The Alimond Show
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The Alimond Show
Saad Jamil's Blueprint for Real Estate Success - Mentorship Insights, Market Trends, and Social Media Savvy
Unlock the secrets to real estate success with our special guest, Saad Jamil of Samson Properties. Discover how Saad overcame the challenges of starting his career at 21 and learn the crucial role mentorship played in his journey. Saad shares his unique strategies for offering exceptional value at lower costs and emphasizes the growing trend of younger demographics entering the homeownership market. Expect to gain a wealth of insights on setting realistic expectations and the hard work required to truly succeed in real estate.
Saad takes us behind the scenes, contrasting the often glamorized portrayals of the real estate industry on social media and TV shows with the real-life grit and perseverance needed to thrive. Hear firsthand accounts of his early struggles, including moments when he almost quit, and how the mentorship of Donnie Sampson turned his career around. Now, Saad is dedicated to mentoring new agents, helping them navigate the industry's realities and set achievable goals.
We also dive into the impact of social media marketing in real estate and the necessity of adapting to industry changes, including shifts in commission structures. Saad discusses his strategies for transparency and negotiation with seller clients, and shares his passion for continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Follow Saad on Instagram at Saad J23 and explore his educational platform, mywealtharchitect.com, to further your real estate journey and personal growth. This episode is packed with invaluable lessons for anyone looking to excel in the real estate industry.
So my name is Saad Jamil. I am, with the brokerage Samson Properties, one of the largest independently owned brokerages now, almost, I think, in the entire US. They are top in pretty much almost every county in the DC metro area. And then I have a team that is under Samson Properties umbrella and our team name is the Jamil Brothers Realty Group. We are mostly based, so we are based out of Loudoun County, virginia. We serve Virginia, maryland, dc, west Virginia yeah, I think I got all of them. So pretty much the DC metro area, including West Virginia, and yeah, so we serve people in helping accomplish their real estate dreams, their goals, whether it's working with first-time home buyers, home sellers, luxury real estate and investors as well. I do focus quite a bit on investments as well. So, yeah, just the real estate market.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that is amazing. And you said you're called the Jamil brother, so that means you work with your brother. I do have a brother, if you could tell me about that and your background on how you both got started, or maybe just even you, um, tell me how it all got started and what led you to where you are today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, um, I guess he's a smarter one, but he's not here.
Speaker 1:Um, so, yes, I do work with my. He is older, His name is Arsalan Jamil and he is a broker, and under Samson Properties as well, and I call him Mr Legal. So you have to have one legal person, and I am mostly on the marketing side, the face front of our realty group. And so, yes, work with them every single day. And we both started our career at a very young age. I was one of those where I did not finish college and I jumped into real estate at 21 years of age.
Speaker 2:That's pretty young.
Speaker 1:It was definitely young and it was a challenge, Because you know not many people are going to be trusting of a young kid.
Speaker 1:Exactly yeah never bought a house or whatever. And now jumping into the industry and, you know, looking to go out there and help people buy their dream home and they are literally, you know, um, they're literally trusting you with their life savings. Yes, um, especially back when I started, it wasn't as common home ownership with, when I said the younger demographic, where you know it was mostly I don't want to put an age out there, but again, you know it wasn't where a lot of people out of college or you know, in early ages wanting to buy or invest into real estate. But now, of course, we're seeing that more and more often now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's a good change.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so anyway, so started and, um, there were a lot of challenges with it, um, and it was definitely tough to learn the business because not a lot of people are willing to actually teach you or educate you, and especially, um, and especially when I started, you know, uh, there's a lot of real estate agents out there and me coming in as a 21 year old where youold where most of the real estate agents back when I started, the average age is probably 45 plus or around 50. And so there was definitely the age gap. And then I came in the era where texting is more like a phone conversation. So there were a lot of differences. But that's where I kind of succeeded and I excelled and where you know the transition was coming in. And one thing you'll see with the, you know people who are after a certain age. They don't like to learn new things. Yes, that's one of the biggest problems and, of course, this has been a whole different conversation later on with all the new laws that change in our industry recently.
Speaker 1:But that's where I excelled actually, and this is where I was doing things a little bit differently. I was coming with a fresh mindset and I was implementing it into real estate and I always had a mindset of a businessman carrying on for my family and my parents, and so I used that to my advantage and early on, I focused on value, value, providing the best value for the lowest cost, and I think you had to do that in order to kind of like you know, step into this industry. So it was definitely very, very tough to begin with, but, you know, I got pretty lucky. I think it was almost, I want to say, right place, right time. I got mentored by now our CEO, donnie Sampson, and he is an incredible leader. He was one of the best real estate agents out there as well, and so I just happened to be right place, right time where I ran into Donnie just before he transitioned out of real estate, so it was at the end of his career and I got to be around him, absorb everything.
