Effective writing is important.  This is why this, the 10th and final Agent Commandment, is about writing.

We have seen far too many examples of horrific writing on the part of real estate agents.  You don't need to read very many MLS listing descriptions before they'll start popping out at you.  Poor spelling, bad grammar, lack of punctuation.  They all jump right off the page and detract from the professional message you're trying to communicate on behalf of your client.

For this reason, we've enlisted the help of Laura Peterson, Author, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Podcaster, and Digital Nomad.  On her podcast, Copy that Pops, you'll find a wealth of information on how to write effectively for your newsletter, ads, and blog posts to drive traffic to your destinations.

Listen in as we have a wide ranging discussion with Laura about the impact of effective writing, vomit comets, living in Europe, and International Dog of Mystery, Tuck.

The topic of inspectors has come up in past episodes, so we thought we'd delve a little deeper into the topic with this episode by sharing the top 10 issues that come up during inspections.

After hearing this episode, you will understand the great benefit an inspector brings to the table.

Decrepit cars, interest rates, closing disclosures, and mortgages, how do they all relate?

In this episode, we welcome Patrick Morales back to the podcast for a wide ranging discussion about mortgages.

When preparing to buy a new home so many consumers don't realize they might have to choose between the new car or the new home. Learn about how mortgages work, hidden fees, and what's happening in the market.

Find out what pro-rations are, general closing costs and fees and get into the nitty-gritty of mortgage closing costs.

So many people shop on the interest rates alone, but that's not always the best strategy!  You should calculate the total cost of the loan before you sign on the dotted line.

Know before you buy! 

Listen in as we discuss the difference between being interested and being committed.  It's a huge distinction!  Our stand is that agents should be committed to their chosen profession of being a real estate agent!

You want to know what that cryptic message means? You have to listen to the podcast to find out.  Perhaps the Spartan King Leonidas will clarify what it means to be committed to your profession.  Maybe NFL Coach Herm Edwards can point out how being interested versus being committed has an immeasurable impact on the performance of the team.

Your realtor is a member of your home buying or selling team, and like any major event in your life you want a professional and a committed team member watching your back. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a review on whatever platform you use to listen to the show!

[email protected]

Lately, we have been getting a lot of requests to do some episodes aimed at real estate investors.  While we are technically real estate investors by virtue of the fact that are landlords,  we don't feel like we've had enough experience to speak authoritatively on the subject, so we decided to do some research and find guests for the show who know far more about real estate investment than we do.

In this episode, we welcome David Cole to the show who shares with us an amazing tool that isn't very well known yet, but is an incredibly powerful tool for real estate investors and/or people who want to be real estate investors.

The single participant 401(k), commonly known as the "Solo 401(k)" plan gives you as an investor unprecedented access to and flexibility to personally invest the retirement funds you have been building up throughout your life.  Do you have a 401(k) from a previous employer?  Do you have a traditional individual retirement account that you self-funded?  All of these funds can be rolled in to a Solo 401(k), where YOU take the role of trustee, enabling you to have checkbook access to the funds for the purpose of investment.

Listen to this episode as Dave walks us through the background, requirements, and rules of this option that all investors should know about!

Dave can be reached at:

Website: http://www.freedomfirst401k.com Phone: 928-350-8368 Email: [email protected]

In today's episode we interview Mike Michalowicz, author of 4 different business books.  We had no intention of turning our conversation into a Commandment, but Mike shared so many great insights that we had to do it.  Mike is the author of Surge, Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan and the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.  He is also a popular keynote speaker and successful podcaster.

Mike built and sold two multi-million dollar companies by his 35th birthday.  Confident that he'd discovered the secrets to success, he became an angel investor... and proceeded to lose his entire fortune.  Now building his third multi-million dollar company based on the thesis of Profit First, Mike shares his insights with us on the program. 

Although Mike shared a lot of insights and fascinating stories in and about his books, we thought his advice from The Pumpkin Plan was spot on for real estate agents.  In order to get noticed, you have to be different!  You shouldn't expect to gain the attention from the marketplace by being exactly like every other real estate agent out there, you have to be different in order to get noticed. 

Think about it - the human brain is conditioned over millions of years to notice things that are out of the ordinary.  If you're watching a freeway with car after car whizzing by, you'll get bored pretty quickly.  Wouldn't a person riding a giraffe down the freeway immediately grab and hold your attention?  Of course it would!

Remember though, being different doesn't guarantee success, it only guarantees that you'll get attention.  What you do with that attention depends on you! 

At the end of the episode, Mike fills us in on his hit book, Profit First, and talks about the critical takeaways from that book that can be applied to every real estate agent out there.  If you're struggling in your business, whether it's in real estate or any other business, give this episode a listen, you won't be disappointed!

Connect with Mike:

Website: http://www.mikemichalowicz.com

Podcast: http://www.mikemichalowicz.com/category/profit-first-podcast/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mike+michalowicz

Books: Surge  -  Profit First  -  The Pumpkin Plan   -  Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Come spend some time with us while we heckle a close friend and new build buyer, Scott Sniderwin. Scott recently purchased a new build home here in the Houston area.  Although Scott is now a regular listener to the show, we hadn't started the podcast at the time he was buying, so he wasn't plugged in to the commandments, and his real estate story turned into a horror story.

Luckily for Scott, he is persistent, and as he put it “a real pain”, so he kept fighting to get things done properly on his new build home.  He walks us through his story of building a new home from contract to final closing to his warranty period.

Listen to the podcast to hear all of the details and how he got things fixed, and what he could have done to protect himself from the get-go.

Recently, we received a listener mail that had a great question: "How will rising interest rates impact the real estate market?"

Since we aren't financial experts, we decided to call in reinforcements in the form of Patrick Morales.  Before becoming a Loan Originator, Patrick was a Financial Planner, so we thought he would be a great person to answer this question.

During the discussion, Patrick shares with us what you as a buyer can do to prepare for higher interest rates to take the best advantage of the situation.

He also shares some very useful information for anyone who currently owns a home who had a loan modification done in the last 5 years.  If this is you, don't miss this episode!

You can reach Patrick at 832-639-3350 or by email at [email protected].

This is a special episode!  We recorded it in front of a live audience at the University of Houston with special guest host, Hank Moore.  Hank has been shaping our culture for a generation, and is a living legend in many spheres, including the Non-Profit sphere.  Listen to this episode as we discuss how important it is for agents to be committed to giving back to the communities they serve.

Real estate agents, more than any other profession, are intimately linked to the communities in which they do business.  It is therefore imperative that we make our businesses about more than just making money for ourselves.  A portion of our profits should go back to the community in the form of philanthropy.  It's good for the community and it's good for your business. 

If your agent can't name at least one charity that they personally support through their work, you should start looking for another agent!

Outdoor living spaces are a huge attraction, especially in areas like Houston where the weather makes them useful nearly year round.  In this episode, we interview Deedra Chavez from Bello Domani Outdoor Designs.

Deedra has been in the industry for many years and has a great eye for design.  She designed the outdoor living space in Karen and Kevin's backyard and we have been referring business to her ever since.

Deedra shares with us some of the most popular features and upgrades available on the market today, like high efficiency pumps that allow you to greatly reduce the energy cost of running your pool (roughly $15 per month).  She also gives us detail on our favorite pool upgrade, the in-floor cleaning system.  While we absolutely love this upgrade, there is one... let's call it "unexpected feature" that the system brings to the pool experience.  You'll have to listen to the episode to find out the hilarious truth!

We also hear about some of the creative things people are doing by mixing fire and water features with outstanding results.  In the episode, you'll also hear about the outdoor living feature that provides an average 130% return on investment.