Thinking About Moving in Retirement? What No One Tells You

What should you consider before making a move in retirement?

In this episode of Real Estate Connections, host Mary Foerster sits down with Frank Menard, a real estate professional, coach, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, to talk about the real-life decisions behind relocating later in life.

Frank shares his personal experience moving from New Hampshire to Florida and then relocating again within Florida, offering insights into what worked, what didn’t, and what he would do differently.

This conversation goes beyond logistics. It explores lifestyle, purpose, community, and the emotional and practical factors that come into play when making a major move in your 60s and 70s.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

• What to consider before making a geographic move in retirement
 • Why visiting and testing a community before moving matters
 • How weather, natural risks, and environment impact long-term decisions
 • The role of community, lifestyle, and daily activity
 • Why retirement can create unexpected challenges in identity and purpose
 • What to think about when downsizing your home
 • Why having an exit strategy is critical
 • How to evaluate real estate professionals before hiring them
 • The difference between a real estate agent and a true advisor

Guest: Frank Menard

Frank Menard is a real estate advisor, personal development coach, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served 22 years as a Master Sergeant. With decades of experience in real estate and coaching, Frank helps individuals make confident, informed decisions in both business and life.

He is a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with the Napoleon Hill Institute and a member of the John Maxwell Team. Frank is also actively involved in supporting veterans through Mission 22 and leads coaching initiatives focused on helping men find purpose and direction, especially in later stages of life.

Connect with Frank Menard

Mission 22
 https://mission22.org/

Schedule a Discovery Call
 https://calendly.com/themenardteam/professional-development?month=2026-04

This episode is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Real Estate Connections Podcast. And today we get to visit with Frank Menard. I've known Frank Menard for probably about seven or eight years. He is a real estate coach, but he's also called a success coach. Frank is in Florida. He originally from New Hampshire, former Marine that you'll always hear because they always tell you, which is really what they're proud of. And Frank is somebody I know who is very committed to personal growth, personal and professional growth. And I met him as a coach for me when I moved from Northern Virginia, an active solo realtor to Massachusetts, where I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing in real estate. So he is a John Maxwell trainee. He has trained for Brian Buffini's work and organization. He is in a success coach and teaches a success course, the 17 principles of success for the Napoleon Hill Institute. And those are just a few of the things. But today we're going to be talking somewhat more personally with him. And he and Carol have made a decision to move in retirement. And I asked him because it's good fitting into this kind of theme of, okay, people are heading into retirement. You're planning about it, you're thinking about it. Here are my unique circumstances. So we're exploring his unique circumstances and why he and Carol made a move. First, they made a move from New Hampshire to Florida that you'll hear about, but then they made a move within Florida. And what are the factors that people should take into consideration? And the other part that we were talking about, and subsequently, any advice that he has for people to really think about what is important and particularly do you have an exit strategy? What does that mean? Do you have a plan to follow up on when you're in your retirement community and it's not working anymore? And it could be working because of health reasons, family, whatever. That was the second part. And lastly, you know what I think is just fascinating about Frank is he has combined in his just persona, this whole um being a coach and and being a realtor, a real realtor professional. He's actually a broker. And what he thinks people need in terms of qualities to look for in your realtor, your real estate professionals, and then how he uniquely can be of help. And because of the goodness of his heart, he doesn't charge. He is just a gift. He is a gift to the world. So let's meet Frank Menard. Welcome to Real Estate Connections Podcast, where relationships open doors. I'm Mary Forester, and housing is a universal need. We are often thinking about our existing housing, our future housing, that possibly of family members. This is where you're going to hear the issues and the people who are working the issues every day. Please hit subscribe and like if you find this podcast helpful to you. Thank you. Well, welcome to Real Estate Connections Podcast. And today we are going to have a lot of fun because the person I'm talking to is a lot of fun. I met Frank Menard, the most amazing person dedicated to a lot of personal growth, unbelievable personal and professional growth. I met him when I moved from Virginia to Massachusetts, and I didn't know how to be a realtor up there. And he got me going. He got me, he I could coach me for almost three years and was so wonderful. Just a terrific coach in many aspects of business, not just real estate. So, but today I'm going to have a great conversation with Frank because he just made a big move. And his big move is going to be instructive, I hope, to you, my listeners, or to your families. That will be really, really helpful. So this is Frank Bernard, retired Master Sergeant.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Retired Master Sergeant, United States Marine Corps.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

