Real Estate Sessions Rewind - Florin Patrascoiu, Owner/Broker – RE/MAX Premier September 2021

But think of the transaction a few years ago versus the transaction now. I'm still getting reviews and interviews, thanking us and my agents for using technology and helping them not come somewhere to or go somewhere.I remember when I started in the late 90s, we used to have six originals of the contract. So a client would sign six times and initials every page of everything six times.Because one was going to the listing broker, one is going to the buyer's broker, one was going to the company. Want to go in the mortgage company?

You're listening to the Real Estate Sessions and I'm your host, Bill Risser. With nearly 25 years in the real estate business, I love to interview industry leaders, up and comers and really anyone with a story to tell.It's the stories that led my guests to a career in the real estate world that drives me in my 10th year and over 400 episodes of the podcast. And now I hope you enjoy the next journey. Hi everybody. Welcome to episode 294 of the Real Estate Sessions podcast.As always, thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so much for telling a friend. Today I'm going to stay local. I'm going to head up towards Wesley Chapel.Wesley Chapel is this cool little area northeast of Tampa and I'm going to be talking to the broker owner of ReMax Premier. I met Florin Patrassciou through Michelle Lawson, one of the sales executives. She works in that office.When I was with Fidelity National Title, Florin had me in numerous times to help with technology things with his operation. And he's got a great story. He's a wonderful broker owner. He does some great things in the industry. So I'm excited to have this conversation.Florin, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you, sir. I really appreciate inviting me.

Yeah, it's, you know, you and I go way back when I say way back, way back in my Florida history, because I think I met you very early in the game when I started working for Fidelity National Title here. Right. Via Michelle Lawson.

Yes, yes, absolutely. It was four or five years ago. I think that's when you moved to beautiful sunny Florida from sunny Arizona. Right.

Prior to that, sunny San Diego. So there's a history there.

That's great. Yeah. And we both love technology and I think that's how we started. So, yeah.Thank you for connecting and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have for your audience and I hope they'll enjoy it.

Yeah. Thank you. It's really going to be a fun story because first you're you're my first Romanian on the podcast.First of all, let's talk about how you end up in Florida. Right. And, and I know timing wise, I think you were kind of a young man when you, when you made the move, right?

Yes. I just finished college back in Romania. Moved here at age 24 in 1996.Celebrated my 25th, fifth year in the United States in August, and for the first time I can say I lived in the United States more than I lived in Romania. So I was 24 and I moved here. So, yeah, I'm a Romanian by birth and an American by choice.And I still believe that this is the best country in the world to live and I will not even go on anything else.But, you know, people should experience other cultures and other countries, live there for a month or two, and when they come back, they come back with a renewed appreciation for what they have.

Ah, let's, let's talk about Romania a little bit because I don't. My. I'm going to be really. I'm going to be bad here. My, my knowledge is light and so I know it's, I know it's probably, it's just north of Greece.

Yeah.

And I know it's west of, of Russia and thank God.

Yeah.

So Eastern European area. I know. And this is really going to be bad here, Florin. But, but I know that Nadia Comanich was probably like a hero.

Yeah, yeah.

Back in the. It was, it late 70s, I think it was.

Yeah, yeah. It was the first gymnast to have a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. So that's why, that's her claim of fame. And not many people achieve that afterwards, but.Absolutely, absolutely. She's an idea.

Tell me, tell me a little bit about the country itself.

Yeah. Eastern European. It's a beautiful country. It's, it's just. And I'm not saying that because I was born there. It's just, just a beautiful country.I was born and raised in Bucharest, which is a capital. Bucharest used to be called the Little Paris. And we're just on wrong side of the map of the Second World War.So when that happened, you know, Europe was divided in two. If I. Sure you remember the Berlin Wall.So half of it was under the influence of Western influence and the other half, including Romania, was under the Soviet Union at the time influence. So.But one interesting thing about Romanian, and I don't know if you can detect that in my accent or not, it's a Roman based language, it's a Latin based language and we are surrounded by Slavic languages. And that's an interesting thing. So, you know, it's just, it's one of those things that for me, learning Italian or Spanish, it's. It was.Was fairly easy. I should not say easy. Easier.

Yeah. Easier, yeah. If we went way back in history, then. So the Roman Empire had a huge influence on that part of.

That part of the world.

Y.

That part of the world, yeah.

Awesome. What made you. As you're. You're relocating you, you know, you wanted to come to the States.

What.

What brought you to Florida?

