Military Relocation, Pricing Strategy & Why The Best Agents Out Perform AI | Allison Chance

REE #319 Transcript

[00:00:00] Allison Chance: I'm open to change. I'm open to learning. I'm open to always getting better. Whereas some of the older agents, more experienced agents, are not willing to do that. They think that what they think is the golden rule, and that's not necessarily true. Real estate is evolving every single day. And if you're not willing to go with the changes, then this probably isn't the industry for you.

Hey, welcome back to Real Estate Excellence Podcast. This is Tracy Hayes, your host. My guest today is someone who has earned her seat at the table twice, once in California. Now again here in northeast Florida. She's a Navy wife, military relocation professional founder of the Anchored Real Estate Group, and one of the most community driven agents.

[00:01:00] Tracy Hayes: I know she has last on episode 45 and a lot has changed since then. So please welcome Allison chance to the show.

[00:01:20] Allison Chance: Thank you, Tracy. That's

[00:01:22] Tracy Hayes: so lovely. We'll, lovely. Do we'll Do our we'll do our cheers our cheers. Make sure we get a camera with our anchored real estate cup that I've had since Blair brought me. Yeah, two years, something like that. It's flown by.

[00:01:32] Allison Chance: I know. It's really crazy. Yeah. And when you reshared my episode from about four years ago, I think it was, January of 20, well, it would've been January of 2022, so yeah, four years ago.

[00:01:43] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:01:43] Allison Chance: And it's just, It was so awesome and such a great reminder to go back and really, I listened to it. I watched the episode again and just really like, enjoyed going back and reminiscing and just seeing how far we've come. And I remember, you know, in the episode I talk about my kids, I think

[00:02:00] being, you know, six and three or six and two or which they're now eight and 11. I have to get that right sometimes. 'cause I mess that

[00:02:09] Tracy Hayes: up even more active.

[00:02:10] Allison Chance: Right? Yeah. And so things have just changed, but like. You know, it's been really, really a sweet time and anchored will be five in September, which is amazing. And yeah, we're just growing and to pivot with the market like most people are. So yeah, we're really happy and I appreciate you having on again.

[00:02:29] Tracy Hayes: Yeah, no, uh, we, we definitely gotta get updated and like I said, we we're gonna really focus on your business. What you're doing is the, the questions we pre-prepared thanks to re tomato.com mm-hmm. Throw them out there. Yeah. Um, and, really, you know, create some great content here, for you, but also I noticed AI didn't create questions about AI because it's ai, it created ai because you were talking about ai. Mm-hmm. Tell us a little bit about how your, well, even if you could touch a little bit on. I see a

[00:03:00] lot on social media right now. A lot of those fancy, shiny items that they mm-hmm. They throw in front of everybody, Hey, try this thing, try that thing out. Try this thing out. What are you using it for?

[00:03:09] Allison Chance: Yes, definitely. So, I was at an event or a seminar and I can't remember who said it, but, you know, it said AI is not gonna replace your job, but if you do not embrace ai, will replace you. And I think that that was a really good, you know, segue into like just allowing it to come alongside what you're already doing. And one of my pet peeves and, you know, how I operate my business is I really just focus on being founded in excellence, grounded in service. And with that being said, I do not wanna do anything that is not 100%. My best and my all. And so many times you'll go on and you'll read a listing and you'll see that someone put it in chat, GPT or in Claude and they literally did not change one thing and you just read it and it reads like it was from ai.

[00:03:57] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:03:58] Allison Chance: So once again, you have

[00:04:00] to embrace it, but you also need to tweak it and make sure that it is flowing. It also is your voice. And I know there's so many different programs out there that can, you know, train and, I'll be honest, I mean. I do a pet of the month now, on my newsletter, I used it for that. So Blair's puppy lc, she just got, was our first, pet of the month. She's so cute. And so I put it into chat, GPT, the picture, and I said add a Bandana with anchored logo. Right. And it did it right there. So things like that. you know, but I have, you know, I had someone call me yesterday and he's one of my vendors. He does all of my AC and electrical work and we, he's like, you know, we talk all the time. Like but I'm a text person because especially for stuff like that, I wanna text because it's record, it's easier. It know, or, you

[00:04:46] Tracy Hayes: know, you can,

[00:04:46] Allison Chance: while you're driving Right. Talk to text and so. I was coming back from taking my daughter on field trip to the turtle, hospital up in Georgia, and I was in the car and he called and I'm like, let me just answer it because I'm in the car and let's see. And he said,

[00:05:00] wow, you're a real person. And it kind of hit me in a good way and also allowed me to realize that every person we interact with has a different style of communication. Yes. And so if I like to text, that's great, but somebody else may want that communication over the phone. And typically I'm really intuitive about learning that about my clients, like depending on their age, like and then, you know, how they like to communicate what their preference is. for me, I just feel like sometimes getting on the phone can prolong a conversation that was maybe could have been just a couple text messages. Yeah. My husband always tells me when he's over, like listening into my conversations that I keep asking questions and I keep. Re-engaging when I could have not, but I think that that's what makes me who I am. Yeah. And that makes also people feel good that I'm not just cutting to the chase, I'm actually sharing and engaging in that type of thing. So, well the one, the one thing I want, it's advertised a lot right now. At least it's throwing up in my, obviously. Mm-hmm. It. I don't know, whatever it's thinking.

[00:05:58] Tracy Hayes: Is that pocket

[00:06:00] thing and recording all your conversation mm-hmm. Detached on the back of your phone or you just bring into a meeting, put it on the table and record and then it it into, you know, meeting notes. There's a few programs out there. Yeah. But that one's mobile, right. You can just literally attach it to the back of your phone and it hears both con the conversation going back and forth and actually record yourself. Right. And see what it comes out to see if your husband's correct or not.

[00:06:21] Allison Chance: Oh yeah, exactly. Well, so when I answered the phone with my vendor, he said, wow, you're, you exist. He's like, when the phone first picked up, I thought it was an AI bot or something. 'cause that's a new thing that people are doing as well. You can have on your Instagram where if you are not available, it will say, do you wanna interact with Allison's bot? And I don't know I'll ever go to that because I'm very big on connection and relationships. But you know, once again, want immediate action. They want access. And as we grow, it's getting harder and harder to do that.

[00:06:54] Tracy Hayes: There are a lot of companies out there, 'cause I've to 'em, that are literally, you know, even in the loan officer world

[00:07:00]

[00:07:00] Allison Chance: mm-hmm.

[00:07:00] Tracy Hayes: Where they want basically have it on your phone as a real estate agent, say here and hand it over to 'em and they're, and the app is going to be, taken by an AI bot.

[00:07:09] Tracy Hayes: so,

[00:07:10] Allison Chance: but then you wonder like, you know, the conversation, recording of the conversation, you know, technically do you need approval from the other party? I know when I use Zoom and do the meeting notes, which is very helpful. You know, it will do a disclaimer like this meeting is being recorded. Yeah. But you know, there's so much. That's kind of out there that you don't know if you're being recorded. You don't know. Even when we go into showings, I mean, I always tell my clients, please be aware that there could be cameras hidden. Uh oh. Yeah. Hidden, hidden behind things. Or completely visible. So you really need to be cautious of what you're saying so that don't give away all of your, you know, all of your cards up front. Because obviously if you say, oh, I love this house so much, it's my dream then, and we put a lower offer in, they might say, they're gonna come back they're gonna meet us wherever we counter. 'cause the wife really wants house.

[00:07:58] Tracy Hayes: So I guess you don't you don't know if you're recorded unless someone actually brings it up and uses it against you. Right. Right,

[00:08:03] Allison Chance: I mean, that's right.

[00:08:05] Tracy Hayes: I think we all have think we're, you know, especially in this like, like, I mean, that's what they're selling now is, hey, record all your conversations, which goes back to what I, what you were saying initially about AI and, you're gonna get better input. And I was working on, I'm working on a project right now and, I started, Talking to it.

[00:08:21] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:22] Tracy Hayes: You know, I, I got a headset over there with mic and actually verbalizing it, right. Because the more it hears you, it's picking on being you there was, and

[00:08:29] Allison Chance: your tone and, and how you would something, or words, vocabulary phrase, right? Yeah, exactly. Mm-hmm.

[00:08:35] Tracy Hayes: Uh, there was actually, this ad, it was actually about the book reading, app where you can actually take a picture of a book and it'll pull it up and it'll start reading it to you.

[00:08:42] Allison Chance: Oh, wow.

[00:08:43] Tracy Hayes: Well, one of the voices you can use is your own.

[00:08:45] Allison Chance: Oh,

[00:08:45] Tracy Hayes: and they're advertising. Oh yeah. I just talked to it for about five or six seconds and then it picks up my

[00:08:50] Allison Chance: Wow. My.

[00:08:51] Tracy Hayes: Voice. Yeah. And then it sounds like you reading it back and Little bit.

[00:08:53] Allison Chance: That would really cool for like military families, like if the husband or the dad or the mom is deployed and then they could do that. They do it like where you can record in the book, but I feel like that could be really cool 'cause like maybe the kid develops like a, like They like Dog man now. Mm-hmm. And then the husband or the wife could read on Dog Man and just kind of have that connection.

[00:09:12] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:09:12] Allison Chance: I mean's no doubt that like AI has changed our lives, you know, for the better, for the worse. I mean, like anything, there's pros and cons with anything. But I do think that it's really changed a lot of things and it's gonna continue to change. It's an evolving, process. Alright, let's jump back to Anchored. Yes. From. Well, you said September

[00:09:32] Tracy Hayes: 21 mm-hmm. Is when you formed it? Mm-hmm. I think it picked up, 'cause I did actually, you know, I put in there, I took last the transcript from last time and it had it picked up on there. We were bragging about Blair having first year Yes. Had 18 sales at the time. Right. Tell us how, what's going on differently for you guys? You've grown, how have you developed as a leader mm-hmm. Of, the organization and what you've learned about, learned about yourself.

[00:09:54] Allison Chance: Definitely. So obviously like. Many, you know, companies in, in this industry, the real industry, whether it's lending title, inspectors and real estates, there is a lot of movement, you know, in the sense that whether it's someone relocates out of the area or they decide maybe estate isn't for them. so we have had some staffing changes, you know, over the years, but they've all come with, you know, challenges, but also silver linings too. So I really enjoyed, you know, getting meet new people and mentoring and sometimes realizing that, you know, before I sit down with somebody or when I sit down with somebody, I've been able to refine my skills and my questions when I interview someone to really explain, Hey, this is what this is really like. So, and almost giving them. the down and dirty because I don't want them to be disappointed. Right. When they get their license and then they don't love it. so Blair though has obviously she moved down here, you know? post COVID, to start a new Jo job, start a new career, and she's just been such a blessing, to anchored and to me, because it's really important to have that you can rely on. I went to Hawaii for spring break. My daughter was born there. We were stationed there for 18 months back in 2000. Saw it on your social media. Yes, I know. And then like, I got really sick. I got the flu there. My son got the flu, and then I got back and I got pneumonia. And then we were there during this awful storm. So there was just like a comedy of errors and I couldn't believe it. I mean, the hotel was like. On a generator. I mean, just, you know, we're in paradise and essentially it's, you know, we maybe saw the sun like three of the days that we were there. Oh no. But we really traveling around and going back to our old places and really enjoying that. But not having Blair and Sarah who, is one of, you know, our assistants, it would really be impossible to have this job. one of the, blessings about being in is I was on Florida time, so I would essentially kind of wake up and the kids would still be sleeping and I was able to do work. I wrote a couple offers while I was there. you know, obviously had some, I tried to schedule all my closings to not be during that week because I do like to attend my closings and be there just in case comes up. But, you know, having Blair has been a great, a great addition, just not only professionally, but personally. she's great friend and a loyal team member.

