Utah vs. Iowa Real Estate: What Homebuyers Should Know

Chapter 1: Homebuying Journey Intro 0:000 secondsBuying a home is more than just a transaction. It's a journey. And for many, it can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even a little scary. But 0:088 secondshey, you're not alone. Welcome to From Rents to Roots: Home Ownership with Work Hard Mortgage, where we share real stories from real people who have 0:1717 secondsnavigated the home buying process. In each episode, we sit down with first-time home buyers, industry experts, and real estate professionals 0:2424 secondsto talk about the challenges, surprises, and lessons they've learned along the way. 0:2929 secondsIf you're dreaming of owning a home but don't know where to start, you're in the right place. Let's dive in. Chapter 2: Meet Grace Laubenthal 0:3737 secondsWelcome, Grace Lupinthal to From Rents to Roots. Excited to have you on the podcast and get to know you a little bit. So, you are not from Utah. 0:4545 secondsI am not. You've only been here 6 months now. Okay. Yeah. 0:4848 secondsGo ahead. I know a lot of this stuff, but go ahead and tell tell everybody here about your background. 0:5252 secondsYes. So, I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, and that is where I also got my real estate license. Okay. That's where I grew up until I moved here in January. 1:011 minute, 1 secondOkay. Nice. Okay. 1:031 minute, 3 secondsAnd and so just you've been doing it there having success, right? Yeah. 1:081 minute, 8 secondsBut you mentioned, hey, coming here, you wanted to be around winners, people that were obviously doing well and stuff like that. I guess that's a lot of what your team is doing here, right? So having a lot of success and stuff. Is that right? 1:181 minute, 18 secondsTotally. 1:181 minute, 18 secondsOkay. Yeah, that's awesome. Let's talk about why real estate. Why did why did you want to get into real estate in the first place? Chapter 3: Why She Chose Real Estate 1:231 minute, 23 secondsYeah, that's a great question. In high school is when I learned I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. 1:271 minute, 27 secondsOkay. And how I discovered that was I had a job where I was a 1099 worker. And so it really opened my eyes to ooh 1:341 minute, 34 secondswhat's possible. And so I always joked around I was like oh I don't want to go to college and my parents like yes you do. And so I did go to college for 1:421 minute, 42 secondsnursing and psychology until one day my team later took me out for lunch. And I didn't think anything of it at the time. I was just like oh lunch I've known her for a 1:501 minute, 50 secondsfew years and then I showed up and she's Grace how much money do you want to make next year? And I'm like, six figures would be great. And she's okay. And you 1:591 minute, 59 secondslove helping people. You should do real estate. And I was like, huh, I never thought of real estate. And so I sat with it and noticed like how excited I got about it. 2:072 minutes, 7 secondsAnd so that Monday, I ended up starting my classes and I ended up quitting my two jobs and school. Wow. Yeah. Went all in. 2:152 minutes, 15 secondsStraight into it. Yeah. Seriously. 2:162 minutes, 16 secondsIt And that you mentioned 1099 income and stuff like that. That's the thing with jobs like this is the potential you have. a lot of times hourly wages and 2:242 minutes, 24 secondsdifferent things like that and obviously those are nice but but it's nice when you have a little more control over your destiny right hey I could make six 2:312 minutes, 31 secondsfigures I could make seven figures like or anywhere in between right and so just it's based off your effort and so you want to work harder you make 2:392 minutes, 39 secondsmore if you're like I want to go to Lake Pal or something I can take a break kind of thing right okay that's perfect so talk to me about Utah's market and stuff Chapter 4: Utah vs. Iowa Market 2:472 minutes, 47 secondslike that what have you found that's different than Iowa obviously you still maintain a license there you're doing real estate there, too. 2:542 minutes, 54 secondsWhat have you found that's different about Iowa versus Utah? 2:562 minutes, 56 secondsSo, I'd say one of the biggest differences is the fact is the price points. Back home in Iowa, our median sales price was 250 to 300. Okay? 3:073 minutes, 7 secondsAnd here, it's about 5 to 550. Okay? 3:093 minutes, 9 secondsSo, it's a big price increase jump. And what I've noticed with the clients that I've served and just all of the conversations that I've had, yeah, here 3:173 minutes, 17 secondsin Utah, what's different is a lot more of my clients and the people that I have conversation with are very focused on their monthly payment. Okay. 3:253 minutes, 25 secondsAnd interest rates is more of a conversation here than it was back home. 3:283 minutes, 28 secondsOkay, cool. More so back then, they didn't care as much about that, I guess you're saying? 3:313 minutes, 31 secondsNot really. You know, I would meet a buyer and they'd go get preapproved. 3:353 minutes, 35 secondsThey'd get the number that they're pre-approved for. And so they would mainly be searching based off price point, not super focused on monthly 3:433 minutes, 43 secondspayment. So it's super interesting difference. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Chapter 5: Monthly Payment Strategy 3:463 minutes, 46 secondsDoes that change your strategy and stuff like that for marketing and everything or helping a client? Does that change your strategy a lot in like how you present things? 