Speaker 2:So was he like your coach or mentor in the beginning?
Speaker 1:Yes, so you have to have mentors where originally I started someplace else. It didn't work out. I actually almost wanted to give up and quit real estate.
Speaker 2:But you didn't.
Speaker 1:I didn't. And again, like running into Donnie, you know, absorbing everything from him. I learned a lot and that's where, again, I got the expertise immediately. You know, I got to learn the business very quickly and again he was also like he wasn't on the, I guess, the upper end of the age demographic where we connected really, really well and again he was just incredibly smart and a great businessman. So I learned a lot from him.
Speaker 1:And then again, so I took that experience and knowledge and I brought it to the market where I was providing value. And of course, in order to kind of gain the clientele, I had to say, okay, you know what, my service cost was going to be a little bit lower and my benefits and incentives that I provided to my clients were on the heavy side. Yeah, but I think that gave me and again that was more of like a marketing decision that I made was to, you know, get experience under my belt. Yeah, go through some transactions, get the experience. And then, next thing, you know, on year three of my career, I became a top producer. Look at that, which I did not expect. Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But that was just the first step. You know it was just the first step. And then you know, thankfully, since from uh, from then on to now, I've been a top producer every single year and every single year I have done more and more transactions, now to a point where I have served more than 800 families and close to 400 million in sales after 11 years. But then now I got to a point where I have figured out I guess you can say the secret sauce, and this is where now I am kind of changing into still doing real estate day-to-day, helping all the clientele, but now getting to a point where I am expanding out a bit more. We started a team earlier this year where now we've got more agents that I'm personally training and I am kind of aligning them with the goals that I had of serving people with the right intention in mind.
Speaker 1:I think that's the biggest thing when you look at any business and that's what I learned from my father, and actually my father from day one told me he's like, whatever you do because I can see you didn't finish college I'm going to tell you one thing whatever you do, he's like since you didn't finish college, I'm going to tell you one thing Whatever you do, do it the right way and the best way possible and with the most ethical way possible. And he said do not worry about money in terms of like, not that we came from a background. We actually. Our beginning was very, very tough. We lived in an apartment for close to 12 years, very tough. We lived in an apartment for close to 12 years and I was, we were one of those families where I lived or I slept on the living room floor with, you know, just a mattress for a couple of years until you know so. So we did have a a tough time in the very beginning. So, but that gave me the appreciation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, and it gave me the value of money. So that was the biggest thing as well. But anyways, back to the point. So my father, again with that same philosophy of like, hey, we worked hard, we went through struggles, but when I want you to do this, I don't want you to keep money in mind, I want you to do the right thing and actually help people out there. If you do that and if you have the right intention in your heart that's the biggest part Right intention in your heart to actually help people and serve them. And then at the end, when you accomplish the goal and they're happy, that's all that matters, yes, and then from that point on, I think you know, then God just blesses you from that point yeah.
Speaker 1:So again doing the right thing. So that was the biggest part of it and I always follow that route. And again, like I said, you know, third year I became a top producer, but the first two years were definitely very tough and you know, again, I don't think if it was for my parents, I probably would not be where I am today Because they covered. You know quite a bit of the cost and a lot of people underestimate the cost it takes to actually, you know, get into this business, and it sounds like they supported you too.
Speaker 1:Definitely, Like I said again, I probably would not be doing this if it wasn't for that, yeah, no, that is amazing.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for sharing that. Now I want to talk to you about that perspective of starting when you were young and now you had mentioned that you were kind of like transitioning to into being a coach and helping other people who are young, cause you know what it was like when you were starting out and I think back then there was not really like other people who had that perspective, who could come in and help you in that sense. And now you have that perspective of what it was like where people wouldn't take you seriously. You didn't know like everything you had to like either figure it out on your own or find someone eventually that could help you. And here you are with all that information ready to help. Talk to me about that and how you are looking to have a good impact on the younger realtors trying to come in in the industry.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, you know, definitely.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I was almost about to quit and you know I went with a big brand brokerage initially, thinking that I would get all the education, I would get the knowledge, and again, that was what my prime focus was, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way.
