Real Lives of Real Estate w/ Brendan Da Silva
Welcome to the Real Lives of Real Estate, a brand new real estate podcast unlike any other. Your host is the #1 Realtor in Newark, NJ, Brendan Da Silva, and every week he interviews real estate professionals about how working in the industry has affected their lives and stories.
Real Lives of Real Estate w/ Brendan Da Silva
Humor and Hardship in the World of Real Estate with Carlos Figueira | The Mortgage Expert
When Carlos Figueira, the mortgage maestro, shares the tale of his journey from Portugal to Newark's multifamily homes, you can't help but lean in closer. His story isn't just about real estate; it's a chronicle of ambition, family, and the enduring quest for the American Dream. As we sit down with Carlos, we weave through the fabric of community impact, touching on how a stable childhood home can shape our adult perspectives and the ripple effects of real estate decisions on personal lives.
Turning the corner, our episode reflects on the raw resilience it takes to carve out success in the volatile world of real estate. My own path from college dropout to industry trailblazer underscores this narrative, revealing an education that only life can provide. We navigate through the 2008 financial crisis, the highs, and lows that test our personal relationships, and emerge with a fresh understanding of the true measures of success in our field. It's a candid look at the importance of adaptability and the art of staying afloat when the markets do more than just dip.
Humor has a way of diffusing tension, and in our final chapter, we share a lighter side with Brendan’s prank calls that remind us of the rollercoaster emotions inherent in real estate dealings. But beyond the laughter, lies the core of our discussion—investing in oneself, valuing relationships over riches, and ensuring that, through it all, our health and happiness remain non-negotiable. Join Carlos and me as we unpack a trove of industry secrets and affirm the timeless lesson: in real estate, as in life, the best investment you can make is in yourself.
To get more insight on episodes and to apply to be on the show, visit www.BrendanDaSilva.com!
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So the teacher or the professor starts talking to us about mortgages. 99% of it was wrong, so I kept correcting him during the lesson.
Speaker 1:So we go to leave class, the professor comes up to me and says how did you know so much about this? And I told him. I said, well, I've been working, you know, doing mortgages for about four years now, or three years, whatever it was. He goes you make a lot of money, or why make $65,000 a year as a professor? And I said, oh yeah, a lot more than that. And he goes. I got one piece of advice for you and I'm like what's that? And he's like you need to stop coming to school and just concentrate on what you're doing, just like that.
Speaker 2:All right, we are here with the one and only Carlos Vigeta. The guy is an absolute legend with keyboard, mortgage, mentor, friend, confidants, conciliary entrepreneur. Legend of a man, Carlos, that was a good intro.
Speaker 1:There may be like, yeah, there may be two of us never know. Like you know, I'm a fill in right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you get so much done that it would make sense. No, but Carlos and I have been together for those listening for six and a half years, seven years. He was my first lender and my only lender really in the real estate space, um, I don't see since day one, right, we got connected to your, your God son. With that being said, shout out to Carlos for connecting us. But I've got you on today because, of course, you know you could talk a lot and you're like the most hidden guy I know in terms of real estate, which is funny because everyone in real estate wants to be loud, right, right, you are, would say, one of the more, probably the most successful lender I know in terms of like a loan officer and like my two fold though.
Speaker 1:Okay, go ahead to speak about real estate a little bit and to get a tan, and a tan because the sun yeah well.
Speaker 2:I'm glad I switched seats with you because now I'm warm. This is my question of the day what did you grow up in? Before we talk about where you're currently at, give me a little bit of like. What did you grow up in? Was it a house, was it an apartment? Was it a building?
Speaker 1:It was like a shed. No, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:Well, you're born, no, so actually. So if you really want to, you know, get down to home.
Speaker 1:So I'm actually Portuguese. I was born in Portugal, right, so we lived probably, like in today's day and age, 15 minutes from a hospital, but back then it's like an hour away from a hospital, and my mom couldn't wait and I literally was born in my house.
Speaker 2:Literally in the house. Literally in the house. You have a nurse come or something. There was like a midwife. A midwife, yeah Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I don't remember. I don't remember much of it, you know how old are you when? You came to the States, so I came over when I was two years old.
Speaker 2:Oh, so you don't remember anything in Portugal?
Speaker 1:Very very little, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:And now, when you came to the States, would you move?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we moved to Newark.
Speaker 2:Oh, direct to Newark. Yeah, you know why your parents chose Newark.
Speaker 1:So my cousin, my dad, came legally, you know, for work purposes. He made like surgical, like scissors and equipment and his cousin, his first cousin, was here already called him over like for work purpose you know, so we all came with green cards. Day one on a plane.
Speaker 2:There was no boat involved or anything like that you know the big.
Speaker 1:There was no big journey like that. But so we actually lived in my cousin Gina's house, I think, for maybe like a week or two until they find found an apartment on. Our first apartment was a small two bedroom attic apartment on Rome Street.
Speaker 2:Not even illegal. Probably three families.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm sure it wasn't illegal.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:We me and my brother were little and we'd wake up and hit our heads on this because you know it was like you know.
Speaker 2:oh, it's landed route, that's where our bedroom was. Yeah, and how long until, you guys.
Speaker 1:So my parents bought their first house when I was in first grade, so you went from a two bedroom attic apartment to a house?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and was it a house and multifamily?
Speaker 1:No, it was a multifamily on Madison Street here in Ironbound, you know did you know that it was a multi Like?
Speaker 2:did you know that, oh, there's other people living in the house, do you?
Speaker 1:know, no. No, yeah, we knew we had tenants on the first floor.
Speaker 2:Well, you now you know what a tenant is at a time. Do you know it was a tenant?
Speaker 1:Probably like as a kid growing up. They were just like friends that we thought you know, but yeah, it's time progressed, you know.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as they were. Actually they were Brazilian, oddly enough.
Speaker 2:Well that's, they're probably great. And I'm Geno was my friend, I'm Brazilian and I'm Geno.
Speaker 1:And yeah, no, we quit. Yeah, no, I click quickly realized they were tenants because they would throw these crazy Samba parties and my parents would be like what the Stop making all this noise. But no, they were actually were very close friends of our family. They lived in my house for like I don't know, like 15 years.
Speaker 2:Oh, they were. Long term, high quality, always paying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, always. You know, they live there a very long time.
Speaker 2:Now, did you know that they were like? I just always wonder, because I grew up, you know, I moved so many times, like 13 times by the time I was 10 years old or whatever. So I always wonder. I'm like I always knew from a very young age we were paying someone to live or we lived Right. I always knew that I was remember I'm. I always remember my parents, like stressing about making the payment.
Speaker 1:Well, same thing, we were paying somebody. Well, not we. Obviously my parents were somebody, but they're paying the bank instead of a landlord, you know.
Speaker 2:But were your parents as you grew up with? They were like well off, would you say.
Speaker 1:Or were they like, hardworking like no? My dad worked six days a week until he retired.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so he would work Monday through Saturday. Saturdays were half days. He'd work from like six in the morning until one o'clock, whoa. It's whole career, brutal work yeah. Well, it wasn't brutal work like look, you know, like, uh, I have uncle's that work in New York City like digging trenches and stuff like that. That's pretty brutal yeah. Like he had a good job, yeah, but it was a lot of work and always working, you know. Okay, wow.
Speaker 2:Do you? What kind of impact do you think moving from like a two-bed dramatic illegal apartment with your brother and your parents to a like house? Now you guys own a multifamily house. That was amazing. What kind yeah, can you know?
Speaker 1:we had a backyard, you know like, which, you know, huge, awesome, you know, you know, driveway, which, as as we got older, was awesome because you know otherwise our cars would be stolen every day. But yeah, so it was, yeah, no, it's huge, it's huge.
