S2 E9 - Evolving through Luxury Real Estate and Parenthood

Ever wondered about the ins and outs of the high-end luxury real estate market in Chicago? Look no further! This episode is a treasure trove of insider knowledge, with industry leader, Nancy Tassone. From the stress of navigating school systems to the huge impact of a $350 million project, we're giving you first-hand glimpses into the world of luxury, real estate, and personal decision-making.

The fabric of life is interwoven with personal stories, and this episode is a testament to that. Nancy’s career guided by her tenacious spirit bringing the groundbreaking Nine Walton and One Chicago projects to life.  We also dive into JDL and Nancy's collaborative process that sets the luxury living bar to the top (and then having them smash their on bar). 

But it's not all work and no play.  Lastly, we get personal. Balancing work, parenting, and personal growth is a delicate dance, and we're here to share Nancy's steps. We walk through the college decision process, reflect on the role of risk and reward in all of our lives, and discuss the importance of building honest relationships in sales. We even tackle the role of social media in real estate and the challenges that come with marketing oneself as an agent. Join us on an insightful exploration of the intersection of real estate, parenting, and personal growth. Don't forget to tune in!

Transcript

High-End Luxury Real Estate Projects

Speaker 1 0:00

Here's the dirty secret that no one tells you. The Catholic schools don't wanna tell you how to get in to test in schools, and CPS doesn't wanna tell you how to get in to Catholic schools and they all don't like each other. They all don't wanna play and they all don't wanna help each other do stuff. It's crazy. What's the five Ps? Do you remember it?

Speaker 2 0:24

Proper preparation prevents poor performance.

Speaker 1 0:27

There you go. It doesn't matter how much money we get, if we don't close, it's no money right? So no, close is no money. I'm everything that I am because of my dad's death, and I wouldn't be as successful without his death. All right, welcome to the Jason Theory. We are here, season two, episode nine, and I am joined by a very special guest, nancy. Nancy, tell us, give us the intro on yourself.

Speaker 2 0:53

Oh well, you didn't tell me to prepare for that.

Speaker 1 0:55

It's just you Hi.

Speaker 2 0:57

Thank you so much for having me. This was such a fun idea and so out of the box for me and something that I'm usually. I don't know. I feel like camera and vocal shy.

Speaker 1 1:07

But you are in sales.

Speaker 2 1:08

I know it's kind of an odd thing. I just don't really like talking about myself, but do you just want me to tell?

Speaker 1 1:14

you. Yeah, go ahead Quick two minute bio.

Speaker 2 1:17

Two minute bio. Nancy Tisoni, born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, I've lived in the city forever have three kids. My first one is going off to college in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 1:28

In Maryland.

Speaker 2 1:29

She's going to University of Maryland, so that's really tough but exciting.

Speaker 1 1:32

Is she gonna play softball there?

Speaker 2 1:34

She's not gonna play, she has retired and had a great run. I have twins that are gonna be sophomores in high school, and I've been in real estate for 22 years.

Speaker 1 1:46

So hold up the twins that are in. I'm gonna interject the twins that are in high school. Is that a boy and a girl?

Speaker 2 1:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:52

And who's the gymnast?

Speaker 2 1:53

So the gymnast is Kami.

Speaker 1 1:54

Okay, that's the one I'm missing.

Speaker 2 1:56

Who's the girl?

Speaker 1 1:56

That's the one I'm missing. I mean, I see all the stuff online because I always look at the I was like okay, that makes sense.

Speaker 2 2:04

Everyone gets the two girls confused.

Speaker 1 2:06

No, I knew the one, the older one, that went to Lane.

Speaker 2 2:10

Yes, yes, I think I know there's a third and the twins are at different schools, so it all works out.

Speaker 1 2:16

Nice. So let's talk. We'll start off with. I got so much I wanna say and ask. Let's start off with how did sales change for you quickly? How did sales change for you from? Well, let's first let me toot her horn a little bit more. So everyone says that they're the number one, like a individual agent. And no one is. Everyone lies. Now how do you feel about the fact that you are actually the single agent and people that aren't single agents say they are and take like accolades that they shouldn't be getting?

Speaker 1 2:51

Does that piss you off Because it pisses me off and I'm not even a single agent.

Speaker 2 2:55

It's funny because I don't pay attention to any of the background noise. It's kind of just me.

Speaker 1 2:59

Oh, you're a better person.

Speaker 2 3:00

I don't know, I don't know. It's just kind of like I do my thing and I, you know.

Speaker 1 3:03

Whenever I see like number one individual agent, I'm like fuck you, you're not, you have four people. I've never I haven't seen you at a showing for fucking years.

Speaker 2 3:11

This is true, this is true, so should I actually pay attention to it? I think, yeah, that would be. It's just not true. Yeah, but it's just the world in which we live in, I guess.

Speaker 1 3:25

And you, basically, when you think of this is why I'm excited for this, because this is what people actually really love is like high end luxury. And when you think of high end luxury, you think Nancy has basically pushed the envelope on high end luxury on two of the probably most, you know, important turns in Chicago real estate. And that would be Nine Walton, which was like 11. Am I saying the wrong number? No, nine, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because you did a big sale at 11 too. That's what was in my head.

Speaker 1 3:56

So you have Nine Walton, which was kind of first of this of its kind that I can think of, and then you go from that and then you go to one Chicago, which is basically like hey, we're gonna bring high end New York living to Chicago. These are two huge projects that you sold. And I think it's super cool to ask you, when a project like this comes about, how do you guys sit down and say, hey, listen, this is what we're gonna do, which no one's ever done? Let's start at Nine Walton. No one's ever had, like in Chicago, a house car so people don't have to drive out of their place. No one's had the amenities you've had.

Speaker 1 4:36

We're gonna do full floors, we're gonna do stuff that just is beyond upper end and on top of it we're going to ask for pricing that no one's ever seen in the city of Chicago and get it so like it's really cool. So when you sit down to think about that stuff, how do you and JDL sit down and say, okay, what are we going to provide that no one's provided? And how do you come up with those ideas? Okay, that's a lot of questions.

Vision for Ultra Luxury Development

Speaker 2 5:00

That's a lot of questions, okay.

Speaker 2 5:01

so first, of all while I would love to take credit for it, I can't, Jim Lechinger, I guess you need a little bit of background. So I have literally been selling everything that he's built since 2001. So we have an extremely longstanding relationship and he is, you know, obviously one of the most prolific developers in Chicago. But you know, at the time wasn't, you know, had been, he started off building single family homes and he's just, I mean, he's just an amazing guy and he's such a good builder, he's such a good person, so, anyway, so through the years, you know, we've been working with him and, you know, selling all his properties. So when nine Walton came about, I remember because I was in the parking lot picking up my daughter must have been really little, I was picking up from gymnastics and I think it was 2014. And he calls me and he tells me I got it, I got this land, and tells me what he paid for it. And I was like, excuse me.

Speaker 1 5:59

And then, in the same conversation, that's the backside of two Delaware Right.

Speaker 2 6:03

And then, in the same conversation, proceeds to tell me what he's anticipating doing there and the prices that we're going to be charging. And I was like I don't know if I could do that. And he's like, oh, come on, you know you can. So it was. You know, I go through a little bit of shock and awe, thinking wow, how are we going to break these barriers that have never been broken? But, in all honesty, it's him who has this vision. It's like he sees it one step ahead, or two steps ahead of everyone else, I think.

Speaker 1 6:35

Where does he, where do you think he gets that? Is it from traveling? Is it from going to different places and seeing what they're doing?

Speaker 2 6:40

Or is it just?

Speaker 1 6:41

him being like hey, this is, this is what I imagine ultra luxury.

Speaker 2 6:45

Well, I think, first, it's nice to know that he himself enjoys ultra luxury. He, you know, grew up in Chicago, born and raised, went to Latin, just super hard worker, entrepreneur, 100% self made, and you know, I think you know, part of his personality is just, he really likes great service and nice things. So, as he made his move and I've made many, I've sold many houses along the way for him.

Speaker 2 7:14

As he made his kind of empty nest move into the Gold Coast, he lived at the Waldorf and I think you know he stared at this land where nine Walton was and took the things, what he loved about living there and then the things that he knew needed improvement or needed to be different, and so you know, hence the vision and execution of nine Walton. Where I step in is looking at floor plans, obviously working on the pricing. He says yes, I say no. He says yes, I say no. Then we meet in the middle somewhere. So it's a really it was a really fun process. That project in itself was so unique because we were coming off of a time where nothing was being built right Nothing like nothing.

Speaker 2 8:01

So when the crash of 2008 happened, it was dead silence after that and I was at a funny time in my life because I had twins. They were three months premature. They were very sick.

Speaker 2 8:14

I was trying to work, it wasn't you know, there's a long story there, but it was lots of surgeries and, you know, some serious illnesses and so at the time I was like I need to take off for a little while because I have to take care of my kids. So I sat out for eight months, which was really hard, but it actually worked out really well because there was nothing happening. And then you know, coming just kind of skipping, I was just kind of doing my own business, you know, coming back into the market. And then you know 2014 cups. At that time there was the only projects on the docket.

Speaker 2 8:46

it was 400 West here on and four, east, elm and us, and so that truly was the only options, and the market was starving for what he was bringing to the table.

