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Join Blake Hunter, Iowa and Nebraska REALTOR, with his clients and colleagues as they discuss the current market, and the ins and outs of buying and selling real estate in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.
Blake Hunter (00:01)
Josh, welcome to the Hunting Home podcast. I'm glad to have you back. A little different this time, we're recording remotely. Got some video on us today. excited to have Josh here today. We're friends outside of work. We've done some business together. We often call each other and talk about our...
trial and tribulations in the real estate and lending business. And Josh and I were on the phone the other day, we were just talking about a lot of different things that relate to our business as a whole. And also I think how they relate to a lot of other people's industries and how there's just so many moving parts and how do you get your message across. So anyway, I want to give Josh some time to introduce himself and...
Josh Yost (00:29)
Haha.
Blake Hunter (00:56)
tell us who he's with, what he does, and then we'll get into that stuff later. So welcome to the show, Josh. Give us an intro.
Josh Yost (01:05)
Yeah, well, thanks a lot, Blake. Thanks for having me back on for the second time. I'm a little surprised you took that leap of faith, but I must have done something right the first go around. But again, appreciate you having me on. I'm Josh Yost with Churchill Mortgage. Essentially what I do is I help to provide the financing for people looking to purchase a home. But not only that.
Once you purchase a home, you know Blake, that is one of your biggest assets. So once I have a client, I consider them a client for life. Because not only do we pride ourselves on helping people obtain their goals of home ownership, but also manage that asset over time. So the relationship doesn't start and end with the purchase of a home. It continues throughout the life that they're in that home.
which I think is pretty special. It is transactional, but for me it's more relationship driven and maintain that relationship long term, not short term. So, you know, just am very passionate. I love what I do. As you know, Blake, we make a lot of purchases in life, but I can't think of many that are more significant or bigger.
than purchasing your home. I mean, it's where memories are made, it's where you spend most of your time. So I just love what I do. Love what I do, Blake.
Blake Hunter (02:39)
Yeah,
it is interesting and I think that's something we can get back to is how many people don't remember their real estate agent's name and that's like, I forget what the stat is and especially when it comes to on the lending side is like so many people actually never meet their loan officer face to face and I think that's changing in today's market and in today's world because people are
They get on, they can have a zoom call or whatever and actually see that person and, and, or go into their office. And that's why I've always said, please use a local lender so that if there's a problem or you have a question, we know where to find that person. And that local person also knows the ins and outs of our market, not, you know, the nation's market. but it is interesting how it can be very transactional and, but it really shouldn't be. And.
What getting back, I know there's some stat out there like 80 % of people would use their, their realtor that they used on their previous purchase, but that person hadn't contacted them or they didn't even remember that person's name. And like, I just have the way that I do my business and I know that you're the same as like, I have a hard time thinking of someone that'd be like, I have, I cannot remember that person's name. I don't even know how to find that guy anymore.
Because that's just not the way that I operate. And I'm just like, I know like you get to know those people so well, especially me on the real estate side. Like when you're looking at 15, 20 houses, you're spending evenings and weekends with the people you're sitting down with them. It's like you form a relationship and then it's kind of weird. It's like, once you get them into the house, you're, I follow up with people, but you know, it might be every couple of months. And it's like, you can almost like, it's like ending a
Josh Yost (04:16)
lot.
Mm-hmm.
Blake Hunter (04:32)
a in a way. You talk to him every day and then all of sudden you're like, all right, you guys are set. We'll talk to you in a few months.
Josh Yost (04:38)
I know, I know. And I'm the same way Blake, like, obviously we try and stay in front of them after closing because, know, I don't even, like, I don't even really like using the term client because like, like you said, you spend so much time with them throughout the transaction. Like I think of them as, you know, friends or family, right? Especially since it's such a large transaction and you know, it's, it's funny because, you know, we have
Blake Hunter (04:51)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (05:07)
You could say eight to five jobs, but not really, right? Like last night I was just talking to a client at 10.30 at night, right? Meeting clients on weekends. know, clients might work night shift. So I've had conversations after midnight, just meeting their timeline. I mean, you talk about transactional. That's not transactional to me. Like that is actually, you know, forming a relationship with your client and, you know, getting them to trust you.
know you're in it with their best interest at heart, and then just keeping that relationship going after the transaction's complete. Like, it might not be as often, because we're in a heat of things, it's pretty much every day, or at least a couple times a week. But after the...
