Work Hard, Play Hard, and Give Back - A Real Estate Podcast

S2E10 – So You Want to Be a Real Estate Agent? Michael Aharoni Shows You the Way

• Coldwell Banker American Homes • Season 2 • Episode 10

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Thinking about getting your real estate license or curious about what it really takes to succeed in the industry?

In the Season 2 finale of Work Hard, Play Hard, and Give Back – A Real Estate Podcast, we sit down with Michael Aharoni, Branch Manager of the Coldwell Banker American Homes Farmingdale office and certified instructor for the Real Estate School of New York State (RESNYS). With a unique blend of in-the-field expertise and classroom insight, Michael breaks down the process of getting licensed, pursuing designations, and building a lasting career in real estate.

https://resnys.com/

From education to execution, this episode is packed with guidance for aspiring agents and veterans alike. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, Michael shows you the way.

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Speaker 1:

Hi and welcome to the Work Hard, Play Hard and Give Back a real estate podcast. I'm Mike Litzner, broker owner of Colwell Banker American Homes. I'm here at the studio at American Homes in Smithtown. Today's guest we have Mike Aharoni, or Macaroni as we call him. Right, Hell yeah, he's the office manager of the Colwell Banker American Homes Farmingdale office and lead instructor, or certified instructor of the Resnice Real Estate School. Yeah, I said that. Right, correct, oh, 100%.

Speaker 2:

You got it Exactly. I love how you pronounce my last name too. It's perfect, there we go, the right inflection, right.

Speaker 1:

Exactly Perfect. Well, welcome to the show, Mac. Thank you Appreciate it. Before we get started, I just want to remind our audience please, if you like what you're seeing here today like subscribe. We'd love to have you here for future episodes and remember to stay to the end for the drop the mic question. We always have a lot of fun with that. So, mac, may I call you Mac?

Speaker 2:

Please, everyone does call me Mac.

Speaker 1:

Do you want some cheese with that, that's it Everyone calls me Mac. There we go. So, mac, you've had a long successful journey here in real estate. What originally drew you to the industry I loved houses.

Speaker 2:

I loved the aspect of real estate and being an owner of myself, being independent.

Speaker 1:

When you say aspect of real estate, what aspect really caught your attention Working?

Speaker 2:

with buyers, sellers. Most importantly, changing people's lives, being the catalyst between somebody's biggest purchase of their life watching a family take the next step in their lives.

Speaker 1:

It's the changing of the lives. That really got me. Yeah, it is, it is life-changing. It's interesting to see how normal families stress over all the details that go in, because it does affect their life going forward for potentially decades, right, so it's very important. So you manage the Farmingdale office for Coldwell Banker American Homes. How would you describe your leadership style?

Speaker 2:

I'm all about culture, and when I bring agents in and I build an office, I really emphasize on the fact that I want to build a different type of culture, right, and that's the leadership. It's more than just keeping people accountable, it's more than just watching over someone and training them. It's the culture behind it. It's the family-oriented orientation that I want people to feel when they walk into an office. So we design the office and have particular people in the office where, when you walk in, you feel at home and I want that, and I've worked for other brokerages and when I walk into an office, I feel like I'm in an office, right. I feel like, oh well, everyone's like this and people are all on top of each other. It's the culture behind it, because you have to love what you do and you have to love the people you work with as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So what unique challenges do you kind of run into as office manager? You know, for our audience that's maybe not in real estate, maybe describe the difference between the role an office manager takes in the real estate transaction as opposed to, say, the agent Sure.

Speaker 2:

You know. So the agent's all transactional right. The agent is focused on the transactional side of the business getting the business going out there, showing the property, the client relationship, the client relationship where we, as managers, oversee that. We are here to motivate our agents. We are here to be their psychiatrist, their psychologist, their admin, their mentor, their trainer right. So we play a role in an agent's life more than just the manager.

Speaker 2:

It's like their work, family, right oh 100%, and I want to be that person for that agent where I have an open door policy hey, come to me. If you just want to chat, come to me. It doesn't have to only just be real estate, right, and that's the just. If you just want to chat, yeah, come to me. It doesn't have to only just be real estate, yeah, right, and that's the leadership role that I want to take. It's the mentorship, it's the friendship, it's the culture that I bring to the office.

