Keeping It Real Podcast • Secrets Of Top 1% REALTORS ® • Interviews With Real Estate Brokers & Agents

Matthew Arminio of Apex National Real Estate is here to tell you that buy-and-hold and fix-and-flip are still viable real estate investment strategies in 2020. And he should know since he averages over 200 closed sales each year across five states (all investment properties). In our conversation Matt discusses his process for sourcing investment opportunities, how he evaluates the profitability of each property and how real estate agents can increase their knowledge of the investment side of the business! Contact Matthew Arminio at 888.773.2739 and marminio@springlakecap.com Want to watch this episode instead? Click here for the YouTube video! Transcript D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and guide to the show and in just a moment, we have a great interview with Matthew R Mineo. Before we get started couple of quick notes, I want to remind everyone that we are in the process of launching a brand new website which will make everything a lot easier. If in case you want to search and find old episodes that appeal to you or want to just for example, watch all the Joel episodes for learning with a lender or Ryan do a pre sale or go go for Instagram or carry McCormick for the Monday market minute. So we’re running into just a few snags getting that website completed. But it should be completed in the next couple of weeks. Very excited about that. In the meantime, our website is still really functional. If you visit keeping that real pod.com You can stream every episode we’ve ever done live there. Also, please join our Facebook page, which is facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pot every single day, we post an article designed that we find online designed to help you grow your business. And of course we post all of our episodes there too. And we’ve now added video. So when we’re recording an episode, even though it might not actually get produced for a couple of weeks, what we do in the interim is we while we’re recording it,

Hayley Westhoff is the co-founder of MacPherson Westhoff, one of @Properties top producing teams. In her own production Hayley is one of her firm’s top producers and she’s only in her sixth year! (…and @Properties has over 3,000 brokers!). In our conversation Hayley discusses how she started her business and the exact steps taken that built her practice. She also reveals how her team is structured and why she prefers a one-point-of-contact relationship with clients. Lastly she talks about her philosophy around client care – making each client feel as if they’re the most important client (because each client IS actually the most important client!). Hayley Westhoff can be reached at hwesthoff@atproperties.com and 773.729.0594.  

Michael Rosenblum is a legendary Chicago broker with Berkshire Hathaway. He’s worked with 1000+ clients and closed over 475m in transactions. In addition to being one of Chicago top producers he’s also a best-selling author with Happily Ever Always, a work which serves as a guide for one to find their passions and truth, which will lead to more happiness and fulfillment. It will also lead to more business, increased productivity and happier clients. In our conversation Michael share how he built his business and how Happily Ever Always can help anyone looking to discover greater, well, happiness! To order Happily Ever Always, click here! Michael Rosenblum can be reached at 312.893.8182 and michael@happilyeveralways.com.

Craig Fallico has over seven thousand contacts in his sphere of influence. That’s what happens when you remain a top producer for 37 years without one down year. Craig discusses how his previous careers of teaching and coaching perfectly equipped him to become successful at real estate. His warmth, empathy, and kindness are evident as Craig talks about the distinction between production goals and “helping goals.” The Fallico Team is one of the top producing teams at Dreamtown, and after listening to this episode, you’ll understand why! Craig Fallico can be reached at teamfallico@dreamtown.com and 847.226.0834

The Jonathan Darin Team consists of Jonathan’s first real estate client, Jonathan’s sister, and his sister’s friend from grade school. They’ve also just added on another teammate to cover the city. In this episode Jonathan talks about how he built his team to five in just seven years, how he became a top producer very quickly, and why client appreciation events are essential to expanding and retaining his sphere of influence. Learn about this team of friends and family and why it’s working! Jonathan Darin can be reached at 708-695-6177 and jonathan@homesbyjdt.com.

Welcome to the October episode of Learning With A Lender with Joel Schaub! Lending rates are up! Should you be worried? Short answer = no! Joel Schaub, Vice President at Guaranteed Rate, discusses how to interpret recent rate increases and how little that actually affects monthly payments. We also tackle low-down payment loans that have recently been covered by the news and what you need to know – specifically how these products are different from 7-8 years ago. Finally, Joel discusses an opportunity for buyers to purchase real estate at a significant discount on the day of the year with the lowest offers. You’re invited to a Halloween party Joel is throwing on 10/25 from 2-4pm. Click here to RSVP. Joel Schaub can be reached at joel@rate.com or 773.654.2049.