Readers that just version of it. So. Okay, a long story short is dated and married my beautiful bride.She's a native of Romania and she moved to the United States to Florida a few years before I did because her family immigrated here. And that was, that was not my choice, by the way. But you know, as soon as I moved here, as a young, young professional, loved it.And that's what I call home. So it's very easy. It was, it was a very easy decision. And how can you not live in the Sunshine State? So, yeah, no, that's it.So great climate and great, great environment. Definitely.

When, when you first relocated, was it to the Tampa area?

Yes. Straight to Tampa. Yeah.

Okay.

Straight to Tampa.

Career plan at the time when you, I think you studied, did I think to see this right? Did you study economics back in university?

Okay, yes, yes, study economic economics with a major, international tourism. So, you know, it all started with an internship in a five star hotel of Bucharest.So kind of, you know, that's, that's where all of that, all of that developed. And that was my career path. That would have been my career path.I don't know if I would have managed big resorts, but you know, it would have been like international travel, tourism. And that's what I learned Italian, you know, because majority of our clients are from Italy.So, you know, developed, you know, an appreciation for all the cultures around us, you know, all over the world for that matter. So.

Right. So I have to ask you a couple of questions about. About what I know about you personally, Florin.And you know, there was, it was a couple years ago, I remember showing up for something at your office or up at the club, the clubhouse we used a lot for trainings and you were in a walking boot of some kind. And I'm like, what is that, Florin? And you said, what did you tell me this first time? What'd you tell me?

Just I tore my Achilles tender playing soccer.

Playing soccer, Florin, you've already given up your age a Little, little bit. So we know you're not a young man.

Right.

You're, you know, middle aged but young in mind. That's fine.

Sure.

What are you doing tearing your Achilles heel playing soccer?

I have one word for you, passion. So I'm very passionate for the game. I played the game from a young age. I played competitive from a young age.I got injured when I was fairly young and I couldn't continue my professional career. But I always play the game and I have a passion for the game. I have a passion to coach it, play it, watch it and all aspects of it.So yeah, I tore my Achilles tendon about two, three years ago and in June this year I tore my, the other one.

So you had to get a matching set? Absolutely.

I had to. You know, it couldn't be otherwise, but I think my playing career is over. I think my wife agrees with that.I don't know how much you know about Achilles, Achilles injuries. It's a long recovery, so.

Right.

It's a one year recovery for a non professional athlete. If you're a professional athlete, probably can get back on the pitch in about nine months. But you know, it's a year recovery. It's, it's grueling.It's, it's, it's, is not a good, it's not a good injury to have.

Right. I, I remember back as, as a young man watch in baseball. I remember a San Diego Padre towards Achilles tendon. It's over.Back in the 70s, your career was over. There was no fixing it.You know, now, now as we move forward with you know, the surgeries that they're doing, the ACLs and all this other stuff that used to be career ending, they can get back at it and that helps, that helps the rest of us because they develop that, you know, so, so that's good to know because yeah, you're right. I saw you in Austin, Texas at a. And you were in a boot on the other foot. And I'm like, oh no, you didn't do that.

Yes, I did. So the worst part of it is like it's not being able to walk. So it's a non bearing, it's a non bearing injury for a long time.So I'll say, I think if I remember exactly, it's like 10 weeks, you cannot even put your foot down or gradually put your foot down. And the funny thing is the doctor tells you in the beginning is like, you can put 25% of your weight down on this.And my question is like, how do you determine 25 of your weight. So can I put my phone down or not? So, anyway, long story short, I have a scooter, I have a knee peg. I have. I'm all set.And if anybody on the podcast, God forbid, has any kind of injuries, let me know. I have the equipment.

You've got a. You've got a warehouse going. I love it. So. So, yeah. You passionate about soccer? You. I know that you said you coach it.When you played, were you a defender? Midfield forward? What was your specialty? Oh, so you were.

You.

You were. You were. You were the wonder kid. You were up front.

Yeah, I'm up front. I mean, it was a tall kid as growing up. And my coach, I remember my coach saying, you have. I have two positions for you, the center back or striker.So I said, I think I'm gonna do striker because I'm. I'm skilled, you know, for. For my. For my size. And. Yeah, true. Number nine. If somebody watches soccer, they know what I talk about through number nine.Yeah, yeah.

And that's. And you are. You are big. You're how. You're six three, six, six, two. Yeah, I thought I used to be. Seems big for a striker, right?

