Einstein Disease ( Aired 08-06-25) Real Estate Reality Check: Navigating Charlotte’s Shifting Market

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Einstein's Disease. Through real world insights and powerful conversations with industry leaders, we help you break past limitations and rethink success. Are you ready to push the boundaries of what's possible? Welcome to Einstein's disease. I'm the host, Greg Ellers, where we explore the challenges of overconfident, static thinking in professional and personal growth. Our mission is to help individuals, businesses identify their blind spots, cultivate vulnerabilities, unlock their full potential, get ready to challenge the status quo and discover new paths to success. Hello. I am here today with our wonderful guest, Veronica Dquez. Veronica is the owner of Veronica's home with Keller Williams in South Park. She's a professional. She works with investors, various clients making strategic real estate moves with clarity and competence and purpose. Veronica, welcome to the show. [00:01:05] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me. [00:01:07] Speaker A: So, Veronica, you and I, we spoke previous to the show and in going through and learning more about yourself, the challenges that you face professionally and then also working with clients that are sellers of real estate, clients that are buyers, clients that are buyers of real estate, you run into some predisposed behaviors that in today's world, they really need to be changed. And that challenge comes to you. And that's what we'd really like to work and talk about today. Specifically sellers, unrealistic expectations of pricing their home. I know that's a big challenge. You and I have talked about it and it'd be great for you to kind of open up a little bit. We all know just as a backdrop from COVID and zero interest rates or mortgage rates and 2 or 3% home prices really escalated as people left some of the urban core and went to areas like where you are in south park. And subsequent to that, the inflation, higher interest rates. Now we're in a position where maybe there's a little bit more inventory. And I call and say I really want to sell my house. And I know that back in 2022 it was worth x, I want to sell it for that or maybe a little bit more. And you have to work with those people on that. Talk to us a little bit about that challenge that you have and how people are seeing that and what it's doing to not only your profession, but but you specifically. [00:02:48] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. So, yeah, absolutely. I mean, after the frenzy when the rates were really low, I mean, we had a worldwide pandemic. We don't want the rates to go back down that low because that was the reason why. Right. So sellers were used to during those two years or so of putting their home on the market for 200,000 and it would sell for 275,000 because they had 30 offers. And everybody was fighting for that house. And the reality is that it is going back to being a balanced, healthy market. That was not healthy. Buyers were paying over what the house was worth. Appraisals were not coming in. People had to come with money out of their pockets. So if you really think about it, it was an advantage for a lot of buyers because they have a lower payment, because the rates were lower. But in the long run, they were overpaying for a house. And nowadays when I talk to my sellers, you know, they expect to put their house on the market and have 15 offers day one. And it's just not happening like that anymore. And the reason why is because we have a healthier and more balanced market which everybody should honestly be happy about. It's all about perspective. Right. Look at the market in the past 10, 15 years. The prices of the homes are still going up. It just needs to go up at a healthy rate. Otherwise you would buy a home at 200,000 and then three years later would be 800,000, which makes no sense. Affordability then becomes an issue. So when I talk to my sellers, I explain that to them and I make sure that I give them facts. Again, it's all about perspective. They're still in a good position because if they're selling now, their home value, most likely 99% of the time went up over the past two, three, five years. So they're still making a fantastic profit. And again, it's concentrating on what their goals and their objectives are at the end and how that profit with the current market conditions is going to help them truly give them perspective in order to understand that we are in a more balanced market. That is kind of shifting. It's not there yet, but it is shifting to turn into a buyer's market. At least where I am in Charlotte, North Carolina and all surrounding areas. [00:04:57] Speaker A: Sure. So when, when you talk about a balanced market and, and we'll get into this with the, with, with the next block of a lot of people, there were a lot of first time homebuyers that came into the market in 21 or 22. Right. Because it was cheaper than renting or they had the ability to live somewhere else. So when we look through that lens of a first time homebuyer, and I bought that home for, from you and I paid 275,000 even though it might have been worth 200. And now I'm calling saying, Veronica, you know, we're having a family. I need a bigger place. I need to sell my house. I think it's worth X. And you have that difficult conversation to explain to them that their house might not actually be worth X, it might be X minus 1 or X minus something. And at the same time, you know that my wife's pregnant, first kid, we're out looking for a new home in Charlotte and you're taking me out to look at houses. And we probably have unrealistic expectations relative to where mortgage rates are, our debt to income ratio, or our affordability. Talk to us a little bit on that affordability because that's something that is. Most people that are selling a