Angela Tharp: Experience, Education and Professionilsm

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Tracy Hayes: [00:00:00] Hey, welcome back to the real estate excellence podcast. Today's guest is one of the most respected agents in Northeast, East Florida. She has previous experience in appraising loan processing and commercial real estate. She has passionately been working with buyers and sellers for over 25 years. Her success comes from a combination of experience, continued education and a vast knowledge of the local market and her passion for her clients.

Tracy Hayes: Let's welcome this true professional, Angela Tharp, with first ghost. 

Angela Tharp: Thank you so much. Thank you for this opportunity. Yeah. 

Tracy Hayes: I appreciate you coming on. Cause I want, I know the listeners, we were talking pre show,~ uh,~ you know, to share your experiences. And one of the things I was thinking about as I was putting my notes together and questions,~ uh,~ you've been through some market changes and, and you know, how to deal with it, how to your mental mindset and things.

Tracy Hayes: So I want to, we'll eventually, you know, dig into that and what, what you think, you know, what are we currently dealing with? Based on, you know, experiences like you handled in 2008 and so forth. Based on that and how to, how to help some of these agents because I know as [00:01:00] things are moving forward, we're seeing listings stay on a little longer and, you know, the market's not,~ uh,~ put the sign in the yard and we got 20 offers in three days and, you know, we're under contract and the house has gone within 45 days.

Tracy Hayes: It's not happening right now. 

Angela Tharp: Yeah, you're absolutely right. The market has changed and since I started back in 2001, it's definitely gone through ups and downs. Absolutely. Yeah. And that'll be the case always. I mean, like in any industry. Right. Everything will have its swings. ~Um, ~and we're certainly in one now.

Tracy Hayes: Do you think, you know, I'm just thinking about when I, when I made that statement and you made the statement back, let me bring a thought, because we're on a 24 hour news cycle and so forth,~ um,~ our emotions as far as the economy, because I think a lot of the market changes,~ um,~ have to do with, you know, How the American people feel, you know, our emotional, whether we feel prices have gone up, whether or we are feeling that crunch at home and our budgets are, you know, are, are changing.

Tracy Hayes: And because we're on this 24 hour news [00:02:00] cycle, you know, it's like every day I turn on Bloomberg, I tell everyone, and they're still, every day there's a morning subject, like nine o'clock. What are the feds going to do with the,~ uh,~ the fed fund rate? Right. And we're going to change interest rates. That's a topic like every morning.

Tracy Hayes: It's like, why is this a topic every morning? Cause it doesn't, Change but when they meet so why are we still talking about it? 

Angela Tharp: Well, it's interesting. You bring that up So real estate is local, right? So ~um ~Listening to the news is important because we need to be in tune with what's going on in the world But what's important real estate is what's going on locally.

Tracy Hayes: Yep. 

Angela Tharp: Yes Nationwide will affect us but in our area. I feel like we're in a nice sweet bubble You Northeast Florida has been blessed with a lot of growth in the last few years We've had some we have a lot of different infrastructures as far as industries and medical We're really strong in the medical become a 

Tracy Hayes: financial hub as well insurance and 

Angela Tharp: so forth.

Angela Tharp: [00:03:00] So it's bringing a lot of different You know companies therefore there's going to be growth as far as population and there's definitely growth and employees coming in and needing housing ~So, ~we have a lot of good to us, we're on the ocean, we're,~ um,~ you know, we're a pivoting point to so many other cities, so it's a great location.

Angela Tharp: Yeah, yeah. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~but, yes, nationwide, there's a lot of influence and influx,~ uh,~ due to the economy, due to the elections coming up, there's so many things that are affecting us. on a daily basis. 

Tracy Hayes: Right. Well, our emotions, we're seeing this news in this 24 hour cycle. I think it can be too much to the point. But,~ uh,~ we've zeroed in on it.

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~I don't know, zeroed in is actually not really a correct word. word, but we're, our decisions we're making, whether he's buyers and sellers, of course, as agents and as loan officers, we're out there marking, Hey, you should, you know, marry the house, right? ~Uh, ~date the rate and everyone's arguing over that and what it means.

Tracy Hayes: Well, it means what it [00:04:00] means, you know, uh,~ uh, ~but,~ uh,~ it just brought that thought up. So I want to kick off the show. As I always do. Where are you from? 

Angela Tharp: Originally? I'm from Columbia, South America. I came when I was eight years old and we lived up in new England. for a couple of years and decided it was too cold.

Angela Tharp: So then we,~ um,~ I 

Tracy Hayes: grew up on Cape Cod. So I know, you know, in Birmingham, 

Angela Tharp: Massachusetts. So then we went as far south as we could. We lived in Miami for a couple of years. I,~ uh,~ and then we moved up to Fort Lauderdale, which is where I grew up. 

Tracy Hayes: Okay. 

Angela Tharp: And ~so, um, ~but moved up here in 1990 when I got married. 

Tracy Hayes: And,~ uh,~ if I've looked on your LinkedIn correctly, you started attending UNF about the same time.

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~went to UNF at the,~ uh,~ actually FCCJ at the time, and then went to UNF and graduated in 93. And I was, yay, pregnant with my first child, so I graduated and had him and the rest is, you know, history. 

Tracy Hayes: So at that time, what as a young age, you just got your [00:05:00] degree, which I believe was in business administration.

Tracy Hayes: Finance. Finance. You know, what was your thought of a career? Did you actually say, I want to do this, or did you just kind of take the first job that came along that was available? 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~it's interesting because in high school I worked in an appraising office. It seems like throughout the years I always had some sort of,~ uh,~ a real estate influence in my life.

Speaker 4: Mm hmm. 

Angela Tharp: And,~ uh,~ worked for Pan Am, because I wasn't,~ uh,~ set up to go to college just yet. ~Uh, ~met my husband at the time and,~ uh,~ decided I was going to go and, and get my degree.~ Uh, ~when I did that,~ um,~ I was doing some jobs and I worked in a loan processing office and really enjoyed it. But again, it wasn't my thing.

Angela Tharp: ~Uh, ~working commercial real estate, worked with Merrill Lynch,~ uh,~ worked with Bank,~ uh,~ Barnett Bank. 

Speaker 4: Right. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~so I had a lot of finance influence throughout those years and it was great. But then decided,~ um,~ I would try commercial real estate. So I worked with [00:06:00] Regions,~ um,~ Regency Realty,~ um,~ downtown. And they dealt with commercial grocery anchored stores, shopping centers.

Angela Tharp: And that was a great experience, but it, again, it was not my cup of tea. But real estate still. And decided,~ uh,~ within a year or so after that to take a look at sales. I never thought sales was going to be something I would look into. 

Tracy Hayes: Did you have a girlfriend or something that started, introduced you to retail or you just knew it was out there and, 

Angela Tharp: ~um, ~I honestly don't recall how it came about.

Angela Tharp: Mm-Hmm. . But I went ahead and, and interviewed with Watson at the time and decided,~ uh,~ let's get started. And I did really well. From the beginning and I really enjoyed it. And so I have loved it every minute of it 

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~i'm going to take just a brief break just because I haven't ~uh ~done my commercial yet And I want to get back to that first year and and for those who ~uh ~are out there and looking for ~uh ~gifts These these nice mugs that ~uh, ~[00:07:00] we're going to be ~uh ~that give to every uh You know guests that I have on the show.

Tracy Hayes: ~Uh, ~Remy graphics makes these and,~ uh,~ Remy will make,~ uh,~ Remy graphics will make individuals. If you want to make a great closing gift for your customer, put their name on it, which I think,~ uh,~ moralizes it. And they'll never throw that away as we were talking about earlier. But these great, these are great.

Tracy Hayes: These are just introductions, but go to Remy graphics. com.~ Uh, ~they have a lot of,~ uh,~ different,~ uh,~ type,~ uh,~ quality, high quality,~ uh,~ gifts,~ um,~ You know, for yourselves or for your, your,~ uh,~ clients, buyers and sellers. ~So, uh, ~just want to touch out to,~ uh,~ to Remy Graphics for their sponsorship of the mugs there.

Tracy Hayes: So sorry about it. So you, you, you go back here. So you, you go to Watson. Was that the only brokerage you spoke to at the time? 

Angela Tharp: I spoke to a couple, but decided on Watson and it was mainly because of training. I feel like with new agents that is,~ um,~ that's a great place to start and I feel very comfortable.

Angela Tharp: It was very organized in their setting. They were a good size [00:08:00] and,~ uh,~ the broker at the time, Dane Leslie,~ um,~ and we just hit it off. 

Speaker 4: Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: And he was great. He was a great mentor for many years for me. 

Tracy Hayes: That you said you hit it off in the first year. Did you feel the year the little bit of background? you know you had at Merrill Lynch and working at the commercial that you kind of had a grasp of what was going on and I Asked this question because I think a lot of people they want to get into real estate and they go and get their license I know studying because they you know, they went to school kick a study past the test, but then they walk in that first day in the office and they're like, okay, what do I do?