3:543 minutes, 54 secondsAnd instead of being like, "Yeah, we're just looking for this house at this at this point." Do you focus a lot more on working with the lender and everything on getting what the rate's going to be 4:024 minutes, 2 secondsand what every what the monthly payment is going to be? like does that change how you word things and not like how have you found that to be different in 4:104 minutes, 10 secondsterms of meeting with your sellers and or not your yes your sellers and your buyers? 4:144 minutes, 14 secondsYeah, that's a great question and it has changed my approach quite a bit. And so when I'm first meeting with a buyer, I go into discovery, I learn what's 4:214 minutes, 21 secondsimportant to them. I learn what they're looking for, right? But the biggest difference is, hey, once we find a home that we really like, knowing that their 4:294 minutes, 29 secondsmonthly payment is important to them, right? It's more of a numbers thing for them to move forward. It has me and the lender being in constant communication 4:374 minutes, 37 secondsand having teamwork to make sure, hey, for this home at this price at this interest rate that is current right now. 4:454 minutes, 45 secondsObviously, they change, but this is what your monthly payment would look like. 4:484 minutes, 48 secondsAnd so I tell my clients up front, I'm going to go to bat for you. I will work on your behalf to make sure that you feel comfortable moving forward. And I 4:564 minutes, 56 secondsalways explain to them and the lenders, there's things we can do for your monthly payment, like rate buys, right? 5:015 minutes, 1 secondThere's so many different solutions. I just make sure that they feel the clarity and confidence before moving forward. Yeah. Cool. Chapter 6: Hand Holding Builds Trust 5:095 minutes, 9 secondsYeah. 5:105 minutes, 10 secondsAnd that's maybe something that I think is something good about this generation and stuff like that as far as a little more handholding, right? You just mentioned several things that you're 5:185 minutes, 18 secondshelping somebody with. And I think it seems I say back in my day, I guess, but there was less of that. It was kind of hey, good luck, you know, thing, right? 5:255 minutes, 25 secondsAnd even in college and different things like this, I know there's a lot more. My daughter's in college and she's there's mentors that say, "Hey, take these classes like because because otherwise it's gonna take you five years to 5:335 minutes, 33 secondsgraduate and instead just do four." Right. Exactly. 5:365 minutes, 36 secondsSo I do that is happening more. And I think what you're showing is it's also happening in real estate then too. Right. 5:425 minutes, 42 secondsCuz again I think people that's why they hire an expert. Exactly. 5:475 minutes, 47 secondsBecause you're good at it. You know what you're doing. Exactly. 5:495 minutes, 49 secondsAnd so it's hey let's focus on on hey how do we help you? And yeah maybe I'm going to really overly explain some of these things but because I want to make sure you understand it. Right. Exactly. 5:585 minutes, 58 secondsSo, exactly. I don't know. I do that part of things. 6:006 minutesI think that's something that it's more prevalent, I guess, now. Totally. Cuz it's scary. It is. 6:056 minutes, 5 secondsI mean, I think a lot of people get scared with buying a home and stuff like that. It's not They don't know what to expect. They don't know what's going on. 6:106 minutes, 10 secondsAnd so, again, that's the benefit of having somebody like you that can help them with that. So, yeah. Exactly. I think it's so important to just take a pause and to slow down 6:186 minutes, 18 secondsand start the process out by meeting, getting clear on their goals, clear on what's important to them, and also explaining to them, hey, what is my job? 6:266 minutes, 26 secondslike why are you hiring me and what value do I provide to you in your search? I think it's important. Yeah. And so talk to us about that. Chapter 7: Buyer Consultations Explained 6:326 minutes, 32 secondsObviously you're so as a realtor you get a job interview every time, right? You're essentially kind of doing that. 6:376 minutes, 37 secondsSo what do you kind of say in those job interviews? Why why use Grace? Why you? 6:416 minutes, 41 secondsYeah, that's a great question. And so every time I'm meeting a new buyer or a seller for that matter, I'm like, "Hey, let's sit down." And the way that my buyer seller consultations really go is 6:506 minutes, 50 secondsI sit down. I get to know them a little bit more, right? I always start by a list of questions. Some of the questions that I ask are, "Hey, have you gone through this process before?" "Oh, you've gone through this process before. 7:007 minutesHas anything gone really well or really not well for you?" Yeah. 7:047 minutes, 4 secondsTell me, what would a 10 out of 10 experience look like with the agent that you decide to partner with? And what would a 10 out of 10 experience look like for the sale of your home or for the buying process? 7:147 minutes, 14 secondsSo, I ask deep questions and I also frame it as I just want to get to know you and make sure that we're going to be a good team. 7:207 minutes, 20 secondsYeah. After I go into my discovery, then I like to go, this is for buyers, right? 