Are We Really Doing This?
Real estate is wild. Motherhood is wilder. Entrepreneurship? A whole new level. Welcome to Are We Really Doing This?, the unfiltered podcast where top-producing Realtors (and real-life besties) Hazel Emlen and Felicia Mares Villa share what it’s like to juggle deals, diapers, and doing the most… all while keeping it very, very real.
From behind-the-scenes business stories to late-night voice notes turned therapy sessions, Hazel and Fel cover what it means to build something meaningful: in work, in family, and in friendship. If you’ve ever asked yourself “Am I actually doing this?”… you’re not alone.
Are We Really Doing This?
Episode 3: 30+ Years in the Game
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In this episode of Are We Really Doing This?! 🎙️
Fel sits down with two of Arlowe’s most seasoned agents, Carlie and Amber, bringing 30+ years of combined experience.
From how they got started to what actually builds a lasting real estate career, they break down the real keys to success: consistency, relationships, patience, and systems.
If you’re a new agent or want to hear from some of the best, this is the kind of insight that can fast-track your growth 🤍
All right, y'all. We have a very special episode here today because we have two of our most seasoned agents who are both Arlo agents, Amber and Carly, with a combined like over 30 years of experience sitting here at this table. So we just are super excited to have you guys on today, learn more about you. And um, I wanted to start us off with just chatting about like how you actually got started and how long it's been. So if you could just introduce yourself, let us know who you are, how long you've been in the industry, and how you got started.
SPEAKER_00All right. I am Carly Marino. I got started back in 2005, which Damn, that was long time ago. I know it was crazy. Um, so I used to work as a food and beverage coordinator. I did like serving, bartending, and I showed up to my job and the the gates were locked, and they basically filed bankruptcy and closed down. So I was like, what am I gonna do with my life? And my stepmom was like, You should try real estate. I'll buy a house from you. So that's where it started.
SPEAKER_02So you had your first client already, you're right.
SPEAKER_00When you got her like locked in, even though she delayed on me for a while. I was just gonna say, did she buy the house? It took a year or so, but she she did. So that's how I got started.
SPEAKER_01I got started in 2016. I had one daughter in college, I had one getting ready to go to college, and I was like, this is expensive. So um I still had my son at home. He was in junior high. So I needed to here's that word that we all use. I needed to have the flexibility to um, you know, give him all the time and attention that I gave his sisters that he um when they were growing up. So yeah, I got my real estate license and yeah, it's been 10 years.
SPEAKER_02Were you able to do that? Because I feel like a lot of people get into real estate with flexibility in mind and thinking that they're gonna be able to create their own schedules, and then oftentimes we realize we're working evenings, weekends, holidays, and we're on the clock.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I was lucky that he was um older. I feel like it would have been um tougher if he was younger. Um, but because he, you know, had his own social life and had stuff to do. So I felt like that was a little bit easier. I couldn't imagine doing it with youngers. That would be a little overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I can I can chime in there. So I didn't have my daughter until 2015. So there were many years that I was just single, you know, no responsibilities, caring for somebody else's life. And then after I had my daughter in 2015, like things changed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. But you had that decent chunk of time to like really hustle before you had your daughter. Oh, for sure. And then you're figuring out a new balance, right?
SPEAKER_00Yes, definitely. And everything changes like year by year, even now. Like now my daughter's finally able to stay home alone sometime, so I can go show a house for an hour or you know, do what I need to do. So it's kind of like it just everything changes very quickly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, I'm, you know, a new mom, as you guys know. So I'm I appreciate having like all of these more experienced moms around me to to share their insights and like how do we navigate this new thing, right? Like you might be able to hear my baby crying in the background right now, just a little, hi baby. Um, but that's what we do, right? Sometimes we have to take our kids along with us and they get to see kind of the ins and outs of what we do. And um, I don't know if you guys have any like tips for parents out there as they're like navigating and for me, like navigating this new thing of like running a business and a household with a child.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I don't I just think like breathe, take one step at a time because it's like right when you think you have something figured out, it's like boom, something just completely derails that whole plan. So busy and a lot of them seem like basket cases, and I was like, God, I how come they don't have this figured out and now I'm that mom, and I'm like, oh crap, that's me now. I need to like get my stuff together. But um, it can all be done in the the schedule and the flexibility is definitely amazing as long as you can treat your business like a business.
