Loan Officer Success Live

This episode is all gas, no brakes. Host Devin Dubuc and co-host Gretchen Shelton sit down with Michael Frey, founder of Armada Real Estate, who’s taking over the Florida market from Naples to Miami and beyond.

From commercial to residential, Michael drops raw truth on what it really takes to win in today’s market: no gimmicks, no shortcuts, just hustle, transparency, and putting clients first. He shares how to lead by example, why agents should never “niche themselves broke,” and how he’s building a groundbreaking real estate app designed to flip the industry on its head.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

Why restricting yourself to one lane can kill your business
The mindset shift that turns small deals into big wins
How honesty with clients creates long-term success
Why communication is non-negotiable for building trust
The vision behind Michael’s new real estate tech platform

If you’re ready to cut the excuses and learn how top producers actually scale, this is the episode for you.

Connect with Michael:
Michael Frey
(239) 246-4483
Michael@ArmadaTeam.com
www.armadateam.com

#LOS.Live #LoanOfficerSuccessLive #PremierLending #RealEstateHustle #ArmadaRealEstate #ThinkBigger #PlayToWin #MortgageAndRealEstate #TopProducerPlaybook #LevelUpLO

Creators and Guests

Host

Devin Dubuc

Coach. Dreamer. Dad. Helping you own your worth and go after what sets your soul on fire🔥

What is Loan Officer Success Live?

This isn’t another sales tips podcast.
This is LOS.LIVE - where mortgage and real estate pros come to master modern growth without the burnout.

Hosted by Devin Dubuc, LOS.LIVE is a deep dive into the psychology, strategy, and systems that build legacy-driven businesses in today’s market. Whether you're a high-performing loan officer, a rising agent, or an entrepreneur scaling fast—you’ll learn how to attract clients, grow income, and lead with brand, not brute force.

Real conversations. Tactical playbooks. No cold-call bro-hype. Just clarity, confidence, and creative firepower.

You don’t need a script. You need a strategy. Welcome to LOS.LIVE.

Social Media Links:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/los.live.hub/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/los.live.hub
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@los_live

Premier Lending, Inc.
13850 Ballantyne Corporate Place Ste #380
Charlotte, NC 28277
NMLS #238143

Disclaimer: The information is intended to be viewed for informational purposes only. The content contained herein is not guaranteed or endorsed by the company, or any company mentioned, nor is this content meant to be an offer of credit. The information contained in this video may not be wholly or at all applicable to every situation or jurisdiction. You are strongly encouraged to consult your professional mortgage advisor before acting upon any information in this video. The information provided is for use as a training tool only. The information is not intended, nor should it be relied upon for any other purpose.