7:257 minutes, 25 secondsI'm like, hey, this is the process of buying a home. I have this little flyer with six steps. It just lays it out super simple. And I just tell them, hey, I want you to be educated along the way. 7:347 minutes, 34 secondsAnd I like to go over this now. So then once we get to step three, right? You're like, "Oh, we've gone over this. I kind of know where we're at." Yeah. 7:427 minutes, 42 secondsAnd it just really helps them with confidence and clarity moving forward. 7:457 minutes, 45 secondsAnd then at that point, after we go over the process, I get clear on, "Hey, what are your guys' goals?" and we really dial in their search so then I can go to 7:547 minutes, 54 secondsbat for them and I can do what I do best and go find them their new home. Love that. Yeah. 7:597 minutes, 59 secondsWhat you've been doing it now for a little bit. What are you finding that people What's one of the biggest surprises that you see that people don't know when they're buying or selling? Chapter 8: Biggest First-Time Buyer Gaps 8:078 minutes, 7 secondsWhat's some things like Oh, okay. Yeah. Let me explain that part to you. 8:118 minutes, 11 secondsThat's a great question. And I would say it's a little different depending on who I'm working with if that makes sense. 8:178 minutes, 17 secondsSure. But I would say for first-time home buyers, it's really just the process as a whole. I think there's always a really big gap in the financing piece in terms of what they know because 8:258 minutes, 25 secondsthey don't really teach you that in school. 8:278 minutes, 27 secondsThey don't teach you, oh, this is how you buy a home or this is how you save money. This is how a down payment actually works, right? And so 8:358 minutes, 35 secondsI would say that's the biggest gap, which is super cool because then you create relationships with people like yourselves that together as a team we can really 8:438 minutes, 43 secondseducate them on so they feel confident moving forward. Yeah, like that. Like that a lot. 8:498 minutes, 49 secondsIt and again, yeah, a lot of that is not taught in schools. 8:528 minutes, 52 secondsAnd again, that's the reason why it's important to have experts that can help explain these things. I know a lot of people don't understand, hey, you can 9:009 minutesget your earnest money back or or where does that money go? You know, can I lose that? 9:039 minutes, 3 secondsAnd it's yes, you can, but it's rare if you have a good realtor making sure the deadlines and stuff, right? 9:089 minutes, 8 secondsAnd I remember people thinking, hey, at the closing table, so I'm sitting across from the sellers, right? you know, no, they don't even they're not even there, you know, kind of thing. 9:169 minutes, 16 secondsI think I think that was the biggest shell shock for me when I got in cuz I've only been doing this for a year now, is that of just how foreign everything really was to me. Like when I 9:259 minutes, 25 secondscame in and I was just like, man, I have so much that I need to learn in order to kind of what the process is. And if I'm being I'm still figuring it out. I'm still like you will many years. 9:369 minutes, 36 secondsIt's still something like where it's like I'm on the lender side. I know what the process is and I know kind of this the steps and everything, but in terms 9:439 minutes, 43 secondsof what the real estate agent does and everything else like that and like a bunch of other stuff, it's like I'm still very much learning that very much 9:519 minutes, 51 secondsgetting to know all that stuff. And I think that like we've been saying, you don't they don't teach people that. So, it's just like it's just I think a lot of times just like a oh yeah, I get 10:0010 minutesthat'll come when it comes, but figure it out. But whatever. But yeah, I think for me that's been the biggest shell shock. It's just I didn't know anything about this. 10:0710 minutes, 7 secondsTotally. And that's how I felt when I first got into real estate, right? I'm like, "Oh, wow. This is like a big girl job." I'm like, "Wow, there's so much to 10:1410 minutes, 14 secondslearn." And same with first-time home buyers, right? You just asked the question, right? What is the biggest thing that buyers don't know? 10:2110 minutes, 21 secondsAnd as you were talking, I'm like, "Wait, there's actually a lot that people really don't know until they start out the process." Like in the earnest money, they don't know what earnest money is until you explain it to them. 10:3010 minutes, 30 secondsThey don't know that there's behind the scenes stuff. They don't know what appraisals are. Yeah. Or what title companies do. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. 10:3810 minutes, 38 secondsYeah. And I think it's important to recognize that that probably the benefit you both have is you were that personally not too many years. So you can obviously have a little more empathy for that. Chapter 9: Why Full-Time Experts Matter 10:4810 minutes, 48 secondsYou're like, "Hey, I just learned it yesterday." Yeah. 10:5010 minutes, 50 secondsBut the reality is who how would they know? I mean, unless they've experienced this, unless they've done it. And even a buyer that's bought a home before, things change so 10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsmuch. I give you an example with so I have five kids and it was funny with each kid. I'm thinking, "Oh, hey, we already know what to do and stuff like that." But they would teach us new 11:0711 minutes, 7 secondsthings about sudden infant death syndrome like where you're supposed to sleep on the back and then it changed to the stomach and then it changed and it changed back and so it's funny how each 11:1511 minutes, 15 secondskid it was all of a sudden oh no don't do it that way it's like the last kid it was fine to do it that way this kid we're not so even if they've done a transaction 5 years ago the mortgage 11:2311 minutes, 23 secondsindustry the real estate industry has changed and so I think we need to recognize that that unless you're in this industry and I've learned this with mortgages people 11:3111 minutes, 31 secondsthat are trying to do this part-time they just can't do it anymore because things change in so quickly. Exactly. 