SPEAKER_02It is a a good business for being able to do those things, and especially when you have clients that are just salt of the earth and like down to have your baby there, right? Like when I told my clients that I was pregnant, everybody was just super genuinely excited for me, and that it is kind of nerve-wracking, right? Because you're like, I want them to know that this isn't gonna impact their process at all, that I'm still gonna be there for them. And um, so it's it's it's difficult to manage, but I think with the right people, um, they respect it and appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um I agree.
SPEAKER_02So, Carly, you mentioned a little bit about like being a newer agent, seeing the more experienced agents. I think we all kind of go through that when we get into the business. We're all looking at the more experienced agents, like, wow, how did they get there? How am I gonna get there? Um, and I know it's been a long time since you were a newer agent, but I wanted to ask you guys like what advice you would give to a newer agent now that you guys are in that more experienced role.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I guess for me, I the best advice I would give is just like consistency, figure out kind of like what your niche is and what you want to focus on and just kind of go hard. I would work open houses like every weekend. I mean, I would just show up, be there, try to learn how to be non-salesman-y, if that makes sense, and just like really try to relate to people. And then those relationships that I built like really have carried on throughout my business for you know 20 years now. I still talk to those same people, and then just really focusing on kind of your sphere of influence and don't lose track of those people that already know you and um referrals. That's kind of like my main focus. Like, my whole goal is just I want to work off referrals, and it pays off if you just stay consistent.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And I think that's something that a lot of the Arlo agents have in mind and also in common is that a lot of us we want to focus on building referral-based businesses, right? Something that's sustainable, that we're not like turning and burning random leads, but we're really like taking care of the relationships that we have in hopes that that does become, you know, referral business in the future. And so staying consistent with those clients that you get is hard to do once you're like, you know, at your level where you have like so many different past clients to keep track of. And um, but if you get that down early in the beginning when you're first starting, it makes it a lot easier in the future.
SPEAKER_00Yep, totally. If I want to get my house painted or, you know, whatever, I'm always asking somebody like, have you used somebody that you trust? And it just makes it so much more reassuring to know, okay, so-and-so used this person. I know they did a good job for her. It's kind of like you feel more confident, and that's the same thing as when somebody refers a realtor to somebody, at least they've had a past experience. It's not like you're, you know, just calling some random person that you don't know. So that's definitely helpful.
SPEAKER_02Having somebody referred to you means that they already have some level of trust in you. Totally. And doesn't that make such a different experience when we're working with our clients and they actually like trust us from the get-go, from the very beginning when they first chat, they start chatting with us, they trust us and it makes the process just so much smoother.
SPEAKER_00Kind of just makes you credible right off of the get-go.
SPEAKER_02Amber, how about you? What advice would you give to a newer agent just kind of getting started?
SPEAKER_01I would definitely um say get some systems in place, you know, get your CRM set up, um, get some checklists set up, um, have a lot of patience, um, knowing that um, you know, it could take you know, up to I don't know, three, six months to get a transaction under your belt. Um, utilize um your mentor. Yeah, I would just say get systems in place, have a lot of patience. And same with what Carly had said, open houses, it's a great way to get some leads. It's a great way to learn how to um engage in conversations um and really get to know the market, um, your your local market. Because you're gonna have you're gonna have those, you're gonna have those conversations in open houses and you know, you're gonna, you know, get those random questions about the market. They're gonna say, oh, this house isn't really for us. Is there any open houses, um, other open houses today? So just really get to know the market and learn how to um engage in conversation with people.
