Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The Michael Hatfield Remax team presents real estate and more.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Bay Area Real Estate is different than all of America and why? What's up with buyers? What's on sellers'minds? How is the market and much, much more.
[00:00:17] Speaker C: Now here's your host, Michael Hatfield.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: Well, good morning, folks. Race cars, real estate, how does it all fit together? Other our guests today are wonderful folks and are here to tell you about how it all fits together. Linda May is a top performing realtor in the Cincinnati area and basically western Cincinnati area in southeast Indiana, and her partner is the well known former professional race car driver Danny May. Both are friends for many and many years, and it is exciting today to talk about real estate, mixing it alongside Danny's professional motorsports, bringing to us a wealth of real estate experience to the table, along with the driver of some of the fast machines on earth. Let's give a big welcome to Linda May, broker and Danny May, professional race car driver.
Linda, let's start out with you. Tell us about yourself, how you came to become involved as a top producing real estate agent.
[00:01:18] Speaker D: Hi, Michael. Thanks first for inviting us onto your show. It's definitely a pleasure.
I started my professional career working in marketing and advertising. I've worked at several advertising agencies with great clients like Sarah Lee, Kroger Corporation, Archway Cookies, and the Sincei Reds.
I took my love of meeting new people and helping make positive changes in their lives, and that kind of directed me to a career in real estate.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: Yes, the old draw.
[00:01:55] Speaker D: Yes, yes.
[00:01:58] Speaker A: Can you describe the area near Cincinnati? It's western Cincinnati and also the other state of where you represent buyers and sellers, some of the area's biggest sales points. Why would a person want to move there?
[00:02:13] Speaker D: Greater Cincinnati, we love our town. It offers a moderate cost of living. It has great neighborhoods, and still we have a lively downtown that we can visit. We have beautiful parks and landscapes. And one thing about Cincinnati is we are a sports city. From high school football, college teams, our Cincinnati Reds, our Cincinnati Bengals, and our recently added Major League Soccer.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: You know, in the Bay Area, we have some teams out here, too, but some of them keep moving to Las Vegas or wherever. But that's pretty exciting. In your locale. Real estate wise, what is the most active price range that you see in your particular area? I'm drawing a comparison versus the Bay Area. I'm not going to hurt you here. Don't worry.
[00:03:08] Speaker D: The majority of the buyers in our area are 250,000 to 350,000. Like I mentioned, it's a moderate cost of living here.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: So if somebody came there, it would be a great place to retire too, to have all that sports and have all that land and not have to pay a whole bunch for it.
I like to always say that there's 50,000 real estate markets in the nation of which are broken down into submarkets by price range. And in your area, I suppose you can expect rental income to be pretty decent. As far as an investment direction.
[00:03:47] Speaker D: Rental income has changed over the past several years, with home values from 2020 to 2023 rising over 37%.
A lot of the investors that had homes that were rental properties have elected to go ahead and sell the property at the higher amount.
Therefore, rental availability has declined and it has driven up rental costs in our area.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: There's something to talk about right there. If a family bought a home, say, in April of 2020, 36 months ago, would it have improved in value or appreciated in value through April of 2023 when everything was so hot?
[00:04:35] Speaker D: Yeah.
The increase is 37 and a half percent increase between those years.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: Well, that's respectable.
[00:04:46] Speaker C: The Fed rate, which is not the rate that our mortgage rates are set.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: At, but it's a big input, it's a big data point. The Fed rate started out a year ago and it was zero. They would loan money to the banks.
[00:05:01] Speaker C: And they would loan money to their.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: Best customers at the time, and when.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: They did that, everything was really nice.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: And the markets were really hot. But now the Fed has stairstepped the Fed rate to five, and that translates up to about 7.23 average for a 30 year mortgage. What have you seen in your locale as far as putting a damper or ice water on your buyers?
