Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation
Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation is a podcast that dives deep into the stories of business owners, community leaders, and aspiring entrepreneurs who are striving to make an extraordinary impact. Each episode explores their roots, motivations, and defining moments to inspire listeners on their own journey to excellence.
Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation
The Life and Times of Doug Hopkins: Overcoming Challenges and Finding Purpose
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In this episode, we sit down with one of America's leading real estate agents, Doug Hopkins. From his humble beginnings in Bedford Hills, New York, to his rapid rise in the Arizona real estate market, Doug shares his remarkable journey.
With over 20,000 home purchases and sales under his belt, Doug reflects on the highs and lows of his career, including personal challenges like his difficult divorce and how he turned to motivational resources to overcome depression. Doug also shares intriguing stories from the real estate trenches, including narrowly escaping an arrest and discovering disturbing secrets in foreclosed homes.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation about perseverance, integrity, and finding personal and professional purpose.
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You want to put me on depression medication? And um and I said no. So why is it because I need to feel these feelings? It's the only way to get over it. You can't mask things with with medications and feel it. You have to feel it. It's the only way to get through it.
SPEAKER_02Hey there, welcome back to Above and Beyond Recons Leeds Elevation. I'm your host, John Simon, and this season we're raising the bar, diving into the passion, the purpose, and the finding moments of leadership. Don't just aim high, they live there. Big ideas, real stories. Let's get into it. All right, today's guest is one of the most successful realtors in the nation, and a name you've likely seen on both local and national television. With a career spanning more than 20,000 home purchases and sales, he has built a reputation as a real estate powerhouse and a trusted resource for homeowners. Originally from Bedford Hills, New York, he moved to Arizona in 1987, graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in real estate, and quickly rose to become one of the top 25 agents in the state. His ambition led him to launch Red Brick Realty and Red Brick Property Management in 2004, growing a team of over 90 agents and closing more than a thousand transactions a year. His journey has taken him from the boardroom to the broadcast studio, even starring in the Discovery Channel's hit show Property Wars, where he earned the title of one of America's favorite real estate agents. Now aligned with my home group, he continues to innovate and lead in the industry, ladies and gentlemen.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that was a pretty pretty nice little intro.
SPEAKER_02All right, well, there you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Made me sound a lot better than I am.
SPEAKER_02Well, I don't know about that. I mean, you're like recognizable and well known, I think. I don't know. But ask anybody, you watch TV, see Doug Hopkins on there. So it happens.
SPEAKER_00There's commercials, I'm sorry. Yeah, no.
SPEAKER_02It's the way it's gotta be, right? You gotta be recognizable, you gotta be seen, you gotta be heard. So yeah. Well, thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah, and this is our first time sitting down, so I'm actually interested to learn more about you and see what we can learn about. Fire away. So let's let's uh tell me about you as a child. Where'd you grow up? You grew up in New York.
SPEAKER_00Grew up in New York. It was a little small town called Bedford Hills that you mentioned. It's famous for having a women's prison that Martha Stewart went to. I used to play behind that prison all the time.
SPEAKER_02No kidding. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00We play hide and go seek and all that stuff up back there. And but uh yeah, that was that was before Martha or after, yeah, before Martha went there. She she went there a few years after I left. Gotcha. Moved out to Arizona in 87, my junior year in high school. Probably the most miserable year of my life. I was captain of the football team, captain of the baseball team in New York, had a girlfriend, knew everybody from you know being being there and growing up there my whole life. And uh, you know, we had 1,500 kids in our whole school. And I went to Mountain View, and we had 1,500 people in our graduating class, and I was a junior, and all the juniors and seniors could go off campus for lunch. I didn't have a car, so I had I got to stay with the back with the freshmen and the sophomores who I didn't know any of them, you know, because they weren't in my class. It was a miserable, miserable experience for me. I came out too late for the foot to join the football team because we came out a day before school started and they'd already had tryouts like three weeks earlier. Wow. So I knew nobody. I I thought it was the worst thing that could possibly happen to me. As it turns out, it's one of the best because you know, you grow up, and I didn't I took it for granted all my friends because I just met them as you know growing up and and I didn't have to try. So, you know, I found myself, you know, going and sitting down and introducing myself to people just to have someone to talk to at lunch instead of sitting by myself at a table. And you know, it made me the person that I am today, you know, getting out of my shell a little bit, out of my comfort zone and going in and trying to talk to people. And eventually, uh, you know, baseball came around. I got very humbled. I used to think I was a good baseball player, and there was a guy named Brian Banks who wound up playing professional ball. Okay. He was the catcher, I was a catcher, and as soon as I saw him hit for the first time, I'm like, yeah, this is not for me. I'm gonna get cut. And that's exactly what happened. But that got me into to spring football, and that's when I I started meeting a bunch of people. And so my second semester was was pretty good, and then my my my senior year was fantastic. I played football and got to meet a lot of people and and got a bunch of friends, and and it was it was cool. But yeah, that was that was my my upbringing there.
SPEAKER_02And then you stayed you stayed here in Arizona after that, or did you go back to New York and then come back?
SPEAKER_00No, I well, I went I went back during the summer of between my junior and senior years, and I tried to stay. And I asked my football coach, Coach Mantai, if I could if I could stay with him. And he said, he said, maybe we'll see. And then they decided not to do it. And then there was another guy that I knew that that played on the team, and he asked his parents and they agreed. And about two weeks before we were supposed to make my parents were really upset about it because they didn't want me to leave, but I wanted to, you know, I made a passionate plea that please let me stay in New York. This is where my life is. And and about two weeks before they were they had said yes, I wound up flipping a car. I I w I was going down a uh a dirt road called Suck a Bone Road. Nice name for a road? Yeah, I I sucked a bone on that road. I was going around a corner way, way, way too fast. And I had this little dots and with like these little bicycle tires almost on them. It couldn't have been more than more than like four or five inches. And I went around that corner way too fast and uh wound up flipping it. Landed on my landed on the upside down. And I was so I remember I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. It crushed the car. I could not get out of the passenger or the the driver's side door because it was too crashed, too, too, too impacted. And so my I just dropped off my sister at at uh because we were both in town, and I dropped her off at a friend's house, and I crawled that she had left a window down because it didn't have air conditioning. And I crawled out that window and I went running to one of the neighbors' houses that was on there. It was very they were big properties, five acre properties, so there was very few and far between where the were houses. But I found a house, went and knocked on the door. Uh uh I went running because you you look at the movies, right? And you see when when you have big crashes, all of a sudden the thing could explode. That's all I kept thinking about was this thing's gonna explode and I'm gonna die. What's crazy is if you uh I wish I had a picture of it. Back in the day there was no cell phones, you know. This is this is 1988, probably somewhere in there. And uh when I when I looked at it, we went to the impound where they took it, I I could not believe that you would you would have thought that I would have died. But for some reason, I don't know what happened that day, but uh I I walked about without a scratch. That's crazy.
SPEAKER_02You know what's what's what's crazy uh fascinating, I similar situation, but I didn't leave town and go back. But a buddy of mine picked me up from football practice after school. I think I was a sophomore in high school and he had just gotten his license, but he took his brother's Volkswagen bug that his brother just finished re restoring, yeah, and we took off on a joyride, dirt road. And there's different stories to how this actually happened. He says I grabbed the wheel, which I don't think I did. He was swerving, kind of fish tailing, we were messing around, lost control, hit a tree, and in the front, there's no seat belts. So we literally flew out the driver's side door, both of us. I landed on top of him, and same thing. I mean, looking at that, thinking, my head could have been through that windshield. Yeah. I mean, how did we go that way and not that way? You know, it's just crazy.
SPEAKER_00It is to this day. Anytime I I I live off of a dirt road up in up in pace, and I have a little cabin up there I go to. To this day, anytime I'm on a dirt road, I think of that moment. Yeah, I'm sure. I and and I go very slow.
