Change Your Locks and Your Toilet Seats

Hosts Jamie and Terrence interview Chicago and Western suburb expert agent Ayushi Kukreja. Jamie and Ayushi worked together for several years at Berkshire Hathaway before each going their own directions, Jamie to Compass and Ayushi to @properties. 

Ayushi’s 2 truths and a lie - She walked into the wrong unit and cleaned up a strangers house for an open house while they weren't home. She sat through a 6-hour long meditation session between a divorcing couple to sell their home. She walked into a backyard LITTERED with over 100 dog poops all over the yard at the final walk through on closing day!

Other stories/ topics / questions:

Chicago Fun Fact – What food was invented in Chicago in 1893

Have you ever had a smelly client?

Krav Maga

Changing locks and toilet seats

Ayushi’s family perfume business – Connect with Asta @ur_perfumegirl

Jamie’s bad experience taking photos for a listing

What is the biggest difference between real estate in the suburbs and the city?

Did you ever have a seller remove something from a listing they were not supposed to before closing?

Jamie talks about issues with closing on her personal condo

Terrence tells a story about a buyer with credit card problems

As a lender, how do you get paid?

Jamie tells a story about getting hit by a garbage truck

For the next episode Jamie reveals her two truths and a lie – She has walked in on a live stream of the building’s lobby in someone’s unit. She has taken a potential client to their dentist appt, She has had to break into a listing through an open window.

 Find Ayushi Kukreja on Instagram @AyushiKukreja_Realtor

Stay tuned for our upcoming giveaway! Be sure to follow our Instagram @RealTeaChicago to be the first to know about it!

Thank you so much for listening! Please don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this episode with anyone you know that will enjoy it.

Music by @Desert_Disco_Music
Art by Chelsea Leasure

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Transcript

MIC1 0:00

By the way, Ayushi, this is a rated R podcast. You can

MIC2 0:03

Yeah. Oh, wow. You don't She doesn't cuss that

MIC3 0:06

not going to be beeped out.

MIC1 0:07

going to be beeped out. No. No. Jamie Book's

MIC2 0:10

It was not the first word, but

MIC3 0:12

word, but. But

MIC2 0:13

It wasn't far off.

MIC3 0:15

esque

MIC1 0:15

This isn't very JV

MIC3 0:17

it's okay. It's only fair that her podcast is true to her real self. so

MIC2 1:12

I want you both to guess what food was invented in Chicago in 1893.

MIC1 1:18

crust pizza.

MIC2 1:18

No.

MIC3 1:19

a hot dog.

MIC2 1:20

I'm wrong. I don't

MIC3 1:22

I don't know. I feel like hot dogs have been around forever.

MIC1 1:25

You Say 1893? 1893. Oh, I was thinking 1892, I'm sorry. Uh, yeah, that's different. Deep dish pizza.

MIC3 1:32

time ago. Deep dish pizza could not have been from 1893.

MIC1 1:36

No idea.

MIC2 1:37

It's a dessert. It's

MIC3 1:38

Oh, it's a dessert.

MIC1 1:40

Twinkies? Ooh.

MIC2 1:41

Twinkies are too processed to be 1893.

MIC3 1:45

that's a good point cannoli.

MIC1 1:46

I'm pretty

MIC2 1:47

Ooh, um,

MIC3 1:48

would have come from Italy, I'm just saying.

MIC2 1:50

not Chicago.

MIC1 1:51

not Chicago. Should I just tell you? What are those things that you eat, um, on Fat Tuesday?

MIC2 1:56

Should I just tell you Yes. Are you ready? The brownie.

MIC3 2:00

What?

MIC2 2:00

Yes.

MIC1 2:02

invented the brownie here.

MIC2 2:03

Yeah by who? Bertha Palmer.

MIC3 2:06

I love Bertha.

MIC1 2:07

Good

MIC2 2:07

Bertha

MIC3 2:08

Mhmm.

MIC2 2:09

My

MIC3 2:09

a good brownie.

MIC2 2:10

Um, so she was the wife of a millionaire hotelier, Potter Palmer.

MIC1 2:16

Wait like the Palmer house hotel

MIC2 2:18

Yes.

MIC3 2:20

Wow!

MIC2 2:22

So, Chicago's Palmer House is where it was made So it says, she cooked up fudgy squares for the first time at Chicago's Palmer House just in time for their debut in 1893

MIC3 2:38

that sounds amazing. Her name was Bertha.

MIC1 2:40

I

MIC3 2:41

I think I have a new appreciation for the

MIC2 2:43

name

MIC3 2:43

Bertha.

MIC2 2:44

right?

MIC1 2:44

Did that.

MIC3 2:46

at that. We live here and don't even, oh my god, Terrence. Jamie's about to like spit her wine out from that.

MIC2 2:53

cannot spill this

MIC1 2:54

It's alliteration for you.

MIC3 2:56

so

MIC2 2:57

Before we, um, get started and you talk a little bit and give us some tea, we just have a quick question for

MIC1 3:03

you.

MIC3 3:04

Okay. I'm nervous already. Hahaha.

MIC2 3:09

Yes, so we're taking a poll Would you rather be invisible or fly? For

MIC3 3:19

Forget being invisible. I would fly. Think about how much you could travel and see the world. For free. For free, I agree.

MIC2 3:28

has a hack on that. I

MIC1 3:31

if I Well, okay, think about this. If you're flying, let's say last, you know, couple of weeks ago

MIC3 3:36

when it was, less

MIC1 3:38

than zero degrees outside. Sure. Are you gonna go fly somewhere? Well, who

MIC3 3:42

Well, who says I have to fly in

MIC1 3:43

negative weather?

MIC3 3:44

weather? Why can't I just wait another week? What does being invisible

MIC1 3:47

to do with Because if I'm invisible, I can,

MIC3 3:49

for free, Sure.

MIC1 3:52

travel to Greece.

MIC3 3:53

But your, is your luggage invisible? That's what I asked. Is it really?

MIC1 3:57

How are you going to carry your luggage?

MIC3 4:00

Um, I will figure that out. I will get muscles. It's okay.

MIC2 4:08

I will work out my flying muscles. It'll be fine.

MIC3 4:11

Getting your luggage around. I'll

MIC1 4:13

figure it. out. JB will help me roll around.

MIC3 4:20

man, he's small talking with us today. Does he, does he really want to be

MIC1 4:23

No. I'm gonna flip the switch. Hold on.

MIC3 4:24

the switch on. That's a

MIC1 4:28

I, can't stop sometimes.

MIC3 4:30

Yeah, sometimes I, have to cut him off a lot. It's It's a good mix. You guys balance each other out. You need

MIC1 4:36

you. We're like, yin and yang. I don't know which one I am though. You're the black one. Nice.

MIC3 4:46

Oh my gosh.

MIC1 4:48

Ladies and gentlemen, I Am the black one. In Let's go.

MIC3 4:51

And Jamie's white. Just to clarify.

MIC2 4:56

Oh my god. Okay, you have Everyone's

MIC3 5:00

everyone's attention. My two

MIC1 5:07

My two truths and

MIC3 5:07

lie.

MIC1 5:08

In

MIC3 5:08

no particular

MIC1 5:10

because we're going to guess.

MIC3 5:12

here are my two truths and a lie in no order. And actually, Jamie, I'm going to hide my phone from you so you can't see. Um, I have walked into the wrong unit stranger's house for an open house while they weren't home. My second one, I sat through a six hour long mediation session between a divorcing couple just so I could sell their home. That's rough. That's commitment. Yeah. And the third, I have walked into a backyard littered with over a hundred dog poops all over the yard at the final walkthrough date on closing.

MIC1 5:47

All right.

MIC3 5:48

Aaron. My guess for the lie is that you cleaned the wrong unit for everyone

MIC1 5:56

Is that you clean

MIC3 5:57

let

MIC1 5:58

for an open I

MIC2 6:00

think, I mean the other

MIC3 6:02

two are

MIC2 6:03

quite plausible.

MIC1 6:05

Okay. weird ways, I think.

MIC3 6:07

think Um, I think the is the mediation. Jamie's correct! Thankfully I did not sit through a six hour mediation between a divorce. and couple. How did you think of that? I thought about other crappy stories I've heard from agents and I just used one of them, to be honest.

MIC1 6:25

it's like things that do happen. True that.