Yeah, I mean, it's common. It's common for. For a different. The style of play. Back in the day, it's very common to have a big striker on top.You know, it's somebody who can hold it and hold the ball and deliver the ball and.

Yeah.

You know, be more massive. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely.

You're good on the set pieces for sure.

Sure, sure. I like to believe that I should ask my teammates about it. That's great.

So obviously you follow soccer. You're. You're a passionate fan. Is there. Do you have a team in Europe that you follow? Well, of course, the Romanian national team, I'm sure is.

Yeah, yeah. I gotta give props to my team that I grew up with, Dinamo Bucharest, played there and grew up with them, being big fan.But, you know, I'll say probably in England because people are more. More aware of the English Premier League. Right? Yeah, I'll say Leicester City. Okay. The. The wonder story.I have a good friend that played for them until last year, won the championship. 1995. What am I talking about? 2015. So with them, and he just moved to the United States.He'll be playing for Charlotte, the new Charlotte MLS franchise, you know, so next year. Yeah, yeah, I see.

I see you traveling up the coast to catch a game or two.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. I took my son to England and We watched five games in eight days. That was a lifetime experience. Yes, yes. And it was a. Was a great one.We went last year right before COVID actually. I almost got caught by Covid in England. Yeah. Watching soccer. So the quick trip, you know, two games and no coming back to the States.

And so did you. Some. What were some of the stadiums you saw? Now that you're saying this, what stadiums would you get to see?

Oh my God. All over Europe. I mean, I'll give you my trip started with Leicester, which is Leicester City. It's their own stadium. King Power.It's called King Power. Then we saw Chelsea the next day. Chelsea was playing in the Northeast Derby against Fulham. Fulham was a Premier League team at the time.And then which. Chelsea is my son's team. So that was. That was. That was a must. Absolutely.Then we saw the London Stadium, which is the Olympic stadium where West Ham United plays. Then we moved to. We traveled to Manchester to the theater of dreams. The name of Old Trafford. So Manchester United Arsenal was a great.It was a great match, a great game. And then we went south. So from north south all the way south of England to Bournemouth and we watched Bournemouth, Liverpool. So. Wow.

Yeah, great stadiums.

I've been to the Emirates. I've been to a lot of stadiums a lot of times. So yeah, great times. Yeah, I love it.

You and I were chatting a little bit up front. Your daughter is a Gator, which will make a lot of listeners happy. We have quite a few Gators that listen to this.

Go Gators.

Yeah, Go Gators. Tell me what you did last weekend.

I have a good friend who. A friend of mine who is a season ticket holder alumni from Gator Nation. You have graduated season ticket holder for 31 years. So last year was.Is probably. I don't know, probably, you know, as this podcast will age though people not remember. But anyway, they played Alabama, so they play Bama the Swamp.And when the game the full experience from early in the morning tailgating 3:30 game. And it was the fifth largest attendance at the Swamp over 91, 000 people. It was. It was unbelievable. Was electric and the game was. Was very good.It was very, very close game for the listeners. Don't know. Ended up 30. Alabama winning 31 to 29.

Yeah.

On a field kick miss.

Also a really weird two point conversion attempt that they tried.

They tried the two point and it didn't work.

Yeah, yeah. Quarterback and the running back weren't on the same page. And that happens sometimes.

That happens. Needless to say, an unbelievable Game. And guess where I'm gonna be tomorrow Saturday? Well, the Gators versus Tennessee. So another big rivalry game.So. So I don't know if you have any Tennessee fans here, but maybe a couple. Maybe a couple. Good.

Have you. Have you figured this out? That this or your daughter or your friend that? Like, most Gators really don't like Tennessee for some reason.Like, it's a big deal to them.

I have.

Like, even.

I'll give you an example. I have a polo shirt that is. Which is blue and it has some orange in it.And my daughter made sure to tell me that I cannot wear that polo shirt, which has the gator symbol on it. Yes, it's a Gator shirt. Right. So. But, you know, just a little bit of orange on it. I said you cannot wear that against Tennessee. There is no.It has to be no resemblance of orange on your attire.

You gotta find some. All blue.

She called it atrocious. Yeah. So anyway. Yeah.

All right, well, let's get back to real estate. Let's. Let's talk about. So somehow you're here.You know, your training is in the hospitality, you know, leisure industry, but you end up becoming a realtor.

