[00:00:02] Speaker A: The Michael Hatfield Re Max team presents real estate and more.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Bay Area real estate is different than in all of America. And why? What's up with homebuyers? What's on sellers minds? How is the market and much, much more.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Now here's your host, Michael Hatfield.
[00:00:21] Speaker C: Welcome to the real estate and more show. I'm so glad you've tuned in to our show because today we are going to talk about some important items that a buyer's agent will do for his client. And to help me out today, he's been a frequent guest on the real estate and more show. He's on here today kind of as a co host kind of a person. Just really make me, make me perform better than I do. His name is Jerry Stadler. He's a broker owner along with his amazing wife of the best of the Bay brokerage, re Max Accord. And he's here as a knowledgeable person to help us with getting out some of these ideas that say what a buyer's agent does for their buyers. I personally know Jerry Stadler as a person who does great things for people, and I appreciate him greatly. So welcome to the show, Jerry.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Thanks so much, Michael. Glad to be back here again. Amazing show you have.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Oh, we have a lot of fun.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: That's why I come back. I mean, there's so much information here on all sectors of this world. Thank you for doing it. It really is great. And I'm just proud and honored that you're bringing me in because you've had some incredible guests on this show.
[00:01:37] Speaker C: Thank you. Well, you're always so nice to say such things, and most people in the world don't really take the time to be people anymore. And that's one of the things I enjoy about you, and that's how I feel about it. So tell us just a moment about yourself, Jerry, and why you like just to hang out in this real estate business. It's always changing.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Oh, I love the business.
I'm a people person. Let's start there. That's what I do. I would not be happy at all confined to a desk in a corner somewhere that never going to work for me. But I picked real estate with the help of my wife, Stephanie, because it's different. It's sales. It is sales, no question. But it's so different. I'm not selling shoes. I'm not selling anything that's tangible or that I made. I am working as a salesperson, finding things that people already made and putting people together. And it's a lot of people involved. It's very detailed. And that's what kind of rings my belt. I like to do that. I'd never be happy stuck behind a corner.
[00:02:51] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Behind a corner or a desk, either way, huh?
[00:02:54] Speaker B: Yeah. No way. I just, I mean, I, I get enough desk work as I am right now, but I'm managing quite a few agents and operating several offices for many years. For many years. Yeah. But I enjoy it. That's what I do.
[00:03:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Now re Max Accord has been, again nominated for the best of the bay, actually awarded the best of the bay brokerage, which is really good. That's re Max Accord.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Proud of that. Very proud of that.
[00:03:21] Speaker C: Yeah. We're proud to be part of the organization and hang out with you and youre, your lovely wife and family. So, you know, we spoke for a moment ago just briefly on the business is always changing. It's always different. Things are always moving and changing. Just recently there was a lawsuit against the National association of Realtors, which is like a trade organization that controls many of the multiple listing services that we have throughout the United States of America. Out of that came something like, I don't know, many is 13 new documents that change the way we do business a little bit. We have to be very familiar with that, and we have to incorporate that into what we do as real estate agents for our clients. Because you and I are on the same page when we say the most important thing that we have to do is take care of our clients. Absolutely. So we have all of these new documents that have come out just recently, and we have to keep our clients squared away with those, one of which is, incredibly, a five page buyer representation agreement. And we can go into that, but it's probably better that we sit down with a potential client and go through it item by item to where they understand what it really means. Would you not agree?
[00:04:46] Speaker B: Absolutely. It's, it's a document, actually. Then it's been somewhat modified. It's a document that's been around for quite a while. It's interesting in the fact that in California, it was not a document that was universally used, but if you move back to the east coast or in the midwestern state, they used it exclusively. And what it was really, if to give an easy view of what it is, it's a listing with a buyer instead of a seller. You have a contract and you represent them, and it has terms in it and duration, and it was always available to us, but nobody used it in the lawsuit that was filed.
Interesting.
It has now demanded or said that we would have to use this document if we were going to deal with a buyer in a real estate transaction or get anything to do with it.