MIC3 6:30

two purchases out of it. True that. True that. Um, no, that was not my, that was not a truth. That was definitely the lie. Yeah. But the other two did happen, you know, so I did, uh, I think I'm going to go into the one with the poop in the backyard because I think honestly, the funniest thing is people that I did not even know I found out followed me on Instagram. Because when they become my clients a year, two, three, four years after this story took place, they bring it up to me during showings or during a final walkthrough and they're like, Oh, I saw this happen to one of your clients. And I was like, You followed me on Instagram from That, long ago and remember this? this was honestly a difficult transaction to begin with. My poor clients were the buyers. So this was in the suburbs. The couple was divorcing. The wife was occupying the space and it sounds like the realtor was constantly in contact with the husband and the wife was cuckoo or

MIC1 7:25

so we thought.

MIC3 7:26

long story short, final walkthrough day comes around. Some other things had come up during this transaction. We get there and we step into the backyard.

MIC1 7:34

yard.

MIC3 7:35

After the house was like, I kid you not, a complete shitshow. So dirty. So much stuff left behind in the garage. So My clients were like, okay, we can live with them coming back during the closing time to pick up all these things from the garage. Just as long or we'll leave him on the driveway. They can come pick it up we walked out into the backyard and I

MIC1 7:53

felt

MIC3 7:54

Well a mix of emotions one. I was pissed for my clients I think as agents we get so invested and like want the best for our clients. I was fuming

MIC2 8:01

But also like if you were buying that house and

MIC3 8:03

embarrassed I was I felt so bad because these guys really had run through it with this These two sellers and yeah, so we essentially told the agent, Hey, we're not closing today. So the deal did not close

MIC1 8:18

that day

MIC3 8:19

Because of the dog poo. and the number of items they left in the house. I think we were there for like 25 minutes for our final walkthrough. We walked out and said that, you know, you need to get this cleaned up. We'll give you two additional business days to get it taken care of. And the agent on the cell side was like, Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I'll get this taken care of. Can you tell me and send me pictures of whatever's left in the house? And lo and behold, they took care of it. The crazy wife came in while we were leaving the house at the final walkthrough. And she seemed very upset and was trying to do the best that she could

MIC2 8:51

to get everything out of the garage. But.

MIC3 8:53

Yeah, we didn't close

MIC1 8:54

that day.

MIC3 8:54

And you didn't

MIC1 8:56

And you

MIC2 8:56

pick

MIC3 8:57

dog poop? I did not pick up the dog poop. First of all, I'm sorry. I love dogs. I'm a dog mom. I own two dogs myself. Love them to

MIC2 9:05

But,

MIC1 9:06

dogs

MIC3 9:06

cleaning somebody else's hundred

MIC1 9:08

but I'm not cleaning somebody else's hundred

MIC3 9:11

I would hire

MIC1 9:12

I have a question. Do you know if they did it themselves? Did they hire

MIC3 9:16

service? The, the seller's agent hired a

MIC1 9:18

a

MIC3 9:19

service. there there a dog Yes. Oh my god, tons of them. In the burbs, there's so many of

MIC1 9:23

many of them. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not judging you because I just found this out They will go in your backyard, like landscapers, and scoop the poop.

MIC2 9:31

Are you checking emails right now?

MIC3 9:33

I'm trying to find the email that had, I just, I don't know how I lost the one where I just sent you my true truth and lie.

MIC2 9:40

I love

MIC3 9:41

learning about

MIC2 9:42

weird jobs that you would never think about.

MIC1 9:44

Mean you think about anything that you'd be willing to pay for somebody will do it.

MIC3 9:47

it. And there's probably a profession for it There's companies that pick up junk for free. For free? There are, yeah, and the burbs. You just post your stuff for free?

MIC1 9:56

what if I have like a whole unit full of stuff? No, you gotta get it out. But also, if you post things, I've done this. Craigslist. Free couch.

MIC3 10:06

dresser. Yeah, and that just takes effort.

MIC1 10:10

have to coordinate.

MIC3 10:13

have to put in the effort. Yeah, I've done that I mean, that's

MIC1 10:22

do

MIC2 10:22

I get it, yeah. That's why You need to learn Krav Maga. There you go.

MIC1 10:26

You don't need to wear

MIC3 10:28

Did you

MIC2 10:29

Okay, the Krav Um, I actually don't have bruises. I am really sore, so my team and I did a Krav Maga class yesterday as like a self defense. And, we learned

MIC3 10:42

to

MIC1 10:42

to kick some ass and

MIC2 10:44

some orbital sockets with our elbows, if we ever needed to. Um. What are some

MIC3 10:49

orbital sockets? It's like around

MIC2 10:51

eyes, like break

MIC3 10:51

their nose, Holy!

MIC2 10:53

this. So his example to us was like, you're real estate agents. What's a situation you might

MIC1 10:59

need this. Um, you're in

MIC2 11:01

elevator going to the

MIC1 11:03

80th

MIC2 11:04

floor of a building.

MIC3 11:06

How long

MIC1 11:06

are you

MIC2 11:07

that elevator

MIC3 11:07

for? Mm hmm.

MIC2 11:09

60 seconds, maybe a minute. So, like, how can you disarm a person quickly a small confined space? So we learned a kick,

MIC3 11:19

a heel palm, like into

MIC2 11:21

nose and then elbow and then a knee. That combo, was that the combo that I saw? That was the combo. It was kick them in the balls, um,

MIC3 11:30

palm their nose,

MIC1 11:32

break

MIC2 11:32

orbital socket with

MIC3 11:34

your elbow, and

MIC1 11:34

then knee

MIC3 11:35

them in the gut. Oh, and then you

MIC2 11:37

And then run the fuck away. Oh, I also learned how to get out of a choke hold. Like if someone's choking you. Which was Honestly, that should be

MIC3 11:46

Honestly, that should be Realtor CE instead of the CE courses we have to take.

MIC1 11:49

the winter when it gets dark

MIC3 11:53

that app?

MIC1 11:54

wait for your client to get there and then go in with them. Forewarning. Like, it's on your phone, your phone's in your pocket, your hand's on the

MIC3 12:05

and like,

MIC1 12:05

if something happens,

MIC3 12:06

you can

MIC2 12:07

Well, you can do that on an iPhone. If you push, If

MIC3 12:10

push, Isn't it triple or five times? Yeah, when you if you continually

MIC2 12:14

push your lock

MIC1 12:15

button,

MIC3 12:15

button, it will sound

MIC1 12:16

an alarm and call the police. Oh, really? Yeah. Does Team Android have that?

MIC3 12:21

have

MIC2 12:22

Sorry,

MIC3 12:22

Sorry, I'm not Team Android. Well, I'm sure ours is better in some kind of way. Let me figure it out and this is

MIC2 12:28

issue with that is it does sound an alarm. So it's obvious

MIC3 12:33

that you're calling for help. But it's also good because I think the alarm

MIC1 12:39

Emergency SOS. So ladies, go Team this is why ours is better. It's um, it's

MIC3 12:44

three times, not five. Three times is not that many times. iPhone wants you to die.

MIC1 12:49

Android wants you to live. Three is not that many. It's not,

MIC3 12:53

exactly and it's a life, the difference between life and death.

MIC2 12:56

Speaking

MIC3 12:57

of which,

MIC2 12:57

Ayushi did, Clean someone else's unit, so

MIC3 13:01

Oh, yes. I did. Oh my gosh, this one's so embarrassing. Good. Do you, do you, you know this one? Okay. So this was when I was on our team. Even now I feel so stupid. So I had offered to host an open house for another agent in our office. Like the true hustler I was. Okay, not my listing. I was like, let me go sit in an open house, get more clients, get more leads. I went and sat at the open house. I got there like 20 minutes early, set up my signs, and I'm at the lockbox, got the keys. I'm going upstairs, and now this was a six unit building, fairly newer construction. So, you know, there's like a unit on each side on the three floors. I knew it was a second floor unit. Okay, but it was labeled like the normal 2S or 2E. My

MIC2 13:48

dumbass was

MIC3 13:50

newer, for whatever reason, didn't think East or South or whatever, North and South, East or West.

MIC2 13:56

wasn't labeled.

MIC3 13:57

And it was not labeled, okay? And I tried the key in what should have been the correct unit. And there were no instructions of like, go upstairs when you get up the stairs, it's a unit on the left. Nothing like that. So I thought, okay, we as agents do this fairly often, especially when there's like a bunch of units labeled E, F, G, H, I, J, K in a building, you just like, you know, do your best and hope to God that you don't disturb anybody inside going at the wrong door sometimes.

MIC2 14:21

Try, you open a door and someone answers and you're like, I'm so sorry, wrong

MIC3 14:26

Yeah, so I tried it on the first door, didn't work, and I mean, I gave it a good wiggle. For whatever reason, the thing didn't budge, so I went to the other unit, and I was like, this can't be the one, but whatever, let me try. The key fit perfectly fine, the key turned, the door

MIC2 14:41

unlocked.