Yes. Long story short, I mean, I'm an immigrant. What can an immigrant do?You know, I took English in college, you know, but again, English is my second language. So most year, I started working in restaurants. You know, I speak. Spoke Italian. So obviously Italian restaurants would be my. Know, my first.My first choice, which I did. And truthfully, hospitality industry really prepares you for anything in real estate. So that's kind of one word of advice.I have, you know, a lot of people. I see a lot of people from the hospitality industry. Making. Making a. Making it in. In. In real estate. I had the corporate world experience.I'm an entrepreneur by heart. So I had a corporate world experience. For one month. I worked for a company called Lucent Technologies, and I lasted one month. I got fired.I'm proud to say I got fired because I had the most sales, but I was not making the number of calls they wanted me to make. It was the craziest thing I ever heard in my life.I had the highest conversion rate in the whole department, but I was making 67 calls, and they wanted me to make 100 calls. Wow. And I said, this is not for me. So that was my. My. My attempt to work in corporate world. So real estate was a natural progression.You know, in the late 90s, I figured it would be a good. A good industry. I fell in love with it and it's like anything else, you know, you stick with it and you'll make it work.

Yeah. You, you started with Coldwell Banker, right?

Yeah. Yep.

Which, which makes perfect sense because they were, they're. They're known as like a place where you can get some really good training, right?

Yes.

And you probably, I'm sure that's part of the thought process was I need to be someplace where they're gonna really kind of let me, you know, teach me what I need to know. And then after being there a few years, you know, then REMAX enters the pictures. Let's talk about that. That, that little progression.

That's an interesting progression. So I've been with two companies in almost 25 years. Colo Banker at the beginning. Colo Banker in the beginning for about seven years.What I call those formative years in real estate. So absolutely great. Company Cola Banker here locally was owned by nrt. They just moved into the Tampa market at the time.In the late 90s, acquire a company, a big local independent called Tam Bay. I'll never forget that the, even the letterhead said Colo Banker, formerly known as Tam Bay because the brand, the brand of Stan Bay.So those are the formative years, you know, and then, you know, little by little, I just want to do something for myself. I started being coached by Buffini & Co. The beginning of 2000 for a long, long time. I consider Brian and Dermot Buffini my friends and my mentors.So I've known them for a long time. Many conversations over the years. So they have what, what's called a heritage profile when you start coaching with them.So heritage profile determines what your best attribute. I mean, what your attributes are. My first one was entrepreneur, which I knew that I owned businesses over the years. I've always been an entrepreneur.That's not, that's not, that's not something new. But the second and third one were more eye opening. That made me think more was. Second one was trusted advisor and the third one is a team builder.So those are my core attributes. So it was a natural progression more from, from being an agent and we. And move into the, the brokerage world. Opening a company in 2005.At the end of 2005.

Wow. So this, this is right.

Right.

Just before things are going to turn a little south in the market.

Bill, let me, let me tell you the. Let me, let me frame this for you.

Sure.

So it was the end of 2005, I opened the company and we moved from one month worth of inventory to six months worth of inventory in one month alone. Think of it like, think of it like somebody had a switch, a light switch, and said, no good market for you, buddy. So, yeah, go figure out.So it was just nightmare.Everything started going in Florida, in our market, everything started changing at the end of five and progressively got worse as you know, with the, with a great recession. So, yeah, I started the greatest session. So I don't have too many bad habits.You know, brokers before me had a lot of bad habits because it become, you know, comfortable with a good market. I did not have that as a brokerage, so. But I. Passion, that's all. You know, I think I applied the same thing playing soccer and loving soccer.I applied it to the business. I had the passion for it and I, I can't give up. I mean, you have to get going.

Yeah. I mean, if you look at your career path in real estate, the late 90s, things were good, but man, did they get better.You're on this progressive climb. It's just going up, up, up. And then we know it wasn't reality, but it kept going up, up, up.And so you had to be thinking, wow, this is gonna be great. I'm ready for my brokerage. Let's go.

Yeah.

Once you know, how did, how did you handle. Lean on some mentors, some other people, because here you are now you're in charge.You got these agents that you've recruited in to your, to your business and you're trying to solve and figure things out.

Definitely. Always. I think mentorship is a big, it's a big portion of it and, and I think coaching is a big portion of it. You have to be open to learn.As an ex athlete, I mean, obviously that's obvious to me. You know, having a coach, that's, that, that's not the problem. I've always believed in that.But again, you know, you're looking at, you're looking in the late 90s real estate and you know, was decent, was nothing, not absolutely nothing to, to, to, to write about maybe 2, 3% appreciation going down. Then experienced 911. Then we actually first know. No, first we experience a dot com boom and then the dot com bust. And that had an influence on it.And then you have 911 and that had an influen real estate. So I had ups and downs until 2005, but then 2000, I would say 2001 to 2005, straight up run. I mean, unbelievable run.We all know why and the reasons of the mortgage industry and how that, how that happened and what he leaded us to, but straight up run. Yeah.

