"Yo, Where's Your Office?" Part I | Episode 144

Local people are gonna know this market. Now, here's where it is today with buyers and sellers. That does not matter at all. Honestly, there are people who are licensed in multi-states. I'm licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Do I do a lot of New Jersey business? No, but I understand South Jersey. So if I have someone in my network that says I want to buy or sell in South Jersey, I will help you. Okay? It doesn't happen that often. When it does, I can do it. Welcome to the podcast dedicated to real estate, insurance, and building your business. Join us as we take you along our own business building journeys with additional wisdom from our network of local and national experts. Welcome to Bricks and Risk.

This episode is brought to you by Property Management Redefined. PMR is not just managing properties, we're creating partnerships that build long-term success for property owners. John and his team can be reached at manage at goPMR.com or by phone 267-753-6005. Tim. Yes, Sean. Who's a good client for PMR?

Property management redefined is looking for property owners who value three things accountability, reliability, and a results-driven approach. You want to maximize returns, but still provide client and tenant satisfaction.

There's a lot of property managers out there. Yes, there are. What does PMR do really well?

Biggest thing is they're seamless and they're worry-free. So with that approach in mind, it allows the property owner to put their trust in PMR and know that the results will be there. The other thing I think a property owner is really gonna value because they do it so well is that they have a local expert team boots on the ground, managing your properties and your tenants' expectations every day so that you feel good about your investments.

We have millions of listeners out there. Tens of millions. If they want more information, how do they find PMR?

Right here, guys, reach out to John Sachs and his team at Property Management Redefine. We'll take good care of you. Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Bricks and Risk. I'm Sean Mooney's co-host, Tim Garrety. And I'm Sean Mooney.

What are we talking today? Dude, I've never seen this is a new Obey hat. I have never seen this one. This is uh added to the collection recently. Yeah. Okay. So eBay, please uh disclose the cost. Uh OBO, like six bucks.

Damn. And then do they ever give like years of like when these things were made? I don't know. So it's just you just find random obey stuff and then you just is the goal ten dollars or less?

Yeah, I mean anything it would have to be really special to be like over ten bucks. What's the most you've ever paid for an obey hat?

Are you embarrassed to say?

No, if you remember, it's the blue one with the yellow uh lettering. Do you remember I ordered it from Japan? That's right. Yeah. And there was like more for shipping. It was like a $10 hat, but the shipping was like $20 or something. But I really but I really wanted that hat. I need that hat. Oh, dude. It's the posse one.

I think my favorite Obey hat is the green one with the skull with the dude. Oh. Like it's like joker-ish, like old school, like 80s, 90s, almost like punky skills.

Andre's face on the card on the skeleton's hat.

Yes. Dude, that that one is totally sick. Love that one. Yeah. Alright, what are we getting into today?

Today's topic is real estate driven.

It's not just real estate driven, but uh it has a real estate flavor.

Yeah. Uh I guess by by way of like the conversation that springs up.

We'll get into the insurance or service standpoint as well.

The topic is going to be where's your office? Where are you located? Where's your office?

I love this. Oh, this is so great.

And so where it stems from is you get in these conversations and it gets to a point in the conversation where you are being interviewed, and the question the interview question is where's your office?

All right. So let me let me preface this. So for those who watch this show or listen to the show that are not in real estate, and there's plenty of you real residential real estate, I'm gonna stick with. Let's stay in that lane. Residential real estate is one of the most cutthroat, peer pressure-ish, stare you down, judge all day industries that there are in in business. It is. And here's one of the things that I would get ever since I've been in real estate, since the first week that I started, there was an opportunity to cooperate with another agent. So let's talk about what is cooperation. So I have a buyer client, they're looking for a house in a neighborhood. Isn't it funny that it's called cooperation? Yes, it is. And then there's all these other houses out there that are listed with all these different agents and all these different brokerages. Some agents have multiple listings, lots of people have different ones all over the place.

