When the beaten path doesn't appeal, forging your own way becomes the only option. Philip Becker joins me, Mark Jones, to recount the tale of how he defied the odds and the naysayers to establish Becker Properties, a real estate brokerage that thrives on individuality and defies the traditional office structure. Our walk down memory lane isn't just about nostalgia; it's a journey through the trials and triumphs that have shaped us both as professionals. Our story is for those who see rejection not as a setback, but as the motivation to build a legacy, and for anyone who's ever believed that a family-like business environment can indeed be created and nurtured.
Let's peel back the curtain on the real estate industry's best-kept secrets and the power of community, as I chart my own rise from a bright-eyed '30 under 30' awardee to a leader in the Young Professionals Network (YPN) within the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Philip and I dissect the anatomy of a successful real estate career, discussing the hurdles of starting up, the innovative strategies that keep us ahead of the curve, and the personal growth that comes from mentorship and true passion for the field. If you're looking to get a leg up in the world of real estate or merely curious about the inner workings of this dynamic industry, pull up a chair and tune in for some genuine, experience-driven insights.
Key Factors Podcast is Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Host: Mark Jones | Sr. Loan Officer | NMLS# 513437
If you would like to work with Mark on your next home purchase or as a partner visit iThink Mortgage.
When the beaten path doesn't appeal, forging your own way becomes the only option. Philip Becker joins me, Mark Jones, to recount the tale of how he defied the odds and the naysayers to establish Becker Properties, a real estate brokerage that thrives on individuality and defies the traditional office structure. Our walk down memory lane isn't just about nostalgia; it's a journey through the trials and triumphs that have shaped us both as professionals. Our story is for those who see rejection not as a setback, but as the motivation to build a legacy, and for anyone who's ever believed that a family-like business environment can indeed be created and nurtured.
Let's peel back the curtain on the real estate industry's best-kept secrets and the power of community, as I chart my own rise from a bright-eyed '30 under 30' awardee to a leader in the Young Professionals Network (YPN) within the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Philip and I dissect the anatomy of a successful real estate career, discussing the hurdles of starting up, the innovative strategies that keep us ahead of the curve, and the personal growth that comes from mentorship and true passion for the field. If you're looking to get a leg up in the world of real estate or merely curious about the inner workings of this dynamic industry, pull up a chair and tune in for some genuine, experience-driven insights.
Key Factors Podcast is Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Host: Mark Jones | Sr. Loan Officer | NMLS# 513437
If you would like to work with Mark on your next home purchase or as a partner visit iThink Mortgage.
Welcome back to Key Factors Podcast, real Estate AF. I'm your host, mark Jones, and we are powered by ReviewMyMortgagecom, the largest index of mortgage programs in the nation, and on today's discussion, I brought along a friend that I actually started doing business with when I first got into the industry, a gentleman that is an avid Spurs fan and one of the youngest brokers in San Antonio, someone that I very much respect. So, without further ado, let me introduce Philip Becker Becker. What's going on, man?
Speaker 2:What's up, mark? Man, thank you for having me. Absolutely, it's been a long time coming to be here with you and, like you said, man, it's just. It's been great watching each other come up over the years and seeing how you all progress Real quick.
Speaker 1:I want to throw up a picture for the folks out there JC, if you can reference that bad boy real quick. How about that? Talk about young huh. We did age pretty well. I agree, it's a journey skeleton. Yeah, man, I agree. All right. So on today's discussion, I want to talk about you, philip. I mean, it's been a journey, man Gosh, how long have we been at? 13 years, almost now 14 years, something like that.
Speaker 1:I got in the business in 2012. And when I had jumped into the industry, I met up with James Cardenas shout out, james and he introduced me to you up and coming rising broker. And dude, we hit it off. It was something that I saw the future in everything that you were trying to do and it impressed the heck out of me. You had an amazing group and I think the purpose and what you guys were building was something that was far ahead of everybody else, in my opinion. So if you could, I mean tell us about that journey, I mean briefly. I'm sure there's folks out there that maybe don't know who Philip Becker is, but if you could kind of just summarize the in the beginning piece of that and then we'll dive into it.
Speaker 2:I mean shame on them if they don't know. No, I mean, I guess the gist of it, mark, is I'm a really bad employee, okay, so let's start right there. You never would want to hire me to work for you, yeah, and so because of that, it kind of bred entrepreneurship. I've done a number of different things before real estate, but was always interested in real estate and I was bored playing poker with some friends one night in summer of 2009.
Speaker 2:And they said, hey, let's go take our classes at Sabor and see if we want to become realtors. I was like, let's do it, man. So I'm going to give them a shout out. It was Max Woodward and Daniel Paley Daniel still owns Paley Realty and the three of us got together uh, our second class in at Sabor. We said, man, we don't want to work for another broker. What's with this 50, 50 split that we keep hearing about? And we want to kind of do our own thing.
Speaker 2:So we put our three last names together and came up with Woodpecker Realty. That is awesome, yeah. And the slogan was Opportunity Knocks. And I mean we made business cards and, like, put together a business plan. And we went back to one of the teachers at the board that was also a broker, okay. And we're like hey, like, here's our plan. You know, we had a binder together. We're like we want to start a brokerage. Will you sponsor us? And he laughed and he said, no, I won't.
Speaker 2:But he said I know this other lady. Her name's Linda Stilato, also a broker at the time and an instructor at Sabor. And he goes why don't you take her to lunch and, by the way, change the name before you talk to her. So we decided to call it Keystone Realtors. We got a new logo blah, blah, blah had lunch with her. She also laughed and she said Philip, you, daniel and Max, you don't have the real estate experience or the business experience to do. Well, you're going to crash and burn. Wow, you should sign on with me for two years. I will teach you all of the things that will make you successful and you'll pay me a 50-50 split. She had no other agents, no office, no infrastructure, but we hadn't talked to anyone else, right? Dan and Max both decided that I was crazy and jumped ship and signed on with her. Wow, I changed the name to Becker Properties and went back to the first guy that laughed with us.