[00:05:53] Speaker C: Throughout the United States information.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: And it was out there. And the interesting thing is, and I don't have a problem doing that, you just have to put the buyer on the bottom line day one. And there's a commission agreement in there that's with the buyer. And that's traditionally, as everybody probably are aware, the seller always paid the commission. It was built into the price, and.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: It still can happen that way.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: And that's correct. Absolutely, Michael. And that's the beauty or the on beauty. All this work they did and all these millions of dollars that floated around, and all they did was ended up doing, doing a more documents to accomplish something that we're already doing.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I totally agree.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: That's amazing, because that the seller's right to offer a commissioner not was always there, but it was built into the price. So what are you going to do?
[00:06:46] Speaker C: What are you going to do?
[00:06:46] Speaker B: We follow the law and we're working around it. It's worked quite well. I have not perceived any problems.
[00:06:54] Speaker C: Okay. So out of all of this, and I've seen it on maybe realtor.com, there's a listing of 105 ways that a buyer's agent will do tasks, 105 different tasks that a buyer's agent will do during the course of representing them through to the close of escrow and the new ownership of a home. And I think there's probably a lot of more. So today we're going to talk a little bit about the major categories, pick out a few items of interest and talk about those. And Jerry just said he's going to beat me up on these. So if he seems a little hard on me, don't worry about it.
We'll kiss him. Make up later. The first one is counseling session activities counseling. Now, we just addressed all of these new documents that have come out as a result of the Citizen Burnett National association of Realtors lawsuit settlement. But there has always been a lot of documents that need to be counseled. We're talking about things such as the residential purchase agreement, because when Jerry and I first started with real estate, there was an only a two page deposit receipt, which was the agreement, right?
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: Now, how many pages? What?
[00:08:14] Speaker B: 13 is 16.
[00:08:16] Speaker C: Yo, you must have blinked 16 pages. Plus the other categories, which are disclosures, advisories, and acknowledgments that are all interrelated and mitered into the residential purchase agreement. Would you not agree?
[00:08:32] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, I see closed transactions coming through my office.
Some of them are four or five inches thick of all the paperwork that had to go into it. So it is pretty amazing. And I think in a lot of times it actually creates confusion because there's so much. But we follow the rule. We're not attorneys, we're real estate agents. So we just follow the bouncing ball, getting all the paperwork corrected.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: But in these counseling session activities for a buyer, we sit them down in a conference room and we start talking about the buyer representation agreement and how we can put the burden of the compensation for the buyer's agent. We're back where it was before. It can be done documently and we talk about that. We talk about the purchase agreement and what those items mean and their associated disclosures, advisories and acknowledgments. Correct?
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:09:31] Speaker C: Okay, we'll be right back.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Remax and here's Michael Hatfield, business owners, have you considered how important the appearance and impression your offices make to prospective customers? Appearance and impression are critical to clients, thus to your overall success. If your company could use that warm, inviting and welcoming appearance. I have an amazing complex of offices just listed for lease in the quaint town of Danville. Freshly remodeled, meticulously built, the 3700 square foot space enjoys incredible street exposure, front and side entrances, abundant parking, reception, conference room, eleven individual offices, even a team member kitchen. This premium space is located in a blue ribbon building maintained by the renowned Sherman Properties group. Waste not 1 minute. Call us now.
[00:10:24] Speaker D: Get help with buying or selling by calling the Michael Hatfield Remax support team at 1800 857 63. That's 1800 857.63.
[00:10:36] Speaker E: Working with Michael and Nancy, I was a first time homebuyer and I was very nervous about the process. I didn't really know what to expect. Michael and Nancy were able to take that fear away from me and answered all of my questions. They were right by my side the entire time and they really helped me find the perfect home for me. And I'm so thankful.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: And now back to our show.
[00:10:59] Speaker B: I mean, that's a beginning conversation just to highlight because they're going to experience every one of the items that we're going to talk to them about. The.
I think the important part, the critical part is we have two people who may or maybe three people, husband, wife and an agent who never really conversed that much. You know, they were either selected in some shape or form, marketing, or just happened to be at the right place at the right time. So there's a certain amount of connection that has to be made.