Speaker 1:The first six months were the toughest and where I thought I was going to be learning I was not, and I guess that's where now, you know, being at the stage I am right now, I do see, especially nowadays, that a lot of younger real estate agents, a lot of people wanted exactly what I did in terms of where you know they don't want to pursue a path of going to college, for example, or they want to get into a specialty trade like real estate, and real estate is definitely one of those careers that can be extremely rewarding, and so a lot of people see that on social media nowadays, of course, right, you know, you see all these videos and whatnot yeah people only see like the positive and the big stuff, but they don't see the tough part of it and it makes it all seem easy, especially HGTV, and so now I'm definitely seeing a lot of young people coming into the industry and you know, I think back to myself of like it was extremely tough.
Speaker 1:I definitely did not learn the business initially and of course, donnie then definitely helped me out a lot, but initially again, there's very few people who are willing to help in the way that Donnie did, and you know, give him all the credit. Honestly, to this day he's still my mentor I say that, still my coach. And so I wanted to create a platform where I want to educate people and bring people into the industry the way that I always wished. I got entered into it and I didn't tell you the story about how I actually got into real estate in terms of how the idea came into my mind was that one day again, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I actually had no idea I wanted to actually get into the IT sector, but I don't think that was my cup of tea for sure. Sure, I mean a little bit on the marketing side, and that's what I actually used in the real estate, in my business to help me out, for sure, and having that background, knowledge and whatnot. But really it was just that one day I was just thinking like, what exactly do I want to do? I know, I don't, I don't really like it as much as I thought I did when I was going to school.
Speaker 1:And so one day I looked at my dad and I asked him a question, because he had a good family friend who was a pizza driver. And, um, you know, when the back in 08, 09, when the market crashed and whatnot, he was a pizza driver, but then he bought real estate and you long behold that he became a multi-millionaire, owning like 80 properties and living a great life. Yeah. And so that's when I was like, hey, dad, you know what? What exactly does that friend do? He goes like real estate and I'm like real estate. Okay, you know again what people see right now. Back in the day, uh, tiktok wasn't out there you know, instagram.
Speaker 1:So again, this is like you know, looking at a family friend and envisioning from that point, so I wasn't out there. You know Instagram. So again, this is like you know, looking at a family friend and envisioning from that point, so I wasn't looking at what these kids look at nowadays. Yeah, no, tiktok and whatnot, so I was actually practically doing it. Crazy to say I'm not that old but still not writing letters.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, or carrier pigeons, exactly.
Speaker 1:So definitely not that old, I'm kidding. So you know, that's that's where the idea kind of kicked in. And then I researched it. I was definitely one of those where if I had an idea in mind I would pull through and I did have that sense in me. So that's that's how I got into real estate, but anyway. So with that it was all my own efforts, where, and then initially, what I learned and whatnot. But I definitely didn't learn it the way I wanted.
Speaker 1:And again, like I said, I think just in the last couple of years I figured out that secret sauce of being very successful and getting in front of the market. You know, one of the other pieces to this is that you know, on average in the United States, most states have close to 40,000 real estate agents. Some states a lot more, depending on the state size Texas, california, florida and whatnot and so there can be on average, let's say, 40,000 real estate agents. But out of 40,000 real estate agents, there's only like less than half that are full time agents, and out of those then there's only like one, 2%, that are actually top producers, very, very successful.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I've been blessed enough to, I guess you know, be in that top 1%, and this is where you know.
Speaker 1:Now I want to teach the newcomers coming into the industry of, okay, how to learn this business the right way, yeah, how to have the right game plan and make a career out of this. So, and I want to teach them exactly the way that I wish I would have learned this business, and not taking three years of trial and error to finally learn just the basics. Yes, three years is a long time, it's easy to say. But you know, when people are coming to an industry right now, they've got so many things to consider. But you know, when people are coming to an industry right now, they've got so many things to consider. Now, whether you are just, you know, 18 years old, because you can get licensed 18, 19, depending on the age in some states, yeah, you can get your license, but, again, a lot of people come with a not a realistic goal in place, so when they come to the industry, they are completely taken back and shocked about it.
Speaker 2:That's kind of a good thing. They need to know that.
