Building a Strong Foundation: The Power of Morning Coffee and Distraction-Free Time

[00:00:00] Do you want to succeed in real estate?

[00:00:03] There's not a one size fits all strategy and the path is never a straight line.

[00:00:08] Join host Paul Neal, a serial entrepreneur as he learns from top producing real estate agents and investors

[00:00:15] from all backgrounds and experiences.

[00:00:18] You'll discover that the one thing they all have in common is they've leveraged their creativity

[00:00:23] and life skills to build super successful careers in the real estate industry

[00:00:28] and here's your chance to get an insider's view on what it really takes to win in real estate.

[00:00:34] Hey, hey, welcome listeners today.

[00:00:42] I have the distinct honor and privilege of having Dusty Thayer of the Dusty Thayer team on today as a top producing realtor here in the southeast Virginia area.

[00:00:52] Dusty is part of the own real estate group.

[00:00:54] He works with his wife Tracy.

[00:00:56] He's a dad realtor and a Christ follower.

[00:00:59] That's what he tells me and that's exciting.

[00:01:01] So also in addition, that is very successful in real estate.

[00:01:05] And I know it has a former military background as well.

[00:01:07] So maybe we'll get into that.

[00:01:08] But anyway, Dusty, welcome to the show today.

[00:01:10] Paul, thank you for having me buddy.

[00:01:12] Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[00:01:14] So I always like to start out Dusty and get a little context for everyone for the listeners.

[00:01:20] Talk about how you got into real estate was the journey like was it something you always dreamed to do or just, you know, what does that look like for you?

[00:01:29] No, it's funny because we've said this before that I don't know a realtor that started out wanting to be a realtor.

[00:01:37] We've all done something and just kind of landed there.

[00:01:40] I was in the sheetrock business.

[00:01:43] I was senior estimator for a drywall and plaster company and did that probably 1112 years and knew I wanted to own my own business.

[00:01:53] I didn't know what and a friend of mine just mentioned real estate.

[00:01:59] So I kind of thought about it and it just worked.

[00:02:03] It worked.

[00:02:05] And so it worked because, okay, you'd wanted to own your business for quite some time and you know we talked to realtors, entrepreneurs, business owners.

[00:02:15] That's who we talked to.

[00:02:17] But was it something that you I mean, you're just cold turkey or like, okay, I'm just going to go jump in real estate and drop my job that I've been at for 1112 years or was this a process or?

[00:02:29] Yeah, I gave.

[00:02:30] So once I decided I was going to do it, I gave my job three months notice and immediately started talking to brokers.

[00:02:43] I went to her and signed up for the classes at the Alpha College real estate.

[00:02:51] And once my time was up at my job, I started doing the classes so I just went straight into it.

[00:03:00] So that was pretty bold.

[00:03:02] Did they tell you that it was going to be commission only?

[00:03:05] They did.

[00:03:06] And the first year it was a huge cut in pay from what I was used to.

[00:03:15] And that was that was shocking.

[00:03:21] But I was still having fun like I was helping people and the payment off of that alone was worth it.

[00:03:31] Wow, okay.

[00:03:32] So you found your satisfaction somewhere else.

[00:03:35] You knew I mean you your job you had before was based on performance to a degree, right?

[00:03:41] So you were a top producer in that job.

[00:03:44] Yes.

[00:03:49] It just was different.

[00:03:52] Like there you could come in and at the end of the day you could say okay, you know, we won this large job or I won this bid.

[00:04:03] But there was no emotions.

[00:04:05] You know, you're just getting in it.

[00:04:08] That just grabs your heart and real estate.

[00:04:12] It's not all HTTV or, you know, buying million dollar homes.

[00:04:18] It's real world.

[00:04:19] You're helping families whether good bad going up going down in size.

[00:04:26] You're just making an impact in people's lives and that just feels good.

[00:04:33] Nice.

[00:04:34] So do you think of any particular like reflecting back story or experience that was, you know, that moved you a lot?

[00:04:45] Yeah, there's one.

[00:04:48] I helped a couple by house on three acres and they had been in the town home and their girls had only known that small backyard.

[00:05:00] And we went to look at the house.

[00:05:02] The horse pasture was a little overgrown, had the yellow wildflowers everywhere and they were running through it.

[00:05:09] And it was like the beginning of little house on the prairie with Laura Ingalls running down and she falls in the flowers.

