all my resources and tools handy and I felt confident and people trusted and believed in me. And I thought when I switched to real estate people would be like, oh, she doesn't know real estate. But my first client was a former teacher and so I think I learned quickly that it's really not what you know, it's how you treat people, and the honesty and trust that you provide are the more key features, and that kind of set the tone for me. Right away I decided I would only be honest if I lost a deal because I had to do things the wrong way. I would lose the deal over that, and that's really served me well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and do you feel like some of those skills from your previous position could translate over to real estate? A hundred percent yeah.
Speaker 1:So I love helping people and so I was always helping students or teachers or parents back in the day and you are somewhat of a counselor in the sale of a house too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're dealing with people buying the biggest purchase of their life, yeah, and so they're stressed and they need help, and so that has been good for me. I also am really good at connecting people with things, so a lot of times people need to know who's going to paint my house, who's going to move my stuff, who's going to show me what to do with this or that, and I'm able to, like, help them connect. So that was a really important thing too. But education is the biggest thing, and communication, education and communication I don't know which one is more important.
Speaker 2:They kind of go hand in hand.
Speaker 1:They do. I mean, you have to communicate the education. But yeah, I really think that when people understand the why of things, they have a tool to use and it helps them to make better decisions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Tell me a little bit about how you help your clients. You said earlier that there's certain things that you do, as far as staging and whatnot, to get the house sold.
Speaker 1:Tell me a little bit about that staging and whatnot to get the house sold. Tell me a little bit about that. Well, I grew up in a little 12 by 60 mobile home and I learned early on that there's a way you can arrange furniture to make things feel bigger, and I loved that. I didn't know it was a career at the time. I didn't know design was a career, but I've grown up loving design and decorating and I have a really good feel for spatial awareness, where things should go and be, and so that's one of the first things I started loving.
Speaker 1:That my mentor taught me was how to stage a home. When you go to list a home, you only have one chance to make a good first impression right, and so I want to make it count. So I really try to sit down with clients and walk through their home and help them to know what are the most cost-effective things that they can do to get their house ready for the market. And it's not always just about, like, redoing a kitchen. It can be as simple as paint and carpeting and making sure you know what your return on investment is going to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what do you tell people as far as staging, like I think about my house and I have so many like personal photos up and do you advise people to kind of take those down? Make it more simple. What's?
Speaker 1:your advice? I do. I think we live in an HGTV world where all of my buyers have watched it and they want that house. So the cleaner and less personal all the personal pictures need to come down. There's simple and less personal. All the personal pictures need to come down. There's simple things like making sure all your light bulbs are the lightest and brightest, make sure your windows are open. Sometimes I tell people to take out their screens to make their house feel lighter and brighter, and I always want them to do what their budget will allow them to do to get the money back too. Paint is an easy one. My favorite color is agreeable gray.
Speaker 2:Yes, sherwin-williams color of the year 2019 is very agreeable.
Speaker 1:It does. It goes with browns and with grays, yeah, and then flooring is important too, but I think overall people would like to move into a house and then make their changes, versus having to worry about fixing it up before they move in, you know. So making it kind of move in ready is important, kind of a blank slate Yep, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then I have, over the five years I've collected some staging pieces so I'll go in. If you know, a house can feel kind of empty and cold if it doesn't have anything in it, unless it's brand new. I mean brand new homes, you got to love that. But if it's an older home it can kind of feel tired and sad and so I try to do something called zhuzhing it. I zhuzh it up, make it feel a little newer and brighter with artwork or pillows or furniture. If the house is empty I'll put. I have some couches and I move it all. Just part of my service, part of your service.
Speaker 2:What challenges are you facing now in the real estate market? I know there's a lot going on, yes, so wow. What strategies are you using to kind of overcome those challenges so?