SPEAKER_02Start very skidding a little bit.
SPEAKER_00That's it. Nope, nope, nope, we're not doing that. Yeah. But thankfully, my my my truck has a much bigger tires than that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no doubt. So is is your hometown in New York what's the name of it again?
SPEAKER_00It's it's well, I was born in White Plains, but I grew up in Bedford Hills.
SPEAKER_02Bedford Hills. Is that near Syracuse?
SPEAKER_00No. Syracuse is up north, northwest, I guess. No, it's it's about 40 minutes north of the city. Okay, so you're a Jets fan? I am a Jets fan, yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna ask if you grew up near Frank. How'd how'd you get to know Frank? How'd that all come about?
SPEAKER_00Well, how does anyone meet Frank? He just shows up he's just loud and and he's just you know gregarious and and uh was at a bar, you know, and he's just and I'm like, who is this guy? And then he's like, hey, I'm Frank, I'm big Frank, call me Junior. And I'm like, all right. So he and he bought me a beer and then we got to talking. He's a he's a really nice guy.
SPEAKER_02He is, he's a good dude. Yeah, he's a good dude. I I don't know if all New Yorkers are that way, but he's he's one of the good ones. Yeah, yeah. So when when you were growing up, who were the people that uh influenced you or motivated you to do what you were doing at that time? I mean, obviously in your younger life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, my my younger life, I mean, my dad and my grandfather, my grandfather is probably the the best man, pure man I've ever known. I still think he's an angel on my shoulder. Like when things go right for me, I'm like, that shouldn't. I'm like, man, that's that's my grandfather. Yeah. You know, it it's it's incredible. I I don't I can't hold a torch to that man. It's I mean, the the amount of respect I have for him, you know, he he was not a sports guy at all. And all I wanted to do was play sports as a young kid. And I would go down there for a week to uh for spring break to Florida. They had a they they'd spend half their time in in New York and half the time in Florida, in Palm Beach. And so I would go down and visit my my well, first it was my grandfather and grandmother, and then my grandmother passed away, and then he remarried, and they were married for I think another 19 years or something like that. It was a long time. And every time I would go down there for spring break, he would go out and and they had uh spring training games, and it was the Montreal Expos they existed that are now the Washington Nationals, yeah, and uh and the the Atlanta Braves shared a a park together. And you had complete access back then. You can go watch all the practices, get a bunch of balls. It was fantastic. And that's when and and the expos were much easier to watch than the than the than the Braves. And that was the time when the expos were really good. They had guys like Andre Dawson. Pete Rose actually signed with them. Gary Carter was on it, Tim Wallach, you know, I got Tim Raines. I got all their autographs, they would all sign really, really nice. You can you can literally just walk up to the fence. I started talking to Gary Carter, told him I was a catcher. And I said, What kind of glove are you using? You're using Mizuno, is that the best glove? And he and he just started laughing. He goes, No, whatever you like, whatever fits. And but my my grandfather couldn't stand going really do it. And he would do it uh and I would ask him, I'm like, why why do you do it? Because he goes, because it makes you happy. Wow. And that's that was that's just the kind of man that he was, and I I really respected him a lot.
SPEAKER_02That is really cool. Yeah, that is really cool.
SPEAKER_00Is he still with with no no no no he's uh he died at 89, yeah. So that was probably 20 years ago now. Gotcha.
SPEAKER_02When you were when you came out to Arizona, you said your your junior year you were too late for football, tried baseball, didn't work, got into football, back into football. What position did you play in football?
SPEAKER_00Offensive tackle.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah. And then did you end up playing your senior year football as well?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I played I played my my senior year. I missed the junior year, but I played senior year. Okay. Didn't play a lot, you know.
SPEAKER_02But I played not as tall as some guys.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, back then, I was one of the bigger guys on the team. I mean, they weren't making them like they're now. I mean, it's crazy. If you're not like 6'3, 6'4, you're not playing offensive tackle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, not at all. We had we had two guys on my high school team that were 6'5. And I grew up in a small town in northeast Washington, but they were like giants. I mean, there's nobody that was anywhere close to them. Yeah. And now it seems like that's just average. Yeah. You know, it's like, what the hell? Oh, they're monsters coming out now. It's insane. It's insane. After high school, what did you do? You went to ASU?
SPEAKER_00Yep, went to ASU. You know, had a uh I stayed at Manzanita dorms. My my parents paid for for the first year of college and and and wanted me to get the full college experience and paid for me to be at the dorm, even though we lived 20 minutes away. Okay. That was my first taste of freedom, and I was not very good with that.
SPEAKER_02Introduction to alcohol at that time. Yeah, yes, you can say that. And other stuff? Nope.
SPEAKER_00Never I stayed away from all the other stuff, just alcohol. Yeah, no, that the other stuff scared the heck out of me. So I I never did never partook in any of that stuff. Not even to try it, you know. Was curious a couple times, but never did it. So I went there, got a a 2.0 GPA for my just average straight C's across the board. I don't even know how I did that, honestly. I think you know, just I I always have common sense when it came to answering test questions and whatnot.
SPEAKER_02You just picked the right one of five.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh and and so wound up, my parents say, We're not paying all this money for you to get a 2.0 GPA. I'm like, it's passing, but Yeah, right. You're still gonna graduate. Yeah, uh, but you know, I I understand that, you know, looking back at it. So yeah, they said, That's it, Doug. You're we're not paying for your college anymore. So time to get a job, got a job, and uh went to put myself through Mesa Mesa Community College. And then my first uh after my first semester at Mesa Community College, I was doing the same thing. I paid for it myself. The books, you know, the the books cost more than the courses.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And uh then I went in and I uh uh I got a job and I was making some money and I decided not, you know, I was gonna do the same thing I did ASU, just wound up, you know, wound up not going to classes and and then just guessing on the test. Well, that didn't work my second year, and I wound up dropping out. I think the second I went the first semester, the second semester I wound up dropping out. And uh I remember being in the parking lot at Mesa Community College and going, I feel pretty darn low right now. Like I I felt like a complete failure. Yeah. And I'm like, I gotta I gotta turn my life around. Uh I can't I can't be doing this and and having all fun and not and and not working and not you know not going to school. So I wound up the next year going to finishing up my all my under undergrad stuff at uh Chandler Gilbert Community College. And then and then I wound up paying for Arizona State. And so I went to Arizona State University. We had the first uh the class of of real estate. Okay. So real estate was part of the business program. I don't know if it still is or not now, but uh I was a real estate agent. I just become a real estate agent. And so I'm like, this is right up my alley. I figured it'd be easy because I I I know real estate now, and but it was it was commercial, mostly commercial real estate. It wasn't wasn't as much residential. So I didn't really get that. I wound up passing and and getting through that whole thing. It took two years of that, and and I was 13 credits. You said I graduated from ASU. I haven't did not graduate from the U.S. No, you did not. I did not. I went to ASU, I was 13 credits shy, all electives. 13 credits shy of but I was making you can just go play pickleball. No, I I'm not Kevin. Yeah, yeah. No, but I was 13 credits shy. I'm like, man, I could get this done. But at the time that last year, I made $250,000. Oh, wow. And I'm like, do I really want to take off? You know, and I decided not to uh not to do it. You know, I justified it by saying, uh, you know, I'm making more than these teachers are. Yeah, you know, so I I wound up not going. I have some regrets about not getting that stupid piece of paper. Yeah. You know, not to have it, like just one more semester and it would have been done and I would have had that stupid.