Yeah. So you. So I guess so those having those little blips. Well, fairly significant blips. Helped it helped you be prepared, you know, and helped you.Did you embrace short. I'm just curious, did you embrace short sales? Were you there on that?

I. I think in Tampa Bay area, I think I was with one of my agents and one day, you know, we heard about Alex Sharpen, the CDPE program.

Yeah.

And he was right in the beginning. I signed up. I think I was, I had to be if I remember exactly, because they had a website. I had probably one of the first 10 people signing up.I understood that I never, never thought of a, a short sale. The definition at the time there was not such a thing.I don't even know who in the world came up with the idea of, with the name of a short sale because there was nothing short about it.

Anyway. The longest transaction you'll ever do in.

The history of real estate probably happened in the short sale era. But we had, I remember negotiating the first time a residential mortgage with a short payoff. So that's what it started. Short sell it, short payoff.It was common in the commercial world, but you know, not in the residential world. So. Right, yeah, definitely, definitely CDP still.I just saw something that they are kind of trying to reinstate that designation and trying to build something on it. But definitely you had to adapt based on whatever you are in the marketplace. So yeah, we did.I remember in 2007, 8 or 2009, I think the max we had, we had about 74% of our old transactions in the firm were distressed properties, either bank owned or short sales. We dealt with Fannie Mae, we dealt with Freddie Mac Chase, we dealt with your name and we had to Regions bank with that. We had to.

Yeah. You live in a great part of the Tampa area north of Tampa. Wesley Chapel is where your office is located. One of your offices.And how would you, how would you describe the whole Wesley Chapel 5654 corridor? It's pretty, it's a pretty unique place in this space because I'm down in St. Pete and we're completely different than up there.

Oh, totally different. It's. Think of it, think of it this way. The major road on Wesley Chapel, which is state 056 did not exist back in 2000. I think they built it in 2002.So it's a, it's a new community. It's suburbs really. Suburbs northeast of Tampa suburbs. But it's a vibrant community. It's a. It's a strong community. It's. People build.People come from all over. I love. I love the diversity. And then you have the beginning. You know, obviously we had a little bit of issues, you know, with.With not having enough stores or, you know, not having entertainment around. But now it's growing, and it's growing by leaps and bounds. And it's.It's just unbelievable to see and watch how this area has grown, because I've been in this area for 20 years, so there was. There is nothing like they used to be. So state of 54. You referred to state of 54. That was. That was called to Road to Nowhere because he ended in a T.So that was not going anywhere. So. Yeah. So it's totally different now. Totally different now. Vibrant, strong community, and we just love it.

Yeah. And actually, if there's any. If you're looking for a new build, head there.

Oh, definitely. Definitely.

That's where all the builders are. It seems like. Right.

And it seems like it's going north. Like anything else, you know, become. You know, it becomes more and more so. Yeah. Yeah. So Wesley Chapel. A great plug for Wesley Chapel, I guess.No, it's over Florida. So. Yeah, we have the other offices in Tampa. It's in a more traditional area in Seminole Heights, which is. Which is another great community. Right.Right outside of downtown Tampa.

Yeah, that's. That's a vibrant kind of a community. That's. That's got a lot of.A lot of activity going on, and it's so close to all those great things in downtown Tampa. So it's pretty cool. Let's. Let's talk about tech a little bit. Florin, when Michelle introduced me to you, it was great because, look, I've talked to.I don't think. Hopefully they're not listening. I've talked to a lot of different brokers about things.And my role in the Fidelity family was to try to understand tech, but then try to explain it in a way that agents could understand it. Right. And sometimes the person who had the most trouble understanding it was the broker. That's not the case with you. You're a tech nerd.You love this stuff. You know, you. You. You knew what I was talking about. And sometimes a lot of times you knew more than what I knew about what I was talking about. Let's.Let's share some of those. Some of the technologies right now, because there's a whole bunch of stuff we could talk about. But what.What's going on out there right now that kind of excites you things that you're really trying to get your agents to adopt.