Speaker 1:

That really is different so you're in a unique situation, mac, and so far for our audience and so far is that um, you actually have to manage the top individual agent in the company and yet you also have brand new agents that come into the business all the time. What unique challenges does that pose for a manager?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, you hit it right, I manage, as you said, the number one agent, and then I also have the newbies. So there's such a difference of what do I do to? Hey, leave me alone, I know what I'm doing. Right. And there's the old school way of thinking and the new school way of thinking, right? So our top agent is all about paper, right, he loves his paper, and when he listens to this he's going to laugh, because when you go into his office and when he listens to this, he's going to laugh because when you go into his office, there's paper everywhere. So it's funny.

Speaker 2:

But then you have your newbies, who are younger, where I say listen, everything is paperless, everything is on the cloud. And we do as Coldwell Banker American Homes. We have a huge and an amazing technology base and platform that we provide our agents that allow that to happen. So you have the number one agent who still turns to me as many years as he's in the business and still looks for guidance. Hey, can you help me with this? Can you help me with that? I'm his sounding board, in a sense, and that's where my coaching comes in, because I'm a coach, I'm a nationally accredited trainer and I love Right, and that's where my coaching comes in. Because I'm a coach, I'm a nationally accredited trainer and I love to coach. And that's why being in the position that I'm in is amazing for me, because I love to teach.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So you just touched on something that's, I think, really important, maybe overlooked in our industry. So coaching. You know agents go to licensing school to get licensed right, and then they come into the business and say, okay, I'm licensed, like I'm ready to go, and we always say that's where your learning actually starts. So what's the difference between being trained for a new agent, for a licensed agent, and being coached?

Speaker 2:

That's a very deep question.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I know, we may not have enough time for the full answer. You don't have to give a class on it.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. I'll try to keep it as short as possible. So when I teach the 77-hour class here in New York, I tell everybody listen, 95% of the stuff that we're learning today is for the pass, the state test. It's what you said. It's when you get your license, that's when you start learning, that's when the fun begins.

Speaker 2:

The practical application 100% and there's a lot of brokerages out there we won't name them that bring on newbies and don't train or don't have the right training, and that's where agents fail. Most agents fail in the first six months because they don't have the right guidance.

Speaker 2:

So one of the things that I pride on and why I love newbies and I love newbies is I teach them. We need to build a foundation, just like real Right. If there's no foundation, you can't build anything on. Right, I'm not going to bring you into my office and say, okay, here's all your tools, now go get it. Yeah, there's no guidance, right Like, for example, I had someone that's been licensed a little under a year, that was with another brokerage.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, recruited him in no guidance at all, brought him in the first two weeks. He's doing rentals, he's doing listings already. Because it's the coaching, it's the training that you mentioned. It's different. It's okay, let's take what you have and now let's break it down. Who do you know? What foundation do you have, what training do you need? This is how you do it. I always say to my agents, regardless of experience or not, this is on the job training, very much so it's on the job training. You learn as you go and you coach me in the position. Coach as you go, yeah, so coaching and training is very critical in a new person in a real estate career that you're just starting.

Speaker 1:

So let's switch around a little bit here, because you touched on your instructor position. So you're a certified instructor with New York State and you represent Resnice Real Estate School, right? Resnice stands for what? Real Estate School of New York.

Speaker 2:

State. I'm one of the lead instructors there.

Speaker 1:

And that's all of New York State. So essentially, anywhere from Buffalo to Montauk, you could train agents to get licensed. Is that correct? That is correct, okay, awesome. So what inspired you to begin teaching and what do you love most about it?

Speaker 2:

It stems from, again, the managerial role. Right, it's. I love helping people, I love watching people become successful because of the help that I give them. Right, all right, and I just love to teach. I just have a passion in doing that. It's just. It's just something that I love. It's. I love to speak, I love to present, I love to just be out there and coach and get someone from zero to hero, as we say in our company, but it's watching the students understand and start a new career and succeed in that new career and grow.

Speaker 2:

It's very rewarding.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely emotionally rewarding, yes. So let's talk about Resnice. It offers a range of courses, correct and certifications, ce classes, et cetera. Right, what are some of the most in-demand topics right now and why do they matter?

Speaker 2:

Sure. So, first and foremost, it's your 77-hour course. Right, that's your salesperson course that you need to take.

Speaker 1:

That's the entry level for anyone layperson who wants to start in real estate correct In New York State.

Speaker 2:

They require a 77-hour course, either in person, online, self-paced, which we offer, where you have to get your license. Other courses are your continuing education courses. So in New York State they require you, once you do have your license, every two years you need to take 22 and a half hours of continuing education. Part of those 22 and a half hours are your mandatory classes. So you have to take fair housing, implicit bias, legal competency, ethics, just to name a few Right, those are, of course, always in high demand, right. And then you have the remaining of your electives. Now, I also teach for NAR, the National Association, always in high demand, right. And then you have the remaining of your electives. Now, I also teach for NAR, the National Association of Realtors. So part of what Resnice does is we offer NAR classes, designations and certifications. Right, those are also in demand. So think of, like your master's and your PhDs, it's the letters after your name, right?

