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Bringing you culture, human interest, lifestyle, sports, and politics from San Clemente, California, the best place in the world to live.
SC_Podcast_Nick Hartman_260728
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Speaker: [00:00:00] Welcome to The San Clemente Podcast, the only local podcast in the best beach town in the world. We're here to bring you weekly episodes highlighting everything from sports, culture, entertainment, politics, and everything else this beach town has to offer
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the San Clemente Podcast. I'm your host, Jeff Moore, joined as always by Brian De La Puente.
We've got a great guest on for you today. We're gonna talk real estate. We're gonna talk San Clemente. A true San Clemente local, a native, someone that was born around the corner, grew up right here in our town, in our city, in San Clemente. Nick Hartman, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3: Thanks, Jeff.
Speaker 2: Of course. One of my very good buddies.
Stoked to have you on.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 2: And, uh, yeah, we don't need to necessarily just talk real estate. A little bit of culture, a little bit of the market, a little bit about your background and what you love to do here in San Clemente. So just kick us off. Is now a good time to buy in San Clemente and/or the surrounding cities?
Speaker 3: I would say yes. I am [00:01:00] currently involved in, um, or just closed on a, a property here in San Clemente myself, so obviously I'm encouraging others to do the same. I think the best time to, the best time to buy was couple years ago. Next best time is right now.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: And rates were super low and-
Speaker 3: Rates were super low a couple years ago, obviously.
Um, but the demand really hasn't stopped for San Clemente, and I kind of, like, finally realized I needed to get off the sidelines myself and do what I was encouraging all my clients to do- Right ... which was get your foot in the door on something, you know, while you still can or, um, as soon as possible. Even if it's not, like, the perfect end-all be-all property, you know, something that you can use as a stepping stone into your next property.
Just get your foot in the door.
Speaker 2: We get a lot of comments about how expensive it is in San Clemente, and how hard it is to buy real estate, and how they can't do it. You are proof in the pudding that you can buy real estate. You don't [00:02:00] need 20% down. You don't need 30% down. There are creative ways to purchase real estate, and in your scenario, just speak on that a little bit.
Speaker 3: Well, that's a big thing that I always encourage, and I know you encourage too, Jeff, is, like, to try to be creative as possible, because there's ways to get stuff done even without, like, a proper down payment. Um, I was able to purchase a property recently with actually just putting... It, it was really a wild situation, but I was able to put 3% down on a property for my deposit, and get a, uh, commercial lender to loan about 50% loan-to-value, and then I was able to get a, um, a client a private money loan for the other 50% of the loan-to-value, and then apply my 3% deposit to [00:03:00] my closing costs and actually receive money back.
So really, I was able to purchase a property with just, with just- Yeah Paying for my clothes
Speaker 2: in the house You're 3%. 3% of- Wow. We don't need to talk about the sale price, but again, it goes to show if you wanna make something happen bad enough, and you wanna buy real estate in or around town, it is possible.
Just find a way to make it happen.
Speaker 4: How do you, how do you- You just
Speaker 3: gotta get creative.
Speaker 4: But how do you get to that when there's cash competing with offers and stuff? Is it not to market? Is that why it's important to have a realtor or-
Speaker 3: Yes ...
Speaker 4: someone that knows- Mm-hmm ... kind of their, what's happening in the market?
Speaker 3: For sure, and that's a really good point to bring up. This property was unique because I did find out about it before it came on the market. Right. It ended up being a situation where there were multiple offers on it because it was such a desirable property, and I think that I was able to kind of secure it because of the relationship that I had with the seller, and some other factors that were involved, too.
Right. [00:04:00] Um, they felt like I was the one that would get to the goal line on it and actually close it. So, um, yeah, it's very important, I think, to work with a local realtor when you are buying, because a lot of the local realtors here that are constantly doing business, we find out about things off-market, you know, whether it's through people we've known in the community for a long time, or other realtors that- Sure
are doing business. You know, we share listings with each other, and, um, we seem to be able to ... We, we come across a pretty good amount of stuff off-market.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: One of the properties I closed last year, actually, it was the, the highest priced closed sale in San Clemente ever outside of a gated community, and we found it off-market for our client, which is pretty wild.
Speaker 4: That's, yeah. I feel like that's, you have to do that, right? And that really comes down to who you're working with and the relationships you've cultivated over a lifetime of growing up here, right? For
Speaker 3: sure.
Speaker 4: So, yeah. Let, well, let's go to [00:05:00] that. Let's talk about early Nick in town and growing up here and all that good stuff.
Just kinda how you got, um-
Speaker 3: Cool ...
Speaker 4: came up.
Speaker 3: I, um, I was born in Laguna Beach. My mom lived in Laguna at the time. Um- And well, my mom, take a step back a little bit. My mom's from England. My dad grew up in, uh, Redondo Beach and LA County. Um, they met in Corona Del Mar, had me when she was living in Laguna, moved to San Clemente right away, and they bought a home in the Riviera District in the early '80s.
So I was raised in southwest San Clemente in the Riviera District when, when San Clemente was, like, a lot more blue-collar than what it is right now, and when Riviera was, like, very, very blue-collar. Um, it's changed a lot. It's maintained its identity in a lot of ways, which is cool, but it's definitely changed a lot.
I grew up, uh, at 208 Avenue de la Riviera, which I still remember to this day, and there was three vacant lots next to us at the time, which was crazy, [00:06:00] 'cause we could play mud football.
Speaker 4: For sure.
Speaker 3: We could go down into the canyon, like the Rivi Canyon, and, um, kind of, like, skirt around the community and spend the whole day in the canyon, you know?
Yeah. My brother and I and my sister. It was, it was just a great time. So we grew up definitely, um, a good time in San Clemente. Remember a lot of the older guys down at the beach, like the O'Connells- For sure ... and, like, some of those guys- Yeah ... that, like, when I was a little kid, I was looking up to these guys just, like, a little bit intimidated, but- For sure
it was pretty cool. Um, Riviera was always known as, like, a good, good surf break and kind of a local beach, you know? Yeah. It was a little bit off the beaten track, so kinda had that, that cool vibe to it. Um- Went to, um, Orange Coast Christian School when I was a little kid. That's not around anymore, but it's over by Pedro's, by that, uh, St.
