Real Estate Therapy

Real Estate Therapy

By Cynthia CumminsBusiness
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Real Estate Therapy episodes

  • Pro Tip for Buyers: Investigate Your Home Like a Private Eye

    Our final episode for Season 1! Like it or not, “caveat emptor” is still a thing when it comes to real estate purchases. Even in California, where sellers are required to disclose anything deemed as “material,” there’s plenty of investigating that buyers (and their representatives) can and should be doing. Staci Dresher – licensed attorney, private investigator and skilled workplace investigator – talks with Cynthia about how buyers can don their proverbial trench coats and fedoras to uncover what seller disclosures don’t cover!


    Highlights:

    • A good private investigator is curious but skeptical. The axiom to follow is “trust but verify.”

    • Caveat emptor means “buyer beware,” and buyer beware is still a thing in many places in the country, though not so much in California. Still…

    • The more nuanced potential issues with a property are harder to discern and may not necessarily be thoroughly disclosed.

    • Online court searches are a great resource for learning about neighbors of a potential home.

    • Other (mostly) free sources for investigation: County building records, city council meetings, police records, noise complaints, voter registrations.

    • Some folks don’t want to know about anything negative, but it’s important to pay attention. A good buyer representative agent will adamantly point these things out.

    • Buyers – it’s okay to knock on a neighbor’s door! Introduce yourself and ask questions.

    • Pro tip: Walk your prospective neighborhood. Sit there for a while. Visit at night. Visit at commute hours. Practice your commute. You can learn a lot.

    • Read your local (or neighborhood) newspaper and check for neighborhood forums like NextDoor, Facebook groups, etc.

    • Open your eyes and use your common sense when evaluating a home and neighborhood. Don’t skip that.

      • Engage with Staci:
      Website: https://www.dcifacts.com/staci-dresher  / stacidresher  

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      Real Estate Therapy Blog

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      47 min
    • Not Just a Pretty Face: The Science Behind Healthy Interiors

      Susan Burks isn’t your stereotypical interior designer. She works from the inside out – bringing alive interiors that nurture the well beings of their inhabitants. Her voice alone is soothing and calming, as you’ll hear when you tune into this special interview.

      Highlights:

      • Humans learned early to recognize patterns, safety, beauty – a necessary part of surviving. No wonder we respond (positively, neutrally or negatively) to our home surroundings.
      • We are neurologically wired to vibrate differently with different colors.
      • Thoughtful interior design can improve our lives in astounding ways.
      • Susan starts with the furnishings and arts that clients already own, rather than thinking about acquiring new things.
      • Unifying all the spaces of a home is her chief goal.
      • None of us can be the voice of reason for ourselves as well as we can do it for others. This applies to all sorts of professional relationships.
      • When it comes to home design, where can we make the biggest impact with the budget that we have?
      • Visual noise – where there’s too much clutter – usually has an undesired effect on humans.
      • Books, magazines and journals in our spaces remind us of our creative selves.
      • “I’m allowed into people’s private lives in a way that is very privileged,” says Susan
      • “I will always be Switzerland in the conversation (between couples).”
      • At the outset: You’re going to have disagreements. Not everything is going to go right. Some things will not happen according to schedule. So let’s be ready for that.
      • Coordinating between contractor and client is nuanced and important.
      • The core of interior design is thinking about how we care for ourselves, not how something looks.

        • Engage with Susan Burks:

        Website: https://www.insite-projects.com/

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        Real Estate Therapy Blog

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        43 min
      • Women in Real Estate: A Guide to Success

        Cathy Sommerville is an inspiration to and support for women in real estate, with two-plus decades of on-the-ground experience as an agent and a thriving practice as a coach for others. In this heart-full conversation, she and Cynthia talk about the particular challenges that women in the industry face and offer some wisdom about how others can “grow and upgrade.”