Speaker 1:You know, you're talking about major living space. So we had a literally like I'll look at pictures from back then Tiny, tiny, tiny you know, kitchen, tiny family room, my parents' bedroom which was tiny, and then ours which was even smaller but we were a little back then, so who cares and that was three floors up.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, then we moved the. You know they bought their house here on Madison Street and all of a sudden they had a basement that they finished off eventually at first it wasn't, but you know, and then we had second floor where, you know, my parents technically lived, but it was like one of these older homes, these big, massive rooms, and then they ultimately finished the upstairs, you know. So the second floor was like a, what would you call it like floor and a half, let's say. Right, I had the attic finished off also and that was two bedrooms and a bathroom up there and that's where me and my brother would stay. So we technically had, like through our whole life, our own apartment up there. Oh, wow, yeah, which is pretty awesome. So we went from, like this small, small space to call it four bedrooms.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you literally doubled.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then some because you had the backyard. Yeah, we had the drive-thru. Yeah, backyard, we had our bikes.
Speaker 2:And you guys were there from first grade, basically till graduation.
Speaker 1:So we were there from when I was in first grade until I actually like the year before I got married, my parents sold their house.
Speaker 2:How old were you when you got married?
Speaker 1:About 27, 28. Yeah, you're about, if you're listening. If you're listening the years have been so great I don't even recall All right Such treasured time. No so let me see so. Me and my wife started dating when we were 21. I was the last holdout of all my friends to get married, so we dated for six years. So 27, 28, I got married.
Speaker 2:It sounds what I've learned right, especially as I've been doing so many of these like podcasts. Yeah, people who grew up in one place without moving around a lot, right Overall just seemed to have better childhoods, like stability, as it seems for like children growing up, very important. Yeah, this is what I really learned. When you move too many times, like for me, I know people ask me where you from, where you from, I don't know what to tell them. I honestly only tell them what benefits me. So if it's like this environment, I'll tell them I'm from there. But really, because I'm like, well, I moved around so much, so many times, right, or even within one town. We moved like six times in one town. So it's like, yeah, that's hard or five times.
Speaker 1:It's terrible yeah.
Speaker 2:Of course your parents did the best they could, but still it's like my gosh, no good, yeah, and so for you it's. I think it's a beautiful thing that you had such a longevity, even after, because you never had to worry about you know. Oh well, you know we're going to have to pack up our stuff again or change schools about, and I did you go public school or private school?
Speaker 1:So we went to. I went to Lafayette Street School Elementary.
Speaker 2:You know, elementary.
Speaker 1:Yeah, k, not KK. I went to St Benedict's, but you went to St Benedict's yeah. Yeah, so K through eight I went to Lafayette Street School and then my parents, thank God. Not that there's anything wrong with East Side or Newark Public School system. I think there's a lot. I think there's a lot wrong you know, I would have probably been like, definitely a drug dealer, I'm sure, but a very, do you think?
Speaker 2:so Very solid drug dealer, I'm sure Top of the top.
Speaker 1:But no, thankfully enough, they put us in Queen of Peace High School.
Speaker 2:Back then. Well, you're talking 30 years ago, right? Yeah, you went to high school right 25, 30 years ago Back then, ironbound. I would imagine it was a much more dangerous area in contrast to now.
Speaker 1:You know, overall it was always a safe area.
Speaker 2:As far as I know, okay.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. I know other people may say different, but I always felt very safe.
Speaker 2:Even the school. I think the schools have gotten a lot better now.
Speaker 1:From what I hear, I'm sure I hear back then it was like the rules, it was like crazy, it was like insane yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are stories I hear about, like from some of my clients of like, literally like stabbings that would take place at East Side High.
Speaker 1:School. Oh yeah, there's raping, stabbing. It was like a horrible things.
Speaker 2:It's insane. Yeah. Now I guess, once again, real estate did provide you guys stability, especially where you guys were at what in the fast forwarding, and you can talk about your transition. Before we talk about your transition into real estate, is it career path? Just with your parents? Why did your parents end up selling the two family in the Iron Bound? You know your home. Why did you not buy it the whole nine?
Speaker 1:So me and my brother had bought a couple properties and we just hate it being landlords. You know it was the bottom line, you know. So we got. Our last property we sold was in Weehawken, which if we had today would be like amazing property. Right, it was a three, well, two and a half unit property, great neighborhood, three blocks from the tunnel. It would have been worth megabucks, you know, but we didn't. We, you know, we weren't, we were in mortgages already and our use of time was you know wasn't to be a landlord.
Speaker 1:It was not good. You know the return wasn't good.
Speaker 2:So as far as like my parents' property, we never even thought about buying their house you know we didn't want to be landlords.
Speaker 1:So my parents and my brother were close friends to siabras at the time, you know. But he skated, was right down the road from us and they sold their home. It was very, very easy sale.
Speaker 2:No real job.
Speaker 1:They sold it to siabras yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, oh my gosh, these guys know there's like three people who I think they bought like that whole block. We're in the ironbound. You grew up in the ironbound. You're a true Newarker, right, You're from Newark, right, Like point blank you, you and you really from the like concrete or rose, like you really did so much in life that we'll dive into. But I got this question who would you say owns the ironbound? Cause you got like four people.
Speaker 1:So there's like I, I, I only look at it. Well, actually you know there's a couple of people, but you know, in my opinion it's like you know the Peppies, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Peppie and his, like the descendants. Yep, I got, I got Gabe coming on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Ah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Next two weeks.
Speaker 1:One week from now, two weeks you should renegotiate your rent on the podcast. Put him on the spot.
Speaker 2:Hey, can I get this guy? You know, I really helped you out here.
Speaker 1:But I would say him then the family right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're big. For sure.
Speaker 1:They own 30 something buildings, I think but there's there's a lot of a lot of people in Newark that own tons of real estate that you would never even know who they are.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:They're all people they don't come from like social media environment, different generation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, different generation. Low key, very low school. Old school, poor kids Very old school, italian old school.
Speaker 1:Irish old school. Well you've, you've met a couple of people, actually investors yes, oh. And next thing you start talking to them and they have like 20, 25 different properties in and out of Newark right.
Speaker 2:And you're just like. You are the most humble guy I know. For what you have, yeah, and they really are, they're so for what they have, I'm like, wow, okay, so you got into real estate.
Speaker 1:How my brothers started working for a company where they were literally the first telemarketers telemarketing for mortgages. It's a company called Parkway Mortgage back in the day, right Right off the parkway. Oddly enough, I guess that's where they got their freaking name from. But anyway, he started working there. I was working at a clothing store, a very popular clothing store. Back then I was the manager. It's called shout or what used to be called shout. It's no longer around, I don't think you know.
Speaker 1:My dream at that time was like hey, I'm going to be like the full time manager of the store and I'm going to make 28,000 a year and it's going to be a great life, right. So my brother starts working at this mortgage company and he got transferred to an office in Wayne after being there only like maybe 30 days Him and another guy from Newark which does more he does. Also, his name is Mandy Morgato. They got transferred to an office in Wayne because the manager there got sick and was in the hospital and they like excelled and we're doing like great.
Speaker 1:And after I don't know, it was only a short period of time, maybe like six months or something like that my brother said you know what are you doing? You know, why don't you come work at our place? Now I'm like what am I going to do there? I don't know anything about mortgages or homes or any of this. You know stuff. I was 17, about to turn 18. And he said yeah, just quit your job and come on. And I'm like what are you talking about? I'm like how am I going to quit this job? I'm making four dollars and 25 cents an hour.
Speaker 2:You were a manager, though, at that age.
Speaker 1:I was a manager, yeah.
Speaker 2:Wow, he said yeah don't worry about it.