Michael's Academy is, I think is what it's called now. Went to Dana Point Christian School, went to [00:07:00] Shorecliffs, went to San Clemente High School. Um, graduated in '99 from San Clemente.
Speaker 2: Sweet.
Speaker 3: Lots of good memories from there. Of course, like, being able to have surf class.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Like, zero period, second period surfing was pretty amazing.
Yeah. So Wednesdays and Fridays, surf till 10:30.
Speaker 4: Were you guys down at T Street?
Speaker 3: Um, we would check in at the pier, either surf the pier, or we could run down to T Street. A lot of times I'd surf Clock Towers.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: South side of the pier when it was breaking, or run to T Street. That's Jeff's
Speaker 4: spot now. Jeff's the pier guy
Speaker 2: now.
Speaker 4: I had to, I had to, I had to loop that in there.
Speaker 3: I like- I
Speaker 2: love the pier.
Speaker 3: I like it. Yeah, Jeff and I have known each other for a long time, since we were kids. Um, Jeff's father and my mother actually used to do business together. Jeff's father was an amazing lender here in town, uh, very well-known, and my mom was in real estate, and she was a well-known realtor here.
So I've, I've known [00:08:00] the Moore family since I was a kid, and, um, you know, they're very established here in the community. Um, so pretty cool- For sure ... to see things kind of- Go full circle ... come full circle like this, and to be able to, like, reconnect with Jeff in our adult life and work together now. You know, now, you know, Jeff will help me out with loans and-
Speaker 2: Yep.
Yeah. And, yeah, real estate and loans, I mean, it's something that I think we're all passionate about. For sure.
Speaker 3: It goes hand-in-hand.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It goes hand-in-hand, and it's, uh, it's a great way for people to accumulate wealth and to provide a place for their family to live. But you hit on something that I think is very important about Riviera being a blue collar community.
Mm-hmm. Fast-forward to today. Yep. Now having an office on Del Mar, how much has changed?
Speaker 3: You know, a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same too, if that makes sense. Downtown San Clemente has changed a lot. We never had these kind of, like, dining options and, like, cool stuff to do at night, like, when I was a kid at least.
Um, I remember [00:09:00] when, like, Beachfire opened for the first time. Right. And that was, like, the first place on Del Mar that had live music and stuff, and it was like, "Oh my God, like, we can go to- Right ... Beachfire." And-
Speaker 4: For sure ...
Speaker 3: then, uh, you know, now we have other places like Nick's, Rare Society, some of these really cool places like The Cellar.
The Cellar's awesome. Bar Jane, um, they just put it in. Zoe's and, you know-
Speaker 2: Dude, The Cellar's a vibe.
Speaker 3: I love The
Speaker 2: Cellar. The Cellar's awesome. With the
Speaker 4: piano going. Oh, yeah. It's fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and they got this blues guy on the weekend, dude. He's pretty classic. But The Cellar is, I think, um, one of, if my, if not my favorite spot on Del Mar.
Yeah. So that's changed a lot. The downtown's really changed. The town has gotten, you know, more crowded overall, for sure. But it still seems like it's maintained that small town vibe. Like, it's not, it, it, it feels like a town, you know, not like a city, where a lot of people know each other. A lot of people that grew up here still live here.
Right. Like, and there's a lot of [00:10:00] new people that have come here, but most of them, they wanna, like, maintain that small town vibe.
Speaker 4: For sure.
Speaker 3: So people are really friendly. People say hi, smile. Like, you go to a lot of places and they don't do that, which is weird to me.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: But people like the community feel here.
It's a real active lifestyle in San Clemente. You know, people are surfing. They're out riding bikes. They're on the beach trail. You know, they're up at Salty Turf now. Yep. And they're at all these, like... There's, there's a lot more to do here in town now, which is pretty amazing. Um, lots of cool communities.
You know, Riviera is still very, very cool. Yeah. Love the Riviera district. My mom still has a house in Riviera. Um- A lot of other cool communities as well. Trestles District- Yeah ... is very, very cool. I, um, I purchased in the Trestles District last year. Um, it is a great community, and part [00:11:00] of what I like about that community is it feels like old school San Clemente.
For
Speaker 4: sure.
Speaker 3: It has a very, very, like, blue-collar vibe to it, and a lot of people, you know, that maybe got priced out of southwest San Clemente are over in southeast San Clemente- Sure ... now in, like, the Trestles community and stuff. And you can ride bikes down to Trestles really easily. You know, you can still golf cart into town.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: You can go to the muni really easily. So yeah, that's one of my favorite neighborhoods in town now. We spent a
Speaker 4: lot of time growing up- going to Concordia, we had a lot of buddies that grew up over there. Oh, cool. And I mean, we would take, when it would rain hard, we'd go over to the par five right there, and we'd skim down the- Yeah
skim across the fairways, and it was the- That was- ... super fun. I think it was on Dominguez down there. You're-
Speaker 2: yeah.
Speaker 4: And there was a handful of ki- And it was just, like, that nostalgic, old school. I'm glad that it's still got that-
Speaker 3: It does ...
Speaker 4: that vibe down there.
Speaker 3: It really does. It's very cool. I mean, it's changed a [00:12:00] lot, too.
Right. It's like, it's, it's definitely been gentrified compared to- Sure ... how it was when I was a little kid. Right. But it's got the same vibe in a lot of ways. You know, you have, like, like, the Powells' house is almost right across the street from where I bought down in Trestles. And then, like, Logan Powell lives right around the corner from there with his kids, and Clancy lives there.
Jeff lives right down the street, and the Yoders live right over the fence, and the Kirks, and, like, the Carrs are right around the corner. Like, there's so many local San Clemente families in that neighborhood. Yeah. It's very cool.
Speaker 4: God, my, I got a Powell story. So- ... I was on Logan's baseball team.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 4: And after school, my mom was like, "Hey, go with Logan, then walk up to Bahia to have practice."
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So we go over to Logan's house, and his brothers were both there And I didn't really know them, but the, uh, Shane and Ian.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 4: Go- Logan goes in to get a snack, and one... I don't remember which one. I saw Shane down at TC yesterday, but they, I, they hung Logan off the balcony. I remember going home, being like, "Mom, I'm never going [00:13:00] over to the Powell's house again.
Those guys are freaking crazy."
Speaker 3: They're wild, dude.
Speaker 4: And, and like, but now to see them with kids and it's full circle and it's like-
Speaker 3: Yeah ...
