The Alimond Show
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The Alimond Show
Lauren Breslaw: From Teacher to Top 1.5% Realtor
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From Classroom to Real Estate
Speaker 1I'm Lauren Breslau and I work with Compass in the Vienna office , but I serve all of Northern Virginia and Maryland , mostly the Montgomery County side , and I help everyone from first-time homebuyers to empty nesters and everything in between buyers and sellers , which I think is helpful to get a little bit of both sides , because you know what the other side's looking for . It's great .
Speaker 2That's amazing . Take me back to the very beginning . How did you get started in real estate ?
Speaker 1So I was a teacher first for six years . I did elementary and then middle school English reading specialist and I loved that . Never thought I would leave it . But my husband's a teacher too and we started to have some kids and it was just hard to have two teachers and multiple kids in daycare , to be honest . And so my mom had been a realtor for about 15 years and she said why don't you stop ? Just come get licensed , be my assistant , help me out , learn a little bit about it and , if you like it , great , if not , go back to teaching in a couple of years . And then I just fell in love with it and I never want to stop . So it's just been growing from there and just having more fun every year .
Speaker 2I love it . How many years ago was that , did you say ?
Speaker 1That was 12 years Okay .
Speaker 2So it's been a while now .
Speaker 1Yeah , been a while . Yeah , I'm in .
Speaker 2As a former teacher which middle school ? How do you bring collaboration and patience and education into your work with your buyers and sellers ?
Speaker 1Well , especially when I work with the first-time homebuyers , I feel like it's like a great lesson . In the beginning I always ask to meet in the office or I'll go to them and we'll spend at least an hour and I have a whole booklet and presentation . But it's conversational , you know , and I'll just go through the whole process from start to finish , just want to make sure they really understand everything that they're going to you know encounter throughout the whole process and then start them from finding a lender and helping with all of that . You have to be very patient and dealing with every different type of person and agent and just always talking your clients through things . I feel like a lot of the times it's almost like a you know therapy conversation because it's emotional and it there's no helping that right . It's a very emotional process and stressful and we just hope it's , you know , a good stress in the end . So just really bringing that empathy in is huge .
Speaker 2Which one's easier , the middle schoolers or the adults ? I'm kidding .
Speaker 1Good question . Adults for sure . As middle schoolers I loved them , though , but they're a fun bunch now that I have one too .
Speaker 2Oh yeah , because you've got kids now too . Buying or selling a home is stressful . I just recently went through it myself . Oh yes , how do you help clients transform their process into something fun and rewarding ?
Speaker 1Especially with buyers . When we are out together we have a lot of fun . We go and call like shopping for houses right and really get to . Then I get to learn what kind of houses they're interested in and try to . Part of the fun for me is like , if I can , I find the right , perfect home for them and send them the ones that they're like . Oh my gosh , like I knew you love it . Like that feeling is great . But just really having great friendships along the way and a lot of trust , which is super important so really , really fun building that with both buyers and the sellers right . They ultimately have to trust you 100% in anything that you're saying is looking out for them , saving them the most money , getting them the most money and making sure that they're making smart decisions .
Speaker 2Exactly , you were just talking about this , but basically , you and your clients become a team . What does teamwork look like in real estate and why does it matter ? I know you touched on trust , but yeah .
Speaker 1Really , I mean especially too , if let's say , you know , in a listing and I'll go through and it's always the fine line of you know , I want to tell them how the house will sell the best .
Speaker 1Right , and people live in a different way than the way that the house is usually up for sale .
Speaker 1Right , we want it to look like no one lives there , that it's a staged house and like pretend you don't have four children and a dog and , you know , let people into your home . So really establishing you know that of you know , anything that I say is going to be something that I think is going to be worthwhile and will make their house sell faster . You know , kind of building that up and I think the experience along the way to back it up and just show before projects , after projects , what it sold for , what it could have , versus the maybe the Zestimate , you know , or something too , is huge . And then just having them be able to call me anytime with any questions and never feeling like they can't ask something or tell me how they're feeling , you know , and I think that's huge , just always being available to them and if I can't answer it , I'll find a great resource . You know , maybe they need a financial person to ask that question to , or to kind of dig into my Rolodex , of sorts .