Speaker 1:

Are there any NAR classes or designations that jump off the page that you say? You know this is more for an experienced agent, so not for someone brand new, I would say. But if there is, which one would you maybe you know advocate for?

Speaker 2:

So experienced agents, I think, should always get their GRI, the Graduate of Realtor Institute, right. That's one of the few I don't have. I have many designations and certifications If you see my signature.

Speaker 2:

I have like 20 of them, but a GRI is like a PhD right, Someone really experienced. That is something that they could do. That is something that they could do, but I think the number one course that any agent should take, I think is definitely of utmost importance in today's real estate industry. Yeah, is the ABR course. Okay, the Accredited Buyer Representative course.

Speaker 1:

Now does that take higher?

Speaker 2:

priority now, since the NAR changes were forced upon our industry back in August of 24?.

Speaker 1:

I definitely think so it's a two-day course.

Speaker 2:

I definitely think it's worth taking and you really can understand. How do I work with a buyer, how do I sign up a buyer, what value do I bring?

Speaker 1:

to a buyer. I think some of the most important points and tell me if I'm wrong. Representation and fiduciary duty 100%. It seems like it gets overlooked or misunderstood, but when that clicks in their brain, when they fully understand that they are so much more valuable to their clients, Agreed.

Speaker 2:

I always say old car, old car, right Obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accountability, reasonable care, right it's ingrained.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, all the teaching right.

Speaker 2:

That's your fiduciary duties, yeah, but there's so many different courses and classes that you can take through Res Nice, the Real Estate school of New York State, that are important, and then, of course, you have your coaching right. We offer the coaching, we offer the training as well. So picking a school with the right instructor and the right classes is definitely key.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. If someone was an individual who was thinking about getting a real estate license, what advice would you give them?

Speaker 2:

I'm going to try to phrase this in a nice way Get your license for the right reason.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

Because I see that a lot of people and I was one of them, right, truthfully speaking. I ran out of college, I saw dollar signs and I said let me go get my real estate license.

Speaker 1:

Right, there's a lot of money to be made in real estate.

Speaker 2:

I was one of them, Right, so I understand that. And I went into real estate and I was a naive 21 year old kid thinking that it would all come to me and I would be making these dollars. I went into it for the wrong reasons, Right, and I worked for the various companies and I decided listen, it's harder than I think. And then I switched to insurance and I did insurance for many, many years Because that's much easier right and then, reality came.

Speaker 1:

It's work If I want to earn money. I have to work.

Speaker 2:

So choose, choose my path, yep, and then, and then my grandfather passed away in 2017 and I know I'm going off tangent a little bit, but this this answers your question.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, and he had a whole military funeral, okay, and something just clicked right. I wanted to do something in his honor, I wanted to give back to our military and I said you, you know what? I got into real estate for the wrong reasons back then Right, but now is my time to make it right, right. So if you're going to get your license, do it for the right reasons. Make sure that you have the time to commit to it. Make sure that this is, in fact, something that you want to do, because the industry is endless. You can do anything really with your real estate. So I got back into real estate. I testified in front of Congress, passed a bill, became New York State's VA home loan counselor, became an instructor for Resnice, teaching the classes, mentoring the students, became a manager. There's endless opportunities in real estate if you get the license.

Speaker 1:

And you're not even touching on the investment potential.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, not even touching.

Speaker 1:

Ownership, rental property, income properties 100%.

Speaker 2:

That's why you have to align yourself not only with a great school like Resnice, but a great company like American Homes, because we have the training and support to provide that to the agent. So they're not scrambling, figuring out what's happening in this society, what's happening in this industry. We're already on top of it for them. 100% 100%.

Speaker 1:

So can you tell our audience who is thinking about getting a license what steps that we'd need to take? Sure, so call me now.

Speaker 2:

Okay, easiest answer right, call me. So if you're thinking of getting a license, you got to find a school, right? Of course we're here for you. Real Estate School of New York State. You first need to figure out how do I want to take the course. Am I someone that wants to take it in person? Am I someone that's okay online? Am I someone that is self-paced? You need to figure out what's your learning style.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and there's different costs based on that learning style.