home with unrealistic selling expectations are also now getting hit on the second side that I can't get a mortgage for 2% like I have on my current house. I've got to get a 6% or maybe even a little bit higher mortgage rate. So that affects my affordability. I'm either moving a little bit further out of Charlotte, maybe even all the way out of Mecklenburg County. And you're having that conversation as well. That's probably just as harder. [00:06:59] Speaker B: Harder isn't, is in some occasions we can still make it work. And in others, honestly, and I'll be the first to tell them I think it's better if you hold on a year or two more to let that value of that house bring you back that equity. And again, it's all about perspective, right? Those buyers are not in a bad situation. Maybe they don't have the space that they want, but they're still paying a 2 or 3% mortgage rate. That means their mortgage payment is lower. That means they can really put some money aside and save to do the upgrade that they want to do later on. In a lot of cases, to be honest with you, you'd be surprised how many buyers actually qualify for something better or not necessarily better for something bigger or an upgrade or a different area. And it is all about planning. It is all about budgeting. It is all about. I always tell my buyers, whenever you think about buying another home, that's when we need to talk to the lender right away. Because the people who can guide you better on how to be prepared to be qualified for the payment that you want to have or you can afford is the. Is a person who's giving you their money. So I always connect them to my preferred lenders and we have that conversation. They study their situation. We go over numbers, we go over what their equity is. If they have one Right now. And that way we can plan ahead and have them prepare maybe for three months, maybe for a year, so that they can make the move that they want to make. But again, it's all about the perspective of you're not necessarily in a bad situation. You're just living through a market adjustment, and we got to give it enough time for it to give you whatever results you need it to get in order to get to where you want to be. And it has worked sometimes, as I said, some people are able to make the move, and some people just say, you know what, let me wait a few months, Let me wait a year or two, and we'll be fine, and we'll make it happen. [00:08:46] Speaker A: No, for sure. So sticking to all things local, for so many years, in the early 2000s, probably through about 2015, Mecklenburg county was one of the fastest growing areas counties in the United States. I mean, Charlotte absolutely exploded. The airports expanded, businesses come there. It's been a great story. The. The lens for people that are there that want to trade up, if you will, grow into a larger house. Do they. Do you find them a little bit more challenged to get to the right place than people that are coming from another community, I. E. Somebody's moving from New York or Virginia or somewhere, they're leaving a place that had a higher cost of living? The people that actually are or have been in Charlotte for a long time, do you find that that's a bit more of a challenge for those people specifically? [00:09:54] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. I mean, if you sell the house, I'll give you an example from actually Miami. Somebody had a house that was 1500 square feet, that was worth over a million dollars here. House, 1500 square feet is way less than that. So they definitely have a lot more equity when they come from those states. And when they come here, they're able to find something that is a much better home for a lesser budget. For people who live in Charlotte who want to upgrade, we can definitely get creative around it. Some people who want to upgrade are able to use, if they've had their home for four or five years or so or a little bit more, they're going to have equity. So they can definitely use that equity portion of it. And that's when we get really creative with the equity. We can do a rate buy down with seller credits whenever we get the other house, so they can lower their interest rate by a point or so, and that way their monthly payments are lower. There's so many things that we can do to help them make that move. And it's all about having those conversations and educating the buyers whenever they sell their home to use that advantage of what they have right now and the market conditions so that we can get some credits from the seller to apply to a buy down rate. And I've done that for many of my clients. And the other thing that we can do, to be honest with you, is get creative on the area. Just go outside of Mecklenburg, the prices are a little bit lower in different counties and you're not far from Charlotte whatsoever. I'm talking about 10, 15, 30 minute drive maybe. And they're able to find something at a lower price with a little bit of an upgraded home. And investors here are investing so much in those areas that are surrounding Charlotte and the houses are being renovated, completely upgraded. So it is truly a great opportunity right now. And new construction, there are a lot of new construction developments popping up everywhere around Charlotte. [00:11:51] Speaker A: So, you know, that's, that's fantastic. You're stealing my, my B block here with some of your solutions. But what we're going to do is we're going to take a quick break, let our sponsors tell their story, and I will be back with Veronica right after these commercial messages to talk about some of those solutions. Thank you, Veronica. See you shortly. Welcome back to Einstein's Disease. Love what you're watching. Don't miss a moment of Einstein's Disease or any of your favorite NOW Media TV shows, live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in English and Spanish. Listen on the go. Catch the podcast