SPEAKER_02I love that point because I do feel like open houses have changed a lot over the years, like from when we first got into the business till now. I think it used to be a lot easier to get new business at open houses than it is now. And maybe the goal that new agents should have when they're hosting open houses is not only like how many clients can I pick up, how many contact information can I get, but also how many conversations can I have about real estate, right? Because the more you converse about it, the more comfortable you're gonna feel talking to people about it, guiding them through that process. And it's just really good practice, right, for having those conversations with your potential future clients. Yeah. Um, you mentioned systems. I think that's something that's really important for us to talk about. It's something that um, you know, we try to help our newer Arlo agents get under their belt, is like getting comfortable with their CRM, having those checklists done. And um, it's really important to do that in the beginning, even if you only have like one client, right? Like one lead, run them through the systems that you would normally use because getting used to that early when you only have one client is a lot easier than when you start trying to learn new systems when you have five deals going on at one time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, I still use an Excel spreadsheet, so I'm probably not the best to talk about this. Wait, no, that is I haven't focused on learning that yet.
SPEAKER_02That's a really good point because I think that that happens with a lot of experienced agents. It's like you learn one thing and you just stick with it forever.
SPEAKER_00But if it if it if it works, it's hard to like steer away like once you're so used to something because it's like I worked at a a previous brokerage and it seemed like every couple months we were taking off one system and then moving to a different system. I'm like, well crap, I just learned this and now you want me to do, you know, and then it kept happening. So finally I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna do what works for me. But there's so much new technology, so it is important to kind of figure out, I guess, you know, play with things, see what works. But when it comes down to it, yes, I'm personally old school where I have something that I know how to do, and I just kind of stick with that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but you stick with it and you do it well.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And that's the important part is like any any system as long as you stick with it. But could I be doing it better? I don't know, because I haven't really like got into that yet. But that's my goal for this year. I want to be better with technology. Personal goal.
SPEAKER_02Okay, well, we can hold you accountable for that. Try to force you into it a little bit. Yes, please. Um, and Amber, you mentioned a little bit about mentors, like making sure that you're having you have a mentor, you're you're good with that. Um, tell us a little bit about some of the relationships that you've formed over the years, um, those mentors that you've had, if you've, I don't know, had any relationships that have really changed the trajectory of your business.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, right when I got into the business, I my mentor, um honestly, she was so intimidating to me. Um, but I knew she, I knew she was one of the best in the area. And so um I just was like, okay, this is what I'm gonna do, this is where I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna I'm gonna learn from her. And I honestly learned so much because she was such a go-getter and she was just so honest and so just blunt with everything. Get somebody who you feel comfortable to call and bounce ideas off of. I know I these last few weeks with Carly, we've kind of been bouncing ideas off of each other. Um, obviously, Hazel is a go-to because she is a problem solver. But yeah, I just really like connect with people who I can call, bounce ideas off of, and get true and honest um answers from. But I would say when you get into the industry, build that relationship with a mentor who knows the industry.
SPEAKER_02I love that you're you're talking sort of about like collaboration because that's something that Hazel and I really wanted to place an emphasis on when we built Arlo. And I think both of you guys really have collaborative spirits and and it's in your heart to really help each other out. And I love that you guys have been like connecting more and and doing that for each other because it's just it's so important. And this industry can be really lonely. I think there's a lot of agents out there that struggle with, you know, feeling either incompetent or feeling like alone or not really knowing where to turn to for help. So go out and build those relationships yourself if they're not like at your brokerage, right? Like you it doesn't even have to be within your own brokerage. You can go out and find a mentor from from anywhere. And you kind of touched on an interesting point about your mentor being intimidating because you are not an intimidating person. To me, I like and I mean that like with a lot of respect and love for you, because I think that you're such a warm person that you would make anybody feel comfortable immediately upon talking to you. Um, and that's the beauty of this industry too, is that we can have such different personalities and personas and do just as well as the next person. Um and we can learn from people who are different from us, right? And like kind of um, I don't know, take on some of their like, you know, uh uh bluntness, as you as you said. Like it's it's a good thing to learn from people. Um, Carly, what about you?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's funny you said something. So my first mentor was almost like um I had such a fun time with this person. Like she really kind of took me under her wing, um, taught me a lot about the business, how to talk to people. But then I also learned so many things that I know I want to do completely differently. So it was kind of like um, I feel like everybody's so different. It's just a matter of like, yes, finding somebody that you can learn from, get a mentor, but then also kind of having the mindset that you don't have to do everything that person does, and you can kind of customize and build your own kind of um way you want to do things. But when you're first starting out too, yeah, I mean the mentor is huge. I mean, you have to have like a role model to go off of. And I feel like that's one thing, even though I'm not a newer agent, like Arlo does a great job. Like you guys kind of take somebody, hold their hand, you will walk them through everything. You know, they kind of have systems, everything's kind of right there for you.