        Highlights:

        • Real estate gives you the opportunity to “Create a good business but also grow strong wings as an individual.”
        • “You have to work at the pace of the relationship… All the technology in the world doesn’t take the place of the relationship”
        • We don’t have a clip of the steak-cutting scene from Mr. Mom, but here’s another fun clip from that movie. https://youtu.be/zBLsO7BKVHw?si=YDHn6fpTQpor6Ai8
        • If we want to succeed as Realtors, we have to “shift from having an agenda to being on an adventure.”
        • “High stress does not lead to high performance.
        • Tune in to hear what is meant by “fiduciary fairy.”
        • “It’s very easy to be the smartest person in the room when everyone else is drinking,” and more about women and alcohol abuse
        • Check out the Ann Dowsett Johnston book Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol https://www.anndowsettjohnston.com/
        • “Nobody wants to be told what to do, but everybody wants to know what’s possible.”
        • The concept of “both and” rather than “either or.”


          • Engage with Cathy:

          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smart_graceful/

          Website: https://cathysommerville.co/

          Engage with Cathy:
          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smart_graceful/
          Website: https://cathysommerville.co

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          Real Estate Therapy Blog

          ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.realestatetherapy.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


          56 min
        • Weirdness and Wisdom of Money

          M is for Money. Or, in this case, for Manny Apolonio, a Certified Financial Planner whose wisdom around money is profound and inspiring. If you’re curious about how you might change your relationship to money, listen to this episode!


          Highlights:

          • The best professional advisors are empaths.

          • When it comes to financial planning or residential real estate, a coaching vs. consulting approach makes a huge, positive difference.

          • “Embrace the awkward” during life transitions.

          • Money can be scary.

          • Most of us need to examine (or reexamine) our “money stories” – the stories we tell ourselves about money.

          • Manny defines “the BMW moment” as the time when you realize it’s okay to want something simply because you want it.

          • Money is currency, and it can flow like a current.

          • Money is a proxy for survival, and shelter (ergo real estate) is foundational to survival.

          • Wise words: “Trust the delay!”

          • Cynthia and Manny talk about why a gratitude practice can enhance your life.

            • Engage with Manny:

            ⁠⁠⁠Financial Planning: https://www.hankewealth.com/

            YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@weirdmoney


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            Real Estate Therapy Blog

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            52 min
          • Stories Behind the Homes of San Francisco

            This week we talk with Sabrina Gee-Shin, Realtor extraordinaire, San Francisco native, and an “ABC” (American Born Chinese) who doesn’t speak Chinese. We talked about gyoza, real estate, racism, and everything in between.


            Highlights:

            • Is there any truth to Cynthia’s theory that there’s an inverse relationship between the amount of food on brokers tour in any given week and the strength of the current market.

            • Sabrina says “Love is handmade,” eschewing prepared platters of food and preferring homemade fare for catering.

            • Sabrina’s mother-in-law’s favorite Korean restaurant: Han Il Kwan, ​​https://www.yelp.com/biz/han-il-kwan-san-francisco

            • All about the value of creating community through sharing food.

            • Cameron House in Chinatown is a worthy cause: https://cameronhouse.org/

            • In case you don’t know what gyoza is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi#Gy%C5%8Dza

            • Partners in a home search sometimes arrive in a state where they are no longer hearing each other.

            • Real estate has a long history of discrimination and San Francisco is no exception. 

            • The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and freeway closure had a major negative impact on Chinatown’s economic health. The city’s new subway through Union Square is, in some sense, a reparation for that.

            • A book worth checking out: Living Sensationally: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Sensationally-Winnie-Dunn/dp/1843109158

              • Featuring:

              Sabrina Gee-Shin and Cynthia Cummins
              Engage with Sabrina:

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              Real Estate Therapy Blog

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              44 min
            • Realtors: Why the Human Touch is Key to your Success

              The real estate job has “all of the flexibility in the world and none of the flexibility in the world.” On that, Cynthia and her guest Val Vandervort can agree! In this fun insiders’ conversation, they talk about everything from sewer lines to stressed-out clients to Karl the Fog (perhaps the only weather element in the U.S. that has its own name).


              Highlights:

              • All about San Carlos, California
              • Why teachers make good Realtors
              • When clients handle stress gracefully, we notice.
              • Your agent is one of the few people who can witness and “approve” your performance as an adulting human being
              • The best Realtors have the “human touch.”
              • Both Cynthia and guest Val Vandervort are agency owners under the auspices of Side.
              • The problem with the hypervigilance required for Realtor leaders
              • Work-life balance barely exists in residential real estate.
              • Sewer lines, racoons, disclosures, funny agent names.
              • John Mulaney’s bit about real estate: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/72hrlGNsCqY
              • Sometimes all we can do is listen and let people be heard.