[00:05:34] Speaker D: The market has slowed down somewhat, but our average days on market is six days currently, so properties are still moving. It's a lot of the buyers that missed out on homes back in 2022 when the rates were low and we were receiving multiple and multiple offers on homes. They're the ones who have stayed in the market and are now able to purchase a home, especially if they needed to sell their home.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: To purchase a home, yes. Have you found that the number of transactions year over year have declined?
[00:06:14] Speaker D: Pretty much? No. I would say number of transactions have made stayed pretty even. The amount of offers that we receive on a listing has declined, but the number of transactions have stayed pretty even.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Oh, that's great out here. Year over year, we've had a decline in number of transactions, but yet the price points have held relatively solid, taking into account certain times of the year, the seasonal fluctuations, but we've seen year.
[00:06:48] Speaker C: Over year a decline in the number of transactions. So it's good back there that it's staying healthy.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: Just this week put in an offer and it was 1,000,789. And our offer was a million. 825. Smart offer, 2,000,870. And they got 17 offers, which is rare right now. Went over 2 million.
Unbelievable. For the right homes in the right areas. It's just unbelievable. I know. Still kind of crazy.
[00:07:24] Speaker C: But the number of transactions have diminished year over year.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: We've had a decline in number of transactions, but yet the price points have held relatively solid, taking into account certain times of the year, the seasonal fluctuations.
[00:07:42] Speaker C: But we've seen year over year a.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Decline in the number of transactions. So it's good back there that it's staying healthy anyway. Not to mention the absolutely beautiful country around the Ohio River. One can buy a bit of land and a home for a reasonable amount. Do you feel that it's a great place for a family to come out there and retire?
[00:08:06] Speaker D: Yes. In the Cincinnati area we have a big need for downsizing. I represent a development sonic golf course and that allows. We have single family custom built ranch homes and it still gives you beautiful open views, but with smaller maintenance in yards to keep up. So it's a good alternative for those that want to downsize. I also help my clients through the building process, but also assistance in downsizing their personal property. When they make that decision to move, they're moving from a much larger home to a smaller home.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Understand that one. What are the toughest lessons you think you've learned by being in real estate these years? Linda?
[00:08:58] Speaker D: I think the toughest lesson is that one, you have to go with the flow. It's going to have ups. It's going to have downs in the markets.
You just have to keep a positive attitude, keep moving forward. Recently our MLS was involved in the cyber attack. We're without an MLS. You have to pick up and keep doing business and working for your clients as best as you can.
[00:09:28] Speaker E: We're going to take a very short break.
[00:09:33] Speaker F: If you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home, call the Michael Hatfield remax team at 925-32-2775 that's 925-32-2775 or go to michaelhatfieldhomes.com again, Michaelhatfieldhomes.com. Now back to our show.
[00:09:56] Speaker E: It's so great to talk to professionals in other areas of the country back in our heartland. To me, it just doesn't seem like the mortgage interest rate increases have affected the buyer segment as much as they have in the San Francisco Bay Area. What do you think, Nance?
[00:10:13] Speaker F: I think that's true, actually, because the average mortgage interest rate is about 7.2% for buyers right now, and the 50 year average is about, or has been about 7.7%. So I think it's correct.
[00:10:31] Speaker E: I know the other day I was just listening to Dave Ramsey and he said, no matter where you are, you should get in now, because he can't see the values coming down.
[00:10:40] Speaker C: And I have to have to agree with that.
[00:10:43] Speaker E: With limited housing inventory, as we have in the Bay Area, we're in a.
[00:10:47] Speaker C: Unique marketplace here, very unique in that.
[00:10:51] Speaker E: We have appreciation given time, and that's historical.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: When you look at it, it tells.
[00:10:56] Speaker E: You all about it.
[00:10:58] Speaker C: So we're going to get back to.
[00:11:00] Speaker E: Linda May, professional, top producer in the southeastern Indiana and just west of Cincinnati area in a heartland of America. But what do you think, Nancy?
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Do you think that the interest rates.
[00:11:16] Speaker E: Will go down next year?
[00:11:17] Speaker F: I think it's possible.