Everybody has that right to work with somebody that they trust, that's knowledgeable, that has their interests at the heart of whatever we're doing. And that's, that's the conversation that really needs to be happening at the beginning. I've always said that if people know you and like you and trust you, they'll work with you. But if they don't, if something's missing, you better back up and start all over again because you haven't accomplished what you really need to have there. So it's important, important piece of it.
[00:12:09] Speaker C: You know, we talked about counseling the session, right. You know, right at the beginning with the buyers. What's so much part of that is that you're building that relationship that you just referred to. You have to have that relationship with people. If you don't, then everything is draw suspicion and that you really don't want when you have a team member that is going to make this a great transaction for you or one of the not so great transactions for you. And that's why in our case with Nancy and I, we've kept our, our little team very small, but we're efficient. We don't want to get so big that we become inefficient and do not take care of the client through counseling activities as well as building the relationship. And part of that relationship, you know, a lot of people don't know it, is you start out right away, preparing the client, the buyer client for making an offer. And in order to do that, a few things are required. They got to know what that offer is. They got to know understand it, what it means. They got to comply with all of the new forms that have come out, the updated residential purchase agreement, as it happens, and have a relationship with you. And it takes a bit to do that.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: So there's a lot you have to prep them for. All this is coming at them. And if they do the job like I know you do, with my experience with you, if they do that, it makes the transaction so much easier. They know it's coming in and you've been explained to them. And now here it is.
[00:13:40] Speaker C: Here it is.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: And here it is. And so I've always thought that, I always say this tongue in cheek. It's probably not a new phrase, but I love it. When you're talking with somebody, you're listening to somebody. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: You know, you ask a lot of questions and keep asking questions of a client, of a buyer. You know, that's it. If you have the information true and correct. Going out the door, top ten amenities. Everything they want to see in the house where they live now, it's. The communication is, is incredible. And you really. I think both parties feel like they really hit a home run.
[00:14:20] Speaker C: It was funny, years and years ago when I had my supermarket business there, I had a commercial banker, and he was always able to put humor on anything. And it was really lightened up a lot of the pressures of owning a business, because owning a business is stressful. There's no other way around it. But he always said to me, he says, you know, when we sit down for a little while, I just listen. And I said, why is that? He says, well, if I'm talking, I only know what I know, but if I'm listening, I know what I know, and I know what you know. What do you think?
[00:14:55] Speaker B: That's beautiful. Yeah, that's great.
[00:14:58] Speaker C: You would have loved this guy. I don't know where he is today, but just a neat guy. Educating the buyer is a really big portion of being a buyer's agent. You have to be able to educate the buyer, as you said, of what is going to be coming up. And when it comes up, they understand and they know exactly where it's going from there. Wouldn't you say?
[00:15:20] Speaker B: Absolutely.
You need to have that conversation. I've always used this term, and I think it's a cool term, that if I'm working with a client who came to me as a buyer and I tell them, you have to act like a buyer. You have to.
Everything is choreographed, and you have your job to do. I have my job to do. So if I have a house, we're desperate to find a house, and I find one, and you're too busy to look at it because of some, then I say, wait, stop.
This might be it. We need to get out there. And so, yes, I pushed it towards success. I don't want to not be able to find you a house, so I'm pulling out all stops. As an agent, I'm doing everything I possibly can. So you have to react and act like a buyer. I have to act and react like a real estate agent. That's my job. That's what I do.
[00:16:18] Speaker C: So are you telling me that not all agents are the same?
[00:16:23] Speaker B: That goes without saying, yeah. There are. Frankly, there are people in this business that shouldn't even be in it, because I don't think they really understand that it's more of a job for them. And it really is a business, something that you nurture and care for and build and love and cherish. Everything about it is something that you really are involved in. This is not a thing where, yeah, I can earn a commission.
This is where, guess what I got them. The house, the family, everybody's happy. They're all thanking me. And I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I just want to go celebrate because we did it. We got it done.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: You know, when I retired from the airline, I found that my friends were all over the place. They weren't just around here, and I didn't have a lot of friends. And so over time, Nancy and I said, well, let's do such a great job that the folks are going to want to be our friends as well as be satisfied with our services. And quite frankly, most all of the people that we have represented, and I can't say all, there's been one or two that we maybe should have never represented in the first place, but almost all have become friends.