Speaker 1:So when you drop Woodpecker Properties, it's just Becker, it's just Becker.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we called it Pecker, but you know that hasn't served me too well, no, so anyway, we went back to the first guy and I said look, keith, shout out to Keith Gideon. I said I, I'm doing this with or without you, and it's going to be successful with or without you. Do you want to hop on board? And he said Philip, I would have always done it with just you. That's awesome. So that's kind of how it started. November 2nd 2009,. Becker Properties had its first day as a licensed brokerage in the state of Texas.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, and you were someone that practiced what you preached and I thought that that was the best way to mentor the group that you were bringing on as they were coming up and being a part of that. I mean you guys, it was like a family. I mean truly. Everything that you did was family oriented. You guys had from Margarita Monday to all of the events that you had at your office, and it didn't matter if anybody else showed up. Your agents were there and y'all were having a good time and celebrating your wins and continuing to provide them with value. And I thought that was just so forward thinking at the time, because I didn't obviously knew in the business, hadn't seen anything like that.
Speaker 2:Well, I think a really important thing that we all know but we sometimes forget is that iron sharpens iron. Yeah, and you know, because I didn't work somewhere else, I didn't have a clue what to do, right, but on the positive side, I didn't have any bad habits, true, true, that's a good point. So I learned, like from getting involved with YPN at Sabor when it first started. I learned from all these different young realtors at all the different companies what I liked and what I didn't like and kind of put that together to make Becker Properties. And we really care about the people, not just our clients and our agents, but also the community, and we've always been that way. That's right and I think that, like you said, it served us well.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned YPN and I remember you were on the board of Sabor. I think one of the youngest on the board as well, Is that right?
Speaker 2:I was. I think I started on the board of directors at Sabor in 2012. Right, that was right. When I got in the business May of 2012. That's right. So, yeah, I don't know, they must have not had too many people apply that year. But no man, I just. Ypn really helped me quite a bit, you know, and in 2016, I was the national chair of YPN for NAR, which that changed my career. I mean, I get still over 300,000 a year in referral business just from other agents because I was involved at NAR.
Speaker 1:That makes sense Now question on that what were some of the duties, what were some of the things that you as a young professional kind of taking charge on?
Speaker 2:Well, I think when NAR started YPN, it sprung from the 30 under 30, which was a realtor magazine thing. They still do it every year and I won that in 2014. Okay, but they were like, okay, we give these young people this award but then we lose them. How do we bring them in and get them to all these other committees? So that's kind of where YPN started. It's like an incubator for the next generation of leaders within NAR, and so the duties as YPN chair on the board is really just to support the local and state networks, make sure that, whatever NAR's message is at the time, that we get it out to those people and then provide them resources to help their clients and, you know, help their brokerage that makes sense.
Speaker 1:And in the beginning phases of your career, skipping the under somebody's mentorship, paying the dues, paying the split commissions it was just you, yeah. Then you decided I'm going to start adding some agents to this group, I'm going to get myself an office and start building a business. What was that like? How did you make the decisions on who you hired? Were you seeking people out or were they just gravitating towards you Because I mean you were cool AF at that point in time I can't speak too much about now. I mean we're dads, we're not cool in their minds of everybody else anymore.
Speaker 2:We still drive cool cars, damn right, no man. You know, it was cost prohibitive at first because my agreement with Keith Gideon was I had to pay him $500 per month, plus $200 per month for each agent I sponsored. Okay, so it was the opposite of collecting an office fee. I'm paying it out, yeah. And so I used the first two years to really, like I said, kind of learn how the business was going to be built, what I liked, what I didn't like, sure, and I did add a couple agents. But once I got my broker's license and Keith was no longer getting paid, that's when it really started to grow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my first office was only because of my dad. Rest in peace, randy Becker, amen. He was a great person and he had an office for his business off of 46 that was underutilized, yeah, and so he let us put a sign up there. And that was kind of the very beginning of how. So that office off of 46, that was your dad's originally. Yep, how cool. Yeah, it was. Orbis Online was the company completely unrelated to real estate, but it was more of an online business. We didn't have a lot of people coming in, right. So it worked out really well.
Speaker 1:I remember him sitting in the back back there doing what he does and I'm like, okay, maybe he's a part of the agent group. No, he was running his own thing, yeah.
Speaker 2:Eventually, he was one of my first agents, along with my brother, and John's still an agent today. I love it, and Mr as well. Yeah, she's an associate broker. She was showing a $2 million house the other day. She does pretty well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, million house the other day that she does pretty well, yeah, and, and this market has its way of man, um, I don't know, surprising us, even though we believe that we have seen it all, like every day. We're like, man, we've seen it all and then a new surprise comes along, you know it's like you're either green and growing or ripe and rotting.
Speaker 2:You know good way. So it's like there we've never seen everything and that's the cool thing about this business because, like I get bored yeah, really. Or ripe and rotting, so it's like we've never seen everything. And that's the cool thing about this business because, like I get bored really easily and then I turn off. But this is not a business that gets boring, because every single deal is different.
Speaker 1:I agree 100% with that, and it's funny that you say the you get bored piece is. I think we're very similar in that aspect. I don't know if you have ADD or ADHD like I do, but I get bored pretty easily. So I've got to continue engagement of some sort, hence the podcast, the videos on social media, constantly doing the outlandish things on the marketing side that keep me on my toes, so to speak, and for you, I think it almost came natural in regards to just the way that you go about things.
Speaker 2:I'm unapologetic. I mean, that's the one thing I'll say. And if you go back to the beginning, when we first had our video team, which was like 2011,. Jake started with us A lot of our marketing, was, you know, edgy. Jake started with us A lot of our marketing was you know edgy. Yes, I can remember in Broker Underground one time I put out a video and somebody commented your incoherent rap videos are ruining this business and I'm like haters gonna hate bro.
Speaker 1:And now you've got what is his name Brad Scott, going viral everywhere talking about shit. Yeah, exactly, we were forward thinking a little bit, talking about shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, we were forward thinking a little bit in that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I mean, I think you guys, you in particular, along with your group you were forward thinking on a lot of things. I don't think that there was a real estate group in San Antonio back then that had a wrapped vehicle, that had the camera crew and the ability to create content on the fly, like that, as a matter of fact. I don't think that there's another real estate group in San Antonio that has a bar inside of their actual office.