Blake Hunter (05:50)
Yeah.
And those people don't
want to hear from you every day after that, I can promise you that.
Josh Yost (05:55)
I know.
So I give them little break. You know, once they close, I might give them a few weeks or a month, but it's fun to touch base with them, see how they're getting settled into their new home, just see what their needs are. Talk about long-term goals at that point. And yeah, just maintain that relationship. Like I said, it lasts for the life of their homeownership, right?
Blake Hunter (06:19)
Yeah,
yeah. So what sparked this decision for this career move for you, Josh? I know that this hasn't been a lifelong career for you. So what came to you and what brought you ultimately to Churchill?
Josh Yost (06:40)
Well, I'll touch a little bit on a previous role that I had. I was a district service manager for a medical device company. It was a good job, Blake, but it required a lot of travel. I was living out of hotels, had a territory throughout the Midwest. I was traveling from hospital to hospital. And you know me personally, Blake, so I have family, three kids. So there was an issue there with work-life balance.
and it was pretty significant, right? So I decided it was either that job or my family. You know me, I'm a family guy, right? So obviously I'm gonna choose family over work, because family's way more important than work or any money. So after I made that decision, you know, honestly, I made the decision I didn't even have another job lined up, Blake. It was...
you know, kind of a spur of the moment decision that I had to make because, you know, I value my family so much, but then I was like, my gosh, felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. But then within 24 hours, it's like, my gosh, what am I going to do now? So I was, I was honestly that guy Blake just scrolling through indeed looking at looking at jobs and lending. kept seeing mortgage lending pop up and honestly, I would skim right past it. Like I figured.
You know, you needed some sort of special degree or I have a degree in chemistry, right? So I don't really have a financial background, but I love numbers. I'm a nerd at heart. And so I started looking into it and I thought to myself at first, like, man, I would love to just.
create solutions for people to get into a home. And one of my biggest things, I've always kind of been in the customer service industry. I wanted to be in a job where I feel like I have an impact on people's lives, right? In a good way, a positive impact. And I know technically lending is technically sales, right? But again, I started thinking, what is the... that goes to life. You know, I started thinking, Blake, what is the biggest purchase of people making their lives?
Blake Hunter (08:44)
There goes my light, Josh. We're back.
Josh Yost (08:52)
It's a lot of times they're home. And I thought to myself, if I can, you know, have a positive influence on that, on that person, on that purchase, that would be, you know, significant for me. I could lay my head on my pillow at night knowing I did something good for somebody else. So that is like why I do what I do. That's a big motivating factor in it. And as far as me winding up at Churchill, that decision came about,
Blake Hunter (08:55)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (09:22)
Essentially when I was doing my interview process with Churchill because as I've mentioned time and time again I'm a family guy and when I did, you know my sit down with leadership at Churchill They wanted my wife to come along Blake and I was like what this is weird. Like I'm the one interviewing for the job, right? But they said Yeah But they said, know Josh, we're family oriented here. You know, this is a family decision
Blake Hunter (09:42)
Like I don't want my wife to come.
Josh Yost (09:52)
So everything that we tell you, we want your wife to know. We want her to be able to ask questions and we want you to make a decision together as a family. And there's so many good things to say about Churchill, but that blew me away. That blew me away. The fact that, you know, family does mean so much to Churchill as well as, you know, they, they really pride themselves on allowing you to take care of yourself because
Churchill's main thing like we pride ourselves on serving others But you cannot serve others until you have yourself right right until you can take care of yourself and be in that mindset to wake up every morning and sacrifice your time to serve others and I thought that was Just it just blew me away. It just blew me away
Blake Hunter (10:42)
Well, like I said, I wanted to talk a few financial things or lending things today, but I think that as a great segue into what we were talking about on the phone the other day is that I remember when you called me and you're like, hey, I'm looking at getting into the mortgage business. You wanted my opinion, which I was grateful that you thought of me and you valued my opinion on it.