SPEAKER_02You could go take PE classes, like yoga classes and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I mean literally I could I could have taken like gym and uh like all these different working out, and you can you can do all these classes and it would have been real easy, but but I I d chose not to just because of time. To go to ASU, and it's probably the same way now. I mean, you'd have to leave an hour uh plus early for the class because you'd have to uh uh park in lot 59 and then take the tram over there and then you know wherever it goes. It was just it was not this this class, which was like 40 minutes long. It was, you know, it it took three and a half hours of your day because you get to commute. To commute, yeah. It's it was crazy.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy. It is a big campus.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02It's a very large campus. So you were selling real estate then before you finished school.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I got to I was actually working with uh common friend Kevin Kaziski. We were we were selling cable door to door. Oh and uh we're for what what's now Cox Communications, but it used to be Dimension Cable. And uh and so I got Kevin the job there, and we were because we were best friends at the time and still are, and uh, and then he left to and get to get a quote unquote real job. And uh he went to Venture Financial, which was own is owned by Gene Lyons. Okay, and uh and uh right then uh I guess I'm trying to think of what year this is, probably ninety ninety-four, ninety-three, ninety-four, interest rates came way down from like thirteen percent down to like eight percent, and everyone was refinancing. And Kevin showed me his paycheck for you know, we were making the same same amount of money over at Cox, and he showed me his paycheck, and I think my my paycheck was like six hundred bucks, and his was like I can't remember, but it was somewhere like twenty thousand dollars or something like that. I mean, it was a ridiculous amount of money. And I had never seen that kind of money. He goes, That was one paycheck. Yeah, had a bunch of closings and whatnot. He goes, Doug, it's just the same as selling cable. He goes, How much do you make? You know, how much is your commission when you sell a cable? And like 25 bucks. He goes, Yeah, mine's like 2500. Wow. So you're like, yeah, it's easy. Yeah, it's scale. So that so I'm like, all right, I'm doing this too. Yeah. And so I went to do it, and the day I started, interest rates shot back up, and that was his. That was the end of refinancing. No more money. So I I went to Gene and Gene Lions. Now, Gene's son, Damon, he was Kevin's assistant. He's now my partner in Sellers Advantage out in California. Okay. But I met him through through Gene, and uh we wound up eventually going out. I he was working for me, and then he went out to California and and wound up, we wound up opening shop up there. I made him a 50-50 partner, and that's what we're doing out in in California right now.
SPEAKER_02Do you do just sales or do you mortgages and stuff too?
SPEAKER_00No, we just do sales.
SPEAKER_02Just sales, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Buy buying and selling, we do list houses as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay. You went back to school, decided not to finish because you're making too much money. Yeah. Or making good money. Not too much.
SPEAKER_00Is there ever too much? There's never too much, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Is there too much? And and you've been in real estate ever since.
SPEAKER_00Ever since. June July of 1994.
SPEAKER_02So did when when you first got in, were you and I I don't even know how to use terminology, so I'm probably gonna offend somebody listening, I'm sure, but were you like kind of a st a street, a street guy? You're like out there just peddling one, two houses? Or did you just go, I got this idea.
SPEAKER_00Got it. So so I started out as a regular real estate agent. I knew had no idea. You know, you go through real estate school, they don't they don't tell you how to be a realtor. They just try to, I think it's more of trying to vet get you to pass a test. Get you to pass a test, and then it's like good luck. Yeah, you're on your own. Yeah. So uh I learned all this nonsense that never nobody ever uses except for the the I still have the square footage of the of an acre. That's about the only useful thing that came out of that. And uh yeah, we what wound up passing the first time. I I'd never been so scared in my life to pass it to pass the test because I had no money. I was I was broke. And when I became a loan officer, the way I I I wound up meeting with these realtors, Bob and Mary Millard, they're still in the business today. They're in their 80s and they're they're God bless them, they're still huffing it up there and doing great. So I worked for them and they told me, hey, you know, you gotta do open houses on the weekend, and uh, you know, you'll get a bunch of clients. And I'm like, all right, cool. And so I did uh hold an open house on a uh the first weekend I got my license, and we got four people in. And uh there was two people I did Saturday and Sunday, two people on Saturday, two people on Sunday came in. I sold all four of those people houses. Oh wow. It was unbelievable. And uh wound up making I did four four those my only four deals, but uh but I got four deals for that month. Wow. I got four up and I made oh gosh, I think I made like eight thousand dollars that month, and uh which because the commissions were a lot lower back then. Yeah, the sales prices were smaller, yeah, the lower sales prices $120,000, you know. And I was I was at a 50-50 split.
SPEAKER_02My first house we bought here in Arizona was 2,100 square feet. I think we paid $117 for it. And I just saw recently it sold for like $410 or something. I'm like, I would never pay that much for that dump. You know, it's like no way. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I was I bought a lot of, you know, it even got cheaper when in in 2008, nine, ten with the with the whole four foreclosure crisis there. And uh, you know, I if I go back in time, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02Buy every house you can get your hands on.
SPEAKER_00Houses were selling for you know uh two years earlier, brand new for $250,000. We're buying at the courthouse steps for $40 and $50,000.
SPEAKER_02I went through some pretty bad time 2007, 2008. I was one of the statistics, but our house before the crash had had appraised at like 900,000, something like that. It short sold for like 125. Jeez. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. It's like I'm like I look back at that now, I'm like, wow. I made bad decisions at the wrong time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, I uh I didn't I didn't get hurt too much by it. I I do remember 2007 being my worst year since I started, or about since two years after I started, yeah. It was uh probably the least amount of money and the most amount of panic and the most amount of fear I've ever had. I mean, you didn't know if all the banking system was going down, like it was a disaster.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And uh it's the first time I really experienced uh something like that. I mean, every day that was coming out, this bank went down, this bank went down, you know, mortgage companies closing down left and right, Kevin gets locked out of his place at Great Southwest Mortgage. You know, it it's like that's our building. You can't lock me out of my building. We re own it.
SPEAKER_02Oh my God. That's crazy. Yeah. It was it was insane times. I mean, I just remember and and my bad at that time was two months prior to the crash actually happening, I quit my job, my corporate job, to go partner in an agency. Oh God. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, boom, and it's like I'm over leveraged. I'm like, yeah, life's all about time. This is bad. Life is all about time. Oh, yeah. It was a spiral from there. So talk talk to me about a season in time, and we'll call it a season or a time, space and time throughout your history that that literally almost broke you.