It reminds me of when they say the parkway and the driveway. Yes. You drive on the parkway and park in the driveway. So it it reminds when we talk about cooperation, that's what that's what my brain goes to.

So cooperating would be I have a buyer client, a listing agent has a seller client, I bring them the buyer, we do a transaction, now I'm representing the buyer, listing agent's representing the seller. So you have these like separate representations. That's when the stare downs start.

And one of one of those old westerns when you're standing on one of the sides of the town, you're like smoking a cigarette, it's like a Clint Eastwood movie, and you're like, who's gonna draw first?

Yes. It's like chicken. Yeah. So one of the biggest questions I would get, aside from like, who you with? Who you with? Who you with? would be again, that's Philly slang.

Who you with? When we do our show with the wheel, we're gonna put who you with, where is your office? We're gonna put all these isms on a wheel and we're gonna spin the wheel.

That's total Philly slang right there. Who you with? Who you with? Yeah, who you with? Um, so it would be like, oh, well, where's your office at?

Can you imagine being from Iowa and you just start a career in real estate in Philly and they're like, Who you with? And you're like, With?

What?

Am I married?

Be like, what? Didn't you miss a couple words? Expression. And people would ask me this all the time, well, well, where's your office at? Sometimes with clients, if I didn't know them, let's say, which was very common in the beginning, I didn't know a lot of the people I was working with, yeah. And people would be like, Oh, well, where's your office located? Yeah. Where's your office at? It's just this it's it's almost like they want to test you because they want to figure out is your office anywhere near the property or properties I'm interested in, let's say. I'm a buyer. Or if I'm a seller, same deal.

Did you take offense to it? How would you describe the uh reaction you would have when someone would say that to you?

Well, no, I never took offense to it in my 16 years of residential real estate because it doesn't matter to me.

No, but what what was you you had to have a reaction? I mean, if we're having this as a topic, you had to have a reaction.

My reaction would be in the beginning when people would ask me, I didn't really understand why they kept asking me, like, why does it matter? I can I can help anyone.

Did it bother you?

No, it didn't bother me. It got it got to a point I'm like, why do all these people care? And then as I got to know real estate agents, I'm like, oh, okay.

Did did you uh enjoy it when it was coming from a client more or when it was another realtor saying I loved it from other agents?

Yeah. Because I'd be like, well, before I answer that, where's your office? Yeah, I'd start playing mind games with them. What do you mean? You know, I'd be like, ah, my office, like when I started with Brown McKinnon, I'm like, oh, my office is in Brewery Town. They're like, uh oh, okay. What where? I'm like, on, you know, Cabot Street. The locals call it Cabot Street. It's right next to St. Joe's Prep. They're like, oh. I'm like, yeah, we're in like a rehabbed raw home. My broker rehabbed himself. I'm like, oh, oh, that's cool. Oh, cool. I'm like, where's your office? Like, I'm out in uh Wynwood.

Yes. I'm on the main line. Yeah, I'm out there. Um Have you ever heard of the main line, Tim? That's where my office is, right on Lancaster Avenue. Burwyn. Have you ever been?

Have you ever been to the Berwyn Tavern? All these people from Berwin are like, I honestly I don't like Mooney now.

Actually, Berwin's mo Berwin's probably like the most on mainline part of the main line. So it kind of beautiful town. And if you've ever been to the Berwyn Tavern, Tim, they have a fabulous meatloaf sandwich that's just to die for.

Extra ketchup.

True story. They have they have the world's best meatloaf sandwich.

Never been to Burwen Tavern. Dope.

So it's like if the Alehouse Shout out to the Burnwyn Tavern. If the Alehouse And no offense to Berwyn. If the Alehouse and the Crescent Inn and the Wonder Bar in Atlantic City had a baby, it would be the Berwin Tavern.

