Revolutionize Your Home Buying: Diane Walker’s Game-Changing App Explained

Dylan Silver (00:01.174)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. I’m your host, Dylan Silver. And today on the show, I have a fellow Texan realtor who built an app to text the buyer rep agreement, Diane Walker. Diane, welcome to the show.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (00:17.952)
Thank you!

Dylan Silver (00:19.306)
It’s a pleasure to have you on the show here, fellow Texan. You’re in Corpus Christi area, right?

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (00:26.19)
I am in Corpus Christi. Yes, we get to fish often.

Dylan Silver (00:30.722)
Fish often, that’s right. I am in Dallas and I was in San Antonio before I moved up to Dallas, but Corpus Christi, I’ve been to Corpus quite a few times over the years. I’ve been in Texas now for about six years and I’ve actually had a couple wholesale deals down there in Corpus. So I’m fairly familiar with the area. This application that you built is super niche and needed.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (00:51.23)
Nice.

Dylan Silver (01:00.62)
We were talking before hopping on and I actually registered. Very, very needed because how many times are people finding this an obstacle,

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (01:12.813)
It is an obstacle because if you don’t have it on your email, I have friends that have a paper version and it just makes sense to these days, text the buyer rep agreement and have them sign it on their phone. I mean, it’s just super fast. I usually start with 30 days, know, two and a half percent or whatever you want to do as you’re starting and we have that conversation so that you…

and you get to have that conversation, do you have another real estate agent? What I didn’t tell you is there’s also a duplicate in there. So if you send a form out and I send the form with the same name, it’ll say duplicate on there. It won’t stop you from sending it out, but you will know that this person is active in the system.

Dylan Silver (02:04.834)
So, one of the interesting things I think, we’ve talked about this before hopping on here, is just how important this is, but also it doesn’t seem when you’re doing it like this is a life and death thing, you could easily say, oh, well, I’ll get it done later. But then later happens and they bought a house. So, you would think there would be a way out there already that it would be something where they could text. But we were talking about this before hopping on, Diane, that…

there is really no easy way to get someone texted over an agreement right now.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (02:38.273)
Yeah, you cannot text the agreement, can email it. if you have a client working with a buyer, I’m sorry, a builder, that builder will require you to show your buyer rep agreement for you to get a commission, at least here in Corpus.

Dylan Silver (02:55.702)
That’s huge, right? Because there’s, I’m from New Jersey, but in Texas, all over Texas, there’s new subdivisions everywhere, right? And the people can just walk straight in and buy a house. there’s, they call it, know, in-house financing. very little work that could potentially be needed to do to circumvent their realtor if they don’t have a

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (03:04.299)
Mm-hmm.

Dylan Silver (03:20.982)
buyer’s rap agreement in place. I do want to pivot Diane a little bit and ask you how you got into the real estate space. What was the origin story of you getting into real estate?

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (03:33.516)
here from Pennsylvania in 2018, and I just had a terrible transaction in buying my own house, and my neighbor was a real estate agent who was really inspiring and nice and helpful, and we just ended up sort of becoming friends. I joined the brokerage that was five years ago, and now I’m selling real estate.

you know, full time.

Dylan Silver (04:03.638)
Where are you from in Pennsylvania? from northern New Jersey, a town called Caldwell.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (04:08.499)
Okay, I’m Philadelphia.

Dylan Silver (04:10.604)
Philadelphia. Well, you know what’s funny, Diane, is when everyone is in the tri-state area, there’s heavy competition. We’ve got our own sports teams. We think we have our own unique culture. But then we all come to, when we come to Texas, we all realize, hey, we’re not that really different. In fact, it’s good to see you. Like another, you know, fellow East coaster where we’ve,

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (04:31.868)
you

Dylan Silver (04:32.258)
managed to make it in Texas. I can only speak for myself. say I’m grateful that I’m allowed to stay here because this is a great place and Texas culture is like no other. so coming from New Jersey, sometimes my parents look at me and they say, it’s crazy that you’re living down there. I said, I know, it’s amazing. This is totally different. But I do want to talk about getting into real estate in 2018, kind of an interesting time period to be getting into real estate.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (04:58.754)
It was, it was

Dylan Silver (05:02.314)
pre-COVID, but COVID is coming up and then COVID happens and then what was it a year or a year and a half, two years ago, you had the NAR settlement and so you’ve been through a lot in this condensed time frame. What were some turning points for you or what was something that made you realize that this is something that you’re really passionate about?