11:3711 minutes, 37 secondsThe rules are changing all the time. And so really that's why an expert I think a full-time expert, I guess, is what I should say. I love that. It's so important. 11:4411 minutes, 44 secondsI agree. I totally agree. 11:4611 minutes, 46 secondsYeah. And it just it because you can't really get good at it unless you're full-time in it. Unless you're Exactly. Exactly. 11:5311 minutes, 53 secondsYeah. I think it's that's with everything really. Like Totally. 11:5611 minutes, 56 secondsIt's it's I I was always I always use it as like a it's like a muscle in your body. You can't just 12:0312 minutes, 3 secondswork work out, wait two, two or three months, then be like, "Yeah, I'm going to go right back to where I was." Like, you can't really just do that. 12:1012 minutes, 10 secondsEspecially with your body and everything like that. So, I think that a lot of it is like that if you're consistently doing it. Yeah. 12:1612 minutes, 16 secondsYou're consistently going to grow and grow and stronger and stronger. But, you can't just go, I'm going to do a little bit here, wait a couple months, do a little bit here, and expect to see 12:2412 minutes, 24 secondsa expect to see a lot of growth. Yeah, you're you're probably going to grow a little bit at a time, but immersed in it fully, you're going to 12:3212 minutes, 32 secondssee a lot more success and a lot more like grow growth in that. 12:3612 minutes, 36 secondsThat is so true. And I just want to add on to that. I think what's so important as me as an agent and just as an individual and same with you guys is we 12:4412 minutes, 44 secondsalways have to sharpen our skills and be students of the game because like we just discussed, things are constantly changing, people are constantly changing, and there's so 12:5212 minutes, 52 secondsmany different skills we can learn along the way to just enhance our growth. Yeah. 12:5612 minutes, 56 secondsAnd so that's one thing that has contributed a lot to my success is that I'm constantly sharpening my skills and just learning and growing as a human being. 13:0513 minutes, 5 secondsYeah. Frankly, that I think with the way technology continues to to go, if you're not doing that, you will easily fall behind. Totally. 13:1313 minutes, 13 secondsBecause things are constantly changing. 13:1513 minutes, 15 secondsNot just with mortgage guidelines or real estate guidelines or something like that, but just technology in general. 13:2013 minutes, 20 secondsExactly. Right. Exactly. No, you you I that's the I think that's one of the fallacies of life is oh I went to school I went to college I went I'm done and no 13:2913 minutes, 29 secondsyou're not you should be learning your entire life exactly whatever field you're in frankly I agree so speaking of so talk about technology Chapter 10: AI Tools in Real Estate 13:3713 minutes, 37 secondsand all these different things have you seen any kind of change in your industry anything that people are adapting or adopting adapting to or adopting into 13:4513 minutes, 45 secondsyour to that area with when it comes to technology specifically AI kind of things yeah that's a Great question. And I would say in our business, we actually 13:5313 minutes, 53 secondshave seen a lot of AI be incorporated into our businesses. It can help with a variety of things, social media, listing 14:0114 minutes, 1 seconddescriptions, right? It can help with some of that simple stuff, but I know my teammates and I were kind of going a step further and I'm in the process of 14:0814 minutes, 8 secondsintegrating Claude into my FUB, which is our follow-up boss, which is our but it has some super cool abilities to eventually go in there and do follow-ups 14:1614 minutes, 16 secondsfor me, give me an update on my database who's active, right? So nothing slips through the cracks. Yeah. 14:2214 minutes, 22 secondsAdditionally, for my listings, I needed to do a price reduction. So I'll role play with Claude. I'm like, "Hey, here's a listing. What can you create for me to 14:2914 minutes, 29 secondssend over to my client?" I also, back in Iowa, I had this cool pricing thing for my sellers. It's a scattergram. And so for my listings, when I talk about pricing, it just lays it out on a graph. 14:4114 minutes, 41 secondsAnd I didn't have that technology when I moved here to Utah. And so one day I was in Park City and we were at the hotel in between dinner and what the next thing 14:4914 minutes, 49 secondswe were going to go do and I was like, "Huh, I wonder if Claude can help me recreate this." And so I just prompted it the right way and it totally recreated this graph for me and using 14:5814 minutes, 58 secondsthat my clients when I'm talking about pricing with them. Like instead of having 12 MLS sheets on the table, I have the MLS sheets, but I'm like here's 15:0615 minutes, 6 secondsthe SCR scatter and it lays out it lays things out for you very simple and it just you can just see it in front and they're like, "Oh, that makes a lot of 15:1415 minutes, 14 secondssense. This is where we should price our home." So there's a lot of cool abilities and I'm a firm believer if you're not catching on to the AI game and I'm not a 15:2215 minutes, 22 secondsmaster myself. I still have a lot to learn, but you're going to fall behind. 