Tracy Hayes: I don't mean, you know, what's the first step. And if you don't have a good broker or don't have some sort of,~ um,~ you know, background knowledge to say, you know, these are some of the things I know I need to do, how I need to, I'm going to find out how I'm going to do them or whatever. But you, did you feel that background knowledge helped you kick off?

Angela Tharp: I do. Yeah, I do. And it's always on the job training. And it's interesting to say that and hear that from an agent, but [00:09:00] you're always learning. You're always, you should be always learning. You should be always looking to improve,~ uh,~ designations that NEFAR offers or even FAR or NAR, the National Association of Realtors.

Angela Tharp: Take advantage of those, learn a little bit more, you know, just you get nuggets in every class that you're in. 

Speaker 4: Right. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~so it's, it's endless,~ uh,~ possibilities. Right. And you own it. So take advantage. 

Tracy Hayes: You have, you've been doing it long enough. And you still mentioned education, you mentioned education in your bio, these agents, would you agree that, I mean, they don't just be to, Hey, I need to, I don't know, I forget what, how many credit hours you guys need to do every two years.

Tracy Hayes: But,~ um,~ don't just stop there. You need to keep going. And,~ uh,~ you know, in the valuable, whether they're lunch and learns, are offered or the title companies offering this or there, someone's coming in and talking about, I think we need to actually do a class on portability. ~Um, ~I had,~ um, uh, uh, ~one of your [00:10:00] teammates,~ um,~ Holly Griggs on and her little, Reel that we cut her talking about portability was a big hit so that's a subject that people obviously are interested in and searching online for so but To continue to go to these things find these things each week I mean Do you build it into your schedule on a monthly basis to find little education things and maybe get a free lunch, too?

Angela Tharp: Something to look into and they're wonderful that's that's who I work with. ~Um, ~if I have a choice, right? ~Um, ~so partners are important as far as in your, in your whole business calendar. You need to have good inspectors that you can go to. You need to have good lenders that you can go to. ~Um, ~it's, it's important to have those go to, and when you're listing obviously photographers, that sort of thing, it's always key.

Angela Tharp: Right. Because you need to have that team around you. As far as going back to [00:11:00] education,~ uh,~ yes,~ uh,~ so I just build it in, you know, your business plan in September, October for the following year, and you just build it in the calendar. Look up the classes that you want to take, look up the designations that you want to find and, and obtain and just work your schedule around it.

Angela Tharp: If you don't plan it, I feel like it's not going to happen. 

Tracy Hayes: Right. 

Angela Tharp: ~So, um, ~I always set a goal. Each year to do certain things this year. I wanted to get the ABR designation which is for buyers and It's because of everything that's been going on. We need to focus on having that relationship building more and Showing your your value 

Angela Tharp: right 

Angela Tharp: and that takes in designation is very helpful There was a lot of recap from what I knew but it's still good It's very good.

Tracy Hayes: Somebody might throw you a new nugget, right? There's some, and would you agree that it's good over time to make, take these classes from different people because they see it, they see it differently and they might highlight [00:12:00] something more here than the other person did and vice versa. 

Angela Tharp: A hundred percent.

Angela Tharp: You learn and you know, it's don't, don't just stay locally. You can look at classes all over Florida. Take a trip educate you can write it off So take advantage of that. Yeah, and just talk to other realtors in that area learn from their market Don't just follow what you're doing here~ um, ~I think If you get out of your box and think outside of it and look at what others are doing in other areas It might give you a little tip.

Angela Tharp: What else you could be doing locally, 

Tracy Hayes: right? Well, you know, you know, I'm on social media a lot I put a lot of content out there from the show. And so I see a lot of content coming back at me from agents all over, which I would love to have many of these ones on the show. And a lot of them are when I've, the ones I've reached out,~ um,~ for the most part, you know, come back and I've had a few on the show.

Tracy Hayes: I want to do more because I think that's so important, whether it's out in Arizona [00:13:00] or it's just, you know, over in Tampa or down in Naples or something. ~Uh, ~there's things they're doing and their market isn't exactly. The way ours is, I think Tampa is very hot and, and you could probably compare Northeast Florida there, but you know, someone over in Orlando is doing some different things there that, you know, you might be able to apply here and move your business or move the needle on it.

Angela Tharp: Absolutely. You definitely benefit from interacting with other, you know, agents. One of the designations that I got is the CRS 

Speaker 4: designation, 

Angela Tharp: and Certified Real Estate Specialist. And,~ um,~ honestly, that's probably one of the most regarded. ~Uh, ~in the industry because it takes a lot. It's not just production, it's your,~ um,~ education, you have to take so many classes, and, and it, you have to prove yourself with all that.

Angela Tharp: ~So, um, ~it took a couple of years to get that, but in, also, with that, you can meet and go to conferences. And if you need to refer someone [00:14:00] that's moving from the area to say, you know, whatever other city nationwide, you always have a list of people you can go to and they're going to have the same work ethic, the same professionalism as you.

Tracy Hayes: Right. 

Angela Tharp: And that's important. 

Tracy Hayes: So that designation is, is almost,~ uh,~ almost like a little club within the city. 

Angela Tharp: Yeah. The 

Tracy Hayes: greater Florida Realtor organization or nationally. 

Angela Tharp: Absolutely. It's nationwide and you have the ability to reach out to anyone and you can basically cherry pick who you're going to refer to a customer of yours because you want to, you want to make sure you hand it off correctly.

Angela Tharp: You don't want to just, you know, fill out a form and send it out. 

Tracy Hayes: You mentioned,~ uh,~ conferences, events, that kind of thing. How important is that occasionally you'll never plan? I don't know how often you are able to go once a year or whatever,~ um,~ to some of these national events and get around like minded people who are going to those events.

Tracy Hayes: for the same desire [00:15:00] you have to, to network and hear what other people are doing, but you're all like minded. So they're fun places to be and, and you know, everyone's open for trading, but how important is it to build that not only from,~ uh,~ the local education or,~ uh,~ and getting the, the CE credits, but actually going out and, you know, going into some of these breakout sessions and so forth, these national conferences.

Angela Tharp: ~So. ~Absolutely, because it just expands you. It, it just opens you up to different things. And, you know, as we were saying earlier, the market does change. And there's a lot of different influences and different things. You know, back in 2006 and 7, when we had,~ uh,~ the financial crisis, you know, a big focus was foreclosures and short sales, and learning them and understanding them and getting in touch, connected with a title company that, you know, Could help you facilitate that because for agents to do those things at the time didn't make any sense.

Angela Tharp: We weren't as Experienced as the title companies were in trying to get these resolved So the market [00:16:00] changes you you learn certain things So a lot of those classes and events that you go to throughout the year now Don't get me wrong. There's only so many hours in the day and so many things you can do But again, if you prepare ahead of time, you can plan on doing certain things.

Angela Tharp: You know what the market needs You know, there's a big push on AI, you know, I'm not very techie, but you know, unfortunately enough that, you know, I, I've got some assistance on that and that helps. 

Tracy Hayes: Right. Well, I, the guest I had on a couple of weeks ago, Carrie Sauve,~ uh,~ who is EXPs official AI consultant.

Tracy Hayes: She's a agent as well, but as really taken on the age, she's having a conference in Niagara in September. I'm like thinking what a beautiful place to go in September for you to, but it's all AI. slash real estate. I mean, that's what it's keyed on. It's not,~ uh,~ although other businesses and but, you know, the amount of businesses that are supported by real estate or that support real estate given take there.

Tracy Hayes: But that, you know, a [00:17:00] great conference,~ uh,~ cutting edge there in a I is constantly changing how you use it. I mean, I think everyone has their different angle, but I think more and more things that we're,~ uh,~ as you're, I'm sure thrown all these bells and whistles all the time. We're always have some advertisers, some salespersons trying to sell us another app.

Tracy Hayes: They're all using this AI technology behind them. It's the only way they're staying cutting edge. So getting some sort of grasp of how it's working behind the scenes, how the calculator is actually calculating is important. 

Angela Tharp: Right. Yeah, no, absolutely. And staying up on all that is important, but at the end of the day, I have to tell you what it comes down to is doing your job and doing what's the best for your customer and just being true to you and staying focused on The task at hand.

Angela Tharp: I mean we have a lot of changes in our industry right now coming up and you know i'm fortunate enough that ingo and volkers is really honing in on a lot of education and in house and [00:18:00] Just a lot of guidance our broker. Corey has been wonderful ~Um, ~so happy that he is so engaged and involved in that whole process ~Um, ~he's staying up on things and we really are.

Angela Tharp: ~Um ~You know, we're going to be prepared and that's the biggest thing. You have to be ready. Contracts are changing. Our way of approaching buyers is changing. And at the end of the day, we're going to be better for it. You know, to think that you can just hide or it'll, it'll wash out or it's not going to happen.

Angela Tharp: It's going to happen. Right. Changes are coming. And,~ um,~ again, it's just a matter of getting ready and just knowing what you're doing. Be focused on. The customer, which is the most important thing. And just love it. 

Tracy Hayes: Since you brought the subject up. The, this, this settlement and how, you know, I'm seeing a lot of,~ um,~ you know, I don't know.