                • Featuring:

                Val Vandervort and Cynthia Cummins
                Engage with Val:

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                Real Estate Therapy Blog

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                48 min
              • The #1 Underrated Skill for Success as a Realtor

                Hey Realtors! Want to take your agenting success to another, higher level? You need to learn the skill of empathy. That’s right! Empathy is a skill, not a feeling, and you can use it to enhance your production as an agent, and to enhance your enjoyment of life in general. Our guest Joseph Cope explains why and how.


                Highlights:

                • ​​”Empathy” is one of those “woo-woo” buzzwords that has begun to lose its real meaning, thereby obscuring a valuable notion that has deep meaning and usefulness for our lives.

                • Empathy is a skill you can learn!

                • Empathy makes the difference between average and stellar leadership performance.

                • Empathy is key to a Realtor’s fiduciary relationship with a client.

                • Explained here – Joseph Cope’s “CARGO” system, which offers an easy-to-understand shortcut for practicing and increasing your empathy skills.


                  • Featuring:

                  Joseph Cope M. Ed. and Cynthia Cummins
                  Engage with Joseph Cope:

                  ⁠Website⁠

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                  Real Estate Therapy Blog

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                  44 min
                • Married to Real Estate: What to Expect

                  What is it like to live with a successful Realtor? This episode features a conversation with two Spouses Of Real Estate Agents (aka SOREs, according to one friend of the show), and sheds light on what the job is really like and what living with someone who’s doing the job is really like.


                  Highlights:

                  • "It's not a job, it's a lifestyle."

                  • The bigger the transaction, the smoother and easier the transaction?

                  • Patience is a characteristic that all agents (and their partners) need

                  • Realtors are fascinating people, with a variety of histories and backgrounds

                  • Living with (or being) a Realtor means a constant struggle with separating work from personal life and finding balance between the two

                  • “The difference between being a non-productive agent, a good agent and a great agent is 20 to 25 hrs a week.”

                  • Consumers tend to have highly unrealistic demands for their agents. Spouses of Realtors are often shocked to see how their loved ones are treated by their clients.

                  • Old real estate adage: Need some new business? Go on a vacation!

                    • Featuring:

                    Darrin Plaisance & Sergei Andruha

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                    48 min
                  • Why Service Workers Make Excellent Realtors

                    Guest Meryl Bennan and Cynthia agree that some of their best training for real estate came from their work in the food industry. As young adults, they both catered, cooked, waited tables, tended bar and served cocktails. Meryl, in the 90s, introduced people who were new to California cuisine to goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Whereas a few years earlier, Cynthia was making crepes and showering with geese. To learn more about how this relates to residential real estate sales, tune in!


                    Highlights:

                    • No job experience is better than food industry work for a real estate career
                    • “We work for tips” and the idea that while it’s not mandatory to pay your Realtor, it is customary!
                    • The most likely characters to die in a horror movie are often Realtors
                    • Real estate agents were among the first to be deemed essential workers during pandemic, but among the last to be vaccinated
                    • The Realtor job is to serve and educate – not to sell!
                    • We help our client switch so many different things, and a lot of it is like therapy.
                    • Multi-tasking skills are essential for successful real estate agents (and waiters
                    • People don’t know what they don’t know, and it’s our job to educate them
                    • We introduce our buyers to many new neighborhoods or types of properties; we offer alternatives while withholding our personal opinion

                      • Featuring:
                      Meryl Bennan and Cynthia Cummins
                      Engage with Meryl:

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                      49 min
                    • Want a “Deal?” Look for Houses that Show Badly

                      In this short episode, Cynthia Cummins talks about how to find a good buy if you’re a buyer. Essentially, that means looking for the wallflowers – properties that are vacant, or well-lived-in, or not staged. Less effort on presentation usually translates into less competition and that means less money! (Sellers, take note.) It’s the rare person who isn’t seduced by pretty pictures online and fluffy staging in person.

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                      7 min

                    About Real Estate Therapy

                    From the publisher's feed

                    Real Estate Therapy offers an unconventional philosophy on navigating the messy world of Real Estate.