Close to Home

Selling and buying property can be a difficult ordeal so this week Brennen shares his top 5 questions you can use to make sure the agent you’re working with is the best of the best!

Hello Close to Homies, I hope everyone out there is washing their hands and not touching their faces! It’s been a while since we  did a good old fashioned top 5 list and we thought we should remedy that! The real estate business is a big industry, and as with any large industry it’s important you pick the people you work with carefully. If you are in the Seattle real estate game and a listener of the show you’re in luck, since you already know at least one good agent! But what if you are moving to a new town and that’s not the case? If you want to make sure the agent you are working with is the best, then take a minute to jot down these five questions because they will put you ahead of the game for making that big purchase!

If you have ideas for future top 5 lists or other episodes you can always reach us on our various social media  platforms:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

As always thanks for listening, and we will see you next month with a new Close to Home!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Good Times”

By Patrick Patrikios

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hey folks, when we recorded this episode we could not have predicted that it’s release would coincide with the worst day for the stock market since 2008.  No doubt there is a lot of panic out there and we are not trying to contribute to that in any way. Originally this episode was just intended to be an even handed look at where you can best make your own money work for you, splitting pros and cons between the market and owning property. We hope that you our listeners will still be able to put it in that context and hopefully get some good information out of it. Just to reiterate our intention is only even to inform and is never intended to be opportunistic or sensationalizing.

If you want to reach out to us with questions, or just to let us know how you are doing, we would love to listen:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen breaks down why being pre-approved is an important and necessary step in the home buying process.

Hello again lovely listeners! We are back again with our favorite hobby: busting misconceptions about the home buying process wise open. Now at a first glance being pre-approved for a loan and being prequalified for a loan would seem to be two ways of saying the same thing, but they are not. You might have talked to someone and know roughly what you are prequalified for, in terms of a loan, but that number is not the same as what you can necessarily expect to get pre-approved for. That’s why this week on the Clouse Corner we are getting into all the differences between the two, and also why you should be working off the number that you are pre-approved for and not the one you’re prequalified for! Get ready to hear the term “pre” a lot in this weeks preview into the preconceptions surrounding these predetermining prefigurements on the Clouse Corner!

As always you can reach us on our various social media platforms:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen shares his most up to date checklist for buying in 2020.

Hello Close to Homies! It’s a real pleasure to be back bringing you that inside information on purchasing property that we are known for. This week Brennen has a real treat in store. Everyone knows that buying a house is complicated. There are credit checks, paperwork, home inspections, more paperwork, down payments, closing costs, more paperwork, you get the idea. It’s a balancing act with enough spinning plates to make a circus bear run for cover. Luckily we are here for you. In just 10 minutes we are going to run you through the must have checklist, so that you can feel prepared and ahead of the game at each step in the intricate home buying process. Think of it as the cliff notes, or a crib sheet, you’ll still have to put in the work, but if you follow our guidelines you’ll be prepared for anything that gets thrown at you in process.

Of course in the property game you’re only ever as good as the team behind you, so if any of you are looking to purchase in the Seattle area consider Red-Rovering us on over to your side. We have one of the best teams around and are always delighted to work on behalf of our listeners! You can always reach us on our various social media  platforms:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening, and we will see you next month with a new Close to Home!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Good Times”

By Patrick Patrikios

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It’s Market update time! Brennen is going to give us all the latest on the Seattle real estate market.

Hello Lovely listeners! Not a whole lot to describe this week to be honest. If you’ve been around here for a while you know how this song and dance goes. It’s the Market update! The best source for your up to date comparison of the Seattle real estate and how it has shifted in the last year. What was the market like in January of last year versus now? Well, you will have to listen to find out. It’s useful stuff. Whether you are looking to buy or sell soon, or you just want to be up to date on the latest trends and what it means for the market, the monthly update is the episode for you. And of course if you are looking to sell consider reaching out to us, we love hearing from you, and working with you!

Also, if you’re just here for the content that’s cool too (we do have a pretty sweet theme song). Anyway that’s all for this week folks. Catch you on Wednesday for Close to Home and as always thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen gives the do’s and don’t for romancing your dream home this Valentines day.