Speaker 4: it's just rad. Like-
Speaker 3: Such good people and a, and a good solid family.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I
Speaker 4: really like them. So fun. I lo- I like that they're all... I know Logan's back and doing the water polo thing and, and really has created giving back with his knowledge and his UCLA and all of his, his success and giving back to the community is-
Speaker 3: Yeah
Speaker 4: what's rad.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I love seeing Shane around. Yeah. Love seeing Logan. I think Ian's in Costa Rica right now- Oh ... living down there. Uh, but all great people.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Good people.
Speaker 4: So did you get into real estate right out of, li- out, out the gate? Or was there-
Speaker 3: No, I, I ended up, um, in my, like, mid-20s or so, I got into the surf industry.
I did that, um, kind of started, like, doing sales for them and then got a job as their marketing director. Did that, um, till around the time I turned [00:14:00] 30 and I got- Okay ... my license, like right around the time I turned 30. Um, I just kind of, I think that I, like, saw the ceiling with what I was doing at the time, and there was, like, a couple other various things that happened, like, uh, a breakup and this health thing- Sure
and stuff, and you know, like, just time for a change. So got my real estate license- It was a little bit slow going at first. You know, I, I had to really go all in on it before I've kind of found that success. And, you know, this is a tough industry. It's like, it's very, very competitive, and if you're not, if you're not doing it full time and, like, really giving it your, your all, you're not gonna stand out from the crowd.
It's just the way that it is. There's some people that get lucky, you know, and will do stuff right out the gate, but most people, most... Even the, even the top realtors in town that I know, it took a lot of them a little bit to get going, you know, to where some of them have even told me, like, "Hey, I was, like, ready to give up," you know?
"And then I got that first one, and it turned into the next one," and whatever. Like, [00:15:00] took me a minute. I remember my first listing I got was, like, it was inside the Riviera District. So cool. It was like 1.7, and then I ended up double ending that one. There was a family that came down. They're from LA, and they came down to bring their daughter to meet a friend, and they saw my sign.
They called me and they said, "If you can be here in five minutes, we'll buy this house." I got there in five minutes and they bought that house. It was wild. That's
Speaker: killer.
Speaker 3: And then I ended up, I think s- I think my first three sales were in, or three of my first five for sure were in the Riviera District, and probably, probably done, like, 10 or so transactions in Riviera, which is pretty amazing.
Um, but it's like, it just kind of goes, you know, you get your first and then, like, people see that, and then you get another one and, you know. And it's kind of stepping stones, like-
Speaker 2: You also work your tail off, though. You're working seven days a week.
Speaker 3: I have been, yes. Yep. You gotta do it. You gotta work hard if you wanna be successful, you know
Speaker 4: [00:16:00] Especially in that industry, you gotta be available, like you said, five minutes.
Speaker 3: You gotta be available.
Speaker 4: Because people are like, "I want an answer now."
Speaker 3: Yep. One of the top agents in Orange County, uh, who also works for Sotheby's, we were at a meeting a few months ago. Um, he's a big-time agent, and we were talking about, like, things to, to do to be successful, and, and he said a couple things that he recommended doing, and I said, "You know, my, one of my biggest things is just being available and answering your phone," 'cause people don't wanna answer the phone now.
Right. People wanna text, they wanna do this, that, and when I said that, he was like, "That's exactly it." He's like, "I tell everyone, answer your phone."
Speaker 4: Yeah. "
Speaker 3: Even when you don't want to, just a- answer it. You don't know who it's gonna be." So being responsive is huge. Um, last year the biggest, the biggest listing that I've ever gotten was a, um, $12.5 million listing over the Dana Point Harbor, like directly over Baby Beach.
Okay. And that came from, [00:17:00] of all things, an inquiry on my website.
Speaker 4: No way.
Speaker 3: They emailed me, and I was in an open house and I saw the home evaluation request come through. Got right back to them within five minutes, and then ended up, you know, I had to interview for it quite a few times, but ended up getting the listing, ended up selling it for, like, a little over 12 million, and that's my biggest close sale to
Speaker 4: date.
That's killer. When you get those kind of properties, what, what type of preparation goes into listing it? Like-
Speaker 3: Well, you know, first, first of all, of course, you have to- get the client comfortable with you and what you bring to the table and what you can offer. And, and then, you know, you try to advise them to the best of your ability on what they can do or what you can do together to prepare it for the market.
And in this case, it needed to be painted. It needed to have a lot of little stuff done to it. They didn't wanna paint it, but it was, like, this Tuscan yellow color, and I'm like, "Let's just paint it, like, you know, [00:18:00] off-white, make it look more Spanish style." And they had a bunch of furniture in the house. I was like, "We need, you, you need to get moved out first so we can stage this properly and make it look nice."
We ended up, you know, uh, I helped, I helped out with the staging. The house looked amazing when we were finished with it, and we sold it in, in less than a month for way more than anyone ever thought we would get for it. That's awesome. Yeah. And, and also it's a combination of, like, preparing a house properly, getting, like, high-end photos.
You know, we work with really, really good photographers. I've kind of learned, like, which ones to use and who not to use, and, you know, putting a lot into my marketing budget, like making videos, advertising, doing posts, and- Yeah ... advertising on social media. Trying to do, like, a multi-pronged approach, you know?
Not just, like, not, not just, like, putting it in the MLS and just- Right ... thinking that people are gonna come to you, you know, [00:19:00] because maybe they will, but maybe they won't, you know?
Speaker 2: And since you're speaking about the listing and selling of properties like that, what's a common mistake that sellers will make?
Speaker 3: Overpricing. Um, not understanding that you need to ma- you need to make it so that people can see themselves living there. Right. They, they keep it, like, too much of their home because it's stuff that they like, but it doesn't mean that the other person's gonna like it, you know? And you need to... A lot of times people don't want to declutter and do all that stuff because they're, they're comfortable living in the home the way it is, so it feels right to them.
But it's not always about, like, like, l- how it feels to live in the home. It needs to look good, you know?
Speaker 4: Yeah. And some people can put their own spin on it. Like, oh, this- Yeah ... hey, our couch would look good in here- Yeah ... or whatever.
Speaker 3: Exactly. You know, like, this is an obvious one, but it's like take down all your personal pictures and stuff.