version of the show right now on Now Media's TV website at NowMedia TV. From business to breaking news to lifestyle culture and everything in between, now media TV is streaming 24, 7 ready whenever you are. Welcome back to Einstein's Disease with our continuing conversation with Veronica, a dynamic real estate expert helping both buyers and sellers succeed in today's evolving housing market in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Veronica, that was a great opening segment. I know that we were dealing with something that our listeners and viewers are thinking about all the time, and that's housing. Everybody needs shelter in some form or another, whether it's rent or whether it's purchase. And the American dream is to buy. The challenges of seller expectations of the value of a home. We discussed that in the opening block. It's a real challenge for people because everybody thinks their pennies really shiny, don't they? That is a challenge for everyone. And then secondarily the affordability issue with higher interest rates, even though interest rates, if you look at them over 50 years, we're really at about the median mortgage rate. So it's not like they're overly expensive. It's just the lens or the bias that people have had that they could always, after the 2020 and the generation, which is significant, think that they can borrow money at 3 or 4% to own a house. And that's just not realistic. So in this segment we got, we're going to dive into, Veronica, one of the solutions that you've been working on. And at the end, as I mentioned, you kind of, you got into it a little bit and that is how to help a buyer get into that home that they want. And we, you mentioned staying in their home maybe a little bit longer to save money because of the lower interest rate. But why don't you spend a few minutes with our listeners because they're sophisticated. They're in the same. They, they're either in the Charlotte area or somewhere else. They, they understand this issue to some degree, but maybe they're looking for a solution. And I know that you touched on a couple in the last block. Let's talk about what Veronica recommends to people when they're looking to buy a house. And it might just be a little out of reach. What, what are some of the tools if they've got some savings that they can utilize? [00:15:17] Speaker B: Veronica yeah, absolutely. One of the first things that we're looking at in this market is depending on where they want to live. There are still some pocket areas that are high demand. And if a house goes on the market, you still see multiple offers and so forth. So we have to be creative about that. If they are looking in those hot pocket areas, then we're probably not going to be able to get a lot of seller credits for the closing costs to buy down your rate, et cetera. So we need to have that conversation of what is the priority? Is that the area or is it the house? Because we can find a house in a different area that's not too far from there. Once we get to that point that there's definitely things that we can do on a market that is more balanced and that is sort of shifting to become a buyer's market. We are looking at incentives. For example, if they're going to get a new construction home, they want a brand new home. We're looking at whatever incentives the new construction the builders are offering their preferred lenders. If they're giving cash to close, how can we apply that cash to the closing cost. Do they just use that money to be able to buy down their rate for a year, for two, or permanently? Or do they use that money towards the closing cost so that they can get a better home without them having to use all the savings that they have on there? Another thing we can do is definitely negotiate. If they are looking at a home that has been on the market for a while, they, for I would say over 30 days or so, we can definitely try to negotiate because that means that the house is not selling right? And that's when we come in and we negotiate either on the price. We do the same thing. We ask for seller credits to buy down their rate. There's a lot of different things that we can do. And then the other thing, to be honest with you, is just go a little bit outside of the hot areas where the market is still going to be very competitive so that we can negotiate Even a combination of lowering the purchase price and getting some credits from the seller for them to cover the closing costs or buy down their rate. There's just different things that we can do. And it all depends on the situation of where the buyer is. So it's not a cookie cutter for every buyer. It's truly an analysis of what the situation is of the buyer, what money they have on hand, what equity they have on hand, and what can we do with that money for them to be able to purchase another home. [00:17:35] Speaker A: So one of the terms, and I know you used it pretty freely and it's a term widely used in the, in the mortgage market. Why don't you explain to the audience a little bit about the buy down rate, what the advantage is, what the cost is, because that is something that gets people the ability to have a more affordable monthly mortgage rate. But, but talk to us a little bit about what that actually means in the process. Veronica? [00:18:04] Speaker B: Absolutely. So about a buy down rate is when the lender is going to charge you points and it all depends on what price point you're purchasing at to lower your rate. And they can lower your rate by half percent, by 1%. It really depends on where you want your monthly payment to be. The lender will work with you and tell you exactly. For example, we have a, we had a client who needed a believe it was a little over $5,000 to buy down permanently the rate by 1%. So the rate ended up being 5 point something, which is not bad at all. And we were able to negotiate the seller to pay for that rate. So when the seller