Speaker 1 8:57

They needed it.

Speaker 2 8:58

They needed it and he brought. I mean, he did something that no one's ever done in so many ways, because he's allowed. He allowed buyers to customize their floor plans, so we had big square footage, which you know. At that time too, the suburban market was down and there were so many people.

Speaker 1 9:19

There was a flight to the city. There was a flight it was.

Speaker 2 9:21

you know it's what everybody wants, so many people want. You know my kids are at that point. I want to come and live downtown. They don't necessarily want I wouldn't call it downsize they want a right size as I like to call it right Downside.

Speaker 2 9:33

I mean, people are coming from 10,000 square feet. So you know, we had a lot of units that were 4,700 square feet and 3,500 square feet and it was just a really it was. It was absolutely the most fun I think I've ever had in real estate because him and I worked together, I met with all the buyers and it was so personal and it was so custom and it was so fun.

Speaker 1 9:57

Yeah, well, it's different and we sold out.

Speaker 2 9:59

I mean, we sold out a $350 million project before it was built, which is absolutely crazy.

Speaker 1 10:04

I had a friend who was really high up at Morgan Stanley, and I mean really high up, I mean really high up, and he called me up by the blue. He goes, I want you to take a look at something. And he handed me this. I'm like what is this? I go. This is, he goes. This is the empty lot by two Delaware. I go. Oh my God, he goes, he goes. I think they're asking I can't remember what the square foot, but it was like double that anything had ever gotten to the city and I was like what the fuck Exactly? I'm like are you 90 stories in the air? He's like no man. That's an intimate building. It was crazy.

Speaker 2 10:35

Yeah, it was a wild process. It was so much fun and I mean seriously, it's like all credit to Jim, because getting financing was impossible. I mean, it was just an impossible time. And you know, he got killed too, as everyone did and every developer did and he is just, you know, he's something, he's very unique and, like I said, I'd love to give myself credit, but he's, he's just. He's a very different developer. He's, I mean, as you've experienced some of it.

Speaker 1 11:00

Yeah, I mean there's, there's nothing like it, yeah. He's he's always going to make it right, always, always, no matter what. Yeah, it'll always be right, yeah.

Speaker 2 11:08

And he enjoys customizing for people and meeting people and it's just, it's a very he's passionate. Very, very in the best of ways. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's, it's.

Speaker 1 11:18

It has a, you know, has charisma. It's it's. I mean, if he didn't do this, you know he could sell fire and hell.

Speaker 2 11:28

Yes, I always say, he could sell water to a whale. Yeah, exactly, yeah, it's just, you know it was a lot of hard work. I don't want to, you know, I don't want to, you know, toss that all aside, of course, as everything is. But you know, he, he puts people in his company who he trusts and who are smart and are as engaging as he is, and he just, I don't know, he just has a little bit. He has a unique, he has a very unique thing going on.

Speaker 1 11:52

So what I loved is when we came to see one Walton is how you guys were One Chicago, one Chicago.

Speaker 2 11:57

But you're close.

Speaker 1 11:58

Yeah, no, I spent a long day. You're my second pot.

Speaker 2 12:00

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 1 12:01

So when we went to go see one Chicago, I was really impressed with the sales center and then beyond, impressed with the marketing, the 3D imaging and all that. Like I mean, I had not seen that yet and you guys really pushed the boundaries where, when you were in the marketing center, when you were in the the model, you you definitely knew what you were getting and it could feel like how did you guys go about figuring out how you want to attack the marketing on that one? And basically what Jim said is I took everything that I didn't like about my last project and I made this one better than that one.

Speaker 2 12:37

It's. You know, it's a wow. Talk about two different projects and two very different times in the market.

Speaker 1 12:44

Yeah.

Speaker 2 12:44

And I mean with COVID popping in there, that was a real surprise. Jim's a perfectionist. I admire that about him because that's why you know his projects are amazing, but like a true perfectionist. So let me give you an example. At one Chicago we were supposed to use polyform kitchens and he had the whole kitchen built out. You know, the idea there was to really build a model like we did with 911. I mean, you knock the whole thing out, spend a million dollars building a new sales center so that people could feel the experience of what it would be like to be in a kitchen or in a bathroom with true ceiling heights and lighting, and you really it is exactly what you got.

Speaker 1 13:23

Yeah, it's really. It's very impressive and you got it Okay.

Speaker 2 13:26

So he, you know, goes with polyform. The kitchen gets installed. He's just not sitting right with him. He has them come out, they're fixing it. He literally ripped the entire kitchen out and went back to O'Brien Harris who successfully did all of Nine Walton and they custom designed a kitchen for one Chicago.

Speaker 1 13:44

Yeah, I love the kitchen, which are amazing.

Speaker 2 13:46

And just like it. Just, people don't do that right. They make a choice. This is what they go with, and you know he wanted a modern look. It just it wasn't the right quality, it wasn't the right fit for him.

Speaker 1 13:55

Who was the? Who was the thought behind doing the porcelain kitchen counters?

Speaker 2 14:01

Him and Heather the designer I mean I truly apart, like I don't have right. The first place.

Speaker 1 14:08

the first time I ever saw it was there and I was like yeah, and I was calling. My developer says there's fucking people putting porcelain in kitchens and I go in and make sense. Like oh, there's no maintenance right and you're gonna get the really cool cards and you can be thinner.

Speaker 2 14:19

Yeah, I mean he just you know, what we always say is, like you know, this was his. So Nine Walton was more classic. I mean, people did do some modern finishes, whatnot, and this was, you know, something that we wanted, or he wanted to be more modern, but modern can look cheap and cold, and it was very important.

Speaker 1 14:35

Bad, modern socks. Bad, modern, really socks, it's bad.

Speaker 2 14:38

That there's some warmth there. So you have you know the combination of the porcelain, but then you have these like beautiful wood O'Brien Harris cabinets.

Speaker 2 14:46

Yeah, and you know, he puts great ceiling detail in and there's just, there's a thought behind everything and it's always okay what do people use and what do they not use? How? How can I, you know, make the masses happy but customized to what they need? So it's just like there's always like ideas being everything always changes. I said to him don't print brochures this time, let's not print brochures. We did print the brochures and I will have you know it changed. So it's just, you know, it's a process.

Speaker 1 15:16

How did you keep yourself motivated during COVID? Like being frustrated in terms of where that market was and knowing that it's not the product, it's not you, it's just the market because it's. It's tough to like sometimes, get up every day and walk into a wall.

Speaker 2 15:33

I mean, yes, it is so we we were. We were fortunate and unfortunate with the timing of one Chicago. Okay, that's here Because we were supposed to truly launch in April 2020.

Speaker 1 15:45

Okay.

Real Estate Sales and Market Trends

Speaker 2 15:45

That was our. Like you were.

Speaker 2 15:47

you had our first buyer, yeah, and that was like the pre pre right when we were just kind of like word of mouth, talking to people, we know sending, you know just pre selling in our unique way that we do, I would say, non corporate pre selling, right. And then we were supposed to open and we're, you know it was great, like people were buying and you know, still, obviously, you know the prices are G, what I call GDL prices and then COVID came and no one knew what to do. I mean it was like we were. I mean, think about the beginning of COVID. I mean we didn't know if we were going to die by opening our mail, right, we were wiping off our groceries. So, you know, for three to six months nobody was due, there was nothing we could do, there was no working.

Speaker 1 16:32

And so we really, you know, what were the conversations you guys were having? Because this is not like a single family home, this is. This is like a city block tower.

Speaker 2 16:40

I think just they were lucky enough to keep building.

Speaker 1 16:44

Okay.

Speaker 2 16:45

So that was really interesting and the conversation went from from doing pre sales to let's see what happens. Like when are we allowed outside? When are we allowed? Like, what can we do? I mean, obviously nobody's going to buy a condo, but people don't even know if they're going to have a job.

Speaker 1 16:59

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:00

You know, there was that whole period of uncertainty, but then, as things started to unfold and I think, like 2020 was a wash, yeah, but as 2021 came in and we started, you know, marketing and you know it wasn't easy because we thought we were going to sell and then be able to customize for everyone. Right, that's, that's our thing, that's his thing and that's a huge selling point. Right, you know, buy this, but like we can build you this, this, this, this and this. And I, you know, and I've I've represented buyers on so much new construction where it's just absolutely not the case.

Speaker 1 17:33

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:34

And so you know, and it's yeah, it costs a little extra money, but it's the willingness to do it because it is a headache, but that's truly where he gets, like, his pride and joy, so so anyway, so we kind of had to switch gears and just do what we had to do and get people up into the building in let's just fill these, let's just, let's just build them.

Speaker 2 17:54

Yeah, and so you know it's. You know was obviously sales have had, were and have been much slower than we anticipated. But who could anticipate what happened? Yeah, and then everybody is like fleeing the city or whatnot, and the riots and the you know yeah, and the fleeing the city is interesting.

Speaker 1 18:13

You know we talked about that. We can take a, we can take a left turn here, who could take a left?