Like, people, like, wanna, [00:20:00] like, picture their family there, so get all of that stuff taken care of, you know. Declutter, declutter, declutter. And even when you think it's decluttered, declutter some more. Right. You know? It's just, like, that, those things really, really will benefit you at the end of the day. And, you know, if you really wanna sell the home, you've gotta price it appropriately.
If it doesn't comp out with all the other homes in the neighborhood and stuff, unless it's something, like, very, very special, you're doing yourself a disservice, because the longer it sits on the market, the worse it looks to people.
Speaker 4: Right. What's wrong?
Speaker 3: Yeah. What's wrong with this place? How come it's been on the market for three months?
Right. You know? Maybe it's because you started-
Speaker 4: I think there's a, I think there's a lot, like we talked about earlier, like a lot of people in town, this is their retirement. So they're like, "Hey, I need to get X."
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 4: And it's like, "I don't wanna sell it if I can't get X."
Speaker 3: And I understand that too, you know- Yeah
because this is the, this is the biggest transaction that people will do in their lives, you know. It's their, it's often their biggest [00:21:00] asset. So people get very emotional, you know, and, and it's a tense situation, especially if it is their retirement.
Speaker 4: Sure. Yeah, you gotta navigate a lot of emotions and logistics, and you sell this house to buy another house.
Where you going? All that kind of stuff. So yeah, it's a very complex, um It's not just an, like, business decision, right? It's a, there's emotion involved. "This is where my kids were raised," right?
Speaker 3: Exactly. Like, so
Speaker 4: you have to... Are there any, like, tics or, tips or tricks managing those kind of emotions? Like...
Speaker 3: Focus on the goal.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know? Like, I have one that we listed today in Talega that, uh, they are moving down to the Trestles district, and w- we got beautiful photos done. The house looks great. Put it online, and the wife saw it today, and she's, like, very emotional. Yeah. Because she's like, "This is where I raised my kids," you know?
Speaker 4: Is it,
Speaker 3: like,
Speaker 4: cold feet emotion?
Speaker 3: It wasn't even cold feet emotion. It was just [00:22:00] emotion. Yeah. You know, like, we're, this is real now. Yeah. We're, we're actually doing this, you know? And, and in cases like that, I just try to get them to focus on the goal. Right. Which is like, "Hey, you're in love with this other house.
I know this is gonna be an emotional time right now, but this is what you want. We're, we're focused, and we're gonna make this happen for you," you know?
Speaker 2: Masterfully said. You said something earlier about San Clemente changing. A lot has changed, and a lot has not changed, too.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think that really hits home, and I think a lot of people moving from out of area to San Clemente also wanna be involved in the community and build- For sure
relationships with people, and we've experienced that with some of the people you've sold houses to.
Speaker 3: Most definitely.
Speaker 2: And that creates that culture and that vibe. And I think we are gonna, you know, look 10 years down, 10 years from now, look back and say, "You know what? It has changed. It has evolved. Things do."
But in the, at the end of the day, San Clemente is San Clemente.
Speaker 4: Do you get protective at all? Like with, I know, like, I noticed a lot this year that there [00:23:00] was out-of-state people-
Speaker 2: Mm ...
Speaker 4: moving into town.
Speaker 3: I've seen that for a while, you know, even, like, since COVID and stuff. Mm-hmm. A lot of people coming down from San Francisco.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: A lot of people coming down from LA even more now. You see the LA people. I feel like San Francisco's come back a little bit. But for a little bit there, it was pretty rough, and we were getting a lot of people from San Francisco. We get a lot of people from Utah, a lot of people from Arizona, people from the East Coast, you know, that are all coming out here.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So, um-
Speaker 4: Do you get protective?
Speaker 3: No, not so much.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 3: No. Maybe I have my moments once in a while, but at the same time, like, you can't-
Speaker 4: Sure ...
Speaker 3: you can't gatekeep everything.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 2: But how cool for you to see it through the lens of people moving from different parts of the country and different parts of the state- It's cool
where you get to see it how they see San Clemente or Dana Point or one of the other towns for the first time.
Speaker 3: It's wild. And that makes me think of another point that, you know, people wonder, like, is it overpriced? Is it this, or is it that? Well, it's, it's almost, it's all kinda relative [00:24:00] to where you're coming from and, like, the way that you look at it.
Because to somebody that's moving down from San Francisco or something, they're looking at San Clemente like, "Oh my God, this place is a deal," you know?
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: To someone that's been in San Clemente their whole life, they look at the prices and they're like, "Wow, these prices have gone wild," you know? But I s- I still am a firm believer in the fact that, like, there's a lot of room for growth here still, too.
And just based on, like, a simple, like, supply and demand-
Speaker 4: Sure ...
Speaker 3: lens, you know, the demand here is extremely strong.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: And I've had people for years saying, "Oh, well, when the prices drop, I'm gonna just buy up a lot of stuff." Well, dude, you and everybody else.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: Like, the demand is strong here. And they-- I just don't see it slowing down right now.
Um, granted, I don't have a crystal ball. You don't have a crystal ball. Jeff doesn't have a crystal ball. But- [00:25:00]
Speaker 4: Yeah
Speaker 3: You know? It's
Speaker 2: probably- It's probably gonna continue to remain strong.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Look around.
Speaker 4: And you haven't seen any s- supply is still there.
Speaker 3: Supply?
Speaker 4: Talk about the demand, so people want to move, want to buy.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Supply, I think, is down. Yeah Like, from where it was, y- you know. Like, let's just say, let's go back to pre-COVID. Pre-COVID, there was always, it seemed like for a while, there was around, like, 300 plus homes on the market here in San Clemente consistently. Now there's, like, half that, 150. I remember, like, in the heat of COVID when interest rates were low and people were just ha- like, you know-
Speaker 2: Frothing
Speaker 3: frothing, dude. Like, it got to where there was less than 100 homes on the market here. Now, while it's increased, it's still, like I said, like, half of what it was pre-COVID, so it's pretty low supply, and the demand's strong. But the demand is very, very strong for the right [00:26:00] stuff.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker 3: And, and the right stuff is, like, those certain enclaves, southwest, you know, parts of southeast, like Trestles.