applies credit towards closing here In North Carolina, we call it cash to close. We go ahead and we apply that money towards the lender, towards the closing costs so that the lender can apply that buy down rate. And now they're buying a house instead of a six high six or a 7% for five point something, because we were able to negotiate that. And there's different types of programs to buy down your rate. You can do it for one year, you can do it for two years, which is the rate is lower the first year, then it goes up a little bit the second year and then it goes up to whatever the rate is that is usually a little bit less that you have to pay. The advantage of that is that whenever the rates go down a little bit, you can always refinance and then lock your rate at a lower rate or you can ask for. The best scenario that I consider is the permanent buy down. And that way you'll know even if the rates don't go down later on, if you're comfortable with the rate and the monthly payment from when you purchase your home, you know that's not going to change in the future. [00:19:43] Speaker A: No, that makes perfect sense. So that is clearly a way for people on their monthly budget to be able to step up and get into a home using savings or what have you. Let's talk about the other. And that was when you mentioned moving outside of a specific area, a hot area in, in Charlotte, move from that area to somewhere else. How do you go about that? Because that, that can be a challenge. I've really got my sights set on this one part of, of, of Charlotte. And you're gonna try and push me into another area because you, you factually know I can't afford it. How do you go about that? Because you know that kind of gets into the buyer's ego a little bit. Right. I've had these aspirational dreams of living there, that white picket fence, seeing my neighbors, whatever the case might be. And now you're sending me, you know, five exits down and a little bit more traffic. I mean that, that's, you're doing that because you want to help the buyer. Right. But at the same time, you're also, you're changing the buyer's expectations. You're disappointing them in some ways. If you, if you'd accept that. [00:20:59] Speaker B: Yeah, it's funny, I'm, I'm always a positive person, so I'm always going to look for the brighter side. And it is not me trying to convince somebody to do something they don't want to do. It's just opening their perspective a little bit. And you'd be surprised. I tell this to my buyers a lot, and they don't believe me until it happens to them. Most of the time when they say, I don't want to leave here or I don't want a house like this, that's where they live, and that's the kind of house that they get. It is hilarious. It is all about. I just tell them, just, let's go see homes. Let's see. You have to be comfortable with it and you have to be happy with it, but you don't know if you're going to like it unless we go see it. So what's more important to you, the location or the home? If the location is more important, then let's adjust your budget and let's look for something maybe smaller or something that you need to update a little bit. But if the house is more important for you, let's just go look at homes. If we find one, great. If we don't, it doesn't matter. Now you know what the options are. And 99% of the time, they end up buying in the place that they said, no, I definitely don't want to live there. They go, they see the neighborhood, they love it, they fall in love with the house, and it's just. It's not necessarily what they had in mind. Sometimes it is better than what they had in mind. And that happens a lot with buyers. You'd be surprised. [00:22:19] Speaker A: No, that's fantastic. That, that, that is. Makes a lot of sense. So would you say in this buyer's market, you're giving people the ability to. Even though home prices have gone up, mortgage rates are higher? Are you seeing enough loosening in the market that the first area that people want to live in, you're. They're getting the ability to take a look because in a buyer's market, they've got a little bit more leverage. Veronica? [00:22:49] Speaker B: Yes. If it's one of those areas where it's not a hot pocket, where there's still 10 buyers trying to get the same house, we can definitely do that. And, hey, sometimes they fall in love with the house in the area enough that they make the effort and they use the extra savings that they had in order to get to that home. It's just a matter of when. It's funny, I see their faces when they go see a house, and I know, game over. Or I know, hey, they're definitely going to try to find something else. But when they go somewhere and that's exactly what they had in mind or even better, like I said, that they had in mind. There's creative ways around it for sure. And, and sometimes the conversation needs to be had. Is this a bridge home for you? We call a bridge home the next home that you're going to get that's going to allow you to get to your dream home. A lot of us have to do that from the beginning. Not everybody has the financial situation when they buy their first home to be at their dream home. So we look at it on long term basis. Are you happy with this home? Is this home going to allow you to, to get to the next home in 2, 3, 4 years? 