Welcome to Loan Officer Success Live, sponsored by Premier Lending.The show where the mortgage industry's top players pull back the curtain.Your host, Devin DeBuke, sits down with industry leaders, top producers, and game changing mortgage tech innovators, all sharing their unfiltered strategies, bold ideas, and proven secrets for success.Get ready to take notes, think bigger, and play to win, because this is Loan Officer Success Live.Talk about think bigger.Man, you know -we've got somebody pretty special on here today.You know, we've brought on returning co-host, Gretchen Shelton and, uh, she brought in Michael Frye, Armada Real Estate, down in South Florida.Uh, Michael is dominating the Naples-Fort Myers market.He's also over on the East Coast as well, in Fort Lauderdale, Miami area.And, man, we are just super, super excited to have you on today.Uh, thank you so much for joining us, Michael.Hey, and thanks for letting me come.Yeah, we're expanding pretty heavily.In fact, I'm also in negotiations, uh, talking to Sarasota, Tampa and Jacksonville.keeping our fingers crossed.Watch out Florida, here Michael comes.And, uh, I know we talked a little bit in the green room before we jumped on, uh, both residential and com- commercial as well, correct?Yeah, my- my forte is commercial but, I say in general, agents shouldn't be restricting themselves.Everybody wants to have their little niche."I do luxury," or, "I do homes between 500 and 6 800,000."And to me, um, I like the business aspect of commercial, but residential puts food on your table.Mm-hmm.And anybody who's an agent that restricts themselves to one particular genre, unless they have this monster, monster book of- book of revenue and business, they really should not be so myopic.Yeah.I- I love that concept, right?At the end of the day, you know, we've got to make sure that, uh, we're- we're- we're- we're bringing that revenue in.And if what we're- we're limiting ourselves to isn't moving the needle, right?Open up your spectrum a little bit and make sure, uh, that, uh, you've got multiple streams of revenue.I think, uh, most great entrepreneurs do, right Michael?Exactly.I mean, you know, I- I once had some agents, you know, 'cause I- I give leads to all my agents, and I had one refuse a- a $25,000 lot.I took it over, I made a couple thousand dollars, and I announced to the agents, uh, "If I gave you $2,000 to work for a few hours, uh, uh, would you, would you take that opportunity?"And they all said yes.And I said, "If you ever, ever refuse a vacant lot deal from me again, you will be off the leads."My man, yeah.Uh, uh, look, at the end of the day, the- the best part about that whole story is, you led by example, right?You know, you- you've got some monster clients out there, you do some really big business, uh, but there's no client, right, that you're gonna refuse, because at the end of the day, they deserve your ser- your service.And, uh, what a great lesson to teach your team.Exactly.I mean, it's justYou know, it's very simple.What's the goal?The goal is to close deals.I don't care if the transactions are $10,000 or $10 1000000.Your job as a realtor is to close deals.And if you restrict yourself, you don't close as many deals.Yeah, yeah.I love that idea.Well, you know, let's take this back a little bit because we know where you're at right now, and, uh, uh, that's Naples, Florida area.But, uh, where are you from originally?Is Florida your- your- your home state?No, um, I'm born and raised in New York.Uh, if I get a couple little bit drinks in me or a couple New Yorkers come around me, the- my-the hood comes back out.Um, so yeah, I was born and raised on Long Island.I've been down in Florida, in the Southwest Florida area, for just over 20 years.Um, or years, depending on, you know, where- where you're from.Okay.And, uh, I've been doing real estate down here, uh, private equities, commercial, residential for 20 years.And, um, just ex- enjoying, enjoying the market.I love that, man.I love that.Well, you being down here in Texas, I gotta say, New York City.That's right.So, uh, so let's- let's talk about this a little bit.So you moved to the South Florida market 20 years ago.Were you a realtor, uh, back then?Was this what you, uh, had aspired to be?Or where'd you get your start?No, honestly, uh, I was a private entrepreneur, so I did real estate, but not as a realtor.IAnd 20 years ago, I bought and sold, um, commercial and residential buildings with agents.Um, just did entrepreneur business activities.Yeah.And, um, eventually got tired of, honestly, agents screwing up deals.Mm-hmm.And I saw how people were commission hungry, um, you know, when they would not give me a good analysis of a- of a particular property.And finally, you know, my wife's like, "Go get your real estate license."Right?Yeah.You know?I hate to say it, it's funny, um, real estate, as far as a- a- a type of vocation, believe it or not, I despised most of the agents.I was very picky working with very specific people because, honestly, I thought in general, most agents are door openers, they're lazy, they don'tThey only want to work certain hours.I never understood that type of work ethic, you know?I bring a northeastern mentality, so to speak- Yeah.where we work hard.I will call people on a Sunday at 8:30.I'm not gonna call them at 11:30 at night, but I will call someone at 7:30, 8:30 at night to make sure the deal's right, or make sure do they have the information I've sent them, or are they staying up on their contract, did they make their escrow.You know, I don't, I don't shut