15:2515 minutes, 25 secondsYeah, I love that. And I guess I would add some of the things you're saying, and this is my prediction that with AI, 15:3315 minutes, 33 secondsum, because a lot of people get worried about being replaced and stuff like that, and my own personal opinion is that it's really just going to amplify you as an individual. Totally. 15:4215 minutes, 42 secondsYeah. It's an extension of you, right? 15:4315 minutes, 43 secondsAnd so you mentioned, hey, people falling through the cracks. That happens a lot, right? Because especially if you get a lot of leads. I mean, it just happens. And so now you can have one Chapter 11: Personalized AI Follow-Up 15:5215 minutes, 52 secondsthing we're trying to integrate with AI is more specific instead of just hey we send out a generic text after so long and stuff like that everything can be a 15:5915 minutes, 59 secondslittle more catered because AI can help write it based off of information you have on the client and hey have you fixed this thing on your credit we noticed that last time we were talking 16:0716 minutes, 7 secondsabout this thing super cool or hey I know you were going to have a baby soon and so you're holding off on buying a house until you had the baby how's that going or I don't 16:1516 minutes, 15 secondsan example but like the point is that it's more personal right and So I think you can be more personal even if you don't cuz you can only remember so many things of so many people. 16:2516 minutes, 25 secondsExactly. 16:2516 minutes, 25 secondsAnd I don't know my prediction is again it's going to I'm an optimist in that regard but I think it'll be good. Chapter 12: AI Needs Human Touch 16:3116 minutes, 31 secondsI think in especially in this industry in the real estate industry I think the humanto human contact needs to happen. I don't think that can go away. And so I'm 16:3916 minutes, 39 secondsand I think that a lot of people are worried about it, but like Ryan was saying, I think that is such a crucial part in this whole business in terms of everything where 16:4816 minutes, 48 secondsit's like even us doing this. I think this is very important like getting to know agents, getting to know lenders, getting to know that sort of stuff. I think that in this industry is 16:5616 minutes, 56 secondsincredibly important and I don't think that can be lost. And so I think with a lot of people worrying about it, it's if you think about it, there's no way that can 17:0517 minutes, 5 secondsbe lost. Like I totally agree because if somebody comes to you and tries to buy try and is wanting to buy a house and they're just talking to a robot the whole time, then just like 17:1317 minutes, 13 secondsthey're like I don't want to do this anymore. So I think like you're saying it's going to it's going to improve you like you and your business. It's 17:2117 minutes, 21 secondsgoing to improve yourself in terms of I'm not going to let a lot of things fall through and I'm not going to forget and I'm not going to do a bunch of that sort of stuff. But but at the same time 17:2917 minutes, 29 secondsI don't think it'll ever replace like that human interaction that is needed. 17:3417 minutes, 34 secondsAgree. Agree. And I just want to add on to that because I'm a firm believer we are in a relationship business. That's our business relationship. And so I 17:4117 minutes, 41 secondsguess my view on AI is it's just an extension of us. I'm also on a team, right? My team is an extension of me. So I could be super present with you this 17:5017 minutes, 50 secondswhole time. I am here with you. And so AI is just an extension of me in other ways. So then I could be super present in the present moment, which I think is super cool. 17:5917 minutes, 59 secondsYeah. Yeah. Love that. 18:0018 minutesYeah. So we're all optimists here when it comes to AI. Hey, it'll be good. It'll be all right. Chapter 13: Tech Tools Beyond AI 18:0618 minutes, 6 secondsAnything else that you're finding on the technology front? Not necessarily AI, but anything you're seeing where it's helping buyers and sellers? You seeing 18:1318 minutes, 13 secondsanything else in that area on social media, AI? 18:1718 minutes, 17 secondsSure. I guess just in technology in general, yes. Are you seeing added additional tools that are able to benefit buyers and sellers? I I don't 18:2418 minutes, 24 secondsthink this is AI, but I know as more online and technology comes out, there's mortgage calculators online, which I think can be helpful for buyers to plug 18:3318 minutes, 33 secondsand play and have general ideas. So, I think there are always things in the works. Sure. Yeah. Chapter 14: Buyer Advice in This Market 18:3918 minutes, 39 secondsAs far as the market goes and stuff like that, any specific advice you would give to buyers right now that that are maybe scared of jumping into the game as far 18:4818 minutes, 48 secondsas buying a home? Yeah. So, what I would say to any buyer that's thinking about jumping into the game, my first piece of advice would be to have that first 18:5518 minutes, 55 secondsconversation and just see, is this a possibility for me? And the second thing that I'll say is there's never going to be like a right time to buy. The real 19:0419 minutes, 4 secondsquestion is, is this the right time for you to buy? Sure. 19:0619 minutes, 6 secondsAnd how we're going to discover that is by having a conversation, sitting down together to go over the process and the numbers to see if it would work for you. 19:1319 minutes, 13 secondsI know with a lot of buyers right now, the biggest objection my team and I are seeing are interest rates, right? The market. Yeah. 19:2019 minutes, 20 secondsAnd how I like to respond to that is I first ask them, I'm like, "Okay, are we worried about the interest rate or are we worried about the monthly payment?" 