Tracy Hayes: I think everyone has an opinion, right? Everyone has, everyone has their angle. Just like I think every lawyer reads these documents and has, you know, [00:19:00] they, they're going to read it the way they want to read it or, or cut into it the way they're,~ um,~ whoever they're representing,~ uh,~ to make it happen. But. As far as the, the, the, the transaction, if a young real estate agent came to you and said, Hey, I'm a little confused, you've been through, you know, these different changes,~ um,~ different ways we've done the business.

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~what are some of the, and you've probably been asked these questions already. I mean, what are some of the concerns, some of the stresses, the, the, as agents that you have. knowing you're gonna, you know, you know, you're overcoming cause you've done it enough times, you're going to overcome it. But the challenge, like, you know, the DOJ is coming out now saying,~ uh,~ they don't really want us,~ uh,~ having commissions talk about commissions anywhere, you know, it's, it's, which is, I just totally don't understand their mindset,~ uh,~ here.

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~hopefully the, a new administration changes that mindset, but why the DOJ is trying to get their hands meddled in here. Then you have a settlement. That comes to an agreement with NAR, and now NAR is the only, really the only [00:20:00] national association where one of the,~ uh,~ real estate is one of those few,~ um,~ industries that only has one person.

Tracy Hayes: You know, ~um, ~group NAR that there are some subgroups that are looking to break out. I mean, to do something different there. ~Um, uh, ~so there's not just one channel because a lot of people are upset with NAR for whatever reason. ~Um, ~but what are the stresses that the agents have in,~ um,~ being able to get that, that buyer's agent, because I think you and I know we've both been in the business long enough.

Tracy Hayes: Yeah, the V. A. Challenge. Yes, we have a lot of buyers who I think someone did a great clip the other day, and I think I forwarded on instagram or reposted my stories talking about the buyers already got, you know, they got their down payment. They've got closing costs themselves. Over our entire history of real estate, the buyer has always paid the buyer's agent's cost in the price they're paying.

Tracy Hayes: It's, it's [00:21:00] not some, that the reason why the value of the home is there is because, in theory, that's, it's already built in to that transaction, that these people think they have some perceived money. But the obvious thing is when a seller goes and says, I'm not going to pay the buyer's agent. The first thing the buyer's going to say is, well, okay, we'll discount the price.

Tracy Hayes: Well, no, no, I'm not going to discount the price because that's what the market got. Well, all these other people paid the buyer's agent, you know what I'm saying? So talk through what you guys are talking about. Engel and Volkers and some of these, you know, trainings. What's Corey, you know, bringing back, you know, conferences and so forth.

Tracy Hayes: And obviously it brings that information back. What is your mindset that you guys are trying to establish there upon this? 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~so much to unpack and all that, right? ~Um, ~I mean, this has been brewing,~ uh,~ we were in the process and as of right now, it looks like it's August 17th when things will be effective,~ um,~ as far as nationwide.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~so it's, it's just been a lot of, We're still preparing a lot of discussions, but truly, the contract is not finalized,~ uh,~ so we're still kind of up in the air on that, [00:22:00] and,~ uh,~ we have a good sense. You're right commissions the word commissions no longer will be in effect. It'll be more of a professional fee So there's gonna be some adjustments I have to tell you the new agent has has it a lot easier than the older agent or more established agent because We're gonna have to redo what we knew to do You know, we're gonna have to Our whole process of dealing with buyers and even sellers is changing ~Um, ~so you, you have to retrain yourself in a lot of things and a lot of,~ um,~ documents like we said are changing, so the newer agent won't know any different.

Angela Tharp: So in a sense, they're going to have it really easy, because this is what you need to do. And they don't, they won't know that it was done differently. I suspect that with time, things will adjust. ~Um, ~come August when things go into effect, potentially, or it could be delayed again. You know, whenever that [00:23:00] happens, I think as we're going through the process, I think things will, you know, need to be, you know, pushed in this direction or that direction.

Angela Tharp: At the end of the day, you know, everybody's trying to do the same thing. They're trying to do the best they can and, you know, be as forthright with the customers and help them along the process. And, you know, for a buyer, we want them to buy a home. And for a seller, we want them to sell at the highest price.

Angela Tharp: So there's no difference when it comes to the core bottom line of what we're out there doing. And our focus is ethics and due diligence and making sure we are, you know, arm's length.~ Um, ~a lot of agents forget that our customers are super important. But that's not the only person that you need to get yourself involved with and have a good relationship with.

Angela Tharp: You need to have great relationships with your lender. You have to have a great relationship with that other agent [00:24:00] on the other side. So there's going to be an education process when it comes to the new, but those things are core values that you need to remember in any transaction because you never need an experienced agent.

Angela Tharp: It's kind of like have an insurance policy. You don't need insurance until you have a problem. 

Angela Tharp: You don't 

Angela Tharp: need an experienced agent until you have a problem. You know, where that experience kicks in. And ~so, ~I always say, you know, thankfully, we have all this background to fall back on, and you can muddle through it.

Angela Tharp: And, the idea is just to get to closing and make everybody, you know, make everybody whole. 

Tracy Hayes: Right. ~So. ~Would you, in,~ uh,~ To make this all work,~ uh,~ I don't know how I want to describe this, but you, you got it. We're going to talk about the buyer's agreement and what we're doing there. We'll talk about that in a moment, but really it's, it's really the listing agent in this, After this is all said and done assuming now assuming [00:25:00] the listing agent Is a team player because if they get a reputation of going out there and and going to their sellers Oh, no, i'll just take three percent You know, let the buyer's agent take what it's eventually going to catch up to him because the other buyers a the buyer's agents That this this person is listing we're going to realize hey every time sally lists a home It's for three percent and we're in a we're in a constant battle over some sort of buyer's commission or the buyer Sells their paying Their buyers are directly It's really the listing agent going out there in Properly presenting the importance of all having some Offering to the buyer's agent, 

Angela Tharp: would 

Tracy Hayes: you agree?

Angela Tharp: So in any transaction whether you're working with a buyer or the seller You, I consider myself a filter. I am just relaying information and that buyer or seller is going to make the best decision possible. So at the end of the day, that seller is going to need to [00:26:00] know that commission or professional fees have always been negotiable.

Angela Tharp: That's not a question, right? So Mr. and Mrs. Seller, these are your options as far as marketing and what I do and you know the details on all that. And as far as what you want to do, as far as what you want to pay, this is, you know, where we are. And it's up to you whether or not you want to offer compensation for a buyer's side, or not.

Angela Tharp: And ~so, ~but, you know, I encourage you to absolutely,~ um,~ consider the fact that, you know, it may affect your showings. 

Speaker 4: Right. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~so the seller makes that decision. It'll be up to them. And then it's going to be up to the agent, both on the buy side and,~ um,~ you know, during the process to work to show your value and be as forthright with the customer so they understand what to expect and, you [00:27:00] know, ~um, ~the, the buyers and sellers will make the best decisions for them.

Angela Tharp: Right. 

Tracy Hayes: Right. ~Um. ~You, you, you were, went to the buyer and the buyer's agent, and we're talking about the, the buyer's agreement, and you guys are, you know, working on that, the, whatever you mentioned, the contract adjustments, how whatever needs to be adjusted in the, in the contract relating to this subject.

Tracy Hayes: What are, what are you guys at Ingalls and Volkers? What is your mindset? ~Um, ~you know, if you were, Hey, Angel, would you come and train a bunch of new agents on, on,~ uh,~ a buyer's agreement or, you know, when we say that buyer's agreement, what we're really saying is you need to, as you just mentioned, it's not only getting that buyer's agreement signed, but.

Tracy Hayes: expressing to them all the value that you bring to the table because there's so much below the surface that people don't see. They don't understand the marketing purposes and the time that agents spend just even get a,~ uh,~ a customer,~ uh,~ someone to actually talk to who's interested in you. Hey, I sell homes come, you know, like any business on the [00:28:00] street, they've got signs out there.

Tracy Hayes: They spend money. Advertising on television, social media, whatever, to attract a customer, a real estate agent has that cost as well,~ uh,~ to acquire those, those clients. They're not all, you know, they're not all friends and family. We wish they were all friends and family, but yeah, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money doing that, but,~ um,~ you know, the mindset, like you said, these, the young people coming in are going to be trained.

Tracy Hayes: This is the way we're gonna do it. ~Um, ~you have enough experience and adjusting and knowing it, you know what, now I need to turn up the heat a little bit more and talk about more of what I'm going to do where, you know, what, two and a half years ago, you know, people came in, they're like, stick the sign in the yard.

Tracy Hayes: We got an offer. You didn't really have to, you know, explain all the things that you're going to do,~ um,~ in bringing that,~ um, uh, ~But in a sense, the listing is you bring in a buyer. So to, but the buyer's agent, what are some of the things that are important for these agents to be talking about when they're having that buyer's consultation and obviously get them [00:29:00] in the sign, eventually sign this buyer's agreement.

Tracy Hayes: We think, no, that's pretty much something, some form of it's going to happen there, but what, what are the values that they need to really,~ um,~ you know, polish their presentation on, but make sure they're mentioning, Hey, this is the things that we do. 