I am highly interested in it because I love all those places. Wow, it's like awesome. Alright, well, let's do this. I'm gonna I'm gonna shift. So we already know like a little bit about real estate. All right, here's a question for you. Yeah. Has that ever come up in insurance? Not from another rep, let's say, or another maybe another independent owner, maybe a state farm owner, or all state or whatever. But has that ever come up with clients when you were new, talking to people you don't know, they're like, oh well, where's your insurance office? Yeah. Okay, let's talk about that.

Yeah, so it's just um I would say that it comes from a period of time. So if you think about insurance and the way that insurance has been transacted over the decades, right? Um years and years ago, you would have, you know, walked down the street, walked in the office, and secured insurance coverage from a local agent. Yep. So that's the way for a long period of time that it was. Yeah, hyperlocal had value back then. Yeah. So speed up, bring us into like, you know, the 2000s or whatever. Um, it was uh a way for clients to triangulate, you know, where you are, and I think mainly because this the if I were to like take a guess about why the question was asked, okay, is that you know, sometimes there there may be a period where or a problem may arise that you want to get in front of someone like face to face.

Okay, yeah, like you're five minutes, you're ten minutes, you're whatever from my house. Right. So I want to come down to Main Street and stop in your office and talk to you, and maybe you're a part of my community, let's say. Yes.

So so from that standpoint, like let's say there's a claim, and now there's a real problem with the claim, and you don't want to spend some time on the phone. You you really need to get in someone's office so that the two of you can work through this issue.

Okay.

So I think there is a component of it as to why a client might ask, Oh, w where are you? You know. I mean, we get a lot of people that will call or you know, reach out to us online. Oh, I drove past your office, you know, on my way home from work, or you know, so from a geographical, physical, location perspective, that does happen a lot. All right, so let's talk less now, but m a lot more, you know, early on.

Let's talk about it from an owner operator standpoint.

Yeah.

Meeting other insurance owner operators. No one ever cared or no one ever questioned it.

Maybe when I was with like State Farm because they could only have certain people in certain areas. Gotcha. So it would be like, oh, well, where are you? or you know, not that I was a state farm agent, I was just working in an office, but to get to know, like, oh, whose office are you in or what area are you in? Uh, or you know, similarly with All State or something like that. Okay. But not like where are you? You know, not like a judging standpoint. No, no, no.

Okay. All right. So I'm A little different that way. I'm gonna go back to real say I'm gonna paint this in two ways.

But let me ask you a follow-up. So when you would receive that as a question, was the intent of the question really to like size you up? Because based on where you are, specifically I would say in Philadelphia, because it's so neighborhood driven. Um, and if you're doing well, then maybe you can move into this exclusive neighborhood to have an office. Is like that's is that one of the reasons why someone would ask, Where's your office? Not today.

Maybe maybe 15 years ago.

That's what I mean.

Yeah. I I mean I think it held weight. Like back then they would be like, if if your office is like in the neighborhood, let's say in Philadelphia, they almost consider you like a neighborhood expert. Your office is located here, you probably live close to here. You either rent or you own your office, you're maybe a part of the community. You know, maybe they do a street festival and you got a table set up, like whatever. You're like you're like part of the fabric.

Yeah.

You know, back then. Now it's different. But look, I want I want to paint this two pictures. One from a client standpoint, and one from an agent, cooperating agent, networking agent standpoint. Okay. So let's go from the client. Because they're they're both two different uh perceptions, I would say, as an agent. Been doing this 16 years, was in mortgages for eight years prior to this. So I've been in residential real estate for like basically 25 years.

Yeah.

