Mastering the Art of Building a Thriving Real Estate Career from the Ground Up with Kim Giarraputo

Transcript

[Mattias]
Welcome to the REI Agent, a holistic approach to life through real estate. I’m Mattias, an agent and investor.

[Erica]
And I’m Erica, a licensed therapist.

[Mattias]
Join us as we interview guests that also strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing.

[Erica]
Tune in every week for interviews with real estate agents and investors.

[Mattias]
Ready to level up?

[Erica]
Let’s do it.

[Mattias]
Welcome back to the REI Agent, this is Mattias here. I wanted to talk briefly about something that came up, just a small, in this conversation here with Kim, we had a really short conversation about, is this the right time? In reference to agents getting into the market, into the business, that is.

And I think that’s a really interesting question people ask themselves a lot. And I think that usually the answer’s no. And that can be for a lot of different things.

It could be for buying a house, it could be for getting into the real estate business to take the next step in any kind of business, entrepreneurship. Me and Kim both started off having two jobs and then we moved into the full-time real estate sales around the same time as well. And there’s gonna be a lot of questions about, is this the right time?

Is this the right time? All the way through any of those decisions. And I think what you really need to do is think about where the source of that question is coming from.

Where is that fear-based? I think most of the time it is. And I think there’s always gonna be a million reasons why you can tell yourself it’s not the right time.

But there are just as many reasons to see that it is the right time. If you’re thinking about being a real estate agent, there’s a lot of factors that might make you think that this is the wrong time to get in the market. So we are not as hot as we were mid-pandemic.

When interest rates were less than 3%, where we don’t have as much activity that is happening. Houses aren’t flying off the market quite like they were. And there was an NAR lawsuit settlement.

But I would argue that it’s a better time now than it was in 2021 in the long-term because you can start a business in this slightly different way of doing it with in light of that lawsuit. We’re doing things a little bit differently. People are adjusting a little bit.

But you’re gonna start there. You’re not gonna have the knowledge of the past to be like, oh, it’s not like it used to be or whatever. And then also you are gonna be starting to build a business that’s sustainable and not just kind of surviving from the moment you start.

It was easy to get a lot of business in the peak of the pandemic. And a lot of people did. And then they might be struggling now to kind of sustain the life they created because it was not a sustainable thing.

So there’s a lot of ways to look at things. And I think it’s good to understand yourself whenever you’re looking through the growth opportunities that you have to understand that question. I’m not saying that it’s always the right time to do something.

I’m not saying always be optimistic and jump right in. I’m saying understand why you’re asking that question. Understand yourself well enough to know if that you are really just scared.

And then figure out if that’s a rational fear or not. And what I often tell people, home buyers, if they’re looking at buying a house, if they’re asking if it’s the right time, it often boils down to how long do you plan to own the house? If you plan to own the house indefinitely, then there’s no time like now.

If you’re gonna own the house in 30 years, for 30 years, you should buy it sooner than later because 30 years at time is gonna heal any kind of corrections that may happen. I don’t see the forecast for corrections coming at this moment. We still have an undersupply, higher demand than there is supply.

And so that means the prices should continue to rise. But nobody has a crystal ball. So all that’s to say is they’re kind of like trees.

Buying a house is kind of like planting a tree. The best time was 10 years ago. And time in the market is where lots of appreciation and debt payoff happens.

And so that’s one of the examples of how you can think through, is it a good time to get in this business? Is it a good time to buy a house? That’s one of the rational ways you can check yourself because you can hear a lot of news stories, you can hear a lot of other things that will tell you it’s not the right time.

But check yourself, talk to some people that are experienced, talk to an agent. If you’re looking to buy, talk to an agent that has your best interest in mind. Try to find one that’s not just about sales.

Because if you talk to me, we’re gonna talk through kind of the realistic picture of the market right now. Again, like I just said, if you’re thinking you need to sell in a year, it’s hard to know what’s gonna happen. If you’re thinking you need to sell in three years, it’s a little bit less hard, but still it’s hard to know exactly what’s gonna happen.

If you’re thinking you’re gonna need to sell in 15 years, you’re probably in the clear. It’s probably a good time to buy. Okay, all that said, we have a great guest today, Kim.

We’re just gonna call her Kimmy G. Because her last name’s hard. She says it perfectly at the end.

She said I said it right here at the beginning, so hopefully that is correct. I’m doubting myself. But Kimmy G is out of the Westchester County area in New York, outside of the city.

And she is a successful agent, has been doing it for a long time. And she’s gonna share her wisdom with you. So without further ado, Kimmy G.

Welcome back to the REI Agent. I am so focused on getting your name correct that I almost screwed up the intro all the way through. So, Kim Giarraputo, Giarraputo.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Excellent.

[Mattias]
Is that right?