Angela Tharp: Right. ~So, ~in Florida, we haven't had a buyer's agreement,~ uh,~ as a requirement.

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~there were, I believe it was 18 states when all this started that had those buyer's agreements already in place.~ So, ~it's an education Were they, 

Tracy Hayes: were they actually set, were they actually, you know, who was, who was monitoring that they were signed? 

Angela Tharp: Right. Yeah, that's the ~So, ~that's a good question. I don't know the answer because I, I've always worked in Florida.

Angela Tharp: Right. ~Uh, ~but as far as locally, so now we're being,~ uh,~ Asked that we're going to need to have these addressed and honestly when you really sit down and Think through it. It's going to protect us as much as going to protect them the customer. ~Um, ~You know, it's it's kind of like a listing agreement ~Um, ~would you ever take a listing without a listing agreement?

Angela Tharp: The answer is no So why would you work with a [00:30:00] buyer without a buyer's agreement? It's a very good question why we weren't You know held to that For so many years, at the end of the day, it's, I think it's a good change, you know, change is hard, change is not easy in any, I think, industry, but when you really look at it, there's going to be a lot of pluses to it, and I think it's going to force the agents to have a sit down, you know, have a conversation, really go through what is the buyer really looking for, start bonding with that customer, because it's not, Let me, it's not just about opening a door.

Angela Tharp: It's not just about, you know, the, the typical process. It's about forming that relationship and understanding their true wants. A customer may think they want A Y, X Y Z, but at the end of the day, when you talk to them and figure things out with them, they realize and something goes off that, you know what?

Angela Tharp: It's I may need [00:31:00] to look at that them, you know, and that's what you're there for. You're the professional you're guiding them. So guide them 

Tracy Hayes: you make you put a thought in my head when you were saying that I think the People outside the DOJ and these well, I don't know. I think the lawyers it's just a cash transaction They don't even really care what happens to the real estate.

Tracy Hayes: This is cash a cash grab for them in these settlements, but The DOJ is trying to treat it like If I want a Chrysler minivan with whatever features, you know, they offer, I can go buy that in many different businesses. It's the same vehicle coming off the same production line where the houses are the same.

Tracy Hayes: Every single house is unique. It might be the same model in the same subdivision, but it's still unique. It has an address. The sun hits it a different way. There's,~ um,~ if it's an existing home and it's, you know, different flooring or whatever, maybe the [00:32:00] same layout and same square footage, but that person has carpet.

Tracy Hayes: That one over there is hardwood. This has a pool. This doesn't, this is on the golf course, all those things, all those factors come in. And I think they discount the importance of that. meeting that you're talking about, you know, what, what are we really, were we really sitting down and having the needs and wants, you know, what can we, what do we have to have?

Tracy Hayes: What we'd like to have, you know, those conversations,~ uh,~ which we would think were standard, but I think, you know, a lot of agents. got away with it, didn't have to do it. It's just run around. Oh, this house or sale or inventory solo, you better grab it as, as you and I know how many people went under contract and then like two weeks in found another house and like even ate their earnest money to go to the other house.

Tracy Hayes: They just were buying that house because there wasn't any other house to buy at that moment, two weeks ago. Right. ~Um, ~but the importance of having, having,~ um, uh, ~that, that meeting,~ um,~ I want to, I want to dig into you and your. in, in,~ uh,~ brag about your, your success, you know, what you think has made your success.[00:33:00] 

Tracy Hayes: But I'm not, I'm going to start off with the, the challenging questions. ~Uh, ~what has been your greatest challenge? ~Uh, ~whether it was back in 2002 or last year or last week, do you think your greatest challenge in real estate has been for you that, that you've,~ uh,~ hopefully you've overcome? 

Angela Tharp: So that's a good question.

Angela Tharp: I think,~ um,~ real estate is, is complex. There's a lot of pieces to it. You are your own boss in a way you're responsible for your results So you're a true entrepreneur during this process. Yes. You have a broker. Yes You have a staff that helps you and that's wonderful But at the end of the day you get up in the morning and you set up your own schedule and you got to follow you know, what's most important to do for that day and We were talking about business planning in at the end of the previous year.

Angela Tharp: That's key, you know So I think staying organized, staying focused, and you have to stay focused on you are,~ um,~ an engine. You gotta keep chugging. You gotta, you know, [00:34:00] you're dealing with your deals that are in the pipeline. You're dealing with, you know, marketing. You can't forget that. Because the minute you forget to market, because you're too busy, guess what?

Angela Tharp: In a month or so, you're gonna realize, whoops, I have nothing going on. So you gotta build that infrastructure around you. ~Um, ~it's all about using, leveraging, whether it's people, whether it's,~ um,~ resources, you gotta leverage what's around you. ~Uh, ~we aren't always perfect in every piece of the puzzle. So use those strengths that other people may have around you.

Tracy Hayes: What are, what have you, if you've found a time when maybe,~ uh,~ yeah, you, you lost focus. ~Uh, ~like I said, you all of a sudden you realize,~ um,~ yeah, I just sold a house or this house is selling next week and I don't have anything in the pipeline. I'm not working on it. I don't have any listing, but there's been times I'm sure in your career where you've, you know, had these gaps, like, ~uh, ~what's going to be my check?

Tracy Hayes: Next month, right type of thing as we all do in sales, [00:35:00] you know, when's it, when's it coming? What if, what are some,~ uh,~ things that you've done to refocus yourself? And is it important? I know you, you joined,~ uh,~ Lisa Minton and, and Mr. Bayou,~ uh,~ recently is your Minton Bayou THARP team, right? ~Um, ~was that part of helping you,~ um,~ continue moving forward in your progression in your career?

Angela Tharp: ~So, um, ~I think it no matter what you're doing, if you're a single agent or in a group or whatever you're doing, it's all about focusing on your endeavors, right? ~Um, ~so there's a lot of pieces to that. ~Um, ~as you're starting out, you, you have to focus on even learning steps, you know, MLS system, you gotta learn contracts, you gotta learn all that.

Angela Tharp: So you gotta be true to What you want to do. Do you want to be part of a team or do you want to be a single agent? You know, there's so many facets to this and that's the beauty of real estate You know that you can handle whatever you can handle You'll know how to [00:36:00] manage it as you go along and you learn that first year is the toughest But once you get going with that you start having some sort of standards, right you get you get going You're gonna have bumps in the road like always but you learn You know, 

Tracy Hayes: ~um, ~how important is it?

Tracy Hayes: I mean, did you ever have a A coach or a mentor in your present people that maybe at different times you change to different people But some of these some of these solid people that you went to at different times as a resource 

Angela Tharp: A great resource, ~uh ~has been tom ferry over the years. He's great. ~Um, ~he's always ahead of On top of things as far as ~uh, ~the market changes.

Angela Tharp: He's a great. ~Um, ~You Enthusiast,~ um,~ and he spoke to me over the years. ~Uh, ~keeping current matters has always been a good source of information Locally though with statistics. Dr. Alex. ~Um, ~

Tracy Hayes: yeah 

Angela Tharp: Yeah 

Tracy Hayes: I I reached out to him. I have him on the show He says he's got two other podcasts to do he hasn't scheduled yet, but i'm on his [00:37:00] list So he's 

Angela Tharp: wonderful.

Angela Tharp: I I truly appreciate his That's all his information. It's valuable. ~Uh, ~so once a month we get,~ um,~ you know, if you remember,~ uh,~ information. Once a quarter you get together with him and he, he dives into that last quarter. It's great insight. ~Um, ~and it's,~ um,~ very user friendly and it's local. As I've said before, that's what you want to focus on.

Tracy Hayes: Right. Well,~ Um, ~something like,~ uh,~ that kind of information that you get,~ um,~ you know, because you can, you can fill your mind with it, but is it, is it more for just to have, you know, I call it verbal ammunition. So when you are sitting down with a client that you can actually speak with some sort of intelligent, you don't have to, you don't have to be a master.

Tracy Hayes: Like, obviously he's. seen looking at these numbers. He's probably got three computer screens in front of him. And you know, these stock market and traders guys, they're all looking at these, you know, graphs and so forth. You just need to take enough from there that you can actually sit down with them and explain, Hey, this is what's been going on over the last 90, 120 days.

Angela Tharp: In preparing for your [00:38:00] listing presentations that those kinds of things always come in handy. You need to know how inventory is doing, how long is inventory lasting in, in your area. If depending on the the neighborhood it might be that you have enough data that you can just specifically focus on that, 

Speaker 4: right?

Angela Tharp: And you know using my appraising years ~um ~I always look at it when I do a market analysis as an appraiser would think through Because you might as well set yourself up for that for later Because when it comes down to when it's under contract and it gets appraised you want to prepare yourself as much as possible So that when you go to meet that appraiser you're You know, it's, it's what you expected anyways, 

Tracy Hayes: right?