We'll just have to see why, because.
[00:11:23] Speaker E: It'S an election year.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: Now back to our guests.
[00:11:28] Speaker A: Welcome back with Linda May and Danny May.
Yeah, you know, out here working with clients has changed and the dynamic has changed over the years. When my mother was in real estate and Danny actually knew her, people would go in, potential clients would go in, and they would look to the professional advice of the realtor to direct them where to go, and they direct them about the quality of the homes. And then they'd go in and they would take and pick out whatever listings that they would want, and then you would go see them. Nowadays we're battling with the Internet experts out here anyway, that look at the Internet and they go right to the zillow and the Redfin, and they think it's the end of the end all. But you and I both know that that's not true. Do you have that a lot out there? Do they still come in and listen to you as opposed to what they read off the Internet?
[00:12:25] Speaker D: No, they definitely, the majority of homes here they'll contact, but they have found homes off of the Internet. The Internet is still the major source that buyers look and go to first when looking for a home.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: I understand. Well, it's an interesting business, the real estate business. And out where you're at, it looks like a person could spread out a.
[00:12:53] Speaker C: Little bit, build race cars, that kind of a thing.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: And I imagined that's what Danny does with his time and enjoying know as.
[00:13:03] Speaker C: Long as I can remember, he was.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: Always the race car driver.
[00:13:07] Speaker C: Danny May, the race car driver, and.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: A lot of passion for motorsports has endured for many decades. AnD I recall having his well known classic auto body in the Bay Area. And while making a living building. Making a living, he would build race.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: Cars there and run them in professional as well as amateur motorsports. And that was you.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: And he actually competed nationally as well.
[00:13:37] Speaker C: Danny, can you recount some of your.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Fondest memories of driving the Trans Am circuit?
[00:13:44] Speaker G: My fondest memories of driving the Trans Am circuit, finishing third at the Long Beach Grand Prix.
It was a long run, but those are probably my most famous and best finish ever. But it was a long journey.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: Well, there's a lot of difference between being an independently sponsored race car team as opposed to one that is sponsored by a factory. And you always did really well. I remember having the Jimmy Z sportswear sponsorship, and I think I went down and filled in for one of your missing crew members at the Long Beach Grand Prix through the streets of Long beach some time ago, and that was really great. Do you remember that one? That was just a lot of fun.
[00:14:40] Speaker G: Best memories, too, having you in the pit line with me and watching smiling face, and had you all dressed up in the sportswear, and you look good and sharp. You were good.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Thanks, Danny. I remember Jimmy Z had this easy in, easy out. I wasn't as porky as I am now, but it was sure easy to get in and out of those sports.
Yeah, yeah. And I remember when I say you.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: Are primarily involved with street racing, when.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: I say street racing, I'm talking about sanctioned by SCCA or AMSA or even NASCAR or whoever, but they actually make these events at a professional level. I'm not talking about getting out there and just doing street racing and circuit racing. That was always your preference, road racing at its best. And let just pick out that Long Beach Grand Prix thing for a moment. And I remember the first time I ever got so close to Paul Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward. And they were a pair. They were a pair to see and to visualize. And I think I've probably adapted some of that bantering back and forth with my wife. What say you, Danny?
[00:15:53] Speaker G: Yeah, Paul Newman was actually a pretty good buddy of mine at the racetrack. We became friends right away back in 1978, down at Road Atlanta for the national championship runoffs. He was driving a Nissan, and I was driving a Nissan at the time. We called him Dotson back then, but he was a pretty modest guy and took to me right away, and we followed each other's career, and he always had me sit next to him at the driver's meeting, and he said, danny may hold a chair for know. So I think the funniest thing I've ever remember about Paul Newman and I were dressed in our driver's uniform. And, you know, the pit area at the road. Racing courses are an open pit, so the spectators are there. And Paul always had this thing about himself where he would not sign an autograph if he was at the racetrack.