SPEAKER_00Oh, by far and away, my divorce. Okay. Yeah. My divorce happened in 2011. I won't get into too much detail, but you know, uh I was dating somebody that had some medical issues and got addicted to pain pills and became a huge problem. And uh and so uh I went to a divorce and and uh it was horrible. I felt my you know, my my parents were married, they're just still married, they're still alive, still married, they've been married for 55, 56 years now. My grandparents before that was 45 or no, they were 50 plus as well, and then and then when my passed away, when when my grandma passed away, they were my my grandfather got remarried, and it was like another 18 years or something like that. So, you know, I never really knew divorce. And so I felt like a failure as a as a man, as a husband, and as a father. Yeah, and that's the only time I ever sought counseling because I was so depressed that I didn't know what to do. I couldn't sleep. I went I went 72 hours without sleeping. Wow. And I was literally seeing things, and uh, it was it was crazy. And I finally somebody gave me a uh a sleeping pill and I finally got some sleep. But uh yeah, that was by far and away the the worst period of time because you know you tell yourself all these horrible stories in your head. My kids are gonna grow up and they're they're you know they're gonna be you know bad people, they're not gonna have I'm not gonna be around it to to you know I we had 50-50 custody, but but you know, the f I remember the first time when I rented a house. The first time I went I moved into that house and I got it all set up and uh some friends came over and helped me move and they bought me a bottle of Jack Daniels. And uh I sat there in the kitchen. I didn't my bedroom was upstairs, and I drank uh I drank about half that bottle and fell asleep. I just I couldn't even go upstairs. I didn't want to go upstairs, I just fell asleep on the floor in the kitchen. Yeah. And woke up the next morning going, What in the world happened? So I when I was married, we had I'd bought an unbelievable house at the courthouse steps. It was built for about three three and a half million dollars, and I bought it for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Wow. It was you know seventy five hundred square foot house, beautiful house overlooking the valley in in Los Cendes. And I moved out of that house into a into a small rental, and uh and uh and I woke up just going, What what happened to my life? Yeah, and and then you tell yourself all these stories like I'm never gonna find love again, I'm never gonna be lonely for the rest of my life. Every bad story you could possibly tell yourself, that's where my headspace was, and that's where I lived. Until one day I met I met a girl that that uh that made me see that there was there was hope and there was a there was definitely a future after after divorce. And it worked out it worked out really well. I'm glad I went through that experience. I can tell you this, this is why I stopped seeing that therapist. She wanted to put me on depression medication. And um and I said no. And she said, why? I said, because I need to feel these feelings. It's the only way to get over it. You can't mask things with with medications and pills. You have to feel it. It's the only way to get through it. You can't just blur it down or or or you know, make it make it try to that it's not there, because it's always gonna be there unless you you feel that, feel what you need to feel. It's like getting sick too, you know? Yeah, you gotta you gotta go through it and to get to the other side. And uh and I knew that in my head, but she was insisting on me getting getting these pills, and that's what I'm like, no. And and she goes, You're gonna be like this for two years. And I said, What makes you what what makes you say? She goes, You because you how long were you married? I said, 12 years. She goes, Yeah, it's about about one-sixth of the time. And I'm like, Nope. And so what I did was I'm like, I'm gonna show her. And that's where I'm that's when I'm best when somebody tells me I can't do something or whatever. Yeah, and so I went and bought every Tony Robbins CD that they had. And uh I started listening to Tony Robbins and just surrounding myself with positive thinking instead of the negativity, which was I was telling all my myself these stories, and I I realized that you know it's human nature to do that. And I learned a lot about human nature listening to that. It made me a better person, it made me a better boyfriend when when I'm dating somebody, you know. I'm it there's a lot of really good things. And for those of you people that are feel feeling depressed or or not knowing where you're going or get a divorce or whatever life happens, yeah, immerse yourself in in positive stuff and and stuff that motivates you. And and that's what really, really helped me. I was fine literally, I got divorced in April, and I was back to my my feeling my better than myself in December. Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02So it lasted about eight months or something. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, totally relate with that. I had similar experience going through well, 2007, 2008. I tell people you could write a country song, and it doesn't matter what you say about it, that's what happened to me. 2007, 2008. And you know, that that feeling, I I mean I didn't I didn't end up at the bottom of a Jack Daniels bottle, but I I only got half. Well, halfway through, floating in the middle. But but I I tell you, man, I I remember going through and and I won't get into details about mine, but talk talk about feeling failure. I mean, the the the two big things that happened to me in that time frame, 2007-2008, bankruptcy, which I thought was a huge failure, and then divorce. And it was like, I mean, and and I felt like I failed everybody. Yeah. Everybody from the top down. And I and I felt like my parents are never gonna be able to be proud of me again, and you know, all that stuff. Helpless. Like, what do you do? And I was sleeping on the floor. A friend of mine let me crash, he had an extra bedroom, and I had a futon mattress that I laid on the floor in his house. Yeah, that's where I was.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I moved in with with friends with with and for a month, and then I was like, you know, they wanted me to keep staying and whatnot. I I just felt like I wasn't comfortable. You know, I just I felt like in the I don't want to burden anybody. Right. And so I I went and got a house right down the road and wound up going there. But but then my my kids, they were young at the time, they were six and nine.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00They all their friends, I wanted them to stay in the school that they were they were in. And so I'd have to bring them to school every day. And then on the weekends when I had them, they wanted to play with all their friends, and they didn't they stopped wanting to come to my house because all their friends lived in Los Endas. Oh and so then I'm taking that personally, like it's they don't want to be with their dad.
SPEAKER_02They're embarrassed to where you're at.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and so they just wanted to play with their friends, and so I wound up moving back to Les Endus so to so that I didn't feel so bad. Yeah, and plus but the commute was a little bit better, you know what, because I'd have driving to school all every day too, because there's no buses that go out of bounds.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right, right. What what would you say to somebody who's going through that going through a divorce? Yeah, anything. I mean, any in in that in that space where they're floating halfway in the middle of a Jack Daniels bottle.
SPEAKER_00That that the answer is not the end at the bottom of that bottle, that's for sure. You know, that's but but every once in a while you need to do that, I guess, to wake me wake you up a little bit. Just what I said, surround yourself with positive people and positivity. I I can tell you this. I I don't agree with everything he says, but but Tony Robbins is insane, insanely awesome, as far as it it really, really helped me. Yeah. There's a there's a lot of stuff on YouTube for free now, too, that you can you can put in. I can tell you another story. I I was uh when my when my my last daughter moved out of the house, this was about year and a half, year and a half ago, maybe two years. And I was you know, I've I've I've always worked for my family, for my girls, I have three girls, and uh and I've made now enough money where I can I can retire and live comfortably and made some really good investments, bought some really good properties. But where the heck was I going with this?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. I don't know. I'm along for the ride.
SPEAKER_00So gosh, where the heck was I going with that? Oh, oh, oh yes, yes, yes. So so uh I I lost my purpose. I lost my purpose. I didn't know she had moved out. After she well, right as she was moving out and becoming an empty nester. And it's just me and my girlfriend living at the house, and uh and I walked in and and it's just it was just me and her, and that was the first time that that's been that way. And so I kind of was questioning everything of why am I why am I doing this? What like what am I doing this all for? I mean my purpose was my family, my all all my three dot three of my daughters are married and they're all happy and and you know, life is good, and and I didn't know what to do. So I went to a mastermind event out in California and I started asking everybody that you know that does the same thing as me all around the country. I'm like, hey, you know, what's your purpose? Everyone had the same thing, family, you know, family, family, family. And I'm like, okay, well, what happens when you you know your family's out, you've done good, and then and then what? You know, what it's gotta be more than just just that. Yeah. And uh and nobody had an answer for me that that made sense to me. So I was staying at uh it was in Oceanside, California, whereas a mastermind was. We were staying at a at a hotel right in the ocean, but my my room faced to the city. Okay. So I went downstairs and I just said, Hey, I'm gonna I want to change rooms. Do you have anything that faces the ocean? And they said, Well, the only thing we have is a suite and it's fifteen hundred dollars extra a night. I'm like, I'm not paying that. Yeah. I talked to I talked to them, I negotiated because that's what I do, and got it down to like $700 a night. And uh, and so I went up to this room, beautiful room, and I and I overlooking the ocean. I just kind of meditated and and try to just say, Well, okay, what is the purpose of life? I need to figure this out. What is my purpose? Not the purpose of life, but what is my purpose now? Yeah, you know, and so nothing came to me. So I I wound up grabbing my my iPad and I just started YouTubeing, you know, what what's the purpose of my life? You know, how do I find my life's purpose? That sort of thing. And I came across a little YouTube video, it was put together that was Steve Harvey talking.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00You know what Steve Harvey is? Yeah, yeah. And uh it was it it resonated so much with me. I I'd watched uh about an hour, hour and a half in, two hours look looking at this stuff, and I I'm missing all my classes. I don't care about any of the real estate stuff. I'm just like I'm trying to find myself right now. Yeah, yeah, it was it was the most lost I've been since since my my divorce, which was uh my divorce was 2011, so about 14 years ago, and this was probably two years ago. Okay. So and it said the purpose of your life, or your purpose is whatever you do best without trying. And went into this a bunch of bunch of stories about that, and I realized I'm really good at at what I do. I'm really good at that, and and the reason I'm really good at what I do is because I listen. I listen to the people that are telling me and I'm a great problem solver and I have a lot of common sense. I have a lot of deficiencies in a lot of other areas, but for whatever reason, I'm a really good listener and I can and I I have empathy and I can have a conversation. A lot of that conversation piece goes back to when I was uh you know a junior in high school and having to talk to people that that I wasn't sure of. So I'm I'm it's easy for me to talk to talk to new people. Not so easy for me to remember their names. I'm not a good remember. Horrible at that. It's so bad.