Speaker 2:And all that's still true today. I mean every listing we take Mark, regardless of the type of property or the price point. It could be a $10,000 vacant lot or a $10 million home or a commercial property. We send that video team every time. That's awesome and it makes a big difference?
Speaker 1:Absolutely it does. It's the little things and we talk about extraordinary and people throw that around. But it is such a big concept with very small actions to become that why? Because it's just a little extra If you continue to do it consistently. Wow, all of a sudden, now you are the definition of extraordinary.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the piece that I think the key word that most people miss there and it's a Key Factors podcast consistency. Yes, sir, most people they plan to do something but they don't plan to try it for at least six months. Yeah, and if they don't start with that, they're going to fail. I agree, nobody does their first podcast and becomes the number one podcast.
Speaker 1:Unless you have somebody that is a super controversial Um, as a matter of fact, you're, you're, you fact, you're probably going to start your show with nothing but controversy and who knows if it's even going to be relevant, versus just clickbait all the time. So I agree with you on that, especially with this road that I've been on. I think. Now, jc, what has it been Two, two and a half years doing this podcast? This will probably be episode number 80 something, and you're right. I mean, it gets discouraging when you're at episode 50 and you're like man, are people going to start tuning in, because these are some damn good conversations. At least I'm getting something out of it. And in that aspect, and before we get into some other things, I want to ask what are some challenges that you faced that you overcame back then when you were starting in the business?
Speaker 2:Oh man, the toughest thing was people not taking me seriously because of my age.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's talk about that. Now, this is dressed up for me, man. I usually dress like you and I don't care, but I used to have to wear a suit every day. I remember a suit with boots Yep, as a matter of fact. I remember and I'm not going to wear a suit every day I remember a suit with boots Yep, as a matter of fact. I remember, and I'm not going to say this agent's name, I don't even know if they're still in the business, but I remember we walked out of a Sabor meeting on the board of directors one day and she said hey, phillip, the 80s called. They want their corduroy back. And I said I thought to myself now, right, that's true.
Speaker 2:It's true.
Speaker 1:But, uh, but you made that quarter rate look so damn good.
Speaker 2:That's a lie, so thank you for that. But uh, yeah, man, it was just you had to work extra hard for people to take you seriously in the beginning. Yeah and um, I think that's just. It comes with age, yeah.
Speaker 1:So in that challenging phase, um you being a leader, not only within your brokerage but also to the real estate community back then, were there any other challenges other than the age piece? And that is a big thing, because I faced that as well. I mean, that's why I started growing my beard, like at age one, finally got here. But in essence, the concept of somebody taking financial advice from somebody that is younger, looks younger, hasn't been in the business, et cetera, long enough. Same aspect with you You're advising folks right away out the get, go on listing prices on what they should do in order to get it sold quickly, in addition to buyers and how to advise them the right way, the do's and don'ts, going through inspection reports, how to read appraisals all of those things were just thrown at you because, let's face it, as a realtor slash, I'm the owner of the company right now. Yeah, you had Keith at first to go to, but at the end of the day I'm sure he was like dude figure it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're right, he really didn't help that much, not that he didn't have the knowledge, just kind of like good luck and that that served me. Well. I'm glad that he did that. I just I sought knowledge and I I always, if I didn't have a client that day, I was reviewing other reports, I was looking at what other agents did, I was going to the board and asking questions of these other young realtors and I was kind of a sponge in the beginning and so you know a little bit of it's fake it till you make it. But also, when you're dealing with the largest purchase or sale of someone's life, you can't really fake it, you have to know what you're doing.
Speaker 1:That is very true, and I think maybe it was Aristotle, or one of the philosophers basically says that we, as humans, are inherently we're inherently like, we are intended to seek knowledge. It is just something inherently in us that we are constantly wanting to seek knowledge. Curiosity, curiosity, yes, what is that? How does that work? We're going to constantly have that within us, and there's a big separation in those that allow those things to just go unknown versus those that, no matter what, I'm going to find out so that I am a better person, I'm a better leader, I'm a better uh, realtor, broker, et cetera, and you being one of those, what, what was the what was the concept of making sure? What was the fire that kept you going in those instances when it was like damn, I failed again. Now what?
Speaker 2:I think I mean I'll talk about my dad one more time because he was he was an employee, you know, he served 20 years in the military and he came up a lot for who he was and the adversity he faced. But he also kind of thought that I needed to follow in his footsteps more in a way. But he also kind of thought that I needed to follow in his footsteps more in a way. So when I first started my entrepreneurship journey and I wasn't very successful in the beginning before real estate he kept trying to push me back to a normal career.
Speaker 2:And I remember when I hired Jake who's still today the director of our video team, and I was man, I had to choose whether to pay Jake or to pay my rent at my office at the time, where I lived in the back of the office with my dog Wow, and I would bounce checks to so that I could pay Jake, sure. And my dad was like Phillip, you know, you can't afford this. And I was like dad, I'm on the cusp, I just I'm going to keep going, I'm going to keep moving.
Speaker 2:And, man, there were some tough years. As a matter of fact, there's probably an agent or two that worked for me at one point during my career. That people I still love that don't work for me because I bounced a check to them. We were two or three years in and we didn't have that's the thing. We didn't have financial backing, correct, you know what I mean. Like we didn't have that.
Speaker 1:And people believe that as a broker, number one you have all this money and number two, you make all this money and, in all honesty, brokers don't make a ton of money, they're taking a ton of liability to get to an end goal eventually. I mean, I think most brokers are very forward thinking in that aspect, but they've got to bring the value. They've got to consistently bring the value even when you're not winning, right, you know.
Speaker 2:I want to make that clear Even to this day like I don't get rich because I'm a real estate broker, that's not what pays my bills.