MIC3 14:43

So I presumed I was in the right unit. I get

MIC2 14:46

there and I'm

MIC3 14:46

like, whoa, this place is a pigsty. And I mean like, someone's laundry is thrown across the couch with the laundry basket there that they probably were like obviously clearly trying to fold

MIC2 15:01

at some point.

MIC3 15:02

Their trash and like beer bottles are sitting out on the

MIC2 15:06

island.

MIC3 15:06

And I'm in a panic people are going to start coming in like the next five to seven minutes. I need to get this place fricking clean. Cause I'm like, I can't have people walk in here. I'm representing the listing at least today, it's going to look bad on me. I didn't want To be embarrassed. I was like, I have to clean this up. I was hosting it for like another bigger agent. So I start tidying everything up. And as I'm like tidying it up, then something occurs to me like something about this just doesn't sit right. This has to be off. Let me call the agent. I called the agent. She didn't answer. I called her assistant. She didn't answer. I texted both of them saying urgent, please answer. One of them called

MIC2 15:45

back and said, what's

MIC3 15:45

up? I said, um, your client left like an insane mess. Like the kitchen sink is filled with dishes that are disgusting. There's beer bottles out on the island, like laundry across the couch. And I was like, I can only clean up so quickly. Like what do I do? And the assistant's like, I'm pretty sure our client left the furniture, but I don't think they have any of their belongings

MIC2 16:06

the unit

MIC3 16:06

anymore. I went, like all the blood from my face left my face realizing that I had to be in the wrong unit in someone's house. Which has never happened before. So, I quickly rush out, and she goes, Try the key again, and if anything, it is fidgety. You know, you have to do it a specific way. She's like, it was a copy. For whatever reason, it was a really weird

MIC2 16:31

lock.

MIC3 16:31

So, I'm Trying to get the, trying to get that door open. Finally got that door open and I walk in and it's neat and tidy, the exact unit I was looking for. I was so embarrassed and I was like, wait, so that means that person's door

MIC2 16:45

was just unlocked. no, no, no, it doesn't. So this is for anyone who buys new construction, change your fucking locks because developers, they don't want 18 sets of keys, So they will make the same lock for every unit. So one key will open every unit or they have a master key.

MIC3 17:05

That opens

MIC2 17:06

unit and that ends up in one of the owner's hands just because they don't know what they're not keeping track

MIC3 17:13

wasn't a complete idiot, okay. this is not your fault.

MIC2 17:15

i've Heard of things like this happening

MIC3 17:17

before so change your locks. It gets better. That's a good thing for anyone. Yeah. Yes, always. Change your locks. Change your locks. Yeah. change your locks and change your toilet seat. I tell my clients change your locks because you don't want somebody's aunt to, like, have a random key to your house.

MIC1 17:33

That makes sense, but also, I want to hear the rest of your story, but

MIC3 17:36

I mean, you just bleach the damn thing.

MIC2 17:42

I mean, I, I, don't know. mine was new. That's like a personal thing. I

MIC3 17:46

It is, but I just, like bleach it, I've never thought to change

MIC2 17:48

seats. There's, you know what, there's little things. They're 40 boxes. think about. Yeah, like, let's see.

MIC3 17:53

Yeah, 40 bucks, that actually makes

MIC2 17:54

a lot of sense. Okay, keep going, please, I'm sorry.

MIC3 17:57

Um, yeah, not the full story. So I got into

MIC2 17:59

the correct

MIC3 18:00

one. Had some people come through, great. At some point, when someone was opening the door to enter, I saw the guy coming into his unit in the unit I had just been in and he was out walking his dog So he just came home with his cute little Frenchie. Uh, Mr. Stranger Dude, if you hear this, I'm so sorry again The guy walks in and I immediately was like, um, I told the client I'll be with you in just a moment Feel free to walk around and I'll give you the deets and I step out to speak to this gentleman before he walks into his Unit and finds things that have been moved around

MIC1 18:31

Good.

MIC3 18:31

hey Here's my business card is how I started and I said, Yeah. no, no, I mean, like, I didn't want

MIC1 18:39

claim your unit?

MIC3 18:40

no, I didn't want him to think that I was like some random weirdo with, and not a real estate. Like I just genuinely want him to know I was coming from a good place and I felt bad. I said, Hey, I'm so sorry, but I tried the key on this unit for so long. It's not my listing. And accidentally I went into your unit, like for whatever reason, the key worked and he goes. Oh, sometimes when I walk my Dog, I leave the door unlocked. Like nobody really comes and goes. So it's fine. And I was like, okay, but that's not it. I was like, I, I, because I thought I was hosting an open house. It was like, I kind of tidied up a bit. And I was like, I moved some things around. So your laundry's all in the basket behind the couch in the corner. And then, I was like, there were some empty beer bottles, I hope you don't mind, I threw

MIC1 19:22

them in

MIC3 19:22

trash. And then, there was a bunch of like, paperwork on the, on the side table, so I like, put it all in one pile. And I just, it's, it's, uh, everything's there, it's just in one pile. And at that point, I felt really, something was off, so I called the listing agent and told her, and she, that I knew I was in the wrong unit, so I didn't touch anything else. So I said, here's my card, if you can't find anything, just call me. Or text me, whatever, like, you should be able to find everything. And the guy was, the guy literally laughed, he thought it was so funny, and he said, You will not believe this, but he said, You are not the first person to enter my unit for that listing. He said this happened once before. Buddy, change your locks! Yeah! It's not a fucking door! It's Chicago! And he said it was when he was out walking his dog, and he came back, and

MIC1 20:08

people were confused, and they were in the wrong unit. Wow. He

MIC3 20:13

to tell the listing agent, of course. but so she'd know. So he was not mad at all. He was like, Hey, no big deal. It's happened

MIC1 20:19

before. I mean, at least he was nice about it. Yeah, I I mean, I would've just said, thank you. I'm

MIC3 20:23

I mean, I didn't really do that much, but

MIC1 20:25

yeah.

MIC3 20:27

So I felt so stupid. I literally called my at the time, boyfriend. Now my husband, and I was like, can you, thanks. I was like, I feel so dumb. This is what happened. He was like, he thought it was hilarious, of course. And anybody else that hears this story thinks it's hilarious. I

MIC1 20:45

you know. Get new locks. And change your toilet seat,

MIC3 20:47

apparently.

MIC1 20:48

But, yeah, change your locks.

MIC3 20:49

Like you said, you never

MIC1 20:50

know who has a key, who's

MIC3 20:52

random, you know, baby daddy drama has a key, It's true, or contractors, or, I mean, you do not know who has a key to that house.

MIC1 21:01

Now

MIC3 21:02

question. Uh huh. business related. Okay. did that guy

MIC1 21:05

did that guy

MIC3 21:05

to you No. Send you a referral? No. Nothing. Never heard from him again. I was grateful I never heard from him again. I was so embarrassed to this day.

MIC1 21:14

That would have been the start of a great relationship. Like, you know, I know. Okay. Two years

MIC3 21:19

ago, you

MIC1 21:19

came in and you cleaned my house. Now I'd like to

MIC3 21:23

sell it. I mean, that would be wonderful, but I would still be very embarrassed.

MIC1 21:30

quite

MIC3 21:30

great. I'll take

MIC1 21:31

business. Send'em, you know what you should do with one day just send'em a random, like If I could

MIC3 21:35

the address, I'd have to go look up the agent's past

MIC1 21:38

sales to like, find the the building. You know what, I would try

MIC3 21:41

I'm gonna do it.

MIC1 21:42

Send, I mean, you know what I'm

MIC3 21:43

gonna do it. I'm gonna write the letter. This is the year, yes. I'm gonna write the letter. I'm gonna write the letter and I'm gonna say, Listen to Jamie Book and Terrence's Real Tea Podcast, to understand why this letter

MIC1 21:55

is being

MIC3 21:56

to you.

MIC1 21:57

what if he was nice about it.

MIC3 21:59

know what, if he was nice about

MIC2 22:02

Have you ever had a smelly

MIC1 22:03

client?

MIC3 22:04

had a smelly client? No. But I can, I can say this, and it's still be

MIC2 22:11

this.

MIC3 22:12

my Indians.

MIC1 22:13

only because I love my Indians,

MIC3 22:15

I am Indian so I get to say this, k? I do have a lot of Indian clients. And one of them did particularly smell like what we call Tarka, which is like

MIC2 22:26

mix of onion

MIC3 22:27

and tomato, which is the base of all Indian food. With all the masalas, you know, and all the spices. One of them did smell like that. I will say that. Which isn't necessarily a bad smell, it's a very It's an smell. Correct, yes. But I feel like that can stay very anonymous. I've got a lot of Indian clients. I love you

MIC2 22:43

all.