That's a, that's adoption. It's a big word in the brokerage world. So I think it has something to do with the average age of a real estate agent.And I have to mention that I'm 49 years old. I'll be 50 next year. I'm not, I'm not a techie by any means in the sense of like, like I don't grew up with TikTok. Right.So we barely had email back then. You know, it's like we don't even have email. So anyway, so that's, that's that.But I love technology and I think anybody in any age can implement technology. And when I say implement technology, technology is not going to replace the real estate agent. I mean I, I really don't think so.I think it's the opposite.I think agents are able, able to streamline their processes and make all home buying and home selling as easy as possible for their clients through technology, through cutting edge technology. Think of it like a few years ago introducing E signatures or I remember this because loving technology, my office became paperless 10 years ago.We use a company. Yes, yes, yes. Talking about adoption, that was a struggle in the beginning. We used a company called Paperless Pipeline. They're still around.They never grew too big. But even that, you know, was like your fi. I used to call it your file cabinet in the, in the cloud. That's it, that's what it is.And then, then evolved with E signatures and you have the whole transaction in there. We use for property management a company called Upfolio.I don't know if you're familiar with it, you know, in the property management world that's not our forte by the way.But no, yeah, we, we use for, for real estate, the residential and commercial transactions, we use app files, which is a Florida company, I'll say Dot loop, kind of dot loop competitor. But think of it, the transaction a few years ago versus the transaction now.I'm still getting reviews and interviews thanking us and my agents for using technology and helping them not come somewhere to or go somewhere. I remember when I started in the late 90s, we used to have six originals of the contract.So a client would sign six times and initials every page of everything.Six times because one was going to the listing broker, one is going to the buyer's broker, one is going to the title company, one is going to the mortgage company. So there were six original. So you know, that's that to me, that's, that's where it's evolving. And now we're looking like AI.You're looking at virtual reality. Look at Ray Ban and Facebook with their new glasses. I mean we use video, we use bomb bomb, we use virtual staging. Box brownie. Check them out.Box brownie. Guys in Australia, I know, God bless them right now with COVID and the restrictions they have, but I have not seen them in a year and a half.But you know, the companies like that, I think, you know, again, I think it's high tech. I know it's overly used. This term, high tech, high touch. But that's what it, that's what it boils down to CRM. Do you want to go into CRMs or no?

Oh no, let's hear this because I mean, look, you're an owner at ReMax. Let's talk about CRMs.

Okay? This is my standard answer now. I'm going to make it as short as possible. You know what the best CRM is?

No.

The one you use. That's it. Period. I mean we have it, ReMax technology. We have, we have boughs, we have everything.We have from websites, apps and you have the CRM and you have everything. If you are using Liondesk, use Liondesk, that's the best one for you.If you're using Buffini's CRM, if you're working in that, in that, you know, niche with by default use referral maker. So the best CRM is the one you use. That's, that's, that's what it boils down to. So yeah, that's my feel on it.

Trying to really force people into something is a losing proposition generally.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Yeah. You gotta let them work in the space they like to work in. And I think, I think that's great. I love that.That's, it's, it's hard not to talk to a broker owner and not talk about this market.

Right.

First of all, nobody knew, right? Nobody knew what was going to happen in March 2020. I think everybody thought, okay, this is going to be, we got to hunker down.It's going to be rough. And that was everyone's thought. Yet within two months things just took off. So let's, you know, let's just chat about that.You know, I mean, rates are low and, and demand is high and supply is low. This, this, there's got to be some, something's got to change. It can't continue, you know, looking at.

All the data and short to meta. I really don't think much will change. And the rates are historically low so people can qualify. So think of it this way.A 4% interest rate on a $300,000 home. How much your mortgage payment is because most of consumers are not cash.Most of consumers are financing their properties and they are, they're living in the payment comparison to 2.5% or 320,000. Let's say it's significantly lower even though the sales price is higher because of the interest rates are lower.I think the biggest issue we have is new construction. And I think we've been under built since 2008 when Lehman Brothers went down which was the biggest supplier of money for developers.That's when we started having problems little by little. Covid just exacerbate, just created and amplified the problem. So new construction, they have problems.They can build price of steel, lumber, supply chain issues with concrete, labor issues. You know on that some builders turning to multi family because that's where they can make it happen and they can build more units faster.So that's why it's a huge, huge optic on, on multifamily.But you know then you have the investors versus the first time home buyers and you know you, you know you have, you know, our clients that are first time home buyers losing against cash transactions. Absolutely happens. But it's an interesting, it's an interesting statistic that I read the other day. 25 of the transactions are investors.So they are not the majority. The way the media portrays it is the majority have it. It's not, it's not that large. And I'll give you another one that I saw yesterday.The mortgage applications are up 7% which is the highest since April. So a majority of those mortgage applications are in FHA VA VA space. I don't believe in shadow inventory like we used to have.I mean I can make the comparison. 2005 was totally different market conditions. Again I'm a major in economics and I love that. So forbearance, I don't think that's going to affect.I don't think we're going to have foreclosures because people have equity in their houses, they don't need to foreclose on it. So right. That's going to change.