Speaker 2I think it's such a for me , talking on personal experience , it's such a stressful experience that , yes , you have to be a team , you have to 100% trust the other person , especially because it's like , as you know , people are putting money into their home to fix it up and it's like but we've lived like this for the last 15 years , why do we have to ? Put $20,000 into letting the next person enjoy it .
Speaker 1Right , exactly that's what I actually always try to say . Sometimes sellers I'm like , ask me a year in advance , then you get to enjoy
Building Trust and Emotional Support
Speaker 1that kitchen for a little bit at least and don't live in it too hard . But enjoy it and not say , no , it looks up . Sometimes people fix up and be like , well , now I don't want to move because that looks so good .
Speaker 2Okay , so you're just talking about Rolodex . How do you leverage your trusted network of stagers , contractors and lenders to give your clients a better experience ?
Speaker 1So I do tend to , you know , go through different ones as the years progress and just kind of growing with me and with my clients as well , and just how they interact with my clients .
Speaker 1Right , I have very high expectations , like I want my clients to be happy every single moment , and if someone else that I have referred is not providing that same level , then you know , maybe that's not someone I want to keep referring to , right ? I want people that are trustworthy , that are honest and that also know what they're doing , right , that they're in it all the time , especially , you know , lenders . If they don't make a phone call as soon as I send an offer in to also relay the strength of my buyer , or if they're not prepping my seller for , like , what way could we maybe get a bridge loan of sorts or have a cool program where they don't have to sell their house first ? Like there are so many different things that matter and , you know , just making sure that they're the right fit and then they adhere to our quick timelines too , because you know that's , as you probably understand , that's a huge part of it .
Speaker 2I think you are an amazing agent . Just from hearing all the things that a lot of people go through . Like you've been there , done that , you know what's important , and the fact that you go through your trusted resource annually Right , that way , you keep the best of the best and you look for more if need be . Exactly yeah .
Speaker 1I think that's important , that's right , and some people , like you know to talk to a couple . You know contractors or lenders and all that . So just having a few that you can rely on is huge , that's amazing .
Speaker 2What values do you bring to your business that you hope clients and colleagues feel when they work with you ?
Speaker 1I really hope that they feel that I really do just want them to be happy overall . I mean , that is just huge for me . There's , you know , that saying of you're only happy as your unhappiest kid . It's like the same with clients , really Like I want everyone to just come away with a really happy home or a really successful sale where they feel like they can start their new adventure . And you know , I think , is this Sorry , what was that ?
Speaker 2Can you go ? Back oh just like the values that you bring . Yeah , okay , yeah , you want them to be happy and you want them to like , feel comfortable and exactly .
Speaker 1And then , yeah , and just know that that everything we're doing is is for them . And then , because we're together so much and trust each other so much , it turned into a lot of great friendships too . You know barbecues and birthday parties and all that . So , you know , we just hope it translates .
Speaker 2And that's not even just good for your personal relationship , but for your business too .
Speaker 1Yeah , Because they want to refer you . Yeah .
Speaker 2You know , Exactly , make sure that their friends and family have the same good experience that they had .
Speaker 1Yes , exactly , and that's huge because most of my business is referral . So just hearing , they had a great experience and continue it on .
Speaker 2I will say sometimes you can be an amazing agent , but if the agent on the other side isn't , you're almost doing their job as well .
Speaker 1Yes , exactly , and like not wanting to throw them under the bus either . So trying to like , phrase it in a way where I'm not like you know that other side's like let's just ask one more time and check it , and yeah , we'll get it done , and if they don't , then I'm going to make sure that you know . We find the people that will get this fixed and taken care of .
Speaker 2You're constantly assessing the market . It's changing all the time . How does that day-to-day commitment translate into wins for your clients ?
Speaker 1So it's funny . Yesterday I was in the office talking to my broker and some colleagues and we were just sort of reminiscing on the way the market is now .
Speaker 2The good old days . The good old days , yeah .
Speaker 1When you could just chill and take a look at a house and think about it . For the most part that's kind of how it is now , where you have a little bit of time , maybe you're able to get a full inspection , you're able to ask for repairs and you're asking for credits
Assessing Markets and Setting Priorities
Speaker 1and you know multiple-page addendum . And it's interesting we were saying that a lot of the agents that we're , you know , working with now are maybe newer and hadn't lived through that 10 years ago , and so everyone's kind of floundering of like , how do you write this addendum now ? You know it's all sort of new , but you know now it's just it's a whole new world and so kind of remembering you know what it was two years ago is not quite the same .