SPEAKER_01We want to make our business our own, but we want to make sure that we're doing, you know, the right thing and the best thing for the client. So even if I'm struggling with, you know, pricing a property, um, there's not that many comps, I'll call Carly, I'll call Hazel and say, hey, thoughts on thoughts on this price. This is kind of where I'm going. And I'll take a little bit from what they've said, you know, to feel comfortable with, you know, making my decision. So it's so important to have relationships, to collaborate, to to be real, to, to vent, you know. So um, yeah, that's just it's really, it's really important.
SPEAKER_02Um, and Carly, you you touched on something with our newer agents at Arlo. I think, you know, it's been really enjoyable for Hazel and I to help them and figuring out like how do you actually run this business and what are the steps that you take. And here's different ways that you can say different things. Um, but at the same time, remembering that we also want to give them the confidence to make their own decisions, right? And like now we've come to the point where we've started telling some of the agents, like, well, what would you do? Right? Like, let me hear what you would do first, and then I'll give you some guidance on what I think, how how I think that will play out. Um, because it's really important to like also have that independence, right? And that confidence and like go out on your own and and run your business the way that you think it should be run. And I had a very similar experience to you, Carly, with my mentor. Um, I was like, wow, that is not the way that I would say that. Like, let's see, like he was so smart and such a tough negotiator, and like had all this experience and you know, well respected in the industry. And um, I loved listening to his conversations with his clients because um he just had such a different tone than the way that I would have done it. And it took me a little while to like figure that out, right? And and say, like, and to be honest with myself of like that's not the way that I would have said that, and that's okay, right? Like I would take a slightly different approach. Um, so yeah, running with what your mentor says, but also like having the confidence to do it the way that you think is really the best way. Um, and I think that you do that too, right? Like you're gonna ask other people for their opinion, but then at the end of the day, it's up to you. Totally.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Because there's always there's like not one way to do things either. There's many different ways that you can get to one goal. And all of them could be right. Yeah, exactly. And that's like with my mentor, I learned some bad habits, I'll say. Or, you know, there's not always, you know, just because somebody's a mentor too does not mean that they know everything, do it right, do it ethically, remember things. So it's also important to listen to that little voice in your head too. Like if something doesn't seem right, you know, look into it more.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. There is a little bit of like following your gut, right? Totally. For sure. Yes, yeah. Do you guys ever feel that way with like uh clients too? Like sometimes clients come across your desk and you're have you ever like turned away business based on like you, it's just something in your gut telling you not to take that on.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I have. Especially like the older I got, the more seasoned, the more business I had. It wasn't so much out of desperation. It's kind of like if I get a bad vibe or you know, have a feeling that maybe this isn't worth it, or we don't really have the same, you know, yeah, thought process, then yeah, sometimes it's better just to kind of maybe you're better fit for somebody else. Yeah. The same as clients do to us. You know, I've lost listings before because maybe they didn't like what I had to say, or I had a different, you know, opinion on price. So it kind of goes both ways.
SPEAKER_02Has that gotten easier over the years of like when you don't get the listing?