And like, always tell people, don't want to make real estate or mortgage lending sound negative by any means. But I always like warn people, I'm like, you have to understand that it's not really what people think until you're in it. And a lot of that has to do with, first of all, getting started. But then once you're in it, the amount of weight that you carry, I think, and
Because when you're in the middle of a deal, a lot of times all the pressure in a sense, if there's anything that goes wrong, it's going to be on you. And I think, you know, no matter what the situation is, there's always going to be somebody, and maybe it is my fault or maybe it is your fault. People make mistakes, mistakes, things happen. But if you're not like very balanced yourself, you cannot...
carry that for other people because it is the biggest thing that they are doing in their life. Usually, you know, it's a huge moment for them financially, emotionally, and everything, especially in certain situations, has to line up like timelines, things for people moving out of one into the other. I mean, we had a deal not too long ago and we're like, we needed a signature. We didn't know if they're going to be able to close. We had to overnight some documents.
And we were like talking on the phone, kind of joking, but I was all, we were both kind of serious. We're like, if we have to drive literally to go get one of these signatures on the other side of the state, I guess that's what we're going to do. And so, you know, we were just talking about how this, the real estate business can be very taxing on you. Um, you do have flexibility and you, you do get the.
You have to make the time still if you want to be successful for your family and those things. Like people are like, you have all this flexibility. You can do this. You can do that. True. We're in a sense, independent contractors, you know, and so you can do what you need to do. But ultimately, if you're not doing the things you have to do, you won't be successful. And so I always tell people, like, I'm still learning that every day. And I think if you're not continually trying to be better,
You're just, failing. And so like I tell myself all the time, I'm like, am I working? Am I putting in the time every week that I need to put in to be successful? Or do I think that I'm doing that? And then, am I taking care of myself so that I can help take care of other people and be level headed when it comes to those big decision-making moments?
Josh Yost (13:53)
Absolutely.
No Blake, I agree. mean, it's a grind, right? Like you said, we do have flexibility, which makes this job convenient for people with families like us, right? But we're still putting in the work, right? We're still putting in the work. The work sometimes doesn't fall between eight and five. Work might fall 10 o'clock at night or on a weekend.
Blake Hunter (14:10)
Mm-hmm.
Josh Yost (14:26)
But as long as you have the ability to prioritize family first, you can make time to still serve your clients. And that's what I love. That's our ultimate responsibility, is to serve our clients. But we do have some flexibility as well. So that's something that really is a big factor in me continuing to do what I do. And I love to do what I do.
But I think too, I think clients can appreciate that. Most clients, mean all clients, they have jobs just like us, right? From eight to five. So they might be looking at a house of an evening or on a weekend. And it's our job to be available, right? When they have those needs. So.
Blake Hunter (15:17)
Yeah. Well, and
the thing is, and I know that you'll probably agree, that there is definitely a line of respect. And what I see in the clients where we have really great relationships is like, they need an answer, I'll tell them, I'll get you that answer as soon as possible. Sometimes, you know, it may not be at 10 o'clock at night, but they...
They're always the people that are always the most appreciative are like, Hey, I'm really sorry that we don't expect you to do this, you know, whatever. And usually those people are the ones that are not asking me to do anything that's out of the ordinary. And I'm always like, no, I mean, this is what I do. Like they're like, we want to go look at this house, but the only time we have is Sunday afternoon. like, yeah, that's, that's literally what I do. Yeah. But they're always so cool about it. And those people are always the most appreciative and,
Josh Yost (15:50)
Alright
Right.
Like they almost feel guilty for asking you, right? Yup.