Speaker 1 18:17

So, like the fleeing the city thing, right, it's like everyone's like, oh, everyone's leaving the city. I'm like, yeah, but do you understand, to sell something, someone has to fucking buy it, so right. So yeah, someone's fleeing, and then somebody's fleeing, right, which is what it like, which is really interesting. So, like you, you have a development in the middle of downtown, it's super high end, it's fantastic, and you're selling who's, who's coming? Right, tell people who's, because, because everyone's like no one's coming to sit there, go, do we have a? We have. We have one point eight months of inventory. Yeah, somebody's fucking coming.

Speaker 2 18:51

Like exactly.

Speaker 1 18:52

Someone's coming.

Speaker 2 18:53

So it's interesting, because what what I what I saw happening was, maybe you know, younger like families with school age kids let's call that anywhere from preschool through freshman year high school.

Speaker 1 19:07

OK.

Speaker 2 19:07

Because you know once you're kind of like in high school, you're kind of there.

Speaker 1 19:10

Yeah.

Speaker 2 19:11

People would move to the suburbs. But I think a lot of those people were already one foot in right. It's like I always tell my clients if you're going to live in the city, you've got to have. If you want to raise your kids in the city, you have to have both feet in the city. There's hardships and there's great joys. The high school process it sucks Right, it's hard.

Speaker 1 19:29

Yeah, we're going to get into that. Yeah, I mean, there's so much, there's so much meat here, but but anyway.

Speaker 2 19:34

So I think you know they fled and people did. You know people went like they didn't like the restrictions that we had, the covid restrictions, but so they went to Florida. But I think people are starting to or I've seen firsthand people starting to realize I mean I really miss the city. I mean it's happened now.

Speaker 1 19:51

Yeah.

Speaker 2 19:51

Right, it's, you know it.

Speaker 1 19:53

Well, someone's buying these places.

Speaker 2 19:55

Yeah, so you know what we're seeing at one Chicago. It's interesting because you know he, that's a whole different project. It's very different from Nine Wellton and frankly, some of it, you know, if you want like peace and quiet and like nobody's speaking. You know great Nine Well that's all yeah.

Speaker 2 20:11

It's my, it's like my baby. I love that. You know, that place is just amazing, but I also like to see people and talk to people, and it's the energy at one. Chicago is so amazing. And not only that, but you don't have to go outside literally for ever For my client.

Speaker 1 20:26

that's what Andy loves. He's like I'm self sustained.

Speaker 2 20:28

Like they love it. So when we have our crappy winters which are horrible, or it's raining, or you just are like not in the mood or like if you work at home and you know you want to see people, you just go down to lifetime, remember, ships included you take the elevator down. You don't have to go outside. You can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner there. There's a full service spa, outdoor pool in Norpool.

Speaker 2 20:48

We're a class. You can engage yourself when you want to, you know, with people. I think, as realtors, that's something we kind of like just a total side note, left turn, like that's something that we're missing, right. Is kind of like the interaction with people all the time, but anyway, and then you have direct access to whole foods and you have a house, car and there's people that are coming.

Speaker 1 21:09

There are young, family people that are like we just want everything in this tower for ease.

Speaker 2 21:15

So young families are hard like thing to pinpoint, right, Because I would say the majority of young families are usually in the town home house market but the those that want to stay downtown and can afford the pricing.

Speaker 1 21:35

We're going to assume that everyone can afford the price.

Speaker 2 21:36

Assume that everyone can afford it. The people with young families absolutely love it. I mean lifetime has a kid's center like you know, and you know when you're with little kids and you're just like going crazy in your house and you don't know what to do. There's so many spaces. You could bring them right, like go down to the like one of the rooms or go into these majority of out?

Speaker 1 21:55

Are these people up buying inside the city or are these mostly people at one Chicago, there and Walton because you've had some sales? Are these people coming into the city? Are they like hey, I'm sick of paying $60,000 to live in Lake Forest and taxes when I don't use anything. No, I wouldn't say.

Speaker 2 22:10

I think they just want a change of lifestyle, right? So we have. We have a lot of in towns and in town, so you still have in towns.

Speaker 1 22:18

So now OK, yes because I've lost all my in town business.

Speaker 2 22:22

It's so funny because, yes, I know me too. However, I'm noticing as I look at, ok, who's coming from where? I mean we have buyers from Indiana, multiple buyers from Indiana, but as second homes, california. I'm even, you know, far out suburbs of our state, you know of Illinois. It's an. Every single person who lives there loves it. So it's just, you know, hooking someone in to say hey, hey, hey, spend X amount in Chicago. Once they're hooked, like if someone, if someone gets on the one Chicago train, they're all in. Yeah, right, but in all fairness, that $3 million, I mean you know we have units that are, you know, two to three million dollars, but that $3 million plus buyer, those are few and far between right now. That's not one of the.

Speaker 1 23:11

They're just not there's just not as many people out there there are people there?

Speaker 2 23:15

They're there. I just don't think they're here. They're there.

Speaker 1 23:18

I just don't think they're here.

Speaker 2 23:20

They're here. They're just not here in droves like it used to be. Right.

Speaker 1 23:28

So I have other places that. I've sold that are there that are there.

Speaker 2 23:31

It has something, no, that like it has something unique about it. You know it's over $3 million. I sold it in two days. But then you look at the statistics and you see how many properties are closing in the last year. You know between two and a half and three and a half. I'm between you know I kind of do two and a half to three and a half, three to five, five plus.

Speaker 1 23:49

Yeah.

Speaker 2 23:50

And you know it's, the numbers are not great. So I feel like in one way we're lucky. We're hooking people here, but you know you have to. You know we've had to make some, some price adjustments to meet you know what the market is and just a lot of patience and you know. But when it clicks it's really clicking. We just put two full floors under contract, so that's nice.

Speaker 1 24:11

Congrats, Thanks. I'm always thinking that too, Like if I had $5 million. I'm like man, am I staying here?

Speaker 2 24:19

Right, like what are you doing with it? But I mean, these sales are, you know, nine plus?

Speaker 1 24:24

million dollars. So that's a whole nother topic.

Speaker 2 24:26

They're just like you know it's, it's exciting.

Speaker 1 24:30

Yeah, it's awesome.

Speaker 2 24:30

I think that's such good news for our city. We get so much terrible press.

Speaker 1 24:36

Well, it's easy. Terrible press sells. So yeah, I mean, no one wants to hear good shit.

Speaker 2 24:40

Yeah, I like to hear a good shit.

Speaker 1 24:42

Yeah, I should literally get online and start looking at podcasts. That's nice stuff. Legacy media wants nothing to do with positive stuff.

Speaker 2 24:51

It just doesn't, it doesn't sell it just I saw this article I don't know, maybe it was like in the last few weeks that someone had written about the anniversary of Ken Griffin's properties going on the market and how abysmal, like you know, the negative. Like nothing has sold and I'm thinking no two of them. We sold two. Like two have sold.

Speaker 1 25:10

First off, when you're talking about a 10 to $20 million property, that's like that's 200 million in New York and that's 200 million in California. It's there, it just we're just not that city, nothing wrong with that Right?

Speaker 2 25:24

I totally agree.

Speaker 1 25:25

We're just not that city, and that's why there's a lot of diversity here and that's why there's a lot of this and a lot of fun, but that's just not who we are.

Speaker 2 25:32

Exactly. I mean, there's only so many $10 million plus years, but I just found that to be so funny to think like really that's what you're writing about, like there's really no, you know no good news here, yeah.

Speaker 1 25:43

I mean it's interesting whenever I put something on Instagram or TikTok and it's like actual factual news. You know, like I have trolls right and thank you. Trolls Hold up, trolls push your fucking logarithm. So troll me away. Like, if I get a good amount of trolls, I get to like 200,000 looks, but I got to get trolls. But I will sit there and I will eat. I will literally at about nine o'clock in the night, I will text back every single troll and I'll be like I'm like listen, that's glad, I'm glad that you have that opinion, but that's opinion. These are facts.

Speaker 2 26:16

Right, right.

Speaker 1 26:18

So, like you can have, you can say the market's falling apart. But we had three months of inventory last year. We have 1.8 this year. I go, so I don't really care that there's 30% less sales. There's also 40% less listings. I go, this is fucking math.

Speaker 2 26:30

Genius. This is why I love you. I mean, it's just math, I mean it's yeah.

Speaker 1 26:34

It's just math, so all right. So now we're going to take another pivot. You've got a daughter that just graduated from Lane. Then you've got a son that's at Lane. And where's your daughter?

Speaker 2 26:50

She goes to DePaul Prep.

Speaker 1 26:51

That is interesting.

Speaker 2 26:52

Right, okay.

Speaker 1 26:53

So let's get into that. So you've done, did everybody go to Burley.

Speaker 2 26:57

So a little bit of unique situation. My older daughter went to Burley, my son, so the twin boy, went to Burley. I mean literally from pre-K to eighth grade. I don't think they have pre-K there anymore, because they didn't have a room.

Speaker 1 27:09

James started what's five. Is that pre-K?

Speaker 2 27:13

Five. What do you mean?

Speaker 1 27:14

Five years old.

Speaker 2 27:15

Oh no, five is kindergarten.

Speaker 1 27:17

Okay, I don't know. That's the one thing I'm talking about. Five years old, so it starts at five.

Speaker 2 27:22

Right. So when my kids were younger because, mind you, they're 15 and 18 now GASP the twins started and there was preschool, so they went they started when they were three years old. They started at Burley. So after second grade my twin daughter, who's a real, really competitive gymnast, went to school at her gym and went to school there from third grade through eighth grade and then went is now going to be a sophomore at DePaul Prep.