2, 3, 4 years go by this fast and if you don't say that. [00:24:00] Speaker A: Veronica, that's a scary thing. I, I already have gray hair. I'm not. [00:24:06] Speaker B: Oh, I'm getting there. [00:24:08] Speaker A: I'm going to, I'm going to leave that one alone. Listen, Veronica, stay with us. And to our millions of viewers, we'll be right back to hear about another solution in the, in the satisfaction of home buyers and home sellers. Thank you very much and we'll be back with you shortly. Hi, welcome back to Einstein's Disease. Providing tools to help you maximize your future by sharing new processes of saying yes and no versus assuming you already know. Today's guest, Veronica D. Cause, owner of Veronica's homes with Keller Williams in South Park, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina is with us. We've had a couple of great conversations in the first couple of blocks, Veronica, discussing some of the challenges not only that you have to face as the agent for the sellers or agent for the buyer, but then some of the, we talked, touched on some of the solutions with respect to buying down rates, maybe looking in different areas, holding on to your current home a little bit longer with that lower interest rate to get you to the right position. What we want to do in this third block, and we discussed this a little bit and I know it's, it's, it's a big challenge that people kind of walk into a lot and that's especially in a city like Charlotte, walkable, livable. You know, maybe it's the primary education or the safety or proximity to work, being able to use public transport without having to drive because the town's really, it's a special city. Tell us a little bit about how you go about when you're working with a buyer to look at some of those issues. How do you prioritize them? I know they're going to have some of that on the initial Conversation, especially some of the younger buyers that might be looking that are starting a family. But walk us through a little bit about that process because it's important that our listeners and our viewers understand when they're going through the idea of looking for a new home or relocating some of the things that a person in your profession and success help your buyers work with. And then conversely, the sellers, they obviously have an edge if they're in some of those more hot spots as you as you mentioned them to start out with. So it'd be really great to get a little bit on that from you before we move into a couple other areas, you know, on buying versus renting at this time. [00:26:51] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. It's all about priorities. We have to have honest and deep conversations and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about what's the priority. Is it a walkable area? Is it a school district? What is it that is so important for you and your family that you are not willing to give up because sometimes you can't have it all? Right, you have a list of your 10 priorities, but unfortunately our budget or the situation in the market doesn't allow us to be able to get a property that has all of those 10. If you're looking at a school district, then if it's an above average rating school district, of course families are going to start looking there. So it's important to have the conversation of do you need the schools right now or are you thinking of the schools that you want for your kid in two, three or four years because your child is not old enough yet. And that way we can do a strategy. For example, now if your kids are in school already, then you want that school district. Are you willing to, instead of getting a big home, get a nice townhome and that way the price goes a little bit lower and it's all about again, it's what's the most important thing? What is your must that you're not willing to give up? When you are looking for a home, if it's a walkability thing and you want to go to this really cool South End, Dilworth, Charlotte areas and Charlotte, then what's your budget? Are you willing to deal with just one bathroom instead of two bathrooms and your guests have to use your bathroom in order for you to live in that area, it's about compromising. It's about figuring out what's the most important things that you are not willing to give up and what can we live without. And again, if this is a breach home, what can we live without for a few years before you can get all of your top priorities in just one home. Is that helpful? [00:28:37] Speaker A: Absolutely, it is. Because from from the very beginning, it really comes down to once you figure out your affordability and you find yourself in a position and you've found maybe that ideal home, now it really kind of comes down to, do I have to concede something? Even though it's my ideal home, I want to live in another area. So what, what you're saying is those are difficult conversations that you almost become a counselor in some respects to your, to your clients, don't you, Veronica? [00:29:13] Speaker B: Absolutely. And it's not. I'm always very careful about not giving them necessarily what I think they should do. I just ask them good questions for them to realize what is most important for them, because it's not about my priority or my opinion. It's truly what's going to bring them the best results for what they want in their situation, short term and long term. And my. I'm a guide, right? I'm here to just guide them, ask them questions, narrow it down for them to figure out what's going to be the best solution for them with their current situation. And I absolutely love doing that because sometimes you just, you know, and it happened to me when I got my first home, you can't get everything that you want and you have to figure out what you're willing to give up. And once you do that and you start investing in real estate, because it is an investment, when you buy your home, you are investing in real estate, then how is that investment going to take you to the next level where you want to go? [00:30:09] Speaker A: No, for sure. Absolutely. So let's kind of pivot here a little bit on some of the solutions that you have. So I come into your office, Veronica, I want to buy a house. This is my budget. And I'm a renter. I haven't ever owned or I haven't owned for a while. It's a different conversation than somebody that has the stress of you're trying to sell their home and it's going to close on the 1st of August and they want to buy on the 1st of September, and there's still contingencies out there that