Tracy Hayes: How do you bring up appraisal? We'll slide in inspections in there. What's the, what's the, when you approach your,~ um,~ you know, your buyers,~ uh,~ well, even your, even your sellers, but,~ um,~ when you're having those conversations,~ um,~ How important is and how do you, how do you, what's your mindset going into those [00:39:00] and preparing them for the actual transaction to take place?

Tracy Hayes: What's gonna happen in the next 30 days? What are some of the things that you run down through your, with your buyers and sellers? ~So, ~so that when that inspection does come back or we're not, we haven't seen it recently, but you've been in the business long enough, you've seen low appraisals. Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~You set a keyword, expectations.

Angela Tharp: And that is exactly what you need to be doing as an agent. You need to prepare that buyer or seller for what's next, what's to come. From the moment you get a contract together, you need to give them timelines so they know that we have deadlines, we have to follow. Within a new contract, you need to be aware that we have certain deadlines, the buyers have certain responsibilities, the sellers have certain responsibilities, and everybody needs to be aware.

Angela Tharp: Contracts are legal documents that we sign,~ um,~ as a buyer or seller. ~So, ~they need to be taken to heart. You know, it's important. ~Um, so, um, ~Preparing them for those things, preparing them with what's next. Communication is huge. ~Um, ~you are [00:40:00] constantly, you should be, as a listing agent, be in front of that market, be in front of what's going on in that neighborhood, keep that seller informed, because if things are not moving, you know, for whatever reason, they need to know it.

Angela Tharp: Right. 

Angela Tharp: Sitting down with a seller and discussing a price reduction should not be new news. It should be almost expected. Okay. Because they need to know that things aren't moving or people are dropping prices around them So they need to be aware of that because it affects them. 

Tracy Hayes: Well with the with the current market We are you know, obviously there's some ideal homes that are getting you know Multiple offers and going because just where they're located.

Tracy Hayes: They have a three car garage They are on a golf course or have a pool and that's that's what everybody wants. So they go quickly But there's others that are sitting now You know, 30, 60 days or longer. ~Um, ~you know, there's neighborhoods now that have more listings than they've had probably in the last five years at any one moment in time.

Tracy Hayes: How often are you,~ uh,~ you know, if [00:41:00] you are the say that the, the seller's agent, the listing agent, how often are you touching base with them? You know, say there hasn't been, you know, maybe you did an open house on the weekend, but Monday, Tuesday, It's crickets. There's no new showings being requested or anything.

Tracy Hayes: How often are you making sure you're just saying hi to them? 

Angela Tharp: At least once a week. I mean, you need to stay in touch. That's Verbally, but during the week there should be other touches Because you can stay in touch via email. We're fortunate enough. We Depending on the the sellers, you know age or likes or dislikes texting may be an option.

Angela Tharp: So They should know that you're there. They should not ~Um, ~you know be surprised if you call them That that should not be you should always stay in tune~ Um, ~as I said earlier, you should be The filter you're just letting them know anything, you know about What's going on around you you're the expert it's up to you to [00:42:00] let them know 

Tracy Hayes: because they can hear the crickets They hear they hear too many crickets.

Tracy Hayes: They're like as angela even care about our house, you know You know making those touches and with the current market conditions right now, as far as,~ uh,~ you know, ~uh, ~I think a lot of agents are sitting on some listings or they're getting more listings than they've had,~ um,~ in the last previous years, cause they were moving so quickly.

Tracy Hayes: They never got gathered up, but there's some people with half a dozen, dozen listings, tending on how big of a,~ uh, uh, ~agent they are. ~Um, ~but that conversation you're having with them now, because new construction is number one competitor and they're offering You never even paying the agents more to bring customers over.

Tracy Hayes: So how,~ um,~ what's your, you know, some things that you, some advice that you've,~ uh,~ another agent,~ uh,~ maybe an experience that they might be going on their first listing appointment that, Hey, you may want to have these discussions,~ uh,~ you know, To offer some incentives or whatever. So how are you how are you handling that right now?

Angela Tharp: So right so the area that we live in there's several counties,~ um,~ and some are heavier in new [00:43:00] construction than others So nassau and ~uh, ~st. John's seem to have more ~Um ~new construction so you cannot ignore that piece, especially in a neighborhood that still has some new builds to consider ~Uh, ~you absolutely cannot take that out of the picture.

Angela Tharp: So you you need to consider both The resales new construction. What are the what are the builders doing? Whatever? What are they offering the buyers? In other words, mr Seller you need to be aware and potentially we may need to make some of those offers at some point if necessary So in sitting down with the seller initially you want to recommend a range Of pricing and explain to them why you know and explain to them.

Angela Tharp: What are the next steps before we go live? You That prep work time is very important.~ Um, so, ~and,~ um,~ you know, set the expectation as well with this is what I I'm recommending, but it's your decision. And honestly, the market will respond accordingly. So the market [00:44:00] will let you know if there are no showings, we have an issue.

Angela Tharp: The first two weeks are crucial. The first four weeks, I mean it can make or break you and you're chasing the market. So I will recommend And then if they want to push the limits, that's their decision. But knowingly, we may need to make some adjustments within a certain time frame. Otherwise, again, we're, we're chasing the market and that's not what we want to do.

Tracy Hayes: If you were in control,~ Um,~ maybe if you're listing your own house or your mother or sister said, Hey, Angela,~ um,~ you know, Just sell my house. I need you to sell. I need you to sell my house. I'm not in a rush I don't have to move out. There's no pressure But I want you to sell the house out because I want to go here or whatever they want to do What would you recommend right now?

Tracy Hayes: ~Uh, ~you know, again, sellers that might be listening to this, what, what would you, you know, highly encourage them to do based on what you've seen? Is helping houses move in your [00:45:00] experience. 

Angela Tharp: So we just talked about new construction Let's just say it's it's in an area that's heavy in new construction. You definitely want to make some incentives 

Tracy Hayes: up front 

Angela Tharp: up front Yeah, don't 

Tracy Hayes: wait for two weeks to go by and 

Angela Tharp: well if if you're going to be priced Just right You may not need that up front if you're going to push the limit then you may need to Offset that with some incentives It's up to the seller, right?

Angela Tharp: I mean, I never tell them you have to do this or you know I just give them the options and they decide 

Tracy Hayes: well I was just thinking you know, what have you seen over the last, you know, six or twelve months because this is not new this week It's been going on ever since rates went up two years ago This month I mean is when we started to see the rates start to rise And getting where we're at and that's obviously what's going on You know, ~uh, ~slowed things down a little bit.

Tracy Hayes: People are not making those,~ uh,~ you know, I call them inter regional moves from neighborhood to neighborhood,~ um,~ right now because a lot of them are sitting on a [00:46:00] sub 3, 4 percent loan. 

Angela Tharp: Yeah, and that's painful to let go of. I totally get that. And sometimes it's just a matter of needs, like you're saying. ~Um, ~they need to move.

Angela Tharp: There's no question, right? ~So, um, ~their family is growing or they need to downsize. There's so many changes that we go through in our lives that,~ um,~ just requires it. ~Um, ~with the rates being the way they have gone up, it's, it's definitely made people kind of think about it a little longer. ~Um, ~pricing is, doesn't seem to be going down.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~and we're, we're seeing appreciation of, You know, five, six, seven, eight percent, depending on where you're at, on a yearly basis, conservatively. ~Um, ~there's some areas that have gone up further. ~So, um, ~you know, you can wait for the interest rates to drop. Not sure when that's going to happen, if it's going to happen.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~we were, you know, Kind of thinking that things were going to drop a couple times this year and they haven't 

Tracy Hayes: right 

Angela Tharp: ~Um ~every morning 

Tracy Hayes: they keep talking about it's like dude, there's no signs of that happening 

Angela Tharp: So it's kind of like one of those things Do you rather would you rather buy the house at this [00:47:00] price?

Angela Tharp: Or wait for the rates to drop and then the price is going to drop Well, 

Tracy Hayes: so there's a, there's a, the jury's out on that theory. ~Um, ~and Bruce Bread,~ uh,~ Breedlove, who was on,~ uh,~ a few weeks ago, he has aligned money management. He does a lot of, you know, we're talking about personal,~ uh,~ coaching and that sort of stuff.

Tracy Hayes: He felt, and, and I, I kind of have to agree with him, we have a lot of buyers on the sidelines. No doubt we, you know, ~uh, ~the cost of and affordability of housing has gone on through the roof. So like, oh, well, rates dropped all want to get in the game, which would put a huge demand. And, you know, obviously a high demand would drive price up in theory.

Tracy Hayes: But would you agree? Some of those buyers are actually also sellers and there's a seller,~ uh,~ pent up situation where they're like, Oh, rates are so high right now. I've got this low rate loan, but if they come to this area, they, they would make the jump because now it's a desirability and they will be willing to [00:48:00] pay a little bit more in interest rate because that's really the home they want or need to go to.

Tracy Hayes: You know, I think we, in this area, I think it's a kind of a, I don't want to say joke, but the, you know, the, the knockety, there's people who want to get out of knockety, don't like it. Right. And there's a lot of people that are out here on the sideline, out, out in the peripherals that say, I don't want to go to knockety.