SPEAKER_02Horrible, horrible at that.
SPEAKER_00But anyway, whatever whatever he said about his purpose wound up resonating with me, and I realized my purpose is what I'm living. I'm living my purpose right now. I'm I'm living, I'm helping people that that are looking to have that have a problem that I'm looking to solve. You know, people sell me their houses that that need to sell right away, or or we we have a variety of people that that that we work with. Some people just don't want the hassle of selling a house traditionally, some people don't want to fix anything. Some people want to move like in a week and and need to sell right a right away. Some people are buying a new house and have to sell because the the buy the the home builder won't accept a contingency. Some people their their pools are empty and and you know their roof needs work and they they don't have the money to fix it up or the ACs le out or you know the house is just dated. And there's some some houses that are just in absolute perfect condition. I bought a house the other day, perfect, I mean literally perfect condition. And the people just didn't want to deal with it. They wanted wanted the absolute certainty that it was done, because I'm the only company in town that that that it's 100% certain. I've never canceled a deal. Okay, and I've I've always do exactly what I say I'm gonna do, and I've I've never tried to renegotiate a price after we sign on the dotted line. There's no other competitor that of mine that that does that. So but yeah, that's that's that's that story. But uh that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's impressive. I I mean I I commend you. It's it it's interesting. I mean, being in a what I will say similar not industry, I mean I'm in insurance, but thought process uh people think of us as used car salesmen, right? Real estate agents, probably the same thing. What are you trying to pull over on me? So to be able to to be honest, I tell people all the time look, the only thing I've got is my integrity. As soon as I go against that or you know, dishonesty, whatever, then I have nothing left. Yep. You know, I have the same products as everybody else on the market. It's me that you're buying, it's not necessarily the insurance I'm selling.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I think we're at uh 4.8 on Google. That's awesome. With with what 400 and something reviews because we do exactly what we say we're gonna do every single time. Every single time. And and the people that give us one star reviews, they've never uh people call in and say, I hate the way he says you are on your commercial or something, one star, or why would anyone sell to this guy, one star? Yeah, you know, you know we also get a lot of people calling in saying, uh get this fat guy off my thing, or get this bald guy off. I'm like, man, do you uh you guys have too much time on your hands to get calling in being like that.
SPEAKER_02You you get well, yeah, there's always gonna be haters. You you you can't ever please everybody, especially when you're in the public eye. You have much more hair now than before.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, yeah. I got I got my I got my little hair hair plugs going on.
SPEAKER_02Well they're they're they're growing well.
SPEAKER_00So the front anyway. It's it's pretty but it's pretty gnarly in the back. I'll tell you what. I get so I'm not embarrassed about it. I got the hair transplant, right? Okay. But I uh I have so much bald space that I can only do it like up front. My by the way, Damon, my buddy Damon that we talked about earlier, he's the one who taught me into it because he got it done. Oh, really? So as I I made the big mistake going in to get my hair transplant because uh right before I walk I walked in, I asked him, I'm like, so does this hurt? Like I never even asked you, is it? And he goes, and I'm like, oh my gosh, how bad? He's like, and I'm like, oh no. Oh no. So my blood pressure went through the roof. Oh, damn. And and so my blood pressure was so high, they they didn't want to operate. And I'm like, I came out here to California to get this done. I'm in Beverly Hills, downtown Beverly Hills. Oh, geez. And they're sitting there trying to, you know, uh, and I'm and I have my blood pressure. They go, Did you take your blood pressure medication yet? And I said, No. He goes, All right, well, we'll take it, take it right now. And so I took one, it came back in a half an hour later and checked it, and it didn't do anything. He goes, Well, I mean let me come back in another half an hour. So I went and opened up my bottle. I'm like, well, maybe I'm not gonna take two. So I took another one, and uh, and he came back in. He's like, you know what, here, take this pill, this should help. And I'm like, uh oh no. Oh my god, I just took two and now I'm gonna take another one. I'm like, I'm I'm gonna crash out of the table, man. So so I took it, and and they came back in and that that lowered it. Uh huh. And then and then they said, I said, so I heard this this hurts pretty good. He goes, Yeah, but we're gonna give you this little pill and it it should be it should be fine. And it was like a little sedative sort of thing. They said, just take the blue one in there. Because they had I had they had a bunch of pills, some for you know uh making sure you don't get an infection, and then like I don't know, they had all these little pills and whatnot. Well, there's two blue ones in there. I didn't know it. So I took one of the blue pills and they said that's the sedative or whatever. Well, that wasn't the sedative, that was the thing to make to for the the uh infection stuff to make sure you don't get an infection. So I'm like, wow, that thing works pretty good. It was all in my head. Really? I thought, yeah, oh kidding. It was unbelievable. That's incredible. I was like, wow, that's incredible. That feels cool.
unknownThat feels good.
SPEAKER_00So then they go and and and and they go, they start to they because they have to make little incisions in your in your scalp to to bury the you know, they take the hairs. Okay. That's that'll always grow. You'll always have the hair in the back, but on the on the top, that that's what dies over time. So they made that first incision. I thought I was gonna go through the chair. Okay, it hurts so much. And I'm like, oh, you gotta be kidding me. How many more of these are there? It's like 150 little incisions. I mean, it's just little incisions. And you have like no, it it's like the it's your you got what, a couple layers of skin or whatever, and then your skull. Yeah, and uh I'm like, man, is this supposed to hurt this much? And so they're like, well, it shouldn't be hurting you that much. I had to go to a different place in my mind. And I just said, listen, I'm gonna make a little bit of a scene here as you cut, but this is the only way that I know of to do this. So they while they're doing it, I just went, and I just went like that. And they just started cut, cut, cut, cut. Oh my god. I pretended I was like in a fight and like you know, trying to get my adrenaline up so much. Yeah, and it worked. Oh and then all of a sudden, after they get finished doing that, they look down on the cup and they said to get take one of the the other pills, and they're like, wait a second, I thought you took your sedative. And I'm like, I did the blue one. He goes, No, not that blue one. And I'm like, Oh, then I took that one, then it was off that was fantastic, you know. That that made me uh like I don't even remember the rest of the taste after that.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy. Oh man, that's that's hilarious. I couldn't imagine tons of little slices. So wow, that's crazy.
SPEAKER_00It was like it was like five people in the room. They're all taking all the little donor hairs and they're looking under the mac under under the magnifying glass and uh and under the microscopes, and then and then they re-re put them in right there.
SPEAKER_02So do they pluck them out of your back and then put them in?
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_02Interesting. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they they shave you bald, okay, and then you know what, right when you're there, and then they started putting the uh slice taking this the donors uh-huh from back in your back of your thing, and then and then they started slicing over here and just like all up and down. It oh my gosh, it hurt so bad. I can only imagine. Yeah, but but I'm glad. So they said, Do you want to come back and and do it again? And I said, I'm never coming back here. And then all of a sudden I'm like, man, the front looks pretty good. I I could probably get the the back done too, you know, the the top. Yeah. And I and and Damon did it again. And I'm like, he's trying to talk me into getting the the back done too. And I'm like, I don't know. You know what was worse was getting out of Beverly Hills, leaving there at 3 30 in the afternoon, four o'clock. I think we finally got out of there. I went in there at 7 a.m. Hit the traffic. Got out there at three, yeah, and we had to drive home because you have to sit up to sleep for the first couple of days. Oh, really? And so you got a I bought a special chair to be able to sleep in. And I got pictures of it just my head wrapped around. It looked like uh an Arab guy with with the wrap around there, except with blood all dripping still. No kidding. And it you know, starts itching a little bit, you can't touch it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that would be brutal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Did you drive all the way back that day?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, all the way back. It took three and a half hours just to get out of LA. And we were in such bad traffic. Yeah, I was absolutely miserable. Absolutely miserable. I think it took us like eight and a half hours to get home. Oh it was uh we get home after midnight.