[Kim Giarraputo]
That’s perfect. Ah, yes.

[Mattias]
We were joking right before we got on here that we would be just practicing our names when we hit record. So that’s basically what happened. Kim, thanks so much for joining us here.

You are coming out of Westchester, New York, which is outside of the city, right? You wanna tell us a little bit about that area?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, Westchester County is, I feel is such a very centrally located area, especially for people who want to move here. It’s still very close to the city for people who wanna commute or move out of the city and know that the commute is pretty fantastic. You’re looking like dependent upon what part of lower Westchester, 35 to 40 minute commute, very close to New Jersey, very close to Long Island.

So even if you have family dispersed in the tri-state area, it’s still a great centrally located place. We’re near the water. It’s very, very nice.

[Mattias]
Yeah, it sounds pretty perfect. So I would imagine there’s a lot of like overflow from New York City in there. Like I would imagine there’s some pretty big estates that are around, is that correct?

[Kim Giarraputo]
There is. There’s a particular area in Westchester County. Again, we’re talking lower Westchester County.

So there’s Larchmont, Rye, Scarsdale. A lot of those sections are, well, Larchmont’s on the water, Rye’s on the water. When I say on the water, it’s the sound.

So yes, there’s some pretty fantastic, beautiful homes around here for sure.

[Mattias]
Yeah, what would be some of those sales prices just to get people excited?

[Kim Giarraputo]
That would be nice, yeah. Well, there’s one particular area in Larchmont called the Manor, and it definitely resides separately and you enter from a particular avenue. And I mean, I would say least expensive, maybe 3 million, and it can go up to seven, eight, nine, really dependent upon the location and the size, of course.

[Mattias]
Sure. Wow.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Fantastic.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’s great.

[Kim Giarraputo]
I don’t live in one of those. I aspire to.

[Mattias]
Sure, yeah, no, that sounds awesome. I mean, I think I read a little bit about that area and it sounds like the best of both worlds. You can get some nice nature, some of the beauty of New York State, as well as the proximity to everything.

So that sounds like a really nice area.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely, yeah, the walkability is fantastic. I mean, Larchmont’s pretty small, so you can walk to town, walk to the train, and we’ve got great restaurants, great little stores. And I pride myself in not just locking myself into one particular area.

Even though I live in Larchmont, I pretty much will work wherever a client wants to see a house.

[Mattias]
Sure, yeah, that makes sense. I mean, do you ever get people wanting to sell a house in New York City to move in into the county? Does that ever happen?

[Kim Giarraputo]
You know, not a lot of New York City or Brooklyn, people will call me and say, I need help selling my New York City home. It’s more like, help me find my home in Westchester County or Fairfield County, Connecticut first. Even though Compass is fantastic with their referral business, so we refer pretty much all around the world.

I’ve done a few California deals, a few Florida deals, a few New Jersey deals. Haven’t done really anything too much in Manhattan just yet, but it does happen. It sure does happen, yeah.

[Mattias]
Yeah, I’d love to get a referral on that one insane penthouse, but still for sale, overlooking Central Park. I forget how many millions that one was, but it’s- I’ll have to look that one up. Anyway, Kim, tell us a little bit about how you got into real estate sales in general.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Well, I got into sales very, very early on in my life. My first job was selling pretzels at a, oh my goodness, at a racehorse stand. So it was, you know, it was a little crazy.

I mean, I just, you know, I just was like, wow, I’m selling pretzels. I’m upselling, you know, two pretzels for the price of one. Like, it was crazy.

So I always knew I had, you know, that part in me. And then I went right into sales after high school and I sold dental supplies and technology to dentists for 30 years. And when I realized that that was something I wanted to eventually, you know, go away from, I incorporated real estate at the same time I was doing my full-time career because I understood that, you know, real estate does take some time to get up and going and, you know, you’ve got to work on your sphere and it’s not something that, you know, if everybody wants to get their license and sell that million dollar home, it doesn’t happen that quickly. It’s a lot of investment, a lot of time. So I’m glad I did exactly what I planned on doing.

So I transitioned very nicely after, you know, working those two full-time careers for two straight years. And then in 2016, I officially went full-time with real estate and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

[Mattias]
Kim, we have a very similar timeline. I think that’s about the same for me. I think I started in 2014 and I worked two jobs.

I mean, that’s always a thing people just, you know, talk about or think about is like, you know, do you burn the fleet? Do you just go ahead and jump full in and make it sink or swim? I mean, I know I agree with you.

Personally, I think that was a really good decision for me. I was very, very dedicated to my real estate sales business because I knew I wanted to take that to the next level and make that my full-time thing. But what are your thoughts of that with people in general?