the time clock off at, you know, 5 o'clock.I mean, it disgusts me when I see in, you know, in the listings in MLS where they say, uh, uh, "Only respond between 8:00 and 5:00."Who- does that?We're not running a candy store.We're running a, a real estate company.And this mindset of, we'll just say working half-cocked, is notit's not a good ethic.It's not a way of making revenue, and building a business, and being a good reputation.Mm-hmm.You know?And I think at this point in my career, when I make a phone call people know there's a deal coming.Yeah.You know?Uh, I don't, I don't take things lightly.I take things very serious.I don't care if the deal's 10,000 or 10 1000000, everybody gets treated the same and I work each deal just as hard.Well, amen to that, right?And, you know, last time I looked we're in the people business and, you know, it's all about building great relationships and, uh, helping people find the right people to trust.And there's no question as to how you built that reputation.I can feel it in the passion, the way you speak, right?Um, but, uh, you know, what I always like to talk about is, you know, people always say when people are buying real estate it's their most expensive purchase.And that's true, right?But it's more than that.It goes way deeper than that, right?Because this is the place where we spend the majority of our time.It's where we break bread, it's where we spend holidays, and have our good times and our bad times in.And, like, when we're putting that type of, of, like, precious thing in control of somebody else, right?It's scary sometimes.And when the person doesn't pick up the phone on the other side of that transaction, right, the person that's supposed to be there to represent them and to guide them through, right, what kind of service are they truly providing?And so, I couldn't agree with you more with everything that you just said because that's really what it's all about, is providing a service to where the people can trust you.And it's no question as to why you're having success, Michael, because that's exactly what you do.Now let's frame that and back in a little bit, because sometimes you get new agents that are just getting started and they wanna know, you know, "Well, how do I get there?"Right?So, you flashed backwards 20 years ago and you recognized that people weren't really doing this business right.What did that road look like to getting to where you are today, right?And that'sthere's a long road there.So, I- I'd love to hear a little bit about that.Well, honestly, you know, we've all made our mistakes, right?You know, I would say early on in my career, um, s- sometimes you allowed, like, when you first started actually becoming an agent, not just doing deals, right, a different mindset.You tried to please too manyMm-hmm.Right?And you can't, you can't have that yes a- attitude.And especially right now with this economy- That's right.where it's a heavy buyer's market, uh, you know, sellers are really getting hurt depending on where they decided to buy the house and now that they're trying to sell the house.You have to eliminate that yes and be honestly very, very serious, very stringent, and basically tell peopleFor example, here's a great example.I just refused a $1.5 million listing-right?I didn't want to, but the client, I'm sitting with them, I'm showing them the where things are unfortunately closing at, right?Well, say, 20 years ago I would have took that in a heartbeat.Now, mind you, 20 years ago is a different market, but-we're just gonna compare apples to apples, right?I completely agree.20 years ago I would, I would say yes right away, regardless of the market.Yeah.Right?"Yes, I'll be happy to take that listing.Ooh, I got a, I got a $1.5 million listing.That's fantastic."In this market right now, I was straight up, I said, "Listen, if we have to go down to $1.2 1000000, are you gonna be able to li- go down that far?"Yeah, are you prepared?I'm showing that person where, unfortunately, things are closing at.You know, in the future, you know, in the past when we were doing comps, we were like, you know, we're looking at what's out on the market and how can we just undercut the market?But in reality right now, when it's a heavy buyer's market and sellers are getting basically, we'll just say, much lower offers than they've even thought of- They are.I actually change it where I'm showing them where everything's closing at in the last 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days and showing trends.And if they're not willing to go down, I'm not wasting my time and energy.I'll t- And I told them, I said, "Listen.I'll list your property for $1.5 1000000, but here's what's gonna happen.You're gonna pay for every single expense that I need."And they said, "Why?"I said, "Because if you're not willing to go down to $1.2, I'm not willing to put in the money to put the effort in to get this house sold."Because we'll sell the house.I said, "Do IWill it get to $1.2?"I don't know that, but if you look at where everything is closing right now, it may get to $1.2 unfortunately.Well, uh, I think it's more than that, Michael.It, it's not that you're not willing to do it.It's that you're not willing to put them in that position and set them up for failure, right?Sure.And, you know, at the end of the day, that's exactly what it's doing, is letting the seller right now guide the transaction and say, "But this is what I gotta have."That's, that's not gonna work.It's not a strategy to get homes moved off the market.And, you know, you could walk around in