SPEAKER_02That that that's horrible. Yes that would suck. When you got into real estate, do you remember I mean obviously there was there was the the crash in 2007, 2008, that that kind of brought things down. But before that, when you were starting to grow, do you feel do you remember when you felt like I made it? I'm I'm doing good, business is kicking.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Probably in 2001. 2001, it really well, 2000. We we I started meeting people at the I went down to the courthouse steps in in 1999 and met met a bunch of people.
SPEAKER_02And that's I were you doing like taxing stuff at that point?
SPEAKER_00I was I was doing regular real estate, just buying, you know, listing homes and selling homes. Okay. And then I went, buddy of mine said, Hey, I said, hey, I made a I I sold my first million dollar house and got a $30,000 commission. And I want to build a bar in my house. And uh and so I I called a buddy of mine that had a bar, and I'm like, hey, can I come over and take some pictures, you know, tomorrow morning? He's like, Well, I'm going to the courthouse steps in the uh, you know, tomorrow morning, but we can do it in the afternoon. I'm like, man, I always heard about these, you know, the foreclosures. And he's like, Oh, yeah, it's awesome. And I'm like, Do you mind if I tag along? He's like, No, no problem. So I went down to the courthouse steps and and uh saw what houses were were being sold for right there. And I'm like, this is amazing. And uh started going down there and meeting people and then trying to buy whatever they bought. And and they would mark it up from whatever they bought, and I'd I'd wholesale it. And uh, you know, I'd I'd take I'd find a buyer for it and I'd get my middleman fee basically. And so, you know, they would buy it for I think the first house I bought. Up they bought it for $67,000. They sold it to me for $77,000, and I sold it for $81,000. Oh, wow. So I made $4,000 in one day. Wow. 24 hours. Because it closes and you have to pay for it the next business day. Gotcha. And so that's what was my introduction to the auctions on foreclosure auctions. And I just started wholesaling everything that that this this company bought. I hooked up with this company and and I offered to drive their houses for them every day. So whatever that was going to the auction that day, I'd drive their houses. I put a valuation on it and I'd tell them what I what I would pay for it. And they would use my numbers to buy it. Then I would wholesale the house to to other people. And then I wound up opening up opening up my own shop and doing the same exact thing. So I did that in 2000. Gosh, I think I did that in 2008. Was it eight? I think it was 2000, maybe 2007, 2008 is when I decided to open up my own my own thing.
SPEAKER_02Do you now carry uh I'm assuming you carry a portfolio of properties?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I got about 70 houses.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Yeah. 70 rentals. You know, I did a great thing with those. One of the smartest things I ever did, and I learned this from Kevin, is put them on 15-year notes. So I put all my properties on 15-year notes, and I wound up paying them all off. And some just went 15 years and then some, you know, that I owed on. I would just take all the rental money and I would I would, you know, whatever I overage I had from the rents over the whatever the mortgage payments were, I would just add all that into it. And as soon as you pay one off, then you're you know just roll that into the rolling and rolling and rolling and keep going and going and going until all of a sudden everything's paid off. Wow. So yeah, that was that was a really good decision.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's awesome. Do you do commercial real estate as well or just residential?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, just just residential. I mean, I bought I bought my building in 2004. We built it with with Kevin. We had a couple other partners. I bought everybody out of the building because I wanted to make it my own. I was wanted to renovate it about three years ago. I decided, you know, I want to build something that I never want to move from. And I wanted to build it and make it my own and make it a gathering place. Every everything I build now is for gatherings. I love being around people. I love everyone getting together, having parties, food, drink, everything. And and that's really where the magic is with your my company. Uh I think we have 25 employees now, which is the most we've ever had, you know, as far as people directly working for me and and in my company. We've had I've had a real estate company with over a hundred agents in it, but but this is all people working for DougHopkins.com.
SPEAKER_02Gotcha.
SPEAKER_00Just Doug Hopkins.com and just Phoenix, not including the California Sellers Advantage. And yeah, it's uh it's an awesome thing to have and to see people come together and laugh and smile and have a good time. And I built out a full kitchen in my office. I built out a full bar in my office. Nice. I built a whole covered patio uh, you know, with a smoker and everything else. A couple of ice machines and in there but you know, uh no stone left unturned in there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's it's pretty awesome. That's cool. That's cool. Are you just in Arizona and California? Are you in other states as well?
SPEAKER_00No, just just just those two states, yeah. Yeah, Southern California and uh and Arizona.
SPEAKER_02Very cool. Yep. When you strip away titles, numbers, finances, what does success look like to you?
SPEAKER_00Happiness. You're only as h you know, you know, uh for me, I I'm very content in my life, but there's certain things that uh you you know whether you're happy or not. And uh, you know, going through that that short-term depression and going through the the times of you know being unsure of yourself and you know, problems and this, that, and the other, I love I'm I'm very content. And and uh I love seeing my kids be happy and and being successful. My my my daughter is having my daughter Kayla is gonna be having a baby here in the next week, and just seeing her go through this, and it's her first baby. I have to see seeing her go through this and and how happy she is, and and I can't wait for this. My first granddaughter.
SPEAKER_02So I I think I told you earlier my my daughter just had my first grandson. It'll be two weeks ago, tomorrow Thursday. It'll be two weeks. Gotcha. So, but kind of similar timelines because we had talked about you coming on the the air with me, and and uh it's something special, man. I'll tell you. I'm excited for it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I can't wait. I know I'm gonna cry like a little baby when I hold her. That's awesome. Her name's gonna be little Charlotte. So Charlotte's yeah, I guarantee I guarantee you. I have three daughters, two of two of which are are are was it mine. Oh okay. What is that called? Biological So Biologically M. And then my my older daughter, who is uh my ex-wife's daughter before we she was seven when when I got when I get married. Okay. But we're we're really tight too.
SPEAKER_02Okay, that's awesome. Yeah. So are you remarried now or just dating or well you could call it that.
SPEAKER_00I've I've I've been dating the same same woman now. She's a wonderful woman for six years. Okay. I think I, you know, the I have some uh PTSD about getting married again. I hear that. You know? And so uh and I and I told her, and she's she's a wonderful woman, she understands it. I'm like, listen, I'll take care of you. Uh uh I'm just not gonna go through I don't want any the government telling me what what I can or cannot do.
SPEAKER_02And well, I I look at it as every day's a choice. Yeah, right. I mean it is when you're in a marriage too, right? But but when you're not married, you're you're making the choice every day. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's that's the one thing about divorce is you know, you I'm a guy that kind of likes certainty. You have I had so much uncertainty, and that really affected me. Yeah. You know, I knew I was gonna have to give up half. Yeah, you know, I I knew that, and and I was, you know, that was a substantial amount of money. Yeah. And I knew not only I have to give up half, but I'd have to pay child support and alimony. Yeah. And that was a that was a large, lar very large number. And uh, you know, with that it's like, can I still afford the things that I need to do and the advertising I need to spend if I have to spend all this money, you know, to to to my ex. And so I wound up working out it worked out pretty good, but uh but I didn't like the that feeling at all of uh of not being able to do that and dealing with lawyers and and dealing with judges and all that other jazz and and uh you know that way I just I just like to keep it like this listen, yeah, in my opinion, well at least this is what I tell myself anyway, you know, you get married to have a have a family and you know and have kids and and I think that's uh that's really good. It's it's a very good thing. For me, I was I knew I wasn't gonna have kids anymore, and so why? Yeah, why why do you have to involve all that stuff? You get a little tax break here and there, but you know, and and you could have her I could have her sign a bunch of things, but you know, why? I care.
