Why Communication is Key: Building Trust with Long-Term Clients

John Harcar (00:01.334)
All right, hey guys, welcome back to our show. I’m here today with Katie Patille. Hope I said that right. And we’re going to talk about, besides her journey in business and real estate, how she’s helping investors, real estate agents, mortgage brokers. I mean, really all these guys grow their business. Remember, guys, at Investor Fuel, we help real estate investors, service providers, really all real estate entrepreneurs, 2 5x their business, providing tools and resources to grow the business they’ve always wanted to have in turn.

Katie Patille (00:07.378)
Be good.

John Harcar (00:30.892)
live that life they’ve always dreamed of. Katie, welcome to our show.

Katie Patille (00:35.368)
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I’m used to being on your side of the podcast realm. So being on this side, I feel like a fish out of water, but I’m so excited. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a strange feeling.

John Harcar (00:42.984)
Isn’t it sometimes like, know, can I do the same thing? I’ll go on someone else’s podcast and I’ll just be kind of like, yeah. When I’m on the other side, I’m like telling that person, Hey, come on, come on, get cracking, cracking, cracking. That’s funny.

Katie Patille (00:56.136)
Right, right, but I am so happy to be here. So thank you for having me.

John Harcar (01:02.402)
Yeah, no, thank you for coming on. And I’m excited to talk about and see how you’re helping investors, agents, and brokers grow business. I think that’s important. But before we get into all that, why don’t you tell our audience a little bit about you, your background in business and real estate, and what got you to today?

Katie Patille (01:09.426)
Yeah.

Katie Patille (01:18.13)
Yeah.

Well, I am a mama first and foremost to the cutest five year old that you’ll ever meet. I’m not biased at all whatsoever in saying that. Now I also have an amazing boyfriend who is my support system in everything that I do. So especially grateful for him. But aside from that, I started in real estate really right out of college as a loan officer. So I was on the mortgage side of things when I first started.

John Harcar (01:25.198)
Right.

Katie Patille (01:48.923)
for an online direct bank that was eventually acquired by Capital One. But if anyone knows the name ING Direct, that is where I started my journey. Yes, back in the day, we had a five-in-one arm, a seven-in-one, and a 10-year. So those were my only mortgage products that I had at my disposal. So needless to say, it was kind of thrown to the wolves in that scenario.

John Harcar (01:57.133)
I’ve heard it.

John Harcar (02:15.307)
Right?

Katie Patille (02:16.248)
But it was great. It was a great learning experience. actually loved it. was great company. Eventually, like I said, Capital One bought them out and so it forced transitions to happen. And so I did bounce around a little bit in the mortgage world, which eventually led me to the title side of the business. actually was fortunate enough that my title connection at the time was like, why don’t you come over to the title side of the business and showed me the ropes. I mean, I loved

all things real estate from the beginning, but once I got to this side of the business, I really, really just found my niche and just love and appreciate this side of things. So I’ve been on the title side of things for about six years now. so that’s been my journey in the real estate world in a nutshell.

John Harcar (03:05.835)
Okay, what if you ever watched any of my podcasts, I like to go backwards. So what did you study in college?

Katie Patille (03:14.6)
actually studied psychology.

John Harcar (03:16.429)
OK. Was there any prior in your life influence in real estate, another real estate agent, maybe someone else that was in mortgage or lending or anything like that? I mean, what kind of prompted the real estate or mortgage path, or was it just you needed the job?

Katie Patille (03:35.749)
It was such a fluke because no, I didn’t have anyone in my life that was really involved in the real estate world. But I had a good friend of mine at the time that was already working for ING directs and they were hiring and I had gone to college in North Carolina, but I live in Delaware. So I had recently moved back to Delaware and so I was looking for a job. I knew absolutely nothing about mortgage at the time and was, I mean, coming out

college was very vaguely familiar with things in real estate. just went on a whim, went on the interview, it worked out and it just ended up working out in the long run. I fell in love with it. So, but yeah, it was a fluke. It was not anything that has been part of my growing up or anyone that I knew at the time, et cetera. So.

John Harcar (04:26.829)
Did it, was it a struggle or did it take a while to kind of learn all the terminology and kind of really pick up the way to, you know, you’re pitching these loans and do all that stuff. And what was that like?

Katie Patille (04:37.098)
yeah, of course. mean, especially having zero background in it. I mean, it was the epitome of fake it till you make it for a while, I think. I mean, mortgage especially, the guidelines, I mean, it’s government regulated. I mean, it’s not something you can take lightly. So there was a lot of pressure from that aspect, like making sure I am not screwing up one of the largest financial investments that people will make in their life.

John Harcar (04:44.141)
Right.