19:2919 minutes, 29 secondsAnd a lot of times what I find is it's the monthly payment that we're wor worried about. Sure. 19:3219 minutes, 32 secondsAnd so how I respond to that, okay, great. I have a wonderful team of lenders for you guys to work with. 19:3719 minutes, 37 secondsYeah. And then the second thing that I like to say as well to them, oh gosh, I just blanked out. 19:4519 minutes, 45 secondsOh, I forgot what I was going to say. 19:4719 minutes, 47 secondsIt's okay. I can add on to that. But I think that for for us, I think that having that first conversation, that initial conversation, like it's free. Chapter 15: No-Pressure First Conversation 19:5619 minutes, 56 secondsWe're not not going to charge you anything like to talk to us and we're more than happy to do it. Like I think that's at least our jobs in term in terms of lending is we're here to help 20:0420 minutes, 4 secondsyou see what you can afford and see where you're at and see how like and see maybe some things that you can get 20:1120 minutes, 11 secondsbetter because you come and talk to us doesn't mean that means that we're starting the process right now. We're buying a house right now. I think that is a big thing for us as lenders that I 20:2120 minutes, 21 secondsthink that I've been trying to help people understand is that just because you come and talk to me doesn't mean no that you need to all of a sudden get a real estate agent and look to buy a 20:2920 minutes, 29 secondshouse and you're going to start doing no like I if anything I'm here to help you out be like hey so if this is your goal and what you want 20:3620 minutes, 36 secondsto get if you do this and this a little bit better then that's going to look better in terms of your application and it's going to it's going to raise up the 20:4520 minutes, 45 secondsamount that you can get and it's also O going to do this and this for you. Exactly. 20:4820 minutes, 48 secondsAnd that all of that is free and we're not, like I said, we're not going to charge you for it. We're not going to be like, "No, you're locked." You know what I'm saying? So, I think that initial 20:5720 minutes, 57 secondsconversation, it's very I think it's very scary for some people because I think a lot of people take it as that means I'm doing it. It doesn't necessarily mean you're doing it. It 21:0521 minutes, 5 secondsmeans you're getting prepared to do it or you're taking the steps to do it. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to start looking at houses and start 21:1221 minutes, 12 secondsgoing to buy right now. Like I said, I'm more than happy to go and talk to people about Yeah. that's how much you can afford right now. If we were to take your income and your debts and 21:2021 minutes, 20 secondseverything right now, this is what this is around the ballpark number that you'd see. And it's and then that's I think that's when you guys come in real estate 21:2821 minutes, 28 secondsagents where you're just like, "Yeah, so that's that number is good. This is the houses that you're going to be expecting for that. This is kind of what we're going to be expecting for that." And if 21:3721 minutes, 37 secondssome people don't like it, then it's okay. Here's the steps that we need to take to get to that point. 21:4021 minutes, 40 secondsExactly. And so I think that that initial conversation is not a obligation conversation. It's a okay let's see what opportunity we can get for you. 21:5021 minutes, 50 secondsExactly. And I just want to add on to that as well cuz I think that is so powerful. The first conversation it doesn't mean you're starting now. 21:5821 minutes, 58 secondsIt's just to show you, hey buyer, what does this process look like? And what I always tell my clients is I am here to 22:0522 minutes, 5 secondsshow you all of your options. I tell this to my buyers and sellers. I'm here to show you all of your options and at the end of the day, you are going to 22:1222 minutes, 12 secondsmake all of the decisions and I am just here to guide you and your family on what path feels the best to you guys. 22:1822 minutes, 18 secondsAnd I think it's powerful when you take off the pressure and just really emphasize the fact that, hey, this is just educational. We're just here to support you and provide value to your world. 22:2722 minutes, 27 secondsIt really changes the ball game for them. 22:2922 minutes, 29 secondsThey maybe worry high pressure sales or okay, once I talk to somebody, oh, now they're going to make me buy. And it's like, that's not how we work. I mean, this business is a long-term business. 