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (05:27.869)
was so amazing, the roller coaster, from taking the test, becoming a real estate agent, and I was meeting with the broker and they’re teaching you your paperwork, and all of a sudden the market started to change, and we were getting busy. And so COVID had, you were wearing a mask, you were afraid of the person, you couldn’t sit at a…

at a title company, they went by themselves. We were selling so fast. It was so hard to learn, but it was exciting. You really felt like you were helping people, because the people that were moving were the people that were coming here to Corpus that maybe lived somewhere like us in the East Coast. And they were tired of snow. They were living in a little house. They sold their house for half a million dollars. And they come here and for half that.

Dylan Silver (06:15.532)
Yeah.

Dylan Silver (06:22.092)
Yeah.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (06:25.547)
they could live on the water. They were gonna fish, they were gonna enjoy themselves. Texas is big and Corpus, we have so much land and water and you can drive onto the beach. It was amazing to really help these people move here because I had done it in 2018. So when they gave me relocation, I was able to say, this is, know,

Dylan Silver (06:27.586)
Amazing.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (06:52.459)
you’re going to go to greatschools.org and let’s look at all the schools and you’ve got options and there’s a lot. So let’s talk. And it was just fun. And so we made it through the COVID. My friend had a story where they wanted to buy the house and they offered $35,000 above asking price to leave in a week. And she said, I can’t wait to see what they’re going to say because you’ve got to leave and we’re going to give you 35,000 more.

It was a wild time and now, yes, oh yeah, yeah. And now the market has corrected. So some of my people that maybe bought a house in 2021 are now, unfortunately, they don’t have the equity that they thought they were gonna have. The 2021, 2022 people have, well, they’re not backwards, but we’re not selling with this,

Dylan Silver (07:23.618)
Have they taken?

Dylan Silver (07:37.815)
down.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (07:51.174)
incredible equity that you had just a few years before. So it’s kind of adjusting. I’m hoping that we’re going to, you we have at least here in Corpus, we have a lot of inventory, but we still have people coming. You know, I’m still selling houses because everyone’s, while someone says, are you busy? Last year was my best year and I had 24 transactions. So this year I slowed down because I was building the app and

you know, life gets in the way, but I’m still selling. So it’s still a good market. People are still coming. People are still moving for work and business and love and all of that.

Dylan Silver (08:32.524)
Yeah. I want to talk about driving onto the beach. I’m from New Jersey, northern New Jersey. So we have so many beaches in New Jersey and, you know, LBI, Long Beach Island, and then you’ve got Cape May and so many others. And one of the interesting things I want to say, could be more now, but it was like twenty dollars.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (08:41.62)
Yes.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (08:45.928)
Mm-hmm.

Dylan Silver (08:55.106)
like to walk onto the beach that day and the next day it’s and I what what is it like you know you can only have certain articles I don’t I think you can bring food onto the beach I’m pretty sure but it wouldn’t shock me if it was like the food had to be bought there or something along the like nothing would shock me about the New Jersey beaches and then the first time that I went to the beach in Corpus Christi you just drove on in a Jeep Wrangler and it was like $20 for like the whole summer this is a couple years ago and I think the whole summer

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (08:57.341)
Yeah. Yeah.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (09:07.683)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan Silver (09:25.07)
And then I was like, well, it’s getting late. Don’t we have to? It’s like 7 p.m. They’re going to kick us out, right? And they’re like, no. And then, you know, there’s people with campfire and then you’re standing on top of the Jeep and like waving a flag. I’m like, this is crazy. So when I when I saw this beach scenario, I’m like, this is a full like Corona commercial. Like, I feel like I’m in a commercial and we’re just having a good time. And then like someone bring me a lime. And I was like, this does not happen in New Jersey beaches.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (09:34.856)
Thank

Yes. It doesn’t. that’s the most fun when someone is, they got transferred here, they don’t know anything about it, they’ve got this job, they’re bringing the whole family, and you get to tell them where they can go and what you can do.

Bring the dog, you can surf fish. You don’t know how, that’s okay. Just get a seven foot, you know, fishing rod and let’s go. Use some live shrimp. It’s amazing. It’s so nice to just hang out there and drive on there and wander around and it’s free.