Speaker 2:I think the main reason that I obviously the perks are there, like the bar in the office, of course, of course, but the the real reason I do it now is I can only help so many people at once, and so if I can train other agents to help other people, we can make a bigger impact. And then it's EP, it's our logo everywhere, right? So it does, over time, help with brand awareness and help bring in more business, but the main thing is really just to serve more people and to help others be successful. And so, man, some years on a good year maybe I make a hundred thousand because I own the brokerage you know, which is a seventh of what I make selling real estate. So I agree with you Brokers don't necessarily get rich. Especially in a business model where you actually provide a lot of stuff to your agents on a smaller scale, like a nationwide brokerage, it's easier to provide things to everyone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got more revenue flowing in, you've got more resources. Maybe you didn't actually start it. You inherited something and you've got what somebody else built in their platform that you're leveraging, no problem to anybody. I mean, I'm not taking anything away from anyone, right? But I'm talking grassroots right here. You know, and that's something that there are plenty of folks out there that maybe want to do something like that. But I'll ask you is it too late for someone to start something like that in this market, this day and age, with all of the things that we have upon us?
Speaker 2:I would say absolutely not. I think this industry has been ripe for disruption for years, and now we're seeing it happen. Absolutely, the value of the board of realtors and the MLS is waning, yes, and so there's opportunity for other trailblazers to come up with new models that will make a splash.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that, and I like the word that you use is disruptor. I've been described as a disruptor in our industry for many years and it's one of those things that when people ask me why? Because it's necessary, it's necessary. Change is inevitable. So why not be the change? And as long as you are doing it intentionally and with good intentions being number one, I don't see any problem with it. They're the trails blazers, they're the ones that lead the way and fail more than most to get to where they're trying to go. But it's for the better good of everybody, not just for themselves, right? I mean, that is definitely apparent with you. That being the case, back then you were like a master networker dude. I mean, you grew your company but at the same time, you were well-known, and still well-known, within this industry. How did you go about that? What? What was something that was kind of like Philip, you gotta go do it. Another event, it's time to go put your face over here and you've got to speak at that. And what was that?
Speaker 2:It was just a drive to come from nothing and succeed, like I. Just man, I mean, your why changes over time and I know you've been there, but in the beginning it was just like I want to show these people and I want to show them with my success and with what my clients are saying about me and I'm going to become this powerhouse independent broker and I mean, maybe I'm never became the number one independent broker in San Antonio, but I'm super happy with where we are and everything that we've built. Um, now, my why is just a lot different. You know, it's a family, oh for sure, and it's it's growing that next generation. But, um, I still will say the second part of my why is helping my agents do that same thing. Yeah, seeing them buy houses and get married and have kids, it fills you up, I man it.
Speaker 1:you're speaking the truth here and, uh, that being the case, your agents seeing you wanting to potentially follow in your footsteps or similar shoes to that aspect you lead with and by example. Let's talk about the investment property situation. Let's talk about the first home you bought. That essentially was a beautiful home but intended to do what you wanted it to do and, essentially, make some money off of it, and do that again until you got to the point that, okay, now I'm going to venture out like out of the country type situation and get into this rental market.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, like when I first started I didn't own any real estate, right? So it's like how can I advise these people about buying and selling real estate if I don't own any real estate? So as quickly as I could, I found a guy to owner finance a piece of land to me for $32,000. I put 10 or 11,000 down and he carried the rest and I went to Tilson Homes and shout out to Fairlyn Robertson I'll never forget her. She was very helpful to me and she was like look at this young kid coming in, is he really going to get approved for a house? And you know I designed a house with him and Perry home, or you name it right. Sure, you are responsible for getting that lot ready and that includes clearing and having the construction drive and getting the electrical and all the other utilities digging a well, I had to do well in septic. So I mean, it was a process, man. But when you go through those things at the end you generally have a little bit of instant equity because you're not paying a third party on some of those things. I made $81,000 off that first home, which at the time was that year, was about the same amount I made in real estate, wow. So I doubled my income. Yeah, tax-free, of course, correct, you lived in it. And then I turned around and bought what for most people at age 25 was an unattainable house, you know, and I know you've done that, absolutely yeah. But real estate, like, I saw the value in it. There's like man, I made this 80 grand.
Speaker 2:Well, when I was buying that house the second house I happened to take vacation with a buddy of mine to the Virgin Islands and we're checking in at this little Airbnb we rented and there's a realtor standing in the front office getting a key. I said, hey, you know, if your client's not here yet, do you mind showing me this property? I'm a realtor in Texas and, honestly, I'm just interested. And I had started making good money too. You know, things were starting to push. So she opens the door and she, she says, hey, this little place is $99,000 and it has a private pool and it's at a great location. And I said, wow, and she goes yeah, man, this guy really just wants to get rid of it. He'll probably take anything. And I was like, wow, this is how they do business. So, um, I went out and celebrated with my buddy, jared. That night and the next day I offered him $59,000 cash and they took it. Wow, I've owned that for 10 years. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:And VRBO done a great job. It's a beautiful place and at that time were you worried that maybe this isn't mine, I'm giving him this cash and shit. It's not the same as as it is back home. It was definitely buyer beware. I've considered, I've considered buying in Mexico, cabo, stuff like that. I'm still like.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Well, keep in mind this is the U S Virgin Islands, so the plus was like I had a title policy issued by first American title. You issued by first american title, yeah, you know, okay, but they didn't have buyer agency down there and they they do kind of now right, but um, it's not the same as it is here. So it's kind of like everyone's either representing the seller or a sub-agent of the seller. I hired an attorney and if it wasn't for that attorney man, it would have been crazy, because the guy that actually sold the property to me with no mortgage walked with less than,000 at closing when I paid 59 cash and that's because two deeds that were not properly recorded came out of the woodwork. Wow, that's the janky kind of that happens down there and I'm sure he was.
