Mastering Real Estate: Key Strategies for Success

Stephen Schmidt (01:31)
Welcome to the show where we interview the nation’s leading real estate entrepreneurs. It’s your host Stephen Schmidt and I got a cool one for you here in the studio today I got Thomas Klug. Thomas has been in the real estate business for over two decades 25 years to be exact 23 of which he’s actually been a broker and he’s one of the most hands-on brokers I’ve ever spoken to and has a wealth of experience in the real estate side and on the retail end and how how he’s seen this industry change he reigns from

New York State and I’m not exactly sure on the geography, but somewhere between Albany and New York City, if I recall correctly, or Buffalo, one of those two. So we’re going to just get into his experience. Albany and New York City. There we go. I remembered half of it. ⁓ We’re going to get into a great conversation here today, but just remember before we do, at Investor Fuel, we help real estate investors, service providers, and real estate entrepreneurs.

Tom (02:11)
right between Albany and New York City.

Stephen Schmidt (02:26)
two to five X their businesses so they can build the businesses they’ve always wanted in order to live the lives they’ve always dreamed of. That being said, Tom, welcome to the show today.

Tom (02:34)
Thank you for having me.

Stephen Schmidt (02:36)
Glad you’re here. Give us a little bit of background on you. What got you started in the real estate business and how’d you get to where you’re at today?

Tom (02:44)
Well, I spent about 20, almost 30 years doing IT. And back in the early 2000, right around 2000, the business just was changing and I said, I need to make a career change. So real estate looks like a really fun thing. I’ve always been in sales, signed up for the agent class at the local community college and got my license. My wife and I started our business pretty much as soon as I got my license, Hudson Valley Preview Properties.

Two years later, I took over as broker and we’ve been rocking and rolling ever since. mean, we lasted through the last real estate crash, made it through COVID. And now we’re just dealing with the new reality of the NAR settlement and higher interest rates. Keep on chugging along. I’ve added five agents in the last year. I’m pretty happy about that.

Every year there’s some big changes. Last year our vocal multiple listing system was bought out by a much bigger MLS. So now we have access to about half of New York State on one system, which has made a big difference. That’s kind of nice. used to be people would say, can you help me? And we’ll say Westchester County, which was not really covered by our MLS. And I really couldn’t, where now I can…

I can look up a house in Manhattan or Long Island or almost to Albany. So that’s definitely helped us grow the business.

Stephen Schmidt (04:18)
Now, so, like, well, you spend 30 years in IT, how do you wake up one day and just go, I’m gonna go to your real estate. How does that happen?

Tom (04:26)
knew people in the business and I’ve always been in sales. And whether you’re lawnmowers or houses, it’s just a matter of how many zeros. I just enjoy dealing with people. I enjoy being my own boss. Real estate has given me a lot of freedom. My schedule is my own. Well, I shouldn’t say that sometimes. It isn’t your own. You’re working.

Stephen Schmidt (04:38)
Sure.

Hmm.

Tom (04:53)
Seven days. mean, during COVID, there was about a three month stretch where I didn’t have one day off, but I just, I enjoy the business. I enjoy helping people find the property that makes sense for them. I kind of pride myself on that. mean, if, you know, it’s, somebody comes to me and says, I’m looking for, you know, three bedroom, two bathroom raised ranch, I’m not good, you know, too many agents will show them, you know, just don’t really listen to what they’re saying. there’s

might not show them anything that they wanted to see. I kind of pride myself. can look at, after meeting with somebody, can look at listings to say, that’s the house they’re gonna buy. And more often than not, it happens. It’s a listening game. It’s a follow through game. mean, to me, the biggest thing is, which I’ve never understood in any business I’ve been in, is people would spend a lot of money on advertising and don’t answer their phone when it rings.

Stephen Schmidt (05:38)
sure.

Tom (06:39)
They’ll sit there and watch the phone ring and let it, it’ll go to voicemail. The industry has changed. mean, the world has changed. People expect, you know, they want instant gratification. They want that call answered. They want you to get back to them quickly. I mean, I’ve had people call me and I’ll answer the phone and they’ll be like, you answered your phone. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do when it rings? You know, and one lady said to me, well, I’ve called six other agents.

Before you, I’ve gotten voicemail, voicemail, voicemail. Nobody’s returned my call in two days. You’re the first person that answered the phone. It’s the little stuff. Return a phone call, return an email, ignoring people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ll hear from other agents and it’s been in other businesses too. it’s so slow. My phone is blah,

And then you, meanwhile, I know that I’ve personally picked up like three clients from them in the last few months because they didn’t return a phone call.

Stephen Schmidt (07:48)
you

Tom (07:49)
because they didn’t follow through. If you tell somebody you’re going to send them listings, and then you don’t bother.

It’s funny because my company name is very similar to another one. And at least three times a year, I get a screaming phone call from one of their clients about being at a property and nobody showed up.

And I’m like, well, I’m sorry that it’s not us.