Speaker 1Right , during COVID it was again kind of going back to the trust we would sell a house . So if someone needed the funds , we would sell their house , we'd get maybe a two-month rent back and then in three months they had to find their perfect house , but while competing with 15 other people that also wanted that next one . So really I think just you know , assessing the market is you have to be in it every day because it changes on a dime . You know , one week a house can sit but then the next weekend same exact house is on the market and that one flies off . So just kind of really keeping up with the market predictions and just knowing when to tell your clients when to list , when to offer and all that's important .
Speaker 2That's amazing . How many clients is too many clients ? Do you think there's such a thing being a solo agent versus somebody who has ?
Speaker 1a team ? That's a good question . I try never to work on more than like five or six in depth at a time . They're always clients that are slowly looking . Maybe they'll just be on a search collection for a year before they're really quite ready .
Speaker 1So maybe I don't count that as like ones that I'm with every day or going to their house every day to get it ready for really quite ready . So maybe I don't count that as like ones that I'm with every day or going to their house every day to get it ready for the list process . So five or six I try to kind of keep there because my level of expectation for myself is so high that I never want I always and I've had clients say you know , I always feel like I'm your only client . I'm surprised to hear like that's what I want , that's my goal . Right Is that I'm never too busy and maybe that means I'm on my phone all the time or having to leave dinner to answer a call , but I just I always want to be there for all of them . So try to stick to that .
Speaker 2It's got to be a balance , though . Right yeah , the kids aren't like mom .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , it's like I want to teach them you know dedication and you know a drive , but I also don't want them to say my mom was never around , you know , and missing all the soccer games and things . So it is really trying to find that good balance where they know they're loved and just kind of proud and excited for they love hearing about some of the stories and going to put signs up for me or a lockbox , you know , try to make it fun and involve them too and be part of the process .
Speaker 2Yeah , exactly so . Preparing a home for sale is one of your favorite parts of the entire experience . Why do you love that stage so much ?
Speaker 1So I love design , I love coming in and you know we kind of touched on you know , never wanting to offend anyone right and I'm like , oh , that's let's you know , but always the idea of this is what would look so great , this is what would help sell your home faster for more money . I just I find that so fun and I have made even like vision boards and I'm like I'll pick your fixture , I'll pick your paint color , I'll pick that bathroom vanity . You know I just love
Home Transformation and Staging
Speaker 1that part of it . And then I work with a stager and I have a couple different stagers too , kind of depending on the house , depending on the style , depending on the you know the level of the home and just really , even if it's colonial and super traditional , right versus modern , just being really cognizant of that . I just find that process so fun , seeing kind of the start to finish product and having the clients excited for it too .
Speaker 2Do you do before and after pictures just for your own ?
Speaker 1For myself I would never post them because I never want people to be like you know I'm not shaming a before because everyone , however they live , is how they live and that's their house . But sometimes , you know , I've definitely even helped . You know from like a hoarding situation from start to finish and we got it looking gorgeous , you know , with 15 offers and you know you never would have thought that six months ago , you know so .
Speaker 2So it's in case studies that would be phenomenal , that's true , and when you sit down with somebody who is thinking about hiring you to say , like you know , here's the before , here's the after , 15 offers , this is what it's sold for .
Speaker 1So your house doesn't look like this , but even if it , did .
Speaker 2you can still make it out Exactly .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , yeah , that's true . I should start doing that .
Speaker 2What do buyers or sellers often overlook when preparing for a transaction that you make sure to prioritize ?
Speaker 1Can you repeat that three ?
Speaker 2Yeah , what do buyers or sellers often overlook when preparing for a transaction that you make sure to prioritize ?
Speaker 1I think making sure that they're prepared from start , like finding a lender , even though we're all a team , right when we work together , and sometimes people are like you know , I did a thing online and I think I can afford 700 . I'm like , all right , well , let's just check first , because there are so many other things that you know tie into how much you can afford is what your debt-to-income ratio and all the things that the lenders need to look at . So I think that's hard . Some people just think you know they'll watch the shows and think you know I think this is what I can afford . The monthly payment , but also the interest rates have jumped a ton . I was just reading today too , that you know the average home buyer in DMV area needs $200,000 to buy like a $600,000 house because the rates are high . So you know things that , things like that .