Blake Hunter (16:16)
I kind of forgot where I was going with that, but it's interesting the people you work with and it's like, yeah, we do work outside of the normal time. Nothing's ever, it doesn't have to be crazy. mean, there's answers that I'm not going to get at 10 o'clock at night, you know, or seven o'clock in the morning. It's going to be during the day probably. But I've had, you know, when I've asked people to write like testimonials and stuff, it's like one of the things that
Josh Yost (16:30)
Exactly.
Blake Hunter (16:43)
I see, and it helps me be better is there always like, Hey, when we wanted an answer, we got it. Or we knew at least that you were working on it. And to me, I always remind myself, I'm like, I may be working on several different transactions. got my own life, you know, in the background of every day. But when these people are looking for something, this is their number one priority. And so you have to treat it that way with multiple people.
all the time. It's like, I know how I am. Like if I'm like, I got to make a decision today, I need to know an answer. I'm like, please do not string me out. At least tell me, Hey, I'm doing this. I'm doing that. Keep me informed. And so, you know, the, the biggest lesson that I tend to tell myself every day is like, just treat people the way that you would want to be treated and you'll be doing just fine. The golden rule.
Josh Yost (17:37)
Oh, the golden rule, right? The golden rule.
It goes a long ways, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Just treat people the way you want to be treated and 99 % of the time everything's going to turn out just fine, right? Yeah.
Blake Hunter (17:43)
Yeah, just be normal.
Yeah,
it's interesting how that works. mean, one of the things that we talk about a lot is, me and you talk about, especially when you got into the business and you're like, do you have any other real estate agents that I can contact and talk about what we offer? you for you, you doing that is kind of the same as me just reaching out to a random homeowner that I don't know.
that I may, hey, I heard so-and-so is gonna sell their house. And so I'm like, okay, it's my job to reach out to those people and let them know that what I can do for them. If I wasn't doing that, then I'm like, what am I doing? But I don't really like doing that that much. know, I'm really a relationship type person. I'm like, I'd much rather have a warm introduction to somebody or I'd rather have it be somebody that I already know and be able to
Josh Yost (18:45)
Yeah.
Blake Hunter (18:50)
just speak to those people directly and not come off salesy. That's like my worst fear. It makes me cringe when I think about it that way. And I, and I see other people in the business and they're actually successful, but that's kind of their thing. And it's just not mine. And you know, so how do you, like, how, how do you handle that? Like when you're reaching out to people, how do you try to come off so that you're just like, Hey man, I'm just here.
Josh Yost (19:05)
Mm-hmm.
Blake Hunter (19:20)
doing my job and I'm trying to help and I want to connect.
Josh Yost (19:24)
Yeah, well as you know, I haven't been in the business too terribly long, right? Like just over two years. And I kind of already spoke about how I got into the business, but honestly.
I envision myself sitting behind a desk, putting pieces of a puzzle together, crunching numbers, like that's what I thought 80 % of my job would be. Now that's the part I enjoy Blake. That is the part I believe I'm very good at. But what I didn't realize at first was those clients that you're working with, have to go out and find them. Like they don't just...
Blake Hunter (20:05)
Yeah,
they don't show up.
Josh Yost (20:05)
They don't just magically
show up in the office and say, Hey, Josh, can you help me? Like it is your job to go out and find them, which kind of segues me to what you're talking about with, you know, relationships, relationships. have found they're so important in our business, like to help one another out, right. to, find people that we can serve and to find people that we can help. Because I feel like a lot of people are intimidated.
Blake Hunter (20:09)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (20:36)
of us a little bit. Like, because it's such a large transaction, I don't know, it's hard to kind of establish that trust and convey to them like, hey, I'm a human being. I have a family just like you do. I'm here to help you. I really am here to help. I'm not here to deceive you. I'm truly here to help you achieve your goals. And sometimes that message is hard to get across. But Blake, just, I don't use scripts.