Speaker 1:I mean, obviously it's the seller. At the end of the day, it's my property now. But I'm sure that's tough for someone like that that's owning this cool property and, like the agent told you, I'm sure he'll take anything. He probably thought he was going to make some money.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, either way I would have had that title policy right. Those didn't come out, but it would have only protected me for $59,000. You know this property is worth closer to $500,000 now and brings in $75,000 a year in rentals and, by the way, I would never sell it, ever Boom. By the way, I mean it makes good money. You know. Basically it pays my mortgage on my million-dollar house here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you also get to use it when you want it, and you know I love using it Absolutely, yeah, and you know I love using it Absolutely, yeah. So that question sprung from the idea of your agents that see you and see you as a leader and you are leading by example. Matter of fact, you do it most of the time before anybody else does. Is that something that's inherent? The tolerance for risk. Did you get that from your dad as well? Or was it just something that you're the oldest right? Yeah, so same here. It's like I get to stick my finger in the socket first.
Speaker 2:I think I got it from my mom. Okay, my mom was the one that takes risks. She started her own company in 97. Okay, still runs it to this day, very successful, not real estate related. But my dad thought she was crazy too at the time, you know. So I think he probably died thinking she was crazy.
Speaker 2:But she, you know, she's just a very stick to it kind of attitude and no risk, no reward, and she's also someone that won't be outworked Right, and I mean, it's one thing to work harder than someone else, but really to be successful you have to work right and work harder. Yeah for sure. Um, you know, I know people, a lot of people, that work harder than me and are spinning circles, and it's because they're not working intelligently or not doing the right things, and that doesn't mean they're not well intended, yeah, um. But yeah, back to the actual question. I think that I got a little bit of that from my mom and also just a little bit of it from.
Speaker 2:I grew up in a nice area of town, but I wasn't on the wealthy side, okay, but one of my best friends in elementary school was Josh Bookbinder. Okay, his dad, russ Bookbinder, was the vice president of the Spurs, and so I would sit corner next to the visitor bench growing up all the time, and I met all the greats because of this and so, seeing people like Josh and like the life that he had, I was like man, I want to, I want this for my family, I want this when I grow up, and so, um, and I do have my dad to thank for that because he put us in those positions.
Speaker 1:That's a great thing that you've mentioned. It's not always what somebody does for you as much as somebody can show you or pave the way for you. No, they're not going to clear the trees, but they'll show you the way, and it's cool that you mentioned that, because it's just not very many people have that. But there are people that you can seek out to follow, to emulate, and, like they always say matter of fact, I adopt this you are as strong as the folks that you surround yourself with, and I think the younger generation don't surround themselves with enough people at all, because I'm not seeing the aspiration in that aspect. But who knows? I mean, I don't know if I relate, I barely even ticker talk, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean, I agree with you. I think that you're the summary of the five people people you spend most of your time with. That's the same thing. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1:I agree. Um. So, now that you are, or, for goodness, how long has it been? 13 years, it'd be 15 years. 15 years, goodness gracious. What are your plans for the future? I know now, both of us, we've got our kids, we've got our family. Congratulations on all of that. Tell me about the transition as you went from primetime broker to family man.
Speaker 2:Becker man life comes at you fast. It does, you know. Let's see, two years ago I didn't have a single kid. Now, tomorrow we're celebrating the twins' second birthday and I've got a three-week-old. It's awesome, it is, it's awesome, but it's just. It does happen fast. Oh yeah, about nine and a half ten months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, yeah, about nine and a half 10 months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, I think the core of who you are doesn't really change in like what your goals are. It's just who you're preaching to and where you choose to spend your time. I think, every day, opportunity costs is a big thing. It's a real thing, right? Every time you make a decision, well, there was a cost of another decision you could have made, and time is our most valuable asset and we never get it back. So, for me, I'm spending more time with my family and my kids, and that doesn't mean that I'm not slinging real estate, of course. It just means that I'm prioritizing time with them and my perfect client. Every year I write down who my perfect client is.
Speaker 1:That's a great practice.
Speaker 2:It's part of like business planning for the next year, and that's changed a little bit. Now my perfect client is somebody that can go look at homes during the week and doesn't want to look at real estate during the weekend. Does that mean I look at houses on the weekend. Sure yeah.
Speaker 1:But that's not my perfect client. Yeah, to have that, in my opinion, you have to put the work in. I mean, it's not something that now, if I were to ask you hey, Philip, if you started off day one and immediately started your family alongside the brokerage, something was going to break, Something was going to give With you. It's almost as if you followed this path that led to the next thing that allowed you, or opened the gate to say okay, now you're ready for this.
Speaker 2:I mean it's like the movie Scarface. Ooh, I like that. First you get the money and you get the power, and I'll let you finish it.
Speaker 2:But no, I mean you have to have your priorities in line and that doesn't mean that you shouldn't start a family whenever the time's right. Sure, okay, but for me, I just knew what I wanted to provide my family, and I knew that I wasn't in a place to provide that when I first started. So my wife Kristen and I we talk about this a lot we're thankful every day that we waited till later in life to start our family, because, man, with the twins, like we had to pay for help. That's right, you know, we just had to um, and we wouldn't have been able to do that, we would have struggled. Yeah, and you know these kids, they eat really well, they go to a really nice school. You know they're, they're fly. You should see the way they dress, bro. They dress nicer than us, for sure, uh. But and again, it's funny because if you would have asked me this six years ago, it would have been a completely different I'm sure you want to catch a plane to the VI right now.
Speaker 1:Let's go and that's cool. So, with your family life, is it tough to manage that at this point in time?
Speaker 2:It is, I mean, really and truly because you always want to choose them, or I'll speak for myself I always want to choose them, but I can't always choose them because I still do have to run this brokerage and I've done other short-term rentals and even a development project in Port Aransas that we haven't talked about yet, but that's been a huge undertaking.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, it's a time suck or a time. It is a time suck but at least it's going to something that you believe eventually will pay off for the time that you spent, Correct.
Speaker 2:But, but also, like time is of the essence sometimes when it's like an investment or a development, and so when you choose to not put the energy in, you can miss the prime opportunity. So opportunity cost really, really changes. But that's why when, when money is not the number one thing anymore, it makes it easier.
Speaker 1:That makes sense.
Speaker 2:And money when you have your priorities in line and you still, you know you take the next step, you do the next right thing and you, you don't just relax. You still work Right, the money will still come.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's very true, and setting up things that will continue to pay the residual is not a bad way to go about this life.