most parts of the country, not all.There's some markets that are super healthy right now and homes are moving, but most markets in the country today are struggling to move properties.I drive down my own block and I see 10 homes on the market and unfortunately 2 of them just pulled off last week, right?Why?Because they were marketed way too high to move in, in today's economy.Um, I had an agent recently, I had a, an investment property, uh, in Kansas, it's where I'm from originally, and I had it on the market with a good friend of mine who, you know, I trust, right?Uh, however, it sat longer than it should have.And what I found was he wasn't giving me the news that I needed to hear, the things that you're talking about, Michael.And so I had to pull that off market and transition it over to another agent and she told me exactly what I needed to hear."Devin, the reason your house isn't moving is because there's a new development around the corner and these homes are actually larger, newer, uh, and they're selling for $20,000 less than where you're at right now.And ultimately, uh, they're not in as nice of an area, but it doesn't change the fact, if I can get more square footage and extra bedroom for $20,000 less, that's where I'm going."Right?So- Especially at certain price points, you're right.That's it.So funny how that works.We make the change to the strategy and literally within a month, the home is sold, off the market, cash offer, boom, done and done, right?Um, no magic trick there.Just hard facts and the truth.Uh, I mean, I had that exact same experience.Uh, weI had a client, we met with them, this nice Latin couple.Uh, I am bilingual, which does help.Um, and we're sitting there talking and originally, you know, heA- and once again, uh, the reason why I listed it at, at 345 initially is only because they were willing to go down if need to.'Cause I told them, I showed them, just like you said, I said, "Listen."Mm-hmm."Here is brand new homes on the market," like you just said, "same square foot, maybe even larger, for less than 300."But I said, "Let's give it a few weeks."We got a bu- we actually, believe it or not, got a bunch of showings, 'cause it is a nice piece of property.They, they had a bigger piece of land, but honestly, at the end of the day, uh, then they finally said, "We need to sell it."I said, "Okay."We listed it at 300, we don't budge.In one week, I got it sold.How'd that happen?What'd we do?We, we got it to that price point, but fortunately, initially they were willing to listen.Wow.And that's the key thing that agents have toThey can't be afraid to tell the truth, right?That's right.Right now, knock on wood, um, I'm designing a real estate app that I believe will be a better way to negotiate real estate around the country.That's great.Um, it's basically a combination, in simple terms, Zillow meets Facebook meets, uh, Angie's List, all in one platform.And I've been spending a lot of time, money, and energy, uh, in creating this app, uh, with software companies.And, um, you haveThe thing about my app is 100% full disclosure, and that's the issue with the whole NAR settlement, right?That's it.You can, you can post commissions on my app.You can have a full conversation.And I think agents really need to do that.They really need to go and state to other clients, "This is the truth."And you know, it's that joke, you know, you can't handle the truth, right?But in real estate, if you're the seller- You can't handle the truth.Exactly.You need to handle the truth.If you're a seller, you need to understand where the market is-where we're at.I mean, my own parents asked me to sell their house, I told 'em, "We can't."Unfortunately, they bought it a long time ago in around 2008, 2009 when the move- the market was huge.And believe or not, over the last 20 years, it's almost at the same point.Oh.Ouch.Ouch.Hey, guys- That's hard-if you're listening in too, and you like what Michael's saying, you know, go over to his Instagram page and follow him.Again, an app that's gonna help move real estate and price homes properly.Uh, this is something we need out there.And if you're an advocate for that kinda thing, and I think there's a lot of people out there right now, not just agents, but homeowners, right, that are looking at, "Who can I trust to help market my property?"uh, go check out Michael's page and make sure you like and subscribe it.Uh, and feel free to comment and DM, right?Like, that's what it's all about is, uh, you know, communicating with each other.Michael, I- I'd- probably like to say, you- you're not afraid to take a question or 2, are you?Never.I mean, honestly, eh, for the people out there, I'm looking for partners.Any big mortgage companies, title companies wants to be preferred on that app, you know, we have ways of buying, uh, you know, stock- stock percentages and be contributors.So, I'm- I'm ready to take this to the next level.In fact, part of my software, I own a software company, part of my software company in- is in Europe.And we're actually, our 4year plan is we're designing a better type of MLS system in Europe.Oh.We have some bigIn a perfect world, if things keep going 'cause it is very expensive, um, if we go in this direction, this could be sky's the limit.We'll just- Yeah.Begin dreaming.Right?Dream big.Well, let's go.Yeah, that's why we wanted to bring you over here, you know?And I know Gretchen, um, you know, you were super excited, you know, when Michael said he'd join us because you are doing some big things out there.And a lot of people already know who you are, but