The Clarified Realty Podcast | Real Estate Secrets Your Agent Doesn't Want You To Know!

On this week's Clarified Realty Podcast, we're taking a trip into territory that's a little less traveled -- Vacant Land. When people talk about real estate, they're usually thinking mostly about purchasing or selling a pre-existing, pre-owned, pre-built single-family residence or condo. But, it doesn't have to be that way. There's another option -- buying land and building your own. But as our guest for this week, Zack King, will tell you, it's definitely not always that easy. Zack is a rock star when it comes to representing buyers or sellers of vacant land and he is an expert of determining whether or not building your "dream home" from scratch is really a viable option in the first place. We start off by discussing an interesting fact -- that only 30 years ago, 1 in 3 houses were owner built. We talk about what type of atmosphere could have possibly led to such a change in attitudes in the market since then and how realistic it is for someone to build their own house on land that they purchase. We talk about challenges that need to be overcome, like zoning, easements, and getting utilities to the property (spoiler: there's only one utility that is the most difficult, but, unfortunately, that's the one you most need to live). We also go over the types of inspections that a potential buyer should need to have done (soil, perc, etc.) and how they impact whether or not the land is buildable in the first place. We then talk about how developers are primarily the main purchasers of vacant land and what they seem to be building these days. We then wrap up with a conversation with both Ron and Zack about how lenders deal differently with vacant land compared to homes. It's a really fascinating episode and definitely off the beaten track! I really hope you'll give it a listen and tell us what you think in the comments!

You may have never heard of them -- and there might be a very good reason for that. Most Real Estate Agents don't want you to think that they exist -- but the Transaction Coordinator is the unsung hero of the Real Estate Industry. On this episode, we interview Lauren Senecal, a Transaction Coordinator and owner of TC Advantage here in Southern California and we find out a lot about what happens behind the scenes when you are buying or selling a home that you may have never have even guessed.

We begin by speaking to Lauren about how she started in the industry and what has brought her to opening her own TC (that's what they're known as in the biz) company -- TC Advantage. We then talk about her day-to-day duties and how she assists agents with the process of buying or selling a house from beginning to end, making sure that deadlines are hit, the proper forms are filled out by the right people, and making sure the entire process stays organized.

We then talk about the various reasons why agents prefer to keep Transaction Coordinators a secret in order to create the illusion that they do everything from beginning to end. Lauren also talks about the things that she thinks makes transactions run smoothly and how she would change the process if she could. We also talk about various horror stories she's seen and how they could have been avoided beforehand.

It's another very interesting episode and we're so glad that Lauren could stop by to show us her wealth of knowledge and expertise. Please listen and give us comments below! We'd love to hear what you think and to know what we can do better. Also, if you have any ideas for future episodes, please let us know!

In this episode, it's a recast of an awesome Facebook Live of The Clarified Realty Happy Hour we did at the Wework in Burbank, CA. The focus of this episode is on freelancers and people who go from gig-to-gig. How do they make it work for themselves so that they can last until the next job or show? We were lucky enough to have John Ales, an amazing actor from Bosch (Amazon) Sex, Drugs, & Rock and Roll (FX) and countless other movies and TV shows discuss his life and what he focuses on each day to keep his career on track. We cover such topics as second or third jobs, working on your craft for 40 or more hours a week, and when you should or shouldn't say "no" to a non-paid opportunity. It's a fascinating conversation and he takes us behind the curtain of what it takes to be a "working actor" in the entertainment industry.

We then talk to Vahan Papyan, CPA and owner of Papyan Accountancy Corporation, who specializes in working with freelancers. He guides sole proprietors, self-employed individuals, and freelancers into how they can maximize their deductions, while at the same time preparing for large purchases (like real estate). He speaks about the pros and cons of becoming incorporated and gives us advice about the best ways to go about implementing a strong tax strategy.

It's a fantastic episode and we really think there is a some amazing content for everyone to hear. Please note that there is a little bit of an audio problem with the microphones, but we felt that what went down in the discussion was incredibly valuable and worth listening to. And we hope that you will join us at our next Happy Hour! "Like" our Facebook page and we will keep you in the loop!

In this episode, we take a closer look at one of the most important facets of the real estate transaction - communication. Deals can fall apart if not enough attention is made to keep everyone talking. We focus on the topic of communication by breaking it down into the three main stages of the transaction: before the offer (How do you want to be spoken to as a client?), during the escrow (Are both parties talking to each other?), and after the deal closes (Do you want to stay in touch with your agent?).

In this episode of the podcast, Tom and Ron are talking about the latest and greatest in Real Estate news. There's a lot of interesting ground to cover this week, so they dive right in.

They start off the episode by taking on the topic of home buyer's remorse. A recent survey from Trulia found that almost half of Americans have suffered some sort of buyers remorse when they purchased their home -- though not the type of remorse you would expect. They actually wish they had bought a larger home! On top of that, most renters say they are remorseful that they haven't bought at all. Tom talks about how to look at the big picture when home shopping and trying to find larger homes by expanding your search -- not necessarily by spending more money.

Up next, Ron tells Tom about an article from the New York Times reporting on the worsening housing crisis here in California. We discuss the different ways governments are trying to alleviate the problem (Property Tax Initiatives, Zoning De-Regulation), while also going into how there is a growing YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) movement trying to get the developments happening where we need them most. It's a fascinating conversation about how residents of certain areas actually do themselves a disservice by not allowing growth. When it gets to be too late -- they are out of control of the process and could have had more of a say along the way.

Next up, we talk about a new trend in home burglars where they are casing their hits virtually through home listing photos left on Zillow. We discuss the dangers of leaving your listing photos online and not taking them down after the sale.

And speaking of home break-ins, we talk about Ryan Lewis (the other guy who isn't Macklemore) selling his 7 million dollar estate with the help of a video where a friend/musician pretends to break in and take a tour. We discuss what it takes to market your home with an original and clever video like this -- and the potential ways it could actually work against you if you're not careful.

It's an awesome news-packed episode and we hope you'll listen and enjoy!