The entry level, which as crazy as it is, it's like, you know, the 1.- 2 million bucks ... 35 to 2 million range is the entry level here now. The entry level stuff is super hot, and the high end is super hot. There's stuff in that mid-range that's sitting a little bit if you're not priced well or you're not in the right spot and- Kind of
Speaker 4: reaching
Speaker 3: yeah, kind of reaching, you know? Yeah. Those, those homes are sitting a little bit, but-
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: There is, like, a very, very strong demand for high-end stuff and for that entry
Speaker 4: level. What do you think it was about COVID that made it go ... Like, we u- we use COVID, pre-COVID, post-COVID for a lot of different things. In real estate in particular, what do you think was the main, main thing that made that just jump?
Speaker 3: I think that, I think that when you came here during COVID, [00:27:00] like, San Clemente was still, a lot of people were still doing their thing here in San Clemente.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: You know, they weren't all hiding. Like, this is a good, like, active lifestyle town, so people were coming here and they're like, "Wow, I like this place a lot."
And people were getting more, like, like, free time to explore a little bit. Uh, they didn't have to work from-
Speaker 4: Offices ...
Speaker 3: offices. They could work from home, so they were kind of, like, going more to, like, communities that they really liked. Sure. Um-
Speaker 4: Like, we don't have to live next to LA.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Marissa. Yeah, look at Marissa and Justin, perfect example.
COVID- Yeah ... is, like, the best thing that's ever happened to them personally.
Speaker 3: And then the interest rates, you know? The interest rates went down to, like, 3, less than 3% and stuff. People, like, you look at that right now-
Speaker 2: Ugh ...
Speaker 3: like, oh my God, what I wouldn't do for-
Speaker 2: A 1.875 interest rate. Or to go back and be like, "Why didn't we buy more?"
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: 1.875. It's free money.
Speaker 3: Like, my payments would be a third what they are right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: It's just [00:28:00] insane, man. It is insane. It's wild.
Speaker 2: In five years, five or six-year period,
Speaker 4: like- In five years ... what, okay, what do you think's gonna happen be- for everyone that's got that locked in? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: No one's moving, or they're not gonna be able to afford to sell or whatever.
So, like-
Speaker 3: Most of them don't want to, but it's like, there's always gonna be death, divorce, job change, that kind of stuff, so those people- You gotta- ... you gotta do what you gotta do ...
Speaker 4: just deal.
Speaker 3: And then you also have, like, you know, as far as the buyers, there were buyers that when the rates went up to, like, 7%, they were on the sidelines, and they were like- Can't do it
didn't wa- yeah, they didn't wa- you know, 'cause they all of a sudden calculated their payments, and it's, you know- Yeah ... twice what it was gonna be before or more.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Those people have been waiting on the sidelines for a little while, and they're sick of waiting.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: So, they are getting back into the market, even though it's at a higher interest rate, and they are banking more on refi-ing down the line.
Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, the rate is not that important. You date the rate, you marry the [00:29:00] home, right? Yeah. You can always refinance, and you will refinance, and statistics always show that you can. If you find the home and you like it and you can afford it, buy it. Yeah. If it's where you wanna raise your family and you wanna live in this beautiful area, just buy it.
You will not regret it when you look back in 5 to 10 years. Mm-hmm. Period. You never will
Speaker 4: What, uh, growing your business, what, uh, what do you think was the most, like, important in getting to that, over that hump? Like, was it the back end things? I mean, the, like, we're dealing with it here, right? Like, trying to figure out the back end of- Yeah
kind of the boring, like, stupid stuff. But as you grow, the, you need systems in place. Like, what were some of the important systems that you put in place or you, tools you used to really take it to the next level?
Speaker 3: You know, I still feel like I'm trying to, like, dial in my back end stuff. Um, but Just, you know, staying focused, dedicated, and, you know, following up with people.
[00:30:00] Like, before I would do open houses on the weekend and maybe I'd take, like, Monday off because I worked all weekend. But now I don't do that. I go in and I grind on Mondays, you know?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Um, you just, you gotta put your time in. Right. And that's, that's the biggest thing that I feel like. I think that, you know, if you work hard, you will be successful at some point.
Maybe it'll take a little while longer, but, um, I think that's a big part of it. Also, you kind of learn, like, where you're putting your money that you're getting the most, like, return on your investment.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: As far as, like, marketing dollars and stuff like that. There were certain publications that maybe I would advertise in, and I didn't really see anything back from them, so I, I don't advertise in those
Speaker 4: anymore.
How do you, how do you, like, um, track those kind of things?
Speaker 3: That's a hard thing to quantify.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: But I just do it, a lot of it is just based on feedback.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: Like, certain places where I've advertised, like, people come up to me all the time now and they're like, "Oh, I saw your this, I saw that, I saw that."[00:31:00]
Other things, I never got a comment on.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: You know? And it just showed. I'm like, "Okay." And also, I was just, I was doing too many different things, like just throwing stuff at the wall, you know? Now I, it's more streamlined. Right. Like, there's the ones that, that I feel like I've had success from, and I'm just sticking with them.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Do, does social media come into any of that? Like, I mean, we talk about it a lot and how the, the power that social media can have. Are you incorporating that into listings and stuff?
Speaker 3: Yes, but I don't, it's, I don't get a ton of clients off of my social media. But I know that people are seeing it. I know that they're- Right
getting eyes on the listings and stuff. I've met a few clients through social media, like people I had no history with that reached out through social media. But I don't do a ton of volume through social media. But I really feel like it's important to take [00:32:00] advantage of social media, take advantage of print.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: You know, take advantage of all these different things, for sure. Try to incorporate it all.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: What advice would you have to a new agent coming into the business?
Speaker 3: Be prepared to suffer.
Speaker 2: I mean, hey, how do you, what advice do you really have? I mean, but that's the truth.
Speaker 3: Just work hard, you know? Like-
Speaker 2: And be prepared to not make any money for 12 months probably, and maybe you get lucky.
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3: You know, it's, it's that right, like- Like, Venn diagram of, like, hard work, luck, and skill or whatever, you know? There's that happy place in the middle where you've gotta do all those things. Right. And I think that you just, you gotta tell people they gotta have thick skin, and you, I would tell them to figure out what works for you and do it.
If you're not comfortable making cold calls, but you love to do open houses, then pick up as many open houses as you can and go [00:33:00] grind them, dude.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Or if you like to door knock, go door knock. Like, people have things that work for them, and then they try to force themselves to do other stuff that they see maybe working for other agents, but stick with what you're good at.
Speaker 4: That's great advice.