MIC3 22:44

Yeah, I am one. I'm allowed to say it. I'm sure I've smelled like it someday in my life when I was a kid. But yeah, I think if you're around people socially, I think you should smell good in front of clients. But, I grew up in like fragrance sales. My family's like the second or third largest wholesaler of brand name fragrances in Chicago. Yes, what do you need? I've told you this before. Never. Yes, I have. We just, yes, I have. This was probably like, uh, maybe four or five months ago. We had a random call. And talked about

MIC1 23:16

Yeah, everyone must suck terribly.

MIC3 23:19

Terrence.

MIC1 23:19

now I have

MIC3 23:21

I need a catalog. Oh my god. Okay, now I have questions for you. What's your go to fragrance? So I

MIC1 23:31

Okay.

MIC3 23:32

It's called,

MIC1 23:33

oh God, what is it called?

MIC3 23:35

Jeez, What

MIC1 23:35

is the name of? It's

MIC3 23:36

in a black bottle. Okay, describe what else it looks like. How tall,

MIC1 23:40

is it round, it's it's

MIC3 23:43

she knows based on the description, Okay, it's

MIC1 23:45

it's a, it's a

MIC3 23:46

black bottle. It's tall Mm hmm.

MIC1 23:48

narrow

MIC3 23:49

Mm hmm. Does it get a little bit skinnier and then back to its regular width, like a cylinder? Is it Armani code? I

MIC1 23:59

That's a superpower. That is impressive.

MIC3 24:03

that's like a super common one. So I

MIC1 24:05

I would consider that impressive,

MIC3 24:06

but okay. Wow. Oh my gosh. Okay. No, but I got you. Anytime you need fragrances. And if not me, my sister, like I'm out of the family business, but she's got that thing on lockdown. You need anything, she's got you covered. She'll take care of You Sure. Her, um, Instagram. is your perfume girl. It's spelled you are and then I think it's an underscore perfume girl. I'll double check just to be sure, but that girl fragrances. Oh my gosh. If you think I'm good, she's like on another level. Yep. It's so fragrances. You can reach out to Asta, my sister on Instagram. It's you are underscore perfume

MIC1 24:52

girl. You're Perfume Girl? You're. You're Perfume Girl. Good deal. Yeah. I'm excited. Yeah.

MIC3 25:01

If you don't have a significant other in your life, she will make sure you get one pretty quickly. Let me just say. Sidebar, do we get to know your worst experiences in real estate? Oh yeah. I've shared a couple. You have? I'd like to hear like your worst story or one of the worst,

MIC2 25:17

one maybe that you haven't

MIC1 25:18

haven't given in a previous episode.

MIC2 25:21

Okay, let me think.

MIC3 25:22

The bells are like rooting for you at this

MIC2 25:24

I

MIC1 25:25

Are they? A

MIC3 25:26

that's fine.

MIC2 25:27

of distracting. Are they? A little bit,

MIC1 25:29

Oh. just make it soothing.

MIC3 25:33

I mean, not when they were going off like that. That was like alarming almost in a sense.

MIC1 25:37

maybe

MIC3 25:38

Maybe you have some really crappy stories. If you can

MIC1 25:41

that you

MIC2 25:43

I do have one.

MIC3 25:45

Oh, go ahead, Jamie. Let's hear your worst story or one of the

MIC2 25:48

Well, this, it's probably not the worst, but what you said earlier about cleaning someone else's unit made me think of this. So this was when I was pretty new in the business. so I was still an assistant and like showing agent and was just kind of like I was shown how to do things, right? You go to photos, you clean up, you make sure it looks good. So, I was going to a townhouse, and

MIC3 26:15

I was

MIC2 26:16

like you said, I was a hustler, I'm like, I'm gonna do a good job, I need to make an impression, make sure it's good, and it's noticed,

MIC3 26:24

and we don't have to

MIC2 26:25

these pictures, and blah blah. blah. So I go, and these people have I don't remember, one or two kids, which isn't a big deal, but We send out a list of like things

MIC3 26:38

to do for your photos,

MIC2 26:40

right? That's gonna make your place look the best. So, you know, put your toys away, take everything off your counters, etc, etc. They had done none of

MIC3 26:50

it.

MIC2 26:50

So, I walk in and luckily we had also a new team member at the time,

MIC3 26:56

so she

MIC2 26:56

with me training and I was like, Okay, we just put all of this away. Hide it. There was baby bottles all over the counter. Like, there was stuff. everywhere, which is not a big deal. Like, okay, I'm used to moving things. We're, like, taking, giant kids, kitchenettes and moving it down

MIC3 27:15

the stairs to hide

MIC2 27:16

it. And, like, we are sweating our asses off and she's like, Jamie, is this normal? And I was

MIC3 27:23

was like, not

MIC2 27:24

really. Like, this was excessive, you know? And the worst part about it was the owner was home. Sitting on the couch, she had a friend over.

MIC3 27:36

And they were

MIC2 27:37

sitting there, talking, chatting, watching us rearrange, move things around, hide things, did not offer to help, a single time. And it was just, like, you feel awkward, because they're like, yeah, move whatever you need, do whatever you want. It's like, okay, that's fine. But

MIC3 27:54

this wasn't just like,

MIC2 27:56

a toothbrush, move a

MIC3 27:57

sponge. And like, get the trash out of the

MIC2 28:00

yeah,

MIC3 28:01

this was

MIC2 28:02

like, I was

MIC3 28:04

moving

MIC2 28:05

furniture we were oh my God. cleaning up their house.

MIC3 28:10

and she

MIC1 28:11

and she was she's the

MIC3 28:12

owner. She was the owner And she wanted

MIC1 28:14

to sell this place. Mm-Hmm. Okay.

MIC2 28:15

And she just had a

MIC3 28:16

a friend

MIC1 28:16

over, and they were having their

MIC3 28:18

time. A lot of clients are just clueless as to, like, sometimes what it feels like to be a buyer because they hadn't been a buyer in so long that when they go to sell, they forget what they would have felt like

MIC2 28:29

and imagined

MIC3 28:30

and felt when

MIC2 28:31

walked into a home that's occupied that's dirty or,

MIC3 28:34

like, you know, or they see photos online

MIC2 28:37

aren't the

MIC3 28:37

and they

MIC2 28:38

away from the property. People don't think about that. Yeah, and I go back to this all the time. Like, it's

MIC3 28:43

not her

MIC2 28:44

fault. I don't blame her. I don't think she was doing it maliciously. the same point you see someone there. We've scheduled this. We've, you know, we've given you a list. like we're not

MIC3 28:54

I feel like it

MIC2 28:55

would feel really

MIC3 28:56

belittling to do

MIC2 28:57

a little belittling while they were there having

MIC3 29:00

a good time on the couch. You know,

MIC2 29:01

like, that is part of her job and I'm happy to do it. I do not mind moving people's things to make pictures look good because that's what sells a

MIC3 29:08

house. Correct. So I'm doing my job

MIC2 29:10

and I have no problem with that. But yeah, it was very

MIC3 29:14

to just

MIC1 29:15

her on the couch there not offer to help, It was just weird. Made me feel weird.

MIC3 29:20

Made me feel weird. I would've feel,

MIC1 29:22

felt, I would have felt weird. Did you get the place sold?

MIC2 29:25

Yeah, we did sell it in one

MIC1 29:27

one weekend with multiple offers. See, baby.

MIC3 29:30

baby. Best in the, who cares.

MIC1 29:33

Property is sold. Sold it,

MIC2 29:36

and I'd like to thank the photos that I took, That

MIC1 29:39

got. Nice. All that furniture that

MIC2 29:42

I moved.

MIC3 29:43

I mean, I agree with that. It's clearly from the photos. Photos sell houses. They do. People don't realize that. I mean, like we've taken, Jamie knows this, like when we worked together, we had taken on like expired listings or canceled listings or like listings that sat, we didn't change price.

MIC1 29:57

We would catch

MIC3 29:58

to like things that other agents just did wrong in terms of marketing the property. And it blows my mind. This happens in both

MIC1 30:06

the city and

MIC3 30:07

suburbs. The number of agents that post iPhone photos instead of professional photos, or even worse, at least, you know, at least there's agents that take iPhone photos and then they like put them in the proper order, correct? The worst is when you go through photos. And it's like, first it's, you know, the toilet or the bathroom. Then it's all of a sudden you're in a kitchen. Then all of a sudden you don't know what room you're in. anymore. And then you're in the basement. Or even worse, the first 12 photos are of the kitchen.