Tracy Hayes: Right. So you have that situation. So you have these pent up buyers, but you also have pent up sellers at the same time. 

Angela Tharp: No, I agree. ~So, ~I mean, there's always a push and there's always a drive. ~Um, ~at the end of the day,~ um,~ You know, if you have to move, you have to move. And ~so, ~having a loan officer, to be honest, that can think out of the box and really throw all the different scenarios to that seller that's looking to buy.

Angela Tharp: Maybe, maybe that seller needs to hold that property. Maybe they need to rent it and they can still move. ~Um, ~maybe they need to,~ um,~ potentially just, you know, ~um, ~Bye, and,~ um,~ At the end of the day, you know, things can change. Yeah. 

Tracy Hayes: Well, you know, it's funny you [00:49:00] mention the, Linda, one of my friends,~ uh,~ he's down the hall here, and he popped in and we were talking about,~ uh,~ some situations that he was working through, and he's actually doing some,~ uh,~ research.

Tracy Hayes: More, more, I don't want to say more, but more than normal. Some of this alternative type lending,~ uh,~ whether it's these DSCR loans or just regular hard money. ~Uh, ~because,~ uh,~ what we're finding here on the lending side is,~ uh,~ The people that are buying right now that need financing, not all of them are just straight cookie cutter.

Tracy Hayes: Hey, I'm putting 20 percent down. I got great credit. They all got some puzzle pieces with them. And we've got to put those puzzles every deal. And I think it's also happening as an agent, you know, ~uh, ~what are the contingencies for both the buyers and sellers and working through those to make some of these deals get together?

Angela Tharp: Yeah. 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: There's a lot of different scenarios from, And that's I think where experience comes in. You can handhold the seller or the buyer through the process and understand. There's, you know, when a, [00:50:00] when a buyer, when you're the listing agent and the buyer makes an offer and the, the buyer has a contingency to sell and they haven't even listed their home, I want to say to that agent, hey, maybe you shouldn't have started showing them houses just yet until you had something definite on your end, you know.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~but that's coming from my perspective. So yeah. You know, Mr. Seller can decide whether or not he he wants to take the risk of waiting to for two houses to sell potentially There's so many variables out there and Depending on the product to if the house has a pool Because typically you only have one one house with a pool per neighborhood every so ten homes or so So if a house has a pool, so it's a big plus It may be You It may be worth, as a seller, to raise the price a little bit initially and push the limits.

Angela Tharp: It may be worth it for them to just hang on for multiple offers, you know? I mean, there's so many scenarios that can come into play in a [00:51:00] transaction. And,~ um,~ it's important to know How to handle them. Right. Prepare them. Have the 

Tracy Hayes: savviness of what the feel of the play is. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, 100%. ~Um, ~you made the move over to Engel Volkers.

Tracy Hayes: Yes. ~Uh, ~how long's it been? A few years now? It's 

Angela Tharp: been five years. 

Tracy Hayes: Five years? ~Um. ~And I need to get Corey back on because I had him real early ~Uh, ~it's probably been two and a half years since I had him He was one of I don't want to use in the first I want to say it's 30 something episodes of that ~Um, ~but get updated of what he's doing because he's obviously had a bunch of more offices during that time in in the mindset ~um ~As an experienced agent You had already had 17 years ~Uh ~under your belt, ~uh ~in the business ~Um ~Mindset as he expressed to me on the show is You know Engel Volkers is looking for that more, you know, a senior experienced agent That's doing at least some minimal level of production.

Tracy Hayes: They're not really after the newbies and the only in the in the My immediate thought is it's [00:52:00] because of what you guys are talking about what you're training about ~Uh, ~the mindset is different than when you when you're trying just an agent just trying to get leads most of the people i've imagined Like yourself probably have a huge circle because all the years you've been selling Of influence that you have and a lot of your stuff is referral stuff You're not you're not buying leads and things like that to get those initial customers.

Tracy Hayes: So Um with with that scene said with it, what did you find when you over to Ingle and Volkers First Coast. ~Um, ~and, and, you know, why did you make the move? 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~yes, I was very comfortable where I was and when Corey called and we spoke, I was blown away by, by the marketing that the company can do. ~Um, ~it was a move made because of the sellers.

Angela Tharp: I felt like I was going to just be able to offer so much more than ever. I mean you got to think that Engel and Volkers was established in 1977 in Germany, so they've [00:53:00] withstood the Marketing trials and tribulations over the years not only that but nation worldwide and So for them to go through all that process Their marketing is just ~Um, ~it's a unique product.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~everything is just crisp. It's, it's beautiful. And there's no comparison, 

Speaker 4: right? 

Angela Tharp: ~Uh, ~so hands down a great company to work for and it hasn't let me down and I'm, I'm thrilled. I can't imagine being anywhere else. 

Tracy Hayes: Give us a little, if you could,~ um, uh, ~in some sort of example, you know, cause we were joking pre show that every broker talks about, Hey, we've got the greatest technology.

Tracy Hayes: We've got the greatest education. ~Um, ~you were impressed by the marketing. What was it that you saw? ~Um, ~what, what are, what are you, what are they doing,~ uh,~ differently? When you say that, I mean, 'cause marketing is a general term, right? But what are, what are like a couple little things that just wow you every time 

Angela Tharp: when you pick up a marketing piece from them, whether it's,~ uh,~ [00:54:00] an expose or, you know, just anything at all.

Angela Tharp: It stands out. Mm-Hmm. it is just crisp. ~Um, ~they're very attention to detail. And the color scheme itself, it's gorgeous. ~Um, ~there's nothing that comes out of Engel Volkers that is not well thought out. And, you know, just the delivery is beautiful. ~Um, ~the biggest thing is the impact on being able to reach out to more people.

Angela Tharp: And the internet is great, but when you have internationally, there's no MLS systems internationally. ~Um, so, ~Having the offices that we have everywhere that we do Allows us to be able to reach out to more. So if you have a listing in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, locally, anywhere, you know, a buyer from another country will be able to pull up our listings through our system.

Angela Tharp: And so the the fact that we can do that, the fact that we have offices all throughout,~ um,~ is just amazing. [00:55:00] Mind blowing. 

Tracy Hayes: Mm hmm. I've heard that from a couple different than that. Obviously, I'm not there in your office. I'm curious of You know, how, how did that moves the needle for the end? Because we're talking about real estate being local and we do have some foreign buyer.

Tracy Hayes: I mean, especially if you're in South Florida, obviously, you know, ~um, ~the European buyers would be definitely someone you need to be marketing to. ~Um, ~here in Northeast Florida and our standard subdivisions, is that really moving the needle? Per se, or what really was it would move the needle for someone right now might be listening who might be doing, you know, 10, 15 million.

Tracy Hayes: There's a solid, you know, which is more than I think, what does Corey say? They really like somebody about 3 million, but someone is really doing well, but they're looking, you know, to, hey, what's going to take me to the next level as you probably thought Watson, What, what really is going to move the needle?

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~as, as [00:56:00] far as,~ um,~ as that agent moving over? What do you, what do you think today you've seen new agents come over? What are they being attracted to? You, you was marketing, but is that, is everyone marketing? Or what, what really is the needle mover at Engel and Volkers as far as you're concerned? Why should someone come over there?

Tracy Hayes: Right. Absolutely. 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~I mean, why wouldn't they? Get the 

Tracy Hayes: nice offices. There's no doubt about that. We 

Angela Tharp: have a great support system. And Corey is great. I mean, I was mentioning to you earlier about, you know, all the chances that we've got. He's definitely got a hold of, you know, what's going on. He's focused on helping us out and making sure that he's be covering us behind the scenes.

Angela Tharp: So ~Um, ~it's a great company in that respect and he's wonderful. ~Uh, ~the staff is wonderful. So It it's not you're not alone. We have transaction coordinators admins. We have a lot of people behind the scenes that help us out So it's not a you're not you're not by yourself right 

Tracy Hayes: so In the mortgage loan [00:57:00] officer world, the top mortgage loan officers want to go somewhere where, I mean, the first question is, you know, who, who do I have behind them?

Tracy Hayes: The guys that are really, you know, doing, you know, 20, 25 transactions a month that, you know, they've got, assistance and so forth, because they're the focal piece. ~Um, ~that's why top, you know, to recruit a top mortgage loan officer over. We, I see that in an element with you agree or disagree with me from what you're telling me at Engel and Volkers, they've got a solid marketing team.

Tracy Hayes: ~Uh, uh, ~support system, they've got the assistance, they've got the transaction coordinator, and at First Coast here you have a broker who is staying out in front, so he's continuing to add value to the agents that have signed up under, under him. ~Um, ~that someone's out there, Today and you're not getting that support or they're not even coaching.

Tracy Hayes: You're like, hey, you know what I realize you're doing nine or ten million You're probably hitting your lid. Let's [00:58:00] Let's show you how a transaction coordinator and her sister or whatever it is. That's gonna help you You'll get the 12 or 15 million, you know type of thing. Is that is that Someone looking at Engel Volkers, Corey, in their mindset, is supplying them all those things so that the agent can be out in front.