Speaker 2:

There is yeah wait In person is, of course, a little more money than self-paced. Every school has a different cost. Resnice is definitely within that field. We definitely have competitive pricing. Correct, and you have me, but yeah, so I just made myself laugh.

Speaker 1:

Well, no one else is laughing. Ouch, ouch. Okay, we've got to leave the comedy for Gallagher.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yes, yes, so, yeah, so you find yourself a school like Resnice. Yeah, you sign up for the course, you attend the course. Yeah, you go through the 77 hours. However you're doing it, you take the school exam, then you take the state exam Right, and then you find yourself a broker. One of the things that we pride on as an instructor with Real Estate School of New York State is we help the agent find that right broker Right.

Speaker 2:

Because not every broker is right for that agent Correct Right. So you have to find your right space. But we do job placement as well.

Speaker 1:

We make sure that we take the agent from hey I want to get to get my license to hey now get me my first check. Yeah, yeah, no, that's awesome, I like that. You see a lot of people getting into real estate as a second career. What is the new agent or licensee look like? Where are they coming into? Because they they're looking for a career or they're looking or they're coming in with a second career.

Speaker 2:

One of the things I believe and I forgot who said it in our leadership team is some agents are not part-time.

Speaker 2:

They're dual career. Yeah, and I like that. Right, and that rang a bell. They're dual career. Yes, in my office I know I can speak of my office I would say 85% 90% are dual career. Okay, because it is hard to get into real estate, which is not a guaranteed income. Right, and leave your job Commission based. It's commission based, yeah. So if you can't support yourself on commission right away, you need that second dual career, you need that second job. And a lot of agents come and when they sit down and say, can I do this part-time? And that's a tricky question and we get that a lot Can you do this part-time? And you can ask yourself and any other agent and every other manager we all may have different opinions I say it doesn't matter if you're doing this full-time or part-time. What matters is how much time you put into it.

Speaker 1:

So you see a lot of new agents coming in, especially from licensed school. For our audience out there that maybe is working in another job or industry, are there certain industries that translate better into real estate sales than others that translate?

Speaker 2:

better into real estate sales than others? That's a great question. So, people business, right? Okay, the business of people, the first responders, okay, the individuals that are nurses and teachers and firefighters in the service business, yeah, hairstylists, nail salons I've heard Nail stylists, bartenders, bartenders right nail salons I've heard nail stylists, bartenders, bartenders right anybody that's in the service industry in a sense.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that works with people. Right, are great for realtors. Yeah, I love hairstylists and bartenders and teachers because you are in front of so many people yeah, they have to communicate for a living.

Speaker 1:

100 or already. Yeah, have to communicate for a living 100% or ready.

Speaker 2:

You've got to communicate for a living. Yeah, it's the service business and the service industry. That, I think, is, if you're already in there, you can easily I shouldn't say easily, you can easily transition More easily, more easily. There we go More easily transition into real estate, because real estate is to a service industry.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, you said a very key word and I tell people this is not a sales position. Right, you're not selling anything, right, right, again, this may be an opinion, but houses sell themselves. Yes, right, it's what you bring to the table. Your value is what's going to change it. Yeah, you're not selling anything. You're bringing a service. You're bringing a value. Why are you going to choose me over somebody else? Why are you going to use a realtor to begin with? Right, right, it's the service and the value you bring. This is not a sales industry. Right, this is a service industry. This is a and I go back to which I trademarked. My saying is it's changing lives. Yeah, right, it's the business of changing lives. If you wrap your mind around that and understand that concept that you're not selling, you're servicing, yeah, that would make a whole difference.

Speaker 1:

I always look at it as that we don't get paid to sell. We get paid a lot of money to help people. So it's that service. You help them through the process of either buying or selling the property and it's way more complicated than people think on the outside. They don't know what they don't know. They don't realize if the deal went through smoothly. A realtor did a great job. You know, it's that simple. It's like, wow, that looked easy. And my answer is you're welcome. Yeah, so you know. Having been around this business a long time, you realize how valuable and how much work and effort goes into making it look easy. Agreed, so you know real estate can be 24-7, mac. Right. How do you unwind when you're not wearing manager or instructor hat?

Speaker 2:

If you ask my wife this question and she's going to be watching this and I know she's going to want me to say this I don't unwind. No. I am always on 24-7, and that's one of the faults or good things. However you look at it Right, I'm a workaholic, I am. My agents can reach out to me literally 24-7, unless I'm on vacation or sleeping.