[00:12:09] Tracy Hayes: Well, it sounds like you, you went, as any young team gets going mm-hmm. And team and, and then like it's in this business, you're all self-employed,

[00:12:18] Allison Chance: right?

[00:12:18] Tracy Hayes: So you, sometimes it's like herding cats,

[00:12:20] Allison Chance: right?

[00:12:21] Tracy Hayes: You bring 'em in and you don't know, and then you start to figure out, ooh. ooh. This characteristics of this person, this fits in our mm-hmm. Mold. I need to look for more people like that person. Right. And not that other person. And obviously, you know, I, I think every team leader from the best in the area mm-hmm. Have all brought in a bad apple one time or another. Right. They kind of had to.

[00:12:40] Allison Chance: Right. And to be honest, we've been so lucky. feel like we haven't had any bad apples. Like, because I have never been looking for anyone. I have always, everyone that's come to join anchored has come through organically. Mm-hmm. Meaning I wasn't putting an ad out, I wasn't looking for anyone. It was just that like at that moment in time, someone reached out we connected and that's how it all happened. So Sarah actually reached out to me, I think it was in like November of 23 maybe, and she was going to UNF maybe 24. she was going to UNF, but when she reached out to me Instagram, she literally had already been licensed. I think she was 19 or 20. Mm-hmm. And she literally had gotten her license. Done. Done the licensing course, gotten her license through the state, done the fingerprinting, everything, and she was ready to put her license somewhere. And I was so impressed because most 19, 20 year olds wouldn't be doing that. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. They would be essentially coming to me saying, what can you do for me? And she came to me completely ready to go, and I was so impressed. And so Sarah joined us and has been amazing at open houses and our marketing and just a lot of things that I can task her with and she delivers. And I think that's one of my faults as a leader is delegating. I really, even at the age of 37, almost 38, I feel like I'm not that old, but I am. And I still have trouble. And

[00:14:05] Tracy Hayes: you're young. You're young girl.

[00:14:06] Allison Chance: Yeah. Oh, Sometimes the body doesn't feel it. I know, but I struggle with. The fact that I think that no one else can do it as good as me. And that's a really, like good quality to have because I have such high standards, but that's also a detriment to mm-hmm. Just my life and family life and wellbeing and all of that. So,

[00:14:29] Tracy Hayes: well, let, let's drill on it. 'cause it, it's always a hot topic. Mm-hmm. I think it's an important topic. 'cause I, I live it. My wife is very similar in, in mm-hmm. In that way. and the only way to truly grow, and do the production that you really want to do mm-hmm. Is to leverage a Sarah

[00:14:45] Allison Chance: mm-hmm.

[00:14:45] Tracy Hayes: Or a, a Blair or, you know, create this team mm-hmm. Or something around you. What have you learned in the last five years as far as that? What are some of the things that, you know, the first few years you wouldn't, but now you're year five, you're, you know, you've been, what are you spinning off?

[00:14:59] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm. So. I also tell people when they call in and, and then obviously there's different, like I got a call on the way here. I have a military family. She's moving from Virginia Beach here. I didn't get all the details yet. I'm gonna call her back later, but I don't know how they came in. I don't know who they were referred by. And so there's a lot of qualifying questions that I like to ask. I feel like sometimes I try to take. As much as I can when it's not good because it's a friend of a friend. Mm-hmm. Or it's someone that we used to be stationed, you know, within California, Hawaii. And I have learned that the best experience that the client is going to have may not be with me. Meaning they're still gonna have access to me. They're still gonna be able to call me and ask any questions that they have. But maybe it's better that Blair is the lead agent on that listing or on that buyer because she can give more attention to them because her bandwidth is better at that time. But then there's been times where she's been really busy and I've had to step in for something. So it's really just looking, there is not a one size fits all approach. And it's

[00:16:00] really just looking at, okay, what's coming up? What do we need to plan for? And one thing that do have is a team calendar that has all of our, you know, events, our showings, our when are out town. And that can really allow us to plan for the future. And. I try to at least have one of us in town when we are, you know, working with somebody. And then obviously things come up sometimes over the holidays. We all have trips and we realize that we can't be everything to everyone. Yeah. And so that's when have partners outside of Anchor that we've worked with in the past, other agents we've transacted with or that we've met at networking events, that we have a really close relationship so we can trust that if we refer those buyers out, we know they're gonna be taken care of because we'd rather them be taken care of by someone outside of Anchored than not if keep them in-house.

[00:16:47] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[00:16:47] Allison Chance: So that's something that we've done. And, you know, I think it's great. Yeah. And, and everyone we've referred to has been super grateful and my husband said like, oh, well we should see if, you know, maybe those wanna join anchored. But I don't necessarily know that that's the right step. I think it's just, once again, everything kind of happens and flows and takes time, and so just being aware of what we need and being able to pivot when we can.

[00:17:09] Tracy Hayes: You just, you gave me an, we were talking about recording calls and stuff forth. When you to record the call, assuming Blair is interviewing you, doing a buyer consultation. Mm-hmm. The same way, or at least asking the same questions.

[00:17:21] 319 AUDIO: Yeah.

[00:17:22] Tracy Hayes: You may tailor it to your own personalities, but, if you were doing that, it would spit out, it would spit out a report, the other one could actually review. You wouldn't actually have to sit down with Blair and go and then try to

[00:17:32] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:17:32] Tracy Hayes: You, you know, even writing it down, it's like, boom, here's the report. This is what they want to do. This is what they said. Yeah. This is, you know, and, and then obviously you can go back and ask AI because it transcribed the whole thing. Right. Just,

[00:17:44] Allison Chance: well, and that's a great point. Like, I get a lot of phone calls every day and the office line rings to my phone. Mm-hmm. So. I do have like an auto text response that, you know, basically states, hi, this is Allison with Anchored, and then it kind of goes through everything. I'll get back to you soon. Is there anything I can assist by with, by a text? And that's

[00:18:00] been a game changer because just that little shortcut that you can put, people don't know that you can actually customize that on your iPhone, you know, when someone calls in. Mm-hmm. That has been a game changer because, for example, probably three to four times a week I get I'm interested in this property or I'm interested in a property. Okay, well which property? Because they're usually driving by a sign.

[00:18:19] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:18:19] Allison Chance: And then I can literally, before I even call them back, just share the link and half the time it's over their price budget, or you know, maybe it's not the beds and bath they need. So I've literally been able to help them without even. Like getting on the phone, like I'm happy to get on the phone, but at the same time, like, like let's not overcomplicate

[00:18:36] 319 AUDIO: things.

[00:18:36] Tracy Hayes: Well, we wanna leverage the technology, we wanna leverage, other people that are good at certain things. So you can be more forward That's why you were doing it, right? You had to be forward facing with a client in front of you at the time. Right,

[00:18:46] Allison Chance: right.

[00:18:46] Tracy Hayes: So, yeah,

[00:18:47] Allison Chance: but I do, I will say like I'm on my consult calls. Like I said, I didn't wanna have a conversation about a consult call on the way here 'cause I was already running a few minutes late. and then, you know, she was very understanding. But I do take notes. I make a note

[00:19:00] in my phone for every, you know, client. And it's great because say, You know, three months later we still have the listing. Hopefully not, but that is some things are going. And an agent there doesn't read showing time and is like, what's the gate code? Right? I don't even have to go anything. I can literally just type in the property address in my notes, it comes up, I've got the gate code, I've got any other information. And so once again, that's not really like follow up boss. We have that too, but we don't leverage it. It's just like, you know, sometimes you can't, sometimes there's too many apps, sometimes there's too many Yes. Things you've gotta, sometimes

[00:19:31] 319 AUDIO: you

[00:19:31] Allison Chance: have to just like simplify things and like why make it harder? Like a note works perfectly for that. but you know, through our managing broker side, we do have so much technology as part of our tech stack and I do struggle with that because I'm like, I don't wanna use active pipe and follow up boss. I wanna use my notes and I wanna. I wanna organically engage with people. I don't wanna drip campaign. I feel like that's not like me. Mm-hmm. And then also I like MailChimp over active pipe. So, you know, you just kind of have to figure out what works for you and your business.

[00:19:59] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:20:00] Yeah. Uh, and then, then see how much time is left in the day.

[00:20:02] Allison Chance: Yes.

[00:20:03] Tracy Hayes: alright, so we're, we're in a very good market, right? Mm-hmm. I'm, I imagine the naval base is buzzing right now any anyway, just with the activities that are going on in the world, out there.

[00:20:11] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[00:20:11] Tracy Hayes: Uh, Zillow ranked us number four in buyer friendly ranking over Miami and Tampa. Wow. So Wow. So we're actually, tops and actually somewhere, somehow Pittsburgh got on that list. I don't know how.

[00:20:21] Allison Chance: interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Indianapolis, Charlotte's always been, yeah, Charlotte's a great one. And I think it's had its heyday, but maybe it's coming back. And I've heard that like Greenville, South Carolina is the new Charlotte.

[00:20:33] Tracy Hayes: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. from that, the question is, with that buyer friendly label as Jacksonville has mm-hmm. When you're selling across from a buyer right now, is that match. What they're actually experiencing in the transactions you're having?

[00:20:46] Allison Chance: I think it completely depends on the property. And the I say that is because you know, I work all over Jacksonville, so I work at the beach. I'm going to Fleming Island later to Eagle Harbor. We do Green Cove, we do the north side. We go up to Yulee, and so it

[00:21:00] really depends on the property. If I walk into a turnkey, renovated home, for example, I'm under contract on one in the woods right now representing the buyer, then no. There's a lot competition. There's multiple offers.

[00:21:13] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:21:14] Allison Chance: There's not a lot of room for negotiation, which makes it tough because if a buyer open-ended with their search, you know, they're like, oh, we'll go all the way from, you know, Kernan over to the beach. Every house we look at, there's be a different strategy. And one of the things that I kind of get to in my buyer consult or just through Zoom or through in-person meetings is, you know, what is your goal? Like, do you, and with my military, I have to really structure it with, this is not your forever home. It's, I mean, it might be, but it's likely not going to be. know, my husband and I own properties in Jacksonville where we've purchased them, we've lived in them, and then we've essentially moved kind of up to a bigger home 'cause we've needed the space.

[00:22:00] Mm-hmm. And then we've rented those properties out. One of the ones that purchased in 2010, we did a 15 year mortgage on, and we literally completely owned that house. Outright, we have no mortgage. Mm-hmm. And we rent it out for $2,700 a month. So, you know, those are where I try to take my knowledge of being a real estate investor and landlord to explain to buyers, here's what you do. But if you go and buy that really shiny pretty house, that's, you know, 700,000 and you're gonna have 6% interest rate, right? Maxing out

[00:22:22] Tracy Hayes: your budget,

[00:22:23] Allison Chance: you are never going to able to rent that out for what the market is going to say it's worth for rent. So it's kind of all about what people are interested in. so, it's a loaded question and I didn't answer it, but Well,

[00:22:36] Tracy Hayes: you did a little bit, but I'm gonna, I think you're follow up my follow up question here, because you have the, you know, I guess the really term that it's using is, buyer's market,

[00:22:44] Allison Chance: right?