Speaker 2:No, that's a great way. Residual income is the name of the game, man I mean. If not, then we're going to always trade our time for money for our entire lives.
Speaker 1:Man, that's a big concept right there. Um, because time is the killer of all deals, in essence, and that concept of time in itself, matter of fact, I posted something yesterday saying um time is the most valuable asset, yes or no, type concept, and, um, I maybe got a couple that said no, I didn't respond to them. But I look at it and I go, Ooh, I should probably unfriend you, no, but at the end of the day, it is, it's it. It is more valuable than love, more valuable than money, more valuable than trees. Why? Cause if you don't have the time, you can't see spend any of it at the end of the day.
Speaker 2:And that's where health comes in. Health is important too, yeah. So balance in life, you know, that's one thing. That's another thing that I've learned over time is that you have to take care of yourself first, and you have to make sure that your cup's full, because if not, you can't fill other people's cup.
Speaker 1:That's a great point, absolutely, and the concept of philosophy of that in itself, I think most people out there may or may not understand, because there's a lot of folks out there preaching that and still preaching that. You've got to have balance. You've got type of balance. It's called prioritization and if my priority is to get this project done, then hey, for this week family's got to sit on the back burner. Now we're switching weeks and this is no longer the priority. I can prioritize my family up front.
Speaker 2:So you're 100% right there, and I think some people, when they hear it's about balance, they take it as like every day, I have to have balance and that's not. That's. That's nonsense.
Speaker 1:You're you're trying to achieve an unattainable goal, Right.
Speaker 2:And you time blocking is important. I also think putting life on the calendar first is really, really important, like if there's something important to your family or one of your kids that goes on the calendar first and you work around everything else Absolutely, but you don't get big stuff done without putting in the hours and putting in the time. So true, that is so true.
Speaker 1:Well, philip, that was a good talk about, or good catching up on, that. Now let's get into some current events and things that are going on. I want to get your opinion on some things, okay. So one of the topics of discussion that is super hot right now is this NAR settlement. You, as the broker, about maybe three weeks ago, there was an email that you, as well as every agent, received. What was the sentiment? What was the next action that you, as the broker, leader of your brokerage what was your next move?
Speaker 2:You know. You know what's funny is like there's so much misinformation around this settlement and there's also whenever big news comes out. It's an opportunity for clickbait, it's an opportunity for traffic for people. So you have to really be careful where you get your news. But I'm also going to say man, I am not anymore, I am not the soldier for NAR. That's just going to read what they say and regurgitate it. But what I will tell you is this whole thing is absolute. I'm going to say hogwash, which is nicer than what I wanted to say.
Speaker 2:Commissions have always been negotiable, and for the consumer to say that they weren't aware that commissions were negotiable, that's bullshit. How many times did people ask me to reduce my commission? Don't worry, I'll wait. Yeah, you're right. A hundred times at least. Yes, so they know that commissions are always negotiable as a broker, and how I'm going to move forward with changes that are coming in our business. Man, my policy and procedures have said you have to have a buyer rep agreement before you start with somebody for over 10 years. Yeah, so that's not going to change. We'll start putting our offering of compensations on our website and I will take I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity right now to say that all Becker listings always offer a 3% buyer's agent commission and that's never going to change. We simply won't take listings if they don't do that. And why?
Speaker 1:is that, philip? I mean, I know why, but from the horse's mouth you be in the horse this time, finally, not me. Why is that?
Speaker 2:That's because in a listing situation, we represent the seller, which means we have a fiduciary duty to them, which we have to put their interests even above our own. So to not offer an offering of compensation, that's going to neutralize most buyer agency agreements. We're basically saying this property may not be available to you, mr Buyer. We're making our net much smaller. Yeah, why would I break my fiduciary to my seller by allowing them to do something so stupid?
Speaker 1:Great way to put that. Great way to put that. Great way to put that In essence. It's something that sounds good when talked about, especially if you're talking to the public and you are saying it's going to save you guys money, but then when you apply it, it doesn't pan out, it doesn't seem to the math, don't math.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, here's the deal, man If you go out and buy a house, especially if you're a first-time buyer without the experience and you don't have representation, you're going to get chewed up and spit out. I agree a hundred percent. You're going to end up. A lot of people are going to buy properties that are going to be like that movie, the Money Pit.
Speaker 2:Yes sir, are you old enough? Hell yeah, I'm old enough. Okay, jc is too. All right, I love that movie. That's one of my favorite real estate movies. But you're going to see more of that. When consumers think that they can just utilize technology to buy a house, work with someone that charges $500. That is not going to serve you well. Now here's the flip side of that. If I'm representing a buyer or any of my agents are, and there's a house that doesn't neutralize what we have in our agreement, there's other ways to make that happen. Yeah, I mean we can already write in to seller concessions for money that can cover our commission. It's part of closing costs, absolutely, so that's one thing that can be done. I know NAR is working with the mortgage world to try to look at, especially with VA financing, about how we might be able to make some changes to that, and kudos to them. I think I don't necessarily agree with them settling the lawsuit.
Speaker 1:That's kind of where I was going, because you used to be a pretty big advocate for the NAR and what they did for realtors and I'm slowly seeing many that were in that mindset making a shift simply because you thought that they were going to fight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, dude, they've lost touch. Like NAR, they need to file bankruptcy and restructure Okay, that's what I really think. Are they going to do it? Probably not. Restructure Okay, that's what I really think. Are they going to do it? Probably not. But they, yeah, I mean they're just. Their heads are so big, they're so full of themselves and I don't hesitate to say this, even with the positions I've held. Sure, I'm the youngest member of the Realtor Political Action Committee Hall of Fame, but they're so pompous and not willing to look at what really will serve the members, in my opinion, yeah, and they should. So pompous and not willing to look at what really will serve the members, in my opinion.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And they should have fought, I agree.
Speaker 1:I do agree with that. There's a clip. If I can find it, and I want to get your feedback on this, let's see here. I'll probably edit this little piece out, but we've got president calls on realtor. Oh, I already know this. Have you seen it Buckle up? Yeah, boy.