Speaker 2:

Yes yes, but I have a very hard time putting it down because it's a passion. Yeah, but when I'm able to right my family is everything. Yeah, you know I love my family, my wife, my kids yeah, you have two kids. Right, I do my family, my wife, my kids. Yeah, you have two kids. Right, I do. I have two kids, my son and my daughter, and we just love to, we love to be out, we love to do things. Right, we're an active family, so it may be going to the beach on during the summer or a venture land um, they should sponsor this.

Speaker 1:

Now that I'm talking about, yeah, I'm thinking the realtors, and I want to go to beach because I like waterfront property.

Speaker 2:

Yeah yeah, anything that is active, that we can do together as a family bike ride, whatever the case may be, is unwinding, or as simple as just sitting on the couch and watching TV. It's the simple things in life that I like to do, as long as I'm surrounded by the people that I care about.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. So I wanna pivot here, but before I do, I just wanna remind our audience again that if you like and are into what we're doing here and hope you are to like, subscribe to our channel. Right, we'd love to have you at future episodes. As we're winding down season two, we have a tremendous lineup for season three, which is going to start right after Labor Day. So a hell of a lineup coming up here. And again, don't forget to stay for the drop the mic question. I'm excited for that.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1:

You never know what I'm going to say.

Speaker 2:

Drop the mic, I am mic.

Speaker 1:

And you're mic. I didn't say drop the Mac.

Speaker 2:

Mac.

Speaker 1:

So, Mac, you're known for your fashion sense.

Speaker 2:

Oh, great there you go. I knew this was going to happen.

Speaker 1:

So, as our audience can see, now, you are colorblind, and so where do you get your?

Speaker 2:

inspiration for your wardrobe. You're funny. I'm a very colorful person. Okay, I like to wear color. I just like to stand out.

Speaker 1:

Good job.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, thank you. My wife yells at me and says why are you wearing that? There's no answer to that besides the fact of I just I'm a colorful person. I want to stand out and I like to just be the center of attention, all right.

Speaker 1:

well, good, I need to call special attention to the fact that you're wearing your wife's sneakers. Does she know you have them out of the house right now.

Speaker 2:

I love my Gucci shoes.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, oh those are Gucci's.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I thought they were Burberry.

Speaker 1:

No stop picking on me. I'm admiring your fashion sense right now. Come on, I understand you. With your family just bought a new house. We did All right, so this is exciting. I used a great realtor.

Speaker 2:

Trying to figure out who?

Speaker 1:

Well, first we want to say congratulations, thank you, Thank you. It's always exciting to get to the finish line and move in, so can you share with our audience what was the experience like being on the other side of the transaction?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it really shows you how much work and dedication a realtor brings to the deal, right, right. And it's unfortunate that society may have a different view on realtors, where some people may think, oh, we just turn the key and walk in. Right Right, there's so much more involved. Yeah, and being on the this side where I sold my house and bought a house, yeah, which is even more complicated because you're trying to all the timing Right there's. There's so much that happens.

Speaker 2:

Did you say in the same school district. Same school district, literally seven minutes away.

Speaker 1:

Well, that part makes it easier, because if you have to change schools and try to coordinate the timing of that with the kids, so there's a lot of nuance that goes into this. Oh, and there's a lot of moving parts.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and if you don't have someone like a good realtor on your side and helping you through this, it can be very overwhelming. We were overwhelmed and I'm in this industry right, I live it and it's still overwhelming, and I'm still in the process of moving, doing renovations and this, and that it's a very big project, but it brings a lot of light and it shows that realtors really are needed. Yeah, right, the industry is needed.

Speaker 1:

Was there an aha moment through that whole transaction that you went through? But you, like again, you get kind of I don't wanna say complacent, but you kind of. You're used to real estate and the transaction and issues that pop up as home buyer, slash seller, now Right.

Speaker 2:

I actually learned a lot.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So give us, yeah, give us some aha moments for our audience.

Speaker 2:

It's fascinating because here in downstate New York, and for those of you wanting to become realtors, here's a one-on-one for your state test. For downstate New York, we're an attorney state, right, we're not an escrow state. So you go to Florida or you go to Texas, wherever the case may be, the agent, the realtor, does 99% of the work. We're here in downstate New York. Us realtors really stop at the point of contracts. We don't do really contracts.