SPEAKER_02I'll I'll take care of you and and uh make a commitment going forward. Yep, yep, yeah, exactly. For for sure. If if you could if you could send a message back or travel back in time 10 to 20 years to see yourself or talk to yourself, what would you tell yourself? Oh gosh, get divorced sooner. Amen.
SPEAKER_00I mean, wait. No, I would say your word is everything. Yeah. And never lose your integrity, never lie to get a deal. Never listen, people lie all the time to get deals. I won't do it. Yeah, you know, I I won't do it. I they'll tell you, okay, I'll I'll pay you the 350,000, knowing darn well they're not gonna pay 350,000 that they're gonna come back and try to lower the price to to to 320 just to get the deal signed and then they have nothing to lose, right? So people will have people sign a contract and then and then just back out or or try to lower the lower the deal. Integrity means everything to me. If you if if you lie to me or or cheat me or or steal from me or whatever, you're dead to me. Yeah. Like I I have no use for people that that that do things like that. You know, it's funny, I I I've saved now three ladies that were getting uh scammed. Unfortunately, I didn't know about the fourth, and she got scammed. There's so many scammers that are out there right now that are they they prey on older, usually older women that said they're gonna get married. They just meet them on online and they they text and they go through WhatsApp and they do all this stuff and they they think they're dating this person that they never never met. And literally the people fall in love with without meeting without even meeting. Wow. And they plan this whole life together and they spin this whole imaginary fantasy that they're gonna do. And then people like, okay, well, you we just need to sell our house. I'm buying this house, but you need to sell your house so that you have the down payment, and then I'm gonna put in my money, and and and so people are coming to sell me the house for fake people, and they're just and they just say, wire it to me, and then I'll I'm gonna wire it to the title company, and then they take their money and they're done. I've saved three people in the last year about that. So I wanted to put that out there for for you for those of you who'd you know when one was a publisher clearinghouse sweepstakes winner that said you know they had to get the taxes first. You won, you know, the 17 million dollars, but you need to pay $250,000 taxes in taxes before we send you the money. Oh my god. And so I I a lady was telling me that. She's like, I just need this money, I need to sell this house, take that money, give it to the people so I can get the 17 million. And I said, ma'am, do you have any family in town? She goes, Yeah, my son, he lives in town. I go, I need his number right now, ma'am. She's like, Why? I'm like, because you're being scammed. I go, they're just gonna take the taxes out of it, you know, before they give it to you. They're they're not, you don't have to pay the taxes up front. You're being scammed. She gave this lady over this lady given them over a hundred thousand dollars already. Oh my god. And they they were gonna get they wanted another two hundred fifty thousand dollars. So I I I I wound up saving that lady. Yeah. And then I I I saved the one lady who still to this day believes this guy is real. It's a and we wound up finding out it was a it's a woman out of uh out of Miami that has a rap sheet a mile long that's been scamming. I think she got k caught because she because she sent flowers. Because uh the the lady in Miami sent flowers, she she was masquerading as a as an actor for the Hallmark Channel.
SPEAKER_03No kidding.
SPEAKER_00And she had AI and everything, like literally FaceTiming with AI, which is crazy. That is, it's insane. Or messages anyway. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, yeah, it's uh there's a lot of scams out there. So so people out there listening, warn your parents, warn your kids, you know, have safe words with your with your family, because yeah, there's just a lot of lot of scams out there right now.
SPEAKER_02It is it's incredible, and and it's getting more and more realistic.
SPEAKER_00Yes, AI is is insane. Yeah, it's insane.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it really, it really truly is. Anything you change about where you started, where you're at today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, it's all about the journey. Yeah, it's all about the journey. The ups, the downs. It's listen, yeah. Nobody's getting through life without getting a few a few dicks and cuts, man. You know, it's it's you're you and that's what makes you stronger.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, the the the bad times is is when you put your back up against the wall or whatever, that that's what makes you strong.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00You know, it like my divorce made me stronger. It made me emotionally stronger. And it showed me I can get through anything. Yeah, I can get through anything. You know, it's just you you you just gotta endure it, and there's there's no shortcuts. You gotta you gotta just do it. Just like me when I lose weight, right? You know, I'm I'm I'm getting bigger again. Again, yeah, back in the back of the state. I'm the same way. It's like I go down and up, and I'm a I'm a yo-yo. Yeah, yeah. But you know, there's there's no shortcuts. You know, you can you try Ozempic, you can try this, you can try that, but you know, you do want to be, you know, addicted to a pill or have to take a pill or a shot, you know, for the rest of your life, or you know, you you can you there's no shortcut. You you eat healthy and you work out and weight drops off. You drink this stuff and you eat pizza and the weight comes on. You know, yeah. It just tastes so darn good. I know.
SPEAKER_02It's like if they can make water taste as good, it'd be awesome. So I gotta ask you, because I've heard rumor that you take a trip to Vegas every year. I used to. Or you used to. I used to. We used to go up for Super Bowl. Supposed to ask you about crazy trips to Vegas.
SPEAKER_00Oh, there's some crazy trips to Vegas. We'll we'll have to keep that off there. No, there's there's some I used to be uh a big gambler. It's amazing how much how less it I like it. I used to love Vegas. I really did. And we go up and we stayed downtown. You know, we we'd we'd party downtown. Downtown's changed. Uh Vegas has changed. Yeah. You know, there's a reason they're hurting right now, is because they they the big corporations came in and made prices out of their freaking minds. That's ridiculous. You know, you go up. We we went up, I got we got two double vodka Red Bulls. We wanted to start off. It was like $90. Holy crap. For two two drinks. Now, granted, vodka Red Bulls, but still $90 for two drinks. I was like, insane. It was over $100 with tip. I think we just left them $100. They're like, just take it. Yeah, $91 here. You can have the $9 tipping 20% on that ridiculous price.
SPEAKER_02It's so crazy. It's funny because we haven't been to Vegas for gosh, I don't know, a number of years. But my daughter went to school up in Wisconsin, went to college up in Wisconsin, Ashland, Wisconsin. We went up for her graduation. It's like, you guys gotta go check out this bar. And they've got great food, and we're waiting for whatever. So we went over, had dinner, I don't know, two or three drinks apiece, probably. Yeah. They brought us the check, and I'm like, I think you guys forgot to put something on here. I mean, it's like so cheap. Yeah. And it's like everybody's like, yeah, well, that's that's why everybody in Wisconsin drinks so much, because it's cheap. You know, down here, it's like 20 bucks a drink or whatever it is, depending on where you go. Vegas, 90 bucks for two drinks.
SPEAKER_00That's crazy. Yeah, yeah. I mean, Scottsdale is pretty expensive as well. I I I'm out in East Mesa and I I'm a happy hour kind of guy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So you get happy hour prices and whatnot. I mean, I'm in I'm at home at at seven o'clock every single day. Yeah. Usually six o'clock, honestly. You know, and I'll I'll go back and and watch the sunset. And uh I I'm trying to get more into nature and appreciation and and gratitude and that sort of thing. Slow down a little bit. Yeah, and and so I'm I'm home 90% of the day is by six o'clock. And and I enjoy it. I enjoy my house. I I I just built a new house and and moved into it, and it's you know, the sunsets from there are just amazing. And I I just love it. And what's crazy is there there's there's a deer, family of deer in my subdivision. Oh, no kidding. I had never seen deer in in the valley before.