So I think short yeah I might throw some more properties on the market because if you come out of forbearance and you're just, you just can't catch up, you sell it will be absorbed.

Immediately and you know, you don't have to go to foreclosures.

Which is a great thing.

And I will add one more thing and we can move to the next one. I don't want to beat this to death, but, you know, look at the rental prices. So you think, okay, I cannot purchase a home. I gotta leave somewhere.Shelter is one of the basic needs. Right? Shelter, food and water, you know, it's one of your basic needs. We have to live somewhere.Rental prices are through the roof nationwide, not just necessarily in Tampa Bay area.

Right. And you're. And I think that's, that's really. People need to understand that it's not just, it's not just the prices for the builders.It's the fact that we've under built over the last decade.

Oh, we built. We built. I'll give you another one to put in perspective. We, you. We built less than we built during the Great Depression.And keep in mind, keep in mind that during the Great depression, there are 100 million people living in the United States. Now there are 360 million.

Yeah.

Or so. So the levels, even if you look at the levels, you know, you have to take that in consideration. I mean, we have triple the number of population.They have to live somewhere.

I want to keep going down this path of putting you in uncomfortable situations with questions.

I know.

Are you worried about what's coming out of this NAR DOJ thing? It's, it's really weird. I'm not an expert on it at all. But antitrust is a huge concern. It's always been a concern in real estate.Every, every, every place I'm ever at. If somebody brings up the commission word, there's always a, shh. We can't talk about that. The entire audience. Right.

So because commissions are negotiable. It's as simple as that. And we have to. I have. The key word to me is transparency. So I'm going to tell you this.I mean, you know, when DOJ filed a lawsuit against NAR, it was back in 2005. So you're talking about long time ago. Right?

Yeah.

And on July 1st, you know, DOJ withdrew from the proposed settlement when NAR. And that's when everything started. You know, NAR was willing to do the changes to code of ethics and MLS rules, but the deal fell apart.So I think the main issues that DOJ has with our industry are it's the Broker Cooperation Commission and representation. Those are the hot buttons for them. Well, those things been around for 100 years into.But, but the statement might be a little controversial, but in today's social and political environment, Everything is questioned and challenged. Right?

Yeah.

So I'm saying no, I'm all for it. Offer the transparency.We discuss it, you know, even at the franchisor level, you know, and I've seen MLS is already showing the broker commission, you know, that should be, that should be standard. There is nothing wrong with it. You know, transparency is nothing. There's nothing to be wrong with it.The problem is, you know, on the representation side, NAR is just a national trade organization. The states regulate licensing and how you represent people. So in Florida, for example, we can use, it's not dual agency because that's a bad word.We can, we use what's called transaction broker. We don't represent the seller, we don't represent the buyer, represent the transaction. We still have to have certain things in place by law.We have to disclose honestly and fairly disclosing all known facts and materially affecting the property. Operating faith. It's all of those things. So I think showing the co op fee to the buyer should not be considered a service charge.I really don't believe in that. It's not the. Because that's what we get a hot, hot issues. It's a seller's charges. Not to me, the seller doesn't have.DOJ's problem with that is that the seller does not have the opportunity to negotiate that charge. I think to me, when we check, yes, that's the, that's the issue.So I think a co op fee, what we call a co op fee, that broker cooperation co op, it's just a marketing expense paid by the listing broker to a buyer's broker to entice them into showing the property and to work through a transaction to a successful closing do. It's as simple as that. But you know, not showing that commission, I don't, I think that's wrong. I think, I think it should be, it should be shown.And I know there are a lot of people, you know, saying that to the contrary, but you know, I'm all for progress in that in that matter. We should have, you know, we should have a transparency and going forward.

Yeah, I mean, and part of that transparency is for the buyer as well. Right?I mean, because, you know, because there's a chance a buyer could look at that and go, well, wait a minute, you know, I'm paying more maybe because of this. But it's, you know, it's, it's, it's a, it's, it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. That's for sure.