Speaker 2 27:51

And so then, and so, Cooper, my son stayed at Burley and my daughter went through and both graduated from there.

Speaker 1 27:58

So what are her intentions in terms of gymnastics? I mean, like college Olympics, like what are so it's so funny.

Speaker 2 28:05

It's like you always get the Olympic question.

Speaker 1 28:07

I don't know. I mean, what is a gymnast? What do you? That's it.

Speaker 2 28:10

She wants to pursue gymnastics in college at a high level and Is she in dance too?

Speaker 1 28:17

No, no, okay, I didn't know. Straight up gymnastics.

Speaker 2 28:19

So she loves it, she's very passionate about it. She's a cool cat, she's you know, she's humble and cool and so what's the difference now?

Speaker 1 28:30

So what's the difference now in terms of DePaul and Lane for the twins?

Schools and Housing in Chicago

Speaker 2 28:35

Well for her. She wanted a smaller environment because she's coming from you know a very small environment and she can, you know, just walk to the gym and that's where she wanted to go. My son I'm not sure he had much of an opinion where he went, but without getting into too much detail has services and you know, and the public school is just a right fit for him, perfect. So it's great. I mean, it's like everything's right there and you know she gets done, she can walk to the gym, he can go to sports.

Speaker 1 29:05

We don't live far from there, so it really how many, how many times do you get the question about schools? Like, because you deal in a price bracket where people are going to let's just say nine, nine out of 10 have kids. Larger families. You deal with right 4,000 square foot homes. I mean you do a lot of other things, but there's a lot of big homes in your repertoire. This schooling has got to be a question you get all the time. Now, theoretically we're not supposed to talk about schools, but we can on the podcast.

Speaker 2 29:35

Yeah, that's a great question. So schools, you know, as years go on and as your kids progress, you know it's kind of like I've been there, done that through everything. So we've seen preschool and you know elementary school and high school and frankly, I think high school is the hardest of all. You know it is an honest, I think a factual statement that we need more good public high schools that are viable options for families and there's a lot that are coming around and coming up. So you know, and I definitely think that housing plays a major factor, especially with young families. You know I have a wonderful family moving into a school district and we're school district base. They have three kids. One's going to kindergarten and lean on me to say, hey, what do you recommend? That's a tough question. There's a lot of great schools and so what I try and do is put them in touch with parents who have kids that go there, because I really don't know, right, we're all.

Speaker 1 30:32

everything's always based on what someone tells you you don't think you know, but you do, because I think you've got a child that got into. Do you have two children that got into testings? You have children that have gone to DePaul and you have a who has a DePaul, and you also have kids that have gone to, I mean, a sports school, ing, and that's kind of really cool. And then you've got DePaul. Right, I mean, you've got Burley. So I think, if someone's talking to you, I think it's, I think it's unique and I think and I'm saying this because my sister says to me all the time she goes, I know that I lose business because I don't know the school system, I don't have kids, and she goes and it's unique that you have kids that have gone, because I've had kids that done six years in private.

Speaker 2 31:17

Gas.

Speaker 1 31:19

Move them to CPS, and I have kids that are in CPS tested, and people that are in their twenties and thirties that are just starting to have kids. They have a thirst for like how do I do this in Chicago? You'd be surprised how much business you get or keep because of that.

Speaker 2 31:35

I mean, I yes, I think, I think because it's a maze.

Speaker 2 31:39

It is a maze and what you know. My first bit of advice is it's going to be completely different when your kids get to high school. If you have a five year old and you know it's like things are going to be changing, you know things are changing and I think there's. You know there's always more viable options for your family and I think you know from an elementary school perspective there's a lot of good choices which is weird, right, like we're approximately the same age.

Speaker 1 32:03

Yeah Well, you're much younger than me.

Speaker 2 32:05

I would say Obviously.

Speaker 1 32:07

And I just remember always saying you know, burley Bell Blank right, the three B's, the three B's, and that's it. And now there's like 20.

Speaker 2 32:15

Oh, there's so many good schools and the more that you, you know, you meet people and they are kids. You know when. There's so many great things about the city, but you know one, one part of it, the piece of it that I love so much is that you know kids are, have friends at all different schools and there's and the elementary school options there's. There's so many and it's all about. You know, where do you want to live? What are you looking for? What are you looking for in a school Like are you.

Speaker 2 32:39

You know, for us, we were just lived in Burley. We lived there before we had kids and then we moved within Burley.

Speaker 1 32:46

But like, not even intentionally, when my daughter and you're like oh, this works.

Speaker 2 32:49

Right and my I think my oldest daughter was just before she was two when we moved into the house that we're still in, and so we were kind of just there and it just made life really easy. You know, it's like there was no question, like she was just going there.

Speaker 1 33:00

Are you over by surf from that whole area?

Speaker 2 33:01

Yeah Of course Jim, of course JD, I'll go yeah.

Speaker 1 33:04

I mean my wife and my kids are begging me to move into that area.

Speaker 2 33:06

Oh it's. It's so funny because when I moved in, so we moved into this house in 2007,. But we moved into. I lived at Columbia Place, the townhomes that I sold from 2004. So if you can imagine, that's a long time ago. And that was all warehouse, it was all industrial there. And so when we moved in. We were one of the first to move in at Columbia Place. I mean, it was like dirt gravel it was. It's so different. It's just been a really great place to raise my kids.

Speaker 1 33:33

Yeah, it's awesome, it was fun. You know we'll just move to Belle. Did I call you and talk to you about? Was that you that I talked to you about testing in eighth grade?

Speaker 2 33:43

I don't know, maybe, maybe, I can't remember.

Speaker 1 33:46

So Will just left Burley.

Speaker 2 33:47

Okay.

Speaker 1 33:49

So he went to Belle Gifted, which was like a huge. Well, it was a huge. I mean, he loves Bleeds Burley. He actually bleeds Burley basketball, but that's another thing, hey, mr Lewis.

Speaker 2 34:01

Oh my God, oh Mr Lewis.

Speaker 1 34:02

There's only one, mr Lewis. I mean I called him when Will made the decision and I was like I'm really sorry. I was like I'm like I'm sorry, but so, but that whole area, everyone's there I'm like I'm sorry when we go to pick up kids, this, this, so it's such a nice neighborhood that and I mean basically you guys sold and built that neighborhood, which is crazy and now it's like that is its own, it's like its own animal.

Speaker 2 34:30

Yeah, and it's funny when people discover it for the first time, they're like I didn't even know this was back here. Yeah, it's wild. But yeah, I mean Burley's a smaller school and from what I, I can't imagine. I don't know cause I don't have young kids anymore, but I can't imagine that they pull from the lottery anymore.

Speaker 1 34:49

Well, none of us lived. I didn't live early.

Speaker 2 34:51

How'd you get? Oh, did you transfer it?

Speaker 1 34:54

No, I mean we did, but we just went we just went on the like that.

Speaker 1 35:02

My wife called CPS up when we decided, when Lee decided that he's like, listen, I want to go at the time, I want to go to Lane Tech, that's where I want to go. We used to go to basketball games or this, this, this, and I said to my wife, I said he wants to go to Lane. I said this is the dirty secret. Here's the dirty secret, here's the dirty secret. This will be our snippet. This will be one of them that no one tells you.

Speaker 1 35:29

The Catholic schools don't want to tell you how to get in to test in schools and CPS doesn't want to tell you how to get in to Catholic schools and they all don't like each other. They all don't want to play and they all don't want to help each other do stuff. It's crazy and I know that from personal experience because when Lee was sixth grade at FXW, I started asking questions about, about Peyton Lane Tech, this, that, and they're like. They're like, well, no, you just go to Ignatius. I'm like I'm not sending my kid to Ignatius First off, it's the middle, I can't get there, right? I'm like that's not going to work for me, right? And they don't want to help each other out.

Speaker 1 36:07

It was crazy. I can't tell you the things that were said to me, right? So we had to take. We had to take Lee out so that he could track into that space, and everyone is freaked out about moving their kids here or this or this. I mean kids are resilient, you can move them. You know they make friends and I think pulling, I think my kids became a little bit extroverted because I mean I pulled them out of like Lee's been to three different schools in the last four years, wow, and he's Lee Will's third school and he's in grammar school.

Speaker 2 36:41

Oh my gosh. I mean, we were very boring, then.

Speaker 1 36:43

So like, but it forces you. It's like taking your kid and putting them at Hamlin Park, in the in the like in the play area and be like hey, there's 15 kids here. I'll be back in two hours.

Speaker 2 36:55

Right.

Speaker 1 36:56

Either sit in the corner and say hi to somebody Exactly, they got to meet people, yeah, and I think it teaches them to do this or to do that, like I think it. I think it helps, but it was interesting that that how they don't play. But to get back, my wife made a call to the CPS, I don't know, she got to hold this somebody that's a brows over there and she, oh, hold up. And then the person on the phone spent two hours with my wife and how to do the system. Wow, like you need to do this, this, this, this, this. Don't do this, do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. And my kids all got into CPS schools that were not in our district. So interesting.