And Marine Corps, and still very active in the Marine community. So Frank, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Thank you, Mary. It's great to be here with you. And it's it's it's wonderful to call you my friend.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Oh, I I'm honored. I'm honored. So Frank and I are not so far apart. He is hailing originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, which is about 15 miles from me right now. And we do a lot of shopping up there. But Frank, you just made a move from Port Charlotte area, which is, I guess, between Tampa and Naples, right? On the West Coast. And you just moved into Central Florida. A big, big move. And you certainly are not retired, but somebody might think you are retired, um, but of the retirement age, and and your wife, Carol. And so I'd love you to talk about what went into the decision. What did it take? What did it take for you to, you know, I assume you sold Port Charlotte, a move into where you are right now? Um, is there any looking back? So let's start with kind of what precipitated the move, because you had been here a while and what you've learned from it.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Yeah, yeah, no, great, great question, Mary. You know, I I think it it's probably also helpful to let the uh the listener know, uh, you know, I've made a lot of moves, a lot of moves in my life. So I had 22 years of the Marine Corps. So making moves is not something new. Uh the new part was we got to make the decision, right? Typically in the Marine Corps, they they made the decision, they being the Marines, and uh, and we just kind of went where they told us we had to go. Uh, but the moving process itself uh pretty much is very, very similar. Uh, you're typically going to an area that you don't know a lot about. Uh, you uh are hoping to connect with someone that can help you that you can trust. Hopefully it'll be by referral of some type. Uh, but in regard to Carol and I, so we moved from New Hampshire to Port Charlotte, Florida, uh, which is just outside of a town most people would know, probably uh Pontagorda, which is more of a touristy. So we're kind of like the bedroom community of Pontagorta. If you can have a bedroom community in Southwest Florida, and uh and we made that move um quite spontaneously. I remember waking up one morning in New Hampshire. It was about 3 a.m. It was cold, dark, dingy, seven feet of snow on the ground. I think it was the end of February. Oh, New Hampshire, yes, right. Exactly in New Hampshire. And and uh and and we woke up and uh and and I just said to Carol, I said, you know, we need to get out of here. Right? We had empty nested, both our kids were were out of college and on their own. And so we made a move in 2015 to Port Charlotte with the intent to just look. We were just gonna look. And I think this happens with a lot of folks. You know, you go down and check out an area, you know, Florida's a great place, it's warm all the time, and you think about all those good things, and uh and then you get there. So we we we went down and shopped for a weekend. Uh I stayed with a friend, a childhood friend of mine who had lived in Florida for 15 years, and um we uh we saw a house that we liked and we did what you're not supposed to do. We made an offer and bought it. Okay, so so I honestly no buyer's remorse. The the home we purchased in Port Island was beautiful, it was 2100 square feet, didn't meet what we wanted. We were supposed to be downsizing, we were about the same. Yeah, it was a single level, it was on a beautiful uh they called it a lake, we called it a pond, uh, but it seemed like it was in a nice neighborhood. And uh and so we we made the move and we loved it until the first hurricane came. So, you know, one of the things I would always suggest to clients that I work with today is before you make a move, make sure you check out everything. What's the weather like? What's you know, what have they dealt with over the last 10 years? And if I'm being completely honest, if we had done that, it wouldn't have scared us because the last hurricane was like 2004, but back then, and that was uh Hurricane Charlie, which was disastrous. It it really demolished the entire area, but there was nothing for over 10 years. Right. So who would be scared, right? So we weren't scared. We're Marines, you know. My wife's a Marine as well, so you know, we we packed up the bags, hopped in the truck, and down we go. And uh, and and during my 10-year stay in Port Charlotte, uh, we had uh three hurricanes, no, excuse me, four hurricanes, three tropical storms. And uh fortunately, we didn't have uh personally a lot of damage, but one of the storms got way too close. Uh my street was uh there were several houses on my street that had been demolished, and and so um my wife looked at me and she said, I think it might be time for us to go inland. And so we made a decision. Uh, we had a good friend of ours who we worked with in real estate. We were both real estate agents in New Hampshire. I think that's important for everybody to know. So it's not like we're new to real estate, we we do this all the time. And uh and we had a friend of ours who uh who sold real estate with us in New Hampshire, and uh she became uh she had moved to Florida before us, and she was a real estate agent at a place called the Villages, which is uh from what I understand, it's the largest real estate uh excuse me, the largest retirement community in the world. And so it's a pretty cool place, and we'd been there several times, not with any intent to move there, but it was a nice place to visit, kind of like Disneyland for senior citizens. And uh, and so uh we started talking seriously with Pat. Uh, we got a few tours through the villages, we found a place that we liked, and so we decided to make the move. Uh so yes, we put our home for sale in Port Charlotte, uh, which, if I'm being completely honest here, uh, even with 25 years, actually, my wife had over 40 years of experience in real estate. I had 25 years, 65 years, yes. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And uh, and it was the worst transaction that we had ever experienced. You know, uh bad buyers, unqualified buyers, buyers would tell you one thing, then something else comes up. And of course, we thought we were doing everything correctly, and it seemed like every time we did something, the shoe fell and something else would fall apart.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