Speaker 1I think the other thing that I really love to help point out , especially if it's maybe a new buyer or someone who's just focused on the pretty you know I'm going to be looking at how old are the windows , how old's the HVAC , how old's the roof . You know , obviously we'll do the inspections and things , but right off the bat , like plan for maybe 15,000 in the next two years , or you know things that maybe you wouldn't consider even I always say location is something you can't change . You can't change your lot . You can't change your lot . You can't change what's directly around you , behind you . You can change the inside . So if you love that kitchen , cool , take a picture , recreate it here , if this is the spot you want . I think things like that are kind of you know helpful to people .
Speaker 2But it sounds like you have a good knack of looking at a space and knowing what the after is going to look like .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , and not everyone has that ability , right ?
Speaker 2It's so true , mom always like take a wall down , you get to cram it , you're like , but it doesn't have to be .
Speaker 1Exactly If we take this closet and move it . You know , there's always a way .
Speaker 2You've been recognized in the top 1.5% of agents nationwide . What do you believe sets you apart in such a competitive market ?
Speaker 1I think you know the trust and the referral network that my clients have just blessed me with . You know the trust and the referral network that my clients have just blessed me with . You know they told their family , they've told their friends if they've had a great experience and that is huge . And I think , just always making sure that they know that I'm , you know , a trustworthy person and I'm always looking out for them , and that's easy to say , right . But I think then , knowing the referrals is what's coming , is it's kind of proof of that . And you know , just trying to make it , trying to make it fun . It's a serious stressful thing and it doesn't mean that it has to be , um , you know , intense all the time . We can have a good time , we can go get some coffee after and you know , and just make it a whole fun process
Community Connection and Recognition
Speaker 1yeah , and you speak about referrals as if it's just like oh , it's referrals , you have to work hard for a referral .
Speaker 2Though you do something bad , somebody will go tell 10 people yes , do something great . They'll tell like two .
Speaker 1Exactly , yeah , and that's you know , and that's the hard part too , and I'm not great at like busting for reviews or anything like that . But a lot of times people will just say , like , what's your website Like ? Can I leave you a review ? You know things , things like that are great . I always feel a little strange about doing you know , asking for it , but I think it's it's just , it's so meaningful when it comes .
Speaker 2Yeah , organically right . Yeah , exactly , that's amazing , yeah . What I will say , though when you change your mindset , marketing is like my passion . When you change your mindset around it , think of all the additional people you're going to be able to help because of the review .
Speaker 1That's true . That's true I know , because I look , I read reviews right of every you know every company you're going to or you know a restaurant , can you ?
Speaker 2trust them or not ? Yeah , exactly , that was the experience , you know .
Speaker 1Yeah , and even you know some people will just say if any of your clients even want to talk , like , give them my number , I'll tell them about our experience too . So that's been just so kind and wonderful as well .
Speaker 2Have you ever had to use any of their numbers ? Yeah , a couple times .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I don't . So again , like , most of my business is referrals so I don't usually have to . I'm going to say , like you know , compete as much , but every now and then , you know I'm going up against four or five other agents , and so sometimes that's just one thing I'll offer .
Speaker 2And that's good . Yeah , that's amazing . So tell me about how it felt to showcase Burke on the if you lived here show , and what did that experience mean for you as both a realtor and a local .
Speaker 1So that was , I mean , just the coolest experience . I was really nervous about going in and being on the camera and all that , but I was like it's not about me , this is about Burke and there was so much that I lived there for 12 years and just love every little part of it . I love the community , I love the lakes and all the trails to walk around Really was like small town feel . So I just loved bringing that out to everybody . The hosts of the show were so sweet and they were like I've never heard of Brooke before , you know , and it's just , it is a small little community but it's really taken off . I mean , in the last 10 , 15 years or so the people started to learn about it . There's the VRE and it takes you into DC and the Pentagon , the buses there , so just a very convenient place . And so just being able to show a place that I loved so much was really special and really great to be , you know , asked to do that and loved so much . It was really special and really great to be , you know , asked to do that .