Speaker 1 37:31

And then, and then when Will was testing to, we're like I love Burley. It just had run its course. He's only there for two years, but Will wants to go to Peyton and I'm not saying he can't get there from Burley. However, if you have an opportunity to do something else, that makes it a little bit easier for you. It was a month long discussion, it was tough, but then she got another person on the phone, so Will got into whatever Skinner by division. She's like no, you gotta. And we're telling her what we want to do. And she's like listen, this is how they do the testing. They go by location.

Speaker 1 38:11

So when you try to get into gifted and you list all of them, it starts from the closest to your house and then expands as you say no and you have to keep saying no to go to the next school and hopefully by the time you get to that school it's there and the only place he would go to is like I'm not leaving Burley except if it's for about gifted. So we have to keep saying no, no, no. And then they call. My wife, called in again and said hey, listen, there's two types of schools. Right, there's the gifted and then there's like I can't remember. My wife could tell you there's another set of schools and once you say no to that one, you're off the list of the other one. You have to reapply. People don't know this.

Speaker 2 38:49

Listen, I don't know this.

Speaker 1 38:51

And if you don't know like, but if you know it yeah the world is your oyster.

Speaker 2 38:56

But I also feel like I don't know, I never had a plan, we just like-.

Speaker 1 39:01

Am I over planned?

Speaker 2 39:02

You're over planned, but like that's you Like you do, you Like your kids are obviously super successful.

Speaker 1 39:07

I was like this is what we-.

Speaker 2 39:08

I've got way too much going on. I don't know. I'm like the mom of three. I work full time. You've got family stuff, whatever it is, I don't know. We just kind of like put them in school and then they took the tests and like this is what-.

Speaker 1 39:19

But I think that's. It's just such a shame that there's such a wealth of like schooling for people that they just don't tell how to do it.

Speaker 2 39:29

I mean I do agree with that, but you know that is CPS. But you know, what's interesting too because I have a lot more perspective on the high school now that I've had someone graduate is that you know, when you're applying to college you're competing against the people at your school. So if you're at Peyton or Lane or one of the selector enrollment schools and you're, I mean, that's your pod that you're competing with. So if you go to, you know, lakeview or Amundsen or any of the other high schools-.

Speaker 1 39:55

You may have a better chance.

Speaker 2 39:57

Just saying I mean it's, you know it's and I also feel like-.

Speaker 1 40:01

Amundsen and Lakeview are on the up and up.

Speaker 2 40:03

Oh, amundsen's, great.

Speaker 1 40:04

Yeah.

Speaker 2 40:05

I don't, honestly, I don't know much about Lakeview.

Speaker 1 40:07

Amundsen like. I have a hundred percent-. I know a lot of people that are going to like they're choosing Amundsen.

Speaker 2 40:11

So that's what we need in the city right Options that are that get people excited. And there are, you know, good options, right.

Speaker 1 40:18

There's tons.

College Decision Process and Advice

Speaker 2 40:19

There's great, I mean there's anyway. So yeah, that's definitely like a whole nother topic. But and then you get into the whole thing with college and that's. You know, it's just different, like-.

Speaker 1 40:28

I can't even imagine.

Speaker 2 40:29

It's just depends how you approach it, right?

Speaker 1 40:32

How did she decide? I mean, that's like how did she decide it's so random, right yeah.

Speaker 2 40:38

Like who goes to University of Maryland? I love it. I'm super excited for her.

Speaker 1 40:42

How did that come about?

Speaker 2 40:44

Well, our whole theory on college and this is, you know, debatable for anyone, but I am a big believer in everyone Just do you. I don't judge, I don't criticize and I hope no one does the same of me. And if they do so, be it.

Speaker 2 40:55

So be it, I just don't care anymore. But you know, my husband and I, like, are independently successful in careers that have absolutely nothing to do with where we went to school. So we've always told our kids like there's a place for you, you could be successful anywhere you go, do not stress out about this process. And so as we went through it with my older one, it was kind of like all right, let's like apply and see where you get in. So she had no idea where she wanted to go. She wanted first, she wanted to play softball, and so that's like a whole nother track. But fast forwarding, her college counselor said apply to Merrill University of Maryland, it's a fantastic academic school and she loves sports. So she's like the sports are awesome.

Speaker 1 41:37

Yeah, Maryland's like a huge sports school.

Speaker 2 41:39

Literally, the stadium is in the middle of campus.

Speaker 1 41:42

That's awesome.

Speaker 2 41:43

It's like the stadium, the baseball field. It's just so cool. The weather was a big deal for her. She really thought she wanted to be in the South and then realized, like that's really not like the best fit for me, and at least in Maryland it's better than Chicago, right it's a little temperate. So anyway, nils said she got in and so she went to admitted students day and actually I connected her with Natah.

Speaker 1 42:08

Has she visited the school?

Speaker 2 42:10

She had never visited it, so I have some advice in that. I have some feelings about that too.

Speaker 1 42:14

So okay, go to those feelings Me too, before you forget I will not forget the feelings.

Speaker 2 42:18

But if I could go, well, I guess it really doesn't matter now, because I wouldn't go back.

Speaker 1 42:23

But she would apply the whole bit of country.

Speaker 2 42:25

But someone listening to this could be like but I think it's really important to visit multiple schools that you would consider likely to get into. Okay, right, whatever those will be we don't call them safeties anymore but somewhere where you think, like, if I apply there, I'm going to get in and focus on those. So you have places that you're excited about that most likely you will get into. Then you apply and you also apply to all your you know reach schools or whatever that may be, and see where you get in and that way, like, if you get in, go visit, see if you like it. You have time right From when you get the acceptance to when.

Speaker 1 43:01

So how much time is that?

Speaker 2 43:02

Like a month and a half, two months, Well it depends, cause there's all the like early decision and early action.

Speaker 1 43:07

So we didn't have that. I don't even know what the hell that is. I don't even know. I don't even remember what we got. There's like five different earlys.

Speaker 2 43:12

There's yeah.

Speaker 1 43:13

So I also don't even know.

Speaker 2 43:15

I know early, like early decision is binding. So it's like if you apply there, you have to get in.

Speaker 1 43:20

But if you don't, how do you have? To go there, I mean I don't, no one can't make you go, something like a stop. How do they make? How does somebody say, oh, you got in here, you have to go. Well, no, I'm going to go there. Well, we're going to come get you.

Speaker 2 43:29

I don't know.

Speaker 1 43:30

I mean, maybe there's something like you know, are they passing notes to everybody there?

Speaker 2 43:33

might be.

Speaker 1 43:35

Someone said that to me, yeah.

Speaker 2 43:36

And then you know there's this like early action now and so you can apply earlier, and I don't even know if that's beneficial. I mean, I have absolutely no idea.

Speaker 1 43:45

But I would just apply early action everywhere.

Speaker 2 43:47

Then there's like rolling admissions. So, like I don't know you apply and then they, you know you get in, like earlier.

Speaker 1 43:53

It's just kind of like, as they get the applications, they Someone said they got into school, but they're like you can't come till second semester.

Speaker 2 43:59

Yeah, so that happens, yeah, okay, so, and so it's a way for schools to put more qualified students in and whatnot. So there's a lot of ways. So anyway, I don't know.

Speaker 1 44:12

So now you talked to Natasha.

College Decision and Work-Life Balance

Speaker 2 44:14

So, funny enough, I remembered that Natasha's daughter went there, cause I'm like who goes to Maryland? And I connected them. She's a doll and Avery went there. It was raining and horrible and it was an admitted students day. And she came back and she's like I think I like it there, like I think I could go there, and then you know when that she I don't know. Then she made her decision.

Speaker 1 44:35

Did she visit any other schools?

Speaker 2 44:37

So she visited. We did a Southern trip, like to cause. She had this thing where she wanted to go to the Carolinas, but I'm like you've never been to the Carolinas, so that's one place we went to visit, Cause I'm like. I don't know, is this like something from a TV show? What's going on here?

Speaker 1 44:50

I'm sure there's a reality show that's in Carolina.

Speaker 2 44:52

Yeah, and we had visited just when we were at softball tournaments. We had seen a couple schools in Colorado. We looked at Boulder, we looked at Denver. She didn't apply to either. She didn't end up wanting to go to Colorado.

Speaker 1 45:04

That's a party school.

Speaker 2 45:06

Oh, so I would love to go there. Irma, I went to the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, irma reminded me, like Pearl Street reminded me of Seat Street, and she was like no.

Speaker 1 45:14

I drove to Cal. I drove to Boulder from LA when I was in college and I was like, oh my God, how's anybody get anything done here?

Speaker 2 45:21

So you know it's and you just kind of like if she went out on a limb, I mean she doesn't know anybody.

Speaker 1 45:28

She's since met people we have a orientation that's going to make her such a better person and that's going to breed success because she's going to have to be personable.

Speaker 2 45:35

Yeah, and she is. I mean, she's so outgoing and she's funny and she's like she's a really great kid adult, actually, A really like. I'm so proud of her, I'm so proud to be.

Speaker 1 45:44

Irma when she went to Lane. Was it the same thing, like I'm going to go here, but she had friends, was it that?

Speaker 2 45:49

different situation. No, did you know people from softball? It was actually gosh, I have to remember. So, mind you. So COVID was during her. So when she was at Lane, covid hit freshman year, so she was out.