Speaker 2: It's excellent.
Speaker 4: Just grind and do what you're good at.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 2: A lot of people don't have that grind in them, and that's why real estate's just not for them.
Speaker 3: Sometimes you have to be able to, like, find additional, like, motivation with certain things, and everyone's different. Sometimes, like, you gotta have a little chip on your shoulder.
You gotta be a little bit crazy, you know, if you're gonna have a successful business. You gotta f- find motivation in different ways. Like, if somebody, if someone, like, slights you, you know, use it as motivation.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 4: It's like getting pissed off and go in a corner.
Speaker 3: Totally. It's a,
Speaker 2: it's a game. Use it as a game.
Speaker 3: Use it. Dude, use it as fuel. Just fuel the fire, bro. Right. Like, if somebody, if a, if a transaction falls apart and, like, instead of crying about it, you know, like, like, [00:34:00] use it, you know?
Speaker 2: San Clemente is very unique, though, in the sense of it's v- very competitive, and there's a lot of agents all competing for a very small pocket of business.
Speaker 3: For sure. Like, like, everyone here knows 20 realtors, dude. Right. Like, you know, everybody has a family member that's a realtor, a cousin, a brother, sister, whatever, you know? Like, we all get it, and there's probably thousands of realtors in San Clemente. But if I asked you to name Like, the top realtors, it's a very short list
Speaker 2: Very short list
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 2: There's probably five that are doing-
Speaker 3: There's- ...
Speaker 2: 98% of the
Speaker 3: business Yes. There's, there's, like, five to 10 realtors here in town that do, like you just said, 98% of the business
Speaker 2: And that's who you wanna work with
Speaker 4: It- And do you guys all, like, are you guys kosher with each other? Like, what's that relationship like with those top guys?
Speaker 3: I'll tell you off the air.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: That's why we need to have [00:35:00] booze on the podcast- Yeah ... from time to time. No, so, like- Take a shot, Nicky, and tell us how you really feel
Speaker 3: Oh, I will. I think that most of us have a really good working relationship. Right And y- and you've gotta be professional. I'm not gonna sit here and lie and say we all get along, because we don't, you know?
Right There's a couple of people that rub each other wrong for the, for whatever reason, you know? Right But most people play pretty good in the sandbox together. Sure And that's what, you know, that's what you want, because we're trying to get deals done for our clients.
Speaker 4: Yeah
Speaker 3: You know? W- if, if you're, like, a egocentric agent and you're more worried about- you know, posting pictures of you surfing in your ads or doing this or that- Sure
you know, instead of like, like it's just, it's not about you, it's about the clients. And the sooner you realize that, the more business you'll do.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: Because you form relationships with other people, and then, you know, they'll pick up the phone and call you. Like, "Hey, Nick, [00:36:00] I've got s- I've got this coming up."
You're like, "You got a buyer for it? You know, let's do this."
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: You know? And, and vice versa. Like, you know, I put out the olive branch to people too, you know? Sure. Like, "Hey, happy to get you in."
Speaker 4: We gotta do this together, and it's for the client.
Speaker 3: It's for the client. Right.
Speaker 2: What do you have to say about people that always talk, not always, but there's a certain pocket of people that think realtors make too much money, or we don't need a realtor, we'll just go online and do it ourselves.
Speaker 3: I had one of those people call me yesterday, someone that's, uh, got their home for sale by owner right now. And they called me asking me h- what I could do to help them get it sold, and I said, "Hey, if you wanna list it with me, I'll sh- this is what I do. You know, I put a lot into marketing. I can get your home sold, but you guys are going about this all wrong.
You need to put like a distance between you and the buyer."
Speaker: Right.
Speaker 3: You know? You need a representative, just like everyone does, you know? No matter the business. Like, how much better does it sound, like, you talking up Jeff than Jeff talking up [00:37:00] himself?
Speaker: For sure.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. You know? It's the same thing with selling a house.
You- you're sitting there like, "Oh, my house is the best because of this and that." Like, no, dude. You want like, an, an, an third party doing it. Right.
Speaker 2: And that's why real estate will never go away, because you have to have that.
Speaker 3: You have to have that.
Speaker 2: You just have to have it.
Speaker 3: And also, like as far as like making too much, like, dude, dude, I have gone a year without a paycheck.
Right. Like, it's not fun.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 3: And- It's
Speaker 4: stressful ...
Speaker 3: it's stressful. And when you're doing well, yes, you, you are making good money, but to your point earlier, like, I've been working seven days a week.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know? Right. And
Speaker 2: I need- And sometimes the deals that you close, you may have been working on for 12 months
Speaker 3: Very true.
I haven't had one that's been quite that long, but I just closed one that was like a eight-month escrow, you know? Just setback after setback. And like, you know, people don't see that. People don't see like the behind the scenes of how long it like went, like trying to
Speaker 2: Or showing a [00:38:00] buyer or whatever, whatever the situation may be.
Speaker 3: You can show buyers 30 properties and then they turn around and, you know, if you don't have an agreement signed, they turn around and buy it from someone else at an open house. Like it's painful, dude.
Speaker 2: It's freaking hard. Like I wouldn't want my kids getting into the business. It's a hard business. Like we are lucky we've been doing it for a long time.
Speaker 3: We've been- It's a certain type of person, dude.
Speaker 2: It's hard though. Yeah. Commission, you are commission only, it is very, very hard.
Speaker 3: Definitely. And you get out what you put into it. I mean, you're a people person, Jeff. You know, like you've gotta put yourself out there. Right. Like closed mouths don't get fed. You gotta get out there, do your thing
Speaker 2: Yep.
Make good relationships, treat people really good
Speaker 3: That's a good thing, a good point to make too. Like, you, you want to do right by your clients. You wanna treat people like how you would wanna be treated- Right ... because then they'll come back to you.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 2: Spend your money's client as if it were your own.
Mm-hmm. [00:39:00] And it's not rocket science.
Speaker 3: It's not. Just do right by people. Don't be a jerk.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know, don't ... Just be kind to people. Like, a smile's gonna get you farther than a frown.
Speaker 4: Sure. Yep. You know? Do you see any neighborhoods hotter than others? Like, what, like in town, trend- trending upwards, trending downwards, like-
Speaker 3: Well, like we've already touched on it, but Trestles is trending upward for sure.