Speaker 1:He's like I guarantee you'll make more, don't even sweat it. So that's why I did it. I went in the next day, quit my job and next thing I know I'm driving to Wayne, new Jersey. Wow, you know, and that's where I started my mortgage career. Was that like that? That simple, that easy? Well, and there was no like mentorship, training. No, you just got to see what happened.
Speaker 1:You know he passed away but you would call him my mentor. You know, really, my brother was my mentor, right, but when it's the office the first day, right, sit down. I don't even know how to spell mortgage, by the way. Okay, right, sit down. I know. Nor do I know what a mortgage is. I had no idea, and now you're just knew I was working at a mortgage company. I didn't know what any of that meant Okay. So from not knowing 18,.
Speaker 2:You're 18,. You know nothing from a mortgage. Now you're I what You're from a mortgage company? Nothing from a mortgage. Now you're I what You're 42, 41.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you 43, 44. Pretty close, I just turned 49.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1:Okay, so 30 years later, I think me and you were 20 year difference, right? Yes, 49.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 20 year difference. How many mortgages do you?
Speaker 1:think that you've done, personally, tens of thousands, I don't know, I don't know. I never thought about a number, but certainly thousands, 100%, thousands.
Speaker 2:You probably did a hundred, you probably do 150 average a year.
Speaker 1:Let's call it Probably. But they were actually you know, I was really busy back then too. Um, I don't know, dude.
Speaker 2:I would say like yeah easily 150 a year. It times 30 times 30. So you're talking like you probably have done half. You probably have done like 4500 mortgages, 5000 mortgages Probably yeah.
Speaker 1:You guys don't. That's me personally, not my company.
Speaker 2:Oh, now your company if you think about the company, you probably have like 20,000, 30,000 alone.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Maybe at one point did you guys have like that and you know that's really good.
Speaker 1:But there are a handful of guys that do you know, 500, 750, 1000 units per year.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know. So, although I consider myself like a mortgage guru, they're. I don't know how they do it, but they do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's some guys out there that I think they got. I think the rubber stampers is my yeah they just like putting their name on things but they yeah, that's the only way, You're 18. Now wait, how did your brothers have to leave?
Speaker 1:Wait so let me tell you. So what happens is, you know and I think your training went a little bit differently, oh yes. So what happened was I sit at this desk, right, and my boss, Rich Sales, gives me this list of people, right, and he says I want you to call these people and ask them if they're interested in a mortgage or if they need any money against their house. So basically, it was like more of they were subprime, more of like cash out. When I started the business interest rates were and it was considered low 9.99. When you started my first year yeah, my first six months maybe- so right now you're not sweating.
Speaker 1:It's. You know I'm sweating because of the heat in here. There's amazing, you know, energy, but literally solar power energy, but yeah, no, the rates were much higher, you know. So sit down at this desk. He gives me this list and he says start calling. And I say okay, if they say they're interested, what do I do? And he says put them on hold and come see me. All right, so pick up the phone, not a nice fancy phone like we have now. It was like literally these old. Like you know, if you go to a museum you'll probably know what they're all about.
Speaker 2:You never experienced. No way Crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was crazy. Get the customer on the phone, say, hey, you know I'm calling from Parkway mortgage. You know, are you interested in, you know, maybe getting some cash out on your property? You know, home improvements, debt consolidation? They're like, yeah, I'm very interested. Okay, hold on one second. Boom, hey, rich, they're interested. He'd say, okay, ask him how much money they need. Hey, brendan, how much money do you need? Wow, 25,000. Yeah, so like the dialogue went back and forth like that.
Speaker 2:And you were the one running the time. Though you were running the conversation, he was just telling you what to say.
Speaker 1:Yes, I would just put him on hold and run it to his office. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:You have to be wearing Nike sneakers. You were just sprit back and forth, back and forth.
Speaker 1:So it's almost like sink or survive, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think of the sink or swim.
Speaker 1:I guess yeah. So I happen to be one of those that swam.
Speaker 2:So like.
Speaker 1:I learned through my first conversation with the customer some of the basic questions. So now my second conversation. It was like oh, hey, yeah, so how much money do you actually need? So when I went to see rich, now, right, I already had like all the bases covered and he would literally just sit down and say, okay, tell him 10, 10, 9, 11, 9, 9. And this is the payment, Right. And then my third conversation I already had figured out how to do the payment. He gave me this weird, you know little booklet thing that you go to a rate and you go to the years and it tells you what the principal and interest payment is and he just multiply times whatever thousand, right, Not like fancy, like what computers now, whatever. And that was it.
Speaker 1:So it's basically sink or swim. So you know, a bunch of us swam. Some people definitely sank, you know, because couldn't figure it out, Couldn't get it done, you know no, no, no no.
Speaker 2:Oh, look at my man, rami, out here putting the fan on for you. You see, Rami, can you move the fan a little bit more To hit this guy, Carlito?
Speaker 1:No, no, I'm good. I'm good, are you sure? We don't want you joking, but, like you know, the truth does comes out.
Speaker 2:Every joke has a little bit of a trick.
Speaker 1:But what I was going to say is uh, so that model that's on the job training at its highest level, right, yeah, that is like the most on the job.
Speaker 2:It literally is like we're doing this together, right, yeah, like the where you basically worked the file with him, yeah, okay, now I do want to share a story that I want to ask you about your current uh, what life looks like for you now? Okay, so you tell the story about what made you decide to drop out of college with, like, how many credits did you have left, like?
Speaker 1:15 credits. Yeah, I had, uh, I think. I think I have 88 credits or 84 credits a lot.
Speaker 2:You're over here disappointing your parents, right? Your parents, like why are you dropping out of college?
Speaker 1:No, no no, honestly, my parents didn't even care why I paid for my own college. It isn't like they were paying. It's almost embarrassing to actually say this, but I went to college probably for six years. Six years, yes, I was working full time, obviously as a loan officer, and I ran a more. I ran, literally ran a branch at that time, right. So what I would do is it's pretty funny I would drive a lot of my employees uh, marketers at that time, telemarketers that worked for me were like girls from Patterson, so I would go to school. I would have all my classes from like 745 to like 10 am, right, 10 am Leave, drive through Patterson, pick them all up.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause they didn't drive or anything like that, and I would drive them into the office.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm thinking of these, I'm assuming Latina, yeah.
Speaker 1:Most of them were Puerto Rican Latina.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, cause it tell marketers for the Spanish speaking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had this one girl, Inez.
Speaker 2:Inez Pagan. She's one of my clients. What is it? Oh, you never know. Maybe it is Uh-oh.
Speaker 1:I asked her if she's from Patterson. I had this one girl, inez, that had worked with us for for a while, so I knew who she was. So like she was my first marketer and I said, hey, do you have any friends or whatever? And she was making good money. She's like, yeah, I have 20 of them, you know. So we hired like three or four, you know, and that's how we kind of like grew with that office. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Whoa, yeah, slow and steady, but then big.
Speaker 1:So so the story of why I stopped going to school. Right, that's what you're getting at, why I stopped going to college.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, me and my buddy Carlos, which we're in this level, 400 class, capital budgeting course, right, uh, we're, I don't know. Oh, we're in a mortgage. It came to the mortgage chapter, whatever, right. So the teacher or the professor starts talking to us about mortgages and everything he said well, not everything, but like 99% of it was wrong. So I kept correcting him during the lesson and saying, oh, no, no, this is actually how works, that's how it works and you should do this. And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Now I was already running a mortgage company, or not a mortgage company, but a office for a mortgage company, a branch, um, I don't know easily for like three years, probably four years, four years, at least five years, whatever it was. At that time, after the class, you know, me and my buddy Carlos go to leave and the professor comes up to us and he's like hey, you know, and Carlos had just started working for me actually, at that, time also in mortgages.