Speaker 1 46:04

COVID, was that long ago. Huh, yes it was.

Speaker 2 46:06

It was, yes, I know she was out second semester and then all of sophomore year and then just returned as a junior, which was very challenging, when I think she actually wanted to go to Loyola, or thought she wanted to go to Loyola.

Speaker 1 46:18

That's a long drive.

Speaker 2 46:19

I know, and at the time DePaul wasn't in the new campus.

Speaker 1 46:23

I was about to say at that point she's going to DePaul.

Speaker 2 46:25

Not at the time she was, I don't know, I don't even remember. Then she got to Lane and went to Lane and it was to kind of like I don't know. It was kind of like stressful at the time. But I'm just not a parent who gets overly involved in testing and I mean, I don't know, I was late to the ACT game. I just cannot, I don't know, the work fills my plate. And I remember I was on winter break.

Speaker 2 46:49

We were with my friends and they this was summer, okay, so this was winter break of junior year and I guess you take the, you know you take the ACTs or SATs, junior year and she was telling me how her daughter, who's the same age as Avery, had already taken the ACTs three times. I was like, oh, do you have the name of your tutor? And so it's like I just like was not on the ball. But you know, I just feel like everything just kind of works out as it should and sometimes that path is really tough to go through and to get to. But I'm just kind of a believer in like if you don't get in somewhere, it's not meant to be, and if you do, maybe it's meant to be. And you know Avery's willing to go out on a limb and you know, I think it's awesome, I think super excited for her.

Speaker 1 47:30

My wife is dead set on my kids going to U of I and I'm like I got to get them out of Illinois. I said, nikki, that's the education. It's being like I mean she's going to be on the East Coast with like a completely different mindset, like to this day. Like if I didn't go to LA, I don't know if I'd be the same person, because I was exposed to just a completely. I mean, I'm still who I am, but I'm exposed to such a completely different culture. That was. I mean, I went from military school to Los Angeles, holy cow. So it was like it was like 60 dudes in a bunk to like holy shit.

Speaker 1 48:08

Right, just holy shit, yeah I mean like I had never heard of any of this stuff, Like we're you know, like you were in LA and they're like oh, this guy is you know, do you want a hippie flip? He's on mushrooms, he's taking ecstasy and I was like what the fuck it's like? Oh, yeah, you can start seeing cartoons. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm okay. But it was like. It was like. It was like I think that is such an education in itself.

Speaker 2 48:26

I mean, I think you know risk taking is like, you know, it's like cliche. But no risk, no reward.

Speaker 1 48:32

I mean yeah.

Speaker 2 48:33

I left like amazing job at a top consulting firm and like just kind of like bounced into real estate. I took a risk you know I took a risk and here I am, and, and you know it's not, let's say she's at a great school. Is that, you know? Just going out, just going out of your comfort zone is so important.

Speaker 1 48:50

By herself, by yourself. That's huge. Yeah, it's. She's strong. That's huge. Yeah, at what point? Like, I'm like I think I'm there now, but I'm also a little bit nuts but at what point did you, were you able to start turning? Because you don't get to where you're at and you're dealing with all these projects. I know you took the eight months off, but how did you start, or have you started? And when did you start to become more life balanced and be more right? Because you went from Accenture, you're probably working a gazillion hours a week.

Speaker 2 49:24

Yeah.

Speaker 1 49:25

Then you go into real estate, which everyone's like. I want my own hours. I'm like dude, there is no one hours, you know, you know, you know what no hours means. It means you answer the phone at all hours.

Speaker 2 49:33

It's the most flexible and flexible job out there. I tell it to people all the time I go, I go.

Speaker 1 49:38

I like it. Did you own hours I go? It sucks, but but then you go to there like at what? Like my aha moment was about a year and a half ago, when I was like, oh my God, he's in college, this one's in sixth grade and this one I'm going to miss. I'm like, at what point were you like I need to take more family time or I will? And you don't have to say you do this because I want to incriminate you.

Speaker 1 49:58

No, it's OK, but there's there's times when I'm like you know, I'm just not going to do that. Yeah, I go, because I've got to. Yeah, I'm knocking on 50. I've got to make sure I have family time. Yeah, I which it was never, I would never have done coming up.

Speaker 2 50:11

Yeah, First of all, I'm I'm very I'm honest with my clients. I mean there's I have. I'm surrounded by good people. I've had the same assistant for 13 years.

Speaker 2 50:23

Oh, my Laura, I think, coming up on 13 years, who's currently on maternity leave, which is amazing for her, and I'm so excited for her. But I'm like struggling, she's amazed, she's incredible. But anyway, she's licensed, she's amazing. She knows my clients, you know, and I find people to help. You can't do it, you can't do it alone, just you can't. I'm my own person, but I have, you know, a few people in my company that I love and I trust and that you know, if I fill them with the right information, they can cover for me Right. So it's. It became, I think, once my kids started in like ultra competitive sports and I was like I'm not missing this, it just goes by in a blink. I mean it's over for one of them.

Speaker 2 51:04

And so I really made it a priority. There's, you know, there's extenuating circumstances, of course, but I made it a general rule that I'm going to be at every game.

Speaker 1 51:14

That's awesome. So, I hope they hope they appreciate that.

Speaker 2 51:18

I mean, and then there's times where I just want to cry and hang up the phone. I had like have this one vivid memory because it wasn't that long ago. That was probably why I remember we're driving in the dark in South Carolina, avery and I, because we're going to look at some schools and I'm in the middle of negotiating a very, very big deal and I was unable, because of who I was dealing with, to get off the phone and I had no idea where the hotel was. It's totally dark. I'm trying to navigate my kids are so used to me being on the phone. Then I finally find it. We pull in the parking lot. I'm on the phone, I'm on the phone, I hang up and Avery goes.

Speaker 2 51:56

I don't know how you do your job. How do you like I could never do that and I just you know it's those circumstances Like you have to do it. But you just want to say, like what is this important right now? Like what can't be dealt with in one hour, and so I just think it's a matter of like. As you get older, you just you know there's things that take priority, and sometimes it's work and sometimes it's my family. But I have found that if you're honest with people that you know, you say they get it.

Speaker 2 52:29

They get it People. They're humans, People are human and we all have. You know. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and say you know, the world is not going to fall apart because I can't get you a counteroffer in the next 20 minutes, like it's okay if it's in the morning, everybody Unless there's. You know, if you're in there, there's always. Yeah, there's always but I think you know, I think it's really important for people just to calm down.

Speaker 1 52:55

Like everybody, sometimes I'm just have you ever had a fire climb?

Speaker 2 52:59

Oh, I gotta think about that, probably.

Speaker 1 53:03

You have to think about if you fire a client. No, I have, I have.

Speaker 2 53:05

I have to. It's like I wish Jen was available so I can ask her, but I know. You want to ask your assistant how many clients, people, you fire, the only thing that would make me fires, or has made me fire someone is abusive behavior.

Speaker 1 53:16

Yeah.

Speaker 2 53:17

And unfortunately I had to get abused in a way like not physically but verbally, or being treated bad to figure out like who I am and what I'll stand for. And oftentimes you know, when you're new in your career and you have someone that's a you know, a big client, or you get your first, like you know, oh my gosh, they're buying a million dollar house.

Speaker 1 53:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2 53:43

It's like not an excuse to treat you poorly. Um and so I would say I have a few regrets of clients I kept. Those clients would not be my clients now. I would never tolerate that now.

Speaker 1 53:57

So you haven't had any of those in a while. I would think sometimes at your price point there's some people that you know think they're important but they're not really important.

Speaker 2 54:05

It's so interesting because you would think that. But I have some of the nicest clients. Well, yeah, I think there's always you know how to deal with this level of you know whether it's this price point or it's like, after so many years, you just it's like you've kind of seen everything and so you know how to navigate.

Speaker 1 54:24

Just bounces off, it's like a self.

Speaker 2 54:28

My best advice, all you need to know, is be a problem solver and don't waste people's time. Time is money.

Speaker 1 54:37

Yeah.

Speaker 2 54:37

Like do it for them, you know how to do it, take care of it, meet the mover, meet the person, open the door, just say I'll deal with it and that's all you need to do. Seriously, it's like super easy. But but yeah, I mean, you know, we've all been, I think we've all hopefully fired and we've all been fired.

Speaker 1 54:58

Yeah.

Speaker 2 54:59

You know, like that sucks, but like it's understandable, right, I haven't if I haven't been able to sell your place, you know and it's what do you say when someone fires you?

Building Honest Relationships in Sales

Speaker 2 55:07

It's so funny because I just got I would say I just got fired and I absolutely adore this client Very, very tricky property to sell, very tricky. I had it for a long time. We had multiple showings but I you know the first time that the last time this property is sold, it also took a very long time. So anyway, he recently calls me up and says you know, I like you so much, you've done such a good job.

Speaker 1 55:35

But I feel like I know, and I'm like, oh God, I just get to it.

Speaker 2 55:38

I just get to it, but I feel like I owe it to, like I have to try something different for six months and I was like totally understand, I'm like I love working with you.