[00:05:16] And when I came up to me and tugged on my pants and said Mr. Dusty is this my new yard?

[00:05:24] And I said, yeah, it sure is.

[00:05:26] And I started tearing up and her dad looked at me and he was like, are you okay?

[00:05:33] And I was like, yeah, man, the pollen's really bad.

[00:05:37] But right then in that moment, it just that's when it got me that I'm making a difference.

[00:05:45] And that changed everything.

[00:05:47] It was no longer a commission check.

[00:05:51] It was I'm helping people.

[00:05:53] Wow.

[00:05:54] Wow, that's a very profound moment.

[00:05:58] How could that not move you?

[00:05:59] If you don't have a pulse with something like that and you're a former Marine, right?

[00:06:05] Yes.

[00:06:06] Yeah, so from Storm the Beaches and we're taking the hill to the little girl tug on your leg and tears.

[00:06:12] You're the Renaissance man for sure and that's really cool.

[00:06:17] So, all right.

[00:06:18] So this business of yours now is more profound.

[00:06:21] You have the opportunity not to just make a great lifestyle and a great income to support your family and community,

[00:06:27] but you're making an impact in people's lives.

[00:06:30] What was the journey like once you got into real estate?

[00:06:34] You said that first year was difficult in the sense that you took a major cut in pay.

[00:06:40] All the qualitative benefits notwithstanding, you still have to eat and maybe pay a mortgage and whatnot.

[00:06:46] So, is that something that you were able to climb out of pretty quickly or did it take a while to kind of figure this thing out to get your stride?

[00:06:53] What was the what was that like and was there a certain key turning point or moment that really helped you to go to the next level?

[00:07:00] Yeah, we're always growing and evolving.

[00:07:03] And I just laughed because Tracy and I, my wife and partner, we're dialed in this year.

[00:07:10] Like we really, I laughed the other day and I said it only took us eight years to figure it out.

[00:07:18] But each year I saw growth and when I had met her my first year and told her, I said, look, I don't have a client.

[00:07:29] I don't have any income.

[00:07:31] If you want to date me, it's going to be just me.

[00:07:33] We're not going out doing anything.

[00:07:36] So having her by my side through all this made the difference.

[00:07:42] Like someone I could lean on at the end of the day because we weren't partners at first.

[00:07:48] She was in property management when I met her and eventually that just grew into why don't you come into sales and we built the their team.

[00:08:00] So you had shared with me too earlier that something else that you guys figured out though.

[00:08:07] I want you to talk about this because you talk about working with Tracy on your team.

[00:08:11] There's one thing to bring on the team, but you're talking about dialed in now.

[00:08:14] There's something that you guys kind of figured out together that really helped you get quote unquote dialed in.

[00:08:22] Yeah, so we kind of sat down and figured out what we like individually, what we'd like to do what we didn't like to do what we're good at what the other ones better at.

[00:08:37] And she is phenomenal with doing the handwritten notes, keeping our database up to date, setting up our client events.

[00:08:49] I don't like to be out in the field. I want to be out on the road and the trenches.

[00:08:54] I don't want to be behind a computer.

[00:08:57] So we've kind of split those tasks.

[00:09:00] And every morning when I leave the home, she hands me a list of here's what needs to happen today.

[00:09:08] And I just report back at the end of the day.

[00:09:11] Here's what I did. Here's my note. She tracks it and we just keep moving on.

[00:09:16] So you've created more of a specialization instead of overlapping each other.

[00:09:20] You figured out, hey, I'm better at this. You're better at that.

[00:09:24] And by doing by structuring our business that way, you've delegated each other your strengths and your weaknesses, right?

[00:09:30] So you could be more effective.

[00:09:32] And it sounds to me like you have an accountability partner now too, right?

[00:09:36] Because you're reporting at the end of the day. Hey, this is what I accomplished today.

[00:09:39] This is the goal. Here's what I did.

[00:09:41] So you got somebody that you're answering to.

[00:09:43] That's right. That's exactly right.

[00:09:45] Yeah. Well, you see that a lot in business.

[00:09:48] I mean, most entrepreneurs go through it at some point.

[00:09:52] People say, well, I want to go, I want to start my own business.

[00:09:55] And particularly if it's someone who is good at what I call technician work and that, you know, maybe they had a...