For sure. For sure. Yeah, for sure.

Well, Florin, I've had you here, as I say a lot because I love just chatting, but I've had you here way past the time I promised I'd get you out. So I'm going to ask you the same final question I've asked every guest. That is, what one piece of advice would you give a new agent just.

Getting rolling, a new agent coming to the business? That's a great question, Bill.I think one of the things that I've seen In the past 20 some years in this business, I think having an entrepreneur mindset and work ethic are absolutely crucial as you go into the business. When you go in business, you're a 1099 employee. You're not an employee or a 1099.And you're coming from an industry, perhaps majority of people come from a different industry and expect it to be. To be given something. No, you have to have that. You are the CEO, CFO and CEO for your own business. As a matter of fact, you're the janitor.You're the tech guru also, and all the other things above. So I think that's, that's one of the major things that I would say. I mean, you got to be able to learn. So you asked me one.I'll give you a few more if you don't mind.

Right, no worries.

I mean, you know, a few.I've been around the block a few times, so I think ability to learn and willingness to learn to be a student of life in general, attend events, training sessions, listen to podcasts like yours, conferences, I mean, it's, it's unbelievable. Read, read, read, read. If you, if you're not a big reader, go to Audible and listen to the books. Depends how your learning style is. Accountability.Find a mentor, find an accountability partner. Fire. Find a coach. Maybe not as soon as you start, but find somebody. And focus and narrow and niche are very important in order to generate leads.I think you cannot be the jack of all trades and the master of none. Absolutely. Over 70% of the business is referrals only. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but 70% of the business is there.Why would I go and, you know, fish there? Actually, I'm not going to go and fish. I'm going to use the bazooka and I'm going to go in there. So, you know, just go where the fish is. And I have.Can I mention this, Bill? I have. I just started something with video and video is very uncomfortable for real estate agents and real estate Brokers.I just started a video which is not brand related. It's just opinions and training and tips and techniques for real estate agents. It's called Real Estate Success Strategies.Just rolled it out a couple weeks ago. As a matter of fact, you can find it on, on Facebook. We have 57 followers.

They all start like that.

All start like that. But I'm gonna use, I'm gonna say something. You know, it's like my crappy video is better than your non existent video. So.But you know, Real Estate Success strategies, it's on YouTube. We have a Instagram page as well. Real Estate Success Strategies are on Facebook and.

Awesome.

You know, just subscribe and maybe you'll pick up an idea or two.

We'll put links to all that in the show notes. So thank you. People can get there easy. Yeah, that's great.

Yeah, yeah. And again, that's not brand, that's not brand specific. Nothing will be sold there. It's like your podcast.It's absolutely, it's going to be a pleasure for, for us to give back to the industry that gave us so much and we really appreciate it. And you know, you know, you, you get more by giving and not expecting anything in return. I'm a big believer in that. Yep.

Totally believe that. You know, I believe that. Florin, if someone wants to reach out directly to you, is there, is there a simple way to do that? Easy way to do that?

Yeah, I mean, I'll give my cell phone number. I don't know if people do that, but you know, I'm that open.

So anything you want to share, you can share.

Yeah, no, you can find me on social, all social media platforms, obviously.I even have a tick tock follow my kids, God bless them and, but you know, you know, it's, it's funny, it's funny to talk about that, but you know, yeah, my cell phone, 813-817-4070 via email. I'm sure you're gonna put in the link there. Yeah, my email address, my website, company name and everything else.Anything, anything you need or anything I can help anybody in this industry, I'll be more than happy to do it and it would be my pleasure. And I think it should be a duty for everybody to share.I think that's how we're gonna grow and that's how we're gonna raise the level of professionalism in this industry, which is much needed, much needed.

So, Florin, this has been great. Thank you so much for your time and once again, my, my sincerest apologies for waiting this long to do this. This is, this is a, this has been great.

Absolutely. It's my pleasure.And thank you for, for inviting me and thank you for all you do and because you know, you're just being the inland ambassador or working with the rate my agent, which many of my agents use your, your, your company and your services, those are great things for, for our industry. So yeah, thank you for having me. I hope your audience bear with my accent for whatever long we talked. I don't even know, I don't even have the time.But you know, again, it's been my pleasure and looking forward to talk to you in the future.

Thank you for listening to the Real Estate Sessions.Please head over to ratethispodcast.com resessions to leave a review or a rating and subscribe to the Real Estate Sessions podcast at your favorite podcast. Listening Applause.