SPEAKER_00I would say, I mean, I recently had a situation where it was definitely a low blow for me for all the you know the wrong reasons why this person chose the path they decided to go down. So um I wouldn't say it gets easier, it's just kind of like I guess every situation's completely different, but sometimes it hurts, yes. Other times it's like, okay. Was it meant to be? Was it wasn't meant to be, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And that's just the way business goes. And I think right now in this market it's a little more um cutthroat. And some of you, you know, it's just it's just cutthroat. And so some of some of the situations take you off guard a little bit. And you're just like, oh, but it's just you just have to know that that's the business. But I remember I did have a set of buyers who had their heart set on this adorable little house, and we had um some inspections done, and um, you know, her father was a contractor. He came in and he was like, Well, this, this, and this, but my gut was telling me that this was not the house for them. And usually, you know, when that's it's not our decision to make, but I had a conversation with them and I was like, listen, I just I don't think this is the house for you. You're first-time home buyers, you're you're coming in with not a ton of money. I just feel like this house is gonna end up costing you a lot of money. I said, please dive into the inspections. Um, have your dad, you know, help you, you know, look through those. Um, and yeah, two days later they called and they're like, you know what, Amber, we're gonna, we're gonna cancel this. We don't, we don't feel like we can take this on. And then three days later we found them something perfect. So I one time I've told buyers, I don't I don't think I don't think this is the right one for you. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that is such a hard decision to come to as an agent, right? Like we we know that ultimately it's gonna be their decision, but they're also looking to us to guide them. Totally. And they they want your opinion because you've also seen way more inspections and disclosures than they have. You've been in so many other properties than they have.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and a lot of too is just learning how to you don't have to tell people everything they want to hear. And that was my mindset for a long time. I just felt like, okay, if somebody says that this is what they want, I need to agree with it and just, you know, go along with it, even if I wasn't confident in that. And that's something that has got easier. You know, I have more of a voice the more experience you have. You know, recently I had a client who wanted to sell his house for over a hundred thousand more dollars than what the research and the comp showed. And instead of me just agreeing, I kind of, you know, spoke up a little bit and explained why maybe that didn't make sense. And it ended up really offending this person. They got so upset with me about it. And, you know, I was just disclosing the facts. So sometimes you have to have those difficult conversations, just kind of keep it real, and then they can decide what they want to do, but you don't always have to people please, you know. As realtors, too, we don't necessarily want to be spinning our wheels too much and spending all this money and and doing all these things fighting for something that is completely unrealistic as well. So it's kind of like a, you know, double edged. Make that pros and cons list and really kind of, you know, play Tetris with it.
SPEAKER_02We have to be like honest with ourselves and with our clients, right? And yeah, we don't control the data, we don't make the data. Right. We we only analyze it and we can only do so much. Totally.
SPEAKER_00We're not magic. Yeah. Yeah. And I think like as realtors too, like our job is disclose all the facts, educate you, show you, you know, everything that there is with the situation, and then let them make the best choice that works for them. But you know, sometimes it's a struggle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I'm sure you've seen a lot over the last, you know, decade or two that you guys have been in the industry. What is some of the wildest experiences you've had? Amber? I'll let Amber sneak on that because Amber, you want to start us off?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I actually had to um narrow this down probably because you have a lot of wild stories. Yeah, yeah. I had um I had um the buyers, I was representing the buyers on a property, and they were unable to attend the inspections with their work schedules. So I attended the inspections, and then the plan was to meet on a weekend morning at the property to go over the inspections, and then that way I could walk them through the house and like show them some of the things that the home inspectors, you know, pointed out. I got there a little bit before them, and um I unlocked the door with the lockbox. I opened the door and um was a little taken aback because there was a man and a woman doing the deed on the living room floor. And I froze and I said, You can't be here. And then I slammed the door. I got in my car and I wanted to drive around the corner because I didn't want them to like see me. Um, I called my broker and he was like, Well, you should probably call the police. So I called the police, and um, long story short, they had broken in. They it looked like they had um set up like a little maybe squatter situation. Um, but um yeah, so then my clients came. You know, the police are out front and they're like, what's going on? So I told them and I was like, I think I think you can totally back out if you want. You have the option to back out, you don't have to move forward. Um, but we I contacted the listing agent and I told her what happened. Um, the sellers were um able to come in and fix, you know, some of the repairs made from the break-in and whatnot. Um and the buyers ended up moving forward. Um, our guests never returned. Um so yeah, that was probably that was probably the wildest thing that I have ever seen. And you, you know, you go in and you see some crazy houses, you see some, you know, hoarder houses, and you see crazy things, but this was something that I was just like You don't see that every day. Yeah, yeah, you don't you don't see that every day. It's got a free show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A free show that I didn't want to attend.