And I watched him for years saying, no autographs, no autograph, no autograph. Well, we're walking towards our car, elbow to elbow, and this one guy would not give up. He had a white hat and a black marker, and he keeps trying to hand it to Paul, and he goes, yeah, here, he takes the hat.
He goes like that. I'm kind of watching. He hands the hat back to the guy and goes, let's go. And I said, what do you sign on there? He said, no autograph.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: It sounds like that, man. I just had a limited interchange with him. But he quite an actor, quite a race car driver, too. I mean, he was not a slouch. I mean, he was driving through. Up through his 70s, right?
[00:17:45] Speaker G: Yeah. He was competitive at his seventy s. Yeah, he was really good at it. And he had the desire to win, if you remember, at that track at the Long Beach Grand Prix, through the streets of Long beach, he was there, and he qualified probably third or fourth in his planar penis Nissan. He jumped everybody on the start and went so fast into turn one, he wrecked.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: Oh, man.
[00:18:12] Speaker G: Back on the track, and I think he had a respectable finish, like in 10th or 13th. We finished 16th that day.
[00:18:19] Speaker A: I remember that. I actually remember that.
[00:18:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: It's quite a thing you always said. I remember you telling me one time, every second of reduction in lap time is equivalent of somewhere between 100,000 and a million dollars, depending on inflation or something of that nature.
That just kind of divides it.
[00:18:43] Speaker G: A general weekend at the races and Trans Am level would run us about ten to 15 grand, depending on how many tires you have. And if you have an accident or you drop a motor, then of course, it runs up. So it's not a cheap thing to do. But I sure loved it and enjoyed it for a long time.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Gee. Throughout your race driving career, you had a very popular, very good body shop in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was classic auto body. And every time that I would ding up my cars, I would come in and lean on you and say, hey, I did it again.
Something like that.
[00:19:24] Speaker C: But phenomenal work that you did there.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: And then I think you took it.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: To Linda's area of expertise.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: So western Cincinnati area. And there you can spread out and have your own shop. And I think you have a business now called Sensei Rods.
[00:19:40] Speaker G: Sensei Rods and classics. Yeah, we do hot rods, muscle cars, motorcycles, race cars.
It's my passion. I'm still at it that way. But I retired from driving race cars.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: Yeah, but you did it as long as I can remember. What was the coolest car that you ever built?
[00:20:01] Speaker G: Well, at that shop in Berkeley, California, on Fifth street, we were known for exotic restoration. And we would get cars from all around the world into our shop to be restored.
One of the cars that came in was 1956 Maserati birdcage that had raced in the early days. And it was there for a full restoration. So it took us a couple of years, but we got that one done. And that car today is worth over $3 million.
[00:20:36] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:20:36] Speaker G: Yeah. The most exotic cars in the world.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Were in my shop and then the other side. I remember you telling me that some fellow wanted you to build him a Batmobile.
[00:20:47] Speaker G: Yeah, we built a Batmobile at our shop here in Harrison, Ohio.
It took us quite a while to get that thing done because we really had nothing to start with. Just an idea. It was all Fiberglass molds and something I was familiar with. So we put together a heck of a Batmobile. We had flamethrowers and machine guns and power canopies and horsepower.
It was unbelievable when we got it all finished up, I did it for a customer that has contracted our shop over five times to build other cars for him. And every time I finished one, he would know or I would ask him, what are we going to do next? And he goes, you know, I got up this morning and I thought, I want Danny May to build me Batmobile.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: Unbelievable.
Going back on a serious note to racing, you were considered to drive for the famous Jack Roush of Ford Racing fame. Were you at?
[00:21:56] Speaker G: That's correct.
When I was on the circuit in 1988, Jack Grouch and I met and we had a little engine problem at the race previous to that. And he invited me up to his shop to use his shop to help get me back on the track. So him and I got a chance to sit down quietly and talk about me being a driver for their team. So I came with an idea that he wanted my sponsor to come to his shop and have the Jimmy Z sportswear Thunderbird now out of Roush racing. So we got really close and we just couldn't get it all completely done with Ocean Pacific sportswear as the holder of Jimmy Sportswear or Jimmy Z sportswear. So I was almost there, but not quite.
