The “Average of Five” Rule. WHO IS YOUR STARTING 5?

Life is kind of like building your own basketball team.  You need to make sure you put the best 5 players you have on the court… And they all have to bring something different to the table.

“the average of 5”, a rule that states that you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. For example, if you constantly hang out with negative people, you will ultimately find yourself becoming a negative person too. If you spend a lot of time with friends who all work hard to get high GPAs, you will find that you also work hard to keep your GPA within that range too.

WHO ARE YOUR 5…  I think it is important to put some thought into this.  These 5 need to be people that inspire you, drive you, motivate you, push you, hold you accountable and are there for you.

Starting at point guard for me would be the one and only Nick Di Nieri.   I have not known Nick for that long but it doesn’t take long for Nick to make an impact on those around him.  Nick is a well rounded guy, but what he brings to my team is an example of a God loving man.  Nick lives his life with a purpose, sets and example for those around him and is rich in ways that money cannot buy.  Nick is a loving husband, a great father and that in and of itself makes him rich.   Everything else in his life is just and added bonus.  I think people look to Nick for spiritual guidance, and what a God loving man should be, I am not sure if he knows this but people look up to him because of all this.  (whatever you do, no not accuse him of cheating on hill repeats or change a John Legend song)

My shooting guard would have to be my friend/co-worker Mr. Nick Cowan.  Nick is an Iraq war veteran who served 3 tours in Iraq.  He is now in the real estate business and has made himself into one of the best lenders in the business.  When I first got into this business I looked to him and mirrored his work ethic.  I knew that if I worked as hard as he did the rest would take care of itself.  He is very meticulous because of his time in the military.  Everything is very precise, very calculated and very thought out.  He is always strategizing his next move, again something I think he learned from his time serving in the Army.  He taught me to always be one step ahead, work harder than the next person, look at different angles for every scenario. 

I think my center would have to be my Pop (my grandfather).  He is no longer with me but in the time that I had with him he taught me more than I could have ever asked for.  He was a smart, hard working, funny, loving man.  He taught me lessons that I don’t know if he knew I was even taking note of.  I still remember times and conversations we had when I was 10 years old.  Conversations word for word that to this day have an impact on me, who I am and who I will always be striving to become.  (Miss you)

At power forward I think I would have to put in Ed Hoffman who is the owner of my company and my mentor in the real estate business and business in general.  He first off has taught me almost everything I know in regards to real estate.  How to structure deals, how to meet and exceed people’s expectations, and how to invest myself.  Most of all he has taken a chance on me.  He took a kid that could sell but did not know much about real estate and brought me to where I am now.  He let me fall flat on my, dusted me off, set me straight and let me go again.  He has prevented me from making mistakes that could have been costly and has given me the ability to look at business in a way I never thought possible.  Because of him my brain in constantly working… I am looking for an opportunity at every turn and most the time I can find it because of tools I have learned from Ed, things I will take with me throughout my life.  (things are never as good as they seem, things are never as bad as they seem…)

My small forward is going to be my inner college crew.  I can lump them all together in one position because this is my post and I can do whatever I want 🙂    Bobby, Ryan and Jon are 3 guys that are constant.  We are there for each other no matter what.  We push each other, ridicule each other, bash on each other, support one another and most of all love each other.  Come hell or high water I challenge anyone to find four guys that have each others back the way we do.  No matter what we can tell each other anything and know that at the end of the day we are brothers.

Who are your 5?  What do they bring to the table?  Do they make you better?  Just because they are in your 5 does not mean they have a positive effect on your life which is something for you to think about…

They say all is fair in love and war.

Forever. Sounds like a long time right?? It is, but they say time flies when you are having fun. Before we jump in here let’s put some things in perspective.

1. You ever have those days at work that just last forever even though you love your job?

2. You ever have a fight with your parents?

3. You ever have a fight with a sibling?

4. Fight with a best friend?

5. Co-worker?

6. Days you wished you stayed in bed?

The point I am getting at is that some days sucks. Some are harder than others. Some seem to drag out. Some seem like you can’t catch a break. Some days you are in a bad mood. Some days you want to scream. Some days you fight with parents, siblings, friends, co-workers… But guess what???

That’s life. Your parents are your parents. Siblings, siblings. Friends… You get the point!

Why should this be any different with a spouse? They say all is fair in love and war and trust me love is a battle! Some days are better than others but you have to have the bad days to appreciate the good.