that's a different level of stress and work you go through. But when you're working with somebody that is going from renting to buying, how do you see that now? Because it has been an affordability thing. Many people have rented because they haven't been able. They didn't buy when rates were real low. Now rates are higher and they're tired of renting. I mean, talk to us a little bit how you work with those people, because it's a different conversation because they haven't owned. [00:31:20] Speaker B: Yes, it is all about education. It is about giving them as much information as possible so they understand what it means to own a home, the benefits, the obstacles that they're going to have. Everything. It's not all bright and shiny, right? Hey, if the roof came down, you're going to have to repair it. You have to prepare for things like that. You have to get your insurance. The in the long run, investing in real estate historically is one of the best investments you can do. Nobody has ever owned a home for 10, 20 years and said, I lost money on that home. Maybe it goes down for one or two years, but historically there's always going to be anywhere between a 3 to a 5% compound return rate year over year. And when you're a renter and you're making that transition, it is important to understand those things. Sometimes people get caught up on the down payment and I don't have enough money or I'm going to have a higher payment monthly. But what's that, what is that higher payment going to give you back in the future? Would you prefer to pay 2, 300, $500 more? But then you have an equity of 30, $40,000 in a few years that you can use to get a better home or you can use to whatever you want to use. Honestly, you can get the equity out of your home, or do you want to keep paying rent and have someone else get rich by paying their mortgage? And it's just a matter of perspective. And when you educate, you connect them with the team, right? You have to have a dream team to help a buyer. You have to have a preferred lender. You have to have a fantastic insurance agent. And all of us come together and truly paint the picture for them and give them the best options that we can, because that's our job, right? A good agent, a good lender, and a good insurance agent. We're going to fight for their best interest, not for ours. And we are going to make sure that we explain everything and the benefits are going to come in the long run and what it means to be a homeowner and invest in real estate and how we can take them to the next level. And typically they become so excited about understanding what, what it truly means to own a home long term that they do whatever they need to do. They downgrade a little bit so they can buy a home if they Were renting a big home and now they live in a smaller home. But it's theirs, is their investment, is their money that's growing. And it is a completely different ballpark. And those are my favorite closings. First time home buyers. It is so, so much fun. I mean, we cry, we celebrate, we open the champagne and it is so rewarding to help these people starting to get into real estate and make. Which is probably the biggest purchase that they'll make in their lives. [00:33:53] Speaker A: No, for sure. So one of the things you touched on there that I want to close this block out with is, is you mentioned your team, your lenders and real estate and insurance. Because we all know that insurance costs have done nothing but go up because home values have gone up and taxes have gone up. So you're working with a team of people. How does the team interact with your buyers? Do they, do they, do they all get to know your, your, your, your clients? How do you do that? Because clearly you've got you, you're in a position where you want to provide the services that are required, but you also want to sustain control of the situation, right? [00:34:35] Speaker B: Absolutely. I want the best for my clients and I, the, the team that I work with, we've been working together for a while. I know that they have my clients best interest in their hearts. I know that whatever advice I give them is going to be the best for my clients, not for the representatives that I'm connecting them with. So I do, I introduce them. We are all in group chats, group emails, then they take over and they do their thing. And I'm always informed of everything that's happening. If I ever see something that I feel like I need to ask a question or maybe guide them a little bit, then I jump in, I call my vendors directly, my team, my dream team, right? And I tell them, listen, is this the best for them? Can we do something else? And we've had situations in which, for example, a roof was so old that we couldn't find a good coverage. So what are we going to do? We find solutions. We figure out, can we get a warranty program to fix the roof and then get better insurance, things like that. And it is so important to have trusted partners that can work with you to help someone in their transaction. And I'm talking again, lenders, insurance attorneys, closing attorneys, everybody is importing that transaction to make sure that the buyers have a good experience and good results. [00:35:46] Speaker A: No, that's fantastic. Listen, this was a great block. We're going to come back after we have Our sponsors say a few things about their products, and we look forward to talking to you on the other side of this. Veronica, this is a great conversation. Thank you very much. We'll be back shortly. [00:36:06] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:36:08] Speaker A: Welcome back to Einstein's disease, where we challenge the assumptions and find better ways forward. Today we've had the pleasure of speaking with Veronica Diquez, a passionate entrepreneur, real estate expert dedicated to serving her clients and community. Long love watching this show. Don't miss a moment of Einstein's disease