Tracy Hayes: Doing the money making activities. 

Angela Tharp: Absolutely. So There's there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes and he does a lot for sure ~Um, ~but don't forget it's up to the agent, you know How much they want to they got to plug in they got to push themselves and they got to get you know Reacquainted to the new ways of of our system ~Uh, ~so there's a learning curve for sure ~Uh, ~but at the end of the day, there's a lot that you can do with it And so it'll be up to that agent to push themselves.

Angela Tharp: You got to get uncomfortable, you know, and there's not, we're all going to fail at some point. It's just getting to the other side of it.~ Um, ~and [00:59:00] just gotta, you gotta plug through, you just gotta focus and, and, and stay true to who you are. Because there's a lot of people that will hire you based on your work ethic.

Tracy Hayes: Right. 

Angela Tharp: But don't be fooled by the fact that. Others may have that same work ethic. So you're, you need to continue to prove yourself. You need to continue to show your value. It doesn't ever stop. You're always selling. And don't forget that the customer is number one in this process. 

Tracy Hayes: ~Uh, ~over the years, how many brokers have you,~ uh,~ Technically worked under because I imagine at Watson you didn't have the same brokered a whole time 

Angela Tharp: So I had two brokers at Watson or three brokers.

Angela Tharp: Excuse me, and then court 

Tracy Hayes: then course afford four different brokers and and I bring this up off in the show often because I if there's you're out there right now and You're not You're not getting value because I think that the brokers is to be that,~ uh,~ looking for the [01:00:00] obstacles, right? They need to remove the obstacles so you can keep running down the road of sales.

Tracy Hayes: And that proactive broker, who's obviously you know, supplying you, giving you waters, whatever it is for you to make this run, right? Giving you best sneakers, giving you the water bottles at the right place. So you're staying hydrated so you can continue to run, keep fueling your car basically. ~Um, ~you know, and it sounds like that, that's what's going, but in general, if you were speaking just to agents,~ uh,~ you know, in general, anyone who might be listening, is that any brokerage, how important it is to them to really evaluate at different times.

Tracy Hayes: Where they're at. What is the broker doing for me? Is there someone else that can help me better? Because you're, you're not employed by them. You're 10, nine, you're not paying any benefits for you. So you, they need to be pouring into you because they're getting an override of what you're doing. ~So, ~you know, how important is it really to break it down?

Tracy Hayes: Because I think some people get stuck in where they're at and they're like, Oh, I don't [01:01:00] want change. Well, change, You may have to change because your choice the last time wasn't the wisest one, right? So how important is to evaluate is that broker and for brokers to evaluate themselves saying am I adding the right value?

Tracy Hayes: To keep my people because retention obviously is a big thing for their success. 

Angela Tharp: Sure. 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah, 

Angela Tharp: ~so, ~you know, I feel like ~Um, ~I was lucky enough to have the right broker at the beginning. ~Um, ~and I think as you you're In the business longer you're gonna Potentially need different brokers because they, they bring you their strengths.

Angela Tharp: And so depending on where you are in your career, you may need more help on this or that. So initially you need everything . 

Speaker 4: Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~but you also need to have somebody that,~ um,~ can coach you on your weaknesses. You know, because everyone has them. ~Um, ~my strengths were numbers. My, my strengths were being organized and, you know, staying focused and all those were just innate.

Angela Tharp: Right. 

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~[01:02:00] and I had a broker that, you know, took you out of the box, taught you the contract and that's a tool that we have to understand, know inside and out. ~Uh, ~so he was great with that. And I still, for years, heard him in my own head.~ Um, ~and it was wonderful because, and the other thing he offered was, he, he was someone that I could go to with any question.

Angela Tharp: And that was very nice at the time. That was, that was what I needed. ~Um, ~so over time, you're not needing that hand holding as you do, as you did at the beginning, but now you're needing more of like strategic thinking, and marketing thoughts, and you know, what else can I do? You know, and so that's a different type of broker, right?

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~I feel like once England Volkers offers you the chance to be With very like minded people that have made a career out of their successes So that's a beautiful thing to be surrounded by because you have that camaraderie you [01:03:00] have that, you know Um, the conversations are are just different at a different level and they're wonderful ~Uh, ~so you have that you can Reach out to anybody in the office and ask any questions or they they come to me as well So it's it's a give and take and so it's it's a wonderful atmosphere to be in.

Speaker 4: Yeah 

Angela Tharp: But you know as you go in into the years, there's different needs that you're gonna need, you know Maybe you need maybe you're kind of More focused on a personal life after a while and you need vacations and you need help with this or whatever it is You know I think it just changes over time.

Tracy Hayes: Yeah. Yeah. Well, the, the, everything's changing, you're changing and you know, hopefully as you're in there, your income is going up and you, you do want to take some of the vacations and enjoy the fruits of your labor, but also the market's changing on the outside. So that's. That other world is spinning.

Tracy Hayes: And so you need that broker who is, you know, ~uh, ~doing that research out because you're doing your, your marketing. You need, [01:04:00] there's always a, some sort of collaboration at some level. And then I think,~ uh,~ you know, one of the challenges a lot of agents have, they hit a lid and they're like, well, who can I trust?

Tracy Hayes: to, you know, be that new transaction coordinator or that assistant or that marketing person,~ um,~ you know, who, you know, that that's their, the breakthrough, the lid and realize, Hey, I need to let someone else do that because I can double my income. Yeah. I mean, me go from doing a nine job to an eight and a half or an eight job, you know, in ratings there, but I'm going to increase my production and offer more.

Tracy Hayes: You know, I think, I think a lot of agents reach that challenge that are in it long enough. 

Angela Tharp: So it's a, it's a gamble and it's an, but you need to make an education. 

Tracy Hayes: Educated guess. Yeah. Decision. Decision. ~Um, ~

Angela Tharp: in, in the process. ~So, uh, ~you know, if I'm going to hire a person to help me with this and they're going to cost me this, you need to, that's the risk, but build in [01:05:00] some safeguards.

Angela Tharp: You know, if you're going to hire somebody, have a probation period, make sure that you're covered. ~So. ~You know, you have a way to a checkpoint to see does it work for you? Does it work for me, you know, 

Angela Tharp: right 

Angela Tharp: so the risk is somewhat limited with that And it's that's what you need to evaluate in that process 

Tracy Hayes: Well, you always said the, the, the importance of, you were talking about just in your office, but you've been around,~ uh,~ and done enough transactions to a lot of other agents over the years and the importance to, you know, collaborate or go to these trainings or, you know, ~uh, ~get the designation to where you're, you know, got this, you know, ~uh, ~group of people that are,~ uh,~ thinking like you do type of thing, but the, to be able to reach out and say, Hey, what are you doing?

Angela Tharp: What, 

Tracy Hayes: you know, what are you guys, you know, I've, I've,~ um,~ I, I make record because I'm, I'm talking to all of you, all the, you know, call times a week and everyone's doing different and someone said, Hey, I got a great, you know, ~uh, ~pay for play transaction coordinator. [01:06:00] Well, great. You wouldn't, she's not going to advertise that.

Tracy Hayes: But if you called her and said, Hey, do you know someone who's a great transaction coordinator? She's probably like, yeah, I got my girl here. She, you know, she takes care of me. So you're trying to take care of her and refer her another person to, you know, to, to get, to use her transaction business. You won't know unless you're.

Tracy Hayes: reaching out and talking to some of these people and collaborating. How important as an agent in your career has it been to, whether they worked at Watson or Engel and Volckers, any of these other brokers, but you're obviously working in the same area, St. John's County, whatever, you know, type of, to collaborate with them and, you know, Get to know each other a little bit, whether it's at a, you know, meet up at a training or something, but,~ uh,~ to work together and realize you're, you're, you're, yeah, you're competing for the customers, but everyone has a different circle.

Tracy Hayes: So I think that competition is minimal, but the collaboration and obviously. The end result of actually getting deals done. 

Angela Tharp: Yeah. So I have to say over the years, I've been very fortunate. ~Um, ~I have [01:07:00] enjoyed working with other agents. It's not always easy. We have hurdles. There's so many variables in every transaction that you can almost count for something to go sideways or a hiccup or a question,~ um,~ that we have to muddle through.

Angela Tharp: But from the beginning, you're forming that relationship. I mentioned earlier, it's not just a customer, but you're The pieces in the in that the other 

Tracy Hayes: people involved. Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: So dealing with that other agent is huge If you start off with a confrontational relationship, it's not gonna go well. 

Speaker 4: Yeah, 

Angela Tharp: so you might as well You know change that tone You need to you need to focus on building that relationship because guess what?

Angela Tharp: You might see him again and again It's just going to 

Tracy Hayes: be more stressful if you're compatible. And the reality is someone has a house and someone has a buyer of that house. 

Angela Tharp: So work together. What is it going to take to resolve this? And how do we make it work? 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: You know, let's put our heads together.

Angela Tharp: These, this is what the buyer wants. This is what the seller wants. How can we [01:08:00] meet in the middle? Let's make it work. So sometimes you just have to, you know, offer to, you know, do a little extra, you know, you just do it. ~Um, ~Just remember, I mean, it's not just about the one transaction, too. It's about whatever that customer,~ uh,~ says later after you've closed.