Hello lovely listeners! With Valentine's Day just around the corner we thought this would be a good week to shake up our format. Instead of our usual talk about crown moldings, and market numbers, this week we are a dating show, and we are giving out free couples counseling on how to forge a relationship that lasts a lifetime. Of course we’re talking about the relationship between a house and it’s owner, what else would we be talking about? After all, in order to fill a room with roses first things first you need a room, right? Seriously though, sometimes in life, and house hunting, sometimes you just have a moment where things click and you know, deep in your bones, that this is it, the real thing, the L word. The problem is sometimes that house you love has a full blown case of the crazies and might destroy your life. Not on our watch, listen to these tips and you’ll find yourself settling down with a nice sensible property in the burbs, not running off with some bad boy fantasy who will break your heart when you discover the raccoon colony living under the foyer.

As always if you have questions please reach out to us on our various social media accounts, we love to hear from you! And if you have ideas for future episode shakeups please leave them in the comments!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

On this very special episode of the Close to Home Podcast, Brennen lets you peak behind the curtain for an in depth look at what the last two years of working as a real estate agent in Seattle have taught him.

Greeting Close-to-Homies! I wonder if I will ever not cringe typing that out? Maybe, who knows what the future can hold. If past experience is any indicator probably not. Sometimes the only way we can make sense of the uncertain future ahead of us is to look back at the people we used to be for a blueprint. That is exactly what this week's episode is all about.

You all know Brennen as our energetic host, the content king of Compass Real Estate, or perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to have first hand experience working with him. If you haven’t, then this week is your chance for the next best thing. This week Brennen is going to share some of his biggest takeaways, breakthroughs, and general wisdom, from his last two years as a real estate agent. That’s right we are getting personal up in here! Enough talk about pretty houses and equity, it’s time to get down in the nitty gritty of what it takes to run a business in 2019. And trust us, there is a lot of grit to go through.

If you’re curious about the industry, or have dream of running your own business someday then this is the episode for you. Brennen is not holding anything back. You’ll hear successes, but a lot more about failure and how to learn from it, because that is the reality of actually running a business day to day.

If you have any questions or want additional details you can always reach us on our various social media platforms:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

As always, if you enjoyed what you heard please consider leaving a comment or review for us on Apple Podcasts. But no pressure. Good luck out there Close to Homies and we’ll see you next week!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

Other music (in order used):

“Just Breathing”

By Coyote Hearing

“Running Back 2U”

By Stayloose

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

This week on the Clouse Corner: Brennen delves into the differences between closing costs and the down payment when it comes to purchasing a property.

Hello lovely listeners! This week we thought explaining the difference between the closing cost and down payment would be helpful. These two share a lot of overlap so it’s worth picking some nits so that you, our listeners, can better understand how to prepare for them, and get all the bang possible out of your buck. Who knows if you listen carefully you might even pick up a couple tricks for how to get someone else to pick up some of the metaphorical tab. But you’ll have to listen to find out!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen takes a short historic look at the cost of renting versus buying in the marketplace. 

Hello again lovely listeners! Can you believe the first month of a new year is almost over? It seems like just last week we were celebrating the new year! I guess time flies when you're cranking out content! And speaking of content, this week we are bring you something a little different. You've heard us talk about renting and buying before on the podcast (big surprise we advocate for buying over renting) but this week we thought it would be interesting to take a more historic look at the why behind that stance. It's a super quick episode so it won't take more than the time for you to finish you coffee and go, "huh."  

As always we hope you enjoy it. If you have any recommendations for future episodes, or other topics you would like us to take a deep dive on please reach out, we love to hear from you!

As Always you can reach us on any of our various social media channels:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Here's hoping each and every one of you is off to a fantastic start to the new year, thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen coaches would-be buyers on the best techniques for buying and selling homes in the new year. 

Hello lovely listeners! If you have been listening to us for any period of time you are probably aware that real estate is an ever shifting market. So, if you are wanting to get the most money for your home, or make you money go further towards purchasing new property for yourself you have to stay up to date. This week Brennen prepares for the new year by laying out his top tips for people looking to buy and sell in 2020. These are not just tips for the seasoned listener though, if you are new around here, first off welcome, and be sure to take some notes!

One of the biggest takeaways you’ll get from this week's episode is in 2020 preparation is going to be king. Fortune will favor people who do their research and find agents who are ready and willing to help bring out the best in their properties. Agents like Brennen! But of course no pressure. Well, maybe a little.

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Take it easy Homey’s (yep that one is here to stay) remember 2020 is going to be a marathon and not a sprint, so take all the time you need to be properly prepared. Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next week for the Clouse Corner!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

Other music (in order used):

“Just Breathing”

By Coyote Hearing

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/