SPEAKER_02I'm actually really glad that your clients weren't there yet, though.
SPEAKER_01I think it would have been worse that the clients had to be back visible for them to but I literally like I said, you guys can totally back out, you can totally back out. But no, they um the the listing agent, the sellers were great with um that's great, you know, fixing some of the things there. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And even I mean, the wildest experiences can be easy to navigate if you have an agent on the other side willing to work with you through it, if all the clients are on board with working through it, right? But yeah, that's a wild one. Yeah. So I recently just had my first short sale transaction and it took eight months to close. And we don't see a lot of those anymore. But I know Carly, when you first got started in the industry, I think there was a ton of short sales. Oh, that was the 10.
SPEAKER_00That was like the whole market. If there was one house that was not a short sale, it was like, oh my gosh, this is so crazy. So yeah, it was uh crazy times back then. And that were they lasting as long as eight months, or what would that be? Oh gosh, I I would feel like the sometimes short sales would last 10, 11, a year. I mean, it would be go on for a long time, and it wasn't necessarily like those same buyers sticking around. You could keep the short sale going, but go through, you know, two or three buyers by the time the approval actually came in, then you would have to take more time modifying that approval because maybe the buyers changed or or whatever. But um, yeah, it was a lot to navigate, uh especially just the short sale does not mean like it's a short time that it's gonna take to sell the house, it means the bank is being shorted, so they sure take their sweet time. There's no urgency at all.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. That's a that's a good way to think about it. The bank is being shorted.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that was kind of my spiel, I think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And you know, today's agents, I don't think like a lot of us have experience with with short sales because it's not as common these days. Um, but if that continues to like uptick and we see a lot more of that in the market, we'll probably have you teach like a little short sale class or something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I could tell some stuff. That was one thing it was like in that market, that's what you had to kind of grasp onto and learn and be able to maneuver around because they were tricky. And some of them never like you just never knew what what the banks were gonna say. And it was so I just don't even understand the thinking with some of them. I, you know, I had one where, you know, the people, and usually they had to be at least 60, 90 days past due on their mortgage payment before they would be, you know, able to even proceed with the short sale request. Um, but I had a bank on one of them, you know, the people were three, four, five, six months behind on their payments, finally came back and said, yes, we will approve the short sale, and we're also gonna pay you $20,000 to leave. And my clients were like, What? Like, is this serious? And it it was. The bank actually ended up paying them to go when they already said they wanted to leave and short sale the house. So it was just kind of like these crazy things would always come up, and it was like, right when you thought you had it figured out, then boom, something else would change or a you know, a bank would say something.
SPEAKER_02So I honestly think that's a good market to like cut your teeth in in this industry because it probably taught you how to be flexible.
SPEAKER_00Oh, totally, yes.
SPEAKER_02Way more than I think a lot of the agents who got in during the pandemic when the market was really hot. I think it's a struggle for them right now because they they were used to a market where things just sold super quickly and you were getting clients left and right, right? And now it's a little bit more challenging, things are taking a little bit longer. We have to market the property a little bit longer, a little bit harder. Exactly. What are some of those changes that you guys are seeing in the market right now?