Angela Tharp: Because you want to keep that relationship. And that's a mistake a lot of agents make, is they forget it's not just a onesie. If it was just a one deal transaction, you're not going to survive, 

Tracy Hayes: right? 

Angela Tharp: It needs to, it needs to, you know, roll into a next and the next. 

Tracy Hayes: Well, this is such an area where these people are moving in the neighborhoods and they're telling their friends, Oh my God, you got to move into my neighborhood.

Tracy Hayes: It's crazy. You know, they've got friends that are looking to move to from other States or whatever that, that, that, and that person may not ever move again, but you hopefully they're going to give you a few referrals. Over that time. 

Angela Tharp: Yeah, statistically every three to five to seven years is what I'm hearing When people move how [01:09:00] often people move and that seems to go pretty steadily There are times when yeah, you've got that one lifer that stays in the home for a long time Mm 

Speaker 4: hmm, 

Angela Tharp: and you know, that's great because they still had a good relationship with you.

Angela Tharp: You had a good experience They had a good experience with you and they can refer you to fan Family and friends. Don't be afraid to ask. 

Tracy Hayes: Well, they're an anchor a lot of times on their street, because they've been there the longest. They know everybody. People are going to ask them, you know, who would you use to sell your home?

Tracy Hayes: You know, that there's, there's, you know, you just,~ uh,~ you know, that's what I love about sales is you just don't know what's under the next Rocky,~ uh,~ turnover. 

Angela Tharp: You know, whenever a seller says, I don't want an open house. It's going to be a bunch of nosy neighbors coming in. Honestly, at the end of the day, it could be.

Angela Tharp: But guess what? It might not be an issue. Because they might have a friend after they see the home that says, You know i'm looking for a home. Hey, guess what my neighbor's house is being sold. How come you come? How come maybe you can come see? Yeah I'm 100 

Tracy Hayes: that nosy neighbor is going in there and they want to tell people about your house So [01:10:00] that's a that's a great they're that they're just they're advocates They may be kind of being nosy because they but if obviously if you're you got a stage, right?

Tracy Hayes: You got a great agent working it That person could be an advocate for you because they're telling other people. Oh, yeah, there's this house. Oh my god You should have seen this 

Angela Tharp: Bonus 

Tracy Hayes: room or whatever. There's 

Angela Tharp: no it's not a loss ever and I always say let's just give it a shot Let's just see how it goes because there's only so many neighbors.

Angela Tharp: So you might as well open it up and let's see what happens 

Tracy Hayes: You joined up with Lisa What, what,~ um,~ no, I'm sure a lot of people thought it was,~ uh,~ you know, Angela, you've been in the business 20 some years. Why are you, what do you need to form? What is the working relationship at this point in your career by joining up with with those guys?

Angela Tharp: You know, it's always nice to join up with people that you've known for a long time. And, and,~ uh,~ I think the camaraderie is very helpful on a daily basis. So it's, it's always,~ uh,~ it's always a plus, 

Tracy Hayes: right? Just have that coworker, kind of that same person you come [01:11:00] in and, you know, talk shop with. 

Angela Tharp: Right. 

Tracy Hayes: The good and bad and the ugly.

Tracy Hayes: I don't know. My last question. We kind of talked about a little bit, but I'll just let you kind of make a conclusive statement. You know, you've been in the business 25 years. We had the run up of Sales prices 2003 4 5 and 6 and then We we dropped down in the foreclosure city. I'm sure you had to change your career at that time ~um ~That really we go to get through the wash and a lot of those foreclosures You know, we're talking now we're in like 2011 12 ish time period And and then obviously, you know, again, we hit this you know Covid explosion to go up and then you know, two years ago,~ um,~ may of 22 rates go up and now that I denied dynamics changed.

Tracy Hayes: ~Um, ~just kind of, if you could just, in,~ um,~ this is [01:12:00] my last question is kind of summarize, you know, explaining to someone, a young person who might be thinking about getting into real estate, you know, what you've experienced, you know, over these last 25 years,~ uh,~ to kind of, if you can paint a picture of what a real estate.

Tracy Hayes: agent's career is like. 

Angela Tharp: Well hang on, you're going for a ride. 

Tracy Hayes: I know, that's why I'm grabbing my chair. 

Angela Tharp: So you can expect change. ~Um, ~you can expect to learn a lot. ~Um, ~this is a business ~um, ~profession. ~Um, ~personal, personal profession. You need to be, business is important, but knowing your customer is key. and staying true to yourself is super important.

Angela Tharp: ~Um, ~don't forget that customer ever. I mean, stay focused on that customer. Don't lose sight of the customer. ~Um, ~focus on education because that'll make you just that much better. You need to stand out. You need to, you need to be, [01:13:00] 12, 000 that are locally? 

Angela Tharp: Right. 

Angela Tharp: You need to be able to prove your value and Just constantly learn.

Angela Tharp: If you get complacent, you'll get lost in the shuffle. ~Um, ~stay in touch. During the transaction, please stay in touch. But even after, there's so many ways to just touch base. You know, people in sales always are worried, am I gonna bother them? You work with them in the biggest transaction of their life. You held our hand.

Angela Tharp: You helped them through it. You made those tough choices with them. They're gonna know you. They're gonna remember you if you stay in touch. It's simple. Just hello. It's 

Tracy Hayes: a lot easier to stay in touch today than it was 25 years ago. 

Angela Tharp: So true. 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah. 

Angela Tharp: ~So, ~and just, you know, hang in there because it's, there's ups and downs.

Angela Tharp: I had a very wise agent that worked with me. She's passed. Her name is,~ uh,~ Jay Mercer.~ Um, ~and she was wonderful to be [01:14:00] around. She was positive all the time and she said, honey, never lose sight that there's ups and downs. Do not ride that wave. And I loved her, loved her for that because that's, that's been in my mind for years.

Angela Tharp: And it's so true. There's ups and downs. Stay focused and don't, you know, when it's good, it's good. When it's bad, it's going to be bad. You know, just be able to. Handle it and stay even, Steven. Don't, you know, don't get Too full of yourself either right? Right. 

Tracy Hayes: No, that's that was the thoughts going through my head is you know to You realize you can make really good money But you also got to realize when you do have the down time if you want to live a certain lifestyle you need to You know get with the right people You have your money put aside and so forth.

Tracy Hayes: You made me think of Patty Ketchum. ~Um, ~you know, she's on the Florida board appointed by the governor, has her own brokerage out in Tallahassee, and obviously teaches for Florida Realtors, [01:15:00] one of the most popular instructors. But she said the one thing you have to realize too is everyone prefers to live under a roof.

Tracy Hayes: ~So, uh, ~everyone wants to live in a home. 

Angela Tharp: The one thing not to forget to mention is stay positive, stay positive and stay focused and definitely, you know, just continue to grow, continue to improve and just do the best you can.~ Um, ~at the end of the day, be able to sleep at night. That's one thing I always say to myself is if I could go to bed and I'm comfortable with what I did today I'm happy if I can't sleep.

Angela Tharp: There's a problem, you know, it's time to 

Tracy Hayes: You've made some statements here on the fish for just as good. How important is it? You know people say well, you know Angela's been in the business so long. Of course, you can hang out with Lisa Minton and top producers like that But really you can choose to do that early By surrounding yourself by this positive,~ uh,~ Ms.

Tracy Hayes: Mercer, you were [01:16:00] talking about, you know, always positive. You can choose to hang around those type of people if you're, you know, like to go in the office and so forth. 

Angela Tharp: Right. Oh, absolutely. Always, there's, don't waste any time. I mean, if you're a go getter and, and you have the time, network. You know, ~um, ~there's networking groups.

Angela Tharp: BNI is a great group out there that you can, you know, have a whole group of people that refer to you and you refer to them and you know you're working with professionals. It's a great organization. Work with your peers. ~Um, ~you know, get to know them. You're gonna come across each other's paths at some point.

Angela Tharp: If 

Angela Tharp: you're lucky enough to stay long, long enough. But,~ uh,~ it's a great industry. It's a, it's a great,~ uh,~ career. I've enjoyed every minute of it. I love what I do. I'm excited. I love to be able to hand those keys over at the end, and just see their faces light up when they know they're homeowners. You know, ~uh, ~this last,~ uh,~ year, my oldest son just bought a home.

Angela Tharp: And,~ um,~ I was so proud of him. I was just as nervous. [01:17:00] If not more ~so. ~It was just exciting at so many levels. And that's what you want. You want home ownership. You want that buyer that didn't think it was possible to get that home. You know? And sellers, when they sell and they get their, their, you know, Money in hand and and they know they they pulled it off.

Angela Tharp: They were able to sell it They're on to the next chapter of their life move on to the next And you're a part of that. That's a huge part of this You know career so 

Tracy Hayes: Angela, I appreciate you coming on today. 

Angela Tharp: Thank you for having me. Thank 

Tracy Hayes: you. 

Angela Tharp: I appreciate you