Speaker 1:Exactly so again, but this is where I can help them excel and jump right into it and, you know, learn this business and get to the stage where all the other people are, and I think they definitely have an advantage in this business. Again, going back to the point of average age of a real estate agent is really up there.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And now, with the newcomers coming through and also a lot of the younger generation looking to buy real estate now, knowing that that is the way to wealth. We're seeing more and more of that and they will connect with, I think, the younger real estate agents because they're going to be tech savvy, they're going to be more informed and knowledgeable.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And that's one thing again, that real estate agents hate change. That's one thing I've realized, but I use that to my advantage.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of change in the real estate world with laws and all kinds of things technology, so something that you got to be able and willing to learn, that's a whole different topic, which I know we will get into it, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So I created a platform called my Wealth Architect. Okay, or your Wealth Architect, it's mywealtharchitectcom, and that's where I am teaching pretty much everybody, not just in the DC metro area, but all throughout nationwide.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 1:About. You know my journey and how to become a top producer as quickly as possible, how to serve people the right way, how to do this business the right way, things to consider, to keep in mind and learning my secrets pretty much.
Speaker 2:And is it like a course, a webinar, a workshop? Talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So again, you know, when I created this platform, um, part of it was definitely like, hey, I want to give back, but then also it's like, okay, well, value cannot provide, and sure you know it does take a lot of time to create this. So I do have a free ebook as well that I give out and a free platform of this to really get started and get into it, and really it's like I want it to be again taking my father's principles of do the right thing. It's not just about the money. So I created a free platform for it within this entire course it is an online course and I do mentor people. Over my career being with Samson Properties, I have actually mentored well over a hundred agents and a lot of them are top producers now. So I have the experience and I never thought about actually doing this.
Speaker 1:But I also have a younger brother, 19 years old, and so I looked at him and I kind of wanted to make it for him first and make it for my team as well. And then my brother was like hey, why don't you just make it for everybody? Help everybody out? Because he's like look at me and I see my friends, they want to learn from you, but you just don't have the time. So how can I give my time to everybody? And he was like don't think money, yes.
Speaker 1:So part of it was like, okay, great, here's a free platform as well, or a course, and the free version of it is to really give you the actually right mindset and don't just show you what HGTV does and don't just tell you the good side, positive side to it. Tell you realistically what you can expect in this industry and how you can do it. And then, okay, if you're serious about it, let's really spend more of your time and let's jump into the, you know, the course where you have to put in your efforts, you've got to put in your investment. So then there's that. And then there's like the elite version where it's like, you know, because I do also come from a background of investments and, um, you know, with that, that's also a very unique aspect that I have personally because, again, my father eventually, after his career of you know, doing his business, he got into real estate investments as well, and so I did.
Speaker 2:It's like in the family, not your brother, your dad, it is it certainly is, and you know so.
Speaker 1:My father had been a real estate flipper for the last eight years, eight or nine years, and so I have a lot of experience with that and you know we work hand in hand with that. We both, you know, combine our investments together, and so I get a lot of exposure for foreclosures, investment properties, rentals, and I've run through any scenario you can imagine. We've personally bought and sold just our own properties well over 100 properties.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, and so you know this is what also makes me a little bit unique is that I have the hardcore like true foreclosure, and foreclosure is also a lot of people have misinterpreted that and how people look at it, especially with the Internet nowadays how something can seem like it's foreclosure and people automatically assume, oh, it means a good deal. But there's many different variations of that. So what makes me different is that I have put my own money out there. I have gone through multiple risks, heck to a point where I have hundreds of thousands of dollars at risk or even millions of dollars at risk, and so with that again I got the knowledge and expertise. I've done evictions the craziest evictions ever I've had, where my money is stuck for a year and a large sum of money, and so you go through those experiences but you learn from it.
Speaker 1:And this is where a lot of real estate agents just come out there but they may not have that experience, the true experience. People can get experience. They can sell five, 10 houses, but on average, just from my clientele, I'm selling just under 100 houses, or previously now I'm selling close to that, but previously, still in my early on in my career, I was selling even early on. On average 40 houses a year, yeah, early in my career. So again, throughout the time now I've done more than 800 families, so you learn from that and then a hundred properties of my own and my own money in the market.
Speaker 2:That gives you a world of experience, I'm sure, and also like some sweating moments.
Speaker 1:They're like, so you can talk to me for hours and hours, but again it's just like, just like I absorbed Donnie Sampson for so many months and you learn. That's where now the platform I created is is to absorb from me, not just my platform. Then you know, you can also follow me on social media Instagram, tiktok and again it's like giving nuggets, yeah, and I love that. You know, to this day, I always tell people I'm still learning too. I still have coaches too. In fact, I have five different coaches. You know, you just have so much knowledge and so much you absorb that sometimes it's hard to kind of give out and sometimes hard to even put into practice, like, for example, again teaching my agents and teaching other people, the younger agents, lead generation, for example, or the way to market yourself or to handle the contracts Again another conversation to handle the contracts the right way. There's just so much knowledge and so much information.