So let's go with the client. So sometimes in the beginning, I still get it now here and there, not as much because I pretty much work with everyone I know. But like, let's say it's like a random, I meet like a friend of a friend or a neighbor of a friend, a co-worker of a friend, and they'll say, Where's your office at? Okay, so they asked me this. From a perceived value, there are still some buyers and sellers out there, I would say, and investors, let's call it, maybe not so much with landlords or tenants, that they look at like they want your office to be somewhere in close proximity to the area that they're interested in for buying or selling. Probably because they're like, well, if your office is around there, then you probably know that area very well. You either like sell real estate around there or drive around the area or live around the area or shop around the area, or your kid goes to school in the area, whatever. There's this perceived value that if your office is in close proximity to their area of interest, whether buying or selling, that you know that area. Okay, so there's that. That still happens today, but it's kind of rare. Hey everyone, this is Tim, your favorite bricks and risk co-host. But don't tell Sean. I hope you're enjoying this episode, and I'll get right back to it in a moment. Our audience grows through word of mouth, so if you would please take a moment of your time and give us a review on the platform you're on, that would be fantastic. Please also help spread the BR word by sharing your favorite episode with a friend. We greatly appreciate your time and trust. Now, back to the show. Let's go back to when it was very common when I first started. It's one buyers and sellers don't buy and sell real estate very often. Every 10 plus years, let's call it, is like the average. So because of that, they don't really understand it that well. And therefore, every 10 years, 11 years, whatever it is that they decide to buy or sell, they kind of think being local is a value, is a feather in their own cap. It's a value proposition to them to work with you because you're local. Okay? That was back then. Now, even the ones who ask it, they've probably never bought anything or sold anything before. And therefore, they're kind of like, I kind of think maybe I should work with someone local. And it also usually comes from someone that doesn't have someone in the industry. They don't know anyone. Yeah. So like I should stick local. Local people are gonna know this market. Now, here's where it is today with buyers and sellers. That does not matter at all. Honestly, there are people who are licensed in multi-states. I'm licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey. Do I do a lot of New Jersey business? No, but I understand South Jersey. So if I have someone in my network that says I want to buy or sell in South Jersey, I will help you. Okay? It doesn't happen that often. When it does, I can do it. In Pennsylvania, I focus on Southeastern PA: Philly, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware. Those five counties, that's where I focus. People are like, why? Why are you focusing geographically on such a large area? Millions and millions of people live in that area. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of towns and neighborhoods in that area. Yeah. How can you do that? Okay. Couple reasons why. One, I'm from here my entire life. So being from the area, I know this area very well. I know it from sports, I know it from school, I know it from hanging out, and I know it from working. One of the best jobs I ever had was working for Pulti Homes. Shout out. And when I worked for the mortgage company, Pulti Mortgage, inside of Pulti Homes, I used to have to go out to over 20 communities in and around southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. I would have to drive to all of them and meet with the sales reps and train them on mortgage and give them confidence and tell them about our programs and tell them how to sell the mortgage company, and our rates are good and our fees are low. Like that was my job. And I did that for six years and I did it very well. But I really got to know the area very well by doing that. Like I drive out to these areas I had never been in, like outer Chester County or outer Montgomery or Bucks or Delaware. And I'd be like, yo, this is cool. Like maybe I get lunch there. You know, I drive around, like maybe I stop in somewhere, drive down the main street. I'm just curious. That's just how I am. So I got to know the area very well. So that was that's one reason why it never uh looked like it would be a problem for me starting in real estate even 16 years ago. And then now today, why is it so different for buyers and sellers? Data. It's different because of data. You a, I mean, AI is like completely changing the information game, especially for residential real estate. I can get an answer on any property in any neighborhood, anywhere in my area, in a matter of seconds. And I can understand exactly what I can get a broad perspective on anything I want to understand if I know how to prompt AI. And I haven't even been using AI that much or that long. So that's where it is now. So now it really doesn't matter if you're good at what you do. But even like, let's say like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I made it a point that if someone came to me and said, Hey Tim, I want to go buy a house in Oaks, Pennsylvania, I would say, Look, I've never sold a house out there, but I know that area because when I was at Poulty, we had a development out there. I know the downtown, I know the area, I know the price point, I'm happy to help you. They're like, awesome, you know the area, let's go. And then I go out there, and all it just I would take the bright MLS data and dissect it and know it before I even got there. So I'd know what the houses are selling for, why they're selling. I already know the town, I know the area, days on market before I even saw a house.