Speaker 1:

No, we don't do the contracts, but there's a lot of nuance in there meeting the terms and conditions.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Putting the offer together facilitating it, mortgage contingencies, appraisals, exactly, and we have to know all of that. But it was fascinating seeing it from an attorney perspective, from a title perspective, of how the attorney side works, of how the title insurance works, of getting really deeper into the mortgage process too, how that really works, being the buyer, ourselves going through a mortgage process, so being on that side, it really we learned a lot. Why does this happen, or why does the title do this, or what are title fees and what's the mortgage and what's credit and how can I lower my rate, stuff like that where a buyer may ask you, the realtor, where you need to know the answers.

Speaker 1:

So as If you ask something there like how do I lower my rate? The other, the follow up question is is that something I should do? Because when you have an ask there's a cost to it, so it's a pay now or pay later type question. I don't think most people understand that. So it costs you to get a lower rate. What is the cost?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and, as realtors, you need to know that, yes, you may not be in the mortgage industry, you may not need to be a mortgage broker, but you still, as a realtor, need to understand the concepts of all that. Yes, because your buyers are going to come to you. You're the catalyst of everything.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So it was a very eye-opening, amazing experience. Mind you, yeah, it was great, but you learn a lot and you take what you've learned and you bring it back to your agents and you teach them.

Speaker 1:

Now, even stuff like title people don't understand, even especially in a time where identity theft is, there's so many scams going on out there. You know, having a clean title when you close hugely important, you know. Oh yes, so it ensures the passage of title over. So people don't understand what is this title? What am I paying for? You know. So you run into the ones.

Speaker 1:

I love is the you know I always call them the rut row moments. You know where it's like. Oh, we have an out of possession All of a sudden. You know what affects title.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes it could be fence lines or I had the same issue my house out of possession.

Speaker 1:

Shocking. It's amazing how much that comes up.

Speaker 2:

It's crazy, but yeah, you have an issue, we know it. It's there, but yeah, you have an issue we know it. It's there. So we as realtors need to really understand. It's more than just hey, look at this house.

Speaker 1:

It's pretty.

Speaker 2:

There's a lot more that goes into it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So if you had a full day off with no emails, no calls, let's even say no kids, nice. What does Mac do?

Speaker 2:

Be outside. I love the outside. Maybe go ride a bike, go to the beach. If I had more than one day, I'd go to Florida. We love Atlantis. I know you said no kids and family, but I like to be outside. I like to just enjoy nature. Maybe go for a walk just to ease the mind and get away from society for a little bit, but that's what I would do.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's important to have that work-life balance. It is, and it is a challenge in real estate when you're not punching the proverbial time clock that it doesn't matter if it's Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon or a weekday.

Speaker 2:

It's definitely a big challenge, especially when you're in the managerial road and you have agents wanting you on the weekends. Hey, I need this, I need this, I need that. So I try to find that work that, yeah, you know. So I try to find that work-life balance.

Speaker 1:

And it is definitely hard.

Speaker 2:

It is. Yeah, but it's as long as you find the time to be with your family to enjoy yourself and take care of yourself. Right, you need to come first. Yes, right, and whatever that entails. Right, you need to come first. Yes, right, and whatever that entails. You need to make sure that you are on top of your game. So when you switch that work mode on, right, it's you're giving your full, your full attention to it.

Speaker 1:

No, I appreciate that. So I like to talk a little bit about giving back, because it's such an important part of the culture at American Homes. So you've done an amazing work providing real estate services to veterans and you're the founder of Home at Last. Do I get that right? You got it All right. Can you share with our audience what a Home at Last? Mission statement, really is Sure.

Speaker 2:

So a brief about how it actually began and I mentioned it before with my grandfather passing away in the military, I found that unfortunately, a lot of lenders and realtors out there in the nation take advantage of our veterans. They don't really understand VA loans. There are banks, which we're not going to name, that have been sued for millions of dollars for overcharging veterans on their VA loans. There are stories of realtors that had no idea how to work VA loans and screwed out the veteran. There's a dime a dozen organizations out there that focus on veterans that need help and they do an amazing job right. The ones that may be homeless or disabled or need that extra push, and they all do amazing right. But there's not a lot of organizations that focus on those that actually can achieve the American dream of home ownership right.

Speaker 2:

So we started home at last. I flew down to Puerto Rico and I met the first Hispanic woman to be a general in the armed forces by the name of Marta Carcana. She ran the Puerto Rican National Guard. I pitched her this idea that I had. She became my partner Fast forward.

Speaker 2:

Home at Last is the largest military real estate organization in the nation where we provide counseling to veterans where, if they are looking to achieve the American dream of home ownership, we are there guiding them on how to work the process. One of the things I wanted to do was testify in front of Congress, and I passed a bill here in New York State becoming New York State's VA home loan counselor. So any military veteran that does go for a VA loan, in their lending disclosures, their loan disclosures all our information is on it. I want to be able to provide veterans a source where they can go to, besides the VA, besides online, where they can go somewhere and get the services and counseling they need to protect themselves while achieving the American dream of homeownership, and that's our mission.