I, I think maybe four years ago I sold the last house there that closed for under a million dollars. Um, now things are closing, like the same size home right now would be like at least 1.5. I have one on the south end of Trestles right now that's been rebuilt. It's under contract at 1.8. Like, those prices were unheard of years ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3: Um, South- What
Speaker 2: about ... Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 3: Southwest is always gonna be popular. The Riviera District's insanely popular. Lost Winds is insanely popular. T Street, you know, is really, like, come [00:40:00] into its own. There's gorgeous, gorgeous homes in the T Street area now, and people love T Street. Yeah.
Speaker 4: You- They've been doing a lot of, there's a lot of work being done down there.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Speaker 4: And those houses are beautiful.
Speaker 3: There's some gorgeous homes down there.
Speaker 2: How much new development do you see happening in Southwest San Clemente, for example?
Speaker 3: Well, there's only so much room for, like, new development.
Speaker 2: So talk about existing- But- ... revitalized projects ...
Speaker 3: we are seeing a lot of stuff.
There was a lot of, like, original homes. Now you go down the street and it's different story. There's a lot of, like, you know, total remodels, new builds, stuff that you never would've seen in San Clemente years ago.
Speaker 4: Is that, do you see that as a trend? Like, people are like, "You know what? I'm gonna gut this thing-
Speaker 3: Yeah
Speaker 4: spend a bunch of money, and then sell it." Is-
Speaker 3: Well, I don't, I see, I see a lot of people fixing, gutting, modernizing, doing this and that. A lot of them are end users. There are a handful of people that [00:41:00] are building spec homes. You know, there's a couple of builders here in town that are doing really, really well for themselves, so you see their projects all over.
But, um, I, I'd say it's a good amount- Yeah ... of, like, people that are looking to, to resell or end users.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: A lot of development. You know what area I did not hear talked about, and I'm very curious to keep an eye on this side of the market, is the north side of El Camino Real. Mm-hmm. Where the-
Speaker 4: North side of El Camino Real?
Speaker 2: Or just north, north El Camino Real, where the Miramar, the Surf Ghetto, the, um... I think you may have sold one up by, uh, the Boys & Girls Club, like that area. Again, it's all gonna get revitalized eventually-
Speaker 3: I
Speaker 2: see that- ... in time ...
Speaker 3: sorry to interrupt. I see that as a good place for development.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: You know? Like,
Speaker 4: that, like above the Surf Ghetto, kinda?
Speaker 3: That area there, and then, like, even by, um, by, uh, Las Palmas.
Speaker 2: That's where I was gonna say. Yeah, [00:42:00] like to El Porton. El Porton. Yep, El Porton. El Porton. Absolutely. 'Cause that's a rad area, too.
Speaker 4: Yeah. It's
Speaker 3: bitchin'. My grandfather was a custodian at, uh, at Las Palmas.
Speaker 2: No way.
Speaker 4: That's where my kids go.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great school.
Go in. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's a, it's a cool area, and we see, you know, Petrol Club. Like, there's just cool things happening down on that side of San Clemente, too, so don't forget about that. Yeah. Don't sleep on it.
Speaker 3: Don't sleep.
Speaker 2: Don't sleep on that.
Speaker 3: I see that a- You'll get left
Speaker 2: behind.
Speaker 3: I see it coming up into its own.
I mean, it's, all that whole area there, you're less than a mile to the beach. I know. And you see what's happening, like, by the beach in southern California. Sure. There's only a matter of time till that whole area is gentrified. I
Speaker 4: might be the... Do you think, is that the last under a million dollars place in town?
Speaker 3: Show me one under a million.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Can you get into town, can you get into town for under a million bucks, do you think?
Speaker 3: Single family home? No. No.
Speaker 4: That's
Speaker 3: wild. Very, very- I
Speaker 2: know, I know.
Speaker 4: That's cra- Yeah. I remember in '08 [00:43:00] Their house, my parents are down southwest and it was on the 100 block, and I think it was listed for like 475.
Speaker 3: It's crazy.
Speaker 4: And I'm like, "If I wasn't such a puss-"
Speaker 2: Yeah. ... 'cause
Speaker 4: I was playing f- I w- I was playing football, I should've bought a damn house every year. And I, 'cause I didn't know- I know ... how long I was gonna play, obviously.
Speaker 2: For sure.
Speaker 4: But God dang it, there's-
Speaker 2: Hindsight, dude ...
Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
Speaker 2: Uh-huh
Speaker 3: There was like one like, um, like two streets back from T Street that put an offer in on like just pre-COVID, and it got pushed up a little bit in like a multi, uh, multiple counter situation, and I bailed out on it, and I look back and like, like they lit- it was less than 2 million.
They, they fixed it up, sold it for 4 million a couple months later. Oh my gosh. And that was a couple years ago. Yeah. You know? It's
Speaker 4: crazy.
Speaker 3: There's one that was like $800,000 over by T Street, dude, that when I first got into the business, I went and looked at it and I [00:44:00] was like, "Oh man, this place needs too much work."
And like, now I drive by it all the time and I'm just like tears in my eyes, dude.
Speaker 2: But you know what you've done? You decided to get in the game. Yeah. Not only selling real estate, buying real estate for yourself now. And I'm so stoked. Because it's way to get... Yeah, absolutely. It's
Speaker 3: killer. And
Speaker 2: there's, yeah. I watched oth-
Speaker 3: watched other people do it for long enough.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's like properties that I've sold like multiple times, one in Riviera- Yeah ... in particular. Um- I remember selling it for like 1.5 and then sold it again for like 1.8 and Justin Hill bought it, dude.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Sh- He, uh, he is in a bitching spot over there and the place is probably worth like twice what he bought it for.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I look at it a- and I'm like, like, "What was I doing?" Yeah. "What was I, what was I thinking at the time?"
Speaker 4: You were just thinking that's a lot of money.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. It kind of was. It was.
Now I look at it and I'm like, "Dang,
Speaker 2: dude." But [00:45:00] again, there's creative ways to make it happen, right?
Speaker 3: Well, that's what I've gotten smarter about.
Speaker 2: That's it. Yep.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And that's ... Yeah, there's no rules around real estate.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 2: There are no rules.
Speaker 3: You're a great example of it. Like how did you buy your home?
Speaker 2: Yep. In Cypress Cove I bought my first house with zero down.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: 1.8 million bucks.