Speaker 2 55:47

If something changes, let me know, like maybe there's something someone else can do. That I didn't do Like yes, it sucks, you wasted time and money and you know, I mean we put a lot of money into listings, right, but you know it's. I don't want to say easy come, easy go, that's not the right phrase, but it's like where one thing ends and another begins, right, and if it's better for my client and if it works for him, then great. The idea is to get the property sold and those kind of relationships and looking at work from that perspective I think is part of the reason that I can be successful 100%. It's kind of just like I'm not doing it for the money.

Speaker 1 56:23

You're doing it for right. You're doing it for hey, listen, this is the task that I have and this is what I want to do and get this person on. You're like what you just said kind of really. If you go to Nancy's website she has a video about and it's a great video, like I was like it is. It doesn't even talk about real estate. It does, but not really. But it's like that and I watched it and I was like man, that's like this is how you should feel and if you feel this way, you're going to be successful, because you're doing things for the right reasons and people feel that non-verbal is everything like the energy that you have. That's what people are drawn to. It's not like people can sniff out bullshit.

Speaker 2 57:07

Oh, totally Like a lot yeah.

Speaker 1 57:12

And I'm always like, I'm always scrolling or this or this, and I see somebody here and I'm like man, I'm like who hires this person.

Speaker 2 57:20

I know, I mean, it's just like there's so many different personalities and I just always like I don't take myself that seriously. You know, obviously I take my job seriously and I do the, but it's like my own self, like I can joke with myself, I can make fun of myself.

Speaker 1 57:33

Yeah.

Speaker 2 57:34

Like we're all just like humans trying to do the best thing, and I feel that I've really put an effort into making sure I have the right relationships with agents. And don't you know, I'm not a yeller and I don't really lose like lose it, and that has come around like around and around right, because like it's like you, you're awesome, right. Like I know if there's a multiple offer or whatnot, like I would love to. I know I want to work with you and I could confidently say to my client, like this is a great agent.

Speaker 1 58:05

And we're going to close.

Speaker 2 58:06

We're going to close or just I don't know. It's just like we're all humans. Can we just like be nice to each other and be honest? Can we just talk about honesty for a second?

Speaker 1 58:15

I think, I think I mean it could be just the people that we hang out with, but I think everyone is like in our groups are real honest, nice people.

Speaker 2 58:25

Yeah.

Speaker 1 58:26

I do. I think there is a tremendous there's I can count at least 40 agents that that if I didn't have this thing in terms of contract and it was a handshake, it's as good as gold.

Speaker 2 58:35

Agreed.

Speaker 1 58:37

But unfortunately, like that is the thing that we're missing, but I think there's enough of them out there and they pretty much do pretty much all the business anyway. But how do you deal talking about that, how do you deal with when you get multiple offers on something and you do have two agents? You know one, you know one maybe you don't know this that, Like, when you present that to a client, do you say that to them? Like listen, I say I'm like I don't know this person, I don't know this person, I don't know this person. I've done 10 deals with this person. They might not be the highest, but the person that closes is what you want.

Speaker 2 59:14

Yeah, I mean there's so many variables to that too, right In circumstances. But I vividly recall a single family home that I sold and we had five good offers come in right, hot market, five great offers and my first and foremost, I wanted to get the quickest closing because my clients had moved out and I wanted great people to buy it, because you always want that. But there's terms. There's like what is it cash? Is there a mortgage contingency? So it's like immediately the cash ones come to the top right, because a mortgage contingency isn't anywhere. So immediately those ones go to the bottom. And then you're left with OK, I've got two cash deals here and these are the prices and they're pretty similar. And I've worked with this agent a lot. I was so excited that she and her lovely buyers got the home. It could have gone either way. It wouldn't make a significant difference. But I did say to my clients I've worked with it. This is a great agent I've worked with. I've worked with her a number of times.

Speaker 1 1:00:15

Yeah, they can control their client, and not in a bad way, but they have a relationship. Exactly, I know that this person's worked with them. No one's going to say, hey, listen, I want $100 credit for a fucking outlet that's out Right, right.

Speaker 2 1:00:28

So I do not read the contract.

Speaker 1 1:00:29

Yeah, so there is that, and I think that that relationship is what a lot of people in all of sales are missing, and I think that's what's kind of like from the 35-year-olds and down. I think that's what they're missing.

Speaker 2 1:00:46

Ding, ding, ding, Literally. You could not have said it better.

Speaker 1 1:00:49

Yeah, I mean.

Speaker 2 1:00:50

It's also like I don't know.

Speaker 1 1:00:53

We had to be in an office with people and interact and learn how to you know.

Speaker 2 1:00:56

you need to learn other people's personalities and how to deal with them, and sometimes you're just like I always say like conquer with kindness.

Speaker 1 1:01:06

Yeah, I think buyers and sellers too, don't realize. When I'm doing a video where I'm talking to somebody and I'm just like, well, this or this, I'm like you have no idea how the harder it gets, the more important these relationships are. Because, man, I fire clients all the time. So I had a client with multiple offers with an agent that I know. We put the offer in out of nowhere, she didn't even call me, she canceled my buyer and I put my reputation on the line, which takes me X amount of years to get to, and then I put it on the line for them. And then she turned around, canceled, didn't tell me, and that agent called me up and I said, no, I literally called her up. I said what happened. She told me everything. I said, listen, I said you need to do X, Y and Z. She was OK, ok, ok and I said but this is a journey that you won't be taking with me. That's exactly what I said.

Speaker 2 1:02:10

She's more balls than I do.

Speaker 1 1:02:11

I said I wish you the best, because what happens if that person? It's not fair to your, it's not fair to my buyers that are behind her. Because now, if I have multiple offers and I have another client and we're at the same agent, that agent's not going to go with me. That's huge, like people don't understand. When you're a bad buyer or seller, you can destroy somebody. Because, let me tell you something, every person in life has a reputation and that reputation precedes them and that reputation is earned. And if it's bad, no one's going to do business with you. And if it's good, people are going to do business with you and you're going to be successful. And I was like I am not going to let you do this to me. My full stop is if you cancel, if you're my buyer, and you cancel before telling me you're done.

Speaker 1 1:02:58

Oh my gosh, you're done. And then, as a seller, if I'm selling your place and you kind of lie to me or you try to trick me like how about sellers that are trying to like finagle, I'm like dude, we're all on the same fucking team. Man, I can't get this done. If you're lying to me, then that's another full stop, because I'm like I'm out there too.

Speaker 2 1:03:16

Yeah, and I like now and I do have hard boundaries. I just I, you know I'm not a high number of transaction broke.

Speaker 1 1:03:25

Yeah, that's a difference. I work at a higher price point.

Speaker 2 1:03:29

But I can now be pickier about what I take and, frankly, if I'm not good at it, I refer it out Truly. If I'm not the best or I don't think I can really get the job done well and it's in an area that I don't normally work in, why not get them to someone who can do that?

Speaker 1 1:03:48

That's just kind of the world in which I run. You're only setting yourself up for failure, right, like I always like whenever I have like I'm doing open houses this weekend. I still do. I'm doing open houses this weekend. And this one younger agent's like can I just sit with you when you're doing open houses? And I was like yeah, and he's like, he's like you know, he's like what is the? What's the one piece of advice you can give me? And I'm like set expectations. I'm like you have to set expectations and they have to be realistic, because if not, you're going to get fired and it wastes everybody's time. And I said, when you tell something, something's worth this, and they want to list it for this, I say OK, I put it on email because I got to have record.

Speaker 1 1:04:25

Yes, absolutely, and I'm like if we list for this, these is the outcome. If we list for this, this is the outcome. I want to make sure that you're OK with outcome B.

Speaker 2 1:04:36

Right, right, I know.

Speaker 1 1:04:39

I just had that conch with somebody. I'm like I'm OK, I'm like I just want to make sure.

Speaker 2 1:04:42

I mean, you know, I also, like, I just tell the truth, like, listen, the numbers are here. I don't know what to tell you. Like, this is the market, this is what it is. It does both of us a disservice.

Speaker 1 1:04:51

Yeah, if they don't hire you, they just don't. If they're not hiring you, they're not high. They're not looking for someone to do the job.

Speaker 2 1:04:56

They're looking for someone to just say yes to what they want Exactly, and a lot of times that'll come back around and hit me the second go round.

Speaker 1 1:05:02

I know, and then you can price it for lower. Exactly so yeah, sister always says it's just like marriage. You want to be the second husband and the second real state broker.

Speaker 2 1:05:11

Right, I have heard Very very very so what?

Speaker 1 1:05:16

So we'll close on this. What are you working on next? And is it moody? Is that it? Or is that like so?

Speaker 2 1:05:24

that's actually all rental.

Speaker 1 1:05:26

That's all rental yeah.

Speaker 2 1:05:28

Right now I'm working on the sell out of one Chicago. And then my resale business of various sorts.

Speaker 1 1:05:36

Which is awesome because you work the best building, so it's the best resales.

Speaker 2 1:05:40

Sometimes, yeah, it depends on the market, right? Yeah, and I'm just kind of like one day at a time, I just am, I've got a kid going to college and I'm working hard and digging my feet in and kind of constantly trying to find new and innovative ways to reach people.

Speaker 1 1:05:57

I know I love your social media.

Speaker 2 1:05:58

Thank you.

Speaker 1 1:05:59

I told Blake yesterday.