22:3722 minutes, 37 secondsThis isn't buying a widget. It's buying some kind of TV or something like that. 22:4022 minutes, 40 secondsYou know what I mean? It's not a quick process. Buying a home is takes some time. I guess it can go quick if you want to, but that's a big change for people. And so I think hopefully they 22:4822 minutes, 48 secondsknow this is not high pressure. This is educational. Exactly. As you said, right? Chapter 16: Long-Term Relationship Mindset 22:5222 minutes, 52 secondsAnd I think also we want to set it up so that we can help you down the road as well. If interest rates change, if we're if it's a good time for you to buy right now and then later down the road in 5 23:0123 minutes, 1 secondyears the interest rates go down a lot, then we're able to be like, "Hey, the rates are down. We're we'd be more than happy to help you out with that. Exactly. 23:0723 minutes, 7 secondsAnd or when they look to move again or when they are looking to maybe upgrade and get a get a little bit bigger, they need a bigger house or something like 23:1523 minutes, 15 secondsthat cuz they're starting a family and everything. We want them to come to us again because they're like, "Yeah, they helped me out before." And so I think that 23:2323 minutes, 23 secondsit's just like we were saying before, it's a very big relationship game. If you have a good relationship with your clients, like 23:3023 minutes, 30 secondswe you can help them with the rest of their lives, I guess, in terms of this whole industry. Exactly. Chapter 17: Full Circle Client Story 23:3723 minutes, 37 secondsGrace, any I know you haven't been doing this super long, but any cool stories that you have, any anything that you've learned or kind of stories that stand out to you in your re real estate career? 23:4623 minutes, 46 secondsOo, that's a fun question. I'm like I feel like I have a lot of good stories. 23:4923 minutes, 49 secondsI guess I have a good full circle moment, which is super cool. There was one night I got a text from one of my teammates here in Utah and he's Grace, I 23:5623 minutes, 56 secondsneed an agent in Iowa City. Do you know anyone? I was like, me? And he's I have clients moving from Salt Lake City to Iowa City. And I was like, oh, cool. 24:0524 minutes, 5 secondsYeah. 24:0624 minutes, 6 secondsAnd so I was like, tell me more. And so he told me a little bit about their situation and then put us in a group text. Okay. 24:1124 minutes, 11 secondsAnd so I got introduced to them and I responded. I was like, I'm so excited to meet you guys and help you with this. 24:1624 minutes, 16 secondsAnd what was cool is they're living here in Utah. And so what I did with them, like I do with any of my new clients, is we met at my office. Although they were 24:2424 minutes, 24 secondsbuying a home in Iowa, I was able to meet them in person for a buyer consultation here in Utah. 24:2824 minutes, 28 secondsHere in Utah to get to know them, their goals, just meet, are we going to are we going to be a good fit for each other? 24:3324 minutes, 33 secondsWe ended up having an awesome meeting and I just remember being so excited. I was like, "Wow, I get to help people go move to my hometown." And it's cool because I've created the 24:4124 minutes, 41 secondssystems to be able to do that from Utah as well. 24:4424 minutes, 44 secondsYeah. So, it was super cool because we had our first meeting and then we came up with a list of homes, which I ended up going back home for my brother's 24:5124 minutes, 51 secondsgraduation. So, I was able to do the showings with them virtually. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. 24:5624 minutes, 56 secondsWhich was super fun. And they ended up just closing on their home last week. Oh, okay. That's awesome. 25:0025 minutesYeah. So, why I wanted to mention that one was A, it was super cool to be able to help a family move from the state I just moved to back to my hometown. 25:0825 minutes, 8 secondsYeah. B, just having good relationships in both areas here in Utah and Iowa. And it's really cool that I've built a life 25:1725 minutes, 17 secondsand a business where I can do it in multiple states and help people across the United States. 25:2225 minutes, 22 secondsYeah, that not many people can say that, right? It's really fun. 25:2625 minutes, 26 secondsLove that. Love that story. So, that is pretty cool. You're able to meet them here and then, you know, just that. Yeah. And they got the full experience. 25:3425 minutes, 34 secondsSo, it was super important and they were happy and now they're homeowners and I'm just so excited for them. 25:3925 minutes, 39 secondsThat's cool. Did they have to sell a home here or No. So, there's first time home buyers even more knowledge needed. Exactly. Love that. That's super awesome. 25:4725 minutes, 47 secondsYeah, it was really awesome. Thank you. Chapter 18: Why Utah Life Team 25:4925 minutes, 49 secondsI Yeah, I guess for me, I guess we'll shift to your What agency are you with? You're with Utah Life. 25:5525 minutes, 55 secondsUtah Life, right? So, I guess I would want to say like why did you end up choosing them? I know like you moved from you moved from Iowa 26:0226 minutes, 2 secondsto here. What drew you to Utah life there and tell us a little bit about your team and everybody there. 