Speaker 3: Amazing. And how'd you
Speaker 2: do that? Zero down. Private financing. I got a first for a million four. I got a second for 400K. Mm-hmm. 1.8 million. Refied it about 18 months later, paid that off, got traditional financing, done deal.
Speaker 3: And a big part of that was-
Speaker 2: Relationships ...
Speaker 3: you took the
Speaker 2: words- Who you know
Speaker 3: out of my mouth.
Speaker 2: You literally
Speaker 3: snatched
Speaker 2: it out. I mean, absolutely. Snatched the words. On favorable terms, interest only, no points. Right. You get the deductions. Like there's just way to do it, you just have to be resourceful, build good relationships, make good ... I mean, it's- it's so possible.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 2: And so when you hear people moaning and groaning and whining their little tookies off
Speaker 3: Oh my God, I'll never be able to get- Like
20% down.
Speaker 2: It's like, dude. There's
Speaker 3: other ways to do it. I mean, it's not, it's not [00:46:00] always easy.
Speaker 2: It's not gonna be easy at all. Like- If you're
Speaker 4: not in the business though, how do you-
Speaker 2: You connect with a good realtor and a good lender- I guess, yeah ... and you just have to talk to people- 'Cause like that's- ... that have done it
Speaker 4: as a, as a, that's what I thought you needed to do.
Speaker 2: Most people deal.
Speaker 4: You know? And I-
Speaker 2: Million
Speaker 4: bucks ... know there was creative ways to do it. You know what I mean? Like it's, do you educate yourself or do you, is that aligning with the right realtor or?
Speaker 3: A lot of it is l- aligning with the right realtor or, you know, I mean- A lot of it's just relationships, whether it's with a realtor or with an individual that will loan you money-
Speaker 4: Mm
Speaker 3: you know, private money or, you know, if some- the end of the day, like, this goes back to what I tell people, too, like, people will work with you if they like you.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And, like, a seller might work with you to buy their home with, like, little or no down if they like you. Right. That's it. It, it's amazing.
Speaker 2: It's wild, but that is exactly it.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's emotional.
Speaker 3: It's emotional.
Speaker 2: For a lot of people, and they wanna... And people are naturally just, [00:47:00] uh, helping people. They wanna help other people. '
Speaker 3: Cause you feel good when you help other people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you do.
Speaker 3: Like, it, it does. Yeah. You know? It makes you feel good inside.
Speaker 2: Yep. So. Absolutely. And if you think about it, if you're sitting in a situation where you're super financially blessed, and here's a young up-and-coming family that's working their tail off, and, you know, you know how hard it is to buy a house, you would help that person out.
Speaker 3: For sure. Sure. For sure.
Speaker 2: You would say, "Yeah, I'll carry the debt.
I'll, I'll seller finance that deal all day long."
Speaker 3: Yeah, if they can.
Speaker 2: If they- You know, a
Speaker 3: lot of times they will.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. Sometimes they're in the posi- and if they're not, you know what? You just keep moving on. Mm-hmm. You keep going and keep going and, yeah, you keep working.
Speaker 3: Not everything's gonna stick, but, you know, you never know unless you try.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yep. And again, I think it's just important that people understand real estate and understand that it's not black and white, it's not vanilla, and it's not one size fits all.
Speaker 3: No, there's
Speaker 2: 50
Speaker 3: shades of gray.
Speaker 2: There's 50 You dirty dog, you.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Dude.
Speaker 2: Awesome, [00:48:00] awesome. Well, appreciate you coming on the podcast, Brian.
Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think we should do just regular market updates and kinda see what's-
Speaker 3: Let's do
Speaker 2: it ...
Speaker 4: what's happening
Speaker 2: and... And I think people will appreciate, you know, updating, yeah, the market on- Sure ... creative ways. What's, what's the latest creative scenario that you came across? I know people wanna buy real estate and they wanna live here, so.
Speaker 3: For sure. People are always asking me, "Is it a buyer's market? Is it a seller's market? Is it this or it's that?" Well, if you look at the numbers right now, it's a seller's market, dude. Right. It just still is, you know? Yeah. But, you know, as a buyer, there is, there are opportunities out there. Yeah. You know? So.
Speaker 4: And it can be intimidating. Like, you're like, "I don't wanna get into a bidding war with-
Speaker 3: People hate- ...
Speaker 4: eight different people."
Speaker 3: Oh, people hate the word bidding war. Right? They're like, "Oh, my God," like.
Speaker 4: And as a seller, you're like, "I want bidding wars."
Speaker 3: I want a bidding war.
Speaker 4: And I think it's just, it's an intimidating process.
It's scary, that much money.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4: Um, but if you have the right guidance- It's all about the client.
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 4: That's what resonates with me is it, it's about the people, it's [00:49:00] about the relationships, and that's h- the top of your priority list, right? So-
Speaker 3: 100%. I am, like, very, very client-oriented. That's, like, how I've built my business is by doing right by my clients.
Like, you know, at the end of the day I want them to be happy.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 2: And my guess is, is that a lot of people are intimidated to reach out because they don't wanna feel dumb or, you know, ask the wrong question. What do you say to someone like that?
Speaker 3: No, it never hurts to ask a question, and please, please reach out.
I would love to help anyone answer any questions that come up, any concerns or, or anything of the sort. But you're very right. It's intimidating, and people don't like to look stupid- Yeah ... so they don't wanna ask the question. But that's how you learn.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 3: That's how you become informed is by asking questions.
It's like in school, you know? People don't wanna raise their hand and ask a question because they don't want everyone else in the class looking at them like they're an idiot. But
Speaker 4: do you
Speaker 3: wanna- Usually,
Speaker 4: usually there's five other people that got [00:50:00] the same question.
Speaker 3: There always is, at least five.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Oh, dang.
Yeah. I had the same question.
Speaker 3: Exactly. It's just no one has the you-know-what, the cojones- Yes ... to a- to ask it. But that's how you learn, and that's how you get educated. So it's actually the smart people that are asking the questions.
Speaker 2: Don't be afraid to be resourceful. Reach out, ask the questions. Thanks for watching the San Clemente Podcast.
Make sure to like, share, and subscribe this video. Nick Hartman, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 3: Uh-
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course ... it's a beautiful- Thank you for having me on. Yep. It's a beautiful Friday. Let's go enjoy the weekend.