Speaker 1:And I only have so much time that I need a coach to tell me hey, focus on this right now, focus on that. And so, again, I'm still always learning and I love even learning from new people. I love learning from fresh brains. And again, back when I first started, how I was different was because I came with fresh ideas and, you know, at that time I was implementing the technology then. So you know, that's why I love learning from new people as well, because they come with fresh ideas and I have the knowledge and I know, over the years of wasting so much money on lead generation, what works, what does not work, what to look for. Yeah, and so you know, you can kind of like put that together into creating something that's incredible.
Speaker 2:Absolutely no. Yeah, that's amazing. I love that experience that you have and telling me, like putting your own money and assets there and then being on a hold for like a year, and it's just like, oh my God, it's definitely not everybody's cup of tea. You have to have a strong heart to kind of there that is helping you stand out or getting your name out there and letting people know what you're able to do and the type of knowledge that you have. Like. Are you using your Instagram? Are you making videos on YouTube? Talk to me about this.
Speaker 1:So you know earlier, like I mentioned to you, that real estate agents hate change and how I come in from a different perspective. But that's also something that now I have agreed to is that, yes, video content and being out there is certainly huge and you almost have to do that. That's where a lot of people are finding you. So, yes, a lot of our marketing strategy has gone into social media platforms and really giving the knowledge out there, and I think it's like when you focus on that again, it's always when you, when you go back to all this, everything I talk about it goes back to the one same point when you provide value to someone without expecting anything and you're genuine about it, people will see that and they will automatically come to you.
Speaker 1:And you know, let's say, before social media and technology, for example, we used to do open houses. Open houses was a great way to be in front of people and showcase your expertise. You're meeting people face to face. That is the best way you can interact with people and showcase your expertise, just like you and me right now. Right, you're talking to me and, based on some feedback I gave you about a property or I, you know I shared some situation, knowledge, information and that will tell you that, hey, saad really knows what he's talking about.
Speaker 1:So you would say, hey, you know what. You definitely know what you're doing. I would love to work with you. But now, in a day where you know we're doing virtual tours, for example, right, people are looking at photos online a lot because now technology has moved so fast and photography is amazing, videos are amazing, and a lot of people are like, hey, I want to shop from the comfort of my home. Or we get a lot of out-of-state clientele, especially in the DC metro area, and so you know, again, this is where a lot of people don't get the face-to-face interaction. And also, we're in an era where not a lot of people like to get on a phone call, so you're just texting. But with text, a lot of things can be misconstrued.
Speaker 1:Exactly so. This is where, now, social media platforms and you being out there, whether in video format or just knowledge, or just you, you know, when I say just you, that's like showcasing your life, who you are. Now, you know, don't get personal or whatever. Don't bring up certain topics, yeah, you know, but just be yourself and showcase your expertise, yeah, and you know, provide value to people. And I think when now, when you put that on social media and again, there's not a lot of people who are actually doing that, a lot of people are hesitant, I think, to begin with, um, a lot of maybe, insecurities perhaps, and totally fair and normal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but we also have to know that you know everybody's that way, everybody's like that, and people want to see genuine. You know people want to see who you really are and your expertise. At the end of the day, all they want is for someone who truly cares for them and to accomplish their goals. So when you put that in the social media platform and you're just yourself, people will see that. And when people see that, I think that's a great way of earning new business, especially in an era where a lot of people are consuming video content.
Speaker 1:So I definitely think social media platforms and originally, you know, before having a family lifestyle myself, I was in social media a lot, but then I kind of got away from it with family lifestyle and wanted to be a little bit low key. But then I realized now with my business, where it's kind of headed towards, I've finally, you know, created a lot of content that hasn't been published just yet, but it's in the works, where I also believe now that, yes, social media is definitely the way to be out there, and I teach that to my new agents right now already being mentored by me that, hey, you have to have an online presence, people have to know who you are. It doesn't matter what age group you are, but you know you've got to be out there and that's a great free platform, without spending a lot of money on lead generation, that you can just be yourself, show your expertise, be who you are and be out there, yeah, and just put it out there Exactly, yeah, and a lot of people will come by it and see it.
Speaker 2:They are rocking with you.