So.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: Well, I mean, from my desk, I can testify to that, Michael, because I've gotten several emails and or letters regarding yours and Nancy's work that you, that you perform for these people, and they're forever grateful. And it's true, you've made friends for life. And that's what I think this business is all about, making friends, making acquaintances in the same community, and being able to help them at the same time and earn a living to feed your family. That's a beautiful situation.
[00:18:17] Speaker C: It goes back to that second point section that we were talking about just a few minutes earlier that says building a relationship. You're building a relationship with people that is not just for that one ticket that you sold to fly in the airplane from point a to point b. It's for the second, the third, the fourth ticket that you're selling when you sell the first one. And I totally believe that. And if agents are not of that persuasion of thought, then they rightfully should, you know, in my view, absolutely.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: I've always said the greatest database that you could possibly create is a list of acquaintance or people you've done business with before.
There was a gentleman who used to ran an ad in the paper many, many years ago, and he ran two pictures, one of an older man and one of a very young man. He'd been in business for 50 years. And he said, chances are you may have purchased a house from one of these guys. I thought that was the coolest dad because he had built a lifelong business. He was doing 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation people from the same families. Wow. I mean, that is the home run that you have people trust you and love you so much. They'll come back to you because. Because they know you know what you're doing and they need your expertise and they know they're going to get the best of the best.
[00:19:42] Speaker C: We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.
[00:19:47] Speaker D: Michael, what traits should we look for in selecting an agent?
[00:19:51] Speaker A: Look for a deal maker with a positive attitude who will work tirelessly for you. An agent who is adept in multiple offer situations, drafting contracts, marketing and advertising. A client's home is familiar with multiple cultures, experienced in mortgage financing, inspections and escrow is a huge asset to his client.
[00:20:11] Speaker D: What can you do as a plus for clients?
[00:20:13] Speaker A: Your agent is your eyes and your ears, one who works behind the scenes on your behalf. A great attitude, working well with others and keeping clients priorities. Number one is a given for us.
[00:20:24] Speaker D: Call 925-32-2775 now to schedule an appointment or complimentary home analysis for excellence in real estate, call the Michael Hatfield remax team at 925-32-2775 or go to michaelhatfieldhomes.com dot.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: Now back to our show. Wow. We had this billionaire client, I mean, seriously, a billionaire client. And he had been with several other real estate people, and they showed him home after home after home. And so we studied up what he was actually saying, you know, using your ears and listening as well as talking all the time. And we heard what he was saying. We found him a home, sold him the very first home that we showed him. And he was just shaking his head. He says, I don't get it. I feel so odd about it. I said, well, you don't want to offer on this one. No, I do. I do.
[00:21:15] Speaker B: I showed a house to a doctor and his wife, brand new. She was pregnant quite a ways along and walked into the house. Desperate housing was hard to find.
She didn't stay long. She walked out the door, and in the interim, another couple, another agent showed up at the house showing it to, and she, my client and her husband stayed. And I talked to him. I said, where'd your wife go? Because I guess she didn't like the house and went outside, and she was standing in front of the garage, and I said, what's going on? And she says, all I want to do is write an offer on this house before somebody else does. Let's go.
There's no reason to hang around. Let's go do it. So you have to really look at the clients and what they are seeing and what their reaction when they place furniture. You know you're getting close.
[00:22:05] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure. For, for my purposes, I have to say, this is the area, I believe that a buyer's agent, an experienced buyer's agent, will perform to the greatest degree for his or her client. And that is in negotiating the offers. So much of this is behind the scene. You hear about listing strategies all the time for home sellers. But in actuality, there is a strategy for negotiating offers and getting it for your client. In the Bay Area, we've had this seller's market for quite some time, ever since before COVID and the seller's market has had offers, as many as 30 some offers. My biggest one that we won was with 33 offers, and it was definitely not at list price. And so you have to sort all of that out and not leave your buyers money on the table nor put them in something that they really can't afford to do. So I really believe how a buyer's agent negotiates and how well he negotiates for them or whatever the guy. It's incredible. What say you?
[00:23:15] Speaker B: It is absolutely true as a top agent.