Welcome to the October edition of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick! In this episode Carrie talks about how the Chicago market has started showing pricing discounts due to home sales being down (more than any decrease in the past seven years). Where are the buyers and why have they dropped off? The good news is that there are several neighborhoods in Chicago booming right now and Carrie shares those with you. Then, I provide a marketing tip about working with renters in a down sales market and how 46% of buyers right now are first-timers (previous renters). Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Melanie Stone is a top 1% producer in Chicago and her business isn’t even four years old! She’s the author of the popular So You Want To Buy A Condo seminar that she hosts every few weeks at various locations throughout Chicago. She also has been named one of REALTOR ® Magazine’s 30 Under 30 and has an impressive social presence (including the hashtag #MSC). She writes a blog post about each of her clients after the transaction closes, and on this podcast episode shares additional strategies that distinguishes her from the thousands of brokers in Chicago! Melanie Stone can be reached at melanie.stone@cbexchange.com and 630.536.7723.  

After twenty years working as a consultant, Thomas Downing moved back to Chicago and started a new career in real estate. Without a sphere of influence or any leads handed to him, he produced over 12 million in his first year and earned Chicago Agent Magazine’s Rookie Of The Year award. Three years later he is a consistent top 1% producer and continues to build his business. In this interview Thomas explains why his customer-experience background helped prepare him for real estate and gives advice to brokers on what they could immediately implement to grow their practice. Thomas Downing can be reached at 847.778.9952 and thomasdowning@atproperties.com.

Due to housing prices having risen over the past two years, homeowners are now sitting on an addition six trillion in tappable equity. So, what should they do (if anything) with it? Joel Schaub, Vice President at Guaranteed Rate, discusses several ideas such as contacting clients currently paying PMI to re-appraise their home to see if they are now eligible to remove PMI. There are also cash-out refinancing options for owners looking to pay down other debt at higher rates. The bottom line is this now gives real estate brokers the opportunity to reach out and communicate with their clients and provide a value added touch. Joel Schaub can be reached at joel@rate.com or 773.654.2049.

In the past 12 months Weston Harding and his brokerage X Plus Real Estate has doubled their production from 20m to 40m. Aside from being a top 1% producer, Weston is also the largest seller of 2-4 flat properties in Chicago. During our conversation Weston talks about how he transitioned from West Texas to Chicago, why he focuses on investments and investors, and how he gives years of free value to prospects before he ever earns a commission! Weston Harding can be reached at Weston.Harding@XPlusRealEstate.com and 312-669-4343.

Welcome to the September edition of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick! In this episode Carrie talks about whether the market is slowing down. Days on market has recently risen for EVERY major Chicago neighborhood. Carrie shares some seller tips including having exterior photos done before the winter arrives, and making sure the property is move-in-ready. Then, I provide a marketing tip about making weekly 60 second Instagram videos for your contact list to get them hooked on YOU! Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Today we sat down with fellow podcaster and top producer Steven Weirich who shared his unique and brilliant strategy of podcasting to provide value to his community. Steven hosts Arlington-Prospect Advice Givers, a show dedicated to showcasing local businesses in Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights. By providing this service to local merchants, Steven has generated a tremendous amount of goodwill which has naturally translated into real estate business. In this episode Steven shares why he became a podcaster, why he NEVER mentions that he’s a real estate broker, and why giving value without immediate gain is the key to his success. Steven Weirich can be reached at 847.607.6711 or csw@stevenweirich.com    

Have you ever wanted to know the exact steps taken that resulted in someone earning the coveted CAR Rookie of the Year award? And then the steps taken after that to get to 24m in revenue just four years later? Today on the show we speak with Stephanie LoVerde who has accomplished both these feats! In her first year she was the single biggest rookie producer in CAR. Four years later, she’s a top 1% producer doing 24m annually. All without purchasing (or being handed) leads. She’s a true rising star and you’re going to love this episode! Stephanie LoVerde can be reached at 847.903.8589 and sloverde@jamesonsir.com.  

Santiago Valdez has an impressive track record. In addition to being a top 1% producer himself, he trained Elizabeth Pyle in her first year as a broker. She ended up winning the CAR Rookie Of The Year, which is given to the top producing first year broker. In our conversation Santiago and Elizabeth of Relux International talk about how they have built their business, and why they have constructed a team instead of working individually. We go into the specifics of how to choose team members, how to make teams profitable, and why process is more important that outcome. This episode is full of usable tips brokers can employ today to further their production. Relux Interational can be reached at Santiago@Chicago773.com and Elizabeth@Chicago773.com.