In 2007, Kevin was the new guy. Decades younger than just about everyone, he was out of place in the real estate universe. You name it, Kevin was the opposite and the odd man out. What was he thinking getting involved in this career as a late 20-something? He didn’t know he would be so out of place.
Rhett, also a late 20-something, was engaged. He and his fiancée had a wedding date set for next summer. However, they had a lot happening right now. His fiancée recently got a great job promotion in a city about two hours south. He and his fiancée only saw each other on the weekends during this time. They also had a newly built home almost ready to move in, so he was ready to relocate to the new house. Holding two mortgages was not ideal.
Rhett was motivated, but he was not desperate. He and his fiancée were financially smart. Money wasn’t an issue, but there was little need to pay for an extra house. He just wanted to sell ASAP and start building their next chapter in life.
Twitter played a role in how Rhett initially found Kevin online. Kevin used Twitter to communicate honestly about the housing market. Falling trends hadn’t fully reached central Ohio. Kevin’s own independent research showed the Columbus, OH housing market was on a slow decline. Almost every agent he spoke with, even experienced brokers, believed it wouldn’t affect the Columbus metro. They said the entire downturn would only last a few months. “What?!” Again, Kevin was at great odds with his industry.
Maybe he was wrong? Kevin was the new guy. He was the young guy. He was an amateur. The data is never wrong, but he could easily interpret the data wrong. Kevin continued to tweet and blog honestly about the condition of the local housing market. No one else was saying what he was saying … at least not online, publicly, where clients decide if they’ll hire you! Guessing for this reason, Rhett chose Kevin.
Rhett lived in a top desired suburb. No pressure, right? Wrong.
Screw up here; everyone will see it. It would be on Kevin’s record forever. Great.
Now, even the local agents that dominated this popular suburb believed it wouldn’t be affected. Kevin’s gut said all suburbs would be affected simply due to the overall conditions. Lots of factors were causing home values to fall (some you’d never believe). Even in this popular suburb, many homes for sale were asking very high prices and sitting unsold for way too long. Kevin showed Rhett his research about the house and market conditions. Rhett hired him to sell his house ASAP … but the right way.
It was time for Kevin to prove himself or fail big.
You would think what happened next is because the house was in a popular suburb, but remember, many other homes were sitting unsold for months. So, in a whirlwind, here’s what happened. Kevin …
- Secured showings solely with Zillow before using the MLS.
- Secured multiple offers including a backup offer.
- Sold the house in 5 days.
- Sold for asking price (“could’ve been a few thousand more. Rhett declined” – Kevin).
- Years later, it’s still a top selling historic comparable!
- Due to the predicted downturn, it took years to get the value back to the price Kevin sold it.
Kevin wasn’t joking when saying, “Rhett’s house could’ve sold for a few thousand more.” This was communicated before settling on a list price. The value of the home has yet to break that top list price. Kevin, offering choices, let Rhett decide the price, because it’s Rhett’s life – his money!!! It took just over one month from listing to closing on Rhett’s house.
This was Kevin’s first solo client.
Kevin researched, studied & mostly trained himself in real estate.
The value of Rhett’s home topped out on this sale.
Kevin saved Rhett thousands of dollars of real equity.
Just months later, others in the metro weren’t so lucky.
So that happened. You also wouldn’t believe what happened to this home since. Whoa! Kevin tried to warn his friends and local home buyers, but that’s a story for another time.
Kevin Foster, President & Founder
A note from Kevin:
Sometimes, we just want to improve an industry out of our love for it. It’s tough when you’re constantly at odds with the status quo.
Mostly because of the industry, there was a time when I gave up on it. In reality, I gave up on me. Not anymore. We can’t give up. As long as we continue to prove what works and show results that truly help, it will work out.
Tell me, when have you been at odds with the industry you love? What did you do?
