Monthly Archives: April 2018

Brenda the Bulldog

Needless to say, I was pretty bummed out by the turn of events. And then I started stressing out, worrying about completing more transactions before my June office anniversary. When I get discouraged, I always lose some amount of time wallowing in self pity. And then I get sick of my complaining and climb out of that bullshit and try to reflect and think strategically… you know, like really think about what I’m doing wrong and where I can improve…

That’s where Bubbey’s worldclass emotional intelligence comes in. I mean, he always has pointers, but some are def more helpful than others. :). Thankfully, since he chaperoned me last Sunday, he witnessed my interactions and gave me feedback on how I could respond to people’s common excuses. Like if they say they are early in the process, I used to respect that and tell them, it’s helpful to be prepared early but whenever they’re ready, let’s talk. Instead, Bubbey says I need to give more push back: tell them a story about how I see a lot of people who think they are early on. But then they suddenly see something they really like and bc they aren’t prepared, they’re scrambling around trying to submit an offer. That strategy is fine for other markets, but not for this one, where properties go in 7-10 days. It’s never too early to get organized. There’s a lot involved– not only with getting a vetted preapproval, but also in organizing your proof of funds, drafting your letters to the seller, and just being focused and serious with your search. I can help, blah, blah.

I know, Bubbey’s got valid points, right? So this week, I busted out my script books again and I spent some time writing out more detailed responses to these scenarios. Luckily, last weekend’s list agent reached out and offered me the Sunday open house, saying the seller was reducing the price. I agreed.

While I was setting up a half hour before open time, a couple came early… argh, I hate when that happens but like I said, I never turn people away. They looked and then I practiced my new spiel. They said they were early, I explained it’s never too early to get organized, we talked for a while, and then at the end of ten minutes, I said, call me when you’re ready. I had been concentrating so hard on doing my talk and capturing their data (where they are looking, how long, specs, etc.) that I was all thrilled to get that far…  but then at the end, I didn’t make the ask for the appointment or the strong ask to work together. So John gave me those tips today. If the conversation is going well, make the ask again and maybe they’ll be more inclined since there was good rapport. He also said I should focus less on matching them with a lender to get preapproval and more on how I am going to help them save time and money with the homebuying process. See? He’s so damn good.

So the next couple that came in, Bubbey went out for an errand and I tried again. Did the whole dialog and really built rapport, but the lady was preggers and due this Wednesday. She did seem convinced that they needed to get serious about the process and that they’d work with me. I followed up afterwards via email and the hubby replied positively so… I took that as an improvement in my execution even if the baby is mucking up my timeline. 🙂

All in all, I got three solid leads today. All Stanford doctors (two hubby-wife physician couples!) and I talked with them for a good 10-15 minutes. I told stories and gave examples… it was really interesting bc afterwards, I realized that my conversations with visitors are very similar to all the shit I prepared when I was participating in ProMatch and training up for job interviews. I had to develop all these answers to questions– and the responses had to be concise yet illustrative to demonstrate my capabilities. It was such a weird epiphany but it made me really excited just seeing the common thred.

After the open house wrapped, I had a meeting with another lady whom I had met back in January at an open house in MV. You see, I recently discovered this new tool. For the longest while, I’d been following up with people via email and phone calls. My emails would get opened but no response. The calls rarely went through to a live person and if I left a message, no one ever called me back. Then, I was thinking so many people have an iPhone. What if I input either their number or email, and see if they have iMessage?

With my Chinese speaking leads, I was thinking that maybe my English emails and vm were a turn off. Or oftentimes, I wasn’t even able to leave a vm. So somehow I got this idea in my head that I could use iMessage to record an audio message and send it. Then I could see the delivery/read receipt. I started recording messages in Chinese but the problem with that was I had to record a new message every time. I needed something more cut/paste friendly. So then I transitioned into sending them text messages in English but I added a line in Chinese saying that I speak Mandarin. And coupled with the QPush tool, I was cranking those babies out. Then, I kicked things up yet another level.

When I send out my eblasts (2-3x/month), the software tracks the opens and clicks. The thing is, people always say they aren’t seriously looking or they aren’t interested and YET the tracking data shows that they are still CURIOUS about the market. I get a really good open rate for my monthly updates (stats on home sales and median prices)!! Same for my open house announcements. So now what I do is look at who has opened, and then within an hour or day or whatever, I send a text via iMessage that basically says, “Hey, thanks for reading my real estate emails. The market is moving fast. My buyers just got a house in XYZ. I can help you win too in this competitive market… let’s talk. Btw, I speak Mandarin (in Chinese characters).” And let me tell you: I am actually getting responses!?!?! Sometimes even from people whom I had previously been pinging via email for MONTHS! Sometimes they tell me they already bought. Other times they are not currently looking to buy but they admit they like the emails. And sometimes THEY AGREE TO MEET.