I think in life, we as people are always learning, changing, growing and developing. Often times we don’t grow together though and THIS can be devastating for a relationship.

I want to be a better person tomorrow than I am today. I think it is important to have the right end goal in mind. While I want to be better, I really want to be better for my wife and daughter. I want to be better for them and in turn I am better for me.

Do I have good days everyday? HELL NO. Do my wife and I always see eye to eye? Do we always have good days? Do we always want to hold hands, cuddle, kiss, be lovey dovey… Nope. Love is not always easy. Some days drag out even though you love your spouse. Some days you can’t seem to make the other happy.

Love is battle. But I would fight for my wife, daughter and my marriage any and every day. You have to believe in it though. You can’t fight for something you don’t want to “win” or truly believe in.

What am I fighting for everyday? A wife that loves me unconditionally. A wife that is supportive, who cooks for me, who loves to snuggle up to me on the couch, who is athletic, active, smart, goofy,gorgeous, stylish, artistic, patient, kind, and probably the best mom a child could ask for.

Forever is a long time but it flies when you are having fun. Enjoy your spouse like you should. Better or worse… It’s a battle but one worth fighting for.

What are you fighting for? Tell your spouse why you are in love with them and make sure you have fun because in this crazy cruel world we never know how long. We have!

Jenny, I love you and love us! I am glad we are in this together!

(Sorry for any typos… Did this one on my phone)

A FIT body is a FIT mind, and a FIT mind can do ANYTHING (make money)

A FIT body is a FIT mind, and a FIT mind can do ANYTHING (make money).

A FIT body is a FIT mind, and a FIT mind can do ANYTHING (make money)

Physical fitness is a key part of life.

I have always been active throughout my life but as time has gone on and the career has kicked in and the family life has taken over, I think it is more important than ever to make being “fit” a priority.

I am currently involved in “Crossfit” at Crossfit Crowntown in Corona, Ca.  This is by far one of the most challenging, rewarding and motivating things that I have ever done.  I wake up every day at 4:30 in the morning to be at Crossfit at 5:15… By 6:30am the hardest part of my day is over and I am off to work and have a clear head to work with.

There are people from all walks of life that make this grueling, rewarding, community based activity part of their everyday life.  There are 60 year old men and women, mother and fathers, businessmen and women, father/son, high school kids, elite athletes, you name it they Crossfit.

Everyone comes together at a “Box” and for one hour a day has one common goal, to better themselves and in turn better their family life, their careers, their social life, their health, their appearance, their confidence, etc…  Everyday I see people go beyond what they thought they could do.  They break through barriers in the gym and I think this sets the tone for their life!!

I for one have seen a direct correlation with my fitness level and my level of production at work.  I have 3 assistants at work and have made it mandetory for all three to crossfit (two of which I pay for to do it) and I will put my team up against anyone in the entire country because they know no limits and this all starts every morning at 5:00am in the gym…  By the time we get to work we are alert, confident and ready to rock.

I see the same thing with these moms in our gym… They run around after 1,2,3,4 kids and still have the energy to knock out an intense workout.  I know for a fact that being a mother is probably one of the hardest/tiring jobs EVER! If my wife leaves for a few hours I am counting the minutes until she returns because my two year old daughter is CRAZY!

Being a business man and always looking at what people do for a living, how succesful they are, how passionate about their life they are, I have found an astounding common denominator at Crossfit…  Everyone is very succesful, passionate, happy,and just full of energy… Coincidence???   I think not.

Like I tell my assistants everyday.  “A fit body is a fit mind, and a fit mind makes money!!!!”

When opportunity knocks, make it ring the doorbell

I know people are always looking for the next best thing and a way to better themselves and their careers. When you are good at what you do and when you love what you do people will take notice.

Passion is contagious. People want to be around passionate people. You will be recruited. You will be sought after. This is tough because being wanted by someone, a business, a company or whatever is always flattering but you need to be able to step back and assess the situation.

This isn’t college anymore, it is not just the thrill of the chase anymore. Anyone can get the girl but is she all you think she is? Maybe. Maybe not! This isn’t just about being recruited or promised the world. Your decisions might have long or short term impact on you and those around you. Being courted is definitely a sign that you are doing something right but it does not always mean the grass is greener.