or any of your favorite NOW Media TV shows, live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the free Now Media app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and Spanish. Want to listen on the go? Use our podcast version. Go to NowMedia TV, download the app right away and start listening in. Our final segment, which is my favorite segment, is where we just get to talk to Veronica about Veronica and her path. Veronica's been a successful entrepreneur in the Charlotte area and got into real estate, but really that journey probably had a few other turns, twists and turns. Veronica, why don't you share with us a little bit what inspired you on the real estate side? How did you get here? [00:37:17] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a funny story. My husband always wanted to invest in real estate. He worked in construction, so he wanted to do flips. I had an interpreting and translating business that was successful at that time, and I just started getting into it. I started getting interested about it, and when Covid hit, my business just went down because I used to work in court. All the court shut down, and I wasn't making any money. If you're not there in person interpreting or translating, you're not making any money. And I said, okay, let's really get into this real estate investing thing. And I said, let me just get my license so we can save some money on that side. I can be the agent. I can look for the properties and everything. And. And weirdly enough, I fell in love with the classes, which is bizarre. Nobody falls in love with those classes. And I loved it. And when I got my license, I said, I actually want to try to do this for a living. I think this is something I would really enjoy, and I would love to help people get homes, sell homes. It's just so much fun. So that's how I got into it, and I never looked back. [00:38:19] Speaker A: So you had a. A position in the. In the Mecklenburg courts as a. As a bilingual, in working for. I'm. I'm going to assume the county or the city probably, yes. [00:38:31] Speaker B: And I had my own interpreting and translating company, which we did translations for global companies. We hired individual interpreters to go to different, you know, events and things like that. But yes, I work directly in the district courts, all counties around Mecklenburg, all of North Carolina. [00:38:47] Speaker A: Sure. So, I mean, as I, you know, you mentioned your husband's in construction and you had the passion of a career. What was it that got you even started in that direction when you, when you decided to take that as your tact? I mean, that's a. There's an obvious need for it. The addressable market for the people that, whether they speak Spanish as their first language or some other language as their first language, there's obviously a need for it. You saw it, but you identified something as an entrepreneur, something got you to make that decision. What was it? [00:39:27] Speaker B: The combination of the rewarding side of helping people do something that's going to be one of their biggest decisions in their lives, and the return on investment on my time and the money that I am making compared to what I was doing before. I mean, it's ridiculous. [00:39:46] Speaker A: I hear you. I hear you. When you look at where your continuum is, what kind of advice would you like to share with some young people out there, our viewers and listeners that are saying, wow, this lady Veronica, she's got it together. She's got this company in North Carolina, Charlotte, that's a happening place. What would you, what advice would you give to people that are trying to make some of those same decisions, that don't want to be W2 employees, and they want to take a little bit of that risk that you've taken? [00:40:19] Speaker B: Veronica, Fail forward. Do not be afraid to fail forward. You have to make mistakes. Get at it. Know your value. Right? Trust in what you're doing. Educate yourself. You're always going to be learning in this industry. You never arrive to a conclusion in which you know everything. But if you wait to be perfect to start, you're never going to start. You go along the way, there's going to be teams wherever you work, whatever firm you work with. I work with Keller Williams, and they had my back since day one. They're going to help you through the entire thing. Just make sure that you have to fail forward. You. You have to act in spite of your fear. And a lot of times the fears that you have are only in your head. They never happen. Like, people are going to get mad at me if I tell them that I'm in real estate and I contact them and I offer my help. I've never had Anybody get mad at me? I contacted everybody under the sun who had ever crossed my path when I started in real estate. And 99% of my business is people that I know are people that I know who refer me to somebody else. And it has been a fantastic career. I got rookie of the year my first year. I've been awarded top agent. And I don't say this to brag. I say this because I never did real estate before I started real estate. And I was able to do it because even though I was afraid of rejection and making mistakes, I kept on going. I just. That's something I learned as an entrepreneur. You can't wait for perfection before you act. You have to act and then get great as you go and know that you will always be learning something. You're never just going to arrive to perfection. And if you have the people's heart is your priority, their motivations, their goals. And the money will come. If you do the right thing, the money will come. And I go to bed at night and I can sleep knowing that I've done everything good for my clients and I just get rewarded for it. And it is just such a beautiful career. [00:42:13] Speaker A: You know, you mentioned something there, and that is when you only act when it's perfect, you're never going to act. And