man, you know, we just wanna spread the word.When we know good people that are doing big things, you know, this is a- a space for us to share that out there, right?Uh- And Gretchen's been a great lender.You know, I've talked to her a few time.She's always picking up the phone.She answers texts.I mean, this is huge for me.You know, I don't deal with people who don't communicate.I really don't.I have 0 tolerance for people who can't return a text or can't return a phone call.'Cause I'm busier than most people and if I can return it, you can.And if you can't- Amen.I just won't do business with you.I just have 0 tolerance.Amen to that.Thank you.So- Let's go- let's get some word of advice out there, Michael, right?I mean, this is an interesting market.And let's talk to our- our homeowners, right?What would you tell a homeowner right now that wants to, you know, consider moving their property?They wanna- they wanna sell, right?H- h- how do they go about doing that in today's economy, you know, where we're at in- in, uh, real estate today?Well, first of all, if they're in Florida, they can call me.Um, but- but realistically, the agent really has to do a good job, right?Not only do they need to understand where the homeowner first bought their house for, right?You know, you- you need to understand your starting point.More importantly, you also need to know are they mortgage free, right?Are they debt-free or not?Because you have to equate, right?I have another saying that I'm working on copyrighting is basically people lie, math doesn't.And it's a fact, right?There's only one way of 2 +2 equals 4, doesn't mean- I say it all the time.4 +4 equal 3.9. So, people lie, math doesn't.And you always have to make the math make sense.Yeah.That's pretty much it, right?For example, if they bought a house at 400,000, right?And they're paying the minimum, that house in 30 years is really about $600,000 or $700,000, right?Over the course of a 30-year mortgage, and of course- Yep.you guys are lenders, you can tell us exactly down to the penny what that would be.But we're just, you know, we're just- we're just talking right now.So, we have to understand where that client bought the house at, where they're at, do they have equity, do they not have equity?Right.They could be a minimum payment and on this $400,000 house, after 10 years, they missed a little $300,000.That's right.So, when we go to then sell, we need to know what the end game is.Because if they think they're gonna sell this house for $400,000, they have $300,000 left on their mortgage, and you're gonna sell it for $500,000, you know, you're gonna listen, you're gonna end up with 100, maybe on a good day, uh, $80,000 left- Mm-hmm.to do what?Yeah.Another down payment for a home?That's about it.Yeah.Well, and what you're talking about, Michael, is strategy, right?And it's, it's about listening to your clients, hearing what their needs are, and then, setting down and looking at the math, because as you said, right, the numbers don't lie.And hey, let's talk about this.Is this going to get you where you really wanna be?And I think a lot of people, agents, are afraid to do that because they don't wanna blow the listing, right?Mm-hmm.But you could also be taking that client down a rabbit hole that's gonna lead them to failure, leave you with egg on your face, and not accomplish what everybody came to the party to do, right?Which is- Ugh.get a home sold.So- People don't realize, like this is, this is a cancel culture, right?Mm-hmm.So, let's take it to an even extreme.So, an even extreme is, say this person came to you, right?And we'll just use the same scenario.It's a $400,000 house.And you tell them we can sell it for $600,000.And at the end of the day, they end up with this $80,000 left to do something and they can't even buyYou don't think they're gonna blast you on social media, on your website, on Google reviews and- Right.all these kind of things?I mean, you, you have to consider the power of people now, the power of digital marketing.Right.You know?Everybody's a marketer.Everybody's the news.20, 20, 30 years ago, wasn't a big deal, right?Now, when everybody just can type anything they want on the internet, on a Google review, on a, on a social media, uh, you know, you have to takeI take every situation very seriously because at the end of the day, not only do I wanna do a good job, I always wanna leave my clients profitable, but also at the end of the day, I want them to be happy.I want them to leave a nice review.I want them to refer to myself, my team, or my company.And more importantly, I want them to refer their friends, their family, even their enemies.And you say, "Well, why would they refer your enemies?"And you say, "Well, guess what?"You can say, "Well, I got some money off your enemies."So, guess what?I'm always making deals.And that's the end of the day.The end of the day is to do a good job- Mm-hmm.make your clients profitable, and keep a solid reputation.Well, let's go back to where you started, Michael.You started, I said, 20 years ago, uh, I was, you know, in the investment side of the business and I was frustrated with the level of service that I was being provided, right?And that's why you got in the industry in the first place, and then, flash forward to today and exactly what you hated is exactly the opposite of who you are, right?Mm-hmm.You're out there representing your people with everything that you needed in a realtor, right?And now, you're out there doing it for folks.And again, it's no surprise as to why you've had so much success in your