Katie Patille (05:03.9)
But again, like I just there was something about it that I loved and hopefully everyone that I worked with appreciated what I did at the time. But yeah, it was daunting in the beginning and real estate is also one of those things that it is always changing, always evolving. Like I say all the time, you will never know it all. Like there is something new that comes across or comes up every day. And now I’ve been in the industry for, you know, pushing 14 years. So and I still think that so.

John Harcar (05:14.423)
Right?

Katie Patille (05:33.854)
It’s just you kind of got to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

John Harcar (05:37.549)
Yeah, no, that’s huge. I mean, you need to go out and you got to push yourself. How long were you doing mortgage? And then at what point did you switch to the title?

Katie Patille (05:42.226)
Thank you.

Katie Patille (05:46.268)
was about six years that I switched to the title side of the business and yeah.

John Harcar (05:51.534)
So you got into the title side, obviously another whole piece to learn. How was that changed? What type of mindset shift or was there anything you had to maneuver in your world to adapt to the title?

Katie Patille (06:09.16)
Yeah, I mean, of course there’s differences, but to me it was a positive change on the mortgage side of the business. mean, you’re typically working with a client for 30 to 45 days and so your pipeline is just always, always, always needing to be essentially built from scratch, similar to a real estate agent. But on the title side of the business, I have the luxury of, you I bring on a client and ideally I keep that client for years and that’s really what I’ve done. have, I’m actually

closing a loan for a client today that the very first job I had at IMG direct in the real estate industry, he was a coworker. I really appreciate that side of the business on the title side. get to maintain your clients long term. so, you know, I consider a lot of them friends more so than clients. I know their spouses and I know their kids names. And so it also gives you the luxury of it not feeling so much like work because you enjoy

John Harcar (06:46.479)
wow.

Katie Patille (07:09.034)
you know working with the people that you work with so there was a learning curve of course you know learning title logistics, but you also I had a great team behind me that I actually started on the title side working for the company that I’m with now So I have a great team of escrow officers behind me I have direct access my boss is the owner of the company and he always answers the phone He is always just a text message or a call away and so I really felt supported that

John Harcar (07:24.332)
Okay.

Katie Patille (07:38.954)
it actually felt less daunting than on the mortgage side where it kind of felt like it’s all on me. Whereas here I felt like I had this support system around me that, you know, I just, there was less pressure that if I make a mistake that it’s all on me. So.

John Harcar (07:56.044)
Yeah, sometimes that’s important to be able to have that that support system to help you feel more comfortable to do the best that you possibly can. So let’s talk a little bit about, mean, so you know, you’re so you’re currently working for a title company, correct? OK, and are you guys mainly working with investors? Are you working? I who’s your kind of your main avatar that you’re working with? And in that quarter, kind of some of the benefits that your title company provides.

Katie Patille (08:06.331)
Right, right.

Katie Patille (08:12.818)
Correct.

Katie Patille (08:26.49)
So we have had to evolve over time. I would say, you know, several years ago, the our primary client base was lenders. We were very, very refi heavy, as I’m sure a lot of title companies were when the refi business was so prominent. Obviously, that took a very drastic shift. And so we obviously had to pivot as a result as well. So since then, I would say we primarily deal with real estate agents.

We obviously are very well versed in the refi side still, but that volume just, you know, it comes and goes. And so we’re equipped to handle it well when it’s there. And now we have a really great team that handles the purchase side of the business, which kind of transitioning to what you were saying before about what makes us different from other title companies. I have in the process worked with other title companies and I will tell you there are some that are only meant to be refi.

title companies on the purchase side of business. It is a completely different animal and so I think we do a really good job here of being able to handle both. And the investor side of the business. mean, investor business is probably one of the more complicated sides of the business. Not always, but a lot of the time. I mean, sometimes you’re dealing with estates and errors and, you know, different things coming up on title. Title, if there’s ever a scenario where title might not be clean, if I’m picking between the three scenarios,

an investor deal is most commonly the one where things might be a little hairy. But again, we have such an experienced team now that that’s nothing for us anymore. So I’m very thankful for the company that I work for on the team that I have behind me to handle those transactions.

John Harcar (09:59.092)
Always

John Harcar (10:14.829)
Yeah, that’s awesome. mean, lot of companies, a lot of title companies I know, some of them don’t like to work with investors. Why do you think that is?

Katie Patille (10:23.074)
So I think it’s kind of what I just said. If there’s going to be a deal that’s going to be complicated, take a lot of time, that it’s usually going to be an investor deal.

John Harcar (10:35.021)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Patille (10:35.944)
A lot of times also there are smaller deals. Not again, not always, but a lot of times that’s the case. And so it’s kind of like is the juice worth the squeeze kind of thing for a lot of companies. I have always approached my business in that if you are willing to send me a deal, whether it is a deal for 50,000 or if it’s a deal for 50 million, I appreciate that you chose me and my company over a million other options. And so I’m going to handle that deal.