Speaker 2:Oh, he should thank you, you put him on.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, my buddy, tony, you put me on you put a car aside because he's, he's very like me. Him and Tony were best friends.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:So my brother, like they kind of looked up to my brother as a brother as well, like, you know, a older figure in their life or whatever. So as soon as I started doing mortgages and I started doing it pretty well, uh, like shortly after that I got Carlos involved. Uh, shortly after that my buddy, Tony, got involved, you know, and we all did mortgages.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:They all do it like. My buddy, tony works at Morgan Stanley. Now he's in a whole different environment. He went more commercial, uh, carlos still has his mortgage company, but he's really a real estate investor yeah, very good, very, very excellent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he does amazing, amazing.
Speaker 1:But anyway, so we go to leave class and he comes up to uh, to me and says you know, how did you know so much about this? And I told him I said, well, I've been working, you know, doing mortgages, for about four years now, or three years, whatever it was. And he goes oh, okay, and he goes. Um, he goes, you make a lot of money, or I don't remember exactly the context, but it was something like you know, you make a lot of money. And I said I do pretty good. And he's like. He said something to the effect Like um, uh, you know, uh, well, I make $65,000 a year as a professor. And I said, oh, yeah, a lot more than that, or something to that. You know, I don't remember verbatim, you know, but I could remember speaking to him. It was hysterical. And he goes I got one piece of advice for you, and I'm like what's that? And he's like you need to stop coming to school and just concentrate on what you're doing, just like that.
Speaker 2:Oh, I mean, that's the clip, that's the clip.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just like that. So your professor told you. Hey, my professor in my capital budgeting class literally told me. He said you need to stop doing what you're doing. He says it sounds like you're highly successful already at what you're doing. He said you should concentrate on that. He's like you're making three times more than what I'm making. And I'm a educated professor trying to teach you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's a smart guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So then I walked out that day and I never saw William Patterson again, just every now and then I drive by there.
Speaker 2:And you remember, you're like whoa.
Speaker 1:what I would do is I would go to school, I'd sign up for like five courses maybe even six, I can't remember right and the professors that would take attendance and require you to be present at all times that was not I would just drop their class then.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like I'd sign up for like five or six and I'd wind up only keeping maybe two classes per semester. Could you?
Speaker 1:like, would you know, I would drop out right where that cutoff is before like where you could still get like maybe 30% of your money back, but the grade doesn't count, yeah. And I was like I'm done with this class.
Speaker 2:Let me get out of here and I was like the real lives of real estate you have to like. In reality, you got to be able to make contrary indecision. So they're like the. The mode is that you go to school, you graduate, boom, right. If you really wanted to see in real estate, you have to like be. You can't just be like part of the fishes that swim one direction. You swim the opposite direction. Now, thankfully you had a professor, kind of, hey, what are you doing here? Right, but a lot of people they don't have the professor, but thank the Lord that was like a pivot right.
Speaker 1:If you think about it, it was like you know. And here in somebody that you know is in a high level right, high level teacher, professor, environment, and they tell you my best piece of information or advice for you is to do this. I'm like you know what Shit I'm going to go with his best piece of advice. You know, did it?
Speaker 2:pay off. Well, do you think like that? Following?
Speaker 1:year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, long term. Look where you're at. But that year did you see any immediate results like increase or not so much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sure, because you got to remember. I used to wake up at, like you know, six o'clock in the morning to be in Wayne, right by you know my first class was at 745.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's tough.
Speaker 1:You know, and I was working until like nine o'clock at night, 10 o'clock at night, then I'd have to drive the girls back home to Patterson and then drive back to Newark because I lived in Newark, you know what I mean, brother, you were working like 100 hour work weeks. Yeah, yeah, and I think the thing during that time I wanted to open up a couple of clothing stores as well.
Speaker 2:No, stop, yeah, Stop. I never told you you did buy it, it was that time. No, it was during that time. So you were a full time, you were a part time student, working 60, 70, 80 hour work weeks in mortgages. Plus you owned a clothing store yeah, at 20 years old.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, probably at 19 years old you couldn't even legally drink.
Speaker 2:No-transcript. You were making 180 grand back in, you know, when you were 30 years ago, 1993.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this was in like 94, because I graduated high school in 92.
Speaker 2:Just like you guys know, I was born in 1994. So he literally was doing this before I was born. You know the expression. I was doing this before you were born, literally before I was born. Yeah, wow, okay, but this is how I mean you came about. This is a story about how real estate actually brought us together. So, as you know, I moved around so much, but I had one constant in my life, a few blocks away from where you grew up.
Speaker 1:It was CCP a beautiful church in.
Speaker 2:Newark, right, you came there recently, so at least the parking lot yeah.
Speaker 1:I almost got told.
Speaker 2:So there, my sister and I met a few people who would end up going to Naya College. I go to Naya, so just the idea, the real estate, right? The reason why real estate connects us is by the church. They were offered many times to sell that piece of land. They had sold that piece of land.
Speaker 2:I would never have gotten connected with the alumni of Naya College If I never went to Naya College. I would never would have met Joao Carlos If I never met Joao. When I ended up getting out of jail and I went to back into Jersey and he started with exorailty after working with you, he would never. He's like, hey, I express him, I was having difficulty finding a job. He would never have said, hey, you should become a realtor. If he never made, if he never pulled me and like, sponsored me and gave me money to become a realtor, right, paid for my license. I never would have met you If I never had and you're his godfather, right.
Speaker 2:If I never had met you, I would have been a bum in real estate. I would have been like the average realtor who sells like five, seven houses, most likely, right, I would love to say no, I would have made them out. That's a nice little fairy tale. We don't know if that's true. I know what did happen, right. So the long story there though. But you see, like even you were in Newark at that. Were you in Newark? Yeah, I was in Newark, literally we, because my church from Rome Street, probably eight blocks.
Speaker 1:No, no, rome Street is not Rome Street. I apologize. Madison Street, probably less than eight blocks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was going to church seven blocks away from where you lived while you were home, while you were building this real estate business, right, and I had no idea you were there.
Speaker 1:My clothing store was where, on the corner where we went to oh yeah, where we went to get dinner.
Speaker 2:So you see like it's so great there, right there. It's so interconnected. In Newark I always say it's like the biggest city, but such a small town, right, very small. The connections are very, very clear. So okay now, tell us a little bit about your business now. What does your business look like today? Like you have a lot going on. You're very secretive, but give us a. Give the fans what they want.
Speaker 1:It's. You know we're a mortgage company, a mortgage broker, and you know we go out there and give out mortgages, that's what it looks like.
Speaker 2:Okay, basically, carlos is the goat. Okay, that's what you gotta know. Carlos, I'm going to put you on blast. I think you probably do 150 to 200 loans a year, personal, personally. Yeah, okay, that's, and here's why the realtors and lenders, they lie all the time. So we can't lie anymore.
Speaker 1:You know, I keep telling you this.
Speaker 1:Like you know, we all know, like you know, these guys that go on social media and they post how much they do. And then you know, like when you're at my level or you're running an office and you want to recruit people, this includes realtors. Now the access is now available to us. It wasn't before before like it was available to you, where you could go on your GSM, ls or whatever and you can access. You know what is this reel to do, what is that reel to do if you want to go recruit them Right? So for mortgages, it was never available until like maybe three years ago.
Speaker 1:So, with the NMLS system right, which is, you know, our licensing system. Every mortgage that closes now closes under an NMLS number right. That gets recorded. And there's two main companies that if you try to recruit employees, you subscribe to their services and you click up everybody. So for example, let's say somebody says, hey, you got to meet this guy, brenda De Silva. He sells tons of real estate. I think that'd be a great asset. You know, you should hook up Now. Go in boom, boom, brenda De Silva.
Speaker 1:And it says you closed five purchases, and three of them were by side. Two of them were listings and I'm like All right, what am I going to do with three?