I am not saying the grass CANT be greener all I am saying is make sure the grass is real and not just artificial turf = empty promises.

Wait for that bell to ring! Make opportunity wait at the door for a bit… If it really wants you it will still be there when you get to the door.

10 things real estate agents need to know in this market

1. Find a lender that you trust and then let them do their job.  If you feel you have to tell them how to do their job, they should not be your lender.

• I get agents all the time that tell me to order the appraisal on a rush.  FYI, this is not new news.  Every agent asks for this so I order the appraisals right away on every file.

2.  If there are no comps to support the offer price that you wrote the contract at do not be surprised when it does not come in at value. 

• It is a very competitive market out there so I understand that every property has multiple offers and right now people are bidding above list price.  This does not mean that the seller is going to drop the value if it comes in low, and if they do it is the agents job to negotiate that.  The seller will always come back and say why did you offer that high if you knew it wouldn’t appraise???  We all know the answer…. To get your offer accepted but trust me, that will be their first response followed closely by “Does your buyer have the money to come in with the difference?”

3. No one wins if the deal does not close so trust the lender when they say they want max appraise value as well.

• about 75% of the time when an appraisal comes in low the agents all of a sudden forget that this is a team effort.  It takes the agents, the lender, the appraiser, title, escrow, the buyer etc… to make a deal go smoothly.  When an appraisal comes in low this is the time to really buckle down and work together.

4. Prep the buyer about a real estate transaction.  We as agents and lenders will do this thousands of times in our lives, the buyer may do it 3-5 times.

• Each transaction is roughly the same.  Provide paystubs, tax returns (all pages), bank statements (all pages) and W2’s.  no cash deposits!!!! This is all stuff that the lender should go over with the buyers but sometimes it is too late when they get to us.  Setting proper expectations can save days and sometimes even weeks on a transaction.

5. If you have a good relationship with your buyers see if you can get a copy of their financials on a PDF.

• how many times have you written an offer and had to have the buyers cross qualified??   If you are writing offers in this market I am going to say quite frequently.  I have two big investors that I am a preferred lender for and they require a cross qualification in order to accept the offer and so many times buyers miss out on the house that they want because they cannot get documentation over to me in time… If their agent had this they could send it over right away even though the buyer is stuck at work.  Offer accepted!  (we will need all the items mentioned in tip #4)

6. Rates are pretty much the same no matter where you go and loan officer comp plans have changed so the cat and mouse game of are you getting the best rate from your lender is pretty much gone.

• this is not 2004-2007 anymore.  Lenders are not really doing arm loans anymore (I do not remember the last time I did one), they are not sticking prepayment penalties on the loans etc…  Think about it logically… everyone gets their money from the same place so if something sounds to good to be true it probably is.

7.  FHA, VA and Conventional loans take the same amount of time to close if you have a good lender.

• Is each loan different, ya a little but if you have a good lender the time frames should not be an issue.  Write each offer with confidence.  I can close any loan FHA, VA or Conventional in 21 days or less so should everyone else.  If they cannot, find a new lender.

9. Have fun with your buyers.

• We make sure that we have fun and joke around with our buyers.  If we are relaxed, they are relaxed.  We do this everyday so there are things that we know are normal that the average buyer does not.

10. Once you find a lender that is good.  Be loyal.  These lenders that are good will make you and your transactions a priority if you are an agent that consistently brings them business.

• I have about 10 agents that bring me every deal.  I know how they work, and they know how we work.  There is a lot to be said for getting to know one another.  Each agent is different and wants different things throughout a transaction.  I can tailor each transaction to each agent after I have worked with them a couple of times.  Some agents want updates every couple of days.   Some agents just want updates when there is a problem.  Some agents want to come into the office.  Some agents want nothing other than a fast close.   Tell your lender what your 3 hot buttons are so they can make sure to meet all your expectations.

Real estate can be fun, buying a house is not and should not be rocket science.  Find that lender that you trust to get your deals closed and the lender that will treat your clients right.  This is a team effort whether you want to believe it or not…. No matter how good the agent, the lender, the escrow officer, the buyer etc… It will not be a smooth transaction unless everyone comes together and works as a team!!!

See link below, I was number 11 in the entire Country for 2012 FHA origination volume.  Bigger numbers coming for 2013…. Stay tuned 😉

http://www.scotsmanguide.com/TO/2012/fha_volume.asp