John Harcar (10:44.631)
Yeah.

Katie Patille (11:05.978)
with care and get it to the finish line smoothly regardless of what the amount is and I emphasize the same with my team every single day. So I think that is something that really makes a difference. I mean it does take a special level of care and dedication to that deal. Like I said there’s just there’s so many other moving parts typically with an investor deal. It just takes a lot more hand holding and work to get it across the finish line smoothly and I just think again because not all of those deals

John Harcar (11:23.245)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Patille (11:35.818)
are large loan transactions I should say. You don’t make the same and so I’ve witnessed it firsthand that they’re not always prioritized.

John Harcar (11:40.076)
Right.

John Harcar (11:48.042)
Yeah, no, I’ve been told that they’re not always towards prioritized. Do you guys deal with, mean, I know a lot of title companies or SO companies don’t want to deal with like subject to type of deals or creative finance type of deals. I mean, is that stuff that you guys deal with?

Katie Patille (12:02.676)
Yes, so we do, but we do want to make sure that everyone understands what’s happening in the transaction. Not all investors are the most forthcoming in all these transactions. I know, never heard of that.

John Harcar (12:17.069)
Come on. Stop pulling my leg. Right?

Katie Patille (12:25.352)
As long as you are doing it the right way, everyone understands what’s happening, then we would love to handle those transactions. But if you’re trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes, I’m not.

I don’t want to be part of something that doesn’t feel good holistically for everyone involved. Now that said, you can do those deals and everyone be involved. Like sometimes you have someone that is just in a really bad situation and you are honestly doing them a favor by getting them out of that situation. And so they’re thankful for it. And they understand that you may end up making more on this deal than you’re necessarily giving them, but they also understand that you are also taking the headache away from them at the same time.

John Harcar (13:05.068)
Right.

Katie Patille (13:06.472)
And that’s a big part of it. mean, is, investors can make the process so much easier and solve a problem for you when you’re in a bad situation, like I said. So there is definitely a positive to it, but you just have to do it the right way. And if you’re doing it the right way, I would love to help you.

John Harcar (13:20.545)
Yeah, it’s communication, right? I think anybody who’s dealing with a seller and needs to have that clear and uncut communication, because like you said, it’s going to make things go a lot smoother, avoid a lot of problems, right? What are some of the mistakes you’re seeing investors bring to title, right? If they have a deal, things are leaving out, things are not doing. I mean, what are some of those things you’re seeing? Common.

Katie Patille (13:35.08)
exact.

Katie Patille (13:48.14)
I think mainly it’s just not setting the correct expectations or trying to…

over deliver and under promise things. So kind of what I was talking about, you have someone that you are flipping the deal to, you’re in a signe situation and you’re just not clearly explaining to the seller what is happening as the holistic picture. So they’re only seeing your AB part of the transaction. They’re not being explained to the ABC part of the transaction. And so things can get a little hairy when you

John Harcar (13:59.325)
Mm, mm.

Katie Patille (14:27.304)
do things that way. That’s the biggest mistake that I see investors making, which again, I think if you go into it with good intentions and you just genuinely explain to them what’s happening from start to finish, then there’s no surprises. There’s no curve balls and it just goes so much smoother.

John Harcar (14:44.459)
Unless you plan to take it down. I mean, if you plan to take it down yourself and then who cares what you do with it after that, the seller doesn’t need to know. But as long as you’re fulfilling on the obligation, right? That and being fully transparent, that’s what it needs to be. So where does your business look like? Where’s it growing? Where do you guys have plans to grow? You know, what’s going on with that?

Katie Patille (14:50.428)
Great. Great.

Wait, exactly, exactly.

Katie Patille (15:05.17)
So we are, we’re actually a national title company. we,

are in almost all of the country. That being said, on the purchase side of the business, we’re much more focused on East Coast because we’re based out of Maryland. So like the DMV region, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, that is kind of our primary source of purchase business anyway, and on the the investor front too. So that’s really where our focus is. Our refi business is almost residual at this point. It’s long-term clients that we’ve had forever that they send us those deals when they have them.

of thing. Obviously, it’s still not much of a refi market now. The cash out market has picked up quite a bit, but it’s still not anywhere near what it used to be, obviously. So our focus is really just continuing to grow the real estate business. And by doing that, we really want to help real estate agents grow their business. So in turn, obviously, hopefully we’re growing ours win-win scenario, right? So we’re just looking for other ways that we can help real estate agents, investors and lenders grow.

their business. So one of the things that we’ve done recently, I’ve started a podcast myself. So I have real estate agents on it, lenders, soon to be investors. This is a very new venture. So wow. But the goal

John Harcar (16:23.469)
What prompted you to want to start a podcast or what what need did you see that needed to be filled?