26:0726 minutes, 7 secondsYeah. Do you want the long story or the short version? Your whatever one. 26:1026 minutes, 10 secondsCool. So, I originally met my team leaders two years ago when I came to real estate spring break here in Salt Lake City. And that's where I really got 26:1826 minutes, 18 secondsintroduced to the team and these set of people, if you will. 26:2226 minutes, 22 secondsAnd at this real estate event, it was just a life-changing event, right? I've never been to something like that. And at that event, I made the decision to 26:3026 minutes, 30 secondsmake a huge investment in myself and my business by joining a coaching program called the inner circle at the time. It's now called the forum. Sure. 26:3726 minutes, 37 secondsAnd so I joined that group and just over the course of the next year, I built really great relationships and got into closer proximity with just such 26:4626 minutes, 46 secondspowerful, successful, like high vibe people. Yeah. 26:4926 minutes, 49 secondsAnd this past October, I was in Mexico with a couple of my friends and they're like, "Do you really like Iowa?" and do 26:5826 minutes, 58 secondsyou want to be there forever? And I was like, not really, but like my business is taking off. I just bought a house. 27:0527 minutes, 5 secondsBut it was always in the back of my mind, right? Because I've got introduced to the Utah Life Real Estate Group and I noticed like the energy. There's so many 27:1327 minutes, 13 secondspeople winning. There's a lot of good stuff going on. And so I sat with that and I was like, wait, like I can have what I want, right? And it might be 27:2227 minutes, 22 secondsscary, but at the end of the day, I was like, this is just going to keep knocking until I say yes. And so I moved here knowing I was going to join Utah 27:3027 minutes, 30 secondsLife. And the reason I chose this team, there's nothing like this team. Like they our energy, like the support, just 27:3827 minutes, 38 secondsthe systems, like just really the people. I've never been in such a powerful group like that. True. 27:4627 minutes, 46 secondsYeah. It's been life-changing. That's awesome. They're all awesome. That's super cool. That's super cool. They're great. Yeah. A good team matters, right? 27:5327 minutes, 53 secondsIt does because you are who you surround yourself around and winners want to be around winners and it just it's it's contagious. 28:0028 minutesSure. Yeah. Sure. Again, yeah, it makes you work harder, right? Because you're like, "Oh, hey, they're doing that. 28:0428 minutes, 4 secondsOkay, I could do that, too." Yeah. Exactly. 28:0628 minutes, 6 secondsAnd and again, you and then you also have the wisdom that comes from probably people that are senior to you, right? 28:1128 minutes, 11 secondsYou maybe have had that experience, right? Okay. Let me ask, you know, and they'll help me with this weird situation I have. Yeah, exactly. 28:1828 minutes, 18 secondsGrace, this has been great. anything that we didn't cover that you want to talk about? I don't think so. 28:2528 minutes, 25 secondsYeah, there's been there's always lots to say, but there's always lots to say. Chapter 19: Advice for New Pros 28:2828 minutes, 28 secondsI guess my last question would be like what advice would you give newer people in the industry like myself for example or anybody that's looking to maybe get 28:3728 minutes, 37 secondsinto it, but they're a little skeptical about it. What should they expect? What advice would you give them? Yes. So, I have a few pieces of advice. 28:4328 minutes, 43 secondsI would say the first thing I would say is to put in the work because the cool thing about the businesses that we're in 28:5128 minutes, 51 secondsis what you put into it is what you get out of it. And so it's really all in your control. 28:5628 minutes, 56 secondsThe second piece that I would say is to ask questions because we don't know it all. Like when we're just getting into business, you don't know everything and 29:0429 minutes, 4 secondsso ask questions. And I actually think it's a superpower to ask good questions. 29:0829 minutes, 8 secondsAnd the next thing I would say is to just have fun. 29:1129 minutes, 11 secondsYeah. Like we are in a business where we get to do what we love and we get to help people and having fun while doing it will make the biggest difference. 29:2029 minutes, 20 secondsCool. I like that. Thank you a lot. Do you feel advised? Feel advised. Feel advised. Feel advised. I love it. Good. 29:2729 minutes, 27 secondsGrace has been great. Like I said, I think you'll continue to thrive here in Utah and do really well and occasionally get to go back to Iowa, right? You still have family there, right? 29:3629 minutes, 36 secondsI do. 29:3629 minutes, 36 secondsYou said you're going back to a football game here shortly. 29:3929 minutes, 39 secondsYep. Next week. I'm going back home. I'm excited. Okay. Support the brother, right? Is he a senior? So, he just graduated. Oh, he just graduated. 29:4529 minutes, 45 secondsHe just graduated going in freshman year of college. 29:4829 minutes, 48 secondsOkay. So, is this a high school football game then or college football game? So, it's a high school football game. It's called the Shrine Bowl. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Super cool. 29:5529 minutes, 55 secondsYeah. That's awesome. Okay. Thanks everyone for listening. So, yay. Thanks. Chapter 20: Wrap Up and Next Steps 29:5929 minutes, 59 secondsThanks for tuning in to From Rents to Roots. I hope today's episode gave you insight, confidence, and maybe even a little inspiration on your home 30:0730 minutes, 7 secondsownership journey. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might find it helpful. And if you're 30:1430 minutes, 14 secondsready to take the next step in buying a home, or just have questions, reach out to me or my team at Workhard Mortgage. 30:2130 minutes, 21 secondsWe'd love to help you on your path to home ownership. Until next time, keep working hard, keep building your future, and we'll see you soon. Sync to video time