Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep#3: Alisha Wallace's Path to Real Estate and Community Impact
Discover the inspiring journey of Alisha Wallace from TheGardenStateRealtor.com as she reveals her path from bookkeeping and law to becoming a thriving force in the real estate world. Originally rooted in the bustling streets of New York City, Alisha faced formidable challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, yet she emerged stronger by crafting innovative strategies to succeed in unpredictable markets. With a passion for guiding families and investors to their dream properties, Alisha emphasizes the importance of due diligence and a deep understanding of the local market. She shares a remarkable personal triumph, detailing her experience purchasing and renovating a property in Georgia, overcoming local skepticism with her resilience and ingenuity.
Our conversation also uncovers the vibrant community surrounding Alisha's office, where convenient amenities like Panera Bread, Whole Foods, and Wegmans enhance the neighborhood's charm. We celebrate these local treasures and their role in creating a dynamic living environment. As the episode draws to a close, we extend heartfelt thanks to Alisha for her invaluable insights and contributions to the show. Don't forget to nominate your favorite local businesses for a chance to be featured on future episodes of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Tune in for a session filled with real estate wisdom and community spirit!
You can learn more about Alisha at www.thegardenstaterealtor.com
https://alishasells.kw.com/ or call her at (201) 316-4422
So we are going to do intro here. Make sure that I'm there. No, okay, there we go. All right, here we go.
Speaker 2:This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 1:Hey guys, welcome to episode number three of the Good Neighbors podcast. Today I am honored to be in the room, so to speak, with Alisha Wallace of GardenStateRealtor. com. Alicia is a New Jersey born and bred.
Speaker 3:Yeah, actually, I was born in New York City.
Speaker 1:Oh, new York City, right, okay, all right. So, alicia, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me, Doug.
Speaker 1:So GardenStateRealtor. com. Obviously the word realtor lends us to think that you're in real estate, so tell us a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:Well, I absolutely help families and investors locate the right property for them. You know we do a lot of due diligence behind the scenes to make sure that you know there's no oddities with the property. Are you next to a railroad track? Is there a fire station behind you? What some of the challenges may come with that property, possible things that might be happening in that city? You know big building going in Is it a positive, is it a negative? Things like that we talk about taxes and just what best suits them.
Speaker 1:All right. So you know, there's a lot of people in real estate, right? And I didn't realize how many thousands of people in this country have real estate license licenses. Um, but what was your like? Like, how did you? What's your journey becoming a realtor? Like, what was your driving force to want to get into this business?
Speaker 3:Well, it's funny, my mom used to say back in the old day oh you should be a realtor and attorney because you like to argue a lot and you love to look at houses. I didn't take that path right away. I started off actually working at a company locally in Ramsey as a bookkeeping assistant and that evolved into a GM the business actually pretty quickly. It was a magazine verification company I know nowadays we have no use for that and then I evolved into working at a law office for many years. Then, shortly after that, I had children and decided to start sprucing out my own properties and putting them on the market just to see how it goes. And there hasn't been a property to this day that I haven't been able to get under contract within eight or 10 days. It doesn't seem to matter what year. I started off in the early 2000s, and here we are in 2024.
Speaker 1:So you lived through the real estate financial crisis in 2008? Yes, okay, yeah, that was fun times. It was so difficult.
Speaker 3:It felt like 80% of the population had somehow lost a big chunk of their wealth when that crash came.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's interesting because you know, then we went through COVID and initially, when COVID, you know, when everything shut down in March of 2020, real estate world was like, oh my God, this is awful, Do me a favor.
Speaker 2:God, this is awful.
Speaker 1:And, um, you know, I know a lot of people quickly, you know, flexed and transitioned to doing virtual showings and things like that. But then you know, within a couple of months, um, we realized, living where we live in Bergen County, that, um, our real estate was much more attractive to those people that lived in the city or had to be near the city for their commute. So, you know, what I saw because I, you know, I've worked with a lot of realtors is the ones that were always out there, strong and working and had a brand. They're the ones who survived and thrived during COVID, the people that didn't really do anything and kind of sat on their butts when COVID hit. They were out there scrambling and they didn't survive in terms of realtors and brokers and sales associates.