[00:22:45] Tracy Hayes: Buyer friendly. But so how are you when you're going out on a listing appointment right now in using that strategery and, pricing the home, right? Mm. We know b buyers are asking seller concessions. Mm-hmm. Or whatever it may be, depending

[00:23:00] on the price point. You know, I'm sure statistics are there that, you know, at this price point, they're more likely to ask. And well, we do have a lot of cash still here. Yeah. In the area. So, but from a, they're hearing the buyer market, so how are you strategizing with the sellers and, and a proper listing price and so

[00:23:15] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:23:15] Tracy Hayes: So, and what to be prepared for.

[00:23:16] Allison Chance: Right. and then once again, it's almost like you can't win, right? Because you go into a listing appointment, you kind of through, Hey, here are the, the comps, here are the, upgrades that you've put into the home. Here's what your neighbor's selling for. Also, six months ago, the market was very different. We're starting to have that kind like, fall off of comps now because we're in a new year and we're almost to like the middle of the year. But for personally, last fall was a very stressful time.

[00:24:00] Sellers were not even getting showings. Right? And then literally something kind of shifted overnight. I mean, we did so much business in January and we've never done that much business in January because at that point everyone had reduced their prices. The sellers had finally like said, we're done. we're tired of paying a mortgage and rent or a mortgage to mortgages. So I think people finally like got serious about. Pricing correctly, but at some level it was too late, right? Mm-hmm. Because the buyers had already come and gone. School here starts in August, early August. So anyone that listed in July, or even late June, they were missing that summer rush. And I recently, um, went to a market distillery event, and this was the second time I've heard this, is that February is the best time to purchase a home for a buyer.

[00:25:00] And the reason is, is because you have all of the fall and the, the Christmas time, and then people come back in January and sellers are finally serious about selling their property. And then you have buyers that have been waiting, waiting on the sidelines to see, and then obviously rate plays into that as well. Mm-hmm. But, no, when a buyer comes to me and there's a house that's been on the market for a while, I'm like, this is ideal now. Every time now, every now and then, there's that seller that is literally just testing the market and they're never gonna sell, or they're not gonna sell for, you know, any reasonable price. But I have very serious conversations with my sellers and. I'm a very much honest and almost to a fault where I feel like I'm a little bit of a, I'm gonna paint the worst possible scenario for you because a lot of my sellers have very tight margins. Mm-hmm.

[00:25:00] They purchased with a VA loan and then they had a funding fee, and two to three years ago, they were multiple offers, so they were paying over, you know, and all of these things, and so they're really up against a wall with what they could do. I had someone, last month, they had to bring $20,000 to closing, and that was like. They were happy about that because they had put aside some money that they're like, we can do up to this amount. But they were wanting to just stop the bleeding. And so one of the that we offer to help offset this someone can't sell is rentals. So that's what I always tell my buyers when I'm doing a consultation is 'cause the, the really, the question usually is, is well, in three to five years when I PCs permanent change of station to another place, what do you think I'll be able to sell my house for? And that's a question I can't answer. Mm-hmm. So I have to explain that at the end of the day, you know, I've had sellers that bought and sold and have made a hundred, $200,000 and have done very, very well. It's been life changing money.

[00:26:00] But I've also had sellers that. Sat on the market. And so there's a lot of strategy and once again, I have so much experience and knowledge when it comes to this and I'm constantly evolving and changing to the market. One of the things that can be really hard is when have all this data in pocket and you tell the seller everything, and then say you go on the market and you've, you feel that price, at the end of the day, they've selected the price they wanna list at, but you feel like this is a competitive price and you get an offer right away. The seller. Is almost nine times out of 10. Well, we could have gotten more. And so then it goes down this, that thought process of like, for me it's like as a people pleaser, I'm like, I can't win. I tell you to list here and it sells and you're not happy. And then we, go on the market at the price that you want and we never reduce. And then in three months you come to me saying, I'm not doing my job because your house hasn't sold. So that's where I feel like a lot of people do not understand our value in real estate. Mm-hmm. They don't understand that we work for free until we close. And even when we close, we may have had to reduce this or offer this pay for that or pay for that. Mm-hmm. So there's just so much stigma around estate general. And I'll be honest, there are some bad apples in real estate and especially lately, people do not their phone. And if you're not gonna answer your phone, send a text. Yeah. You know, or update your showing instructions, you know, it's not that hard. Yeah. Hire an assistant.

[00:27:25] Tracy Hayes: I, I will just, you know, to go back, there's always someone gonna have remorse. About whatever the deal is, what if, right? Mm-hmm. The what if I, I always, I think back to, it was like 2008, I, yeah. Me and my wife flipped a house. It was only a hundred thousand dollars house. We were in Arkansas, Little Rock.

[00:27:43] Allison Chance: Oh,

[00:27:43] Tracy Hayes: nice. And um, we passed on the first buyer, and we sat on that home for another, I don't know, six months to finally get the offer that we originally had. Mm-hmm. And you know, so when you have that remorse, oh, we could have gotten more, could you?

[00:27:55] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:56] Tracy Hayes: Or maybe the next buyer. Now you may have offered you more, but ask more seller concessions.

[00:28:00] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:28:00] Tracy Hayes: Whatever it may be. It all comes out in the

[00:28:02] Allison Chance: wash. And then when you add up that mortgage that you've been paying at a house that's vacant, Right. We literally would. Yeah. And so sometimes I feel like I'm a broken record, but at the same time, I do this every day. My sellers and my buyers are relying on me as the expert to break this all down for them. And when I, when I spend time and I lay everything out, then it makes sense. And I feel like I can be on the same page with them. And that's what my job is, is to educate. And, so once I usually kind of lay it all out, I do get a little bit more of a response. Like, oh yeah, that's a great point. So, mm-hmm. It's just, once again, education. Communication.

[00:28:37] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:28:37] Allison Chance: all of the things,

[00:28:38] Tracy Hayes: well share this part with us. 'cause you, you brought it up about someone had to bring $20,000 to closing. Mm-hmm. The importance if you were talking to all the agents in northeast Florida right now at an EFA event about. Watch where you're bringing some of these, sailors Yeah. Airmen, whatever, into new construction areas, right. Where if they're gonna still be building four and five

[00:29:00] years from now.

[00:29:00] Allison Chance: Right. And that's actually an email I sent to somebody this morning who's not military, but mm-hmm. It's a listing in eTown and we have ever range that's about to open up because, you know, brand new park group neighborhood, and yeah, they're gonna be offering a brand new house. It's probably gonna be more expensive than what your listing is. 'cause it's, you know, even for similar square footage, it's brand new, but they're going to offer a rate buydown and they're gonna offer closing costs. And at the end of the day, the listing price isn't as important as what the closing costs. And you know, because obviously changing the listing price doesn't change the monthly payment very much. Obviously if someone's buying a home and staying there for 10 years, it, it's kind of irrelevant. Right? It's more important on the rate or the closing costs. So, um, yeah, I feel like. The new construction has been str a stress in the sense that there's a lot of like shady dealings where it's like, Hey, let's, what do you wanna pay every month? And then it's like, we work backwards to get a payment where that's on unimproved land, and then next year the tax bill goes up and then I get a call that they owe

[00:30:00] $3,000. So I've been very intentional that I don't, you know, every builder has their preferred lender and that's fine, but I want know what that payment is gonna be, it's, when it's an improved Well, I'm, I'm just talking about just really educating your buyer. Okay. That hey. Are you gonna get a new orders Yeah. In two, three years. Right. Because they're gonna be building here for five or six. Right. Right. And you're gonna be battling against that when if you, unless you're gonna keep it to rented. Right. And I that that's really the discussion. And a lot of people, I feel like most people in general are very 50 50 on construction. A lot of people love it and see the value in it, that it's getting a brand new home. And I have to remind them that it's a brand new home, but it's built by human. It's not perfect. Mm-hmm. They do get a warranty. There's exclusions for that. and then a lot of people don't like being in an HOA and close to their neighbors. So I feel like I've seen a lot of my military clients specifically move away from new construction because they are. I don't know if it's the next generation or where we're at, but people want land and want more privacy.

[00:31:00] And, but then on the flip side, I have, you know, people who are like, we want a splash pad and wanna a playground and we want, you know, and so it really just depends and that's where taking the time to really learn about their family and what their goals are, and if they do plan to rent it out, then I think construction is a great option because they're gonna get a low rate. It's a brand new home that's gonna have lower insurance, and then their monthly payment's gonna be lower, and that's gonna be attractive to a renter coming in.

[00:31:25] Tracy Hayes: nailed down quickly for me, the pricing strategy. you said you had some buyer's remorse, but go walk us through when you're going out on a listing appointment. the stats have Jacksonville's down 6%. Mm-hmm. They said it's not from negotiations. That's just, you know, overall and obviously. You know, it turns out what part town, right? what subdivision, you know, you are in and all. But on average it's, it's down 6%. you've called it this. One of the biggest mistakes you're seeing, obviously

[00:31:51] Allison Chance: mm-hmm.

[00:31:51] Tracy Hayes: Is, is pricing. when you're sitting down and having that discussion, what is your, if you can maybe even walk us through maybe a recent, listing appointment that you had. Right. Talking about this.

[00:31:59] Allison Chance: [00:32:00] Mm-hmm. So one of the first things I do when I am doing a listing appointment and getting all my paperwork together, you know, a lot of people will do like fancy CMAs. And I'm not saying that we do that, but I actually use a one p page, uh, sheet,

[00:32:12] Tracy Hayes: keep it simple, stupid, is what call it.

[00:32:14] Allison Chance: Right. And it, and it basically has the following information it has. So it's the comps in the neighborhood, which sometimes we comps, we go to sell something and there's not a lot comps, and that's even harder 'cause it's like, okay, well where, where do we go here? Mm-hmm. Then we go out to the neighborhood. But just take, for example, let's just talk about eTown for example. 'cause we do have a listing in there. We had two in there like at end of last year. that ended up selling pretty quickly, but. We take this MLS look where it's basically the, price of the home and it could be active or pending, the original list price, and then all of the square footage, the beds and bath. And then the last data point is the cumulative days on market. So when you look at this as the big picture, you can quickly see, wow, this listed for 7 95, it sold for 7 95, it was on the market for three days. Then you go down further and you see this was listed for eight 50 and now it's reduced to 7 95 and it's been on the market for 160 days.

[00:33:00] So once again, there's gonna be outliers and you're gonna see different things, but that to me is the most telling data of where we're at in your neighborhood with. Comparable houses, especially like in a new construction resale environment like, you know, Tamaya or eTown, where we pretty much know what we're gonna expect now for neighborhoods that have have been around a little bit longer, maybe like, you know, Jack's golf, where it's a little bit more of a custom home, seeing a lot of renovation in Jack's golf right now, and like, Queens Harbor and Deer, Deerwood, deer Creek. So those are neighborhoods that the values are a little bit harder to comp because maybe they've gutted the whole thing and redone it or they've put a pool in. And so really like looking at all of that. But when it comes to, you know, just your standard listing, that to me is my, most telling feature because then I'm sitting in front of the seller and I'm like, look, you can list here and you may sit on the market for six months. Like, do you want to be show ready and have your home ready to show for six months? Or were you, will you be okay with this price? That you may end up getting in six months anyway, and you've been less inconvenienced and you're done and you can move on to the next thing. Every seller has different motivations. Some need to sell for, know, either a death, a divorce, a job change, but other people are, well, it'd be nice to have a bigger house or it'd be nice to have a smaller house, or it'd be nice to live at the So that's where it's really, really to have one right right now. Now we just have to sell sometime in 2026. Mm-hmm. Because the tax, tax implications if they don't sell this year. So we are going into it with a very like, laid back strategy in the sense that we're gonna here. And, it's a vac at

[00:34:44] Tracy Hayes: least now,

[00:34:45] Allison Chance: right? As we start

[00:34:45] Tracy Hayes: getting the fall,

[00:34:46] Allison Chance: you start, it's a vacation, it's a vacation rental, so it's still income producing while we're not, you know, and then that's also tough 'cause we, our showings are limited because we can only show when home is not rented. So, but that's our So

[00:35:00] that way we're literally saying, okay. We are maximizing everything that we do. And then meanwhile we're looking at everything else that's listing. And that's the other thing too. I'll go to a listing appointment, I don't know, you know, maybe a month before we list and I don't decide on the list price or send listing agreement, which is probably not a great thing because there's nothing binding that seller me. But I'm very big on trust.