Dylan Silver (10:27.306)
Unbelievable. I know you’re making me you’re making me want to go. I do want to pivot a bit here, Diane, and ask you about your perspective. No one no one has all the answers right, but your perspective on being an agent out here in Texas versus maybe what it’s like in the East Coast. I’m an investor and I’m a wholesaler and I can definitely say that I’m grateful to be here because I know how much harder it is on the East Coast, not just due to competition, but also due to

the price of homes and younger people having a more difficult time Qualifying for homes, which of course is the same out out here, but still even more difficult I want to say you need something like a hundred and ten thousand dollars a year and you need two of those incomes to qualify which is like two hundred twenty thousand dollars a year to qualify for the average home in the Middle-class area that I grew up in in northern, New Jersey. So what’s your perspective on this? beautiful state that we’re in in Texas versus

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (11:04.948)
Mm-hmm.

Dylan Silver (11:27.01)
is the East Coast.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (11:28.489)
It is so affordable here. Now, we have our taxes, but

We have a program that you only need to make under $65,000. You need a credit score, I think, of $650. And you really have no PMI and no down payment. And you can buy a house. Now, depending on what kind of consumer debt you have. But you’re looking at a house at $220, maybe even as much as $270 if you don’t have a lot of consumer debt. So you really have some possibilities. So you could get a condo for that money and be

close to the water. And you could never get that in the East Coast. You could get a house that’s a ranch. You could get a house that maybe needs some work and you could put some sweat equity into. There’s just so many possibilities.

Dylan Silver (12:14.924)
Yeah, that’s exactly right.

Dylan Silver (12:19.468)
You know, one of the things that I think about, you’re from Pennsylvania, I’m from New Jersey. I think you probably relate to this. There’s a lot of people who are from these areas, know, Pennsylvania, you mentioned Philadelphia, I’m from Northern New Jersey, 27 miles from Manhattan, you know, Massachusetts, so many areas where it’s really expensive for a lot of things. You know, you’re paying for everything, like your parking.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (12:36.963)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan Silver (12:43.83)
You got a budget, not even kidding, you got a budget like $40 to park and you’re like, well, that’s that. And know, food’s going to be more. then every little thing is, is a more and it adds up. And then of course the massive housing costs. You know, one of the things that I’ve done with, with my life is I’ve moved quite a bit and actually looking at moving again. But I think a lot of people, that’s a huge, huge change and just the element of change.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (12:47.928)
.

Dylan Silver (13:10.578)
is somewhat fearful. I think this is kind of where having a good real estate agent really comes into play because it’s not just in my opinion, you know, our job just to find, you know, a house for them. It’s also our job to help highlight, hey, this is one of the reasons why

you could consider moving here and paint a picture for them so that it’s not just like, here’s the keys and here you go, but also help them change their home base from where I’m from in Caldwell, New Jersey to Dallas, Texas or Corpus Christi.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (13:48.678)
Absolutely. Our job is to show them the area.

I use greatschools.org to look at schools, talk about, know, do you have kids? Where do you want to work? What are you doing? Do you want to fish? Do you want to live on the water? And then we also work on, you know, your insurance. You need windstorm here. Some houses need flood insurance besides just your homeowners. So we do have to have a talk about it’s different here than because we didn’t have that back home.

Dylan Silver (14:09.9)
Yeah.

Dylan Silver (14:18.551)
Yeah.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (14:19.599)
In fact, when I bought my house, I was so sad, I found out after I bought a house with termites. So here, when you buy a house, you need to get a termite inspection, a hydro, which is your plumbing, and then a home inspection. And then we go over it together and we decide what repairs are we going to ask for, if any. So you really have to kind of guide them because it’s different.

Dylan Silver (14:43.872)
It is different. know, some of the things to give you a perspective. I remember the first time that I found out that there was like hardly any basements in Texas. I’m like, well, where do people like, you know, put pool tables and paint? Of course they still exist. But I was like, where do these things go? You know, and so I later spoke with the engineer who told me the reason why I don’t know if this is true, but this is what at least he told me. He the reason why there’s so many basements is because due to like frost, you need to go a certain

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (14:52.442)
He.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (14:55.702)
Yeah.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (15:08.039)
Yeah.