Like, what’s your advice you give people if they’re thinking about whether to burn the fleet or to, you know, keep both jobs until they can see the success in the sales business?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, I mean, it actually depends what they’re doing right now, honestly. And, you know, if they have a full-time career, I tell them, you know, take the test at night, you know, keep your full-time career, focus on that. And, you know, once you’ve passed the actual exam, then you have to take the New York State test or whatever state you’re in.

And then at that point, you know, if there’s time that they can meet or they want to shadow me or follow me, I welcome them to, you know, see what it’s really like behind the scenes. And it’s not all glamor, right? It’s not, you know, I’m not opening up a door to a $4 million home all the time, right?

So, you know, you go into these homes that you’re a little nervous the ceiling might collapse and, you know, the next day, you know, you’re in a gorgeous home. But they have to understand that it takes time, right? You’re not just, this is not HGTV.

We’re not showing our clients three homes and then they have to make a decision at the end of the day.

[Mattias]
Yeah.

[Kim Giarraputo]
That would be nice, but we don’t, you know, I don’t put that kind of pressure. But I, you know, I welcome whoever wants to take the test, take the test, for sure, go for it. But you need a mentor.

I tell them they need to find somebody to mentor them and to just understand and start preparing their, I’m sorry, I don’t know why this is dinging in on my laptop. I start preparing them from a marketing standpoint. So get all your friends, get all your family together, get their cell phone numbers, get their emails.

And once you’re ready to choose a brokerage that you wanna work for, at least you have all that information to send out your first announcement that you have, you know, your license and you’re ready, you know, to help them out whenever they want. But, you know, it’s not easy. It’s not easy.

I would say probably by my second year, just when I decided to give up my full-time career is when, you know, it was starting to work. It was starting to function pretty nicely. You know, the problem is, right, if you are used to a paycheck every two weeks or whatever, every week, once a month, how do you get a paycheck weekly, monthly in real estate?

You don’t get a paycheck weekly. But you try and have a deal in contract at least once a month because that will allow your flow of income to come in. But there’s a lot of agents I know that after the year, they went back to their full-time career.

[Mattias]
Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely the risk is if you jump into early and you can’t sustain, you’re gonna be feeling forced financially to, you know, go get another job. So I think it’s definitely a mixed bag. Everybody’s situation is different.

There’s also different ways of doing real estate, right? I mean, like, so there are, you could join a team that has, you know, a million inbound leads coming in that they’re paying for and you can be basically, you know, answering the phones 24-7. There’s just a different, you know, way of doing business.

So if you’re looking to be more, which it sounds like you are, like relationship-oriented, kind of going with your sphere, doing a really good job, keeping in touch with the people that you know well and always trying to grow that and getting referral business from them, et cetera, that does take a little bit more time, but it’s also a very different feeling business than, you know, talking to somebody cold is a lot different than talking to somebody warm that, you know, wants to work with you and you don’t feel like you’re spamming somebody, you don’t feel like you’re bothering them, you’re not getting hung up on.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely.

[Mattias]
It’s very different.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely, you’re absolutely right. And, you know, the longer you’re in the business, then you start getting repeat business. So maybe those particular clients are ready to sell now or they’re referring you to their family.

I mean, that’s really what it’s all about, right? I mean, you want to make it a very smooth, awesome experience, make it happy and make it, you know, fun. There’s, you know, this is an exciting part in everyone’s life, looking for a home, right?

It gets a little wonky sometimes when you get the accepted offer and then you have inspection and you’re nervous and then you go to contract and after contract, then it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. But, you know, I look at it where, you know, almost every 99.9% of my deals, they’re happy ending, right? It’s just at the end of the sale, you’re at the closing table, it’s a happy moment.

And, you know, you want to reward them, you give them a gift, you take pictures, it’s exciting. And then you have to learn how to stay in touch with them as well, right? I mean, here you spend, you know, could be two months, two years with a client and then all of a sudden they find their dream home and you don’t see them anymore.

So, you know, that’s like a breakup, that’s sad for me. I try and stay in touch with them as much as I can.

[Mattias]
Yeah, no, there’s, I remember when, at the kind of the height of the market with, you know, COVID and having the interest rates being so low and money being pumped into the system, et cetera, I would imagine it was the height of the market for you as well. They, you know, I’d be showing buyer clients stuff like all the time, as soon as something came up, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. And we’d be like really close.

And then eventually, often some people would decide to waive home inspections, decide to kind of waive as much as they could after losing out a bunch of times to other offers that did. Not that I ever, you know, start off saying, you have to do this, I’m not pushing anybody to do that. But that’s just kind of the reality of that market at the time.

And, you know, so we would be like going to contract and all of a sudden it’s just like, well, we’re kind of waiting around until closing. Like, you know, we were seeing each other all the time. It’s like, where’d you go?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, yeah, it’s so true, right? It just gets cut off. But, you know, and you make a really good point because they tell us also, it’s just because you’re in contract and you’re not closing for 45 or 60 days, stay in touch with the client.