Speaker 1:They're going to follow you and keep up and maybe hit you up and I think, once you start doing that, the other big challenges that a lot of people are like well, you know, I don't have a network or I don't, I'm not that social or I don't have friends or whatever. Because I came from a background also again being licensed at 21, I didn't have a sphere of influence that were purchasing houses back then.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, and I didn't have a big network either. I was very antisocial back when I first started, and so you know I tell them that use social media platform to now finally get out of that bubble. Yeah, even if you don't have a network, you can join groups. You know, on Facebook you can create your own group. Now, if you live in a neighborhood, go ahead and market to that neighborhood right, start a group or whatever, and provide value. Yeah, and I mean you've been in that neighborhood, you're in the real estate market day to day. You can help people. So you know you can create now that new group of people who are maybe like-minded. And the world is so big yeah, there's so many people out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that perspective.
Speaker 1:Definitely find people just like you, like how you know when you start high school, right, I don't know how it is nowadays, but you know back then, or even, let's say, college or whatever, right, you would say that, hey, just be yourself and Sure, world is not a friendly place, but there are good people out there and there are like-minded people out there all the time.
Speaker 2:You just got to find it and try.
Speaker 1:Exactly so, I think with real estate it's the same way. So as long as you're out there, don't be afraid and again, provide value and be yourself and be an expert. Yeah, absolutely Be an expert and really care for your clients. That's it. Don't worry about the money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you keep saying that. That's the common thread in each.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I know it's easier said, right, it's easy to say that, but genuinely you have to come up with the mindset about real estate. With that aspect you have to come in. And again, that's where my free ebook that I have and the course that I have as well, is really building that mindset first and giving them the reality of this. Sure, I might just be talking about, you know, the negative part about it, or like a hard reality part of it, but there's also very good stuff as well. There's also the positive side to it.
Speaker 2:Again, everybody likes to talk about the positive, but it's like but it's good to find the balance, to show that that it's not just like rainbows and butterflies. No, in order to get to the rainbows and butterflies you kind of have to go through the ups and downs of it all and be willing to put in the work to get there.
Speaker 1:So that totally makes sense. And again, I'm there to give my knowledge and expertise. I started at a very young age as well, and now I'm to an age group also where I can kind of cater to both sides of it. I have agents who are coming in and you know they retired from their job and now they want to learn from me on. Hey, I want to do this as my retirement career. I always loved real estate. I'm like happy to bring you on, let's get started. And even I can cater to them because I can give the knowledge from both sides. That is awesome.
Speaker 1:I think I'm in that age group right now. I'm in between. So this is my best time to give the expertise and knowledge. I don't want to learn, which I don't think will ever happen. I think, like you know, I've just always been kind of ingrained into my head I love learning and I love real estate as well, and so it never feels like I'm working. And I think that's another thing you have to keep in mind is that you know when you love what you do it doesn't feel like work.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:No, that is amazing and incredible, and I love that you can cater to all towards of people from all the spectrums of life. So I think that's amazing. I do want to get into the topic about change, because that is something that I feel that we do need to talk about, because in any industry, I feel like certain people maybe are not able to adapt to that change. Very well, talk to me about how you embrace it and why that is a good thing and why that can be a bad thing if you don't.
Speaker 1:Are you talking about the NAR commission lawsuit?
Speaker 2:All that good stuff yes.
Speaker 1:Gosh, that's a whole different podcast, but I will summarize.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just a little summary.
Speaker 1:I will summarize it. You know, I think in our DC metro area market, I don't think it impacted us as much as we thought. Certainly, again, people don't like change. So I think everybody looked at it and thought about it and had concerns about it from their own point of view. Consumers thought about it for their own best interest, real estate agents thought about it for their own best interest, and our real estate boards? They also looked at it like, okay, what can we do to change this, make this different and accommodate the consumer lawsuit that came about because it affected the entire US, yeah, and I think there was some positive to it, also some negative to it, but at the end of the day, I think you have to look at it in a positive way.
Speaker 1:Everything that we do going forward, I think there was a reason everything happened and, to be honest with you, prior to this lawsuit, I was already having discussions with, especially my seller clientele about certain things to keep in mind, and now we're having that conversation way more transparently, and so I was not kind of caught off guard by it. To be honest with you, yeah, and when the contracts changed for our real estate board again, I'm just in the demographic and in the age group, where it was just like anything else, that our contracts change semi-annually, yeah, and I'm like not a big deal, but you know, I think it definitely brought transparency in the business. But I'll give you a quick example. Yeah, so prior to this lawsuit, I would still have conversations with my sellers, especially when the market kind of blew up. Yeah, you know, people think it blew up in 2020, right after COVID, covid, but it was actually prior to that we were already in a very strong market.