Blake Hunter (20:51)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (21:06)
I don't, I just try and be me. I just try and be authentic, genuine. I give everyone, you know, my personal cell, you know, to reach out at any time. I just try to establish a level of comfort with my clients, like almost like we're sitting in their living room or, at a bar, you know, wherever, you know? but another thing too, aside from clients, referral partners, right?
Blake Hunter (21:08)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (21:35)
That's a whole nother ball game, like how to approach them. And honestly, that's been, I would say one of my biggest obstacles because I feel like, you know, I just, like to use baseball analogies since I played baseball. just need, you need it at bats, right? You need it at bats opportunities, opportunities to be successful at the meat and potatoes part of the job, which is actually originating loans, but you can't originate loans without clients, right?
Blake Hunter (21:54)
opportunities.
Yeah.
Josh Yost (22:06)
And referral partners are huge in getting clients. But for me, and you know, if you've worked with me in the past, you know a little bit about me, you know how dedicated and hardworking I am toward the client. But if I don't get at bats or an opportunity to show, not tell, that's difficult. So, you know, how do I get in front of people? That's what I always thought about because like you mentioned cold calling. I don't know. I don't know if that's the answer, Blake.
And I can't say I blame people. call a realtor or a financial advisor and just introduce myself. Like if they've been in the business for a while, they already have a lender that they know and trust. So, and they're very busy. Our worlds are chaotic. So why would they want to give me Josh, you know, 30 minutes of their time to go grab coffee. So it can be frustrating, you know, and you're on the other side of it, right? So it can be frustrating for me.
Blake Hunter (22:58)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (23:06)
because there might just be a lack of response. And when I first started, would almost take it personally. Like, I would get mad.
Blake Hunter (23:12)
I just,
I mean, to me, there's no, I mean, I'm getting better, but I mean, I have to talk myself out of that quite a bit because I'm like, I mean, we were just talking about it the other day. It's like a perfect example. Like you have the same battles that I do, maybe just in different, a little bit different way, but it's like, you know, you're contacting somebody. It's even somebody that maybe even said, Hey, they even reach out to me. Maybe.
Josh Yost (23:30)
Right.
Blake Hunter (23:39)
or something along those lines. So you kind of have that introduction or anything like, hey, we're thinking about selling our house or we want to have a conversation about it. You know, we even had a mutual client that was like, planned to come into the office and all that stuff and they kept rescheduling. And I was like, okay. So you're thinking to yourself, what's, is it something that I'm doing or what's the deal? And then I'm like, then it just hit me. It's crazy. The things that just like, you don't see right away, but it's like,
I told you, I'm like, it's the same thing. have this guy from true green keeps calling me, calling me, calling me, calling me. And it's like, he just happens to call me like, right. It's always like right when I'm in the middle of something. And I'm like, I'm not in the place right now to talk about whether or not I want true green services in two months from now. And so I just don't answer the phone and that's probably not right. But then I'm like,
Josh Yost (24:32)
Yeah.
Blake Hunter (24:38)
That's, it's nothing against that guy. I 100 % respect his hustle. I know that, that they have a service that I could probably use, but I'm like, I just don't answer it. And I'm like, that's the same thing. It's like, if people aren't ready to go, then sometimes, and they have their own life going on. It's like, it's not top of mind. The last thing that they want right at that moment is be like, yeah, let's go in and talk about all this stuff. has nothing to do with me. It's just the service part of it.
Josh Yost (24:45)
They're working hard.
Blake Hunter (25:08)
And so you got to be patient. You got to wait for people, but it's funny when they flip that switch, then it's like, it's go time and you better be ready to do it because now they're ready to go. They have something they want to see. They're wanting to make sure they're pre-approved or whatever it is. And so it's just a, there's so many businesses. That's why I want to talk about this today is because I know that there's some listeners that are either real other real estate agents or lenders or that are in sales roles.
And they're trying to grow their business and have that like growth mindset, but they get set back a lot because they blame themselves or they take things personally. And it's like, all you got to do is just keep looking for those opportunities. And if you can have a few balls up in the air, have some opportunities come in, then eventually those things will start turning into the meat and potato side of things where you start making some money.