Katie Patille (16:31.196)
think that that is just where people’s attention is going to or if they want to learn something, that’s where they’re going. They’re going to YouTube and watching podcasts to learn it and figure out how to do it. So if there is a new agent that wants to know how do I become a better agent? How do I grow my business? They’re turning to YouTube to find out ways to do that. Or if it’s an investor or someone that wants to become an investor, they’re going to YouTube to learn how do I become an investor? How do I find the deals? All those things. same with learning.

officers. I’m like, there’s got to be a way that we can help our agents get more exposure and kind of fulfill both worlds. So that’s, that’s where it came from.

John Harcar (17:11.885)
OK. Do you guys cover any specific topics? Do you bring on any experts on something to share some more knowledge with your listeners?

Katie Patille (17:22.426)
So right now I bring on real estate agents, lenders and investors and I kind of dive into how they got into the industry in the first place and then what’s really working for them, what challenges they’re facing, what they wish they knew when they first got started so that hopefully if people are just getting into the business or want to get into the business, they can learn from kind of their lessons learned along the way and there’s no gatekeeping so they’ve been really forthcoming

John Harcar (17:31.159)
Okay.

Katie Patille (17:52.33)
coming with what is working for them. if someone wants to kind of try and imitate that in a way that feels organic to them, then they have the luxury to do that. So it’s been great so far. Like I said, it is just getting started, but I’ve gotten really good feedback. There is, I have, I think eight episodes recorded. There’s two over the last couple of weeks that have actually gone live. So.

John Harcar (18:06.445)
How many episodes have you done?

John Harcar (18:17.653)
Okay, so you’re two away. Most people don’t get to 10 podcasts. Yep, I read that somewhere. I don’t remember where I read it, most people who start a podcast never get to 10.

Katie Patille (18:23.271)
Really?

Katie Patille (18:30.354)
Well, I am determined to keep it going.

John Harcar (18:32.18)
Well, you’re there you’re right there so

being what you just kind of said, what is some advice? What is some, wish I knew back when I started, advice that you have for our listeners?

Katie Patille (18:44.498)
So the most recent agent that I had on who also happens to be a client, she’s a team lead for the premier group for Real Broker. She’s only been in the business for roughly three years, but she’s doing really, really well. And her biggest advice was, I’m three years in and I’m just now starting a CRM. She’s like, so I can’t remember all the details of those people that I was working with at the very beginning. And she’s like, I just wish that I did that from

the start and now I’m having to backpedal and I lost so much data as a result. So that was one of her tips and tricks. Another agent, she focused more so on a finding a specific niche that works for her. And she happens to be out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is obviously a big retirement area. And so her focus is working with seniors that are downsizing and not just the seniors themselves, but the entire family. She has like a whole estate program that she

has developed for them. But she just emphasizes networking, finding your niche, getting out there into your community and things like that. I think that’s the key is finding what works for you that feels natural because people don’t like to work with people where it feels forced or fake. So I think that’s a big part of it.

John Harcar (20:05.677)
Mm, yeah.

John Harcar (20:09.889)
What are Katie’s keys to success? Like what has been your keys to get you where you are today?

Katie Patille (20:17.35)
I think communication is huge. Real estate is not a nine to five at all whatsoever. if that is the route or the job that you want, this is not the world for you.

John Harcar (20:25.247)
No.

Katie Patille (20:32.22)
But I think just always being there to answer the phone is incredibly important. I think finding again what works for you, what feels natural for you so that it doesn’t again feel forced or fake is a big part of it. And then I think just it has to be something that you genuinely love because it does. It is incredibly stressful sometimes. Every single side of this business is stressful. And so if you don’t genuinely love it, the burnout can be intense.

So I think you just have to love it and find the people that you love working with so that it feels less like work in those stressful moments.

John Harcar (21:12.701)
No, 100%. What’s that they say? If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.

Katie Patille (21:18.344)
100 % is so true, so true.

John Harcar (21:20.173)
If folks want to get in touch with you, they want to talk to you about, know, maybe they have some business or deals to do together, who knows? But if people want to reach out and talk to you a little bit more about some of the stuff you shared today, how do they connect?

Katie Patille (21:35.068)
Well, I am on all forms of social media. My YouTube channel that I am desperately trying to grow as of recently is your home. It’s at your home girl, Katie. Instagram is the same thing. Your home girl underscore Katie Facebook. I’m just my name, Katie Petili. And then my email is my first name, Katie at certified title corp dot com. So they’re welcome to reach out to me on any of those platforms.

John Harcar (21:58.413)
Perfect.

John Harcar (22:01.811)
Awesome guys, go check out her podcast. Let’s grow some YouTube subscribers. Katie, thank you for coming on and spending some time with us. Loved your story. Guys, hope you enjoyed the podcast as well. And we will look forward to seeing you on the next one. Cheers.

Katie Patille (22:16.701)
Thank you so much for having me.