MIC2 30:35

you're like, excuse

MIC3 30:36

me. Where's the rest of the house? What if the first

MIC2 30:40

photos are of the exterior.

MIC3 30:42

Oh

MIC1 30:42

yeah,

MIC2 30:43

Drone shots, every single

MIC3 30:46

angle. Nope. Or, you know what my other pet

MIC1 30:50

peeve is,

MIC3 30:52

Is full amenity things.

MIC1 30:55

and they put all the amenities Really? that. bothers you?

MIC3 31:02

Yeah, think about it this way. When you have clients that are touring condo units or condo buildings

MIC1 31:07

in the city,

MIC3 31:09

Do not show them the amenities first. Take them to the unit, save your time, save the client time. Find out if they even like the unit enough to want to see the rest of the building. Same way with photos online. Like, It's the first place they go to look at a house or a condo. And if they're just seeing amenity photos, a lot of people don't care. Sometimes they mistake that, like, one party room as the living room. Yes, and that's,

MIC2 31:31

mean, for buyers, too. I'm, I'm, interested, I wonder if there's a way we can make a poll of, like, do you care? Is this just me as an agent who gets annoyed clicking through all of this stuff

MIC1 31:42

to get there? Or is it also, like,

MIC2 31:45

anyone who's just looking at real estate

MIC1 31:47

in general?

MIC3 31:48

I think it's an actual statistic is that there's like a certain percentage of buyers that if they do not like the property within the first three to four photos. They completely, forego the listing and move on to the next one. So if you're just posting amenity photos and it doesn't have the house or the condo, or they thought that one ugly, outdated party room from, like, 2002 when the building was built was their living room, you think

MIC2 32:11

they're going to continue looking at it? Aww. Yeah.

MIC3 32:15

So PSA, do your photos correctly. Find a professional photographer. If you're new in the biz, ask another agent.

MIC1 32:21

They'll give you their photographer. Or if you're selling a house and your agent wants to take iPhone

MIC3 32:25

to take iphone photos, fire that agent. Fire that agent, And they shouldn't be charging you for those photos either. That agent should be paying for those professional, professional photos. Yes.

MIC2 32:35

100 percent.

MIC3 32:37

I

MIC1 32:37

should have a question. Yeah. What's the biggest difference between selling real estate in the city versus the suburbs?

MIC3 32:45

Um, I started doing business in the suburbs when I would say in like just before pandemics like 2019, some of my clients gradually naturally were moving from the city to the suburbs. And at the time, gosh, how old was I five years ago? Oh, I was 24. I was 24, 25, somewhere around there.

MIC2 33:03

And my clients

MIC3 33:03

were now finally my sphere. I grew up in the suburbs. So, the reason why I started this is because my agent, or my agent in residence was moving or like ready to buy a house. They're like people started to think about it. So, naturally I started to do some business in the suburbs in 2019. I noticed very quickly there are huge differences. Okay. So, There are key differences to working in both markets, and they're kind of mind blowing differences. So, for example, if I have a client in the city, I tell my clients I need 24 hours notice for showings. The reason being not just my schedule, but a lot of property owners would like the 24 hours notice, some even 48 hours, right? Whereas in the suburbs, you can get a showing 000 square feet, within two hours. Same day showings are a very

MIC1 33:45

real thing in the suburbs. I personally would have was the opposite.

MIC3 33:50

No. Same day showings in the suburbs are very real. You would think that they would need more time. They've got more square footage. They've got more house to clean and tidy

MIC1 33:57

up before

MIC3 33:58

comes in. Same day showings are a

MIC1 34:00

a very real thing in

MIC3 34:01

suburbs. Like within two hours notice, it's insane. Um, another key difference is if a listing agent, the one who's got the listing, a seller's agent shows up to a showing that a buyer's agent has scheduled and requested. It is like the weirdest thing in the world. They will look at you like you're crazy or you don't belong, or maybe you're like some other buyer's agent that accidentally scheduled the same time.

MIC1 34:24

just non existent. You're like, no,

MIC2 34:26

like, no, I'm here to

MIC1 34:27

show you the house.

MIC3 34:28

Yeah, whereas in the city, a listing agent or a seller's agent will show up to the property to educate the incoming buyer and the incoming buyer's agent too sometimes about the location, where the closest grocery store is, about the building, you know, about the specific unit, the upgrades that have been made, the HOA, the reserves, the rental restrictions, all this stuff. Suburbs, you got

MIC2 34:52

go digging for all this.

MIC3 34:54

And I love

MIC1 34:56

working the burbs

MIC3 34:57

because I think I just, some agents in the burbs are

MIC2 35:01

are just so lazy Oh my god.

MIC3 35:04

So that's the difference between working the burbs and the city, is like, there's a lot of different practices, I would say, and I would say this, is that city agents, I think, are just curated and taught a little bit more early on, because a lot of them have joined, like, top producing teams and whatnot, or, like, had a mentor, whereas in the suburbs, I feel like it's more often to find somebody hiring, like, their aunt, or, like, someone who's got a license, you know, who's

MIC2 35:26

trying to wing it and figure it out.

MIC1 35:27

in the first, it's like a two hour event. Are you spending more time with buyers in the city versus buyers in the suburbs?

MIC3 35:42

I think it kind of equals out only because if, to your point, there's more inventory in the city just generally because there's more units. We can see

MIC1 35:48

can see them faster. Okay. So you

MIC3 35:50

So no. I don't think there's a difference in the buyer. I think at the end of the day, I mean, I spend the time that my clients need, whether it's three properties and I've had clients look at the first and go under contract and that scares the shit out of me, um, versus some people just need like a solid three, four months and keep looking and that's fine too. At the end of the day, I think it's the buyer's

MIC1 36:09

mindset is all the same.

MIC3 36:12

I tell a lot of my clients before you get a preapproval, if you want showings, go to open houses, do your market research. You could do that without me. I'll give you my business cards, take 20 of them, go look at open houses before we even start looking. For the buyers that are eager, that really want to get in and just like, you know, are type

MIC1 36:27

A and like to

MIC3 36:28

prepared, But I think. Both markets are fun to work in. I don't think I have a favorite I have A

MIC1 36:34

question.

MIC3 36:35

Okay.

MIC1 36:36

Is there anything a seller has

MIC3 36:37

ever done

MIC1 36:39

that

MIC3 36:39

you didn't know about that kind of ruined a showing or that they

MIC1 36:43

weren't supposed to do

MIC3 36:44

that just kind of messed you up? I would

MIC1 36:46

say the

MIC3 36:47

common thing, and I, I really hope that the listeners out there Here this and like it registers, okay? Most common thing is there is something called attached shelving. That's a checkmark that is marked off on the 7. 0 real estate sale contract. It's literally attached shelving and it's checkmark. It could be something as

MIC1 37:08

simple as

MIC3 37:09

shelves. It could be like your cabinets. It could be like these little planters. Correct, to our viewers. These cute little planters attached to the wall. I had a seller Um, this was not my cellar, by the way, I represented the buyer. I had a cellar when we walked in, it had removed every single little hook. I'm talking like hooks for keys, hooks for coats, hooks for every little thing you could imagine. A floating shelf, multiple floating shelves,

MIC2 37:37

which made the place so

MIC3 37:38

cute. Um, these little planter holders, I've had that happen too. And the funniest one was I think she manifested it, and this is why I believe in manifestation. She told me You manifested the self critique? Yes. So this client came from, uh, Minneapolis. She was moving. And she said, oh, she asked me what I thought was the strangest question ever. Like, do the light bulbs come with the house? Like, when I come, there's gonna be light bulbs, right? And I was like That's such a weird question. I obviously the light bulbs stay like it's not really written into a contract Let's let's be honest, but I've never at that point. This was last year in seven years had anybody take a light bulb.

MIC2 38:17

bulb. Well, it's one where it's like, that's how you make sure the electricity's

MIC3 38:21

Right exactly so final walkthrough we came in during the daytime and Almost every single light bulb in that house was missing.

MIC1 38:35

the attached shelves that made the place look super cute. You know, when I'm doing my homebuyer meetings with all the buyers and I'm kind of walking through what happens and I'm like, yeah, you know, okay, Well, have you cleared to close? You'll have your closing schedule. You have your final figures, your check, your CD, everything within you're gonna have a final walkthrough, you know. It's your last opportunity to walk through the property, make sure the seller didn't,

MIC3 38:56

know, stealing anything, you know, doorknobs, light switches. they don't walk away with these things. I joke about it, but clearly it's a thing. I mean, I didn't think it was until it happened, and the thing that blew my mind was it happened to the one client who asked about light bulbs. And I don't know if the seller thought it was a funny

MIC2 39:15

a funny joke that

MIC3 39:16

her ask me. I don't think she even asked me in the property, that's the thing. I think she genuinely asked me like over the phone at some point. was

MIC2 39:24

a, tumultuous, tum, tum, tum, tumultuous tumultuous

MIC3 39:28

transaction? Like, was there It was like a, no, no, no, not at all. Not, and it was like a 400, 000, like, nicer

MIC2 39:35

townhome in Palatine. Huh?