[00:35:21] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:35:22] Allison Chance: we don't really decide on the list price until right we list. And the reason for that is, is what if neighbor puts their house on the market for, you know, 50,000 less than what we're gonna list for. We have readjust our strategy because that's just not work. Yeah. You know what I mean?

[00:35:35] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. Uh, for sure. I had another question off formatted questions came up, but then I it.

[00:35:40] Allison Chance: No worries.

[00:35:41] Tracy Hayes: We'll cut there.

[00:35:42] Allison Chance: I mean, I Yeah, I get it. There's a lot to talk about.

[00:35:45] Tracy Hayes: Be Well, I know, the eight 50 and the 7 95. That's right.

[00:35:48] Allison Chance: Yep.

[00:35:48] Tracy Hayes: Okay. Same neighborhoods, similar house. That's what you were basically comparing was it's a comp and. Is the 50 seller thinking that someone's going to come in and go, well

[00:36:00] they want eight 50, this one sold for 7 95. Mm-hmm But let me offer 'em eight 10 or 15.

[00:36:06] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:36:07] Tracy Hayes: Maybe they'll, they'll come down to that.

[00:36:09] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:36:09] Tracy Hayes: Is that the attitude that the seller has, that someone's gonna come in, at least make an offer and they're gonna get 20 or $30,000 more than that other half.

[00:36:17] Allison Chance: Right. I think that that's like great strategy. But then if that's happens for five months and mortgage is $5,000 a month, 'cause you're not getting traction. Right. No one's coming to see it of price. Right. Exactly. and now we're a stale listing and now we're sitting vacant, which you know, is always a concern 'cause you can have issues at vacant homes. Just, I mean, I had a squatter in one on the west side, so that was fun. And of course the seller doesn't live here. He's an investor that lives in New York. So a little old me had to go over there and wait for the officer to arrive. And the police. They have a lot of things to attend to. And a squatter is not the top priority. High priority. So I sat on a Saturday, missed, you know, my son's sports because I sat there waiting. 'cause they wouldn't go into the house even though there was a lockbox on it, a combo

[00:37:00] lockbox. Right. They wouldn't go into the house. And so I had to Unless

[00:37:02] Tracy Hayes: you were there to live

[00:37:03] Allison Chance: in. Right. And unfortunately, like I said, my seller was. Is in New York. And so this is also where people say, oh, real estate, you know, you guys charge way too much. You make way too much money. They have no idea the behind the scenes. I would really love to do more of like a day in the life stuff. Mm-hmm. Of what I do every day. Because I think people, and I'm bad about sharing highlights, like, you know, who wants to share like the negative. But for example, the other day I had to go turn on utilities at a property in Jacks Beach, the owner does not live here. And Beach's Energy only allows you to fill out an application in person or fill out the application and email it. But you have to go there in person and drop off a check. So that is like the most antiquated I've ever heard of. So thankfully I live at the beach. So in between appointments I literally go in and I can't get ahold of the seller because he's military and he's in a space.

[00:37:56] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:37:57] Allison Chance: So at this point I'm like, you know what, I'm just gonna put the power in my

[00:38:00] name. So I'm like writing my social down. I said, are you gonna like pull my credit?

[00:38:03] Tracy Hayes: right.

[00:38:04] Allison Chance: And all this stuff. And I had to do this last year for the same 'cause we had like the. The at tenants turnover, and I had to do it last year, and so I had to go there in person after he sent the application drop off a $25 check. So this is where, you know, like we are literally going above beyond. And I know so many agents that do this, you know, they're either, they're paying for cleaning,

[00:38:24] Tracy Hayes: the best agents do,

[00:38:24] Allison Chance: right, they're paying for cleaning because maybe they're, their seller doesn't see the value in it and they just know that it needs to be done. And so that's where like, once again, I'm not trying toot my own horn, but sometimes I'm like, gosh, remember like all the things we've done for you? And like it's, it like people still can't appreciate 'cause it's just a very emotional time. so, but back to, you know, listing and strategy, it, it's just hard then now that house is stale and we've, you know, been going back and forth with different agents, but at a level a buyer moves on and finds

[00:39:00] something else and then. The seller might say, oh, well can you back to that buyer that interested and see if they're wanting to purchase? But, well, unfortunately, that was a month ago and now they're under contract on X, y, z home, you know?

[00:39:12] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. negotiation. That's our, our topic here.

[00:39:16] Allison Chance: Okay.

[00:39:16] Tracy Hayes: A negotiation standstill, I think is how you phrase it. 'cause it, picks up, you've described a real standstill, sellers who've already dropped and feel like they've. Uh, done their part. they're maxed out, or as far as, I wouldn't say maxed out because there are situations where people are maxed out. Like if they're bringing money to the table, it's like, we only have 20 grand.

[00:39:35] Allison Chance: Right.

[00:39:35] Tracy Hayes: And that's as far as we can go. 'cause I, I've heard a deal here recently with my, my, wife, literally over $2,000.

[00:39:46] Allison Chance: Oh yeah. Yeah.

[00:39:46] Tracy Hayes: Because, because they were bringing cash to the tables is like, this is as far as we can go. You know? and so they feel that buyers who think that they've,

[00:39:50] Allison Chance: giving the seller everything they want,

[00:39:52] Tracy Hayes: the seller,

[00:39:53] Allison Chance: coming to list price, you know? Yeah. Giving a closing date that they like.

[00:39:56] Tracy Hayes: Right. Tell us a little bit how you sounds like you've had these

[00:40:00] situations.

[00:40:00] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[00:40:01] Tracy Hayes: How are you, me, how are you mediating that? And then how important it's to, to get that other real estate agent on the other side, on your team and hope mediating these two

[00:40:10] Allison Chance: yes.

[00:40:10] Tracy Hayes: Players that you're working with, a buyer and seller.

[00:40:12] Allison Chance: Well and then once again, that's where the value of working with someone like me comes in. Right? Because I have a lot of connections with other agents. I've worked with a lot of other agents when I schedule a showing on another agent's listing, you know, they say, oh wow. Like I hope she puts an offer on this 'cause it'd be great to work with her. and news travels fast. You know, reputation is everything. And so there have been moments where I've like gotten heated in a situation with another agent where I'm trying to like explain a situation, like for example, when I'm representing a buyer, their in, especially a VA buyer, their best interest is to not negotiate on the purchase price. Their best interest is to get their closing cost covered. Why? Because it's completely cash in hand versus monthly payment and what that would change.

[00:40:58] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:40:59] Allison Chance: So

[00:41:00] I've had to explain multiple times to agents who do not know. What they're doing or are not educated on this, that it is the same net

[00:41:07] Tracy Hayes: you say experienced. They're not experienced in this.

[00:41:09] Allison Chance: Yes, sorry. Inexperienced. It is the same net to the seller, whether we this with this or this with this, and it's like their mind kind of opens up and you know, obviously even. Maybe there's like the little bit of like, difference with the, percentages with like commission and other fees because com you know, percentage based, but, but it's minimal. And so, and I'm like, and your neighbors will be really happy with you because you didn't take a low ball offer. you are still giving the buyer a great deal, but it's still preserving values in neighborhood. So, but this other house that I got under contract, I literally would not have gotten the listing or would not have gotten contract from my buyer had I not know the agent. And the reason I that is because I was at the house with other agents showing property. So there was already like this pent up demand and I, I knew that whether the house worth it or not at that price, it was going go and it was going to go quickly. Um, it listed on Easter weekend, which, know, I kind of had.

[00:42:00] Said in my mind, I'm not going to work on Easter Sunday.

[00:42:08] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[00:42:08] Allison Chance: Because I do value, my family and having break and having a rest. but part of me was very nervous and had it been another agent that I didn't have a relationship with, I probably would've shown it put an offer in because I wouldn't be able to rest knowing that my buyers would've maybe lost out on this house. So we see the house on Monday, but like said, we go there and there's another agent, which also just creates stress and whatnot. So immediate, we immediately get the offer in. And then obviously, you know, your buyers trust you and, you know, there's mutual trust, but there's like, oh, is the other agent bluffing that they have another offer just to try to, you know, pent up interests and get offers. So there's just a lot of like. like. Unknown, and that makes people nervous. Mm-hmm. so

[00:42:53] Tracy Hayes: well do you, in a situation like that where you knew there was probably going to be other offers?

[00:42:56] Allison Chance: I I

[00:42:56] Tracy Hayes: could. Are you putting an escalation in there?

[00:42:58] Allison Chance: So in this particular case, we did not do an escalation clause because it wasn't a multiple offer situation. there was another house that a buyer, was interested in, and the agent told me upfront, we're not reviewing any offers until Monday at seven o'clock. Well, I thought, okay, I had time on my hand, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. And, I obviously didn't because of the fact that that house under contract. The next day. So he before o'clock on Monday. Right. So basically I him and said, Hey, I have a buyer, like a military buyer that's literally retiring outta military. All he wants is to be on this street. This is like where he wants to be. And so he's like, well, that's great, but you know, we're gonna have an open house on Saturday and Sunday, and we're not reviewing any offers. So when someone says that to you take that word and you're, you're like, okay, well there's really no point for me to put an offer in. And also I really don't wanna get an offer in asap, because then that's giving more leverage him to say, wow, we've got six offers you should this. So we don't, and then of course, my buyer sees it go contingent on Zillow, and I immediately called the agent and I said, oh my gosh, what happened? Like, we, you said you weren't presenting anything. Well, know, we got an offer that the buyer, that the seller just couldn't refuse. And once again, we would've put in great offer. Yeah. Maybe not, you know, a cash offer. Like, but

[00:44:15] Tracy Hayes: I, I'm gonna say what think that agent should have done. You tell me, should that selling agent done? At the moment in time, receiving an offer, a good one.

[00:44:23] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[00:44:23] Tracy Hayes: But it's not seven o'clock on Monday yet.

[00:44:25] Allison Chance: Right. And that's what's in private remarks on MLS.

[00:44:27] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:44:28] Allison Chance: So first of all, I would've never done that. I would've never put Knowing, knowing it's a good listing is one thing, but don't put the cart before the horse, because now you've literally kind of, and I think it was priced under market value. And that's another strategy to create all this like, drama over it.

[00:44:44] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:44:45] Allison Chance: Where everyone's just losing their mind.

[00:44:47] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:44:47] Allison Chance: and then the worst part about it as a buyer's agent is I never can recover that because now my buyer is never going to see, he's always gonna be comparing the homes we see with a property he could have never had.

[00:44:59] Tracy Hayes: Always.