Speaker 1:So, and the fact that you've been through two major crises and you're, you know, thriving is great. It's great. So, you know, with that in mind, you know we all are dealt with challenges, right, hardships or whatever. Is there anything that you feel was one moment in your life If you look at a story arc of the character in a movie or a book that has that struggle that they overcome? Spider-man gets bitten by a spider. He's a little wimpy kid and all of a sudden he's Spider-Man or whatever it is. What was your spidey moment where you were faced with a challenge and you overcame it and you feel like maybe you came out stronger on the other side or better for it? I mean not to put you on the spot, but if there's anything, oh, absolutely no.
Speaker 3:So just before COVID hit I had purchased a property in Georgia, the state of Georgia. It's a state you know, overall in general the credit scores are lower. So you know, because it's there's a lot more, you know middle income or poverty stricken families in the area. And you know all the agents I had spoken with. They're out of state, completely different setup there on how they work with real estate. It also feels a little bit more unethical. But in either case I was told oh, you know, you're never going to be able to sell that property, you know. And now this pandemic, and you know you're in big trouble and blah, blah, trouble and blah, blah blah.
Speaker 3:So I forged ahead and had the work done, put about funny enough, very smart decisions, and of course it was before you know supply shortages and these giant increases in price.
Speaker 3:But I was able to take this property and put about $16,000 into it, just very smartly, you know, well thought out, you know. And then when I went to put it on the market I was again told oh, you're insane, this is never going to work. The manager didn't want to accept the listing, the broker of record or whatever it was there in Georgia, and I pushed ahead. I actually ended up finding a wonderful lady that I was working with, originally from New York City, and she's like we're 20 years behind here in Georgia Don't worry, we're going to get this done and we advertised as an HGTV type home in that area works very well for marketing, and again within 10 days there were about four or five offers in an area that doesn't experience that. So it was pretty amazing, and in less than 30 days the whole transaction was closed and then began my journey of buying property in Bergen County.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing, very cool. So I know there's some misconceptions or maybe some things in the real estate business that people don't know or think they know. What's like one thing or a couple of things you wish your listeners knew about your business and maybe some of the things you wish they knew more about purchasing real estate or selling.
Speaker 3:It's hard to say because there are so many things that people may not realize.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, what I know you would you wanted to.
Speaker 3:I think it's the behind the scenes. You know all. You know if you have a great agent, you know that agent comes in there and actually helps you clean and organize your home somewhat. You know I can't tell you how many open houses I've hosted where I make sure to arrive about an hour early. Of course the clients are all aware of my process. I try to explain it so they're not out on Facebook. On the Bergen County mom's page they have a realtor but they're asking all of these questions that their realtor really should be responding to. But just even how simply some people don't get it. A perfectly clean home could yield you another $30,000.
Speaker 3:Wow, you know perfectly clean, moving a couple of pieces, even if the furniture has nothing to do with the sale it gives somebody the eye of the imagination on how it could be set up for them.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's great.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, absolutely, and you know who you're working with really truly matters. You know, is this person setting up a nice presentation? I know houses are moving so quickly that I've seen a few things that I don't love happening. You know there are no color brochures at the open houses, the agents that are there, you know, naturally so many people are showing up because we still have this kind of COVID movement where you know people are still getting over like being trapped for those four months, and they're.
Speaker 3:You know they're taking this time that if there's one thing they're not happy with, they're like you know what, we're going to move it and we're going to change it because life is short and we see the things that can happen unexpectedly, but there's just so much that goes on behind the scenes, you know, to make people feel welcome in an environment.
Speaker 3:And that's the kind of thing I like to foster during an open house, not just, you know, kind of stand around and wait, but just really get involved and find out what people are thinking and, you know, get honest feedback about how they feel, about the space. You know I play music. I, you know, put HGTV on every TV, you know, so that when they walk in they feel like they could picture this as their home. All the personal mementos I have removed, family photos and such and so forth, because you really want people to imagine themselves happy and comfortable there.
Speaker 1:Do you bake cookies? I don't bake cookies.
Speaker 1:but I do buy cookies, I know the smell the aroma of uh fresh foods and a house has some we're not on video but um podcast, but I could show you so just recently I did an open house and I have cookies made to look similar to the home you you know it's really good I do when I'm driving around and I see open houses in my neighborhoods, is that I leave magazines there and tell the realtors hey, let these people know that this neighborhood has its own magazine. People love this town so much that they can read about their neighbors and they've been chosen, that town's been chosen, to have its own magazine, so that's what's better?