MIC3 39:37

Why? I have no clue. Why would somebody take light bulbs? What was the resolution? Well, nothing. I, I literally called the seller's agent and I said, Hey, what, like, are we being pranked? Like, I don't get it. Did your, did your client do this and you knew about it? And she was like, what? And she's actually an agent in my office if she hears this, I hope she does. Um, and she's like, what? And I said, no, I'm, I'm not even shitting you. Like, I, I took pictures and I sent them to her. She was like, oh my god, go to the closing and I'll, I'll buy some bulbs and I'll get them over there. Cause she lives super close by. She went out and got my client some bulbs. But I was like, this is just like, what? What about the shelves? We never got the shelves.

MIC2 40:15

didn't get a credit or anything?

MIC3 40:16

Uh, we did get a credit for shelves. Yeah, Yeah, But, I mean, like, their floating shelves are super cute. How much of a credit can you ask for for shelves? Some of those floating shelves aren't fucking expensive. Right. Does this happen to a

MIC1 40:26

So,

MIC3 40:26

didn't really care about them as much, to be honest. It was more me that was being petty about the shelves. And I was like, it's about the principal, you know? Cause I fight for my clients, as all my clients know, and to that point, one of my city clients just closed this past year, they bought a single family home, and same thing, the seller had removed these restoration hardware, big bookcase shelves. But they were like open shelves in the sense that they were hooked and nailed into the wall on four different spots, but they weren't like super thick, I don't know how to describe, they were like decorative, kind of in a sense. But beautiful, big, black shelves from, Restoration Hardware. I obviously have been through the shelf game before, during a transaction, learned the shelf game. And I took pictures of every goddamn, and this was like a 1. 6 million dollar li Property took a picture of every piece of attached shelving because this seller had great taste. She was like a designer So I told my clients I said anything that you like we need to take a picture of and make sure it stays So we did that lo and behold they decided and agreed to leave one of them there but yeah, I mean these things can be

MIC1 41:32

super

MIC3 41:33

and As a seller you have to know like you have to read every little line of that contract if you agree to leave something there You had to leave it there. Those cellars, oh my god, they even tried to get away with taking my client's wine fridge, which was in like this big walk in pantry, same house, 1. 6 million listing,

MIC1 41:51

there was a

MIC3 41:52

fridge. It was like a bigger beverage fridge of like maybe eight shelves, but it was still a small thing, right? Sat in the pantry. My clients didn't think anything of it. And I remember at the final walk, they were like, wait a minute, I loved a fridge that was here. Where'd it go? And I wrote in wine fridge into the contract.

MIC2 42:11

Appliances

MIC1 42:12

stay. Nice. You gotta write it in.

MIC3 42:13

Yeah. so correct. And I went back to the contract or real quick before I even brought it up to my client's attention. Cause I don't want to cause any trouble. And we wrote it in. And I

MIC1 42:23

said, guys,

MIC3 42:24

is missing. Uh, we're going to ask for it. And my clients are like, are you sure? Like, it's not the end of the world, and I was like, they've already tried to, uh, nick us left and right. I was like, no, we're getting it. And the wife, I will give her, she's not the type to like, negotiate. I've got the Indian blood in me, okay? I

MIC1 42:41

love a good bargain.

MIC3 42:43

So I was like, don't worry. And the husband was Indian, and I said, uh, I'm Indian enough for all three of us. So, we're gonna, we're gonna get our credit. Like, this is a big, this is a fairly decent expense, we're gonna get it for you. I called the seller's agent. I said, this is missing. And I went back. She said, I don't think there was one there. I went back to my video I had taken of the property and I had it in my video. I literally zoomed in, got the model, the model, like the brand name.

MIC1 43:11

Sir, per my last

MIC3 43:12

so they tried to, she sent me a link and said, okay, this is the, this is the one that it was. It was like brand new, 900 bucks, whatever. She said, we'll credit you 900. And I said, no, I don't, that's not the one. She was giving me like the six shelves instead of like the nine shelf one. The clients originally had, I said, no, no, this is the exact one you had. And I sent a link. It was like, it was like 1300 bucks. Okay. They got that credit.

MIC1 43:38

Did they get the credit for the shelving too?

MIC3 43:40

Yeah, we got the credit for the shelf. Well, the restoration hardware shelves, uh, they agreed to, like, leave behind. So those stayed. Thank God.

MIC2 43:48

I thought they

MIC3 43:48

negotiated to stay. But the two floating shelves went missing. That were also restoration Hardware. But I was like, you are not getting away with a 1300 fridge. You give that right back to my clients.

MIC2 43:58

That, I've had like a shelf issue at a closing or

MIC3 44:01

at a final walkthrough before too. And It's It's such a

MIC2 44:03

like such a small thing, but it is a thing that

MIC3 44:06

like, makes a space

MIC1 44:08

space in a

MIC3 44:08

way

MIC2 44:09

of like a shelving. And they are like, nice ones are

MIC3 44:12

four hundred dollars each or more. Dude, it could be fifty dollar ones for

MIC2 44:16

all I care, but if it

MIC3 44:17

if it makes, like, ugly holes in the wall that my client didn't expect to be there and all of a sudden it's gone, all I expect is you give them brand new ones, or do me better. You don't want to pay for it, Mr. Seller, that's totally fine. You took them to your

MIC2 44:30

new house, bring them

MIC3 44:31

back.

MIC2 44:32

Yeah, that's what happened in my situation. They brought them back. We asked for credit and they brought them back. Yeah.

MIC3 44:37

I'm not, like, I don't need new ones. What we saw is all we want. It's okay. But you're not gonna nickel and dime my client.

MIC2 44:44

not gonna get away with it. Well, and also part of it is like

MIC3 44:47

I

MIC1 44:48

I don't

MIC2 44:48

always blame the

MIC3 44:49

seller, You know, either, right? They

MIC2 44:51

looked at the contract. They should

MIC3 44:52

should have looked at what they were signing. Yes, But their agent should have also educated them.

MIC2 44:56

at the yes, at the end of the

MIC3 44:57

day,

MIC1 44:58

that is

MIC2 44:59

what matters. When I bought my condo,

MIC1 45:00

we walked into the final

MIC2 45:01

walked into the final walkthrough and there was four holes in the wall, like massive holes like this

MIC1 45:08

big in the living room

MIC3 45:11

that had been behind mirrors. That's like a coffee coaster size for people that are

MIC2 45:15

Oh, thank you.

MIC1 45:16

our, for our, listening audience

MIC2 45:17

Yeah,

MIC3 45:18

like four inch holes Okay. And they

MIC2 45:20

all been behind like we went back and looked at pictures and it was behind photos or like mirrors and they were for sconces so they had wiring and

MIC3 45:30

The agent's like, well,

MIC1 45:31

they

MIC2 45:32

there when my clients bought it And I was like, Well, that's not the point The point is, we didn't know about it until now. He's like, well, they're, they're for sconces, so they can't close them up.

MIC3 45:45

can't close them up. So, what are you gonna, what

MIC2 45:50

you gonna do then? Like, there's just holes in the fucking wall. That's not okay. Um, long story short, the fridge was also not working. So we

MIC3 45:59

decided to fight the fridge

MIC2 46:00

battle instead of the hole in the wall battle. Okay. Yeah.

MIC1 46:04

Did you get a new fridge?

MIC2 46:06

No, we put money in escrow if we needed to buy a new fridge, but we got the fridge to work. So really we got nothing. Yeah, they didn't want to.

MIC1 46:18

Well, screw them.

MIC2 46:20

But I blame the agent. I don't think it was the seller's fault. I think this agent was extremely uneducated. He, it was a part time job for him. He did three deals a year and tried to give me this. Well, I've been in the business for seven years and I'm like, well, that's

MIC3 46:37

great. So you've done 21 transactions, Like I did. Twice that last year.

MIC2 46:44

So, I

MIC3 46:46

I don't care. Love that flex. That's like what, 42 units right there?

MIC2 46:50

Let's go.

