I know, I know, you hate politics! But stay with me and don’t forget that politics directly impact you and your clients! Emily Chenevert, Chief Executive Officer at the Austin Board of REALTORS®, is a passionate lobbyist who gets the importance of having the people’s best interest in mind. She understands the power of negotiation and recognizes that we must learn to give and take when making big decisions. Listen in to learn what makes REALTORS® a unique group and learn some things to ask the elected public officials in your city. 

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting leighbrown.com. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:30 – Introducing Emily, the Chief Executive Officer at Austin Board of REALTORS® and Host of the ScratchThat podcast.
• 01:50 – She is a self-proclaimed “Association Junkie” and does lots of political advocacy work
• 03:50 – She understands that politics are important to have the people’s best interest at hand; the best REALTORS® pay attention
• 05:00 – Emily’s CSIRE story
• 05:15 – She is a young and female lobbyist in Texas, which is rare; her second child had medical issues so she was in the hospital for 6 weeks
• 05:40 – While in the hospital, she led over 8 independent expenditure campaigns in elections for city council; she took phone calls and meetings 
• 06:00 – The questions we should be asking elected officials
• 07:15 – In Austin, TX the concern is for quality of life; Austin has grown so rapidly and is struggling with the infrastructure to support this new growth 
• 08:30 – How Emily sets aside her personal beliefs in order to speak for the community and be productive rather than divisive
• 08:45 – Her father was an elected official and her whole family are democrats; her father thought she had sold her soul to the devil when she joined the association as a lobbyist
• 08:52 – He thought all REALTORS® are Republican and conservative; this is untrue
• 09:11 – Emily believes “we are a purple power REALTOR® party”; there are times she has to shelf her own beliefs
• 09:30 – There’s a lot of grey area; negotiation, give and take are necessary for growth overall
• 11:10 – We’ve lost mutual respect and healthy discourse; we want purists but we are a nuanced population
• 13:10 – Lean into relationships and connection with the same power as you do in politics and sides; this can change the world 
• 14:30 - REALTORS® are a 50/50 split and on both sides of the isle; that makes for good public policy positions 
• 15:10 – Emily’s experience when buying her house
• 05:25 – They built their first house with an 80/20 loan at 100% with a balloon note on the second part of the home; they thought home ownership was for everyone
• 16:10 – She learned a lot about how/why transactions are structured the way they are; they rented it out for a while and had hard times 
• 17:35 – How to contact Emily: by phone at (512)454-7636 ext.1000, by email at [email protected], and on Instagram

3 Key Points

1. Politics affect you so pay attention!
2.  The best REALTORS® are an inch wide and a mile deep. They have a tight niche that they serve passionately. 
3. We need to bring back mutual respect and healthy discourse!