[00:45:00] Allison Chance: so, and then that same buyer, I go out and show a couple more houses, and once again, he has time on his side. So it's a little bit of a different situation. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. We go see a house. I literally. Get a text from the agent before, which was a great courtesy. Hey, we're in negotiation with an offer. Okay, great. Like, good to know. But like, once again, negotiation with an offer and having an executed contract are two separate things.

[00:45:18] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:45:19] Allison Chance: So we're in the house, he loves it. It's beautiful. So I start texting the agent, what we to do to make this happen? He loves the house. Oh, I'm so sorry. They just accepted the offer.

[00:45:30] Tracy Hayes: Where are they? These to, to me is such disservice for their sellers.

[00:45:35] Allison Chance: It's, it is, it's such a disservice. Because also, and this is a strategy, so before I went to Hawaii, I had a buyer that was relocating from Gimo here to Jacksonville. Mm-hmm. She's eight months pregnant and she's moving here because of some health issues. And so they relocated her last minute. That pulls my heartstrings. Mm-hmm. I've moved, I've been pregnant twice. Like not having a home base is very unsettling.

[00:45:57] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[00:45:57] Allison Chance: So when I got back from Hawaii, I drove from Orlando

[00:46:00] back to Jacksonville. I slept for a couple hours. Remember I have the flu at this point. and And then find out the next day I have pneumonia.

[00:46:06] Tracy Hayes: You flew with the flu?

[00:46:07] Allison Chance: Yeah, I flew with the flu and so I tried and unfortunately all of my backup people were out of town. Like mm-hmm. I mean, in a sense like Blair was not available, Sarah was not available. So it was, I'm the owner I had to put mm-hmm. My big girl panties on and do what I needed to do to help these people. Now all of that being said, I said, Hey, I didn't know I had the flu yet. I hadn't positive, but my son had, and I was on Tamiflu.

[00:46:30] Tracy Hayes: Mm.

[00:46:30] Allison Chance: So I said, look, I am really sick. I will still meet you to show you these houses. 'cause they had been waiting this whole time. And that was the strategy on my part, is I put a showing request two weeks before I was actually gonna show property. But in my mind as a seller, if I knew I had a showing filtering out there, I'm gonna kind of wait, or at least you're gonna notify me if you get an offer. Because then at that point maybe I can put something or be competitive. Competitive something. So when I submitted that, that showing request, the agent texted me and said, well, it's really nice you're showing that property in two weeks, but it'll be sold before then. Well, two rolls around. I get back from Hawaii, I tell the buyers, Hey, I'm sick. Keep your distance. I don't know what's wrong with me, but we'll, we'll do this.

[00:47:10] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[00:47:10] Allison Chance: So literally go show houses on my deathbed.

[00:47:12] Tracy Hayes: was the house still available?

[00:47:13] Allison Chance: Still available?

[00:47:14] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:47:14] Allison Chance: And we get up to the house. And once again, here's the value in having someone who knows what they're doing. The entire house has T 11 siding. This is a VA buyer.

[00:47:23] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:47:23] Allison Chance: No way it's gonna pass. WDO. So why are we, they let

[00:47:27] Tracy Hayes: it takes, well, let's, we'll go back to that. Okay. Because I didn't that. that.

[00:47:30] Allison Chance: So, no, and it's not that it's T 11, siding. it's all rotted. And so I knew that a, an inspect, so I knew we'd get under contract. love the house. We get under contract, we get the inspection. We already knew that the seller was not really willing to negotiate because, you know, sometimes they'll put like, oh, house as is in the marks, or like, irrigation system is as is or fireplace doesn't work. So we already kind of know those things going into it.

[00:47:54] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm.

[00:47:54] Allison Chance: So I just said, look, this was the first house we were looking at. I'm like, I know you love this house, but I have a lot of

[00:48:00] and you never know what you're gonna get with a WGO Inspector. Okay. It touches the, the deck touches the house in spot. Now that whole deck needs be replaced. I had one in Middleburg over, like Doctor's Lake area. Cute little neighborhood. buyers bought it sight unseen from Japan, which was a little stressful. Mm-hmm. Multiple offer situation. Melissa Ricks was the listing agent. Mm-hmm. We, there were seven other offers. We got it with a VA loan. Once again, because of the connection, because of the relationships, because of all of that. Well, because this gazebo was on a deck that touched the house and there was wood rot. We had to have the entire gazebo taken down. Once again, not a big deal. 'cause the buyers were kind of indifferent about it, but that costs money to demolish anything. Hmm. So it's like little like that. Like, whereas an average agent who doesn't do a lot of military. Or VA loans doesn't even know what A WDO is, right? So that's where we see that house. It's a no. We three more houses that day. Sunday morning, my husband's flying out that day for work, and he's like, you need to go get checked out. Like, you don't sound good. So I look up urgent care. It's 5:00 AM there's. There's no urgent care open. So I'm like, you know what? just gonna go to Mayo. We have Tricare. This is what this is for. I hardly ever get sick. So I go in and they take my blood work, there's like hardly anyone there 'cause it's early in the morning and they think I have a pulmonary embolism because my D dimer was elevated. And then they're like, we need to give you a pregnancy test 'cause can't give you a CAT scan and let's, and I'm like, and meanwhile I'm by myself and there's literally like my husband had fallen back asleep 'cause he hadn't slept in two days 'cause of the flight and everything. And I think he knew, okay, she's at the hospital, she's safe. So like, I'm like, am I die? Like I'm literally having this moment. So, they come back in and they're like, okay, you're not pregnant. I'm like, okay, thanks. I didn't think I was, but thank you for that con confirmation. So then they take me for the CAT scan with the contrast, which is like super, I've had one before, but it was like super weird. So then they back and they're like, well you got the flu, you don't have a pulmonary embolism. Praise Lord. And you have pneumonia. And so at that point I then text these buyers that need to find a place stat. You know, they're literally living in hotel room with a baby due any day essentially.

[00:49:59] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[00:50:00] Allison Chance: So this is where I was talking about leaning on people outside of your, immediate brokerage. I had met somebody at a networking event and she had done a transaction Blair and we were talking about open houses and how, you know, just like the need for them and just like availability and all of that. And so she's like, oh, I love to do open houses. If you ever need an house, just let know. So that was in my head. I saved her contact information. So I did, you know, go of course to my in-house people first 'cause I wanna give them that business, you know? Mm-hmm. And pay them for showing help and whatnot. Neither one could help. So I'm like, look, I texted her, I said, here's situation. I'm currently sitting in Mayo Clinic waiting to get discharged. I've got the flu, I've got pneumonia. Can you help me show these houses? I already had 'em all up and once again it was seamless and it kind of reminded me that I don't need to be at everything. Like you said earlier, like how have you changed over time? Literally, like, she opened seven doors for my buyers and. They didn't even end up choosing any of the houses they've seen during that tour. And the point is, and like sometimes buyers will apologize to they'll say, well, I'm so sorry I drug you out here. Like, this is not what I thought it was. Or like, you know, I'm really bummed that they didn't show this in the pictures because this would've eliminated this, this whole house. And I tell them, I'm not mad. Everything's great. This is what do. Sometimes you have to see something that you don't want to know what you want, you do want. Yes. Or to remind yourself. That's right. That. Okay, this is actually worth that extra $10,000 because I'm willing to pay that difference my mortgage payment because this is a far superior house, right? So she showed them the seven houses. I was in bed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, finally get out of bed Wednesday to go show them another house. write a contract on that and we're closing Monday, we're closing early. And she's supposed to be induced, I think next Friday. she'll close on the house Monday and be induced like, you later that week. that's for best laid plans. But as I'm doing all of this and I'm setting up closing, I'm like, oh my gosh, what if she goes into labor and she's in the hospital on the day of closing? And we have had a situation where we had to send the mobile notary to the hospital. Not like during labor, but you know how you stay in the hospital for after. Yeah. And so I'm like, well, I guess we could that. 'cause they said, if not, need to get a POA. And that's gonna be more complicated. But again, your average. Inexperienced who has never done a POA closing, who has never done a mobile notary, they don't even know any of this, this lingo in detail. Yeah. Yeah. So that's where it's like,

[00:52:17] Tracy Hayes: or to be, um, proactive

[00:52:19] Allison Chance: about. Right. And this is where we have all of these tools in our toolbox because we have firsthand experience. I mean, I bought my first house power of attorney when my husband was away. So first of all, it's pain in the butt and I don't wish it upon anybody, but we do have these

[00:52:32] Tracy Hayes: affordances. The, the lenders have to approve it. Right. It's not something you just going, Hey, we need power of attorney

[00:52:36] Allison Chance: today. Right. And then all the documents have to be redone, know, so it's complicated. Mm-hmm.

[00:52:40] Tracy Hayes: Oh, I've had many of, of overseas mm-hmm. Have to go to embassies or consulates whatever,

[00:52:45] Allison Chance: and then there's like, no

[00:52:47] Tracy Hayes: quick

[00:52:47] Allison Chance: mail.

[00:52:47] Tracy Hayes: Go back, go back me. You mm-hmm. We were, 'cause we were talking about you, you put the, the two week, appointment in, the agent says, Hey, we're gonna be sold by then. Two weeks go by, a house is still there.

[00:52:59] Allison Chance: [00:53:00] Mm-hmm. I think it's still in the market

[00:53:01] Tracy Hayes: It's still,

[00:53:01] Allison Chance: it's funny because I don't know why, but buyers will like. Still watch other houses maybe that they offered on it. Just like I would never probably do that because I don't have enough time to do that. But like my husband goes on Zillow every morning and he has filtered out for like all the new listings within seven days. Mm-hmm. And I do like the hot sheet on MLS, but it's just like funny what. People who are not in our what they do. And so I'll get texts from every buyer, from a buyer every now and then that says like, oh, that when, you Kipling or whatever, or Sunnyside is still on the market. And it's almost like it gives 'em a little bit of satisfaction. 'cause maybe they wouldn't take the offer that we were to give. Right. And now the price is below what we were willing to offer. Right. So I feel like it's one of those things it's like they feel kind of good that they got a good deal 'cause they went with different house, you know?

[00:53:43] Tracy Hayes: Well, things happen for a reason. Mm-hmm. We've seen that happen a lot. But to go back to our, the original part of the story, when that, when that one agent said, Hey, we're not gonna take, we're not gonna make decisions until Monday evening. Mm-hmm. And they go, why didn't she, you know, reach out to you, say, Hey, I know you guys are interested. They're ready to actually

[00:54:00] make a decision. 'cause they've got an offer. Do you guys wanna submit? Maybe you guys make an offer. It's another few thousand dollars more.

[00:54:06] Allison Chance: Why? I know.

[00:54:06] Tracy Hayes: Would they not? Make

[00:54:07] Allison Chance: that

[00:54:07] Tracy Hayes: phone

[00:54:08] Allison Chance: call. I know it, it was very upsetting. And then of course, like anything in real estate, everything blows up as soon as I get in the car to go get my kids from school. As soon as I get to the baseball field to watch my son. I am not joking. I have had my computer out at the baseball field probably like in the last six games, four those times. Mm-hmm. I've written from the baseball field once again, I don't share that to like, you know, make to toot my own horn. I'm sharing that because I am doing whatever needs to done at that moment to get the job done. Because my biggest fear is that I don't do something and it's my fault that lost out if I've done everything right. And in that situation with that agent, I did have text messages of a correspondence our back and forth because I think my buyer fully trusts that, you know, I asked all the right But it's nice to have that, that paper trail of like, Hey, here's what we did, and here's what they said. And, you know mm-hmm. Then, then you can, you can go to bed at night knowing that you've done what you're supposed to do. All right. Let's, cause we, we still got a lot of really good questions that I want to create great content for you.