MIC3 46:51

Yeah, I actually did 42 units last year. Heck yeah, girl. Terrence, I'm waiting to hear

MIC1 46:56

your, like,

MIC3 46:57

horror stories

MIC1 46:57

Oh, I'll tell you one. um, that

MIC3 47:00

just came to

MIC1 47:01

mind right now. So, when someone is buying a house,

MIC3 47:05

I have a list of do's and do not

MIC1 47:07

do's. Okay. You know, one of which is no new lines of credit.

MIC3 47:11

Correct. This is a different one

MIC1 47:13

you're thinking.

MIC3 47:13

Uh, I was

MIC2 47:14

we already heard this story.

MIC1 47:15

Yep, episode one, uh, no new lines of credit Yep. For. For. Anything. No new trade lines, no new credit

MIC3 47:24

No new cards. You've heard about this one.

MIC1 47:26

You know, don't go finance a bedroom set. I had

MIC3 47:30

one woman who Who buys

MIC1 47:31

Do

MIC3 47:34

People not buy bedroom sets. People in the burbs.

MIC1 47:36

I bought a bedroom set. Yin

MIC3 47:40

time.

MIC1 47:41

Yang doesn't.

MIC3 47:42

Ha, ha. People in the burbs and Terrence,

MIC1 47:44

Exactly. Thank you. So, I had this one woman who And

MIC3 47:49

now I say

MIC1 47:50

we monitor your credit

MIC3 47:52

throughout

MIC1 47:52

the transaction. So if there's a new credit inquiry, we're going to say, Hey, what is this for? Letter of explanation,

MIC3 48:00

you know, bill, something new statement.

MIC1 48:02

If you open up a new new trade line,

MIC3 48:03

we have to add it to your debt ratio. I

MIC1 48:06

shit you not, this

MIC3 48:07

opened up to that creditors.

MIC2 48:08

Ten?

MIC1 48:09

10.

MIC3 48:10

Ten. What was her explanation when you had a conversation with her? Oh,

MIC1 48:15

No, this wasn't for me. This was for my business, Mike, but it's under your name. Yeah, but it's for, I'm going to use it for my business.

MIC3 48:23

Oh.

MIC1 48:24

Same thing. Several of them she didn't open. I'll let me go back and clarify. Several

MIC3 48:28

them she didn't open. She just applied for the card, didn't get it, or applied for, you know, a new line of credit, didn't get it. I'm like, stop, please. I'm sorry, but first of all, Red Flag, If you feel, credit cards are not And you got denied? So if you're being denied pen, how She, well, it's the thing, she didn't get, like, some

MIC1 48:46

them she applied for them, I guess, to see how much she could get, but then didn't take out the card, But she had great credit, like everything, it looked,

MIC3 48:52

but her debt ratio was

MIC1 48:53

kinda high. How strange. So, I mean, every single time, I'm like Did she close? Yes, thankfully, we did. But I'm like, please, stop, and then a new one

MIC3 49:02

pop. She's like, oh no, I

MIC1 49:03

that one before you told me not to! Ha Ha Another letter of,

MIC3 49:07

the handwriter was like, Dude, I'm like, I, can't

MIC1 49:09

sorry, I'm trying. And then it was, Oh, my husband did this one, but I'm on it too. It was

MIC3 49:15

like every couple of days and I had to call.

MIC1 49:18

like the underwriter,

MIC3 49:19

Terrence, guess what? I'm like, you're shitting

MIC1 49:21

me. Yeah. Um, here you go. So I call her, what's this one?

MIC3 49:29

And again,

MIC1 49:29

our debt ratio was high, so

MIC3 49:30

I'm like, please stop. Yeah, you don't have the space to make mistakes. Okay. Can I ask you a couple other lender

MIC1 49:36

always

MIC3 49:37

I've always wanted to ask? Do tell. Okay. So, I, genuinely want to know this. And if you don't want to answer this, you

MIC1 49:43

can edit this

MIC3 49:44

Obviously as a lender, how do you guys get paid? How, How, are you, well of course, can you

MIC1 49:50

like go

MIC3 49:51

detail as to

MIC1 49:51

how lenders get compensated I can't hear what you

MIC3 49:53

not?

MIC1 49:54

now. I can. So

MIC3 49:55

truly don't understand it. You

MIC1 49:56

know how,

MIC3 49:57

know how, you are one.

MIC1 49:58

one. So you know how it real estate is. You guys are paid a percentage of

MIC3 50:01

of the purchase

MIC1 50:01

price, correct? We're paid a

MIC3 50:03

percentage of the whole amount.

MIC1 50:03

amount. Okay. So

MIC3 50:06

it's

MIC1 50:06

terrible as this, is, the more the client gets

MIC3 50:08

pushed down, the less we get paid. The more the client puts down for their down payment,

MIC1 50:13

the less money

MIC3 50:14

make. Because the loan amount

MIC1 50:17

amount. Yeah. So, you know, a

MIC3 50:19

misconception

MIC1 50:21

is that we are paid.

MIC3 50:23

on interest rate and oh, somebody gave me

MIC1 50:26

a higher interest rate. they

MIC3 50:27

want to get

MIC1 50:27

paid more. No

MIC3 50:28

We're paid on the loan amount That's another question then. How, like, to what control do you have to provide a lower rate to somebody? And why is it that you guys are able to lower a rate when someone brings you a

MIC1 50:41

quote from someone else? Because we take a

MIC3 50:43

a hit on our commission. So you

MIC1 50:45

do so it does

MIC3 50:46

does impact, or you, you, take a hit on your commission to get them the

MIC1 50:50

get them the lower rate? if so if based on

MIC3 50:53

specific situation,

MIC1 50:54

on the market, based on our product, their rate is X. Okay. Somebody else somehow is able to do

MIC3 51:02

lower than that

MIC1 51:03

for whatever reason. Maybe they already lowered their commission to, you know, drop the rate just to win the client. Whatever the situation is, they have a special promo going on. If I see it in writing, I'll do what I can to match it and beat it. By lowering our company compensation,

MIC3 51:17

my compensation. Because at the end of the

MIC1 51:19

I want to make sure that the client is taken care of. And if I do a good job, they'll of course

MIC3 51:24

me a friend in my name. So

MIC1 51:27

it's not that we're

MIC3 51:28

hiding anything

MIC1 51:29

or holding back.

MIC3 51:30

Right.

MIC1 51:31

But, we don't work for free. Can you find something cheaper?

MIC3 51:35

Probably always you can go

MIC1 51:36

online.com and

MIC3 51:38

get you.

MIC1 51:39

Someone again will not pick up the phone

MIC3 51:40

past 3:00 PM on Correct. On Thursday. They'll call you back next Tuesday right? Correct. You have a good

MIC2 51:44

good experience with them.

MIC1 51:45

them. Are you gonna close on time?

MIC2 51:47

Yeah.

MIC1 51:47

Are they actually gonna review your

MIC3 51:49

So, this is actually what I tell clients all the time and this seems to win them over is I tell them you can use whatever lender in the world that makes you happy. That is not my job to dictate, okay? But I will recommend you somebody that's going to make sure that the job is going to get done. Within a timely manner and that you're gonna have a wonderful experience along with a competitive rate. Is it gonna be the cheapest? I don't know. I'm sure you could always as you said go lower because there's a bunch of online companies that are complete crap Okay But I was like is that person gonna answer a phone call for you? And are you gonna take the guarantee for them? That you're gonna be able to close on time and not have to compensate the seller on the back end By I don't know three four hundred dollars a day if that's their carrying cost for every single day that you delay the closing Because your loan is not financed. And guess what? In those situations, I can't come in and save you. I can't help you because I have no relationship there. And that's when it usually clicks for

MIC1 52:40

people.

MIC3 52:42

So

MIC1 52:43

I mean, we, we live in a day and

MIC3 52:44

to each

MIC1 52:45

information is readily available and the internet will always tell you, you, know what? You can always find something

MIC3 52:52

know what,

MIC1 52:53

But at the end of the day, again,

MIC3 52:54

find something

MIC1 52:55

lot of situations,

MIC3 52:56

enough. 100%. I have another fun question. Actually, this one's really a fun one. Cause I, you know, there's so many

MIC1 53:04

many

MIC3 53:04

shows, like, completely focused on the agent and the properties? What if they made one about

MIC1 53:10

lenders? No one would watch It would

MIC3 53:12

would be so

MIC1 53:13

bunch of us just beating our head against the desk because people are doing

MIC3 53:15

dumb shit.

MIC1 53:16

You think so? Yes. I would watch

MIC3 53:18

it. I would sit there and watch it. You'd like, geek

MIC1 53:21

Oh my god, I would. I'd sit there and be like,

MIC3 53:22

be like, haha, I've

MIC1 53:23

that. I'm sorry. Okay. Yeah.