Speaker 1:Okay, a lot of people forget that. So, again, I've been having these conversations for a long time and I would talk to my seller clients about commission, because this is exactly all about that. And I would talk to my seller clients about, hey, back then it's only been two months now where we don't market out the commissions but back when we were able to, you know, display the commission, the compensation paid out to buy brokers, I would tell my client who were able to decide, hey, this is what we're going to market online. Yeah, and if it was a clientele that wanted to go on the lower side and not the norm, again I would always tell them the range, never guide them and steer them, and it was always negotiable to begin with. But of course they made a scene in the news that it was never negotiable and it was a set, it was never.
Speaker 2:They actually did yes.
Speaker 1:And again I get it. Everybody looks at it from their point of view and media just picks one point and it could be right, but only for a certain small demographic, so demographic. So I would have a conversation with my client back then about like hey, if you market X percentage and let's say you're on the lower end of it, well, you might think the market is hot and your house is going to sell either way. But who's to say that that one buyer who's going to pay you top dollar, that that agent did not show them the house because he looked at the compensation field and he said you know what, this is not worth my time. Now I would definitely get sellers who would say, oh, that's not going to happen, I'm still going to sell my house. And I said you know, I didn't have data to say no, trust me.
Speaker 2:You know, like.
Speaker 1:as much as you know, it is one of our code of ethics that we were not to do that. At the end of the day, humans, yes, humans, and always looking at pocket. And again why I mentioned earlier it's don't look at the money.
Speaker 1:never do that, but unfortunately, people do that, and so you know my sellers sometimes would agree to me, agree with me, and sometimes they would say, no, I'm still going to sell my house. But I would say, hey, you might miss out some of that market, whereas now again, this is the positive side of it um, where it's not out there, so an agent has to show the house, no matter what, and then it's fully negotiable, so you can put it on page one of the sales contract. Now the seller is not only considering what the sales price they're getting. Now they can negotiate completely transparently Okay, what is going to be the agent composition, and look at truly what their net cost is going to be, whether they bring it completely, way down to zero, because you can do that now, before you. You know I'm not going to get into the topic about what mls allowed and what they didn't allow prior to this, but now you could bring that down to zero and you know so. Then it's all up to negotiation.
Speaker 1:However, I will tell you just in the short span of time that we have been with this new market and a lot of people assume that, oh, you know what Buyer brokers are not going to get compensated or the cost is going to go to the buyers. I think in our DC metro area market we're not seeing that. We are seeing a very, very high percentage. I affiliate myself with the Cardinal Title Group. I do a lot of business with them, and so they send me data every week. Nice, and they're a large, very, very large title company and so they're doing mass scales of volume of business. Yeah, so week by week they're doing well over 100 contracts, and for the last month they've been setting data of every contract that has come through, and it was very refreshing actually to see that on average, I think, more than 95% of sellers are compensating.
Speaker 2:Hey, look at that.
Speaker 1:And with the same norm that we expected. So again, now that the transparency is out there an hour, I think, market people are now, I understand, in certain markets in the U S. I'm not in those markets, I'm not licensed there I can understand why some sellers may have gotten frustrated and this lawsuit came about. And again, positivity more transparency now, not just with the seller, with the buyer as well. But then also concerns came from the buyer's side and everybody looked at how it affects them. Buyers looked at oh, does this mean my closing cost is going way through the roof? Now Does this mean I have to have this added cost or whatnot? Now again, as I'm telling you, it's a very short sample, we're still very, very fresh into it, but I'm pleased to say that it has not affected as much the buyers, which is great news, because on top of the rising prices and closing costs and interest rates going up there, that was the last thing they wanted to be worried about is, oh, great, another I'm not going to talk about commission X percentage added on to my bottom dollar. And then, whereas sellers now I think good news for them is that okay, great, now you have full negotiation transparency and go ahead, negotiate it, just like you would negotiate the sales price.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, let's talk about then the real estate agents.
Speaker 1:Again, this is where some real estate agents took it into a very negative approach and, unfortunately, some of them even like, gave misinformation to their clients. And I think I will say, though, all brokerages in our area have done an incredible job and our real estate boards have also done an incredible job educating everybody. But I'm going to go back to the point about so many real estate agents out there, many of them part-timers or whatnot and, unfortunately, then it comes down to is, if you work with an inexperienced agent and they're not up to par with education, they're not up to par with what's going on, which, unfortunately, we've already seen that my brother's a broker, so you know he gets a lot of those calls about hey, this just happened, and he's like, well, where were you when? This conversation has been going on for a long time? And now, all of a sudden, you're calling with this issue, like, oh, I never knew about this and unfortunately, I just did this in the contract and I didn't do this. Uh-oh, a big uh-oh.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so again this comes back to is the education working with an expert and also, you know me, teaching people as well.