Speaker 2:It's been four years of weekend at Bernie's.
Speaker 3:And let's play. I want to get your thoughts on this. That's going to save folks as much as $1,500 that the federal government can afford to do that. In addition, last week the National Association of Realtors agreed for the first time that Americans can negotiate lower commissions when they buy or sell their home. On a typical home purchase, that loan could save folks an average of $10,000 on a sale or purchase. I'm calling on realtors to follow through on lowering the commissions. I'm calling on realtors to follow through on lowering the commissions Protect home buyers.
Speaker 1:So what are your thoughts on that? And I'll read the exact dialogue on this. It says realtors, for the first time that Americans can negotiate lower commissions when they buy or sell a home. I repeat, for the first time that Americans can.
Speaker 2:I mean, does he not remember collusion? Does he not remember the antitrust laws that are already in place? Does he not?
Speaker 1:understand that commissions have always been negotiated. Does he not remember the first time he bought a home? Probably not.
Speaker 2:Probably, he probably doesn't. Honestly True, but you know that's, it's just an embarrassment, I don't know what else to say. It's absolutely not accurate. If anything, it will harm consumers in the United States and I just can't understand buying, you know, making the biggest investment of your life without adequate representation, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So this whole speech and what he's trying or attempting to do here is to solve the affordability issue in America, and I'm just not seeing how real estate commissions are 3%.
Speaker 2:Maybe we should stop printing money, maybe we should stop increasing the national debt ceiling, maybe we should get inflation under control. You know, maybe some of those things might actually help, instead of singling out one industry just because you've done a really poor job governing this nation.
Speaker 1:There you go, there you go. I mean, I was doing some research yesterday and I stumbled and it's got the chart and you see it, and it's like through the roof and I guess the funniest thing about this is the inflation that we're seeing right now. This is the inflation that we're seeing right now. 53% of it is due to corporate profits straight up. So essentially, things are being raised, like your food at a restaurant or your, let's say, stuff that you go and buy at the store, but it doesn't cost them more to get whatever it is that they're selling. It doesn't cost them more to sell whatever it is that they're selling, and we're simply participating in this idea of false inflation, fake inflation. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:Honestly, man like I think that small businesses have taken a really big hit in this country.
Speaker 2:I think, COVID, you know, is kind of the beginning of that, and I think when we stop supporting small businesses on every industry, every aspect, all we're doing is feeding that bigger corporate machine that obviously doesn't care about the consumer, it cares about profits, yeah. So I really think we need to kind of get back to that like working together and supporting other people that are trying to get ahead. And as convenient as Amazon is I mean, my wife probably has made three Amazon purchases since I've been sitting here with you- because it's always primed.
Speaker 1:I can see it on the ring. There they are.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I mean, if we could find a way to sacrifice a little bit of convenience to help each other out, I bet you would go a long way.
Speaker 1:And mind you, ladies and gentlemen, listening, this is coming from two people that are absolutely devoted to capitalism but, at the same time, we're not here to take advantage of people. We want to do it the right way. We want everyone to win. So when we bring up the idea of affordable housing and the solutions that we possibly can bring to the table, I mean it comes from a good place. We want to see everybody win. What is your idea, or maybe some ideas on how to solve the affordability issue? Let's say directly in San Antonio, or is there an affordability issue?
Speaker 2:There is. I mean, when I got my license in 2009, the median cost of a home in San Antonio was around $170,000. That number has more than doubled in 14 years. And then let's compare that to wages where they were in 2009 versus where they are now. It hasn't kept up.
Speaker 1:No way.
Speaker 2:So we've got to bring better paying jobs into San Antonio, and more of them. A lot of the jobs that we're bringing in. You know we can tout the mayor loves to tout about how many jobs are coming in, but they're not high paying jobs, I agree, you know, and the we need a little bit better educated workforce as well. We also need to focus on some of the trade schools, because there's a lot of people that can do well and succeed going to the trade school route. Like I didn't graduate college, same here I'm not again because, because I'm a bad employee, I don't conform. So it made me a bad student. I remember I'm going to get off on a tangent Go ahead, but I was taking a business. What was it? Social and ethical issues in business.
Speaker 2:At UTSA, the professor was Consuelo Ramirez and I and I think she's got a lot of promotions since then. But I remember showing up in class on the last day and I had gotten an A on all the tests and all the projects and I looked online and I had a D in the class. So I went up to her and I said, hey, why do I have a D in this class? Here's all my scores. And she goes oh well, you didn't attend.
Speaker 2:Most of the time D stands for didn't attend and I'm like what? I'm like I'm paying you. If I don't want to attend and I can get an A on everything, then I should get an A. She goes no, you really need to be here for this class. So you're getting a D. And I said all right, peace out UTSA. And that was my last college class, but I do think that college isn't for everyone, but that doesn't mean that those people aren't still seeking out knowledge and can't become successful, and so real estate is one of those things. Mortgage could be one of those things. There's a lot of professional licenses that you don't need Plumbers, electricians. My plumber kills it Absolutely. Sometimes I feel like I need to start working for him.
Speaker 1:My plumber kills it Absolutely. Sometimes I feel like I need to start working for him. So the discussion we're having almost reminds me of uh, have you seen the new? Uh, south Park, uh, multiverse.
Speaker 2:You know I do love South Park, I love the real estate one, but dude, with three little kids, like by the time they all go to bed, like my wife, and I don't even want to talk to each other.
Speaker 1:We're just like bye. So the idea behind what they were trying to uh portray, which they did a great job of it is they always do, yeah, the idea of technology um, not necessarily replacing people, but we get so complacent with others doing things that the generations to come will eventually forget how to do things like let me fix this hinge on the stove. What is it? It's just a screw that I have to replace, no big deal. So he's got to call the handyman, which apparently in all of the United States, the men that normally would just fix it are having the same issues. Therefore, all the handymen now become the richest in the United States. Why? Because nobody knows how to do shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's like that movie Idiocracy, and we're living in it.