Josh Yost (26:02)
Absolutely. And I think too, like...
To earn people's trust or just to simply make an impression. I feel like first impressions are big for me and you can't really, you can't make a first impression via a phone call or a text, right? Especially if it's a true cold-caller text where they don't know you from Adam. So one of the things that I find is a good tool to use is to find a mutual connection with that person because people...
will take meetings or people will have a conversation with people they trust. And they might not trust you yet, but they might trust that mutual connection, if that makes sense. So you're a true green guy. Would it be any different if this guy called you and said like, hey, I just did, you know, provided lawn care for so-and-so or your neighbor? Okay, that doesn't...
Blake Hunter (26:58)
Your neighbor, they do that. They literally be like, I just talked to Kevin down the road. Yeah.
They know what they're doing. Yeah. Or the bug guys, the bug guys that walk around or they're like, look, we've signed up, you know, Barb down the street, she just signed up and you're like, okay, you know, our neighborhood.
Josh Yost (27:05)
Does it sway you?
Well, maybe it doesn't work for lawn care in a way. But I found if you can find a mutual connection that someone trusts, they're more apt to at least, you know, sit down, have a conversation with you. And also, you know, if a phone call text isn't working, be present in the community. Like, that's a big deal. Like, go to networking. If there's an
Blake Hunter (27:21)
No, I mean that
Yeah.
Josh Yost (27:44)
for from the lending perspective, if there's an open house and you've been trying to meet with a realtor and they're hosting, pop in, say hi, you know, bring a bottle of water, do something, you know, there's so many like networking events going on that, you know, show up, be present, right? Because then you can make a first impression because you can tell so much Blake by people's body language, like
Blake Hunter (27:51)
Good time. Yeah.
Yeah. Well, and that's.
Josh Yost (28:13)
If they're good person, if they can hold a conversation, do they smile? And you can kind of gauge if they're someone you'd be willing to sit down and talk with or potentially partner with in the future, right? It's hard to do that over phone or over text.
Blake Hunter (28:24)
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean,
that's why I do this. know, it's like, think, you know, implementing the video side of things. I mean, there's all the things that we do, you know, that are not even necessarily like business, business down to the meat and potatoes. I really like that analogy is like, you're creating content, you're going to network events, you're going to ribbon cutting, you know, whatever it is, you're doing all this stuff. And I mean, that's why I do this.
Josh Yost (28:34)
Yeah.
Blake Hunter (28:59)
I feel like it gives people the opportunity to get to know me a little bit that are interested and it's not pushed on anybody. That's why I go to a networking meeting every week and what's great about that is yes, I get to network with those people that are members of that group, but also that group is great for that one connection away. It's like, hey, do you happen, I know you know so and so. mean, there was a guy actually last week,
perfect example is there was a guy on Facebook, made a Facebook post and he's like, hey, I'm looking for a real estate agent for a friend of mine that's moving into town. Do you have any recommendations? Just put it on Facebook. And I'm not even friends with the guy, but I had someone tag me in it and I knew some people that he knew. And so I reached out to those people and I was like, hey, I see so-and-so's looking for an agent. I don't know him that well.
but if you would, would you reach out to him and say, hey, Blake would be a good contact for you? And those are the introductions that I like. It's like, coming shooting from the hip, trying to contact somebody. You have so much to establish to build trust and to do all those things and you have that little bit of warm connection helps things tremendously.
Josh Yost (30:07)
Absolutely.
That mutual connection,
yep.
Blake Hunter (30:23)
And I heard a quote the other day, I don't even remember where I heard it, but I'm like, keep, this keeps coming into my head every day now. And then, you know, the quote was, it's not what you know, it's who you know. But the new quote that I heard is it's not what you know, it's not who you know, it's who knows you. And I'm like, that makes sense, man. That makes sense. Yeah. And I'm like, so my job is to just do what I do.
Josh Yost (30:44)
I gotta write that down. Taking notes now, yeah?