There’s another company that almost similar enough that if you ask for the phone number, like if you look online, you might get my number by mistake. And it amazes me. It’s just like…

Stephen Schmidt (08:25)
Sure.

Tom (08:26)
Why would you make an appointment with somebody and not show up?

Stephen Schmidt (08:30)
⁓ Yeah, 100%. Totally get that. Who was your, so in the business, who was your first mentor and what did you learn from them?

Tom (08:40)
Well, crazy as this is going to sound, I’m really kind of self-taught. I didn’t work for, like when I got my license, I didn’t go work for another company. We started our own company. So, you know, pretty much I just, had to learn it on my own. did have a, my teacher from, that I took all my training through was great in the fact that if I did have an issue or a question, I could just pick the phone up and call her and she was amazing.

⁓ you know, I call it and it, we always start the conversation with, well, got another stupid question for you. And I would always get an answer. And then about a year ago, I did sign up with a business coach when everything started changing with, ⁓ between the NAR settlement and having to, know, there’s just so many changes that were happening. And I met this gentleman, Vinnie Romano, who does, ⁓ business coaching and just, he gave a speech at a

the event I was at and was like, I’ve got to sign up with him. You know, I mean, you’re never too old. mean, I’m 66, but you know what? I needed the kick in the pants and it was great. ⁓ You know, my goal when I signed up with him was to add to my agent count and get agent, you know, get producing agents and it worked. mean, I’ve added three in the last few months, all of them experienced producing agents.

It gave me some confidence and just, as I said, gave me the kick in the pants that I needed.

Stephen Schmidt (10:46)
What was it about listening to him speak that then kind of changed your mind? Because to go 23 years and not be able to say who your first mentor was, I mean, it’s almost as if he was kind of the first mentor. But like, what made you change your mind on that kind of thing?

Tom (10:54)
He was just-

You know?

He just was so enthusiastic. mean, he’s a former broker. He managed an office of over 100 agents. Just very, just, you would have to hear him talk. There’s just something about Vinny that he knows his stuff and he knows how to get it across and he knows how to get it out of you.

We met for about two, well, about three months, once a week, did a video, buy a video, he’d give me homework, and it just was what I needed. I needed that, something to get me going again.

Stephen Schmidt (11:46)
Now what would you say has changed in your approach over the years? How has your approach evolved?

Tom (11:53)
Well, I think, you know, it’s funny when I was in, I think I was probably about 55 at the time and I call it my epiphany. And, know, you, when you’re younger, you always think, oh, I have to, you know, kind of be deferential to older people and, know, not make a fuss about things and kind of woke up one day and said, you know what, you’re the old guy now. You don’t have to take, you know, you don’t have to roll over all the time. And I really just kind of like,

If somebody did something that I was upset with, I let them know. If an agent did something that I felt was wrong, I called their broker. I just didn’t apologize for things that weren’t my issue. That made a huge difference in my business. It made a huge difference in my health. I was just much calmer.

I part of it is just getting old, you know, as I’ve gotten older and more experienced, ⁓ I look at the way other brokers work and it’s like, how do they make money? It’s, you know, it just boggles the mind ⁓ the way some people do business.

Stephen Schmidt (13:04)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. So

on that note, what are you seeing in the market right now that others might be missing, whether that’s in the way that people are dealing with others in a sales environment or maybe it’s with the actual housing market? What are you seeing right now that others might be missing?

Tom (13:23)
I mean, the market is tight right now. ⁓ You know, the biggest thing I’m seeing is properties that hit the market that are so ridiculously incorrectly priced. And then people are like, ⁓ yeah, I’ve been trying, you know, and you’ll see it’s been on the market for a while and you’ll talk to the next person. everything is, you know, is selling so fast. And if you look at what’s selling, it’s things that are priced the way they should be priced.

There’s too many agents and brokers out there that they’ll take a listing and somebody says, know, want Zillow said it’s worth 500,000. I want to list it for 500. And I know that it’s only worth 400,000. And one of the things I say to every new client is I’m going to tell you the truth. You may not like it. But I’m not going to shine you on. I’m not just going to be.

you know, agree with everything you say. And I literally one time had a client or went to do a listing appointment, wanted to list a house for a hundred thousand dollars more than it was worth. After telling me she needed to sell this house quickly because her mother was ill and she needed to move. And, you know, I gave her my standard. I’m going to tell you the truth. And I said to her, well, nobody is going to come and look at your house. You know, it’s just not going to happen at that price.

And she led me to my car and said goodbye. As I was driving out, I said, you know what? I didn’t need her as she would have been a nightmare as a client.

Stephen Schmidt (14:57)
Hmm.

Tom (15:46)
And I think it took her a long time to sell that property, too. You know, she eventually found somebody, but it took a while. I’m. First thing I tell my new agents is tell people the truth. Do not lie. If you don’t know, say I don’t know.

I will find out. There’s no shame in that. ⁓ know, there’s a lot of, especially the newer agents don’t want to admit that they don’t know something. So they’ll kind of pull it out of their and give people bogus information.