And it wasn't like you were inexperienced in not doing real estate because you were so in the thick of real estate, yeah. And you still feel that way. I I'm pleased to hear that because I had the same experience, the very same experience. Yes, sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

And you know, I actually had a one of my prime one of my clients from New Hampshire, uh, I'd sold them two homes, and last home was probably 15, 20 years ago, and they were thinking about making a move. And he had become a realtor in the meantime. He actually worked for a friend of mine up in New Hampshire, and uh and it wasn't for him, so we got out of the business. And he asked me, he said, Frank, what do you think about for sale by owner? And I said, Dave, let me tell you something. And I shared my experience in my own personal sale in Port Charlotte. I said, even with all the experience I had, it was the most challenging. The markets have changed, things have changed in our world. That it's always in my mind something, it's nice to have somebody to talk with. Yes, maybe an advisor on the side to just kind of say, Hey, you know what? Let's cut, let's, let's chop the emotions for a minute. Let's make sure that we check all the boxes to what you're trying to do and how we're going to accomplish it. So, you know, just like just like financial advisors. You wouldn't make a big investment in the market without going to someone who was a professional. So I feel that even as an experienced real estate agent, a real estate broker, so I've been a broker now for 23 years. I was been an agent for 25 years. I still carry an active license. So I still know what I'm doing. I still keep my feet in the water, my fingers are in the pie. Uh, but things can happen. And so that move from Port Charlotte to the villages, Florida, was an exciting move to say the least.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Oh, I'm my heart is just feeling for you because I had an agent, and uh and the buyer who bought our house was represented by an agent in my office. I tell you, I had a range of emotions that I never expected to have, ever, ever, ever. So you were a FISBO for sale by owner, but uh but you know, clearly many agents sell their own property. You know, clear that's that's not new. That's that's that's real. Okay, so you've moved, you've made this move other than check the weather. Um you know, so what what else would you say to somebody uh who is thinking about making, let's say, a geographic move? Obviously, your friend uh has consulted with you too. What else? What else would be good advice?

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Yeah, I think um, you know, now I've been we've been in the villages now, so it looks like nine months. So we've been here nine months now. So so in hindsight, yeah, it's amazing how quickly it goes. Yeah. In hindsight looking back, so what are the things that we could have checked uh that might have been helpful if we had someone on the sidelines just there to answer our questions? Um what are the amenities? What are the association fees? What what gets with the fees that you what do you get with the fees that you pay to live here? Um how how active is the community? Um is everything really as free as they say it is, right? Uh and so there are always some inside questions. And I think I think it's safe to say you'll never be able to ask all the questions because you really don't know till you get there. Um this this move for my wife can be completely completely authentic, she loves it. Absolutely loves it here. She's fallen right into the community, she plays mahjong, she's got her own little groups, she you know, she's at the gym six days a week, she goes line dancing and all. So Carol is in Carol's dreamland. Yep. Uh Frank was it's a little bit different for me. Uh, you know, I've always been very active with work. My wife and I were just having a conversation this morning. You know, why is it so challenging to build a community? And you know, yeah, I I I am retired, but I'm not retired. I'm still very active with the things that I do, but it's not something that's very active within my community. So typically, especially if you're getting ready to retire, uh, when you retire, you realize that a lot of your friends that you had were work-related, career-related, profession-related. And so when you step out of that zone and you go into an entirely new world and you're technically retired, um, it's different. And I think uh I I do I do a lot of research with I do a lot, I'm also a coach, you know, so I do a lot of work with men who uh are maybe challenged finding their new purpose because our purpose for 40, 50, 60 years has been XYZ, and now that's no longer there, right? So uh so I would visit the community multiple times. Uh someplace like the villages, they allow you. You can come in, you can rent a place for a week, you can do all kinds of stuff, really act like you live here. Uh, a lot of the places here do go up for rent for temporary rentals. So you could I would recommend if there's a way for you to test it out, go test it out.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

Wherever your community is that you're headed. I think that's a great idea. So, you know, somebody could be moving to Buffalo because they their kids are there. And there's, you know, moving because of proximity to children is a really big deal. But as you say, you know, five months of snow, um, like lake effect snow, uh, I I don't know that I could handle anything like that. So that's a that's an extreme example. Or what we're seeing a lot now across the states is drought and and uh fires and things like that. So did your children play a role in your decision at all? Because I know that as people are retiring, they are often conferring with their kids. We're thinking of moving, what do you think about, et cetera? Um, did it was that your experience?