Speaker 2:box. Let's just let you guys know we do close more than five.
Speaker 1:We close a good amount. I said in one week, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know what I mean. So now I know if that should develop my relationship with Brendan or not.
Speaker 2:And okay, so let me just ask like a rapid.
Speaker 1:So I never knew really how many mortgages. I never. You know how you're very analytical, like all your numbers. I don't know about any of that. All I know is about and I've said this for 30 years with loan officers that I trained I don't care about units, I care about profit. So I look and I see how much profits coming in and that means we're doing well. If there's not a lot of profit, we're not doing well.
Speaker 2:I would say one thing about you that I've learned that I am need to be more like you, deeply and immediately, is you are very profit driven, can you? Oh, actually great question how real estate has impacted your life. You and your brother were in business in 2007. You guys were next level, conquering the world. The real estate market crash, mortgages went to hell. How did that impact your life personally? It was your home life impacted. Was your friendships impacted?
Speaker 1:I saw. I'll tell you, you know, there probably were tons of divorces going on at that time, specifically in the mortgage industry, right, because we all went from living the Wall Street, the Wolf of Wall Street, what you see there we literally were going through in 04, 05 and 06. It was next level, all right. Anybody you talked to that was around will tell you it was like amazing times you know, and then 2008 happens and our my personal income dropped by 95%.
Speaker 1:Wow, and now you got to remember 95% of a commission based person. That could mean you're going two, three months with zero.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:To earn a little bit of that 5% portion. Now, right. So how did? What was the question? How did my life change?
Speaker 2:Personal life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you find out how much your wife actually loves you right, because you go from like this high society, life right and having money for whatever you want.
Speaker 2:Baller vacations.
Speaker 1:And you got to remember I was still younger at that time, yeah, Right.
Speaker 2:So you know mid-thirties, I'll put it to you this way.
Speaker 1:In 2007, I bought four new constructions down the shore, right With the intentions of what everybody else was doing buying them and flipping them for more money. Horrible, freaking decision. In my life I should have never done that. You know, you have all your cars, you have all your toys, you have all of this and then all of a sudden, faucets turned off. So you really find out, you know if you're with your ride or die, I guess at that point right.
Speaker 2:How did your?
Speaker 1:marriage handle it, fortunately enough. Great, you know, we're still married. You know what I mean, but it was a little bit easier. I'll tell you this much because we didn't have children at that time. Ah, okay, if we had kids that could have been even you know, because I feel like you and your wife could figure everything out right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but when you have children, you want the best for your kids.
Speaker 1:When you have children, it becomes a little bit different. So I'm grateful that at that time at least we didn't have the children. That would have made things really, really rough. But that was it. So, like here's the deal, I still went into work every day, okay, and I still was putting in 60, 80 hour work weeks, but I was getting zero results. Not because I wasn't working hard, not because I didn't know what I was doing. I was doing the same thing I did the rest of my career prior to that.
Speaker 2:But they're just work, you know it just, kevin, honestly, were you like? Right now there's a shift going on real estate right and I found myself catastrophizing and being paralyzed by fear for a moment or two too many. You know after work how we talk about real life like not off of Instagram, like I find myself going home and like man, how the heck am I going to figure this out? Commission structure changing the Fed rate how do I figure this out? Like there's that fear when you are going through? Your income drops 95%. You've built, you've sacrificed so much. You have an unbelievable quality of life. What do you think of it? Like? Are you upset? Do you feel anxious? You feel afraid? What do you do? Like badass superhero?
Speaker 1:use invisible. Yeah, most people would have probably, freaking, committed suicide, honestly, like you know. But you know, I just you know, even with my business you probably know from going over files I don't really stress, I like more like, just like focusing on what I'm working on and get it done. You know what I mean. Figure it out, you know. And that's kind of what I did at that time. I just said, hey, we're going to figure this out, you know, and just work through it. And you know, continue to work hard until we were able to come out on the other side, you know.
Speaker 2:I don't know how you did that, because you've lost a lot of employees. You lost a lot of talent, a lot of employees.
Speaker 1:We had a small company but it was like 100 employees.
Speaker 2:When I say we.
Speaker 1:It wasn't my company.
Speaker 2:It was my brother, but so 100 employees. My brother like really went through some Bro. That's what I'm saying, though you got to imagine this is brutal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it was brutal. It was real brutal, especially the first six months. But I will tell you, that made it easier. I had at that time a Mercedes CL 55. I had a Range Rover and a Lexus. The Lexus was paid off. The Mercedes and my Range Rover were not. My wife's truck was paid off too. Oh no, it wasn't. So the first thing I did is I paid off her truck. My Mercedes was was due off lease and my Range Rover was due off lease. So it was like within three months I didn't have that any longer.
Speaker 1:It's blessing and you know, and look even like to today. I do not like monthly bills. Yeah, it's not something I want.
Speaker 2:So I want to. That's what I was hoping to get to, because, like for why? I would say every life a real estate. Because when you're an entrepreneur, because when you're a commission based employee, it can be like you have these really intense experiences, highs and lows. There's very little middle ground For people who want to win. We're like this either I'm like going to be number one or I can just be on the street. There's like there's no benefit of me being middle, right, right, like. It's like what's the difference really? I'll just be like all the way in the bottom. I'd rather just want to be number one. Number two is the worst position to be in, right. That's how I feel. Like I want to be number one.
Speaker 2:Happy班, 올非常的 zugay. You have these larger than life experiences, experiences that the majority of America there's obviously a lot of. There's amazing things. A lot of people can't have the range over, right, but a lot of people never understand what it's like to literally be a part of letting go. 100 people right, and you'd be like holy crap. And of all the people I know in real estate, you are the number one anti-overhead human. So you keep your overhead low, you keep your company tight, you keep your expenses low and then you don't get them wrong. You ball out, right, but you only ball out and things you can buy in cash. So, like the modern day language is like oh, use other people's money, other people's money, other people's money. You've always told me like, but if you can't buy cash, you cannot buy it. Right, period, yeah, like, buy your.
Speaker 1:Like you buy your car's cash, but that comes from like experiencing a situation where almost everything could have been stripped from you right. So you buy your car. I'll tell you this much I never appreciated my wife's paycheck as much as I did during, you know, that year and a half two year period. That was a blessing, yeah, cause things really only turned around a little bit. It wasn't like a lot, but a little bit in like 2010. That's when, like, we started seeing some improvement again.
Speaker 2:And then 2015,. 16 really came up Then just in 1920, you're like dig off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but again, look, we don't make anywhere near the money we used to make. Yeah, Even you know we used to you know the loss changed. You know we're maxed, maximized as far as how much we can earn per file, but it's, you know, a blessing that we can make what we make. You know.
Speaker 2:Great question Marriage advice from a lender. Here You're and you're not a perfect guy, right? You make mistakes all the time. Yeah, a lot of mistakes, yeah.
Speaker 1:What would you say is like your Like this podcast yeah.
Speaker 2:What would you say like? Your advice is to like how has real estate, this entrepreneurship, impacted you and your marriage today, like you have two kids, you work very hard. How are you a family man and able to do this?
Speaker 1:Well, so I'll tell you, like little experience, on how we've been able to like, maintain it and listen, I'm sure, until she would get tired of me, my wife would prefer that I'm home every day at three o'clock, four o'clock, right Five o'clock, but when I met my wife so I met my wife when she had just turned 21, I had just turned 22, something like that, right, and at that time I was already doing mortgages for quite some time. I had the clothing stores already. I worked seven days a week, not six days, not five days. Seven days a week, right, and during the holidays with the clothing business, it was crazy, it wasn't even just like seven days a week, it's like. You know, we had our office here in Newark, driving down to Woodbridge to meet my brother. He was usually there, and during the holiday hours the malls opened until like midnight. It was crazy.