You know, like I’m going on an appraisal today for a property we’re in contract with and I let them know, you know, I’ll be at the house this afternoon. Let me know if there’s anything you want me to do, any pictures you want me to take, you want me to video, you know, you guys or anything, you know, it’s important to just, you know, and then once the appraisal’s over, appraisal’s been completed, we should hear from the bank in three days. Like, you know, stay and even put a note in your calendar after closing.

A month later, how’s everything going? You know, and then like I do a monthly email. So, you know, I try and stay in touch with them, you know, via, you know, it’s just a newsletter.

It just has like lots of little good stuff about what’s happening in the month and in that particular area. I try and find out what their Instagram is, their Facebook is so we can follow each other. So, you know, it’s important to stay top of mind and, you know, remember who’s Kim Giraputo because it’s hard.

If you ask most buyers or sellers, what’s your agent’s name? They may not be able to answer it.

[Mattias]
Yeah. Yeah, it’s true. And then that’s, you know, a good example.

I heard somebody once wonder if, you know, the whole lawsuit, that kind of stuff stemmed a little bit out of people just being really frustrated with the way they were being treated in this industry. And if you are, you know, you click on something because you’re curious on the internet and all of a sudden you’re getting called 16 times by somebody that won’t leave you alone. You know, at all hours of the day, you’re getting text messages, you’re just getting blasted by this person that you didn’t really even, like, you know, mean, you didn’t really invite that into your world and all of a sudden it’s happening to you.

I think it leaves you a bad taste. And what we’re talking about here is very different. I mean, we’re talking about basically being really good friends with the people that you know.

And, you know, you’re trying to give them value, you’re trying to be a good person to them and that they will then want to do business with you. They wanna call you as opposed to just like kind of beating down the door until they’re there.

[Kim Giarraputo]
It’s true, it’s true. You know, I think what happened early, early on, like before I decided to go full time for two years, in the first year, you know, no disrespect to like anybody in this business, but, you know, you really need to, you know, think twice about how you speak and how you treat people and how you answer your phone. And if you’re selling a property, you know, that phone needs to constantly be on your side and the seller needs to know that you’re always there representing them properly.

And when I would, you know, speak to some new buyers, I never thought that they had a terrible experience with real estate prior. So that was kind of like my in for the first two years. And I’m like, okay, listen, like I promise you if you’ve had a negative experience with real estate, I’m gonna turn that around for you.

You will not feel that with me. I’ll make a mistake, I may mess up, I may forget to return your text, but I promise you, I will tell you every step of the way exactly what needs to happen. And I’ll be there for you.

I’ll tell you when to walk away from a property. I’ll, you know, I’ve been on so many inspections and doing this for so long. I can tell the difference between an age of a hot water heater and, you know, a furnace.

And I can pretty much pick, you know, pick out asbestos. And, you know, I can tell molds from just a water damage. And I mean, pretty good in pointing stuff out because I’ve been on lots of inspections.

So that, you know, that adds value. I’m not just sitting on the couch while the inspection’s going on. I’m walking around with the inspector.

So all that, and I tell my clients, I’m taking notes for you. You just listen and don’t, no pressure that you have to remember everything. Even though they’re getting a full report in 24 to 48 hours, I’m just, you know, pointing out the obvious, that’s all.

[Mattias]
Yeah, totally, I agree. It’s definitely, I think that’s one of the really key things a new agent could do. And if they don’t have the business to, like, you know, go to the home inspections for their own business, they should talk to other agents in their firm and see if they can attend other people’s home inspections.

Even if the other agent’s there as well, like, can I just tag her along? Because I mean, that’s a really good education. And I know we’re not supposed to be inspectors or anything when we’re showing homes, but you can kind of help educate your clients as you go through and, you know, kind of try to ideally avoid some headaches and some heartbreak down the line if there’s something that’s very obvious that is a problem.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely, I mean, you’re just adding value. You know, like you said, I’m not, you know, I’m not professing to be an inspector, but I’m just pointing out some things that I’m aware of from my last, you know, 12 years of being on a lot of inspections. And, you know, at the end of the day, it’s the inspector who’s gonna tell you this, you know, that will be accurate or not.

[Mattias]
Yeah, totally. And, you know, that’s one of the other thing I preach as well as the home and the investing side of things, you know, once you get into some of those areas as well, you get an even further level of knowledge of a house that you can also you talk more about, you know, what it would look like to renovate the house or, you know, kind of rough estimates of costs of things. And, you know, you can kind of take some of those that knowledge as well and help apply and also have contractors to kind of help move that along.

Absolutely.