Speaker 1:I think what you saw, I think during COVID. I knew people were buying houses of what the inspection report showed that I needed a roof. Well sorry, take it or leave it Like home sellers were basically not doing anything to make the house look nice or make any concessions, because they didn't have to. They were in the driver's seat. That's interesting.
Speaker 3:It is interesting and that's another thing I'd like to mention. With that crisis came, I'll have clients call. I have a brand new bathroom. Why is it leaking? So what I've been noticing, especially with my background in construction and working with someone who Didn't always do the right thing, you know, these bathrooms look gorgeous and they're retiled, but there's a waterproofing liner called Schluter.
Speaker 3:And what I found out during my process of updating is you know, a lot of times the contractor would say to me oh, you know, that's $1,000. Let's just take it off the list. So then you wonder why you're buying a home and your new bathroom is leaking. So these are the good questions. A good realtor would help their clients kind of suss out, and sometimes those questions aren't answered. But I'm glad I know Phil Murphy just signed into legislation A lot of these builders saying, oh, we don't live in the home so they weren't doing a property disclosure report. But now that's being done more often and buyers are starting to be a little. You know it depends on the home, but some buyers are in the driver's seat, especially if they are willing to make these higher offers. They can ask for a few things.
Speaker 1:That's good, it's good to know. Yeah, copy out M4. If I'm passing it right by, beware, but yeah, I think to your point, knowing having a realtor who can tell you hey, this house is a flip. If you watch these shows on HGTV, see that they do them as cheaply as possible and turn them around as quickly as possible because it's all about profit. Margins may not have highest quality construction, so it's good to know that you're out there kind of advocating for people absolutely.
Speaker 3:I feel like because of my previous experience, I can look at things and maybe see things that are not so obvious to anyone else. When something's out of code or when there's asbestos wrapped around a pipe, I immediately recognize it.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice. So switching gears. I know you're a dog lover, but are there any things that you want to share with our listeners that you do for fun when you're not working on real estate? Or is it so much fun that you're always somehow tied to real estate?
Speaker 3:I'm somehow always tied to real estate. I love home improvement. There are times where I kind of get out there and hit different showrooms Ferguson and the you know the quarter in the city where they have all the designs. I like to keep up to date to what's going on because there are times where a client will see a space and not know how to utilize it.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I think with me getting out there and seeing all these different ideas and these setups, it helps me help them picture what could be in their property, especially if it's something that needs work or it's vacant and perhaps, you know, just somewhat run down Like it's, they can really kind of imagine hey, for you know $2,500, I could you know, re, you know, I'm sorry sheetrock a room, you know, if there's some plaster up that they don't like or surfacing on the ceiling, it really isn't expensive to spruce things up and kind of make it your own until you have money for maybe a larger remodel Right right, Nice, nice.
Speaker 1:So how can our listeners learn more about you, contact you, find you out there in the internet world? I know I mentioned the name of your company GardenStateRealtorcom.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's actually my website, so no matter which company I decide to work with right now, it's. Keller Williams Valley in Woodcliffe Lake, which has been absolutely wonderful. The people there are fantastic. But, my personal website is TheGardenStateerealtorcom. You'll always be able to find my contact information. I have a few blogs up about pertinent home buying processes and construction that people may find interesting.
Speaker 1:Great, and are you on Instagram too?
Speaker 3:Yes. I'm the Garden State Realtor on Instagram.
Speaker 1:By the way, the good thing about your office. You got Panera Bread right there. You got Whole Foods across the street.
Speaker 3:Yes, banana Republic is right around the corner in case I need a quick suit jacket.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, they moved Pottery Barn and William Snowman moved over by Wegmans, but that's not far from you either, so no, it isn't another great spot. I love that area, yeah uh, all right, well, listen, alicia. This was great. I appreciate you sharing everything with us and, um, we're going to close out the show, so stay, hang on for a second or a fraction thank you so much thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Bergencom. That's GNP Bergencom, or call 2 0, 1, 2, 9, 8, 8, 3, 2, 5.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm going to end the recording, All right. So, um yeah.