Would you tell them about the light show at the convention center? At the convention center. Christmas time they have a human.

Oh, they do one at the Oaks, the Greater Philadelphia Convention, whatever they call it. Yep. What do they call that? Greater Philadelphia. I don't know. Oaks Oaks Center.

I didn't even know they did that. Humongous. You can see it from Mars.

Have you taken it? How'd you find out about that? Must be well known. I guess we're in the wrong circle, Tim. Parent, you know, for Twitter chats, I guess. So buyer seller, that's the perspective. Yep. Let's go with agents. Oh, this is really where it gets good. This is where the office insecurity creeps into the minds subliminally of every realler I've ever met.

It's like some way, shape or form. Like a mind fungus.

It's just like it's a it's a stare down game. It's like, well, what office are you with? At first, they want to know where who you're with, so they can stare you down. And second, they want to know which office with that company. But what's beautiful now is like being I work with real Real doesn't even have any offices. So again, the agents and the teams have offices, but Real as a company does not place offices in markets. So it makes it even more comical. But again, agents like to size up other people.

You should have. I I remember when I said that you when people asked you when they were who's Copper Hill? Yeah. And I said, Well, why don't you turn it back on them and be like, You've never heard of Copper Hill? Like, who are you? Yeah, living under a rock. You need to come up with some sort of response for people when they're like, You're with real. Where's your office? Well, I don't like to argue with people as much as you do.

So I usually just brush it off and just be like, I I look at it as almost like a game now because I don't play that game. So I'm just gonna breach the different approach. Yeah, yours would be you'd probably play a little bit more of a mind game. Probably. Probably. Um so then people would say, like, well, where's your office at? And it was always this thing of like, oh, okay. You're in brewery town. I would just make it up here.

I'd be like, oh I'm in Sunshine, Pennsylvania. Have you ever heard of it? Yeah. I wonder if there's a Sunshine Pennsylvania. There's uh Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. Yes, there is. And there's a Mars, Pennsylvania. There is a Mars. Speaking of Mars. Uh there's also a um there's Intercourse Pennsylvania. Intercourse.

And then there's uh Mexico. There's a Mexico, Pennsylvania. Mexico, Pennsylvania. You know what's funny? Shout out to Maria, my wife. There's a Denver, Pennsylvania. Yeah. And we've driven by it a couple of times. It's when you drive drive by on the uh on the turnpike going west. Yeah. Anyway. Um, so people would size up. Okay, what are what office are you with? Is your office of caliber to my office so they could size you up? How many agents are in your office? Is it a big brand? Is it a small brand? So there's that. And it's also like, well, where are you geographically located? And and part of this too, I think, is just like the average age of a realtor being like, you know, over 55, at least it was the last time I checked. Maybe it's different now. But being that it was like an older average age, that demographic just loved playing on. Well, where's your office at? Where's your office? They just loved playing that peer pressure mind game.

That's why I would I would be like in Denver, Denver, Pennsylvania. Like just for the reaction.

I'm out.

I'm out in intercourse. And then they'd go look it up. Like, is Tim's office in Denver? And then like, and who cares?

So I I just find it funny that like people would ask that question, and now I feel like we're getting to a point. So let's let's go to today. Because there's even agents that I know like.

Well, let me let me before we get there. I I think it's funny because let's say like you're some big producer in the area. Okay. Let's go with that. Right. Joe Jabloni is the very experienced real estate professional. Okay. Joe Jabloni. Joe Jabloni, like, could have started in Swarthmore. Or could have started like in like Lower Marion or something. I don't even know.

Whatever.

But but now he's located in Westchester or Conchahaken. Or where like people don't understand that it's so irrelevant when they ask that question. Like he could have worked in Conchahaken for 20 years, and but now his office is in Ardmore. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, no, it really Oh, oh, so now I'm gonna tell now you have credibility. Now you've got the real estate chops because your office is in Ardmore.

Well, here's one thing in real estate I will say. So not to completely crap on offices. In real estate.