Yeah baby, Brenda the Bulldog is tenacious like a mother fucker. And this iMessage thing is useful, bc now I know these people are reading my stuff. And it’s a way to remind them of who I am so they get another imprint that VG is a realtor. And when they share tidbits, I get a sense for how warm the lead is and I update my database accordingly. See, I am made for keeping tabs on peeps!! You might as well call me Facebook or Cambridge Analytica, beotches! Just kidding. I do no evil. 🙂

But let’s be honest. Out of LOTS of texts, I only got like five responses. Still, two of those five ended up meeting with me in person. And I figure once I start texting people every time they read my emails, they will either unsubscribe from my email (which helps me shed the bloat anyway) or respond in some way to either meet me or get me off their back. That’s my latest strategy anyway, and I’m thrilled from the results this week. More innovations and work hacks to come. Stay tuned! Muhahahaha.

Hot N Cold

Well it’s been another several weeks since my last posting… what can I say, my life is a fucking roller coaster. For some reason, the lyrics to Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold song come to mind:

‘Cause you’re hot then you’re cold
You’re yes then you’re no
You’re in then you’re out
You’re up then you’re down
You’re wrong when it’s right
It’s black and it’s white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up
(You) You don’t really want to stay, no
(You) But you don’t really want to go-o
You’re hot then you’re cold
You’re yes then you’re no
You’re in then you’re out
You’re up then you’re down

Here’s the deal: I’m telling you. I encounter all kinds of people in my new line of work. This month, housing inventory went up significantly (spring is here!) so I returned to my bread and butter– open houses. Of course, it never gets easier. Every week, I run my search on Monday and start emailing about 50 agents one by one. I reach out to more people now bc fewer are saying yes. I know, there should be a more efficient way to automate this shit, but I have a template and then I manually update various fields within the text with the agent’s name, the property name. etc. Anyway, yeah, I reach out to a shit ton. Then, by midweek, I check the status on those properties and see if 1) the status has changed or 2) open house hours are posted. If they are still active and no hours are posted and I didn’t receive a reply, I text the agent. Yup,I look up their cell, add it to my phone contacts, and text message. Again, cut/paste replacing certain fields. I actually found an awesome tool recently called Qpush that’s a browser extension: I type my message in the browser on my laptop (I’m so much faster with a full-sized keyboard) and then the app “pushes” the paragraph to my phone into an app that easily lets me copy/paste. Not that you give a shit about these logistics, but I used to craft the message by thumb typing into the Notes app and copy/pasting into SMS. Too. slow. Anyway, Qpush– check it out. So back to the open house hustle: if I still don’t get a reply to my text by Thu/Friday, I call the agent. Eventually, I get someone who’s keen on my idea.

So last weekend, I hosted for a Menlo Park property for a husband-wife brokerage. MP is in San Mateo County (higher median home price) and I’ve only hosted a handful of properties there. My past open houses tended to be in the crummy parts, and my traffic/leads sucked. Not so this time! This spot was wedged between a busy Safeway shopping center and the Stanford Mall!

The list agent offered me Saturday. It was slow I think bc it was the last weekend before taxes. She was going to host the next day but then she didn’t feel like it, so I offered to host Sunday also. Like I’ve said before, I always try to co-host with a lender. Mostly for safety reasons (Dad STILL calls me to tell me not to leave the house at night and to carry my mace everywhere), but also bc I view it as a good opportunity to build lender relationships. If they get leads from me or my events, it’s a good thing for all of us, right? Unfortunately, my main lender has only gotten 2-3 loans from all my open house leads since we started collaborating last August. I’m telling you, this numbers game is a beotch. Anyhow, since Sunday was last minute, I didn’t line up a co-host and I had to ask Bubbey. He doesn’t like to be a fly on the wall at these things, but he’ll do it. And lemme tell you: thank goodness he did. Bc a weird, frazzled looking guy came upstairs. He just had a strange look– bug eyes and crazy hair– and he didn’t take off his shoes like the sign instructs at the door. And then he rambled on and on telling me the stoop was dirty and I should be better about making the home presentable. Mind you, it was super windy and so yes, there was some leaf debris on the stoop. So this was like his Good Samaritan tip and then, oh btw, he’s a successful equities trader and serial startup entrepreneur AND he’s also trying out for the Warriors NBA team… Mind you, he hasn’t practiced bball in six months… blah, blah. I asked a few more questions, only bc I was certain there was some real estate point to all of this. Nope, he was just random. And later, Bubbey said I need to be more careful about engaging with crazies. So here’s the deal: he was harmless but I am so relieved I was NOT alone. The house is on a super busy street so to make it more appealing to visitors, I keep the windows shut so it’s quiet. But that also means, no one would necessarily know if I needed help…