Speaker 2:That's where you come in exactly to help them.
Speaker 1:And doing it the right way, still doing the right thing, still making money, still satisfying your sellers and your buyers. I think I honestly don't see too much negativity in this. Now there, maybe I should take that back. They're still positive to it, but I think this is a transitional time. I think that's the negative part of it. Transitional time is where, you know, we're figuring out okay, okay, how are our contracts written? And this is where, again, I I do appreciate our real estate boards locally over here that they are listening to us. They are, to a certain extent, they are, um, you know, implementing changes that we're facing immediately and again, there's always going to be a small percentage that is going to take stuff negatively, yeah, and a certain percentage that is going to take advantage of this system yeah which unfortunately I've already faced.
Speaker 1:That, um, I'm not going to get too into detail about that again a whole different topic, I know. But but again, you know there's never going to be 100 perfect. Back when compensation was fully disclosed, again, some people were still being a little bit unethical, right, Like how, even though again it's a violation for fair housing I'm sorry for a code of ethics for, you know, not steering your buyers or not saying like hey, looking at the commission and saying you know what, I might not want to show this. Or hey, sorry, that's not available, they already have multiple offers. I don't want to waste my time going showing whatever, the reason, so many reasons right.
Speaker 2:And they're not doing it with that intention that you said of helping people do the right thing.
Speaker 1:But again, so many people out there, there's going to be a percentage that don't do it the right way, unfortunately. Yeah Right, so you know industries, every, every, every aspect of the industry, there's always gonna be where you know you're supposed to do this, but unfortunately you decide to go the other way, and so I don't think you can always control that. You cannot make anything, ever 100 perfect, just like you can almost never find that perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect house.
Speaker 2:almost you can, but, um, you know there's always going to be little things you're like exactly there.
Speaker 1:There's always going to be the happy medium that you have to find and I think you know again. Sure, now there's transparency and I think a lot of people are taking a positive. I think prior to when this took into effect, of course there was, you know, naturally, right. Naturally, when a big change is coming, you do get anxious about it.
Speaker 2:You kind of freak out.
Speaker 1:Everybody does, and it wasn't just real estate agents, it was the buyers, it was the sellers. And again, when you don't have something in front of you, when you're not practicing it immediately prior to that, you're just relying on the media, you're just relying on anticipations, and it does scare and panic people. But again, being ahead of the curve, that helps a lot, and learning and talking about it. And again, this is where me still learning, having coaches and I still participate a lot in top producer masterminds and when you discuss it with people who are actively day-to-day in the industry and when we actually face challenges, you know, so you can overcome all of that prior to even it being implemented. And I think again, this is where the true professionals set apart from the agents who are just there to make money. Yes, right.
Speaker 1:And again, I think that will go for anything. And money, yes, right, um and again, I think that'll go for anything and everything.
Speaker 2:No, thank you so much for sharing this perspective. That's incredible. Like you really do know what you're talking about and you come here with such confidence and ease and you don't have any notes to look at. You're just like it's in my brain Now. I could talk to you forever about this stuff and listen to all this insight and for our listeners to hear. Unfortunately, I do have to wrap things up here a little bit, but do you have any parting words, or maybe do you want to touch on anything that maybe I was not able to ask you, that you just want to get out there, either about yourself or your business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Like I said you could, you could pick my brain for days, months. I certainly have a lot of knowledge and you know, thanks to God, that I've been blessed with going through all these experiences. So, yeah, you can talk to me forever. There are so many different topics I can touch on and discuss but, like I said, the best way to either get a hold of me, discuss this further or learn from me social media platforms like we've been talking about is the best way to get in touch with me, whether it's my Instagram, whether it's through my Learning Academy.
Speaker 2:Hit us with your handles and your website.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so my Instagram is Saad J. My first name spelled out my last name, initial J, the number two, three. That is my Instagram handle and mywealtharchitectcom. That is where I'm giving all of this knowledge and education and you can just literally Google the Jamil brothers or my name, saad Jamil. Real estate agent in.
Speaker 1:Northern Virginia. You'll see me everywhere. I love helping people and I love especially educating people. That's something new that, of course, I finally got into and kind of letting go of like saying, okay, fine, I will teach the world. So again, a lot of knowledge that I have and I love sharing and I love also learning. So, just as much as you know, you're going to learn from me, I'm also looking forward to learning from everybody else.
Speaker 2:Well said, thank you so much for being here, saad. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.