You just spent the last 23 minutes crapping on.

I'm talking about that question. But anyway. So like let's say you're a hyperlocal agent and you focus on only like a couple neighborhood one neighborhood or a couple surrounding neighborhoods. Like you're very hyper-focused. Let's say 90% of your business is in one or one or two surrounding neighborhoods. Yeah. Right there. So therefore, you probably want an office around there. Yeah. Because that's all you're really doing. So if that's all you're really doing, I will say there is there is value to having an office there because the perceived value is you are a hyperloc in that market. To the client. To the yeah, to clients, let's say. Yeah. But I think it does play into agents as well because if you're only doing business in that area, you're probably coming across the same agents over and over and over again. Okay. Then you develop a rapport with those agents, and maybe if they get an off-market deal or a pocket listing or whatever the crap they're trying to sling these days, because it's there's still inventory issues around here. They might talk to you. We could pick that up on another episode. Yes, we could. They might talk to you first and say, hey, Tim, I got 123 Main Street coming online next week. Can any buyers, any like really good buyers? You got any like, you know, anyone who really is like dying to find a property around in and around 123 Main Street, like with three bedrooms and like one and a half bathrooms. You got anyone? You're like, hey, hey, Bill, as a matter of fact, I do. I have a couple that's been looking for six months and we struck out twice already. Is there any chance we could get a look at that property before it hits the market? Yeah. And Bill be like, Yeah, Tim, for you, anything, buddy. You know, I know you do a lot of business around here. We've done business before. I know you're a good agent. That's the reason I told my client I wanted to go off market for the first week or two weeks or whatever, because I wanted to talk to the Tims of the world and see if they had any buyers. We could just make this deal happen. So I go take my clients through and let's say it works out. So again, that would be an advantage to like being hyperlocal or having an office locally. Yeah. Um, but let's talk about this next part of like where's your office? Let's talk about owning versus renting. And you just went through this, okay? So you've been renting. Yeah. Which again, my tenures with Copper Hill, we've rented the entire time. So renting is a fantastic strategy when you're starting a business because one of the objects of starting a business is like you have to take care of the business financially, and then also investing dollars in the right places so that your business can grow. And as your business grows and thrives and goes from a baby to a kid to a teen, once you get to that stage, you're like, maybe I should buy a building for my business because financially it's going to make more sense. My business kind of has what it needs, and maybe this is the next level of me investing in my business. So share your story if you don't mind.

Yeah, so it was uh, you know, I'd been renting, I moved back to Ambler in COVID. So like 26 years ago, maybe 21, 2020, yeah, something like that. Yep. And knew I knew I wanted to be close by, knew where I kind of wanted to be. You were living in Ambler. Yeah. And so um found a spot like right on Main Street, like right on um Butler, which is the main drag that comes through town. Shout out to Ambler and Butler Pike. Shout out Ambler movie theater. Yes. Um big things coming there, by the way. Yes, major happenings. Yes. Um so I knew where I wanted to be, found a place, it worked, rented. So I rented for, you know, five years, six years. And you rented prior to that too. Yeah. Rented for a while. Yep. So uh, well, since 2013, ever ever since I started in the broom closet, then went out over into uh eating lunch with the with the mice. Yeah. Um so the opportunity came to me to um you know purchase the building. And so I jumped on it. I mean, I thought it was a great uh investment for me where I could lock in my location. Yep. So I didn't have to worry about, oh, this lease is expiring, do I have to renew, or do I need to find a different space or you know, and and deal with all that. It's just like, okay, now I now I can just put all that aside and concentrate on this being my location for the next 20 years. Yep. And so by way of that, it just made a lot of sense for me to um, you know, own it rather than continuing to rent.

Thank you for joining us on another episode of Bricks and Risk. Our goal is that you walk away with one or two valuable nuggets, and we greatly appreciate you sharing your time with us today. You can find all BR episodes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and anywhere else you get your podcast content. Until next time, keep learning and keep growing.