Speaker 1:

That's great. Now again, just for clarity here Home at Last, is a nonprofit, correct, correct, it's not a for-business.

Speaker 2:

Correct, it is a nonprofit 501c3.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, perfect. So its sole mission is for the aid, veterans and the support of homeownership.

Speaker 2:

Counseling yeah, exactly, that's awesome. We are here to support you and make sure that you're not being taken advantage of by predatory lenders and or realtors.

Speaker 1:

Are there any particular veteran success stories that you'd be open to sharing? Uh, that particularly moved you oh, 100.

Speaker 2:

So there's two quick stories, perfect on on both perspectives. One I have and this happens a lot um, I have a veteran that calls and says, hey, I'm with such and such bank, we're not going to make any, we won't name any names. I'm with such and such bank. They're charging me $5,000 in loan fees and they're also telling me that I need to pay a VA funding fee. Now, the VA funding fee is a fee that the VA charges for you to use the loan, but if a veteran has a 10% disability rating or higher, you're exempt. This particular veteran had a disability rating, so not only was the bank charging them loan fees, they were also charging a funding fee when they weren't supposed to and they were increasing the rate. Why is my rate so high? So, as a loan counselor for VA, they come to me and say, hey, can you look at my loan disclosures? And I said, first and foremost, you should not be paying any loan fees. All the banks that we associate ourselves with through our not-for-profit do not charge bank fees. Banks make their money. Yes, they do. They don't need to charge over and above for veterans. My opinion, yes, my opinion. So, first and foremost, I saved that veteran $5,000, and I got them to a right bank, a right lender that did not take advantage of them with the rate and the funding fee. So right off the bat we saved them close to $7,000. That's one side of the spectrum. Yeah, them close to $7,000. That's one side of the spectrum.

Speaker 2:

The other side of the spectrum of what we do, which is very rewarding and this happens quite often as well is a lot of our military deployed. They're overseas. So I get a lot of calls from overseas, mostly husbands, but sometimes wives as well, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever the case may be and they say listen, I would love to have a home to go to when I return I'm supposed to be returning four months from now. I would love a home. My wife, my spouse, my husband, is back in the States. Can you do me a favor and guide her and help her and find this home so I can come to someplace? Because a lot of the times when military families are deployed, the person that stays back stays with family. Yeah, okay.

Speaker 2:

So it is very rewarding when you take a spouse. You bring them, you protect them, you educate them, you find them that house through our vendors that we have Correct and you can tell our military veteran overseas hey, we found yourself a house. And not only did we find yourself a home, we've also saved you in the bank fees. We've got a great rate for you. We've helped you and helped your spouse here, right when you can focus on protecting yourself and protecting us overseas. We're going to focus on protecting your spouse here and it's very rewarding seeing that military veteran come home and now they have that house because of all the work that we've done. And that's the other side of what we do as well, very rewarding.

Speaker 1:

Don't you think it's one of those things where the people that put the most on the line for our country's independence, our freedoms, right, should enjoy one of its core principal values, which is home ownership?

Speaker 2:

I think every veteran should achieve the American dream of home ownership and it's very unfortunate that a lot of sellers and realtors out there don't really understand the VA loan and I think there needs to be more education surrounding that so we are able to allow our veterans who fight for us achieve the American dream of home ownership, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Now, if there's a veteran out there that wants to find out how to take advantage of the services of Home at Last, right, it's a free service, correct, correct? How do they find Home at Last?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so there's three ways well, multiple ways, but there's three main ways that you can do so. First, if you're already in the loan process, all of our contact information is in your loan disclosures. Okay, so you'll be able to see it. It's a counseling page, right? The second way to do it is through our website, homeatlastus, all written out H-O-M-E-A-T-L-A-S-Tus, so homeatlastus, great. And third, if you do call New York State Department of Veteran Services or you do call your local vet centers or you do call the VA, they have you come to us anyway, because we're VA counselors.

Speaker 1:

All right. As an instructor, you're shaping the next generation of agents. What role do you think education plays in creating a culture of service in real estate?

Speaker 2:

I love education and that's why I went back to school and I got all my licenses, all my certifications, all my designations. I have a slew of it Right, and I think there is I want to bring it towards the service side of it.

Speaker 1:

So how do you create a culture of?