Last weekend was slow but I was thrilled at the time to pick up two leads. One elder lady came by. Honestly, she looked like an old Asian grandma– you know, weathered, small, and carrying tons of shit in plastic bags. She was actually a Filipino lady and she was timid, but before she headed out, she told me she had multiple properties to sell. I booked an appointment for the following week right then and there!  My first actual booking done at an open house! Yeehaw. We made an appointment for Friday. I was so excited.

So first thing on Monday, I call her to ask for the addresses: I want to do my homework so I can prepare for our meeting. She starts reading off the addresses, but it was hard to hear her with all the background noise on her end. I told her to email me the list. I texted her my email. A few hours later, she calls to say she doesn’t have email and she’ll drop off the list at my office. Huh? No email??? Next thing you know, she comes to the office and she says she took the bus. Huh? Homegirl supposedly owns FIVE properties in Silicon Valley and she’s taking the bus? So she shows up and I’m telling you, she is carrying so much stuff, including a 10-inch stack of papers in a plastic bag, plus two fleece jackets. My instincts are telling me this woman is impoverished. Her hands are super cracked and dry. What is going on???

We sit down to go over her list. She furnishes a bunch of deeds plus paperwork for a divorce, a bankruptcy, and a death. I look up the properties one by one on the computer. Her name is on NONE of them… As I probe with questions, I uncover a very complicated web involving her deceased father, her siblings, her ex, her ex’s family… nothing is adding up. I ask to scan all the files, so I can review them more closely and also I’m thinking I can provide her with e-copies so she doesn’t have to lug that shit around. She says she has no access to a computer.

I tell her I need some time to review the docs and then we can go from there. She tells me she has to go to work after our meeting. She works at Safeway. I offer her a ride. I also offer her a fabric bag so the plastic doesn’t eat into her fingers. I offer her water, ask if she needs to use the bathroom. No to everything. She says she’s fine. I walked her out and then I just sat there in disbelief. That’s the thing with this business. One minute, someone tells me they have a $1.5M budget. The next day, the budget is $150-200k. This lady? One day she has five properties to sell; the next day, there’s no proof that any of them belong to her. After she left, I felt awful. Why didn’t she just let me give her a ride? She looks like someone who’s endured. I really wonder about her story.

After combing through every page, I consulted my mentor. Yeah, she needs an attorney. Then I got a call from the lender whom she also contacted. The lender said she wanted her to share account info for her deceased father. But no docs show power of attorney or designation as administrator… In other words, she has no proof of decision making authority. The lender tells me this doesn’t make sense.

So I call the lady back and her phone goes straight to voicemail. I tell her I need proof– like a power of attorney or document showing she’s the trustee for her father’s estate. Then Thursday arrives and still no word. I call again and leave a message saying we can’t proceed until I get those docs. For now, let’s cancel Friday’s meeting. No confirmation from her.

Finally, on Friday morning, I’m like: what if she shows up– taking the bus and lugging all that shit? I go to the office just in case she turns up. Our meeting was at 11. I go there and then at 11:45, she calls and says she is walking up and down the street, and she can’t find my office. What??? Clearly, she didn’t get the voice message and also, what does she mean she can’t find my office? She was just there a few days ago! OMG, what is happening?

I meet with her again and explain the same things. She says she doesn’t have a lawyer. So I look up area legal aid groups and some resources for her. The story just is so bizarre. I wanted so much to help her but it was beyond my scope. I asked to see her phone, bc I was curious why she hadn’t gotten my vms or texts. It’s a shitty Trackfone and she never has it on! In fact, she still hadn’t listened to my message or read my texts. I mean, how will I do business with someone without email and without a phone?