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah, um fortunately, I mean, both my and I have two adult children. Uh I have a son who lives in Chicago, and a daughter who currently lives in Newport News, but she's a military spouse as well. So they're getting ready to make a move over to Pensacola, Florida. So they really didn't come too much into play. You know, the world is small today. Uh, I would never advise anyone to move to follow their children unless that's something they really want to do. Uh and especially if they're in the military, because they're not going to be there that long. You're still going to be there, and I'm going to move somewhere else. You know, so it's it's have conversations, let them know what you're doing. Um, yeah, I don't want my my daughter to come back to what she thought was her home and some neighbors or somebody's living in the house, and it's not us, we're somewhere else. So uh definitely have that conversation, but it didn't come into play too much for us, aside from being somewhere where we could at least fly to relatively quickly. Right. So we have an eight-year-old granddaughter who wanted to be able to take part in some of the things that she's doing. And uh and the world is very small today. You can fly pretty quickly to anywhere that you want. Um, so as long as you have the means to do it, why not? So just check out, check out and see how that's gonna affect you.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

So the other point thing thing you made, the point you made was affordability. So know what you're buying. Um, you know, is it a whole package? Is it the package that you want? Um, or maybe in your case, it's the perfect package for Carol, but it may not be the perfect package for you and or yet, or yet even. So oh that is fantastic. Also, I love your insight about people whose careers have been paramount, and I felt that way as well. My career was paramount in DC, Northern Virginia. And when I moved up to Massachusetts, I was like, now what am I supposed to do? You know, and you know, so so that was that transition came harder for me, I think, than my husband, and then it came for my husband. Do you and Carol? This is a personal question you can answer or not, or answer it generally. Um, do you and Carol have an exit strategy? You know, have you planned yet for if one of you is incapacitated or your family is going to require you to move to Chicago? Or have you have you talked about that at all?

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Um, you know, I I'm gonna say yes. We we've certainly talked about that, you know. But but I think probably in a way different than a lot of folks. We're very fortunate. You know, I I retired from 22 years in the military, uh, so I have a retirement income from there. Uh I am collecting Social Security, uh, I have a good income there. Uh I still work and make a little money here and there doing the things that I do as a coach. I certainly do don't do as much today for money as I used to do. I'm more focused on trying to help and advise people. You know, the the gray beard wisdom I call it, right? And uh but yeah, we've talked about it. And I think at the end of the day, uh my wife would probably stay here, which is one of the reasons we moved uh to a community. That if something were to happen to me, we don't have a mortgage on our home, you know. So if something were to happen to me, she at least has a roof over her head, she has neighbors nearby. Uh it's it's a really uh close-knit community with really nice people. We've not met anyone here that we haven't liked. Uh that that if something should happen to me, which is not my plan, uh, I plan to be lived to be 100 and make everybody miserable sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

You'll be running four miles a day still. I know you will be. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