that is that. That's some advice that I've, I've heard now, other people give that have been our guests, because it is so true. If you're only looking for, for perfection, you're not going to take the opportunities that are in front of you. One of the things that you mentioned or didn't mention yet is did you have a mentor? Because, you know, real estate, it's. It's clicky, right? I'm a real estate agent and I see this. Veronica's coming in. I'm like, I don't want her to do, you know, not that I don't want her to do. Well, I like to tell good stories in my, in my profession. But there's people in, in every industry, especially when it's competitive as real estate, because it is only about the transaction, right? Once Bob or Lucy Smith buys a home, you're probably not going to see him for another three to five years. So everybody wants to get Bob or Lucy as their client or help Bob and Lucy, you know, you know, as representing them as a seller. So talk to us a little bit. You mentioned Keller Williams has had your back, but what about a mentor? Did you have mentors in this? Were they in that company? Or where did they come from because it was a leap. Even though you took the test, you're trying to assist your husband and a family as a team to flip some houses. You kind of moved into something that was a lot bigger and now you've got your own company. [00:43:46] Speaker B: Yes, I've had many mentors and I've had many mentors in different aspects of your life. Right. If you find that you are looking to grow in a specific area, for example, for me, it was working with the people that I already knew. I would find somebody in the company that was good at that already and I would ask them to lunch and I would talk to them or they would give a class and I would go to the class. And I've had so many mentors, honestly, it's hard for me to mention them because real estate is such a diverse career. There's so many different things that you can do in real estate. So you really have to pin down whatever it is that you feel you're going to be great at and go for that. Don't try to do 10 things at the same time. You can't be. Or was that saying the trade of all? What is a jack of all trades? A master of none. Right to master a trade. And I've had so many people help me and still help me. I work a lot with investors. So I found somebody who was actually a private lender and an investor and an agent at my office. And I asked him to lunch and. And he is now actually a private lender for me. We bought a trailer park and he is the one that gave me the money to buy the trailer park. And that's how you make the connections. You have to get out there. You have to see whoever it is in a position where you want to be at, try to meet them and provide something to them as well. Don't just ask questions. Their time is valuable. Take them to lunch, offer something that you can do for them. And it is just so rewarding to learn from other people. And this is the secret that I. I don't think it's a secret, but I think a lot of people have the wrong idea of successful people. Truly successful people want to help other people succeed. That is just the rule. If you ever find somebody who doesn't want to help you, they're probably not going to be truly successful because what you give out into the world is what you receive back. And I have found that this amazing people who are on the top of where I want to be are always willing to help me. You just have to be really respectful of their time, and you have to be respectful on how you approach them. But, oh, my gosh, I still have mentors, and I still have people helping me. It is amazing. [00:45:50] Speaker A: It is. That's great. I'm sure you're a mentor to a lot of people now as well, Veronica, and I have to agree with you wholeheartedly. I love to tell good stories. I love to help people. I like to find a way to understand what is going to help that person have some success that they couldn't have without maybe mentorship or a little bit of help and provide it. The more that we do that in our. In our communities, the more that we do that overall. It just. It provides a much better situation for everyone, and I really applaud you on that. [00:46:30] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:46:31] Speaker A: In the closing minutes, is there anything left you'd like to share with our audience before we. Before we wrap this up? [00:46:40] Speaker B: Don't be afraid. Whatever it is you want to do. If you want to sell your house, you want to buy your house, if you want to get into real estate and get your license, just go for it. Find somebody who can guide you. Find a great firm. Again, I love Keller Williams. Find a great firm that can guide you, that can support you, that can give you the education that you need. If you want to buy or sell a home, find an agent who's willing to educate you, not push you, give you the information that you need, and you can get there even if you're not ready. Now, get ready. Find somebody that can advise you on how to get ready to get wherever it is that you want to go, whether it's buying, selling, being an agent, investing in real estate, you can definitely do it. You just have to find the right material, the right education, and the right guidance. [00:47:23] Speaker A: And if anybody has any interest, outreach, you can get [email protected] I'm sure she's willing to talk to just about anybody and help anyone. So take that opportunity. Veronica, it's been wonderful having you on the show today. It's great to have gotten to meet you, and I look forward to hearing more great things about you in the future. [00:47:49] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. [00:47:50] Speaker A: Thank you very much. And with that, this is Greg Ehlers, your host of Einstein's Disease, signing off today. Thank you very much for watching or listening, and we look forward to seeing you next week.