[Kim Giarraputo]
I mean, I don’t, you know, I don’t, I’m not an investor, I don’t flip. I do think that that is such a great idea. And I do feel like that’s something I would love to be involved in eventually.

I’m starting to get more investor and flippers in my portfolio. So whenever I see that, you know, rundown type home, I give them a call and I wanna be part of the process. And I’ve said that to one of my investors.

I said, listen, I’ll be here ripping up the rug with you. Like, I wanna see exactly how this works. And I wanna be able to understand, like I could tell you chair rail from, you know, crown molding.

I know that, but I wanna see it all come together, you know, that stuff is, that stuff really, really excites me. I can’t wait to be part of that process.

[Mattias]
Yeah, and just to witness a house go from being like, there’s this like, I don’t know, sinking feeling like until the house gets painted, it’s just like, it’s ugly. It’s just like, when is this gonna be better? And it’s like, wow.

And I mean, you get that a little bit too when you’re getting a house ready for the market, right? Yeah, absolutely.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Well that, you know, that’s the hard part too, because we need to be respectful to our clients who are selling their home. And if that purple wall is really going to be a distraction, you know, but they love it, you know, you have to tread lightly or maybe bring in, you know, a designer to really, you know, tell them what they need to do. Sometimes that’s, you know, it really depends.

It depends on the client, it depends on the house, it depends on the area. So you’ve gotta know who you’re working with.

[Mattias]
Absolutely, yeah. So we talked a little bit off air about Teams a little bit. Can you tell me about your approach with Teams and what that has looked like for you?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Sure, and I keep referring back to my previous career because I think that really set me, you know, for my future. And I had run a tri-state area of Teams to sell technology to dentists. So I had the trainer, I had the hardware installer.

So, you know, I kind of ran the whole show. I had like 15 people working with me. So that was really easy for me when I came over to Compass because they were very team generated.

And I said, that’s something I would like to do. So I immediately had two, you know, two agents working with me. And then I brought on another one and she’s, she is a two young boys, so it was hard for her to do both.

So she’s like, I’ll be back, but, you know, I’m just not ready right now to commit because it is a lot of work. So I’m currently, you know, running the business, just me on my own, 24 seven, I’m full time. I love, love, love what I do, but I am absolutely looking for agents to come join me and support me.

I’d like to, you know, I’ve always wanted that to be my next approach. And it’s kind of, it’s hard to just bring on a new agent because you’re not sure they’re committed. I don’t have a hundred leads to give them, but, you know, I can teach them how to grow the business and I could be their mentor and whatever they decide, they decide.

But I definitely, you know, I’m looking to have the team approach for sure.

[Mattias]
Sure. And when you talk about the team, are you looking to fill like positions per se, or just kind of have somebody that you can, like you talked about mentor to be just kind of a general agent as well?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, just a general agent. Somebody wants to do exactly what I do and be part of the team. I’m not looking for an admin or an assistant or anything like that.

Not right now anyway, but I think just bringing up whether the agent just got their license or they’ve been, you know, they haven’t been doing it for a few years and they’ve had their license and they want to get back into it. You know, I mean, I have no problem teaching. I love, I love teaching.

I love sharing about the business and, you know, some of the things that I do, what helps me and makes me successful. But, you know, I don’t, I personally don’t think I can get to that next level of success without having another team member because I’m really doing it all. I mean, I’m showing $100,000 co-ops.

I’m doing $2,000 rentals and $2 million homes, right? So I’m all over the place and I would love to pass that information or pass that opportunity on for sure.

[Mattias]
Yeah, it’s true. You know, you can really, you know, boil down to what you want to, you know, get more focused on and have somebody help you with the rest. That’s a win-win because they can get that business.

I think there’s also just an element of having, you know, you probably, if you’re teaching the right practices, you’re probably more likely to do the right practices as well. And there’s that energy and like we can all kind of be there together to try to like keep us accountable to continue with all that. I think that’s a huge piece of it as well.

[Kim Giarraputo]
That’s a big piece. I mean, you mentioned the class action lawsuit and, you know, that obviously did not happen in the state of New York, but I could promise you that that would have never happened with any one of my clients ever. They will know exactly where every dime is going to, what they signed up for.

You know, it’s called disclosure. I mean, that’s what our license is all about, right? We have a fiduciary duty and you could lose that license very quickly.

It’s just as important as a driver’s license. It could be taken away.

[Mattias]
Yeah, we’ve had the buyer brokerage agreement, I think since 2012. I forget exactly when that came in.

[Kim Giarraputo]
What state are you in?

[Mattias]
Virginia. So yeah, I don’t think that would have happened here either.

[Kim Giarraputo]
But also in a good way too, it weeds out, you know, any agents that felt, you know, difficult in having to present that or promote that, or, you know, it’s not, you know, it’s hard to say, like there’s so many things I want to say and we’re really trying to, but you know, you just, you have to do the right thing. That’s really what it comes down to. Do the right thing.