Speaker 1:there's not a lot of inventory. People capitalized on those low interest rates a few years ago and they don't want to buy something nicer or bigger for the higher interest rates. So that's making people hold on to their houses longer. So buyers are having a really difficult time finding a house that they want and then when they find one, they're having to put in multiple offers on different homes before they finally get the one that they want. So recently I had clients who we had to like go through every strategy that we could to get them the home and they finally got it. They got this last one and we go to settlement on Monday. Oh, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 1:But we had to use like escalation clause, which means you'll go up to a certain number. We had to put in an appraisal gap, like if the house doesn't appraise for that higher number, they'll cover it in cash. They had a VA loan so they knew they were competing against a lot of cash offers. So they had to come in with their A game and describe what the VA loan is. So they had to come in with their A game and describe what the VA loan is. Well, I guess when you're going to accept loans, some loans are more ideal than others and there's not that huge of a difference between VA and conventional and FHA. There's little nuances that are different. But between a cash and a loan, people always go to cash. So you want them to choose your loan because it's going to net them more money. So they had to go way high, you know, and ended up the house ended up appraising for higher than they even offered, which they offered $75,000 over the asking price, wow, and it appraised for 5,000 more than that.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:So the house is worth what somebody is willing to pay? Yeah, and they were willing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so when? What does the client do in that case? They just have to come up with the extra.
Speaker 1:Correct. So the loan, the bank, will only loan you the value of the home, so you have to come up with the cash for the remainder. So if it had only appraised for 25,000 less, they would have had to come up with $25,000 in cash, which they had. So they were willing to do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's tricky because not everybody can do that no, and a lot of people are just trying to get into a home. So the other side of that are people who are just trying to get in their first home and they're having a hard time because they don't really have maybe the credit that they need. They don't have cash because they're young buyers, and so we've got to try to find loan options that are. Sometimes you can get a loan option that is like zero money down. There are programs that will help student pay to a client. You can start them off, because some people start too late. They start thinking about the buying process the day they want to see the house they want.
Speaker 2:Oh, and then you kind of have to have your ducks in a row.
Speaker 1:You're not going to be able to get that because we haven't even got you pre-approved yet. So the very first thing I tell buyers is let's make sure we team you up with a local lender and get you pre-approved, Because once you get pre-approved- that's like your move-in card, because things I know the inventory is low.
Speaker 1:but they're moving quickly, right, really quickly, yeah, as soon as it goes on the market. You know, I have clients who just put in their fourth offer on a house and there were eight offers on this particular one we won the bid. But it's because of all the little things that we did and we were ready the day we went in. We knew, and you kind of learn with each offer, it's educating clients. They didn't go in high enough on one so I said, are you going to go in higher this time? And they go, yes.
Speaker 2:Because you want to but they weren't prepared to do that last time.
Speaker 1:They weren't, they were like no, we're not going to pay that for that house. And I said, well, what are you willing to pay? And this wasn't a home they were going to worry about having value. This is their last house they want to buy. They were older and I said it's up to you. You know what you're willing to pay, yeah, and where you want to be.
Speaker 1:As far as your clientele, I know, you said that there's a certain niche that you kind of like to service. Tell me a little bit about that. So lately I've loved helping older people, senior citizens, people who are in the last stages of purchasing or buying, and it kind of started. My education on that started with my own parents. My mom died in February of 2020. And then my dad shortly after her in October of 2020, and so I was left with the privilege and the task of selling their home, and what I realized was there were lots of things personal things in their home that needed to be dealt with.
Speaker 1:Yep, yeah, and that was hard for me, but I had a lot of help with my sisters. They both came and we all jumped in and we divvied stuff out. But I also learned that there's a lot of letting go that needs to happen. You know you just can't hold on. So I I quickly learned how to help clients start to let go of their home by letting go of their things. Right, you know so the quicker you do that, the more you'll be able to move on, and then they can open their eyes to what's ahead, you know so you know it's what they've known for 35 or 40 years and it's hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how do you help them to kind of wrap their head around letting go and moving on to that next step?
Speaker 1:I meet with them personally and I try to. I think with older people they have lots of stories to tell and since my parents aren't here to tell their stories, I love listening to other people's stories. So they tell me about their children and their grandchildren and what their plans are for you know, their new home and, um, just listening is huge. And then being able to have, like I said before, the resources of the connectors and sometimes I'm in there helping them Clients, I'm just helping.