Dylan Silver (15:13.26)
feet deep in the East Coast. And if you’re going to go that far deep, it’s pretty darn expensive. So to go an additional four feet deep and build a basement and add value to the home, it’s kind of makes sense. But then another thing that I saw out here is like metal roofs. I’m like, man, that’s a really industrial roof. Like, what are they preparing for? Well, I’ve found out what they’re preparing for. It’s these all size hail that can.

literally dent your car and crack your windshield, which we really never experienced.

And then, you know, also it’s the foundation of the homes. How many homes probably out there in Corpus Christi too? Pier and Beam homes. I’m like, we have those, but they’re everywhere in Texas. And so you kind of get used to seeing a different style of home. And now I think, you know, if I was to be getting into a home with a basement, I’m like, what’s all this extra space that I’m not going to ever use that I’m paying for? And so it just changes your perspective entirely.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (15:51.134)
Okay.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (16:13.72)
It does, it does. I remember when I first got here, what we were excited about is we bought a house and it’s a ranch, so it’s one floor. We live on the water, so we could go out back and catch a fish. And I talked to a neighbor and she said, you could have up to six chickens. And I was so excited being a city girl. I immediately ordered seeds because I was going to grow and I went.

to tractor supply and I bought six of the cutest little chickens. They were just adorable little chicks and we had them for a good period of time. It was fun.

Dylan Silver (16:48.064)
those some of the best animals like we have chickens out here we’ve got cows my one of the people on the ranch has dogs they’ve got some goats out here too and the best animals are the chickens and the roosters which you have which make a bunch of noise

They’re so brave. I’m like, man, they will do they’ll do anything. I’m like, you need, you know, a sentry, a guardian put this rooster out and the hens won’t go anywhere without, you know, this this guide. Right. And it’s incredible. Right. I mean, never grew up with with farm animals. So here I am out here and I’m, you know, learning country dancing. We have animals out here. And I don’t know if I’m a cowboy yet, but we’re making we’re making

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (17:27.554)
me.

Dylan Silver (17:32.85)
and waves towards that. I do want to pivot here and ask you, Diane, about Agreement Vault. We were on it and I was taking a look at it briefly before hopping on here. I’m actually also in a software engineering bootcamp, software engineering school. So I know how hard it is to get these applications up and running and then to get it on the iOS store is very challenging. How did you think, hey, I can do this? And then what was the process of finding the engine?

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (17:34.786)
Yeah.

Dylan Silver (18:02.754)
years and building the application.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (18:06.442)
that wasn’t easy. I had two starts before I got going. You know what? I kept searching and it wasn’t available. I really thought that it did exist. And then I just started getting quotes and having conversations.

And then I realized it didn’t exist. I went and talked to a lawyer about trademarking it and she searched and said, I think you have something here. you know, you just, just like any other business, you get some quotes, you have a good conversation and you take the leap of faith. And so I started it with Just Texas for the state of Texas, because I wasn’t thinking about having, you know, everyone. There’s a

would they tell me there’s 1.5 million real estate agents that are part of NAR and then there’s 1.5 that aren’t part of NAR. So, wow. So I started getting questions outside of Texas saying I’d like to use it too. So, you know, I just feel like it’s evolving. I’d like to put when it’s July 1st is my thought for the rollout of being done with all the fixes.

Dylan Silver (18:57.591)
Yeah.

Dylan Silver (19:03.84)
It’s like 3 million people.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (19:20.036)
It takes a while for the App Store. So when you make a change, the App Store doesn’t reflect it immediately. You have to put the change in and the App Store then has to change it. But I’m excited because I’d like to add a few more features to it. I’ve had a lot of people give me some different thoughts of what they would like for me to add. And so it’s just going to keep growing.

Dylan Silver (19:42.572)
Well, congrats on that. the time this podcast airs, it should be maybe late July, early August time frame, possibly sooner, depending on how fast the production team gets it out there. But the app will be out there so agents can take full use of it. Before we wrap here, if anyone wants to get ahold of you or to learn more about your business or if they’ve got a home to list or if they want to learn more about Agreement Vault, how can they reach out to you?

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (20:04.259)
Well, my email is diane at agreementvault.com.

Dylan Silver (20:18.914)
That’s simple enough. Diane, thank you so much for hopping on the show here today.

Diane Walker, Realtor /Agreement Vault (20:24.973)
Thank you.