REO 101: Lessons from the Field with Keith Stone

Host: David Wharton. 

Episode Title: REO 101: Lessons from the Field with Keith Stone

Duration: Approximately 8 minutes and 23 seconds

Description:

In this episode of MP Access, we speak with Keith Stone of the Keith Stone Real Estate Group live from the Velocity Conference in Fort Worth. Drawing from his background as a civil engineer and his years of experience in REO (real estate owned) properties, Keith offers a practical, no-nonsense breakdown of the current housing landscape. He discusses local market trends, the importance of data, how to minimize liability, and the real-world benefits of industry networking. His advice is especially useful for agents, asset managers, and anyone working with distressed or government-owned properties.

Key Topics:

• Why REO is a hyper-local business—and how to leverage that
• The daily data points Keith uses to guide decision-making
• Three core principles for succeeding in REO: solutions, relationships, and education
• Project management insights from civil engineering that apply to real estate
• How conferences and FORCE membership provide real ROI

Resources & Links:

• MortgagePoint Magazine
• Contact Us

Subscribe & Listen:

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

Transcript

All right. Welcome. We are on the floor here at the Velocity Conference once again in Fort Worth. And we are talking to some of our luminaries that are here speaking and participating. Right now, we're talking to Keith Stone, who is a realtor that runs the Keith Stone Real Estate Group. Welcome, Keith, and thank you for talking to us today.

Thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. Absolutely. So let's start kind of broad. Obviously the the market right now and the industry that you guys are dealing with, there's a lot going on. There's a lot to keep track of. From your perspective, what are some of the kind of top headwinds and trends that you're seeing and the ultimate day in, day out, and how are you navigating that stuff?

So there's a couple of things. Real estate is definitely regional and hyper local. So what might be happening in Milwaukee is different from what's happening in Washington, DC versus Dallas, Texas. So the thing that we as agents have access to is information. And oftentimes we don't utilize that as a high level. So the first step of my every morning is checking the interest rates, whether they're fluctuating up or dropping down and checking the MLS to see how our local market is tracking.

And then once a month, I run, an industry report from my partners. This is how we trended this month, and this is how we've trended year over year, going back 365 days. Sometimes you can kind of paint a picture. You can't predict the future, but I can give you a decent roadmap as to where we're headed. Building off that, are there any tools that you're using?

Is that just kind of like you manually going through that? Is there anything you're doing that's automate helps automate those processes or any tools or any things that you or have come to rely on for that? You can always pay for company or vendor to do the hard work for you, but if you want to have a true understanding, you've got to get your hands into the data.

So it could be as simple as our realtor property resource, which is the closest move we have to a nationwide MLS or your local MLS. We pay our dues. They provide us the data. It's up to us to aggregate that data. Oh, I love that. So you spoke about the importance of kind of being a hands on like that.

So beyond just that, that kind of daily check in and making sure you're understanding what's going on in the different markets across the nation. Is there any other advice you a gift for somebody that's working in your industry, just lessons you've learned over the years or anything that's particular to now? What advice would you pass out to somebody.

So there probably be three data points that I would harp on our clients, whether they're asset managers or whether they're a smart government entity like Fannie or Freddie. They depend on us to be the local expert in the resource. If they're calling, they most likely have an issue. And it's my job to provide a solution. So always be solution based.

That's first and flows. And the second thing is this is a relationship business. It's not necessarily what you know, but who you know. Even though people don't physically have rolodexes anymore, I can reach in my smartphone and I can find a vendor, or I can find the information that you're like. And then the third thing is you have to be in the room to be in the know.

So whether that's attending a conference such as five star or continuing education opportunities, but you're pursuing constant educational opportunities, you'll always be at the top of your game. Absolutely. So I know, you were speaking on a panel here at force, of the force conference today and called rehab, not just for Rose or HDTV. Great. Great title.

So what are some of the takeaways from that panel? I can kind of get a sense of it, but what what are your key bullet points you want to to pass on to the audience today from that? So again, real estate's hyper local now. So what might work for Frederick and Baltimore might be completely foreign to me here in Dallas, Texas.

So if you're looking for a mentor or you're looking for resources, my first start would be find someone who's done it before us. The second thing is find someone who's done it in your marketplace because they have access to information and resources. Inevitably, you're going to need. Frederick might be brilliant in the Mid-Atlantic, but he can't help me with my local issues in this case.

Right. Well, I know one thing that stood out, looking at your background, was that you did, I think ten more than ten years as a civil engineer. In a previous life, transitioning from that civil engineering background into what you do now, what were the the main skills? Were the main, components that you were able to carry from one to the other?

That's an excellent question. And most people assume it has something to do with construction, and my ability to build that is farthest from the case. My first step is a civil engineer and a project manager was to shed liability. My clients are happiest when they're not getting sued, whether that's a multi-million dollar corporation that's building a hospital or whether it's Fannie Mae or Freddie.

If I can keep them away from litigation, they're happy. So step one shed liability. Step two was managing multiple contractors that to make sure the electrician, the plumber, the concrete guy, the roofer, they're all on the same page. Nothing has changed. It's just that a smaller scale. Can I get my guy out to tarp the roof? Can I get my electrician to close up this panel?

Can I get my yard guy to remove the waist high weeds? Can I manage them in a time frame where the roofer can't get out there because there's a tree growing through the living room? So let's get my found. Let's get my landscaper out there to remove the tree. Then we can tarp the hole in the roof until we tackle the next issues.

So step one avoid liability. Step two manage expectations and manage the vendors. That's the biggest thing that I've been able to transition from corporate America into the retail space. Okay. Well you touched a little bit on the importance of, who you know, and the benefits of conferences like that. So I think that's definitely one of the ones you had mentioned.

But beyond that, what are some of the takeaways from both other conferences that you've been to for force in the past? And this one, I know it's earlier than the earlier in the day right now, but, have there been any highlights, any real key moments that you'd like to spotlight? So we had a, a welcome happy hour yesterday, and I was able to speak with a couple agents from Atlanta, and we were just something as simple as trading business cards.

I was able to get an something that I need to incorporate into my business. So for me, there's twofold things with the confidence is of course, there's the networking, which is always top notch. But there is more than one way to skin that proverbial cat. So you're going to drop a little dime of knowledge on me that's going to turn into a dollar.

And it might be something you've been doing for years, which is commonplace in your market, but is new, earth shattering to me. So it might you might take in a literal avalanche of 100 different aha's. There's 1 or 2 that are going to be really impactful in your business, and you could get those online. You get those from person to person interactions.

So beyond just the, the opportunity to have those in-person moments where you're, you're meeting people here at conferences, are there any of the real benefits you've seen from force membership or anything you'd like to spotlight? Absolutely. Last year I was at the forest Conference in Nashville, and they had a vendor hall, and I was able to meet a brand new vendor that's property preservation, and they've been absolutely gangbusters in my business.

Whether it's something with pro landscaping to securing a property or winterizing a property, I can go online, I can make a phone call, and they've got local vendors on the ground that can handle that for me. Instead of me spending hours chasing down each individual. They're licensed, they're bonded. They send me reports with photos that I can pass on to the asset manager or the client.

I would have never met them had I not been at the venue, and they've been extremely beneficial in my business. That's awesome. That's great to hear. Well, thank you so much for taking some time to talk to us. Keith. We've got Keith Stone with the Keith Stone Real Estate Group. And you want to throw out a website or LinkedIn or anything you want to pass on to people?

Realtor Keith stone.com. That's my website. And you can find me at Realtor Keith Stone on LinkedIn and all social media. Awesome. Thank you so much, Keith. And thank you for everybody for watching.