Speaker 1:Right now they're buying a house before they sell their house and I walked in and she said do you need a cake plate? So I went home with a really pretty little white cake plate because she had a lot of them and she didn't need this one. But yeah, just, and you'll probably think of her when you go to use it Every time. Them and she didn't need this one. Yeah, but yeah, just, and you'll probably think of her when you go to use it every time, every time, sweet little Rosalyn, yeah, and you know, again, having the resources to and being available, I have to show them little things like they only had one email account and when we do all our document signing, they needed another one, so I had to walk them through opening a Gmail account and knowing how to get into it, and they struggled with passwords. But you know, they all want to learn. I find that no matter how old somebody is, they want to learn. They want to keep up.
Speaker 2:I know my mom's kind of the same way. She wants to help her with her email and how to download a photo and all of those kinds of things.
Speaker 1:Well, we all want to stay young a little bit. We need those little kids In my youth group. I'm always like, hey, can you show me how to air drop? How to air drop, yes. How to air drop on Instagram.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit about marketing and advertising, what you're doing these days to get people in the door. What's working for you, what's not working for you.
Speaker 1:Well, I do a little bit of farming, where I pick a neighborhood where I just sold a house or I want to sell a house and I'll send out a postcard, several postcards actually. I usually do two to three just to have a little bit of continuity there. I do a lot of social media. I'm on Instagram, facebook. I love TikTok. Yeah, so you're keeping up just fine, I'm trying. That started with my dad. He became a little TikTok king. I actually feel like I've heard this story from your sister. Yeah, I learned TikTok with my 90 year old dad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was a TikTok star, though, right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:He was.
Speaker 2:People loved him.
Speaker 1:He provided a lot of joy during some sad times during COVID.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so some of those social media platforms are working for you.
Speaker 1:Yes. So I try to go when I go look at new homes, even if I don't have a current client who's active, I'll go tour homes, I go to open houses and I'll record and I'll share and it definitely piques an interest in people who weren't looking but are actually looking and it helps to start conversations and I've helped several clients that way who found me that way. But then it's a lot of word of mouth, you know, and taking care of the clients that you still have, you know, just because a client finished the sale of their home doesn't mean they're not your client anymore. You know I try to reach out during the holidays or birthdays and just occasionally say I was thinking of you. You know I passed by your old street or I passed by your new house and just staying in communication. Recently I had sellers who moved from Maryland to South Carolina and while I was in Myrtle Beach I stopped to visit them and they had us over for breakfast and coffee and showed us their new house. Oh, that's great Older couple and I love them.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's great Older couple and I love them. Yes, that's awesome. Yeah, do you have a favorite buying or selling story? Good or bad?
Speaker 1:Oh gosh, something that was challenging or something that just kind of sticks with you, one of my least favorites, but very I've learned to be a little delicate with it is when clients are getting divorced or separated. Clients are getting divorced or separated. There's a lot of emotion there, and so you got to be Switzerland and you got to document everything and just be very careful. So I would have said at one point that I wouldn't want to do that again, because that was one of my hardest ones. But I'm not afraid of it now, like I was, Because those are the clients that actually need your care and attention the most.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:Because they're going through one of the most, two of the most difficult things they're separating a marriage and separating from a house.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, Probably one of the biggest life changes outside of buying the house in the first place. Yeah, that they're going to make.
Speaker 1:Learning. That was very difficult for me, but I think back when I was a principal and the most difficult child was the one who challenged you the most, where you learned the most. Yes, it's kind of the same in this case your most difficult clients can be the ones who need you the most and you have to work the hardest, but you learn a lot, you learn a lot, it changes you and sticks with you.
Speaker 2:If you had a crystal ball, where, where do you see real estate going in the next Wow?
Speaker 1:Five years. It is not. Of the six years I've been in real estate, not one year has been predictable. Um, but there's a lot of factors that I'm learning are not having to actually do with real estate in politics and in just the way things work, that affect real estate in a big way. So I am clueless. I don't think prices are coming down anytime soon. Interest rates are coming down somewhat, so that's good. Want so that's good. But I think people who are thinking of selling should probably hop on it right now, just because you're going to get the best money for your house. Where you go from there, it's a different story. I mean, you'll have the money. A little bit more funds to deal with.