One thing for sure, that he should have or will have two things, actually.
Great, great negotiating skills. Understanding what he's got to negotiate with and who's he negotiating against. Got to know what the buttons are. That makes him a great negotiator when he has all that information from him. Can work with another agent in crafting an offer. And the other one is your closing skills. Once you've got that all dialed in, go in for the close. Let's do it. Let's get the signatures. Let's do this.
There's a saying out there that we use quite a bit, and it's called snooze. You lose. And that happens a lot in this business when the agents don't think that they are on the right track or not care or not feeling that they've really got it, when they actually may have or simply missed it. Totally.
[00:24:14] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: So they got to have those skills, negotiating skills, which you, I mean, Michael, you know, you, you and Nancy have great skills with you when you get into escrows. I know that because I follow it. That's my job.
[00:24:28] Speaker C: Oh, thank you.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: So, but anyway. So I'd probably take a few lessons from you.
[00:24:33] Speaker C: No, I don't think so. Now, after the offer has been accepted and you're advocating for the buyer and facilitating the close, we've only got a short few moments here to talk about that. Is there something you'd like to bring up? There's only like 30 items out of realtor.com quote s 105 ways that a buyer's agent will support his buyer client. But there's just a couple things you'd like to point out on. That one, advocating for the buyers and facilitating the close.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you're there for the buyer and at their beck and call. Actually, there's nobody more important in the transaction than the client. One of the most confusing things is a lot of agents will send their buyers into the escrow closing and not attend it with them. That is not good. There is so much paperwork in, and you can't leave a title, officer, or even a lender. A lender could attend, too. By the way, there's nothing wrong with having both of you at the table to answer questions because there's going to be some, particularly when the client is sitting there signing maybe 50 documents and they're nervous, they're scared. Some of them might be their first time they've ever done something like that. And the next one would be the biggest or most expensive home they've ever purchased. So it's all about agent being there, being aware, taking care of the client, answering the questions, and knowing that the client can turn around. You're there.
[00:26:03] Speaker C: Sincerely. Sincerely. Really good words. Just yesterday, as an input to that, I had been under the weather for almost a week with some kind of a crazy respiratory thing. And the escrow officer had set up our buyer, I'm sorry, our seller signing, and it was going to be at a Starbucks. And then I saw that come across that says, I'm getting out of bed. That's not going to happen. You know, we're protecting security. We don't want people's nose and overlooking and things like that. And then we moved it to our office and had it done. And we were there, and I didn't breathe on anybody. But I don't have a fever anymore. Anyhow, that's just one example. So, in closing today, you have any real quick thoughts for us? Because we're already over.
[00:26:50] Speaker B: Well, just using self serving, of course, but it's true. Using a professional realtor like the likes of Michael and Nancy or any of the agents at Remax Accord, but a bona fide realtor that knows what they're doing. Ask all the questions you want, but you need to be totally comfortable. But find yourself a good realtor and you'll find yourself a good house, or you'll get a good sale. A smooth transaction is what it's all about. Insulated by a good agent, the buyer or seller. Never has a problem.
[00:27:25] Speaker C: Wow. We have so much enjoyed Mister Stadler today sharing his experience with us. And if you'd like to aspire to be a best agent or you are already a best agent, Mister Stadler would like to meet you. You can reach him through us easily enough. We're all over the place and easy to find. Thank you so very much for being on the show, Mister Jerry Stadler, thank.
[00:27:48] Speaker B: You again for the invite.
If I like to come back again someday when you have more.
[00:27:54] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: You have such fabulous guests. I know I'm in great company here, so thank you for that.
[00:27:58] Speaker C: Well, that's a wonderful thing to say, jerry. Thank you again. You've been listening to the real estate and more show. Please help our show by going to our YouTube channel, my real talk show. That's at my realtalkshowoutoutube.com. dot touch that subscribe and that like button. We'll be back shortly with our next special guest. Please stay tuned.
[00:28:18] Speaker A: Please remember to go to our new YouTube handle my real talk show that's
[email protected]. and touch that subscribe button. You can also find past aired shows that are handle my real talk show on YouTube.com.