I probably will be. Yes. You know, but at the end of the day, if something were to happen to Carol, if I'm being if I'm being honest, and I've said this to Carol, if something were to happen to Carol, I'd probably go back up north. You know, I I I was born and raised in New Hampshire, I love New Hampshire. She hates the cold, and so that keeps me here. Uh but yeah, we've had those discussions. I wouldn't say to the degree that we're, you know, dotting I's and crossing T's and making plans, you know, but at the end of the day, it certainly has been conversation, and we're both comfortable with if something happens to the other, we have a plan. We know what we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Right. And I've heard different people, I I mean I'm encountering a number of people, primarily women, um in midlife, who are suddenly having to fly to another state, help one parent sell the house, and kind of we're using the concept of partnership. The the child or the responsible child being in partnership with the parent who might be well, um, to take care of the ailing parent, work with the realtors and the other providers locally, um, but be in partnership with with the spouse who who hopefully is still well. Um, and so I'm talking a lot with them about those transitions. And it seems, Frank, there's a need for helping people in in that situation. Um, not only have you not sold your uh a home yet yourself or in a long, long time, you're not having to go into another state and find those resources there. So I'm curious about whether you observe that yet in the villages. Have you run into people like that yet who, you know, are not I I ran into somebody this weekend when I was in North Carolina and no heirs, no heirs whatsoever, you know, and very becoming more and more complicated.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Mary, absolutely. I I I think life is complicated, first off, right? Life is comp complicated and and that's why it's really important to uh to check your emotions uh as you're dealing with the things in life i mean emotions some sometimes cause us to make decisions uh that we wouldn't necessarily make had we given it a little bit more thought right and i have a friend uh who uh is uh is a little older than me i'm 70 years old i think she's 72 maybe and uh and she has children who are very active in her in her business and when i say in her business i mean her personal business right mom what what you plan for this mom what you plan for that and uh and and they envision because of family history and some medical history uh that they could perhaps have to deal with x yz and uh and so if that happens what's what's our plan and of course their plan is for mom to go back there and there would be in nepshire uh and her plan is to stay here in Florida she doesn't want to go back to New Hampshire and uh and so wow I mean all those discussions that you have to have um as you get older and I see that a lot here in the villages what I see in the villages even my short time here living here I see people purchasing homes uh that they thought would work and they're too small too big whatever and so now they're selling that one buying another one I mean it's it's things that I would think that I would have done when I was 30 years old not certainly when I'm 70 years old and so you know you ask questions about what should you look at well can you live in this house I mean we came from a 2100 square foot home to a 1400 square foot home you know a lot of the furniture is not going there uh okay you love your wife you love your husband but can you be that close to them that often and that long right and and so it's uh I think it's really important to check those boxes and just kind of say okay what are my options here you know can I live in a 1400 square foot home or maybe I should look at something over on the lake that's 2,000 square feet and it's a little bit bigger more familiar to what we live in. But then what happens? Well okay so you have a major life crisis and one of you is not here anymore.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Now you've got this big house. And this conversation came up with Carol and I uh well it's not that big of a house we still have three bedrooms two baths it's fine you know but it's tighter and if something happened Carol could certainly live here in our previous home in Port Charlotte Carol said I would not live here if you died. It was too big.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

What was wrong?

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Oh it was too big yes she didn't need all that house she didn't need 2100 square feet and 1100 square foot Lanai and a big pool and everything else she didn't need all that you know so yeah have those conversations because it's easier to have those conversations and make decisions now when you're both of mental capacity and you can make those decisions rather than putting someone in a position where they have to make emotional decisions. Right exactly you know I'm watching a wonderful series right now matter of fact we just watched the the sixth series called the Madison what is that the Madison yes and uh Michelle Pfeiffer is the uh leading role and and my wife and I have watched it over the last week and and it runs along these lines the husband dies in an air airplane accident visiting his brother uh in his uh in Montana so they're in big sky Montana and the husband loves the fly fishing and the outdoors and all this stuff and for years he's been trying to get his family to come and enjoy this but the best he could do was she he was allowed to go for a week's vacation uh to sit on the porch and get drunk with his brother and talk about you know men's men's stuff right men's stuff and and yeah and the brother was it was a pilot and they were piloting a small plane during one of the trips and unfortunately got into stormy weather and they both got killed in an accident so now the wife and the children so that's uh let's see two daughters uh two grandchildren and an ex-husband another so all this stuff is going on and the wife finally goes to Montana and she's burying her husband on the land that he was visiting with his brother because that's what he loved that was his heaven right and but as I'm watching the movie I'm saying oh my gosh we don't know how much time we have exactly we don't and we don't know when it's gonna come you know like that that's just part of the deal we don't know and so if you don't know how can you make decisions how can you plan for it?

SPEAKER_00 26:30

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Yeah exactly so you so you don't so so what you need frankly is you know perhaps uh a friendly advisor a friend a a guide someone who's maybe been down that road before you and that's what I like about where I am in life right now Mary you know I don't know everything for sure I I think I've learned a few things over 70 years and you can appreciate that you know I always look at it so if I look behind me there's somebody behind me five ten years younger than me who's experiencing today what I experienced five or ten years ago. Yes do I know the answer probably not but I can at least share an experience to make them pause just pause and think oh I hadn't thought about that and how much how much value does does that bring to the table for someone right and so so when people are talking about coming to the villages even now somebody say we've been thinking about going there and sure come on down come and visit first yes see if you like it I know you love playing golf do you want to do it six days a week you can you can do six days a week here and you can play golf six days a week here for free free but is that the way you want to spend every day is that what you want to do yes it sounds good when you're thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Yeah yes so you know you and I have um done a whole lot of referring business to people that we seek out who um we try to match a personality type but we we try to we seek out really wonderful professionals so that we can refer people to to them no matter where they live and there are tremendous professionals there's all kinds of certifications now for you know helping people um in their older years pick housing so um audience as you are thinking about this explore look look for realtors ask people who are the best people to deal with and it isn't just who sold the most houses that's never the the right answer the right answer is who is serving you the best and and frank has a you know coached me he he was you know raised and trained in a Buffini environment that was the coaching system that I I used for nine years as I became a realtor and his coaching helped me go back to that and learn that and it's all business by referral do the best job you can do so that your clients will refer you to their friends and family. But now Frank, you are taking it a little step further because I noticed on your bio you are now a trusted real estate advisor. How do you see that kind of fitting in with what you've been coaching all along in your experience as an agent and a broker?