SPEAKER_00I mean, it's kind of like what you just so I started around two in 2005, and that's when I would literally sit at an open house. People would just swarm in. I want to buy this house. I would do floor time in the office. Back then we had floor time where you, you know, have a designated time. You sit in the office, you would take any phone calls that come in. I would just sit there. No, no other agents wanted to do floor time. I was kind of like the newer agent, just young and hungry. I would just sit there and the phone would ring and I'd be like, okay, I'll show you the house. Go write an offer. And I feel like back in 2021, it was like the same thing where people were just like, I want this house. They would, you know, throw down on it. There was no, you know, really like delay in things. It moved so fast, and now things have changed. So now it's different. Now you have to go out there and put yourself and you know, capture new leads.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. I'm well, when I I started 2016, so obviously 2016, 2022, it was crazy. I remember um even having buyers in 2021. And gosh, I feel like if you were a VA buyer, you just didn't get anything. Like I had these one clients, and and some of my clients were like, all right, we're just gonna take a break. We've lost out on like six houses because we can't go 50,000 over asking, we're just gonna take a break. I had these one clients, they just stuck it through seven, eight offers of just not getting, you know, accepted. And then finally we got one and we were just so excited. And we got one and we didn't really have to do anything crazy. I their their terms were tight. Um the one thing that I would not do in 2021 is I would not um do um full contingency release with an offer. That is one thing I told my clients. I I said I will not do that. We will have contingencies, and um some of our offers we didn't get because of that, but um I just I just felt like I had to protect my buyers and very, very confident to do that. Yeah, but um, yeah, now it's um it's very different. Like Carly said, you have to be strategic with you know your listings. Um, you have to be patient, you have to let your sellers know, hey, um average days on market could be upwards of like 54 days. Um it's just very, very different. And this is my first, I would say slower market navigating where it's probably what your second or third, probably third, fourth. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, everything's just in a you know, wave a roller coaster. So it's just a matter of hanging on and going for that ride because it's gets you know crazy. Yeah. Okay, so you two are both old. Amber's older.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so like when we joined Forces and we told you guys about like we're gonna have all this tech and we're gonna start doing all this video content and we're starting a podcast, uh, Carly, you were like a deer in headlights. You were like, please do not make the be on camera. But now look at you guys. Amber's like constantly filming TikToks and reels, and you and your wife stuff have been like all over Instagram. So I want to know like more about that. How comfortable are you guys now with technology and with being on camera?
SPEAKER_00I am not comfortable, but you do it anyway. I feel like, you know, right when the camera turns on, I'm just like, I act like a completely different person. So I'm trying to ease up and show my personality more and not focus on Josh and his camera. Um, but man, social media is like, I remember when Facebook first came out, it was like, okay, I'm gonna try Facebook, but before that was MySpace. I don't know if anybody was on MySpace. It was like that was a thing. And then you were like, oh gosh, Facebook is so this is.
SPEAKER_02I don't want you to feel old, Carly, but I was in high school when MySpace came out. Yeah. And I had, you know, it was all the drama of like your top eight, like who you're gonna put in your you put your crush as your number like two.
SPEAKER_00And that's what we were like, you know, computer whizzes putting our little gifts in and the you know, the little graphics and stuff.
SPEAKER_01So oh yeah, when the smiley faces came out.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, yeah. Yep. But um man, social media for me is like a double-edged sword. It's like you want to stay relevant, you want to be in front of people's eyes, but then for me, it's like I also just want to be natural and I don't want to feel like the pressure to, okay, you gotta be posting, you have to do this because I really like love my relationships in real life. So it's been hard for me to learn what to do and where to place it. Um, but that's what I'm so thankful for, Arlo and the younger generation, with like you and Hazel, because you guys are so good at like giving us the tools and then letting us kind of figure out what works best for us.