[00:10:02] Maybe they're an HVAC person or something. They're great at it. They love it.

[00:10:05] And they decide, hey, I want to go do my own thing, get my own business.

[00:10:10] And they're really good at doing the service.

[00:10:13] But at some point, they have to figure out that I have to start delegating some of these other areas to other people

[00:10:20] that are going to be better at them than I am so I could focus my time and energy on what only I can do

[00:10:26] to really grow and be successful.

[00:10:28] Right.

[00:10:29] And not only does that increase your income, but you're probably happier and more...

[00:10:32] You feel more like just totally talked about dialed in, like in the zone, right?

[00:10:36] Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:10:38] You're both doing something you enjoy. So at the end of the day, you're not as worn out because you're working on parts that you like.

[00:10:46] Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome.

[00:10:49] So talk about what are you seeing right now?

[00:10:53] You've been in the market. You said, is it eight years you've been in real estate?

[00:10:56] Ten years.

[00:10:57] Ten years. Okay.

[00:10:59] So well, you came in at a pretty tough time.

[00:11:01] It was a pretty gutsy move actually.

[00:11:03] You've came in at around 2023. So what, 2013?

[00:11:08] Yes, sir.

[00:11:09] Yeah. Yeah. So the world wasn't...

[00:11:11] It was still recovering from the 08 crash.

[00:11:16] So you've seen different markets and we just went through the COVID crazies kind of on the back end of that.

[00:11:22] We're talking a little bit about the market today though because a lot of the prognosticators, particularly if you looked at CNBC or anything,

[00:11:29] were talking about the world was going to end and housing was going to collapse.

[00:11:33] And if it bleeds, it leads. Let's get it out there, right?

[00:11:36] That's right.

[00:11:37] What do you see now?

[00:11:39] April of 2023, did the world collapse?

[00:11:42] And what is it looking like from your standpoint when you're out there talking to people?

[00:11:46] No, it hasn't collapsed.

[00:11:49] And we're in such a unique housing market here with military,

[00:11:54] civilian contractors that back up the military.

[00:11:57] Hampton Roads is just a great area to be in.

[00:12:00] We're still low on inventory.

[00:12:03] We have been since the market crash. That's nothing new.

[00:12:07] Rates have gone up, but they're not outrageous.

[00:12:11] They're just higher than what we're used to.

[00:12:13] But I'm seeing now there's still buyers.

[00:12:19] There always has been, but the listings are not there.

[00:12:24] So for a while, it slowed down and it just felt like things stopped.

[00:12:31] But they happen. They just slowed down.

[00:12:33] So during COVID 2020, 21, 22, we're used to you list the house on Friday.

[00:12:40] And by Sunday, you've got a dozen offers to pick from.

[00:12:45] And now you may list a home and go all weekend and not get a phone call.

[00:12:50] And we just have to remember back to pre COVID.

[00:12:57] It was normal for a house to sit on the market 90, 100 and 120 days before you ratified.

[00:13:04] That was just normal.

[00:13:06] You know, if you got one done in 60 days, you were pounding your chest.

[00:13:11] So I think when rates drop a little bit more,

[00:13:17] we're going to go back to multiple offers,

[00:13:21] waving inspections, throwing out some cash.

[00:13:25] We're going to see that again.

[00:13:27] Well, didn't you just tell me before we went live that you're already starting to see some competitive bits and those things are already starting to happen?

[00:13:32] It is.

[00:13:33] It depends on the price point, the location, but I've seen it in different areas like it's you can't just say it at 300,000.

[00:13:43] That's happening because I see it under that.

[00:13:46] I've seen it above it.

[00:13:48] It's just when that right one hits, people are fighting for it.

[00:13:52] Do you think it has to do with the quality of the property at all?

[00:13:55] No, I think there's just not much out there to pick from still.

[00:14:00] We're running about a month's inventory.

[00:14:03] So what's what's there people have seen and as soon as the new shiny thing pops up, everybody's on it.

[00:14:13] So you mentioned a little while ago that you talk about we live in a great area Hampton roads for the market.

[00:14:19] But I talked to people all over and unless you're in an area that just went absolutely bonkers like a Phoenix, Arizona or San Diego,

[00:14:28] some of these markets that always go up like rocket ships and then they collapse back down 30%.

[00:14:33] Just about everybody else I'm talking to is seeing and hearing the same kind of thing that you are.