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Yeah yeah thank you Mary that's a great question. Yeah you know it's funny real estate advisor just kind of popped into my head one day. Yeah I said you know I I don't want to list and sell real estate anymore so I don't want to go and show in houses I don't do any of that stuff anymore. And it occurred to me um I guess it was just in March my license came up for renewal and I was tempted not to renew it. And I said why would I why would I renew it I mean I'm not doing it but I still enjoyed being in and around that mix right those people and I said well how could I help someone what's the difference between an advisor and I've actually run into this in some of my marketing trusted real estate advisor oh you're a real estate agent well that's partially true but not the way they see it. They see it as you're gonna buy my house you're you go you can help me sell my house you're gonna help me buy a house whatever and that's the image and and a lot of real estate agents real estate professionals in the industry will use that term real estate advisor but there are some differences um and the differences today it's 2026 we've just come out of probably one of the hottest real estate markets in history and unfortunately when the real estate market is hot real estate agents can sell lots of homes without a lot of experience and effort maybe maybe so uh and I and you brought up uh my friend Brian Baffini even Brian Baffini has made comments in some of his most recent podcasts most real estate agents that anyone who got a real estate license within the let last 11 to 12 years really doesn't know what a real real estate market is right so we don't know you know we're judging someone on how many homes how successful are they are they driving an expensive car they're looking the part blah blah well none of that really has anything to do with selling real estate what does have something to do with selling real estate is first and foremost building relationships. So if you can get a referral to someone if you can get a referral to an agent from someone you know and trust that has done business with this person perfect wonderful I would love it if that happened all the time. Unfortunately most of my military career making a move every three years or so you know I'd end up in a okay you're going to Charleston West Virginia take a dart throw it at the yellow pages and see what real estate agent it hits of five people yeah of the five people in town right exactly that's right exactly so so being an advisor goes it goes a little bit deeper than that and of course markets change you know so when markets change how is that real estate agent succeeding so I actually have seven things that I ask people to look at before they hire a real estate agent. One are they competent with the market so market competence. What do I mean by that? What's their recent transaction history? Do they do business on a daily basis? You know I think about Babe Ruth right big home run hitter and Babe Ruth hit a lot of home runs but a lot of people don't know he was also top of the list for strikeouts. So he was at bat a lot. Right he was at bat a lot and he had a lot of success but he also had a lot of failure because he was doing it all the time this is what he did. Yeah so if you're gonna hire a real estate agent make sure that agent is competent in the market that you're currently in that there they are in fact full-time professionals doing this as a full-time business. You know a lot of folks come into this industry they've got a license but they're they're part-timers and I'm not taking anything away from part-timers some of them are very good but some of them they're just looking to make extra money and they see it from the outside looking in that real estate's an easy way to make money and sometimes it can be other times it's not so much so do they do they know things like you know what's the current days on market? If I'm trying to sell my house how long should I expect to to to wait for that? You know are there are there a lot of comps out there you know do we have a lot of competition if we don't have a lot of competition maybe we'll self after if there's a ton of competition that's going to affect my price you know so do they know the answers to those questions because they're active in the market so that's number one market competence. Number two stability unfortunately in any sales if you don't have a lot of business you'll take whatever business counts and that's because you need to make the money to to pay the bills so if an agent is stable and what I mean by stable when it comes to real estate agents they have a steady flow of business. They've been in business for a while or they know a lot of people unfortunately they're getting a lot of referrals because they're good they're good agents from that regard they're not just gonna show you houses and then try to push you to buy it. Right. They're gonna give you advice there's that word advisor right they're gonna advise you either for or against a purchase based on what they see to serve your best interest as a client not how fast can I get a paycheck not how fast can I get a commission check. So are they stable in their business? Do they have a system uh also are they too busy do they have so much business that they can't communicate well and that's another thing that we look at number three is communication no real estate client should wonder what's going on their real estate professional their advisors should be keeping them abreast of what's going on in their in their business in their transaction they shouldn't have to be making phone calls so they respond on time. If there's a showing they give feedback good clear feedback honest feedback not worried about hurting people's feelings but just hey look this is what the buyers said when they were in the house perhaps we can do something about this how can we help you with that they set proper expectations you know I I need to sell my house and be in Chicago in 30 days in today's market that's probably not going to work it's gonna take a little bit longer to sell the home so setting those proper expectations so that the consumer can actually adjust what they what their plans are how how can they make plans on the other end when they can't even get this end done my daughter's going through a move right now she's under stress she's gonna