Speaker 1:We are literally living in it. How forward thinking was that movie. Scary it was scary, minus the buff president.
Speaker 2:One of my favorite shirts is I have a shirt that says make Orwell fiction again. Yeah, and that's really truly. Jc loved that. It's unfortunate, but it's true.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is true. Yeah, man, it's just I don't want to be all doom and gloom on this stuff because there is plenty of good and, in my opinion, when you see changes happening, we'll call it. The NAR settlement is going to breed change. The elections. It's going to breed change. The affordability issues it's going to breed change. What spawns of that is always opportunity, opportun, opportunity for folks to step in and rise to the occasion, answer the calling, whatever that may be, that leads us to the next future. Whatever you know how to fix all of these things, in your opinion, what are some things that could potentially fix? Or I mean they could be super hypothetical, pipe dream type, but hey, if you don't throw it out there, what are we doing here in the think tank? What are some things that could potentially solve some of this that's going on?
Speaker 2:I definitely think getting inflation under control is something that will make a huge difference.
Speaker 1:And, that being the case, inflation. If we look at the root causes of what is actually happening and let's say, most of it is this corporate greed would it be too crazy to say, hey guys, at some point we as Americans need to just stop buying that shit, absolutely, but it takes a stop buying that shit Absolutely.
Speaker 2:But it takes a movement to do that. Yeah, you know and I don't know the exact quote, but it's like evil prevails when good people fail to take action. Yes, sir, you know, and that's kind of where we're at right now is it's easy to just sit back and not do anything? It's a lot harder to take action, yes, sir, and it takes a lot more effort. It's a lot harder to take action, yes sir.
Speaker 2:And it takes a lot more effort, but now is the time to do that. Yeah, I agree, you know, and other. As far as affordability, I think there's a lot of people in San Antonio trying to address it in the wrong ways and again, when you look at it, it's these major corporations. It's true, I'm not going to say no, we're saying builders right, but there are some builders that are coming in and how are they addressing affordability? Well, they're building a worse product. They're building a small product that doesn't give a family an opportunity to grow. They're building a product that, God forbid, a home inspector looks at it. I mean, it gets worse every year. The framing packages that I see, and they use all these engineered trusses, Half of them. They arrive off the truck damaged but they still slap them up and it's within their performance standards.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Not only does that not address affordability, it actually sets people up for failure, which can lead to generational failure.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So I think we're looking in the wrong places when we continue to look at how are these big corporations going to help us address this? Because, like you said, that's not what they're trying to do.
Speaker 1:Right, right. That is not their motive. That is not their. When you look at the wins and loss column, the name on the top is not us, essentially under the wins section.
Speaker 2:And that's why I think also like who you work with has always mattered, but who you work with is going to matter more and more. To work with the people in real estate and mortgage and business that really and truly are in it for the right reasons.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That really do care about their clients. Neighbors and community Absolutely, man. Well, I mean neighbors and community.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, man. Well, I mean, shoot, this has been a great discussion. We're right at the top of the hour here. Um, at this time, is there anything that you would like to let the listeners know? Maybe other agents out there, other brokers, maybe home buyers or sellers? I mean, this is your time to. Maybe, I don't know, give them some act right. Who?
Speaker 2:knows. Yeah, I love this. Thank you for that. Of course, I always say the easiest way to make a million dollars is to sell shit to realtors, and that's because they'll buy anything. They're always looking for the newest gadget or shiny object in their business thing. They're always looking for the newest gadget or shiny object in their business, and what I've seen over the last number of years is, when things aren't going well, they're looking at the next brokerage or the next shiny company that offers me X, y and Z. My message to agents is that your brand, whichever brokerage that is, is 15% of your business at best Yep, so stop doing that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, stop If you're not successful.
Speaker 2:Look internally, oof. Work on your own processes, procedures. Stop being lazy. Do the business planning, go out there and do the work. If you're not willing to do the work, you can jump ship as many times as you want, you're not going to be successful. That's right. And if you focus on just making money off of recruiting other agents and that's what they focus on too, and no one sells any real estate.
Speaker 2:There are no residuals for anyone. That's right. So residuals are the name of the game, but there's lots of ways to get them. Property management is a way. Yes, sir, buying short-term rentals is a way. There's a lot of ways that we can do it. I stick with what I know and so that's what I do. But yeah, I think that focusing on your business is paramount, and focusing on doing the next right thing and for the right reasons, absolutely, and focusing on doing the next right thing and for the right reasons.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I like that.
Speaker 1:And to kind of finish this off, is, if you're having struggles with your business, your processes, if you're having to switch different brokerages to find out your right fit, I think you should focus on the common denominator.
Speaker 1:The thing that does not change but should be, which is you I think Michael Jackson said it and then Little Wayne said it best is the man in the mirror. Look at the man in the mirror and ask yourself what the hell are you doing for you today and what are you doing to make a change for everyone else that makes everything else better in your life? And I think you doing to make a change for everyone else that makes everything else better in your life. And I think those are powerful words, powerful story and powerful journey that you've led thus far, and I'm excited to continue to see this journey and continue to be a part of what you're doing. Man, it's an honor and a privilege to know you as a friend and to have been a part of the beginning, uh, of of what is to come, because I know you are not done sir.
Speaker 2:Not even close, and thank, thank you for having me. And I think, uh, we should end this with a good go, spurs go.
Speaker 1:Boom, I agree Spans here. Matter of fact, we got JC in the background. We still contribute to the cause in our what is it? It's now the Frost Center real estate packages. So definitely one, two, three go, spurs go. Real estate and mortgage. I'm your host, mark Jones, bringing you the latest insight, trends and expert advice to navigate this dynamic property market. In each episode, we dive deep into the heart of the industry, dissecting market movement, exploring investment strategies and unlocking the secret to real estate success. Whether you're a seasoned professional, an aspiring investor or simply looking to stay ahead of the curve, this is the ultimate guide to making informed decisions in the world of property and real estate. So grab a seat and let's uncover the key factors that make all the difference. Welcome to Key Factors Podcast. Let the journey begin.