MIC3 53:25

glamorous. Where it's like, hyped up and not as true. Yeah.

MIC2 53:28

Yeah.

MIC3 53:28

to be some kind of way they can put it productionally, But ours isn't as glamorous We don't get to see cabinets.

MIC2 53:34

Well, you think of selling sunset like

MIC3 53:36

okay we see we're seeing all of these clips in one hour episodes, but It's not like this is one clip from every single day

MIC1 53:43

Ours is more nerdy, like it's, people have to understand, like, numbers and guidelines. Like, the flash of

MIC3 53:50

estate is the

MIC1 53:51

properties. It's, it's

MIC3 53:52

the fancy

MIC1 53:53

car that they get to ride in with their

MIC3 53:54

real estate agent,

MIC1 53:55

going to see the fancy property and drinking the fancy cappuccino while they're in there And, you know, I want to

MIC3 54:00

gonna put

MIC1 54:00

fireplace right here.

MIC3 54:02

but no one wants to know the ins and outs of

MIC1 54:03

putting the fireplace right there. No one wants to know the ins and outs of

MIC3 54:06

condo cabinets. Hmm.

MIC1 54:08

Like, no one's going to

MIC3 54:09

care, unfortunately. Yeah. If we had a, if we had a,

MIC1 54:12

if we had a snippet on one of those shows, like, you know,

MIC3 54:15

Hey, having a

MIC1 54:16

two minute

MIC3 54:17

their lender talking about,

MIC1 54:19

I don't know, don't go fucking buy a Tesla while you're in the middle of the finance process.

MIC3 54:23

That'd be entertaining. Yeah.

MIC1 54:25

But.

MIC3 54:27

Dude. totally off topic. You said Tesla. Freezing rain just happened, right? Like, so when you've got negative temps, it like, even drizzles a bit. It freezes over. This guy, I just saw this video today, which is why it's so fresh. He tried to like tap the door handle of the Tesla, which is not a normal door. It has to come out It was frozen shut. He couldn't even get in his freaking vehicle And then you had those Tesla's that were stranded because the electric charging stations of the Tesla's stopped working in the burbs here So all the yeah Yeah, it was everywhere Correct so your

MIC2 55:05

so they pull up

MIC3 55:06

Your car's stuck and so now you have to leave your car in the parking lot and call your Call yourself an uber or family member to come pick you up, whatever But like I would never buy an EV. I'm so sorry, but I just can't get behind the bandwagon

MIC2 55:20

want an electric But like,

MIC3 55:22

also a Jamie there was also a Tesla look this up. I don't know the whole story I'm sorry, but in California a Tesla got in a car accident to where the vehicle caught on fire And the person, like, could not get out because the battery system electronics were shot. They couldn't open their door. They had to smash it or something. I don't know how accurate this is. I heard it from a friend, so I'll Google it, but that's why I'm genuinely scared of electronic vehicles.

MIC2 55:50

I mean, I'm not in the market for a new car, anytime soon. I really like my car, but I like your car too. I like your car. I like our German vehicles. Yeah. They're the best. But on the note of electric Not working in a car, When my car was The engine turns off, my horn doesn't work. Apparently my

MIC3 56:09

horn is electric. hmm. Really?

MIC2 56:12

Mm hmm. Do you know how I

MIC3 56:13

I found this out? What happened?

MIC2 56:16

I

MIC3 56:17

are you honking at, JB?

MIC2 56:18

I'm about to tell ya.

MIC1 56:20

I

MIC2 56:22

was waiting for a client in Tinley Park sitting there and I pulled up behind a garbage truck and I was just there and my car automatically turns off. And the garbage truck started backing up, and

MIC3 56:38

I'm trying to

MIC2 56:39

honk, and it's not fucking working.

MIC3 56:42

shit.

MIC2 56:43

And I didn't know what to do. The garbage truck hit me, starts pushing me backwards. I literally got out of my car, ran, and started smacking on his window. And he was like, what? Did I hit you? And I was like, I was so pissed. I was like, yeah, you fucking hit me! Like I'm right behind you.

MIC3 57:04

And

MIC2 57:04

the best part, this garbage truck had cameras all over it. It's not like he couldn't see me. I, my car

MIC3 57:11

was very clearly

MIC2 57:12

in a camera on a screen. In the

MIC3 57:15

In the garbage truck

MIC2 57:16

and my client shows up my client's mom watched me like

MIC3 57:19

run out of my car and go like bang on it. flail your arms

MIC2 57:22

Yes, and it was my client who was like I took these pictures of the

MIC3 57:27

inside of the garbage

MIC2 57:28

for you where it

MIC3 57:28

has All the cameras Was your car clearly there? Yes. Oh good. I Keep that client for life. That client's got your back.

MIC2 57:36

He did have my back but yeah

MIC1 57:40

Oh.

MIC2 57:41

That was fucked

MIC3 57:42

I wanna test mine now. But also, I wanted to comment. JB, you said you were in fight or flight, like, you know, mode of like, what do I do, Oh, shit, moment. Clearly, you fight. She fought. You fight, girl. That's why I said, before we even started this podcast, I saw you had your, like, self defense class. I saw the video. It's on JB's Instagram, guys. Go check it out. I would not mess with you.

MIC2 58:02

Mm hmm. I'm going to break your orbital socket. Don't fuck with me.

MIC3 58:08

Jesus Christ. First of all, Yeah, we're not even manifesting that kind of shit. Nope.

MIC2 58:19

anybody, But just knowing that I could, POW, someone's orbital socket, like, makes me feel kind of cool.

MIC3 58:28

That's amazing. I would feel cool if I could. Oh, interesting.

MIC1 58:32

BAM! That's my money maker, please. I know.

MIC2 58:36

Well, I think on that note, unless you have anything else we can wrap up?

MIC3 58:41

Um, Oh yeah, it's 6. 55. Gosh

MIC2 58:58

Thank you so much for joining us on today's episode of RealTea Chicago.

MIC3 59:03

If you have

MIC2 59:03

story you'd like to share as a guest or via write in, please reach out to us on Instagram, on our subreddit,

MIC3 59:12

or via email, all

MIC2 59:14

those RealtyChicago.

MIC3 59:18

And thank you so much, Ayushi,

MIC2 59:20

joining us today. We will. Definitely have you back.

59:24

if you have any more questions or would like to connect with Ayushi or Instagram is Ayushi Kukreja underscore realtor, that's A-Y-U-S-H-I. K U K R E J A underscore REALTOR. Ayushi is a absolutely amazing REALTOR, not only in the city of Chicago, but also in the western suburbs. So if you have any questions for her about those areas or just liked what you heard, please connect with her. Additionally, this is your reminder to like, subscribe, and if you can, leave a review. We're absolutely loving the community that we are building and can't wait to see it grow. And the only way we can do that is through amazing listeners like you. So thank you so much for your support. One more little announcement. We are working on a giveaway for upcoming episodes. So keep an eye out on our Instagram page and keep listening for all the goodies to come.

MIC2 1:00:27

And for our next episode, I have my two truths and a lie ready.

MIC3 1:00:32

do. you? I need to come up with two more.

MIC2 1:00:35

Alright, well I'm going to tell you mine really quick.

MIC3 1:00:37

Alright, you didn't hear anything. let's go. That's not going to get old. I've walked into a live stream of the building lobby in someone's unit. I've taken a potential client to their dentist appointment. Or, I've had to break into a listing through an open window.

MIC1 1:00:59

Oh, that's gotta be true. That is not, I, I,

MIC3 1:01:02

I just believe that. I do too. Especially with it being Jamie. Yeah. I believe it. This girl would totally try to get her clients in. I mean, she breaks normal cycles.

MIC1 1:01:11

I have no

MIC3 1:01:12

probably one of those

MIC1 1:01:12

would break into a unit.

MIC3 1:01:15

This is probably one of those moments where, like, she called the listing agent or whatever, or she was the listing agent and just knew she could get in that window. That's true. Maybe you locked yourself out, and that's why you had to get in through the window. Is that what happened? Um, and I can, I can, I can

MIC1 1:01:32

also believe

MIC3 1:01:33

the

MIC1 1:01:33

I Could believe the first two to

MIC3 1:01:35

getting a real estate full service,

MIC2 1:01:37

Well,

MIC3 1:01:38

next time. Until next time.

MIC2 1:01:40

guys.

MIC3 1:01:40

Thank you

MIC2 1:01:41

much.

MIC3 1:01:42

Thanks, Ayushi. Thanks guys.

MIC1 1:01:44

Had a

MIC2 1:01:45

Have a great time.