[00:55:12] Tracy Hayes: So we want to cut these down. 'cause 'cause otherwise we will be here for two hours.

[00:55:16] Allison Chance: Yes, I know. Well, we were here for like two hours last time, I think.

[00:55:18] Tracy Hayes: Yeah, we, that's right. five years have gone by. Mm-hmm. Uh, the, the brokerages, anchored, anchored, real estate group moving along. There's got to be a situation that, that lives in your head. I think we all have, you know, the story, I, I'm obviously, I'm writing my book Grit. Everyone has that grit story. Mm-hmm. But something that surprised you or challenged you. Reminded you exactly why you do this.

[00:55:43] Allison Chance: Your questions are always so like, thought provoking and don't get to hear about them before, No, it, it's good because it, well, no,

[00:55:50] Tracy Hayes: that was one of the ones that you should have, well,

[00:55:51] Allison Chance: well probably

[00:55:52] Tracy Hayes: not worded that way.

[00:55:53] Allison Chance: Right. But I, I think it is so important, it's so important to have these thoughts and really focus

[00:56:00] on challenges. 'cause challenges make you stronger. let's see, read it for me one more time.

[00:56:07] Tracy Hayes: Something that surprised you, challenged you, or reminded you exactly why you this.

[00:56:12] Allison Chance: Ah, okay. So not all business is good business and you know, like I tell my kids and especially my son right now, 'cause he's in two different baseball teams, you're not going to get every You're not going to get every run. You're not going to win everything. And that's okay. You don't. That is not, that is life. That is not normal. And so for me, five years ago, if I didn't get a listing or if I went to something and I, you know, maybe felt like, oh gosh, what did I, did I do okay? I am in such a, like better place with me personally saying once again, like, not like. I'm not getting this listing 'cause there's something better that's gonna along, or I'm not gonna work with this buyer because, you know, I put a boundary place that said I cannot work with you this weekend. It's holiday weekend. I'm outta town. We have no agents to service you, and you still book a flight to come here and expect me to change my plans. I'm not the right fit you. Because if you're doing that before we even go out and look at houses, you're not gonna respect a boundary that I put place like, Hey, it's Sunday. We don't have to submit that repair request until Friday. We don't need to talk today. Mm-hmm. And so that's where I would say that I have come to learn that you don't need to get every listing, don't need to get every buyer. And that just much as you're interviewing me to work with you, I'm interviewing you because I don't want work with someone that have the same values beliefs as me in the sense that, you know, For like property management for example. Like if you don't see your house one of your bus biggest investments and I tell you, Hey, the stucco's cracking, you need to get a pressure washed, you need to do an full exterior paint, gonna be $10,000. You know, we can get you a military dis discount through one of our preferred vendors, but if you decide to not take care of that property, that is only gonna create more issues down the road. And I just feel like we don't align. So it's not gonna be a fit. And you're better off going with someone that might be, you know, more hands off or less expensive, but they're not looking out for your best interests.

[00:58:07] Tracy Hayes: Right? I call those the stepping over the quarter, pick up the nickel. Clients.

[00:58:11] Allison Chance: Yeah.

[00:58:11] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. they're trying to look for that deal really, or, or do the maintenance

[00:58:15] Allison Chance: well, and let's, let's be honest

[00:58:16] Tracy Hayes: when they should

[00:58:17] Allison Chance: and it's only can just cost them more later. I mean, the buyer broker agreement has really everything. Mm-hmm. And that's also had to allow it. That's been a challenge of one. first all, just getting buyers to agree to sign it before you show them properties. Because it says some in there that say like, we can run their credit and all this crazy stuff. And it's like, no, we're not doing that. Your lender's that. Mm-hmm. But, you know, it's just like, that has been a huge struggle. And then, you know, we still do the Zillow advertising and trying to get any Zillow lead to sign that. I mean, you can sign a showing agreement for like seven days, but then you're literally get meeting them and essentially have having to prove yourself and then maybe they already have another agent and they're just you to see the property. So

[00:58:56] Tracy Hayes: wasn't Zillow accused of doing some like subtle,

[00:59:00] fine print And when someone's. You know, on their site and they're clicking basically

[00:59:04] Allison Chance: what? Yeah. 'cause they think they're calling the agent. So this is what I do. I actually go a further 'cause I treat others the way that I would wanna be treated. Mm-hmm. So you call in on Zillow, I answer the phone and I look up the property and available. So. Okay, great. property's available, here's details, whatever they're looking at. The same thing I'm at. But sometimes MLS, if it's active contingent, it shows different than pending on on Zillow. Mm-hmm. So just kinda explaining everything. Okay, great. Are you currently working with an agent? Oh yeah. My sister's friend is an agent and we, we wanna work with her, but like we don't wanna bother her. Okay. No problem. I'm gonna help you out here.

[00:59:40] Tracy Hayes: I love that one. And that's actually, that's actually a quote,

[00:59:43] Allison Chance: right? Right. I, and I'm like, I'm gonna help you out here because it takes me no time literally copy the listing agent's information and send it to them directly. Because guess what? They're not going to work with me. So why am I going waste my time meeting them when they clearly say they have somebody that they're working with? So I literally will

[01:00:00] send the listing agreements, the listing agent's information, and then any question that they have, they can go directly to them. And I said, by the way, when we hang up, you're going to get a Zillow survey of did this agent connect whatnot. And I'm gonna mark that you already have an agent and we're not gonna bother you from here on out, but you know, if you have a moment, please give us a, a, a green light because we did actually help you. But it's not even that. It's once again, treating others the way that you wanna be treated. Yeah. Some people will post, like in Facebook groups, like, oh, does anyone know, like, the best way to do X, Y, Z? And you'll have, you know, kind of internet trolls that come on and say, why don't you Google that? Well, okay. That's not really what they're asking. They're looking someone's advice, a person to share something with them. So for me, it costs nothing for us to just give them the information that they're looking for.

[01:00:47] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. Yeah. U-Haul in 2024, migration data. Obviously Jackson was one of fastest growing inbound destinations.

[01:00:55] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm. Remote workers, equity rich sellers, and high cost, from high cost metros, obviously we know New York, New Jersey mm-hmm. Are, are.

[01:01:00] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm. Are, are California. some, mm. California California are some of our top. and I, I think California is just, I don't understand how anybody lives there anymore, but,

[01:01:11] Allison Chance: right.

[01:01:12] Tracy Hayes: Um, the question is, you're one of the most sought out agents in the market, and obviously it's. Uh, focus on the military relocation. Mm-hmm. Part of that, walk me through intake process. What are the questions you're asking and how do you help someone self-select into the right Jacksonville submarket without you ever having to tell them where to go?

[01:01:33] Allison Chance: Yeah, that's a great question. Mm-hmm. So that happened just this morning I didn't get to do my full like interview and, um, intake call. But really one of the first questions I ask when I get on a call with a buyer or a seller is, how did you hear about us? Because I want to make sure that I'm thanking that person that referred us. And it also kind of helps guide my direction of how I'm gonna take the call, because essentially. Are they referred by a friend? Was it, um, a Facebook group? Was it, through an ad? I mean, we, you

[01:02:00] Tracy Hayes: might have saw listing

[01:02:01] Allison Chance: right to you, right. We show up pretty high on Google and I've gotten a lot of clients lately who have no military affiliation and that's how they found us as is on Google. So that's kind of exciting. We also have a very strong presence on Zillow. We have 205 star reviews, so I think that those things also speak volumes. Mm-hmm. But one of the first questions if they are a military client if they're relocating here for work is where are you gonna be working? And in our case, we have basically the two bases. have NAS Jacks, which is the aviation, section. And then we have Naval Station Mayport, which still has aviation, but has where all the ships are based out of. So that's usually the first question. And obviously those are very different places because that's, you know, off of 17, in the Orange Park area versus, you know, basically Mayport, which is. As far as you can go north, of Atlantic Beach. So that really will drive the discussion. And then you also have to remember that what I think is a far commute may not be a far for the buyer. They might have been doing a commute DC Oh Oh yeah. Where they were in the car for

[01:03:00] hours every day. So they wanna live in St. John's County because that's where they wanna live, but they don't care about the commute, so mm-hmm. It's really asking the right questions, like, you know, okay, where are your gonna go to school? it's telling them about the step up student scholarship that, that they may not know about. That is a great benefit for them. talking about, you know, I've had questions as far as like, Hey, my son plays ice hockey. Where is there? And we really only have one here, and my son's friend ice hockey. Mm-hmm. So I happen to know that. Mm-hmm. you know, all the, and that's what I I play matchmaker in the sense that I try tell people, you're not just with us to purchase a home or to sell a home. You're with us more on the purchase side. You're, you're with us to. Build your life and we've done all the hard work. the client that I was about earlier that's about to have her baby asked me about a pediatrician. And I didn't just come out the gate and say, oh, you should go to my pediatrician. I said, well, what are you looking for in a pediatrician? Do you want like a one provider office where you're gonna see the same doctor every day? Or is it more important for you to have access for sick appointments and whatnot? So what I think might be good for my is not necessarily good for yours. And so what, with my connections through Jacksonville mom and just living in this area for as long as I have, I know that if someone really wants hands-off approach that this would be the doctor to go with. Or if they have this insurance, I know that they take that insurance at that doctor. So it's little things like that that really help create value for our clients. And, you know, it doesn't feel like work for me because I'm literally providing a service that really is just invaluable.

[01:04:28] Tracy Hayes: Now, I, I'm. can just assume and others listening don't understand why you are providing that. Like this is the doctor to go to. Mm-hmm. Is because a lot of our military, they are moving here and their spouse is deployed. Mm-hmm. And they're by themselves raising their kids and they don't know anyone. Right. And by providing that concierge service,

[01:04:49] Allison Chance: right, that's a great way to put it. Yes. Mm-hmm.

[01:04:50] Tracy Hayes: There's a referral gonna hopefully back out of that. Right. 'cause you're giving such service.

[01:04:54] Allison Chance: I know. Or like, friendships and future, you know, just everything. I mean, we just hosted event. we do an Easter event where we're now gonna basically do it every year. called, we're gonna call it, well we've done just Easter photos, but it's Easter Soay is gonna be the name and basically it's kind of the Sunday before Easter and I do it at my house and I have a petting zoo. But I bring in and I bring in a photographer and we do photos with the Easter Bunny. We have Easter bunny dressed up. Yeah. And then we have other things. And it's just, it's so fun because it's spring and everything's blooming, and these little baby animals, we had a nine day old pig and we had bunnies. And the joy that exuded from this event and then all this sweet little photos that we had, it just really, and honestly at the end of the day, it probably cost us a thousand dollars to put on between the food, the drink, the photographer, the petting zoo. But it was worth every single penny, because that may be the only. Social interaction or activity that our military or family member gets because of their husband being deployed, them being new to the area.

[01:05:53] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[01:05:53] Allison Chance: And who knows, they might meet somebody there and kids may connect and they might exchange numbers and now they're gonna have a play date.

[01:05:58] Tracy Hayes: Right. Right.

[01:05:58] Allison Chance: So it's little things like that because that is one thing where military do decide to live on base. And our base housing here can be pretty hit or miss. Um, it's older, of it's older and, but a lot of people will basically say, I don't care about the house. I don't care if it's you know, older. I wanna live on base because I know I'll have an instant sense community.