business because you're providing value, you're telling people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.And that's what people really need, right?Like, we've gotta have someone who's gonna give us a plan that's gonna get us where we wanna go, but we can't do it with BS, right?BS gets nobody anywhere.No, it doesn't do anyoneAnd it's not even just that.It's not even just like how you should explain yourself.It's also how I want my, I wanted to be treated as a new agent, right?I'll never forget, like my first time I joined this company and, and I'm learning about splits, right?And they say 'cause you're a brand new agent, you have 5 deals at, at 40%.I lose 40%, right?Mm-hmm.And I remember like, I was fine because I was still green.I knew how to do real estate.I knew how to buy real estate, right?I knew how to buy, do transactions, do private equity, do all that stuff, but I wasn't in the actual grind of a realtor, right?So, this is fine.I'll, I'll accept this and we'll see how it goes, right?So, after like a month or so, I'm already doing deals on my own as I usually do.I have my own book.And I finally pulled them both in a room and I said, both the broker and my mentor, and I said, "What am I getting for 40%?"I said, "You haven't helped me close deals.I don't understand what I'm"He's like, "Well, that's what I get."I said, "But what"I said, "I don't mind paying you $10,000 a month if I'm getting what I'm getting.I, I don't understand what I'm getting for 40% of my revenue."And, um, they said, "Well, if you think"I got all upset."I've been doing this 12 years."I said-I don't care if you've been doing 20 years.You're not giving me the tools to justify me giving you- Right.I've been a consultant all around the globe.I don't charge 40%.Well, I- I'm glad- So, a couple weeks later said, "Forget it.Thank you.You know who's best at being my own boss?Myself."Mm.There it is.So, I went, I joined my partner.Uh, we started with 8 agents, went up to now we're over 40, 48 agents.Wow.On the East Coast, Next Coast.We're- I'm already looking at, you know, like I said- International?So, you're doing stuff internationally?Jacksonville.Let's start with Florida.Let's, you know, because honestly, you get too big too fast, and you lose sight of the big picture, right?So, to me as an agent, and I got on a little tangent, but to me as an agent, I wanted, you know, it's okay to give splits.Like, we, we have a 80/20 split, and I give my agents everything, because I don't want them to have to come out of pocket.I pay for the CRM, business cards, photo shoots, the website.Wow.I pay for the street signs.I pay for everything in that 80/20.Value on value on value.I want them to work.I want you to work.I'm showing them value.I give them leads, paid leads, that I pay 20 grand a month out of my own pocket, that I was giving my agents leads.And that's when I got upset because- Yeah.you understand, like, if I'm paying for these leads, you're not working them, it's costing me money.That's right.So, uh, I'll never forget, one of my agents thought, "Oh, I started closing deals.Can I get a better split?"And I said, "Okay."Listen, we're all about negotiating.Yeah.I said, "This section where you want your splits costs me $5,000 a month."I said, "How much are you gonna contribute to the leads?"And of course there's a quiet on the phone.And he's like, "Well, what do you mean?"I said, "If you want more splits, you gotta have skin in the game."I said, "You want an extra 10%?It's gonna cost you $2,500 a month to split that with me 50/50.I'll even give you 20%I said, "I will take 10% off every one of your deals if you pay $2,500 a month."He said, "Well, that's a lot of money."I said, "Ah.""When it's not coming out of your pocket, it's no big deal to not work the leads.But if it's coming out of your pocket-" That's right." it's a big surprise."Well, you know, I, I love that you said that, Michael.We talk about this all the time with just coaching in general, right?Uh, we're big advocates of, of coaching our teams, but also getting coaching.And what we found is that the individuals that go out and they, they get the coaching for free, they don't value it, right?Huh.And at the end of the day, what we find with that is they don't take action, right?They just go, they show up, they listen.Sometimes they don't even show up.And at the end of the day, you know, maybe they do it, maybe they don't, right?But the folks that actually get vested and put some skin in the game, right, that actually put something out of their own pocket, those are the ones that actually take advantage and go out and actually do the work and take the action.And that's what you're talking about here, right, is sometimes- 100%.Yeah.It's gotta get real scary.You gotta spend money that really hurts to recognize why you need to do something.Uh, and that's what takes you from here to there.I had a great conversation with somebody the other day, and he said that when he first got invested in coaching, he said his first couple of months, uh, he wasn't really following it.And he said by the third month, the coach set him aside and he said, "Look, I don't need your money."He's like, "A lot of coaches, they wouldn't tell you that."He's like, "I don't need your money."He's like, "If you're not gonna do this," he's like, "why are you wasting the money?"Yeah.He's like, "This is an awful lot of cash, and you're just wasting it away."And he said it was the slap across the face that he needed, right?And that was when he got vested in.Today, he's one of the best loan officers in his