Speaker 2:That's why I always hear Lili is like people are buying or, I'm sorry, selling high, but then where do you go?
Speaker 1:Well, and that's the thing. If you look at the last five years, if anybody's waited to buy, they're higher now than they were five years ago. So if people are waiting for interest rates to come down before they buy, you can always refinance if the interest rates come down if and when, but the house prices are not coming down. I haven't seen them coming down, so I'm hoping all the people that are paying all this money can afford these homes.
Speaker 2:Yes, so we don't have what happened in what was it 2008, 2009? Yes, that was before me.
Speaker 1:But poof, that was crazy. Yeah, I had a neighbor who was $100,000 under when they had to sell their house. They bought it for like $550,000 and had to sell it for like $460, $450.
Speaker 2:And that can just wreck you financially.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, they still owed money on a house that they didn't own anymore. Wow, to understand that is kind of crazy. You had to wrap your head around that, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:How about individually, for yourself? Where do you see your business going, your growth going Well?
Speaker 1:next few years. I love doing real estate and I plan to do it till.
Speaker 2:I die.
Speaker 1:You're like I'll be walking around going hey, pick me, yeah, um I. We are in a crossroads right now. Uh, our daughter lives in Hawaii and so we have had the thought of she's been there long enough and I miss her too much, so we're thinking of moving there. So we would probably rent out our home for a year to see if we'd like living in Hawaii. I know I love visiting there, I know I love vacationing there, but I don't know if I'd love living there. So I would like to give it a shot while I'm still able, while I'm still young enough to make all the changes, because change is hard.
Speaker 2:But it's always good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so my parents used to be like 20 minutes away from me and though I would hate leaving my sisters, who are still close by, at least I know that I wouldn't have to have that worry of whether they were taken care of or not, cause I know where they are, you know where they are, yeah, and that's a great way to dip your toes in the water, right.
Speaker 2:Ranch your house and just kind of see if it works out or not. Dip my toes in that Hawaii water. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:It's good water to dip your toes in. Yeah, yeah, literally and figuratively.
Speaker 2:Are there any last parting words you'd like to leave us with? Any words of advice that could be in regards to family life, real estate, business, any like a mantra that you live by?
Speaker 1:I think I really always kind of go to a biblical thing that I learned when I was young, which was just do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. You know, love others more than you love yourself, and when you do that and when you're giving and not always self-seeking, it always pays off. I think that's kind of why I'm kind of a solo act when it comes to real estate. I watch a lot of people chase after the money, and that's not my main thing. My main thing is helping people, and the money has been nice, but it's cyclical. I have to be like a squirrel trying to hide my knots, because some months are great, months are great and then some months are crickets, you know. So you've got to be able to manage that, and that wasn't something I learned with a regular nine to five job. Sure, I had regular checks, so that's been a. Something I've really had to learn is how to invest and save and wait and not change my lifestyle based on what income.
Speaker 2:I have Right, like I just sold this huge house and now I'm going to go buy a car. Yeah, you know, took the words right out of my mouth.
Speaker 1:We still have older cars, we still have our same house. We may fix things up a little bit more, yeah, and everything I do to my house is like, okay, well, when I go to sell it, this is how it'll be. So, um, yeah, educating people, wanting them to, um, to learn more, you know, has always been a passion of mine, so I have to learn more and stay in school, yeah, and continue that education and knowledge and learning.
Speaker 1:And some of it I have to do for real estate right, because you have to continue education every year to keep your license. But then I also take classes that help me just personally learn a little bit more like a negotiator.
Speaker 2:I recently took a negotiator class.
Speaker 1:That's great. I know learning how to negotiate and what the strategies are and what to say and what not to say, and keywords.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:And that helps you in life too.
Speaker 2:I was going to say you have to give me some tips when we're done, because we're looking to buy a car. I need some negotiation. Yes, you do Tips. Don't act like you want it so bad.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, I'll come back later, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much for being here today, lisa. It was great to have you, thank you for sharing your story with us and thank you so much for having me it was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:What a lovely place.