Speaker 1:You know, those couple of years in my life were really like burnt out years. But that being said so, when me and my wife first started dating, I made it very clear to her and she understood that you know these are the hours I work, you know what I mean and this is what it's going to be period, and she was receptive to that. She understood that I was already had a little level of success and I wanted to continue to grow, that she wanted to be part of that. Obviously right, she appreciated my work ethic and what I was doing and when we got married I stopped working Sundays, like that was kind of like the thing hey, I won't work Sundays anymore. So I was still working Saturdays, you know, all day doing mortgages, because we didn't have the stores. At that time. And when we had Derek, our first child, my wife said you can no longer work Saturdays, like work as much as you have to during the week, but Saturdays and Sundays has to be for the family.
Speaker 2:Now and you agreed.
Speaker 1:I agreed. Yeah, I never worked. Now, if you call me on a Saturday, I'll pick up, of course, but I'm not physically sitting at an office.
Speaker 2:Where before you?
Speaker 1:were when before I was at my office working.
Speaker 2:The X factor is this real estate has the ability, whether you're a lender, just a regular home owner, even real estate professional, whatever it is, it has the ability to truly consume your entire being.
Speaker 1:Oh, all day, Every life, every relationship, conversations, mental space.
Speaker 2:So I think in a relationship, what I heard from you and Beth and what I see is you guys are crystal, freaking clear, Like even from the dirt dating. Hey, this is what my life looks like, this is what my hours look like, this is what I'm about. Is that good with you? And really I think the same thing with employees, like people only really get upset, or clients even they only get upset when you're not clear with them. If I'm clear with you, hey, we're going to show your property every single day between 5 to 8 PM. You have to be at your house every single day at 4 30 to 8 30. Every single day, no matter what, doesn't matter if I tell you or don't tell you, you got to do it, they're fine. When you get a listing two weeks later you turn around and say, hey, I got someone coming up in 15 minutes. Can you leave your house? They're very upset. There's no communication, there's no clear expectation. It leads to frustration.
Speaker 1:So look what time, even with clients, right. So what time. I'm sure my wife's opinion has changed. We both have grown older together, right? And I'm sure she's probably like holy crap, so when does this stop? Now, if you're successful in business and we have achieved all these financial goals that you've set, when does this stop? And it's tough. You've got to keep communicating and working through that.
Speaker 2:Hence the trick, and I think, and actually in our partnership, right, we've been together seven years, my second husband, my first husband, I don't know my wife and I have a husband, but no, I'm not. You know what.
Speaker 1:Hey, today's day and age. Day and age the quality it's all good day and husband I'll gladly take you as my husband Do. I get to go on the account with you, but I don't want you to have access.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, pre-nup, no pre-nup. Anyways, with that being said, I've seen it in our relationship Me and you have gotten so many arguments right, like attacking fights, and it's been really good.
Speaker 1:We don't agree on 90% of the stuff we talk about.
Speaker 2:But we have this next level partnership and I think what's. But it's also respect for each other.
Speaker 1:Right? I was about to say that I've never I hope I've never underminded you or made you feel a certain way. Let's say right.
Speaker 2:Oh no, you definitely have.
Speaker 1:No, no well.
Speaker 2:I felt it too.
Speaker 1:But I'm saying in a disrespectful way, no, for sure, in a disrespectful way, oh yeah, of course.
Speaker 2:Oh, my god, I got to get to you with a watch. Jesus Christ, it's not enough.
Speaker 1:What was that?
Speaker 2:No, no for sure, but that's the whole point by the way.
Speaker 1:This is also how you stay in a happy marriage. You buy your wife nice stuff. It goes a long way.
Speaker 2:Look. So the point is what I'm saying, carlito, is basically what I've learned in partnerships. You are going to just expect from another, just like my wife and I. You are going to screw each other over. And that's literally what I told our new trans-ass coordinator Today. I took her out of the lounge I said I'm going to hurt you, I'm going to disappoint you, you're going to feel really, really, really screwed by me eventually. When that happens, all you have to do is immediately bring it up to me and I will apologize immediately. I will make it right. But the reality is in any human dynamic there is going I don't care how wonderful you think that your partner is, your business partner all experience you've got to understand in any human partnership, there's going to be crapping the fan. The question is when the crap hits a fan, how do you go about it? Do you just build and build?
Speaker 1:and build. So that's like business as well, right. So in a partnership, you grow old together, right, me and you were growing old together. Me and my wife have grown old together. Me and my business have grown old together. I've had to change through business or not through business but I've had to change business models throughout the years, based upon what we're doing in business and based upon who I'm aligned with, who I'm doing business with that type of stuff. If you're not able to accept change and continuously work on it, you're dead. Relationships suck. You know what I mean, because it's a two way street. Another clip around me, right there, okay, right.
Speaker 2:Oh, I, oh, 100%. Now let me ask you rapid fire questions, because we are sadly right now. It's time I could talk to you for two hours. Which low me. Some of you guys don't know. This busy, busy, busy man, carlito, somehow has the ability to hold me prisoner on the phone that I'll call him at.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's at like 11 o'clock at night.
Speaker 2:You know, just keep me going for like two hours.
Speaker 1:I'm like well, that's why we can't get together, because we'll just keep talking.
Speaker 2:But that's why I love the pod. Even around me I was like, oh, this one's gonna be a little bit longer. Rapid fire. This is not a get rich podcast, Right, this is not a how to succeed in real estate world. This is strictly behind the scenes. But I got to ask because you're a person who's like so high caliber you've coached me to level I'm at. If you're real or listening, I would highly recommend like get a cup of coffee, pick brain, email Carl some questions, whatever it is or just send me some deals.
Speaker 1:whatever, Send me some deals, right Sending the deals works good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's usually the best way in the door. What would? What would you say I?
Speaker 1:love the view, by the way, like airplanes flying by it's, like you know.
Speaker 2:I gotta think. I think this is the way we should have people sit, because it's inspirational behind me.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I'm watching like there's a whole world out there.
Speaker 2:So nice.
Speaker 1:This is the ports right there, yeah, so nice.
Speaker 2:Okay, rapid fire. Keep the answers short and sweet. Yeah, Number one mistake you see real estate professionals making professionally Number one in terms of realtors like what's the many that just ran right through my mind?
Speaker 1:Are you kidding me? Alright, number one, oh God, I don't know that it's number one, but I would say number one is not working hard enough.
Speaker 2:Not working hard.
Speaker 1:Simply effort.
Speaker 2:Period, okay. Second, how about what? What profession does realtors and loan officers or just realtors? Goes to both, both Okay. How about personally? What's a big mistake? You know you get really close to your team members and like to your realtor partners. What kind of mistakes do you see people making personally in our industry?
Speaker 1:Overleverage and solves immediately Overleveraging me. Yeah they start making, they find a little level of success and they start, which for me as an employer is actually great. But they go out there and they start buying stuff and spending all their money because they have unfounded money that they didn't have the ability to tap into. And next thing, you know, you know you're leveraged out and now you need to work to continue to live Right, and it should be the other way around and you're as an employer.
Speaker 2:It's good, because now they're like so motivated.
Speaker 1:I love that because it's all. You go out and buy two Mercedes, you know, because more you're going to work, harder to do I'll be honest with you, like I.
Speaker 2:you do that to me and I know you do it to me. I know it like this whole billboard thing.
Speaker 1:Oh, the billboard's great Because you're only gonna work harder, so that's great.
Speaker 2:Honestly, I find myself like I now know that. So I actually looked and it's not. I don't know how. It's really a gamble. I just keep betting on myself so it pays off Right and I really believe in myself so much, no matter what I can know I can figure it out Right. But what I've learned is your bank counts shouldn't always be super fat. Yes, you should be financially safe Every resort or whatever, but like it shouldn't be big, like you should try to invest that money down. And when people talk investing, I keep I use the term a lot People think it's real state Airbnb. I'm not even talking about that.