Stephen Schmidt (16:08)
Mm-mm.

Mm-hmm.

Tom (16:24)
Those are my biggies. It’s just tell the truth, follow through, follow up. As I said, answer the phone, return an email, return a text, be on time. Those are the things. They’re simple, but you’d be surprised. It just amazes me how many agents don’t do those simple things and then complain that they don’t have business.

Stephen Schmidt (16:34)
true.

It’s the simple things.

Right. What’s a deal that taught you the most?

Tom (17:00)
Every one of them has taught me something.

I’ve got one now where it’s a co-op, very inexpensive co-op. on our fourth sale of this for the last year. know, it’s somebody made an offer, went to contract, got approved by the board, then changed their mind, lost their deposit. Next person, same thing. Gets all approved. The day she’s approved, she decides she doesn’t want it, lost her deposit. You know, and what I learned, know, one of the things I’ve learned on this deal is

to be much more careful about, you know, make sure somebody is serious, you know, serious.

The other thing that I’m finding a lot of lately is fraud. You have to be so careful. I’ve been getting over the last year, we have friends that live out of the country and they use WhatsApp. So I put WhatsApp on my phone and I’ll get hits on my website that people, only want to be contacted through WhatsApp.

And it’s three times now that this has happened and all of them turned out to be scammers. And, know, it’s the same thing where, I want to buy a million and a half dollar house. You know, I’m going to pay cash, you know, and you ask them for information and you don’t get it or you send them leads and then all the listings and all of sudden they just stop responding.

I had an email the other day through my website that somebody wants me to, out of the blue, I don’t even know who this person is, that they want me to list their vacant land. Huge scam. ⁓ I replied that I’d be more than happy to help you, but because of all the scams, I’ll need a copy of your driver’s license, please. As soon as I said that, gone. So it’s being aware of what’s going on. ⁓

No, you know, it’s, it always amazes me some of the horror stories you hear, you know, agents losing thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers. And it’s right in front of them.

Stephen Schmidt (19:22)
Sure.

Tom (19:22)
You

know, it’s these scams aren’t that hard to figure out.

But it’s every day I’ve had a house that I listed that somebody tried to, that listed on Craig’s List as a rental. I get a call from somebody saying, you know, was the house on such and such street available for rent? I’m like, no, it’s for sale. Somebody in California was advertising it as a rental.

And when I contacted the person and told them who I was, he threatened to kill me.

there you are. You blanked out for a second.

Stephen Schmidt (20:01)
Solid now I’m still here

Tom (20:07)
So thank you.

Stephen Schmidt (20:07)
Wow,

that’s nuts. So how important has been networking to your success in business?

Tom (20:13)
Very important. mean, I don’t really advertise much. I’ve got a very good, you know, I’ve built a very good network over the years. I’ve got a number of people that have, but investors that I deal with on a regular basis. People that I have one couple now that I’m working on their fifth transaction in five years. I sold them their first house, sold that house, helped them buy the second house. Now they want to sell the third second house and buy a fourth house or third house now. So.

You know, it’s, that’s to me is a big portion of it is if you’re doing your job correctly, it’s the repeat business. It’s the referral business. That’s where you make your money. You can spend a fortune on Zillow and realtor.com and you know, various lead sources. But if you don’t, if you’re not doing your job right,

It doesn’t matter. You’re throwing money away. You might make some money, but it’s the referrals is where you make that money.

Stephen Schmidt (21:17)
Yeah, totally. When was the last time that like even just from like a business standpoint, when was the last time you were in a room with a bunch of high level operators and what was the nugget that you got out of it?

Tom (21:31)
I went to a broker, was a meeting for commercial real estate people.

The nugget I got out of is that most of them had very inflated egos. I hate to say it, they all seem to think that it’s…

Stephen Schmidt (21:47)
Ha

Tom (21:54)
you what it taught me is you’ve just you’ve got to be yourself. It’s. You know, mean. And unfortunately, a lot of agents watch these shows like Selling Sunset and, you know, the million dollar listings, and that’s not the real world. And you can’t act like that. You know, putting on the three hundred dollar pair of shoes and the, know, the fancy dress isn’t going to get you the listing.

It’s, you know what you’re talking about? Do you know your market? Know your market. ⁓ Those are the big things.

Stephen Schmidt (22:27)
Mm.

Tom (22:35)
You go to these meetings and you watch some these people talking just kind of walk out of the going. Are you kidding me.

Stephen Schmidt (22:43)
For sure. Well Tom, thanks so much for being here. If people want to connect with you for more or learn about what you’re working on, where should they go for that? What’s the best place?

Tom (22:52)
best place probably to call me and just give me a call it’s 845-471-6231 that’s right to my cell I answer it seven days a week I actually do answer it

Stephen Schmidt (23:05)
Love it. Well, thanks so much for being here again, everybody. I hope you enjoyed today’s show and we’ll see you all in the next episode.