market, uh, and, and runs a team and branch just like you do, right?Why is that?Because somebody took the time to slap him across the face with a hard dose of reality and said, "Hey, you gotta put your skin in the game, but if you're gonna do that, do something with it."Right?Mm-hmm.And, uh, here you are saying, "Hey, I'll split with you, no problem."Let me show you a peek behind the curtains.Let me show you what the wizard looks like."Right?"And if you really want it, let's go.Let's do it."I have no problems giving stuff away.I do it all day long in all my deals.Here's a perfect example.Uh, it was a- it was, uh, just a- a half a million dollar condo, uh, maybe a little bit more.I think it was- I think it was 665, and this is, like, 6 6, 7 months ago.My buyer wanted to pay no more that 580, right?And when I said, "Cash offer, closed, 3 weeks as is, 580," m- my- the agent texts me and says, "Could you get him to go up to 600 so we don't have to split, uh, reduce our commissions?"I said, "No, I won't."I said, "How about this?I'll go from 3% to 2%.""You get- you sign the contract today."I gave away 1% so we can get the deal done.My man.Right?And she did.And the funny part is, i- irony is great, right?So when I- when they went and signed me the commission agreement, like, weeks later, they sent me one for 3%.So I signed that one quick and sent it right back.'Cause a contract's a contract.It is.But once again, I will give away stuff to get the deal done because greed, you know, there's a saying, right?Pigs get fed, the hogs get slaughtered.Yeah.I'd rather be a big, fat pig.To me, I'm not screwing up a deal, like, so- so I'm making, instead of 15,000, I'm making 10,000.I don't know, last time I checked, that's a pretty good amount of money for a deal.Yeah.So to me, but- that's all I got?That's all I got.And that's how I deal all the time.I giveIn fact, depending on the deal, I will give clients up to 1,000 bucks of my own commission just as a thank you to get deals done.Yeah.All the time.I have a- I just- I just posted one recently, uh, one of- this client I have just became a citizen.I gave him $1,000 as a welcome to the country.Oh, that's nice.Well, you know, and that's the kind of agent that you want in your corner.And at the end of the day, you know, Michael, you see the big picture, right?And the big picture is you help somebody get what they want, right?You're gonna have a lifetime full of blessings.And look at you today, right?You know, you've got 40 agents, you're located all over Florida, you're expanding, you're building tech internationally, right?And guys, if you wanna get to know Michael and his team, right, you know, go check out his website.I've got that running across the bottom of the screen.And I know you mentioned, full disclosure, it's under construction.He's not happy with it where it is, so if you get there, just know there's gonna be a refresh, so a reason to keep clicking that button and coming back, um, and if you wanna connect with Michael on Instagram, michaelfrye.realtor, uh, that's where you're gonna find him, and I've got that scrolling right across the screen, uh, so feel free to go check that out.Um, and, uh, you know, Gretchen, I'm gonna give you a plug too.Uh, Gretchen's on our team, uh, we're over here at Premier Lending.Gretchen, uh, Gretchen Guides You Home is what she goes by, and she certainly does, right?Um, you know, like Michael said earlier on, she answers the phone.She picks up.And even when it's inconvenient, she's gonna be there for you, uh, and this is what makes great teams, right?Great partners.Mm-hmm.Um, Michael, uh, I know we can't keep you here all day and I'm in.I can tell already, you and I could rap for a couple of hours.Mm-hmm.What did we not tackle today that we wanna put out there and, uh, you know, just leave people with a closing message.You know, for- I would just say, um, if you're in the Florida areaAnd listen, if you're not in the Florida area, I have connections all around the country.And if- for buyers and sellers out there, if you really want to have a, I would say, a quality agent in Florida, definitely give me a call, 239-246-4483 or, like you said, look at my website, my social media, um, and once again, I can get you in contact with my connections all around the country.Um, and if you're an agent and if you want to work, and I'm gonna stress this word.Yeah.If you wanna work in Florida, call me.If you wanna be a door opener, don't call me.I want people who are hungry, who wanna build a business, who wanna understand real estate, and who wanna build a solid reputation that they can feel comfortable calling themself a realtor.Mm-hmm.Well, and talk about transparency, right?You know, if you wanna know what that structure would look like, just hit the rewind button and he- he outlines it right here on the call.And he's gonna tell you what he will give you and what he won't give you, and it sounds like they're shelling out a whole heck of a lot over there at the Amarta team, Arman- Armada team, which you can find at armadateam.com.That's A-R-M-A-D-A team.com.Go check those guys out and again, Michael, thank you so much.Uh, Michael Frye everybody, uh, here in the house today.Uh, Gretchen, any closing words from you?Uh, anything you'd like to say to the audience before we wrap up today?Um, I just- I- I really appreciate Michael coming on here, and I love his approach to- to all of it, whether he's helping, uh, agents, you know, make the most and be successful or even his clients.He always has a big heart for th- those that he's working with.And