be moving from Newport News Virginia to Pensacola Florida she got she got a buyer on her house she's working with a great agent this age agent's doing a great job but they bought it sight unseen home inspections for my information only sure fortunately my daughter was raised by two real estate agents you can expect you can expect some questions after the inspection and sure enough just two days ago she received a listed request from the buyer that was just looking for information of we want you to fix this and want you to fix that one well now she's in a situation where she has to make decisions because she's already got a move date to Pensacola right you know so she's not in the best emotional situation to make those decisions you know so her agent's doing a great job helping and that's what you want you want an agent that's going to be able to take some of that pressure off remove some of those emotions and help out so communication is key. Number four strategy does your agent have a strategy to get your home sold are they able to verbalize it and explain it to you this is what we're going to do. I'm remembering back in the days when the market was really really hot really really busy I was in New Hampshire selling real estate I was I listed a home in Massachusetts and I think it is Kingsboro I think I can't remember not important. But so I listed the house people in Kingsboro think it is yes go ahead yeah probably it probably was and and and I'm telling my client look here's what we're gonna do we're gonna list the home for sale on Thursday we're not gonna allow any showings until Saturday during the open house so we're gonna have this buildup of buyers that want to come look we're gonna show the house open house on Saturday and on Sunday and we're not gonna respond to any offers until Monday at 5 p.m that's the plan oh so that there was no doubt what we were going to do. And the plan worked perfectly for that market. We had multiple offers it drove the price up above what we were asking and it was able to support it through an appraisal. But look having that plan and just knowing my agent's got a plan not hey we're gonna throw a sign in the yard and you know within three or four weeks we should have something we'll see what happens no you want us you want an agent that that has uh has a strategy has a plan can can not only verbalize the plan but can execute it or give it to you in writing uh when I was coaching and training real estate agents I was what's your marketing plan what's your plan so when you sit down at the dining room table with an agent give them well with a consumer give them your plan yes and then when they accuse you of not doing your job just take that list back out and say what fuck did I didn't do that I told you I had done right and so so that's important. Negotiation strength you know uh if you go back to the stability aspect if you've got an agent that just needs a paycheck like now how strong are they gonna gonna negotiate for you when it comes to push and shove with that buyer or the seller that you're dealing with so being able to take a strong negotiating position in what's in your best interest not in the interest of the agent but in the interest of the of the client um and of course being a professional you know continuing education in real estate we have to do continuing education to maintain a license so that's a given. Well what else are they doing? You know I remember when uh in 2006 seven and eight when the market took a turn crashed below is the worst real estate market in history well a lot of us became certified distressed property experts we went through special education to be able to handle that part of the new that new part of the business that wasn't there before and so is the agent that you're uh working with are they staying abreast with the times are they learning new technic technology uh computers and uh you know matter port and all these things that we use to to show homes visually are they using that technology are they having professional pictures taken back in the day I get away with taking my own pictures now you gotta have a professional and they gotta have drones and they got to show sunsets and all this stuff right I are they prepared to do the job and then last but not least how about integrity how about integrity right uh do they have examples do they have testimonials you know I do they have testimonials from past clients that that would would would accept a phone call from a potential client say could you tell me what Frank was like what was he like to work with not just something that they typed up on chat GPT and just threw it up there. Somebody if you want to know who Frank is call Mary Forster she'll tell you who Frank is and and I know she'll exactly so and they're transparent about their fees you know what do they charge do they have any conflicts in the trans in the transaction you know wouldn't you love to know if the home that you're looking about looking to buy was actually a Frank's cousin's home and and you know Frank's a real estate agent and you know do you think he might do something for his there's a conflict there. You know and the law says we the the law says we have to identify those conflicts so make sure and are there any limitations you know if I've got to get my home sold in the next 30 to 45 days and Frank's going on vacation for the next two weeks how am I going to be able to get that done right so it's it's it's I guess I'm what I'm saying with all seven of these things that I look at is is it in the best interests of the client? Yes not in the best interests of the or what's comfortable for the real estate agent. So when I go through those seven items uh just to recap real quick uh uh market confidence stability communication strategy negotiation uh excuse me negotiation strength and professionalism uh and integrity do they have all these things put together right great great package terrific package and you your examples are so real uh and you I was having a conversation this weekend in DC with my nephew who has 15 buyers and 11 listings and how can you and more listings at the door you know and how can you live life that way you know and and so it was a very real real discussion um and he knew it he knew it for sure Frank this has been really an awesome discussion I I I so appreciate you and I appreciate what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 41:51