Social Media, Real Estate, and Parenting

Speaker 2 1:06:00

Oh, he's a bastard. I actually just had a really unique property coming to market and I thought of this idea on site I was like wait a minute, record me talking to brokers and let me send that out Like a void right, like hey. I literally was like hey, brokers. I know this is unconventional, but I have a really unique opportunity. Let me just explain it to you.

Speaker 2 1:06:23

And then filming while you're talking to the brokers, or just like a quick explanation so they can watch that, and then I'm going to send the floor plans and like, if you have someone that's even potential for this, call me. It's very unique.

Speaker 1 1:06:35

But how about that voice while?

Speaker 2 1:06:38

Blake is running through it. Oh it's amazing.

Speaker 1 1:06:40

And say hey guys, this, this, this this.

Speaker 2 1:06:42

Yeah, that's like a whole other thing, even though I said let's close with it. I mean you and I are not of the social media generation Like this is. You know, we are like Facebook people Like that was the first social media introduction.

Speaker 1 1:06:55

What was before Facebook?

Speaker 2 1:06:57

Nothing, no, no, there was something yes. My space. My space. Yeah, oh, my gosh, ok, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07:03

We just had to ask the younger kid I don't know how to. I mean, I have Instagram, but it's like I can't keep up with what's going on, so you just your IG is good Well yes, because I have people helping me with it, and it's good that you put kid stuff in there, because that's how you read that I know. But hold up, people want.

Speaker 2 1:07:22

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07:22

People want to be in sales the person like they want to be part of their life. They want to be part of your life.

Speaker 2 1:07:29

Yeah, it's interesting because when I was, you know, in working with Blake and Drone Hub Media, who I read, you know they're fantastic and they've kind of they've taken over my social media. It's really important to me. It's like I kind of don't like marketing myself, like I just want to sell my properties, which is.

Speaker 1 1:07:45

You know, in all your videos you never say your name. I want you to start with your name.

Speaker 2 1:07:48

Hi, this is Nancy.

Speaker 1 1:07:50

You don't? You just stood right into it.

Speaker 2 1:07:51

It's like on my social media, but I don't know why. It's just a thing, I don't know. For some reason, I just I have a hard time.

Speaker 1 1:07:58

You're good at it.

Speaker 2 1:07:58

Being like, like or this year I did this much in sales. I don't know. It's kind of like I have a job, people hire me.

Speaker 1 1:08:05

I want to sell their properties you got to do it a little bit because you got to. You got to flex a little Because, like, whenever I reach out to clients, they'll be like blah, blah, blah, blah, I have somebody for you. Blah, blah, blah, I mean you, yeah, but you're the homes you're selling and the price tags that are on there, I mean, speak for themselves. So, but it's not, it's not bad to flex.

Speaker 2 1:08:25

Yeah, it's just like.

Speaker 1 1:08:27

Just a little it's a little unnatural.

Speaker 2 1:08:28

It feels a little unnatural for me, so I am like I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, but it's like I don't need my picture all over the place. It's just like not.

Speaker 1 1:08:34

Well, yeah, I mean, but it's good, I was like, I was like, you know, that's how I knew your daughter hit three home runs. There you go See.

Speaker 2 1:08:40

Same game. Yeah, that's pretty exciting. Yeah, you know, it's fun. Like we're all, like I said, like we're humans, we're just like people all trying to like raise our kids and be good people. I think like that's my goal, you know right, I just want to like be a good person and like have great life experiences and you know, and raise good people and so like, let's all kind of Be it.

Speaker 1 1:09:02

Do it together Right Like there's enough room.

Speaker 2 1:09:04

There's plenty of room for all the realtors and for we all do different things. Right, we're all so different yeah.

Speaker 1 1:09:11

I had a. I walked into a Starbucks and there was a broker there and he started going bananas on Redfin and this and this and I just looked at him and said man, we have different business models. Right, Right, Like power to you, but I like every and no one has to like tread on anybody. I mean, we're to fucking see with millions of people.

Speaker 2 1:09:32

There's so much opportunity. That's just why I like mentor people. I love teaching people. I, if I have any tricks, I'm happy to tell you about them, like there's plenty of room for everybody. You know you're not going to win them all, you're not going to get them all.

Speaker 1 1:09:43

No, you can just instead of instead of all of us just cutting from the same pie, we could just keep it growing like this and then just yeah, and then just make the pie bigger and bigger. Everyone makes more and there's just more space for people. Yeah, yeah, okay. Well, we'll leave on this. One Advice for parents in terms of do you do any type of social media for your kids, in terms of keeping an eye on it, how do you keep an eye on that?

Speaker 1 1:10:14

And bullying off of social media. I know it's a whole course in itself, but like something, since you have to see a college, two high schoolers at two different schools, all these different groups, like I said, your son and my son, kind of cross paths. There's 200 kids that basically run the city and everyone is at everybody's throats, especially on the athletic side. It's crazy to me. Like League at Snapchat, like leave will go one for four in South Illinois and someone will snapchat him like you suck, you only hit one hit today. I didn't know where it's. Like, I don't know who the fuck this kid is oh my god.

Speaker 2 1:10:53

First of all, I hate snapchat.

Speaker 1 1:10:55

It's the. It's the really like.

Speaker 2 1:10:56

I literally wish snapchat with John. So die there is, I don't know it's a source of all bully. It's. I mean this is a whole not this yeah other topic, but you know I don't have any.

Speaker 2 1:11:06

You know we have screen time. You know in terms of, like, what time the phone goes off, but you really can't control your kids. You can only talk to them. At least that's what you know. I'm trying to be the best mom I can. I'm trying to raise good people. That's what I care about. If you're you know, I don't need you to get all a's, I need you to be a good human being that gives back to society and does, you know, is a good human when they come to you with something that happened on social media, or someone saying something, what do you?

Speaker 1 1:11:36

what's your, what's your go-to advice?

Speaker 2 1:11:37

So it's actually easier with my girls Because I am a girl, right?

Speaker 1 1:11:44

So I understand how to identify as a girl. I identify as a guy.

Speaker 2 1:11:48

I understand it. Nothing changes right the like. You know, call it bullying or leave. You know the exclusion I mean, the heartbreak though.

Speaker 1 1:11:56

It's bullies with boys and it's exclusion with women.

Speaker 2 1:11:58

Yes.

Speaker 1 1:11:59

I listen to an amazing podcast with Bill Maher and it's it's Bill Maher and in In Peterson, the clinical psychiatrist, and it was two hours of amazingness and an hour of it was on. Yeah, and how social media is is giving rise to psychopaths because, no, there's no checks and balances completely, and society has friends slapping other friends to move them back to where they should go and Social media is a friendless society. It's really no, really cool.

Speaker 2 1:12:29

It's a great pot. I have so many feelings about this. Yeah, I hate it, but it's. I have so many feelings. But you know, I feel like all I can do if I speak, you know, with my girls. If they're in a situation and they want to talk about it with me, I'm gonna give them advice on how to handle it, based on how I poorly handled it when I was a kid, or based on I know what happens in the end right.

Speaker 2 1:12:49

And so I you know, if it's, if, if someone's being excluded, and that's happening, well, include, be an Includer. Yeah because you know how it feels to be excluded.

Speaker 1 1:12:59

Yeah to my friend. I tell that to will because we'll. It's kind of like a little bit of a ringleader.

Speaker 2 1:13:03

Yeah, I go.

Speaker 1 1:13:03

If I ever hear exclusion or this, this, I literally gonna throw you through a wall.

Speaker 2 1:13:06

Yeah, and then you know, in the boys I have I have one boy and it's just a little bit harder because you know I don't like understand the male brain and like you know they get kind of quiet at 15, 15 right. But you know I listen. We all try, we do the best we can yeah, when we know better, we do better.

Speaker 1 1:13:26

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 1:13:28

That's what I'll say, all right, well, thank you so much. This is fantastic. This is going to be On in about three weeks, so it'll be good. We'll be on it towards the middle of September. I want to thank Nancy. Nancy, can you Give kind of your social media, like, if people want to reach out to you, if they want to look at your beautiful properties, I mean their social media, so it's, it's, it's the absolute real estate porn? Is drone hub, that is real estate porn. If you want to see something, but yours is this, yours is real estate porn. Chicago yeah, it's really cool. There's tremendous that the rooftop deck you just sold on Walton.

Speaker 2 1:14:09

Oh, I love that property. It's so insane.

Speaker 1 1:14:13

Yeah, I, yeah under contract in 10 days. Yeah, the roof tax is unbelievable. There's awesome stuff under stuff, so give them all of your socials. If you want to give a phone number, whatever you want to do, yeah, well, yeah, whatever you want to give okay.

Speaker 2 1:14:25

Well, Instagram is just at Nancy to Sony. That's easy. Nancy to Sony. Comm would be my website.

Speaker 1 1:14:31

You can watch your bio movie in the beginning. It's nice.

Speaker 2 1:14:34

Very complicated stuff and, you know, you could just like Google. Okay, I guess I don't know, I'm not that interesting. Okay but you can't have some real estate porn.

Speaker 1 1:14:44

All right, thank you so much. I appreciate you guys listening to the Jason theory. As always, you can find us on audible iTunes, spotify and Buzzsprout and anything else. If you just Google it, it'll all come up and we will. We'll see you soon. Enjoy so the September, enjoy September and getting into October. Bye you.