Speaker 1And you know I do a lot of local events too , of sponsoring . You know I'm always the Burke Fire Station every year . I think it's the last , like eight or nine years now I've been , you know , sponsoring that Pancakes of Santa . So they come in and I always have a little table and give out candy canes and chocolates and I'll sponsor their 5Ks and Lake Braddock Secondary School for the boosters and just anything . Especially being a former teacher and my husband's a teacher Just anything with the local community is just something super special to us that we want to represent . There we go , exactly , I love it .
Speaker 2Represent , represent . There we go Exactly . I love it . What do those Washingtonian and Northern Virginia Magazine top producer recognitions reflect about your approach to business ?
Speaker 1So some of them , I think , are it's just , it's something to put on your email tagline , right , just to show that you do business , right .
Speaker 2And you're serious about your business . Exactly , it's not a hobby .
Speaker 1Exactly , it's not a hobby , Exactly , so you know , it's something . Just yeah , that you can trust me that I know what I'm talking about and all that . There are some like the real trends , the like top one and a half percent , one that is , one that's recognized by other realtors and so , versus maybe one that you can part of your association and they look at all your numbers . I mean there's just , there are different awards that kind of mean more than others .
Speaker 2Yeah , they mean different things . Yeah , exactly , you know . Like , right , if you're willing to invest in your brand versus yeah .
Speaker 1Not Exactly Right . So I just that's why I love , you know having the collective of them on there just to show all the experience along the way .
Speaker 2Yeah , exactly how does being a Northern Virginia native give you an edge in helping clients find the perfect home ?
Speaker 1Knowing all the different areas , all the different little nooks even of every area . You know the different communities and you know sometimes people will say I really want a big swim team . Oh , okay , in these cities like these are the ones that are very active and you know things . If you're a seller , then I'll know all the different parks that I need to make sure that I mention , and you know all the commuting options and so just I mean understanding how to market . It is one is one . But also , just when a client is coming from out of state , out of country , and they kind of give me their criteria of what they're looking for , I can really help them narrow it down . And obviously you know I can't speak to schools or you know anything with the fair housing , but within those parameters , right , I can really help kind of narrow down where we are and then also what's the best restaurant here , and you know all that I'm a little guide of .
Speaker 2here's all the places to hit up .
Speaker 1Exactly , that's right . Maybe parks with the kids and ice cream after .
Speaker 2There we go . When clients look back on working with you , what's the number one thing you hope that they'll remember about their entire ?
Speaker 1experience . Yeah , I hope that they just feel like they had a good time , that they found something that they either if they're the buyer , something that really hit what they were looking for , that we didn't overlook or get too caught up in anything , that we looked at all the details and the seller . That it's especially emotional when you're selling and that you know hopefully it's just a happy experience in the end and I just you know I love even sometimes you know the seller will leave a lovely note and a bottle for the next guy and list their favorite things and it's just only happens when it's a lovely experience along the way . Right , if there was animosity throughout the transaction , that wouldn't have happened . So really just the overall ending feeling of just peaceful , happy experience .
Speaker 1Exactly yeah exactly , yeah , exactly , starting my new life .
Speaker 2Is there anything else that you would like to touch on or share that I didn't ?
Building Agent Relationships and Teamwork
Speaker 1touch on or ask you about . I think one huge thing is the power of friendships and relationships in this business . Agent a handful of times or they called you once about one of your listings and you were forthcoming and sharing . You know how you did and what you did to get ready and really collaborating . A lot of agents don't do that . So I think you know when you do it's always very warmly received , you know , and just helping one another , and that's what I found in my brokerage .
Speaker 1Now too , everyone is so kind , so friendly , like oh , I made this magnet , would you like it ? You know , here , put your face on it , and things like that just make it fun . And that's what I missed from teaching . You know is very social and sometimes with real estate could be quite lonely . You know you're on your own and you talk with clients all the time , but you know it's different than being kind of in an office environment . So establishing that for yourself and just finding a good group of people that you know you can connect with , and I think that's just been a great thing .
Speaker 2Yeah , no , I think it makes a world of difference just because I work with a lot of agents .
Speaker 1Yeah , a lot of my friends are agents , so I hear all that yeah exactly Always fun to just decompress and share your experiences and the good and the bad and , you know , ask for advice and just having people you can trust is huge in this business .
Speaker 2Agreed . Yeah , thank you so much for being on the show . It was so lovely having you on and listening to your journey and your experience .
Speaker 1Thank you . It's been so much fun to talk to you and I want to hear more about your hosting .