Blake Hunter (30:54)
and spread that word as much as possible and ask my group of people to do that and those people will come.
So yeah, that's, I don't know, I find that stuff so interesting because that's what I think about all the time. It's like that is the growth part of our business and the longer that you're in it, the more business you do. It's like nurturing the people that trusted you with their business. I I think about that all the time too is I'm like so grateful for people even though that.
Like I had people tell me like, Hey, thank you so much. Like it was such an easy, like you made it so much easier for us. You did a good job and like that's all fine and dandy. But I think about it sometimes like months after and I'm like, man, those people put a ton of trust in me and they had a lot of other options. And that part of it is like the, what I really feel is the best part of this business is like those people respected you enough and trusted you knew what you were doing to
let you handle that. And I love that pressure. That's like what makes this fun for me, which is maybe sick, but it's what's fun about it.
Josh Yost (32:11)
Yeah
No, but I think too Blake, you made a good point there because people don't work with you because you're with whatever company, you're with BHHS, they don't work with me because I'm with Churchill. That helps in some ways, but they work with you for you, you know, for you as a person because they know they can trust you and you're gonna provide them with
Superior service take the stress off them place it on yourself because at end of the day our goal Is to allow them to achieve their goals with as little stress possible because we both know Transactions can be stressful at times. There's a lot of obstacles and you kind of want to take that burden on yourself But we got to be honest with her there's there's a lot of good realtors out there
at different brokerages in Omaha. There's a lot of great lenders out there in Omaha. It doesn't really matter. the end of the day, does it matter the company that you're under per se? No, like I guarantee you past clients might remember they work with Josh Joe's did the lender was their lender or Blake Hunter was their realtor, but they might not remember who you worked for. your company, right? Because you're the face. You are
Blake Hunter (33:36)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Josh Yost (33:41)
their number one point of contact. And so I think that can be the most difficult part sometimes is just establishing that that trust, you know, because at the end of the day, we truly want everyone wants the same thing, a successful transaction and for for our mutual clients to meet their goals. I mean, that that's that's the number one priority, right? So, yeah.
Blake Hunter (34:07)
Yeah.
Josh Yost (34:10)
It gets pretty deep, Blake. It really does. But at the same time, how do you separate yourself? Right? How do you separate yourself from the hundreds of other people that do the same thing? Like Blake, I know personally that you do a great job and I can vouch for you and maybe you could do the same, but how do get that message out? Like, you know, that you truly, you're ready to grind for somebody. You're ready to guide them, educate them, help them.
to achieve their goals and you truly mean it. Because honestly, everyone's gonna say that, right? Everyone in that business is gonna say that and we know we can actually do it. How do you get that, you know, it's tough getting that message across sometimes.
Blake Hunter (34:46)
Yeah.
Yeah,
I think, you know, I had Rich Bales on the podcast a couple weeks ago and he was also in the medical device sales industry for a while and is in insurance now. And so he was talking about, you know, that value proposition and how do you get that across. And, you know, I think about that a lot. It's hard to even put that. I don't think that it is, you know, I always used to think that there was
there was words that you had to say and that's what got you that value proposition. But I think it's really just in how you live your life. It's like, okay, I see that that person is doing this and doing this. They volunteer. I see them at the gym. It doesn't all have to be like crazy weird positive stuff, but it's like, that's a normal person that I can relate to.
Josh Yost (35:49)
Yeah.
Blake Hunter (35:52)
It goes to, they helped somebody that I knew. There's just so many things that express that value proposition and it's not necessarily just, hey, I can do this, this, and this. It's when that person comes and meets with you, you know what they're about from observing them. And so I think that's like, I'm like the better version of me,
The best version of me is what I need to be. And then the rest of it just, I don't have to preach that value proposition if I'm the best version of Blake.
Josh Yost (36:30)
Exactly. mean, obviously, you know, communication, showing empathy is important, showing that you care. Yeah, because it can be stressful, right? And for me, I want to get to know the person, you know, on a personal level, because there's so much more things than just the transaction. It's how that transaction might
Blake Hunter (36:41)
That helps, yeah.