[Mattias]
I think it’s an opportunity to prove to prove how professional you are and to stand behind how professional you are and how professional the industry is. Like you would never expect to go to an attorney and be like, hey, look, I want to get a lease agreement drafted. I’m going to talk to six different attorneys and whichever lease is drafted to my liking the best, I’m going to pay them.

Right? That would never happen.

[Kim Giarraputo]
That’s true. Absolutely. That’s perfect.

[Mattias]
So yeah, I think it’s an opportunity to really iron out why you are a professional and what you do for people and why you’re worth your income.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely. Totally agree. Yeah.

Perfectly said.

[Mattias]
Thanks.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Okay. So off record, when we were speaking off mic, we were also trying to figure out the pronunciation of your first name, Mattias.

[Mattias]
Mattias. We waited too long.

[Kim Giarraputo]
All right. I’m going to get it. I swear I am.

[Mattias]
You know, I just answered anything close other than curse words. I try not to answer those anymore.

[Kim Giarraputo]
That’s right.

[Mattias]
Know my worth.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Mattias.

[Mattias]
Yeah, Kim, so that’s, what would you say would be other good advice for somebody getting started in the business if they are looking to, you know, do a really good job, get more business? What’s something they could really do to help them out?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Well, if they’re thinking of getting their license, go for it. Don’t wait. That’s my biggest regret.

I feel like I waited too late, but I’ve done phenomenal in the last 14 years, so I can’t look back and I’m happy about that. If they are struggling currently right now and they have their license and things aren’t working, they really need to look at themselves and say, okay, well, what is it that I could be possibly saying wrong or doing wrong? Am I approachable?

Am I listening? Do I have the systems in place? Do I have my clients into a contact management system?

Am I staying in touch with them? You know, the second I get a client, whether it be Zillow or a referral, they just become a phone number in my phone, right? So I immediately change that.

I immediately put them in there as a contact. I put them under the title, what they are and where they came from. So if I forget their first name, I could look up buyer and what area they’re looking in.

In my phone, I put notes. I have a consultation with them and I’ll put in my phone notes in there, contact the consultation. I mean, I don’t have just one client.

I have many, many, many, and it’s really hard to remember everybody. So, you know, and get that mentor. I think that’s really important.

If an agent in your brokerage is way too busy to be a mentor, find somebody else and just engulf yourself in it. Don’t just be like, oh, I’ve got no calls. Well, they’re not calling you.

I’m telling you that much. You’ve got to go for it. You know, get your name out there, visit businesses, you know, send out postcards where you live for people who know you.

I mean, it’s constant touching. It’s constant staying in touch and it’s, you know, there’s, and you, I say this a lot and I don’t want to say this disrespectfully, but my father used to say you could sell ice to an Eskimo. And this is how back long ago this goes because I was younger and I was like, I think that’s a compliment, right?

My father’s telling me I can sell anything and I don’t want to sell ice to an Eskimo because that’s the wrong thing. So as much as I loved what he said to me, you know, I’m honest and I’m real. Eskimos don’t need ice.

They don’t need ice. I’m not selling them something they don’t need. And that’s exactly how my approach is with everything else.

If someone wants to look, oh my God, they want to look at a $2 million dollar book, this is great. I’m not forcing it on them. Like it has to work.

It has to feel right. And, you know, a lot of times clients feel bad that, oh, I’m wasting your weekend or this is the 10th time I’ve taken you out. That’s okay.

That’s my job. That’s what I do. This is not, again, HGTV taking you out three times and you have to make a decision, but it helps you get to know the client as well.

So the more time you spend with them, the more you understand that they don’t like an open concept. They prefer rugs in the bedroom. So, you know, you have to give it time and you have to work really, really, really hard for no paycheck for almost two years.

Are you willing to do that?

[Mattias]
Yeah. Yeah, and I would add, you know, if you are looking for that mentor as well, I think trying to be of service to them, trying to help them in any way you can is another great thing you can do. So, you know, if that’s holding open houses for them, if they don’t have that normally, like that’s a pretty good opportunity to find new buyers that way or, you know, running flyers or whatever you can do for them to kind of take weight off their shoulders will help them want to help you as well, I think.

So it’s another great way to kind of get your foot in the door, get some experience. And then, you know, they might refer you business as well. So thank you.

You might be their top of mind if they have somebody that’s coming to their house, their listing that wants to see it. I might just give that to you if they’re too busy.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Absolutely, absolutely. And it’s okay to be a little forthcoming too. You know, I have an architect that is in our area here and I’ll just text him every so often that home that I feel, you know, needs some love.

And I’m like, come on, purchase it. Let’s do this together, you know, and I’ll send those homes to my flippers and my investors. And, you know, hopefully in return, if that works and they purchase it, then I’ll list it for them.