Off she went again. I really pushed to let me give her a ride, but she refused multiple times. Was it pride, shame, or the habit of being a loner? I dunno. I really wonder about her situation. It sounds like her ex screwed her over and there was a lot of deception and manipulation. But I dunno. At the same time, her claim that all the deeds are fictitious or false also seems unlikely. I asked if she had a good relationship with her siblings or anyone on his side or her side of the family. I felt like I was missing something and maybe one of them could provide some clarity. But she said she didn’t have good relations with any of them. She thanked me and said she would find me again after all the stuff got cleared up. I sure hope one of those legal aid groups can take on something this complicated. The whole thing was mentally exhausting. I mean, not only bc of the roller coaster for me workwise, but more bc I just don’t know if anyone will/can help her. That poor lady. Life really is unfair.

That same open house weekend, I was packing everything up to shut down. And as usual, a couple came wanting to check out the house. Ok, fine. The lights are all off and all my shit is packed but I never turn down a possible lead. It’s a Russian couple with a baby. We chat and then I ask about their search. They basically say they aren’t working with anyone and would love to work with me. I offer to set an appointment and they say they need to check their schedule. So the hubby gives me the wife’s number. I call it so she has my number on her phone. I tell them I’ll follow up to set a date/time. That was Saturday. On Monday, I call the number and it’s another one of those bullshit “vm is not set up” things, which I’m beginning to think is some indication they have blocked my number and that’s what I get on my end when I call. Still, I naively send a text message. It shows it delivers and that she reads it. No reply. I send a few more texts with dates. No reply. Now I’m pissed. WTF? You said you wanted to work together. Why bother if you don’t intend to follow through? So I do research and find the hubby’s name and contact. Same deal: call the number, send a text. Same shit. And just like that, two great leads come to an abrupt end.

Sickness Prone

Oh shit, I forgot to tell you that the household had a recent bout with norovirus. Well, I don’t know if that’s a medically accurate statement, but let’s just say, last month, Bubbey had many days of upset tummy and sick poopies. Yes, that’s the technical term. This went on for days and then he flew back East to do his mom’s taxes. I went about my merry way until a day later, I got the runs! I mean, I had multiple delicious meals in a row– and no one at work seemed to suffer any negative impact. But goddammit, I had to cancel an open house and then I was holed up in bed for 2-3 days. At the time, I had Buster over too, and the dogs were like WTF is happening? This person is the lamest, laziest person ever!!! And of course, as my track record would attest, every damn time I felt a little bit better, I would push it too far and fall back into a nauseous mess. This went on for like an entire week. I’m telling you. My dad was calling on the daily trying to get a medical update, like fever stats, stool description, meds, everything. Jesus, dad. I’m gonna just ride it out. I’m not taking fucking notes for you on this.

Eventually, it seems my Achilles heel was my impatience (big surprise). I mean, as soon as I felt any tiny bit of normalcy, I went back to eating shit: dairy, cheese, spicy… yeah, I didn’t follow the BRAT diet. at all. I mean, in my defense, some sites did say the BRAT was too strict, but yes, I agree. Surely, that didn’t mean I should eat a bag of potato chips and down it with ice cream and soda. What can I say, it was many moments of weakness, and I was famished. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Around the same time, when I checked in with Bubs in Maryland, his mom ALSO got nauseous and sick! Was it something about Bubbey and his food prep/handling methods? I don’t want to be accusatory bc after all, he is literally the hand that cooks all my meals and feeds me, but…. I’m just saying. I suppose anecdotally, something did seem to be going around nationwide, no?

I’m just glad that the worst is over. I’ve been food-poisoning free for the last week, and life is good. Now if only I could be well the majority of my days in 2018, that would be freaking fabulous. Is that really so much to fucking ask?

Btw, dealio updates. I’m replacing those wonky JLab bluetooth earbuds with the Apple Airpods. John kept telling me Apple shit doesn’t go on sale and the pricing is all the same everywhere, so I bought them from the Apple store. Then what happens? A few days later, I’m scrolling through my Slickdeals phone app (yes, they have one!) and whadya know? $20 cheaper through Costco. Fucker! I’m telling you, can’t trust anything that boy says, esp when it comes to pricing. Thanks to my credit card extended warranty, I’m going to get reimbursed for the broken earbuds, so I’ll be getting these babies for a discount. I really didn’t think the wired earbuds would bother me much, but turns out, that shit does get tangled A LOT, esp when I’m fumbling with them in the car. And considering how often I am now on the phone, I’m going to give this new technology a try and see if it changes my life.