It was an honor to have him talk to me about it, though, right?
[00:22:56] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:22:57] Speaker C: Hey, I remember when you were racing.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: I'd be milling around in the paddock area from time to time, and the thing about the people that are involved in professional motorsports is they want to help each other. They don't want to just, oh, that guy over there or that female driver over there or this kind of thing. They always wanted to help each other. You lose an engine? Hey, I've got one right here. It's ready to go. Drop it in there.
[00:23:22] Speaker G: Yeah. I called it our traveling family.
[00:23:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:23:28] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:23:28] Speaker A: And what a way to go.
Go ahead.
[00:23:32] Speaker G: All your competitors, you see them twice a month at the racetrack. So they're your friends. They're part of your family. So we always helped each other.
[00:23:42] Speaker A: Okay. We're running out of a little bit of time here, so there's one thing that I'd like to ask you. When you're sitting in the race car and you're on the pre grid and your heart's going, and it's getting down to three minutes, and they start to move the cars into the starting position, tell me about what happens. What is going through your mind at the second that you're sitting in the car to the time that they throw the green flag?
[00:24:12] Speaker G: Well, my heart was going faster than pump, pump, pump, pump. It was going.
I had a routine I started early in my career to make sure that my equipment was ready, my driver's suit was ready, my radio, my headset, all my safety gear was laid out. I was kind of a fanatic about it, so I wouldn't have to worry about that or think about it. It was always ready to go, and I'd sit in the motorhome or in the trailer somewhere quiet and just stay with my thoughts for a little bit. And then I'd get in the car, and they'd strap me in. And then they started the national anthem. And you would just sit there and close your eyes, put your hand over your heart, and listen to the national anthem before every Trans Am race. And once that national anthem was done, I flipped down my helmet, I closed my eyes, and I said a prayer.
[00:25:11] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. And so now they start pushing you to the pre grid.
[00:25:17] Speaker G: Push out there, and you light that big motor up, and it just gets you going hot in that car.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: Hot like crazy.
[00:25:25] Speaker G: I can't really explain the feeling of the green flag with 23 cars rumbling down a straightaway, trying to get through the first turn together.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: So the pace lap, and you're scrubbing the tires, going kind of side to side to warm up the tires so they stick better. And you come around that last turn and you're ready. And you're not really looking up at the starter because you got radio in your ears. And then all of a sudden you hear someone more excited than you are in your ear.
[00:25:58] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: Green.
[00:25:59] Speaker G: Once you see that green flag, all the talk stops, man. It's all about performance. Yeah.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: The last time I saw you race, it was in a national race, an SCCA pro racing. I think it was the higher level of amateur race. And on the start, you went around all of the outside cars and you ended up in first position going into turn three. I think it was unbelievable job.
[00:26:24] Speaker G: I remember we had another motor problem during qualifying, so I had to start dead last.
And once the green flag flies, you're able to do whatever you want. So I know that track at Sears Point, and I knew right where to get around everybody.
[00:26:45] Speaker A: Well, you sure did.
[00:26:46] Speaker G: I was there where I needed to be and competitive with everybody else.
Some good memories, Michael.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: I know, I know. It's what we have to hold on to. My brother. Well, today we've run out of time. But I've had such a wonderful time talking about real estate with Linda May. She works in the western side of Cincinnati and also in Indiana.
Really much top producer in the area. If you get out that direction, you can reach her at 513-720-7049 and if you're interested in moving in that area, I endorse her services. She is a real professional agent for motorsports. You can look up Cincinnati rods and Customs and find Danny May, my buddy from a long time professional race car driver. And I got to tell you guys, I really appreciated the time this morning that we've spent together. Look forward to doing it again real soon. God bless.
And with that in mind, we're going to take a short break. We'll be back in a moment with our next guest. Stay.