So that’s, you know, that didn’t come overnight either, you know.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’s a great point. What about the timing? You know, everybody, I think always thinks the timing’s bad, but what about getting into the market now if you are thinking about getting a real estate license?

[Kim Giarraputo]
I think there’s no time like today to get your license. It doesn’t matter what the market is. It doesn’t matter whether it’s up or down, get your license.

You know, there are a lot of people that got their license during COVID just because they wanted to make a bunch of money. That’s the wrong way for getting into it. I’m sorry.

You know, if you want to get into it, you get into it for the right reasons. Regardless of the market. I mean, I personally feel the best time to get into is when it’s quiet.

And that’s usually around holiday time, like October, November, December. This way you can focus on, you know, getting your license, understanding it. You know, we have more time to be a mentor.

Yeah. You know, and then the business picks up again, usually around January or February. But, you know, I have, you know, two 20-year-old kids, 20-year-old something kids, and I’ve been telling them for three years, get your real estate license, get your real estate license.

And hopefully one of them will listen to me eventually. But there’s, I mean, that’s just my regret is not doing it sooner. Get it and get into the business as soon as you can.

[Mattias]
Yeah, I agree with you completely. So we got our license about the same time and it was slower then. It was, you know, it was a pretty balanced market, maybe more of a buyer’s market.

And we’re coming out of, you know, the bubble burst and it, you know, it just, it wasn’t the same. I mean, I mean, I think it’s easier now to get, you know, houses under contract, et cetera, because people have to move more quickly. Back then there was just, you know, people would see multiple houses and kind of not make a decision quickly, et cetera.

And, you know, again, I’m not pushing anybody to do anything, but it’s just a different feel and you kind of have to adapt to whatever the market is. But yeah, it got me, it gave me the ability to grow my business organically. And, you know, when things did pick up, I was already pretty established and I feel bad for people who got into it in like 21 and now their business is just gone because they didn’t have to do anything to like get it before and now it’s like, wait, wait, what?

And, you know, people will make their lifestyle higher when times are good. And all of a sudden they’re not selling as much and they’re like, wait a minute, I can’t sustain this kind of business. And that’s a recipe for getting out of the business.

And that’s like one of the reasons that, you know, they say I think 87% of agents get out of the business within five years.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, you’re absolutely right. And then I think there’s another high percentage where I think 80% of the licensed agents have done one or two deals, you know, in a year and it’s probably their own house.

[Mattias]
Yeah, it’s true, it’s true.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, that’s okay because we need that. Like we, you know, we don’t need those kinds of agents, you know, to give us a bad reputation, right? I mean, the ones who are still standing here 14 years later, 20 years later, 25 years later are the ones that, you know, know what they’re doing.

And that’s what we need to do. We need to change the mindset of, you know, the population for real estate agents. You know, I did an open house yesterday for an agent was not my listing.

I previewed the house before I did the open house. You know, I did a lot of stuff that, you know, you’re supposed to do, but there was no signs up yet around the home like closet or don’t open this door. So those signs went up after I had previewed the home.

And I knew the back door to the porch was not accessible due to the footing on the floor was a little dangerous. So one of one client just happened to walk through and goes, why can’t I open that door? You know, very rudely.

And I said, cause I’m standing at the front door. And I just asked her, I said, what door? And her response to me was, well, you’re the agent you should know.

And I’m like, okay, well, first of all, I don’t know what door you’re pointing to. You know, I’m at the front door. You’re pointing to the living room.

I don’t know what door you’re asking. So I said, let me leave the front door quickly cause there were a lot of guests coming in. And I quickly walked with her.

I said, okay, that door I said, well, that’s wrong with the footing. It’s dangerous. We can’t go out there.

And she said, okay, and that was it. You know, so I just think she might have, she may have had a bad situation at some point, but don’t think what happened to you originally is going to happen again. You know, and I tell my clients, interview agents.

You know, I think if you ask agents, are you a full-time agent in your interview? I think that’s really important. You know, I don’t dabble in this just to do an open house one Saturday a month.

I mean, this is my life. This is my career. This is what pays my kid’s college and takes care of bills.

So I’m a hustler and that shows in my numbers, that shows in what I do. So, and I think there’s a lot of, you know, sellers and buyers that don’t maybe understand that if they come to you for the first time. So it’s okay to explain the process as well.

[Mattias]
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think it’s just, yeah, it’s hard to know exactly what questions to ask when you’re, if you’re a buyer at first, but what you just mentioned definitely is a good one. I think getting a feel for how they’re going to operate, like walk me through the process of buying a house and you know, how do we see houses?