honestly, Gretchen, uh, and not to- not toYou know, I wanna help you out, too, as well, because you've always been very helpful.Uh, Gretchen just educated me a little bit on some new rules with the Hometown Heroes, and for buyers and sellers out there in Florida, I think you should quickly just say that 1 one thing that you just talked about that changed from this year to last year.Yeah, the Hometown Heroes is a phenomenal program.You get up to 5% of your loan amount, which would be up to, excuse me, $35,000, but you do have to be an essential worker this year.Last year, it was opened up to anybody that, uh, worked in the state of Florida, but now you have to be an essential worker.Um, but it's still a phenomenal program.We're helping out those- the veterans, those that work in the hospital, teachers, firefighters, police officers.Um, if you're not sure whether or not you qualify, I can- I can help you find out.You can find out- And what a wonderful person that will pick up the phone.Definitely Gretchen is one of them.Amen, amen.Well, you can find Gretchen at Gretchen Loan Officer on Facebook.Again, that's Gretchen Loan Officer on Facebook.Or you can reach out to herWhat's the- the URL we've got?Is it gretenshelton.homes?Is that the one?Yes.Yeah, gretenshelton.homes, and, uh, just look right there behind her.There's her name.That's how you spell it.And, uh, hey, there's another program too, since we're throwing it out there, right?In, uh, Florida, but also nationwide, uh, so if you can't qualify for the Homes for Heroes, or Hometown Heroes, I think is what it is in Florida, uh, there is another program, Gretchen.Uh, do you just wanna give a sh- quick shout-out on that as well, uh, that helps with DPA and down payment assistance?Yeah, we also use the Florida Housing.You do have to be a first-time home buyer, but that's only someone who hasn't owned a home in the last 3 years.And you can get 10 grand to use towards down payment or closing costs.Or you can use Michael, who could negotiate, uh, a good deal, getting the seller to help pay for that as well.I always do that.That's the 1 Yeah.big thing that I think, and that's a- that's a greatHonestly, thank you, Gretchen.That's the one thing that I think a lot of agents miss, especially in this economy, is I would sooner ask get from my buyers, believe it or not, closer to asking price and demanding more seller's concessions than simply lowering the price.Amen.Yeah.As you mortgage people know- Buy-downs.that's way more advantageous mathematically- Yeah, long- It sure helps, yeah.Yeah.It- it's definitely the smart- smart strategy right now.We're actually hearing agents over on the West Coast that are even putting right in the, uh, listing that the seller is already willing to contribute towards the 21 buydown to help make homes more affordable.So, you know, another strategy out there for you realtors is just, you know, talk to your seller upfront.Instead of dropping price, negotiate in the 21 buydown offer right out there in the listing information so people know that those- those homes are affordable, right?You can get in at a really good competitive rate.And going back to the down payment assistance programs, uh, Premier Lending and Gretchen does have, and I don't normally give plugs, but I think it's important for people to know what programs are out there.Uh, we do have down payment assistance programs up to 5% in both repayable and non-repayable versions, uh, that are available to all homeowners of any type, uh, at any time of the year.They don't run out of money, and, uh, you can actually qualify for a home potentially with zero out of pocket.I know it sounds crazy, but if you negotiate the deal right with a realtor like Michael, you could get into a home with no money out of pocket, even if you don't qualify for either of those 2 programs, and that's right here with Premier Lending.Uh, so again, reach out to Gretchen if you have questions about that.We'd love to guide you home.So guys, thank you so much, Michael Fry, Gretchen Shelton.Great show today, team.I think we're gonna go ahead and close it out.So I'm Devin DeBuke.Keep coming back for great guests like Michael and Gretchen.If you wanna see them back on, drop me a comment, uh, or DM me, 'cause we will bring back the guests that you love.Michael, you'd be good for another go-around, I assume?Absolutely.AnythingUh, I- I think this is enjoyable.I think part of being successful is giving your information out there.I couldn't stand when, honestly in the past, you would say, "Well, you're not helping."Right?To me, is, as an agent, I wanna grow my agents.I wanna teach them.I wanna build them.Because the better they build up, the better we all buildI'll be happy to come on any time you ask.This has been more than a pleasure.It's always been an educational experience.Amen.Gretchen is lovely to work with.And sorry if I dropped off there.I had a little, uh, glitch in my system.I was like, "Oh!"Just gonna close it out.But I am passionate about this.Well, we're gonna close it out so I'm hitting the end stream button.Thank you guys for tuning in and we will see you on the next one.Michael, sit tight just for one second.Give me 30 seconds and, uh, we'll be right back on.You've been watching Loan Officer Success Live, where real strategies meet real success.Don't forget to subscribe now and share it with your teammates and keep leveling up, because your next breakthrough starts here.If this fired you up, don't just watch success, go out there and build it.

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