[01:06:25] Tracy Hayes: What's always the availability for on-base housing? Is it available?

[01:06:27] Allison Chance: It just depends. Mm-hmm. And then also they'll come to you and say, Hey, I know you're this rank, but you can have this house that's in the lower rank, or maybe it's a smaller house, but we're still gonna take your entire housing allowance. Mm-hmm. So that's not really ideal for buyers because you know, or. Military because they're like, well, I have, you know, I just helped a family. They are a family nine. So they were moving here from Virginia and they, she was pregnant with their seventh child. Mm-hmm. And so they just had their seventh, we got them a great house the north side. she as well. So that was part of our whole process. We needed to find a house that had a room for homeschooling. And it was one of those like older homes that you had the formal living and dining room Right when you walk in the house. So it's this big open space. So they're able to put their entire homeschool room there.

[01:07:09] Tracy Hayes: Right, right. right. We're gonna change subject over to new construction.

[01:07:12] Allison Chance: Okay.

[01:07:13] Tracy Hayes: obviously you do a lot in St. John's County, but I would imagine too with the base, Nassau County has got a lot of things going on up there

[01:07:18] 319 AUDIO: and

[01:07:19] Tracy Hayes: play as well. just tell us the importance. you know, someone who's these buyers who might be listening out there, or even an agent who might be listening. The importance to project. I saw this great video, this morning, and I'm trying to remember. I have to, I even text, I said to her, that's a great video. Just

[01:07:37] Allison Chance: like, don't go

[01:07:37] Tracy Hayes: to Heather.

[01:07:37] Allison Chance: Yeah.

[01:07:38] Tracy Hayes: Heather Perez. Oh, I love her. This great video. Her, the importance in new construction to representation.

[01:07:43] Allison Chance: Oh Oh my gosh, yes.

[01:07:44] Tracy Hayes: Yes. Share that in why, you know, if someone at one of these military families are moving in and say, Hey, we're looking at new construction, just wanna just go to the builder. But why is it important to have Alice.

[01:07:53] Allison Chance: So I actually need to go look at Heather's page and, and I need to recreate a video like that because there's so many people that are on

[01:08:00] your social media. Once again, you can look at the metrics, but you don't know who's on your social media. You don't even know who within your sphere of influence that may wanna buy a house. And the way it happens is very quickly you're driving around, you think like, oh, let's just pull in and check out. And you see beautiful model home and there's a nice builder agent that greets you at the front door off, offers you water soda and snacks and you know, it smells good in the house. And it's like this instant, like, oh, this is amazing. So people rarely start the process how they should, which is, you know, calling me saying, Hey, I wanna look at this neighborhood, neighborhood, or Hey, I wanna buy a house that's a new build. Here's our budget, or whatever it may be. So it always backwards. They start where they see the house they want, and then we have to work backwards. There's so much that goes into new construction. I actually just. went to a home that we have out to check in on it, and I talked to the tenants and they had said, oh, we wanna buy a house and when it's time we're gonna work with you. Well, they had a two year lease. We're only six months into their lease, so I'm not checking with them because they're not even in a position to buy a home.

[01:09:03] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[01:09:03] Allison Chance: So I walk in they said they wanted to share some information me. Okay, great. Are you pregnant? You're having baby? They just got married, you know, I don't know. Well, we're under contract on a house. Oh, wow. Okay. We're building a house in St. County. Okay, great. Oh my gosh. So excited for you, you know. In my mind, they could have gone without another agent or they could done whatever. Yeah. It just really happened quickly. And we didn't even think this was gonna happen, but it was just an offer we couldn't refuse. Once again, I think they went under contract in February, best time to buy a house because everyone's kind reducing everything. And so I start talking about some of things that I recommend to my buyers, what to do during building a home. And their eyes kind of get wide, like, oh yeah, wow. Oh yeah. And the best part is, well, not the part, the worst part is they have an agent. So they ended up getting connected somebody on Zillow when they at another house. And then that agent said, oh, well I can help you here and here here. And maybe they had signed up by our broker agreement, so they were bound. And so that agent has not essentially, really done their job or maybe don't, doesn't know that you can get inspections during phase of the build. Mm-hmm. That there's a slab, a drywall of framing, whatnot. and so it's just little things like that. So I can't stress enough that. And this is the thing I would say is the builders have kind of gone all over the place. You know, we went from them paying us all these bonus commissions to paying us nothing during COVID. Now they're paying us again, which is awesome and we appreciate that. But. From my understanding of every builder I've to is that if you and I, Tracy, if you and I go into a prop, a model home to, sorry, lemme start over. If Tracy and I go into a home to buy the same house and Tracy's underrepresented, and I have a realtor, Tracy and I are paying same amount for the house because the real estate commission is not necessarily tied to that purchase. It's a marketing budget that the builder has. So I make sure to tell that to my clients because they that they might get house for less because they don't have to pay commission. However, that's not the case, and I think some builders might do where the side agent might get a higher commission. Once again, we don't know the inner workings. They operate differently than us. Yeah. But

[01:11:06] Tracy Hayes: it is in a

[01:11:07] Allison Chance: budget. Right. But the point of it all is, is that I actually am working on a deal right now with somebody who. Kind of did the same thing. They came to me, but I then immediately texted the agents that are at site and said, Hey, I'm her realtor. You know? And some of them would say, no, they have cameras. You didn't show up with her. You can't do this. But once again, I do feel like to deny someone the right to have, because going under contract is just first step. And that's what I try to tell people, you know, haven't even realized what my value is because until we finish this, there's so much that happens along the way. And by the way, you could get under contract three times. And then we're

[01:11:44] Tracy Hayes: actually, I think in new construction, there's a lot more after

[01:11:47] Allison Chance: Right. Right, exactly. Yeah. So, we're on a deal right now and I basically just pushed the envelope of like, can I get this buyer? And we got a verbal green light we're waiting on contract to be sent. And someone told them as a VA buyer, another, they were looking at a couple different neighborhoods. The side said, oh, it's a 5% deposit. No questions. Like, we're not changing it. Well, guess what? They're paying a $3,000 deposit. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, all of their closing costs are gonna be covered by the builder.

[01:12:13] Tracy Hayes: Right.

[01:12:13] Allison Chance: And why are they gonna all this money out and have sitting in an escrow account the next couple months when it's just gonna come back to them anyway? Like, just think through it

[01:12:21] Tracy Hayes: a hundred percent in, you have to have some, you don't know that. That agent, you know, you might have worked with them just a months ago. Right. On another deal. And you know what they'll sell house for.

[01:12:33] Allison Chance: Right.

[01:12:33] Tracy Hayes: Exactly. So maybe, maybe you are going in there and saying, oh, you want 500 but we're gonna offer you 4 75 'cause you just sold one

[01:12:39] Allison Chance: Right.

[01:12:39] Tracy Hayes: A few months ago for

[01:12:40] Allison Chance: four 70. And I do explain that it's in your best interest to just not negotiate off the price. And the builder really doesn't wanna negotiate off purchase price 'cause they want appraisals and values keep going up.

[01:12:50] Tracy Hayes: Keep, yeah.

[01:12:50] Allison Chance: So it's, it's a win-win. 'cause they're gonna like literally give you all the credits in the world.

[01:12:54] Tracy Hayes: Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. No, it's losing out if you're not having pro. again, it goes, the better representation you can get. Mm-hmm. Someone experienced like you, you know what, or you know, maybe it's up in Nassau County and call em Melissa Rx. Mm-hmm. Who's right there. Yeah. Hey, what is that builder doing? What do you know they'll do for you?

[01:13:12] Allison Chance: Right. Right.

[01:13:12] Tracy Hayes: they get that kind information

[01:13:13] Allison Chance: and then Yeah, like back the taxes and the unimproved land. I mean, I don't think a lot of people about that. And that was actually on the news a couple months ago and it. You know, hopefully people are aware of it. But you know, what's happening is people can't afford the house a year later because the payment goes up. Yeah. Because the taxes get reassessed.

[01:13:30] Tracy Hayes: Well, you know, I, I worked for a major builder. Yeah. And, you know, we had a calculation to predict what taxes

[01:13:35] Allison Chance: going to

[01:13:35] Tracy Hayes: be, but

[01:13:35] Allison Chance: can't. But you can't. Yeah. You can't definitively say,

[01:13:37] Tracy Hayes: yeah. You can't competitively say, and really the county still is when they give you, they have their calculator that's not anything, you know, set in stone either. Yeah.

[01:13:44] Allison Chance: But definitely just the conversation of, hey, your payment is going to go up next year.

[01:13:48] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[01:13:48] Allison Chance: So,

[01:13:48] Tracy Hayes: yes, yes.

[01:13:49] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[01:13:49] Tracy Hayes: True. Just to prepare them for that. Mm-hmm. thank. Alright. cost of ownership.

[01:13:54] Allison Chance: Yes.

[01:13:54] Tracy Hayes: Obviously we have insurance. How early in the process are you getting with your client to through or really, as we know here in Florida, you know? Mm-hmm. We used to wait, you know, a week before closing, Hey, call and get insurance. Oh no, you're getting it right for.

[01:14:07] Allison Chance: it's literally either happening right after get under contract or even almost when we put an offer in. Mm-hmm. And I'll send an email, I'll copy the buyers. They get my vendor list. But I do, it's the concierge. again, I will the inspection. I will do all that for you. And you really don't have to do much. Now if you wanna be more hands-on, you be more hands-on. You use whatever vendors you work with. But you know, I send that email and then once the inspection we'll get the quote of what it is. Then once the four point win MI come back, which once again, our agents even getting their buyers win MITs and four points because do they even know what that does? So we'll get that, we'll it back. And today I actually got one where I'm trying to get a new water heater because 20 years old and I'm getting a denial, which is awesome because the seller said, we're not fixing anything. This as is. Mm-hmm. any buyer that walks through this door is gonna need a water heater. So you might as well take the buyer that's currently here that's gonna close on May 1st as a cash buyer that's gonna have no other restrictions. So, once again, do people even know to ask for that? Like of course, I don't want a denial. I want them to be able to buy the house and then of course she'll replace it after she moves in. She'll have 30 days to provide, you know, a receipt and photo and we'll be good to go.

[01:15:14] Tracy Hayes: Yeah. I think there's a, again, a difference between a top performer and well agents who are only know what they know when they're first getting started, but they're not getting mentored by someone like experience like yourself. When you're having that discussion with the seller to say, Hey. How old's the roof?

[01:15:29] Allison Chance: Yeah.

[01:15:29] Tracy Hayes: How old's the water heater? the insurance companies know this

[01:15:32] Allison Chance: Right? Right.

[01:15:33] Tracy Hayes: They've got it.

[01:15:34] Allison Chance: and that's, you know, even with a VA buyer, like, just explaining to them, like you, one of the reasons that sellers don't love taking a VA loan is because their agents maybe have educated them wrong.

[01:15:45] Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm. The va we, we know that the VA loan has so many affordances to a buyer because it's got the appraisal, contingency. It has, you know, WDO and more of a stringent appraisal process. So once again, but it's also. Think about it, if we didn't have the VA loan, my business would not

[01:16:04] Allison Chance: what it is, right? Because many people cannot afford to buy a house because they don't have 3, 5, 10, 20% to put down. The military is giving that option for the a hundred percent financing, right? And so it's a huge benefit, but it's also, you know, a very big risk for a lender because they wanna make sure the value is there.