Josh Yost (36:58)
impact other areas of their life too, you know?
Blake Hunter (37:02)
Yeah,
well, it's so much more fun. I mean, we got to do, we're making a living. It's what we do. You know, I mean, we have the same bills to pay as everybody else, you know, all the things. But like, it's like, if I'm to go out and spend all this time with these people, I'd rather like know them. I mean, I'd rather get to know them and I'd rather have fun while I'm doing it. It's a serious deal. Like things need to be taken seriously and
Josh Yost (37:05)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Blake Hunter (37:31)
professionally, but.
Why not make it enjoyable? I mean, we have that option. That's what's great about it. It's like there's a lot of jobs. You're going to show up, you're going to work eight to five. You know what you're going to do the next day, every day, Monday through Friday, day after day. And this job, I mean, I couldn't tell you where I'm going to end up. I mean, I have an idea where I'm going to end up later today, but that could change. And you know,
Have a walkthrough this afternoon. Who knows what's gonna happen at the walkthrough. Hopefully nothing, but it's like You never know man. You honestly never know what's gonna happen and that's what's fun and like I like treating it that way
Josh Yost (38:15)
Absolutely, and it goes back to the point we made earlier like is buying a house a transaction? Yes, but what you just described Doesn't seem transactional. It's more built on relationships, right and How rewarding is it though Blake to get to get to the closing table like all the work we put in to see You know our clients goals come true. I mean the other day
It blew me away. So I was working with a client for over over a year over a year She had previously been under contract the deal fell through because the seller had a change of heart and It kind of you know was very discouraging Yeah, it was I know it was just discouraging for her, but she I could just tell how badly she wanted to be a homeowner, right she
Blake Hunter (38:58)
That doesn't happen a lot. The buyers usually do, but...
Josh Yost (39:11)
She worked hard, single mom, like put in a ton of work and she recently got under contract, closed on a home. It was in November. And again, you know, I like to maintain relationships after the transaction. So I had, had texted her, it was in early January, just to see how everything was going. And she made a comment like, Josh, I just, I want to thank you so much. I never thought that I would be able to host Christmas in my own home.
family. And I was just like, you know, think about that every day. But just hearing that from a past client, it just reinforces everything we do and why we do it. Right. Because at the end of the day, yeah, are we providing putting food on the table for our families and it's what we do for a living? Yeah, it is. But to just know where we can have an impact in people's lives. Right. like that makes the grind worth it. That's what's motivating.
Blake Hunter (39:42)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Josh Yost (40:10)
It makes me get up and enjoy coming to work every day. So, yeah.
Blake Hunter (40:14)
Yeah.
Well, I was going to get into like some actual lending stuff today, but I feel like we covered a much more valuable topic when it comes to real estate and all the things. And if you want to talk to Josh about those things, reach out to me. I can hook you up with Josh. Reach out to Josh directly. Josh, Josh Yoast at Churchill mortgage. Josh offices in,
Omaha, but can help Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas people, Kansas native got us to, you know, help those people down there. unfortunately I can not help you in Kansas, but I can help you in Iowa and Nebraska. I'm sure Josh can, help you find somebody down there, but thank you so much, man. Love talking to you. I always, feel like, you know, you, you understand it and sometimes you got to have somebody that you can.
Josh Yost (40:47)
Yep. That's right.
Absolutely.
Blake Hunter (41:13)
kind of bounce things off of to get it off your back because it's it can be taxing at times as you know.
Josh Yost (41:18)
Yeah.
Absolutely. Thanks for being that guy for me, Blake. Thanks for having me on.
Blake Hunter (41:26)
Sounds good, dude. I'll talk to you soon. We'll talk about those DSCR loans here in the future. We'll have you back on the pod or we can talk about all the other good things that you have to offer. So talk soon, man.
Josh Yost (41:35)
All right.
Absolutely.
Appreciate it Blake.