[00:14:40] And I mean from an interest rate standpoint, they did peak.

[00:14:44] You're right and they've come back down some but with inflation abating in the news,

[00:14:48] I think you're going to see in the May report coming out quite a bit of an easing in that number

[00:14:53] and you're going to see rates come down much more significantly throughout the rest of the year,

[00:14:58] at least down to an area in maybe the five, five and a half range which is historically amazing.

[00:15:04] It's amazingly great.

[00:15:06] Right.

[00:15:07] And that's what people need to understand.

[00:15:09] What we saw the twos and the threes, we haven't seen that before.

[00:15:14] So when we've gone a little bit above that everybody's getting scared but you just said it historically, it's incredible.

[00:15:23] Yeah, yeah, it really is.

[00:15:25] And as time goes on, people will forget the two people have very short memories.

[00:15:29] They're going to forget the two and a half percent, three percent interest rates.

[00:15:33] And ironically, a lot of people hate to say it but as they go get equity lines on their houses to do renovations

[00:15:43] or they want to consolidate debt or whatever, a lot of those people are getting higher rate loans

[00:15:48] or those second lines and so we're getting farther and farther away from that period of time

[00:15:53] and I think with every month we get away from it and we see a normalcy,

[00:15:58] what I would call normal in the grand scheme of things over 30 years and interest rates

[00:16:02] and you're going to see buyer traffic is going to heat up and I think you're right Dusty.

[00:16:06] I think it's going to be back to where we were a couple of years ago when you got crazy offers

[00:16:11] and I think now's the time to buy honestly because I think if inventory is bad now, you just wait.

[00:16:21] Yeah, and I'm still seeing people are paying for buyers closing costs now.

[00:16:28] They're doing repairs.

[00:16:29] They're giving more than they have in the past couple of years so yeah, buy now, get a little bit lower price,

[00:16:37] get some repairs done, get some financial assistance and then refinance when you can.

[00:16:43] Exactly.

[00:16:44] You at least lock in the price.

[00:16:46] Even if we only see three or four percent appreciation on a $300,000 home or $400,000 home

[00:16:54] that's 12 to 15,000 a year of appreciation that that property is getting away from you if you don't lock that price in.

[00:17:01] Right.

[00:17:02] In interest rates they're always going to change.

[00:17:05] Home values are not going down.

[00:17:08] They're going to keep going up and the longer you wait the more you're going to pay for that.

[00:17:13] Yeah, for sure.

[00:17:15] We've officially avoided I think the O8 collapse for a lot of reasons

[00:17:20] and they were evident to a lot of us going in and I think the world's starting to wake up to that

[00:17:25] and I think that's why you're starting to see some competition.

[00:17:29] We'll talk about this.

[00:17:30] What do you think, what strategies from a real estate standpoint, real estate agent growing his business,

[00:17:39] what two or three strategies are working for you right now to be successful?

[00:17:43] It's just keeping up with our spear and talking to your friends, educating them because you watch the news.

[00:17:52] They'll tell you one thing but just talking to them and once you've been in it, everyone knows you're in real estate.

[00:18:00] The first question you always get is how's the market?

[00:18:04] Yeah.

[00:18:05] Just tell them, just explain it.

[00:18:07] They want to know what their house is worth.

[00:18:09] They want to know what's happening but keeping up with your people is big and not just for work but just being there for somebody.

[00:18:17] Which is the whole thing that you love about the business, right?

[00:18:20] Is being with the people serving the people and just being available to help them succeed.

[00:18:25] Yeah, well that's why you're successful for sure.

[00:18:28] What would you do today in terms of advice?

[00:18:31] So as a professional 10 years, you've seen this for a buyer and a seller.

[00:18:35] What's probably the biggest thing you would tell either of those or each of those today when they're thinking about selling or they're thinking about buying?

[00:18:43] So when we sell, even though the market's competitive, still get your house ready.

[00:18:50] Do everything you would like you would have three years ago.

[00:18:54] Don't just assume someone's going to run in and want to get it.

[00:18:59] The better it looks, it's just going to look better for the buyer, for the appraiser, for everyone.

[00:19:06] We still do professional pictures.

[00:19:08] We don't do our own and we have a plan like we're getting rent backs when they close because that's the biggest fear for a seller now is selling and they have nowhere to go.