In other news, now that I am out of the sickness woods, I am turning my attention back to personal care. My skin has been doing great lately. I trimmed back the k-beauty regimen and I’m really trying to get more sleep… so far, so good. That said, I was disappointed to realize I still have a ways to go in terms of being more polished and presentable in public. Turns out, I am guilty of nearly ALL the “mistakes” that make a person look messy. Sure, I have decent self awareness, so I had a hunch it was bad. Just didn’t realize it was like 17/20 bad. Sigh. Work in progress.

Spring Recap

Holy shit, it’s been another several weeks since my last post. Honestly, who can keep up with time? He’s such a fleeting bitch!! So let’s see, quick recap: My deal closed last month and for two weeks I tried to schedule a meetup with my people. You know, after the transaction, you have to do the push– asking for referrals and recommendations. Apparently, that’s the cycle, according to the trainers/coaches. As it turned out, every damn time I called/texted, my family was too busy. So fine, one day I just pulled the “pop over” technique. I texted that I was in the area (which was true) and I would be by in ten minutes. Done.

I showed up and thankfully they were all home, including one of the sons who barely even acknowledged my presence. I mean, I get being intense about your work (hello UTI!). I get being in the zone, but Jesus, I walked into the kitchen where he was reading something on his laptop at the kitchen island, and he barely lifted his eyes to say hello. No, no, please. Don’t bother to get up out of your seat either! SMH.

Thankfully, I get along great with the mom, and she and the hubby showed me some of the progress around the house. I gave them the gifts with some explanation (I did a combo of items), and the mom commented on my thoughtfulness (yay!). Then at the very end, I went in awkwardly for the ask (mind you, all of this is in Chinese, so I’m not as eloquent as I am normally… haha!). She and the hubby just stood there and stared at me all confused, like, “What is a recommendation letter?” Who is it for and what do we write? Yeah, so to make the odd situation even more uncomfortable, I had to explain how it’s a document where they share their experience working with me and then I use it to show other people who are considering working with me.

I mean, I should have anticipated all this: I had mentioned the rec letter to my dad a few weeks earlier, saying I was going to be making the ask to my clients and he was super quiet about it. Is it a cultural thing? That’s what’s kinda frustrating about my parents being immigrants. I mean, it’s like, I have all the disadvantages of them being culturally illterate about assimilating into American culture and life yet, at the same time, they are totally NOT helpful for Chinese stuff bc they have been out of THAT culture for so long too, you know? So they’re basically useless in the career advancement arena. Anyway, as I’m explaining to my clients, they’re pretty much like, “We don’t know what to say or how these things are written…” Yes, beforehand, I had thought about providing a sample, but I couldn’t find any on the Chinese agents’ websites. Argh. So in the end, my clients just said, “You write what you want and we’ll sign off.” Yup, seriously. Getting compliments is like pulling teeth. So Chinese, right?

In their defense, I suppose the stress of writing a review/rec is not totally unheard of… Some agents in my office say they have staff reach out to clients and provide a bulleted list of things to mention in their testimonial… I dunno. The whole thing is just bizarro. And then I left. Shrug.

In other news, Bentley is fully recovered now post-surgery. I mean, I’m totally clueless about medical shit. I read all the pre- and post-op instructions but honestly, I’ve already forgotten what exactly the neutering entails. Was it a vasectomy? Was it the removal of his testes? All I know is that he came home, and I was totally surprised and disappointed to see his sack still in tact. There was a 1-inch incision at the base of his shaft. Sorry, I don’t want to use too many terms that might suggest via search terms that my post is pornographic in nature… Initially, it appeared to be healing great, scabbing over and all. Then, just as I thought we were out of the woods, it started oozing and looking gross. I tried to put neosporin on the incision, and he went bonkers again. Thankfully, it all just healed over time by itself. I asked Nathalie about the situation… I mean, I was totally expecting him to be eunuch. She said with full blown adult males, there might be some shrinkage but pretty much, that’s just part of the deal. If dogs are neutered much younger, things shrivel up and go away. Not in my case. Ugh. So I mean, it’s not the end of the word, but clearly, I’m a bit immature and squeamish about the dangling bits. I can’t help it: that shit is obnoxious and unsightly, esp for a 70-lb dog. And when I brush him with the slicker brush, I always have to be careful not to prick him. Oh well, I suppose I should just be happy the job is done and he’s healed.

His personality is also starting to shine more. He’s becoming more confident. I’m not sure if it’s the operation or him just passing the 3-month milestone with us. Thankfully, he is hiding a lot less and everybody is getting along. Buster was over for a few days last week. This week, Carla is here. I do love having our very own pooch again.