[01:16:24] Tracy Hayes: I don't think enough of the VA buyers on existing homes. Yeah. Utilize, I believe it's $6,000. Yeah. I've offered it, but no one's taken it.

[01:16:33] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[01:16:33] Tracy Hayes: Where you can get that new water heater done.

[01:16:35] Allison Chance: Yeah.

[01:16:35] Tracy Hayes: 'cause it's more energy efficient. Right. Or a new window put in. Right. Or whatever may be.

[01:16:39] Allison Chance: Yeah.

[01:16:40] Tracy Hayes: And they're not taking that $6,000, you know, it rolls into the loan.

[01:16:44] Allison Chance: Right.

[01:16:44] Tracy Hayes: Uh, it's part of the loan, but it's like, Hey, this is an expense that you have. Right. You months and it's gonna, six

[01:16:49] Allison Chance: months from now, it's gonna basically, you know, minimally change the payment.

[01:16:52] Tracy Hayes: Right, right, right. and have the new, new, uh, appliances or it

[01:16:55] Allison Chance: be, which is ultimately gonna lower your power bill and all that. Mm-hmm. You know?

[01:16:59] Tracy Hayes: Alright. So you, you're

[01:17:00] working two ends of the extreme. we've talked a lot about mm-hmm. St. John's County a little bit, although St. John's County, I, I think it's kind of more midrange until, obviously Avira is still part of St. John's County. Mm-hmm. You start, get into the luxury market. Tell us about that. What kind clients are you seeing in the luxury side? What kind of phone calls are you getting? uh, obviously our New York and California clients mm-hmm. Yeah. Are looking at that price point of home million dollars in North.

[01:17:24] Allison Chance: Right. And that's where I think one of the segments markets, the two segments of markets that really have not affected as much as the resale market is new construction and luxury. So, mam, million plus, right? Mm-hmm. Which, you know, a couple years ago I felt like a $500,000 home. Was a nice home. Mm-hmm. And like now our values have that like, that same home is now 900 a million.

[01:17:47] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[01:17:47] Allison Chance: So what I'm seeing is just a lot of cash and a lot of, you know, it's really affordable here based on where they're coming from. And so there's, you know, and then they come here and it feels like they're on vacation 24 7 there's no snow and no, there's traffic, but not as bad of traffic. And so I feel like. You know, if people come down and they vacation at Ponte Indian Club or they, you know, go stay at Atlantic Beach, you know, and then with all the growth that's happening here in Jacksonville, the Four Seasons, the new Jack Stadium mm-hmm. You know, seeing so much, of an influx of people who never really knew this existed. And I recently just did an ad in one of the military publications and I wrote on the ad, it's a picture of me and Blair on beach, and I wrote, helping with your relocation to the best. Coast quotes. And the reason I say that is because we are the San Diego of the East coast when it comes to the military community. Mm-hmm. Because literally, San Diego is so expensive. and then all the things in California and then in Florida, it's like, we don't have state taxes. We don't have, the millionaire tax they're doing California for our luxury clients. Mm-hmm. And so, and then just, you know, all of the benefits. I mean, I know there's a lot of mixed reviews about but there are a lot of reasons why have moved to Florida. you know, this proposal no property taxes. It'll be very interesting to kinda what goes with that. The new, like abolishing HOAs is interesting 'cause I feel like that could something that is very interesting and, kind of concerning on both sides. Yes. And then also like the ADUs, think ADUs accessory dwelling units are a huge benefit to our area, but once again, it can kind of, you know. affect like drainage and because if you have too much, you know, of a piece of land with property on it, and I know in Atlantic Beach and some of the other beach towns, if you go to build a pool, there's like requirements for the pavers and how much pavers versus grass or, you know, other material that you can have. And so there's a lot that goes into it. But I do feel like banning ADUs is disservice because we are. A very multi-generational, area. my mom actually lives across the street from me, so she doesn't live in my house, but most people want to have separation, or we have a very, or you get older and you've only got one parent left. Right? Right. And

[01:19:56] Tracy Hayes: you know, they're getting to a point where they can't be on their

[01:19:58] Allison Chance: phone.

[01:19:58] Tracy Hayes: Right. Or
[01:20:00] you have a situation where you have two working parents, which is more common than not,

[01:20:03] Allison Chance: you have an au pair or you have a live-in nanny. Right. For me, I've never even explored those options because our house isn't set up to where I would be comfortable because I would want them to have their own space.

So I think it's really cool, like what we're seeing in the legislation, and obviously that's going to drive the market. But I mean, as far as, I have a listing in Ponte Vedra right now. It's north of A1A, great listing. I think the one thing that people underestimate with beach properties is the amount of upkeep that it takes to keep them running.

And that's one of the reasons that my sellers are selling this house. They're also kind of in that retirement age, and they're kind of done having the Airbnb/VRBO model. But as costs in the last two to three years—roofs, the exterior paint, the salt air, what it does to the property—the reality is, is that land is just a hot commodity.

People want to live on Ponte Vedra Boulevard. They want to live on Ocean Avenue in Atlantic Beach. And so they'll pay for it, and they'll buy a teardown and they'll spend two years drawing plans and making it perfect.

[01:21:08] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[01:21:08] Allison Chance: You know, we had the record sale in Ponte Vedra Beach that happened a year or two ago. It was listed for 19, I think it sold for 16—the “Fish House,” it was called. That was the name of the house.

But it's just fascinating, and that's why I love going on the hot sheet and filtering with the highest prices. Because just when you think you've seen the highest price, like one of the Winn-Dixie family houses just went on the market on San Pablo—it’s like 17 million.

[01:21:35] Tracy Hayes: Winn-Dixie—yeah, I remember seeing that.

[01:21:36] Allison Chance: Yeah, and I was like—because we've driven by it on the boat—you see it from the water and it doesn't look as impressive. Then you see the front side and it's like an estate. It’s a compound. Really cool.

But again, I got asked this question the other day—do you want your business to shift from doing more $1–3M deals to $3–5M deals?

And the answer is no. I actually love the makeup of my business in the sense that I get to do a little bit of everything.

Like right now I have a condo that I'm selling to a friend's mother who recently lost her husband. She relocated back, and her grandson is going to be able to ride his bike from his house to her new condo in the same neighborhood. That just makes me so happy.

[01:22:17] Tracy Hayes: Yeah.

[01:22:17] Allison Chance: And so a $180,000 condo—and then you have the other extreme where we're selling $2 million houses—and those people are just as gracious and kind. It's just a different story.

So I’m not sitting here wishing anything different. Of course, we want our volume to increase, we want a better year than last year—but there are other ways to quantify success.

For me, that's looking different as my kids get older. Quality time with my family. My daughter’s going to middle school, my son is in a ton of sports—I want to be present for those moments because I can’t get those back.

And I know people say “there’s enough business for everyone,” but I’m in a really good place where yes is an answer and no is an answer too. And I’m honest with people—“Hey, I can’t take this on right now, here’s someone who can.”

[01:23:23] Tracy Hayes: Well this question is about you—you formalized something most agents only talk about—a giving program that routes back a portion of your commission. What has that done for you and the clients you attract?

[01:23:39] Allison Chance: Yeah, so the giving program—I started with Homes for Heroes in California. A lot of agents think it’s lead generation—it’s not. It works more like a referral system.

But honestly, the giving back side has gotten complicated. Because now commissions are negotiated upfront. So sometimes we’re already reducing commission, and then trying to give money back on top of that.

We’ve given back over $500,000 since we started, but now it’s not as visible. Before, clients would see it as a line item after closing. Now it gets buried in negotiation.

So we’ve had to evolve. But at the end of the day, we’re always going to do what’s best for the client.

I had one recently where the seller wouldn’t pay commission, the buyer didn’t want to make up the difference—we walked away. And they ended up buying a home for half the price.

Half the price, half the commission—but it was the right decision. They’ll live in it, then rent it out, and then upgrade later. When I explain that strategy, people’s eyes just open.

[01:25:54] Tracy Hayes: The number one question right now—should I buy now or wait?

[01:26:01] Allison Chance: That depends. I literally told a buyer recently—February is probably the best time to buy.

But we don’t know where rates will be. So it’s always case-by-case.

If you’re renting and your lease break is expensive—but you get a builder offering 4.99%—you take that deal.

This is where having the right agent matters. I’m only as strong as my team—lenders, inspectors, title, insurance. If one piece fails, the whole experience suffers.

[01:27:12] Tracy Hayes: Last question—this ties back to AI. NAR reported in 2025 that buyers are spending more time researching online before ever talking to an agent.

[01:27:29] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[01:27:30] Tracy Hayes: yet the satisfaction with agent relationships for buyers who work with a specialist are at an all time high.

[01:27:36] Allison Chance: Mm-hmm.

[01:27:36] Tracy Hayes: As well, it's almost as if AI has made the agent’s expertise even more valuable.

[01:27:43] Allison Chance: Right.

[01:27:45] Tracy Hayes: AI tools can now give a buyer neighborhood comparisons, AVMs, school ratings, and market trend reports before they ever even speak to an agent. What does Anchored Real Estate Group produce in a transaction that an algorithm cannot?

[01:28:01] Allison Chance: Real experience. Real relationships. We've worked with buyers all over Jacksonville. If someone wants insight, we can connect them with past clients who’ve lived there for years and will give honest feedback—what they love or don’t.

And now people are coming in with AI-generated interview questions. Which is fine—but it creates a different dynamic. If I have two buyers—one referred by a past client and one from Zillow—I already have trust with one. With the other, we’re building that from scratch.

At the end of the day, AI can’t hold your hand through the process. We can.

Real estate is different by state, by region, even by zip code. We guide you through every step—and after closing too. If we don’t know something, we find the answer. That’s how you grow as an agent.

And honestly, the difference between me and some more experienced agents is I’m open to change. Real estate is evolving daily. If you’re not evolving with it, you’ll get left behind.

[01:30:34] Tracy Hayes: There are brokerages shifting fees to buyers instead of sellers. A savvy agent knows how to navigate that—AI doesn’t.

[01:30:56] Allison Chance: Exactly. Even reviewing closing disclosures—are agents doing that? Checking ALTA statements?

We save sellers money—for example, reissue rates on title insurance can save $800–$1,000 if they bought recently. Most agents don’t even mention that.

[01:31:57] Tracy Hayes: And that alone changes how clients view your value.

[01:32:06] Allison Chance: Right. But you have to advocate for yourself. I read The Full Fee Agent and Never Split the Difference.

I had a situation where another agent wanted to split a cost that wasn’t my responsibility. I said no.

If it’s my fault, I’ll take responsibility—but I don’t want reducing commission to become the norm. Even $4,000 matters.

[01:33:40] Tracy Hayes: That’s real money.

[01:33:41] Allison Chance: Exactly. People see percentages, not dollar amounts. But $4,000 is significant—especially when many buyers don’t even have that in their account after closing.

[01:34:09] Tracy Hayes: Well said. Thank you for coming on.

[01:34:13] Allison Chance: Thank you, Tracy.

[01:34:13] Tracy Hayes: Great show. Everything’s in the show notes—contact Allison at Anchored Real Estate Group, especially for military relocation.

[01:34:29] Allison Chance: Yep—my husband’s still stationed here at Mayport. We’ve been back in Jacksonville since 2019. We love it here—we call it the Best Coast—and we’re not going anywhere.

[01:35:02] Tracy Hayes: Thanks.

[01:35:03] 319 AUDIO: Thanks.