SPEAKER_02I haven't either.
SPEAKER_00And I mean, you talk it was a big bull with a whole big rack. I mean, no kidding. It was insane.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and then there was a big doe like three days later, like right in front of my house. And I'm like, this is amazing. So I've been go, I've been going out looking every night. I feel like Tony Soprano with the ducks. Yeah. You know how he has the ducks and you watch the Sopranos or whatever? Yeah. I find myself a true appreciation for nature all of a sudden. And yeah, I went up to Banff earlier this year, and Banff, Canada. I don't know if you've ever been there. Yep. Absolutely gorgeous. I mean, some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, the mountains and everything else. And yeah, it was it was really, really nice there.
SPEAKER_02My I was just my parents are northeastern Washington, like literally right up against the border of most Canada. And uh my little hometown, small little tiny, I think it's like 5,000 people in my hometown. But yeah, driving through town, there's deer walking through the road. It's like you just gotta stop, yeah, let them go. You know, turkeys is like down here, you never see anything.
SPEAKER_00No, no, you I see them all the time up and pacing in my cabin. Yeah, but I I you know down here I'd never seen a deer before. I heard that there's deer, you know, in like Carefree and out in Gold Canyon. There's you know, they have a little bit of the higher elevations out there by the mountains, but I'd never seen them down here.
SPEAKER_02Do you get any javelina or anything? Oh, tons of javelina. Oh yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00See them I've seen a mountain lion. Oh, really? Oh yeah, wow, yeah. I thought it was a coyote at first. I'm like, that's one big coyote. Uh-huh. And then he turned around and I saw the face, and I'm like, oh, that's no coyote. And the muscles on those things are just incredible. Every step you just see the muscles and everything. Don't let the dogs out. No, no. Heck for the dogs.
SPEAKER_02Don't I was scared? Yeah. Yeah. Like ready. If if somebody was looking to get into your industry, what what advice would you give them?
SPEAKER_00Go go work for somebody. Go go mentor, go, go help somebody, do, do, work for somebody that is is knowledgeable in the business and and can help mentor you because or be an assistant or work for them or do something. Because this is a really hard, hard business to be in. Buying, fixing, flipping homes, being a realtor. You know, there's a lot of people that go get their real estate license, and they're like, okay, well, now what? Who are you going to sell a home to? You know, you got your your family and friends, and what if they don't want to buy a home at the moment? And how are you going to get clients? So you you got to be able to, you know, figure that out and and and grow your your network. You know, get a get a good CRM and uh and start growing your network and start reaching out to people on a monthly basis or whatever, you know, telling everybody, hey, this is what I'm doing right now. Put your stuff on social media, you know, hey, anyone looking to buy a house, this is what I'm doing. Put some funny videos on there. Do whatever you got to do to to get yourself in front of people so that you can get business.
SPEAKER_02Nice. Great advice. Real quick before I let you go, any crazy stories with regards to houses you've either picked up or sold that you can share? Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00I I mean within a few minutes. I have a yeah, no, no, there's there's there's a lot of lot of crazy stories. Uh yeah, I told a little bit about the scams, but let me see. Okay, I get you. I got one. So back in the day, I bought a a trustee sale and went went down. We had a receipt for the the home, but you don't get you don't get the the actual title for like 10 days. So we went down, bought it, paid for it. I called a locksmith, they couldn't get out until until the next day. So I'm like, I'm gonna go try to break in myself. So I went out there and uh I'm you know try checking windows and I I get the I get the back door open. Well, as I as I'm walking in the back door, the cops jumped over the wall and I'm at gunpoint. No, it was one of the neighbors saw that I was like, Oh no, I've never been more scared in my life, man. I'm sitting there with my arms. I bought the house, it's my house, it's my house, I bought a house, I got my heads in the air. Oh my god. Guns pointed at me, I'm like, oh my lord. I'm on my face, I'm on my face. He says, Oh my god. I'm like, you know, the the good thing is, you know, I had a Mercedes out front, so they probably Yeah, they figure somebody trying to steal this house is not or rob this house is not gonna drive Mercedes. So I went out and got uh got the receipt, showed them, and they're like, Oh man, this is so cool. You go, can we see the inside? I'm like, what do you mean? I'm like, do you you know whose house you just bought? I'm like, no. He's like, this guy, he dug a pit inside his living room, and like Silence of the Lamb style, like all the way, like a five-foot pitch, eight feet down through the foundation. And he was trying to kidnap one of the girls on the street that would walk to the bus stop, and he wanted to throw her in the pit and kill her. Oh my god. And he had written all this crazy like stuff all over the house and all out in front, and he made the carport look like a heart, and he was just mentally disabled and and like crazy wanted to. No kidding. Yeah, and so he was in jail, and that's why it went to foreclosure. And I walked in and saw this pit and saw all this like love letters to this girl who was like eight. No, and um it was gross. And so I immediately sold the house to somebody to somebody else for exactly. Yeah, I'm like, here you you'd take this one on. I didn't want to be part of that. I I didn't it was too, it gave me goosebumps.
SPEAKER_02But well, with three daughters, I mean I can only imagine. I mean, I don't know if you had them at that time, but yep, that would be that'd be too much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was it it was it was gross. It was gross. But but just seeing that that pit, like that's where he was gonna keep her. Like you he had this whole thing, I mean, all in the concrete, it was whatever, and uh on the like markers everywhere in the house. He had just all these love stories too. They're trying to keep us apart, we are meant to be together. She's eight years old. Oh my god. Insane. That's the that's the craziest, most disturbing one.
SPEAKER_02That's yeah, that would I mean that would haunt me for a long time. Yeah. I mean, obviously you remember it, but I'm just like, that's crazy. Yeah, then then that's crazy.
SPEAKER_00Dead bodies ones are always really hard to I I went into a house with uh they didn't find them for two months, and uh and that the smell of those were like I can smell it right now, just talking about it, like it just comes right back to you.
SPEAKER_02It's just we did a my ex-wife worked for uh a guy who was a tax lean, he bought stuff like that, and we ended up buying one house from him one time, and would have done it more, she just didn't like the whole process, she didn't like the thought of it, but it was a hoarder's house. Yeah, and we went in and the toilets obviously hadn't been working for a really long time, so it was all feces everywhere. It was pretty nasty.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, we get I get those as well.
SPEAKER_02A lot of work.
SPEAKER_00I get those as well. Yep, yep, yep.
SPEAKER_02So, anyways, well, hey, I really appreciate you coming on too. It's been a pleasure. Yeah, it's been good getting to know you a little bit. Yeah, and uh yeah, we'll I'll look forward to the next time we get to sit down and chat.
SPEAKER_00Alright, sounds good, brother. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Alright. Oh, you know what? Almost forgot. Everybody comes on gets a gift. Alright. I have one for you. So we got a challenge coin or ball marker, depending if you want to take it on the golf course. Yeah. It's a little above and beyond coin. Nice. And then we've got a glass similar to the one that you're using right now, but uh, it's got your name. Let's see. Roxy would say it is etched in the glass. Etched in the glass. Or no, engraved in the glass. Anyways, Rox Inc. Calligraphy does all the glasses for me. Oh, very nice. So we have those done for special for the guests.
SPEAKER_00So I appreciate you coming on. Oh, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah. I will definitely be using this probably tonight. Awesome. There you go. Perfect. Well, thank you very much. Thank you. This is Doug Hopkins, and I went above and beyond.
SPEAKER_04Real deals, authentic connections, the kind that heels from. We're going above and beyond. Reaching new high networking realms. Scaling the high from mixed start to gold. Our spirit united. APN is the beacon, our guiding light. So here's the APN where dreams alight. In every connection, a chance to shine. Above and beyond will always drive. In APN's network, we truly thrive.