[00:19:19] So just having that plan up front, if you can't get a rent back, where can you go?

[00:19:27] Those are big for sellers and for buyers.

[00:19:31] Tracy laughs at me.

[00:19:35] I'll talk someone out buying a home faster than I will buying it because once I find out what they're looking for, I don't want to let them settle.

[00:19:45] And I have to reel people in sometimes because I see them settling.

[00:19:50] And as long as they're in a spot where they can wait, I just tell them to be patient.

[00:19:55] So you're telling to really identify what your needs are and what you want and don't just take anything?

[00:20:00] Right.

[00:20:01] Right.

[00:20:02] Which is, I mean do you see a lot of people jumping in from a buyer side and they just, I mean I know there was a lot of that when it was, you know, when people were fighting for homes and buying them sight unseen but in a market like today are people still kind of like that, you know?

[00:20:16] Or were you having to kind of slow them down a little bit to say let's really clearly identify what you really want?

[00:20:21] A little bit.

[00:20:22] I have one client now that, and God be with them.

[00:20:26] They've waited for a while to find the right home but it's going to be their forever home.

[00:20:32] They want woods so we've seen some houses on acreage where there's no woods and they're like oh wow.

[00:20:40] And then I'll just bring back my notes and say hey remember this is what you sold your house for in the first place.

[00:20:48] And they'll say oh yeah you're right.

[00:20:50] And they just kind of need that reassurance of it's coming we'll find it, it's out there.

[00:20:56] Okay well very good so you're giving them, you're the reality check you're keeping them focused in the boundaries and this is the direction that you want to go.

[00:21:03] You're obviously not setting the goals for them.

[00:21:05] They are telling you what they want right?

[00:21:07] Right.

[00:21:08] You just keep them reminded of that and remind yourself it's a process.

[00:21:16] Don't chase the commission.

[00:21:18] Take care of your client.

[00:21:20] That's what we're paid to do is take care of our clients.

[00:21:24] Right.

[00:21:25] Is that how you define success?

[00:21:27] I would say my level of happiness and right now life is good.

[00:21:34] Like we're just really good right now.

[00:21:36] We're in a good spot and not just financially just you know we start every day with a cup of coffee together.

[00:21:45] We just started off no technology, no nothing just sitting down together having a cup of coffee and then we go about our day but just to be able to do that because people laugh and say how do you work with your wife all day?

[00:22:01] I don't.

[00:22:02] I see her in the morning and we may work together a couple of days a week in the mornings but most of the time we're split up going different directions and we meet each other back at the house at the end of the day.

[00:22:17] So it's good to start together.

[00:22:19] It's good to end together.

[00:22:21] Life's just good.

[00:22:23] Life is just good.

[00:22:25] I like that.

[00:22:26] I think that's going to be the name of this episode.

[00:22:30] I'm writing that down.

[00:22:31] So Dusty tell me this so we're coming up on the end of our time here.

[00:22:35] Tell anyone and everyone who is interested in real estate here in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk and the surrounding areas.

[00:22:45] How can they get up with you if they need a great real estate agent help them?

[00:22:48] Definitely call or text phone number 757-635-2037.

[00:22:55] You can get us on Facebook, the Thayer Team Realtors, email Dusty at thethayerteam.net or Tracy at thethayerteam.net and we'll definitely reach out.

[00:23:08] Awesome.

[00:23:09] We'll get all that in a show note so it's easy for people to click the button to call or to email.

[00:23:14] So wrapping up, are there any last thoughts?

[00:23:18] This goes really fast.

[00:23:20] Do you have any last thoughts or comments or anything you'd just like to share or say before we wrap up for the day?

[00:23:27] I would just not necessarily real estate but if you've had anything that you've wanted to do that you've just dreamt of, you're passionate about, do it.

[00:23:38] Just do it because once I did it, my life changed and it changed 100 times for the better.

[00:23:46] Awesome.

[00:23:47] Sage advice.

[00:23:48] Just do it.

[00:23:49] Just pursue that dream.

[00:23:50] That's right.

[00:23:51] Awesome.

[00:23:52] Well Dusty, this has been great.

[00:23:53] I appreciate your time.

[00:23:54] I'm glad that you were able to come on the show today.

[00:23:56] Yes sir.

[00:23:57] Thanks for having me.

[00:23:58] You bet.