Speaker 1:No, there's a lot Like for me.
Speaker 2:When I talk about investing, I talk about investing in yourself, investing in your income. One of our friends who moved to Florida you know I'm talking about was telling me he's going to go buy a really good friend of mine, really good friend of yours. Nothing below for him about privacy, wise, won't say his name. He said that he's looking for another property to buy to increase his cash flow. I said no, don't do that. Instead of increasing your cash flow and property, just go out. Spend like coming up with 100 something grand for property just to make 1500 a month in cash flow. Right Go, if we can get a. One more deal a year, two more deals a year.
Speaker 1:That's your 15,000 your money, what are we talking about?
Speaker 2:And you requires no money upfront, no tenant headaches, just do that. So, long story short, what I try to do, instead of like buying stuff that are just like causing me like financial turmoil, yeah, I try to invest, put my money down and things I know somehow maybe it won't be a great return but will make me some money somehow. Some way like the billboards I know that's gonna make me money somehow, some way. Right, this kind of a new employee who's high value Okay, I know this is gonna make me money somehow, right, okay, another question for you.
Speaker 1:Well, that's perfect. Investing in your business. Right, yeah, the best, yeah, that's your business more than invested.
Speaker 2:Real estate is what I've learned. Yeah, without a doubt. Next question what would you say? Where do you see interest rates one year from today?
Speaker 1:Well, I was just at the crystal ball this morning. No, I don't know it's like it's like. So, like everybody says a lot of different things, but historically, period, just from my experience, rates have always dropped during election years, right? So you got to figure September, October, rates will probably drop a little bit. Are they going to drop to where it's going to make a huge impact? I don't know about huge, right, Because inventory is going to be tough to come across. You know we were closing many, many mortgages. We did many, many mortgages at two and a quarter to 3% interest rate. They're not going to resell their homes, so that automatically is not going to hit the inventory pool, right? I think rates will probably historically like they've been in the high fours. So probably 4.75, 5%.
Speaker 1:Yeah which would be nice, you know, but that's not going to bring us that next level inventory that that would be necessary. So for us to crush it on the real estate end, right.
Speaker 2:We need come, we need to raise to get to five, four, no, no no, it's got to be like three and a half. You mean for us to go chaos again?
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you need all those customers that are in the two to 3% range. They want to buy up, but they're not going to buy up unless it makes sense.
Speaker 2:I think, even honestly Carlos, you want to hear the truth, my opinion I think, honestly, even if it doesn't go that low, there's so much pent up like I'm trapped. I got to get out of my house by about 3.5%. I think even if it went even four and a half, five people would still do the thing.
Speaker 1:I know a big percentage would.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's gonna be great. But you're saying, but I'm saying, it's levels, yeah, we're never going to reach the levels of inventory that for our dense population area, that we would need.
Speaker 1:It's not, like you know.
Speaker 2:Okay, because one thing that you do that's so impressed me, and how you're able to live this life with even and I know I, like you, do so much like you are being very humble, but like you've, you're always say like there's no deal that you can't close, is what like? In short of like mortgage fraud, like there's no deal that you can't close.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And literally I've seen you pull deals like off that the listing agent says how did you underdo?
Speaker 1:this. So what, what it is is? You know, I just keep grinding at the deal and grinding at the deal, and grinding and trying to figure out how does it? You know, like, obviously, for us to even put the deal together. There's a deal there, right, Like at the initiation I'm talking about right now things go sideways, right.
Speaker 2:No, my job, miracles, I'm telling you.
Speaker 1:Well, my job is to figure out a miracle right to make the deal work out. And we keep at it and honestly like and I tell you this all the time it just hasn't happened. Eventually, the miracles will run out.
Speaker 2:But that's that. I don't know how many or no, it's been seven years. Okay, true or not? True, you've been to every of your. You've been, it's every game of your son Derek every game except one, except one we had a wedding that day. And your son is in two baseball leagues.
Speaker 1:He's right now. He's on a club team and his travel team yeah.
Speaker 2:How do you do it?
Speaker 1:Fortunately enough, like I have had a level of success where you know I could just turn it off and say no, today I have to go do this Now. I have tremendous amounts of help from my wife because she's the one who takes into all his practices. Like I don't go to any practices, I don't do any of that because you know I'm stuck at the office. But yeah, I haven't missed anything of his at all.
Speaker 2:It keeps them back to me. I think your wife, beth, is the most under, I think, wives overall 100%.
Speaker 1:Most about this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a most underrated X factor Because I was.
Speaker 1:I was telling Chris he's about to get married downstairs, my wife, by the way, what you probably saw, she just ran for board of education.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So my wife's an amazing human being, right when other people like will complain about politics or about life or this, and that she is not the complainer, she actually goes and takes action. So, she doesn't like the way the schools are heading right With education, and she's an educator. She's, you know, been teaching 24 plus years. She might retire this year, we'll see. But hope, hope not. Benefits are certainly expensive, but she so. She is an amazing human being, right.
Speaker 2:Like you know, and she takes action.
Speaker 1:You know me and her go at it. Obviously that's just life all the time, but the fact that the matter is like, I don't know many people that would stop what they're doing. She's super busy with everything. She has going on Two kids and then says you know what? I'm gonna run to be part of the board of education and try to make a change for my kids because they're gonna be in the school system for the next 10 to 15 years.
Speaker 2:What an amazing, that's amazing, yeah, Amazing. Like I, similar to my wife, my wife, like our church is doing a like, has had this children's ministry director for like 20 something years, right, and she does a lot of work with the children of our church, the youth of our church and the inner city of Newark and they need someone to fill her shoes. This is a high demand job, low pay kind of position. It's not a profit. And my wife is like, oh, I'm doing it and it's like what. I told her it's like that's a lot of work, it's a lot. I told her that's crazy.
Speaker 2:You can't like stay at home, wife Be here, so listen to this.
Speaker 1:So my wife obviously has a full time job, right? So I will say I'm an amazing husband as well, right? I take care of the kids, so the craziness, and now you have a child who's starting to learn this? So my wife leaves the house by 7am every morning, so I'm responsible for getting the kids up, getting them ready and making sure that they get on the bus.
Speaker 1:Now, I used to drive them to school, like you know, before they were in regular school and you used to call me at like 8.45 and I'm like dude, I'm getting the kids Come on like nine o'clock, no earlier than nine, you know. So anyway. So you know the morning routine is crazy. So therefore I know the evening routine must be equally as crazy, which I'm not part of. She is right, I do come home early, sometimes give the kids their baths and, you know, do all that type of stuff, but so she's responsible for getting them ready at night and doing all that. She's the Girl Scout leader, troop leader, because you know, our daughter is now in Girl Scouts. My daughter is now in cheerleading. She's one of the cheerleading. I don't know what they call them, but moms or whatever.
Speaker 1:So, she's there now all the time with that, takes my son to practices. You know we do have a nanny, but like there's only so much both of them could do. And now she's taken on the board of education too, which, the way I look at it and I don't know if this is me being a shallow person and not a great human being like her but I look and I'm like well, what are they paying you to do this? I think the same and it's zero. No, it's zero. A board of education gets zero. Yeah, yeah, like once, if you're a councilman or a mayor, you get a little bit of money.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, it's zero, it's truly like I didn't know that. Oh, these people like it doesn't matter what their views are, whether they have different views, educationally, viewers or not, they're all there devoting time and getting zero.
Speaker 2:And if they really can't?
Speaker 1:get rid of clue. You know, taking crap from people. Rude yeah.
Speaker 2:Parents are tough man. Yeah, parents will kill. Yeah, a human being may not kill you, but a parent. Wow.