Like all that kind of stuff. Because I’ve read, I’m sure you’ve read these books too, but I’ve read books that will literally say, okay, when a buyer comes in for a buyer consultation meeting you’re going to get all the listings that meet their criteria. And then you’re going to narrow it down to three and then you’re going to ask them if they’re ready to buy one of those three that day.

It’s GTV. And you know, maybe in markets past, like when there was inventory, that may be have made more sense. But like, you know, like do you want to work with somebody that’s going to pressure you like that?

And so getting a feel for the processes that they do is, you know, a great idea to interview different agents.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Okay, we actually did a really nice job with that. We have Compass provides a buyer presentation. So we kind of critique it and personalize it based on the agent.

So I’ll put some of my testimonials in there. I’ll have my bio in there. And then it talks about the process, right?

It talks about buyer consultations, number one, pre-approval, set them up on a portal. So if they want to live in X, Y, and Z, I put them right into the system. So it’s like bringing the multiple listing system to them.

And I’m kind of out of it at that point. So it’s going to show them coming soon. It will show them active.

But the good thing about it, even if they’re not ready, they get to see how the market is. So if they see a home come to market and a week later it goes to pending, they know they need to act fast, right? So it’s also updating them when it gets sold, for what price.

So the portal is something extremely important that I set my clients up with immediately. And then I tell them, you know, give me at least a day or two’s notice if you want to go out and look at a property. And, you know, just have fun, that’s all.

And in that booklet, it’s all about the process. So what happens when I put an offer in? What’s next?

What’s inspection? So if they forget everything I mentioned in the buyer consult it’s all in my little presentation book, and they like it.

[Mattias]
That’s great. Yeah, and especially, you know, we’re getting, you know, obviously the buyer broker’s agreement is signed as soon as possible now. So having that kind of stuff really helps elevate your professionalism.

And, you know, this is all the things that go into what I do. And so this is, again, why I’m worth my income.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We even have a top 50 things that real estate agents do, that buyer agents do. It’s pretty funny.

It’s like, whoa, we really do do a lot. And we don’t tell our clients half the stuff we do either.

[Mattias]
Right.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, we just handle it.

[Mattias]
Forget? Yeah, exactly. If you’re not intentional about looking into it.

I mean, you kind of, yeah, you kind of forget. Kim, we’re talking about resources here. I’m curious if you have a favorite book that you could recommend people to read, if it’s real estate related or maybe just in general.

[Kim Giarraputo]
So I was never a big reader, ever, ever, ever in my life. I was just like, and I never had time for it. I’d say the last 10 years it’s definitely something I have made a change and I’m really trying to read more, but it has to interest me.

It has to be relatable. And this could be part of real estate or not, but everybody probably knows the Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. And if you haven’t, I suggest you get it because you and your wife will text me and say thank you so much.

[Mattias]
Okay, I am remembering this one now. I think it’s been mentioned. I haven’t read it, but it’s been mentioned, I believe.

[Kim Giarraputo]
It’s a great read. And I think it helps for everything, your personal life, your professional life. And it’s basically just like letting, just let it go.

Just let it go. It really doesn’t matter if your buyer has called you 100 times today. Let them.

So you can use it in so many different formats and again, with business and personal life, but I love it so much. I gave it to my daughter. When she finishes it, I told her I want it back so I can read it again.

That’s how much I love it. And then this time, I’m gonna highlight the heck out of the book because it’s fantastic. It really, really, really is.

It’s a great read and I read it fast. Normally, I’ll read a book, I don’t have time, I’ll put it down, I’ll go back to it a week later, forgot what I wrote, have to start all over again. This one, I made a point every single day because I didn’t want to put it down.

[Mattias]
Okay, that’s great. Yeah, thanks so much for that recommendation.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Yeah, absolutely.

[Mattias]
Okay, if people are interested in buying in your area or wanting to follow you anywhere, do you have social media, where can people find you?

[Kim Giarraputo]
Now, if I said no, I don’t have social media, what would you say?

[Mattias]
Maybe you should start.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Imagine a real estate agent that has no social media. Nah, you can’t find me. Yes, Kim Giraputo for Instagram.

So K-I-M-G-I-A-R-R-A-P-U-T-O. I just created a new fantastic website so if you go to KimGiarraputo.com, you can check out my transactions and my testimonials there, KimGiarraputo.com. Yeah, and that’s it.

And hopefully you’ll keep reading and seeing me on this podcast.

[Mattias]
Yeah, perfect. We’ll have those links below so they’ll be able to find it.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Great.

[Mattias]
Kim, thanks so much for being on the REI Agent.

[Kim Giarraputo]
Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. I hope your son gets better.

[Erica]
Thank you. Thanks for listening to the REI Agent.

[Mattias]
If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week.

[Erica]
Visit REIAgent.com for more content.

[Mattias]
Until next time, keep building the life you want.

[Erica]
All content in this show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.