Speaker 2:

service. Education is key. You always need to be on top of what you provide and what service that you bring. Right, and I think the education aspect of it helps you get to that level. Yeah Right, because you can provide as much service as you can, but you also need to have the knowledge, yeah Right. And I think education can be two sides. Education one could be your black and white, your terms, your definition, right, and then education can be service. It can be. How does this happen? Right, how do I treat a client? How do I treat a client? How do I work a client? How do I provide that service to that client? And that's one of the reasons why we have that 22 and a half hours of education, why we have the electives, because I think a lot of the courses that agents should take is not only need to know my terms and definitions, but how do I actually work the industry? How do I provide the service that I need to on a level that I can sustain?

Speaker 1:

Right. So what advice would you give to new agents, or really any agents who want to use their skills to make an impact beyond just transactions?

Speaker 2:

It is more than a real estate, is more than a people business. Right, it is a forever business. In a sense that I tell my agents your relationship starts when you close a deal. It frustrates me when realtors work so hard in the deal and then their client doesn't hear from them forever. It's the relationship beyond the transaction. Using your words, your question, it's more than just a transaction. It's a relationship. You're building a long-lasting friendship. So you do the transaction, but what you really need to focus on as a realtor is what happens afterwards, because that one person, that one client, that one customer, if you did the right job, could lead you to so many other clients, so many other customers.

Speaker 1:

If you've done a good job. I always say referrals happen by design, not by accident. So you just want a fan. But if that fan doesn't know how important referral business is to you, it's not their fault, it's your fault as the agent.

Speaker 2:

I just got a message a Facebook message yesterday, from a client that I helped buy a house 10 years ago. He just reached out to me. I called him after our conversation here. He may want to sell. Okay, now, mind you, I haven't been in the transactional world in a while. Right, I've been teaching, I've been the managerial side, but 10 years ago I did something, right, yeah, right, if you remember me from 10 years ago and you're reaching out to me, you have so many other options you have so many other options.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so it's the advice that I would give an agent, which I've said, and I reiterate, is your relationship starts at the closing table.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

So Mac it's time for us to pivot to the Drop the mic question, but before we do, I just want to remind our audience if you like what we're doing here, please like and subscribe to our channel. So, mac, uh-oh, our audience to. If you like what we're doing here, please like and subscribe to our channel. So, mac, oh what, I've seen your episodes. All right, come on, it's not too bad. It's not too bad. So what's one of the most unexpected questions or left field questions a student has ever asked you during a res nice class?

Speaker 2:

one of the weirdest questions. Yes, number one one of them.

Speaker 1:

I'm thinking why did you wear that shirt?

Speaker 2:

I'm thinking. There's so many. I'm thinking of how to answer this question. This is a powerful question. Yeah, two questions that have me shake my head. Yeah, the first question is how fast can I make money in this industry? That is probably the most common question.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And the question that makes me shake my head a lot, yeah, and the other question is people asking well, what do I do with my license? What do you mean? What do you do with your license? Right, like, how do you want me to answer that question? Yeah, and this is, mind you, this is after the 77 hours. Okay, this is after the 77 hours. Okay, right, this is after the 77 hours. They go. Okay, now what they do they not, I don't know? Go on a boat, go on a vacation. What do you mean?

Speaker 1:

now I know they're supposed to speak to a broker and affiliate now what?

Speaker 2:

yeah, right now. What do I do now? I took my 77 hours, okay, okay. Well, don't you want to get into real estate? Yeah, find yourself a broker. Start, start promoting yourself, start marketing yourself. We've been through 77 hours of this. Yeah, and it's okay. Now what? Well, you should already know the now what?

Speaker 1:

All right. Well, I had a lot of fun here today, mac. I'm glad you joined us, thank you. If anyone out there in our audience wants to meet or reach out to Mac Aharoni, whether it's for real estate, so Coldwell Bank, american Homes, farmingdale and or Resnice Real Estate School, so how do they reach out to you?

Speaker 2:

So I'll keep it simple. You can reach me on my cell phone 631-612-8556. Or you can send an email. I'll give the school email, since that's the easiest. It's info at r e s n y s dot com. Perfect, so info at r e s n y s dot com, or my cell phone, like I said, 631 612-8556. I'm always here to answer any questions that you may have.

Speaker 1:

Again, Mac, thank you so much for being here today. You're a great interview and I just want to remind our audience this is a wrap for season two, so thank you for taking a ride with us and we will be back in two months. So join us for season three. We have a great, great lineup of interviews.