Speaker 1:The only reason why you're extremely successful now you were successful before getting married right but why you continue to be successful is you have? A good partner in life right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's like one of the takeaways from today should be like and I say this to a lot of people that I speak to is you got to make sure that's your ride or die Like you guys are in it together, because you can't have the level of success and then everything that comes with life with it. Right, I would love.
Speaker 2:I think this is a great way to end the podcast, but it truly is who you marry, who you partner with, both professionally partner like me and you I see as his partners, and then my wife obviously were literally one human right, but two have become one. It is by far the most important decision Outside of who you say God is. It's like who you say God is is number one. Who you say you are your self worth right it's number two. Pragmatically, the most important decision you'll make in life is who you marry, Especially if you want to be in real estate, if you marry someone who doesn't understand what this life really looks like it will never work.
Speaker 2:If you and this is a big bonus I had I got I was. I started dating my wife when I had no financial stability whatsoever. I was sharing a bed with my mother. I was making 200 grand a year, still sharing a bed with my mother in a room that she rents out four rooms. She lives in one of the rooms, right, my mother would kill it and she would. Then she ended up getting her own place, whatever, but she would keep that as like money thing, right, and it was like my mom was so so, so she showed me that, but literally I was so broke I was sharing a bed with my mom and Deb was with me the whole ride. So for me, when I saw that, what does it teach me? Right, she might, with that, will come in. You know, we were like very like Christian values in the relationship, but like I was like, oh, look at this and she would see my bedroom. She's like huh, I had pink sheets on the bed A little bit weird, but nowadays hey what happened to each of us.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that that, to me, was on the best things about our relationship, cause it showed me very clearly like this woman is really not here for the money at all. She's strictly even Deb. One time I got her earrings I remember this was I asked you for advice and you sent me to Vina Vina's on a ferry street. I was like, oh, I want to get Deb hoops. So I got Deb these golden hoops and like these are like. You know, back in the day it was a lot of money for me. It was like four or 500 bucks, these hoop earrings and it was just gold.
Speaker 2:I love hoops and Deb was like I gave it to her as like a surprise gift and the next two nights, two days, I see her she's not wearing them. Finally, the second day I go hey, just like curiosity. You know, you said you liked it. What's going on? She's like, oh, I feel guilty. So I was just. Well, I know where my parents are financially. They have to pay rent. It's a big chunk of change for them.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile, maybe the other way I'm just guessing was like, let's say, 1800, right, and the ear is like 600 bucks or whatever it was 500, 600, she goes this is a third of their rent. I'm just walking around with these on my ears so I just feel a little bit uncomfortable. Can we return them for a more modest pair? And when she said that to me, I said, oh, this woman's my wife, because you know I have a. I have a I'm not going to say who it was. I have a family member, a friend, let's call it. That was proposed to and she, literally the guy, got her like a $30,000 ring, right $40,000 ring, and she said yes to the engagement and asked him to change the ring and went for a $60,000 ring.
Speaker 2:That's insane. So, I said, oh no. So for Deb, who did the opposite, I'm like that's a right of doctor? No, but I agree.
Speaker 1:But there are a lot of people that are like that oh, a lot. Yeah, that's why you got to be very careful and super careful. You got to be super careful.
Speaker 2:You got to be unbelievably careful who you and up with the biggest thing I'm not going to talk. Oh prenup, no prenup. I'm not talking about the way it splits. The mental turmoil of divorce not having peace in your home causes you.
Speaker 1:Carlos you. I've known people that have gone through divorce and it's never good.
Speaker 2:I know someone right now went through a divorce. Business went down, literally. Let's say, they sold 50 houses last year. This year, 30 houses, 27 houses yeah, they're almost around 50%. Well, the mental focus too.
Speaker 1:That's what they said Like you can't you know? That's what they said, but, by the way, that is the one thing that I will say and this is the one thing that I do, great, just in life. In general, even my wife says I don't understand you. I will not stress about anything. It doesn't not, because the way I look at it is life is too short, right? If we don't get there at this time, we'll get there when we get there and it's going to be OK, it's going to be.
Speaker 2:OK right.
Speaker 1:So the number one thing I would say to a new agent or loan officer is do not stress, do not stress, you cannot stress.
Speaker 2:Oh, you know why I stress.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know you do. Yeah, it's horrible. I'm a stressor. Very bad for you. Oh, my back tells you Listen in another 10 years from now, we're going to do a podcast again. I will be 59, and you will be 39, and I will look younger than you maybe. And the reason why is because you're going to be stressing out about everything. No, you don't stress, you're right. I get so worked up, I don't stress, and there's a lot of stress there to stress about.
Speaker 2:By the way, I've seen you make a lot of money. I'm just doing the math from the head. I'm like this guy's killing it. And then in my mind, though, I've seen you like several deals of ours die at the same time, and the way that you respond to the deals dying, versus the way I respond to deals dying. You're like, oh, that's it, what can we?
Speaker 1:do yeah. Next deal there's a guy on the internet, so a lot of what I do I never read about, but it's in all these books. I'm sure I have a beautiful book you sent me that's sitting there in my office.
Speaker 2:One day I'm going to read it. But I recently saw like right, I never read these books, but I think they're written about me.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure everything I've experienced is in there. But the one thing and I just heard somebody say this like when a deal dies on me, I literally say good, like, great, no problem, let's get two more done. Great Opportunity to do more business. And I heard somebody on TikTok the other day and they say that that's what they live life off of. When something negative happens, they go good, wow, let's boom, let's go with the next thing. You know what I mean. Oh, my car died. Great opportunity to buy a new car today.
Speaker 2:OK.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. So you take the negative and always try to turn it positive, right.
Speaker 2:I have one last question for you, carlos. What is one thing that you know about me, or a story that you have with me professional, personal that you would say would surprise people?
Speaker 1:listening, it wouldn't surprise them. I'm answering a different question, ok, but it's a good one. So Brendan has this habit of calling his clients and he will get a buyer to get a bid accepted, right, and we'll be on the phone with the buyer but we don't really do this anymore and you will say, ah, terrible news, the seller did not accept your offer. And they will be devastated. Oh, brendan, are you sure? Can you try harder? No, I tried, they just will not go for it. It's done. Took somebody else's offer. Ah, clients literally crying on the phone and then Brendan says I'm just kidding, it's your house, you got it and I'm sitting there like holy crap.
Speaker 2:There's one time that I did this is insane. There's one time that someone and they literally started crying on the phone.
Speaker 1:I was on the phone on conference with you. Yes, that's why it sticks out.
Speaker 2:And then I gave like and you could say, oh, I just need a second. I didn't get the opportunity to tell them the truth. They actually did get accepted, so I let them hang in that depression for way too long. And then, at the flip side, one time I told someone that and they were like you know what, it's a good thing.
Speaker 1:I wasn't even sure about that and you're like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That breaks the breaks. No, but you did that to Natalie recently. Oh no, she doesn't like it. Oh no, she was like not feeling good about that.
Speaker 2:I actually learned. I got to stop doing that. People get offended.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so I definitely answered a different question, no, but nonetheless. Nonetheless, it's definitely a Brendan situation.
Speaker 2:You are a great example of the real life real estate from Newark, 30 years in immigrants, this country able to build large amount of wealth and more than the wealth that you personally have accumulated and the difference you've made for your family. I'm sure there's dozens of Brendon's right People, or hundreds probably, of people that you've impacted realtors, lenders, who you've put on into real estate, some of which you've been friends with for 30 years right in the business and us being in partnership for seven years. God willing, another 30 years to come. If you aren't following Carlos he's not very active on Instagram, but hopefully this caused him to be at key point mortgage and if you haven't done a deal with Carlos yet, I recommend doing many if you want to see miracles and, with that being said, adios, thank you for having me.