One thing I've been asking my guests is how they give back to the community. And I wonder if you would just take a few minutes and talk about is it project 21? Is it um from the screen core mission mission 22. Mission 22 yes and also what you're doing with men now and focus your focus on mentoring and and counseling men. I I'd love you if you would take a few minutes and just share both of those.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

Sure sure absolutely so let's go with mission 22 first because that was the uh that was uh something I got involved with uh probably five years ago so mission uh unfortunately you know as a veteran uh I know all too well that there are a lot of veterans from all branches of military service uh that have gone through a lot of stress fortunately I never went through wartime stress but unfortunately there are a lot who have and uh the statistics show still today that on average 22 veterans a day commit suicide. Yes and uh and so that that impacted me very close to the heart. I was a recruiter for 20 of my 22 years and so I I feel uh I feel responsible for a lot of the folks who've gone in the military under my hand right and so uh mission 22 is there to help and support uh those with who are involved with traumatic brain injury uh those who have um post-traumatic stress you know how can we help our veterans both male and female alike uh get control of their lives after military service so I've been involved with them for for several years uh I've done uh done many events in in their uh in their stead and um and to this day I support veterans wholeheartedly 100% uh anyone who knows me knows that I'm a proud Marine once a marine always a marine I've got it I've just tattooed on my chest you know the eagle globe and anchor it is what it is uh and so that's that's where my heart really is but then more recently about three years ago I became a certified global coach uh with the Napoleon Hill Institute. Uh those of you who know Napoleon Hill wrote a famous book back in 1937 called excuse me, Think and Grow Rich, where he Displayed 13 success principles, which had now grown into 17 success principles. I have founded an organization called the 17 Club, based on the philosophy as given to us by Napoleon Hill, uh, the science of success. Uh, ironically, those 17 principles parallel almost identical to the 14 leadership characteristics and traits I learned as a United States Marine. Uh, and I also know that we all have trouble today, men and women alike, but I am a man, so I can relate to those. And so I've chosen to uh to support young men uh who are trying to find a way. Uh, not sure which way they're gonna go. Unfortunately, there are a lot of uh a lot of children being raised by single parents, and uh they're they're missing something. I'm not sure what it is, don't know what the answer is, but they're missing something. So can I help there? Um and more recently, because I'm experiencing it myself, as an older man I hate to use the word senior citizen. But you know what? We just went through life working 40, 50, 60 years. We had a purpose, we knew what we had to do, and then suddenly that changes. And I think men my age, some younger, many older, uh, have lost their sense of purpose. Yes. And so I spend a lot of my time in today's day and age. Um, I I have a men's group that meets every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern time via Zoom, and we talk about men's stuff, no women allowed. I love it. But but but the the whole philosophy is based around Napoleon Hill's 17 keys to success.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Terrific. And if you make those public in any way, we'll put them in the show notes. And um, we'll put the the mission 22 in the show notes as well, um, so that people can look into it. So critical. Death by suicide is oh, it's so so difficult. And there are a lot of advocates in my area for for help in that area. So, Frank, awesome as always. We never are at a loss of words. The two of us, we do a really, really good job talking. And I hope that um to our audience that this has been really provocative for you. Um, if you have some questions for Frank, his comment his contact information will be in show notes as well. Feel free to reach out to him. And he is um among many other real estate professionals, can connect you in your area just by making a few phone calls. So do do reach out.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

And Mary, Mary, thank you for that. You know, and here's my my quick message for everyone listening: before you sign, before you sell, before you buy, before you invest, get clarity first. Yes. As an advisor, I help people avoid costing mistakes. And if you're someone who just needs advice, I actually don't charge for that. I get paid in a different way. And it doesn't affect the the buyer or the consumer in any way, shape, or form. And the way I get paid is just by knowing that I help someone make a good decision with solid guidance and advice. No strings attached.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

No strings. So now what you know is under that marine symbol on his chest that's tattooed is this really, really, really big heart. And I've been just blessed to know you and to be a colleague of yours, Frank. Thank you. Have a really super day, and I know we'll be in touch.

SPEAKER_01 47:31

Yes, we will. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Oh, thank you, Frank. Thank you so much for joining us today. And I hope you found this conversation useful to you and your real estate roles. You'll find the contact information for our guests and any links they recommend you have in the show notes. And should we be able to help you identify some strong real estate professionals in your area? Drop us a note at info at real estate connections podcast.com. Thanks again and bye for now.