SPEAKER_01I have a I have one of Megan's, um, one of my daughter's really good friends, um I'll say her name, Venus. Shout out, Venus. Um she um she's my biggest cheerleader for social media. She's um, you know, she's given me a lot of like advice and whatnot, but like right before content day, like I'll rehearse for like two or three days, and then I'll get in front of Josh, and I'm just like blubbering, right, Josh? No, like I like I just like forget what I've practiced. And so like I'm even on my way here um to content days, like rehearsing in my car, talking to myself at stop lights, and then I just I just freeze. But um, and then you guys put me in the front of the um the dancing video. Yeah, the dancing video, which a lot of people loved, but I'm the same with Carly. Like, it is what it is. Out of sight, out of mind. They're posted. I don't re-watch, but um people compliment, and a lot of people compliment um Arlo when I'm like at association meetings or YPN events. We are we are a topic of conversation with our with our And a lot of that is attributed to social media, I think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, of course, it's also like the reputations of the agents that are there, but it's it's also because we're in front of people, right? Because we're on social. And I think if you think of it that way, like it's just one more method of staying in front of your past clients, your sphere, your referral partners, right? I mean, yes, we send out our newsletters, we take people out to coffee, we call people, but staying on social media is like the easiest way to get in front of like the most amount of people at one time, and everyone is on there, like so many people are on there and they want to see you, they they like you, right? It's your people, they're rooting for you, they're cheering for you, and they don't hate your voice, Amber. They like your voice.
SPEAKER_01You hate my voice.
SPEAKER_02I hate my voice, but we have to remind ourselves, right? That like the people who are like following us are like our friends, our family, our past clients. Like, they like us, they appreciate us, they want to hear from us, and it's just one more way to stay in front of them.
SPEAKER_00Totally. Yeah, and I think the mindset like previously was like, Oh, we need to go viral, you need to have like 50,000 followers and stuff. And in theory, yes, that's great, but just to hone in on like you said, like the people that you are really friends with in real life, or that you network with or that you kind of know from whoever, like those are the important people, and it's like again, social media, double-edged sword, but when it comes down to it, like it is a great way to like maintain relationships. I mean, I'm not yeah, I used to go out to dinner and go for drinks and go to the bar every weekend, and I would like meet so many people. That was like my form of networking then. And now it's kind of like we don't do those things anymore. So social media is like a perfect way to stay in touch with people without you know having to go somewhere and and see them.
SPEAKER_02But um, yeah, it's also like one more way that we could be marketing our properties, right? Like, I have actually sold homes on social media before, which is crazy. Like one of my clients was following me and I was posting a listing that I had, and she was a buyer who had been shopping for a while. And this this listing was like in a different area that she wasn't even considering. Um, and she saw me post about it online, and then she ended up buying that property. She ended up working with a different Arlo agent to represent her so that we had like a little bit of separation between, you know, the selling side and the buying, but um, just from sharing it on social media, that house was sold. Um, so it's it's it can also be a good marketing tool for our sellers. And it's I forget to like mention that sometimes in listing appointments of like how important that is, um, because I think so many people are doing you know social media for listings these days, but it does make a difference.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it really does. And I've the same, like I have sold properties from social media and stuff, and it's kind of like when you get out of the mindset of like overthinking and trying too hard, then it comes more naturally. But yeah, like in our real estate business, having to adapt, learn new things, social media is just such a big part of it. We're like, yes, we do want our clients' properties to be featured. We do need to get out there and put them out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02He's done. He's sick of you guys. Well, I want to say that I am super, super proud of both of you guys for the level of commitment that you both had, like to Arlo and also to your social media game and staying on camera and for doing this podcast. I know sometimes it's outside of comfort zone to put yourself out there, but the world needs to hear from you guys. You guys are such experienced, lovely agents, and I respect you both so much and appreciate everything that you do for Arlo and um you know bringing forward that collaborative spirit that you both have.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you for inviting us. Thank you. First ever podcast for me, I think Amber too. So you broke us in a little podcast here, I guess so. I guess so.
SPEAKER_01You taking it, you taking us to lunch.
SPEAKER_02No, let's go get a drink out of this. We deserve it.