Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, guys. Welcome back to Real Talk. I'm Heather with Head in the Clouds.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Andres with Charles and Cias and Exp Realty here in Montreal, Alabama.
[00:00:11] Speaker A: And today we have Jessica from Nicole and Cole. Hey, Jessica.
[00:00:15] Speaker C: Hello. How are you?
[00:00:16] Speaker A: I'm good. How are you doing?
[00:00:18] Speaker C: I'm good. I'm excited to be here.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: We're excited to have you and really dive into things. First, let's just say we are live streaming, guys. We are on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and tick tock. I think that's everywhere. This time it worked and we're live streaming everywhere. So let's kind of dive into it and get a little bit of your background. Jessica.
[00:00:36] Speaker C: Hey. Okay, so I started out originally in retail and then I joined a big team in at Keller Williams seven years ago and that's when I was trained to be a tc. I left that team and then went to a brokerage to do the admin side of things within the brokerage and then network closed and I'm back to doing tv, what I really like to do.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: And what, what is transaction coordinating.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: So essentially it is going to be your backbone to all of your paperwork for your business. So it's all of your amendments, it's going to be keeping you on track with your deadlines, making sure your file is compliant, your clients are up to date on what's going on.
Just getting everybody on the same page, getting the file to the closing table.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Awesome. And, and I see you, you like the TC or been in the real estate space and, and enjoy that aspect of things.
You mentioned something important.
Clients being on top of everything, making sure that everything gets done in a timely manner so that you have a closing. Get to the closing table.
Can you walk us through that process.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: Just like from the beginning?
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Yeah, just, just, just a little bit.
[00:02:06] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. So anytime I have a contract, I'm going to send it to the attorney, I'm going to send it to the lender, I'm going to send it to the co op agent and your client and the client's going to be on a separate email from obviously the other people. However, anytime I communicate with your clients, I'm going to copy you as the agent in on that email so they know what's going on. And it helps whenever I'm introduced to the client from the beginning, like if Heather were to say, hey, this is Jeff, she's my tc. Please be sure that you're replying to her. She's going to keep us on track because some people are like, who is this lady? Emailing me, expecting me to fill out paperwork, like, I'm not. I'm not responding to her. So it also helps whenever the agent introduces me, so it gives the client a better knowledge of, like, hey, I do need to respond to her. I'm not just gonna, you know, trash that email.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: And Jessica is my transaction action. I can't talk. My transaction coordinator and Tony's as well. Just so everybody knows, Listening. We have a great, you know, relationship. And that's kind of when you're looking for a transaction coordinator or something, you need somebody that, you know, you can be. That can be there for you consistently show up. And I know there's been many a time, Jessica, where we've been frustrated with the other side, and it's like, what is going on? And we can get into that in a little bit later, too.
[00:03:26] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: I. I see here. Are you licensed real estate agents? Are you required to be licensed?
[00:03:36] Speaker C: You're not required to be, but you can do more for your agents whenever you are licensed. So all of us with Nicole and company are licensed.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: And so if you're a new agent listening, or you're thinking about getting into real estate, or you're a buyer and just wondering, what. What is going on and what is a transaction coordinator for? For me and for Andres, when we have a deal, there is a bunch of paperwork that goes into it. There's a bunch of deadlines that we have to make sure that we're following. And what the transaction coordinator does is she is on top of all of that, or he. If it's a. If it's a guy, they are on top of all of that. They handle the paperwork. They're constantly in contact with the other party, with the buyer, with, you know, the lender, making sure everything is running smoothly. And so it's very nice to be able, especially if you're working multiple deals, to know that you have somebody else as well as you, because you should still be on top of your own deals and know what's going on. But it's nice to know that there's somebody else double checking for you to make sure things don't fall through the cracks.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
What are some challenges you have faced or seen in managing a transaction?
[00:04:44] Speaker C: People not responding to me.
They. Because I always ask the co op agent, the lender, and the attorney to copy me on everything. So I know, like, hey, this has been taken care of. This has been sent. We're waiting on this. And a lot of times agents either forget or they just don't copy me on things. So that is very difficult because they're like, I sent that yesterday. And I'm like, well, you didn't copy me, so I didn't know that it was sent. So that's a huge thing for me at the TC is not being copied. So I'm not aware of being that we're waiting on something or if something needs to be sent. I'm like, well, if you would have copied me, then I could have sent you that.
So that's a huge thing for me is not being copied and excluded from an email thread.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: And it's funny because we make the joke all the time that when I get a date, when I get a deal, I send Jessica the contract and I'm sending like the original contract out to everybody, the binded copy. I'm like, please CC my transaction coordinator. But everybody just continues on with life. Like, I didn't even ask them that because nobody ccs my transaction coordinator. And like, Jessica is saying it's annoying because you constantly have to, like, go back and make sure that, you know, things are sent to her because the other party's just carrying on with life.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: And a lot of times if I'm not copied, Heather will just forward, you know, forward it, but also respond and include me back in on the email thread. Like, hey, please be sure you're copying her or just reply all. Like, if we're all on there originally, just reply all, please.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: What are some, some, some ways you, you can or things you do to help prevent this from happening? It's say, you know, Heather's just got into a contract with the property.
What preparations and measures you take place.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Yeah, so I sent out my intro emails and at the very top, it says, please confirm receipt. And then kind of toward the middle of it, it's going to have please be sure to copy me on all communications going forward.
And then also with, like I kind of said from the beginning, when it comes to clients, Heather will introduce me to her clients. Like, hey, here's Jess. She's not some fraud. Like, she's going to help us get to the closing table. So just staying top of mind to those people really helps the situation as well. Because if they don't know who I am and Heather just keeps copying me, it's like, please be sure to copy my tc. That, that helps. I think from the beginning is just getting it out there like, hey, I am a part of this deal. Here's who I am and here's what to expect of me. Just setting those expectations from the start.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: Now, Andres, you've never used a transaction coordinator yet, correct?
[00:07:22] Speaker B: No. That's why I'm asking all these questions.
Like I said, I'm going to be random because I want to put myself on the, on the shoes of an agent that hasn't used the transaction, but also in the consumer, the client itself. So I want to address those point of view because if I'm approaching, like you just said, I don't know you, you reaching out to me regarding this transaction and there's no communication established between Heather so far and me that hey, so and so is going to reach out to you and going to help us manage this transaction, then I'm going to be a little skeptical about answering anything to your email because as a client, we are very, we want to protect our information. We don't want to share anything with anybody. And I always tell that to my client as well. If anybody reaches out to you about asking for anything, let me know.
I want to filter that out and let you know if it's someone that you should be responding to. I don't want you to just say hey and providing information to anybody.
So I'm asking questions based on, on that angle as well because I want to make sure that anyone out there that is watching this also may have those questions, get their answers.
Well, yeah. Do you, you manage both buyers and sellers, right?
[00:08:36] Speaker C: Yep. So we do listing input as well as contract to close. So that'll be contract close on listing side and buyer side as well.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: Any key difference that you say as far as buyers and sellers when it comes to, to your end of the trip?
[00:08:52] Speaker C: On my end I would say the only difference is like updating MLS like on the listing side because obviously if you have a buyer, you're not updating mls, but the updating the mls. But other than that, it's pretty similar to the buyer side, just the mls. And then yeah, I would say that's, that's about it too.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: What about all the systems that brokerages have? You know, every brokerage has a different system.
Do you guys just know all of those?
[00:09:26] Speaker C: If we don't know it, we are willing to learn it. But we do have quite a few that we work with already and for the most part they're all pretty similar, but they have their quirks to each one.
But yes, we do have quite a few that we work with already and.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: We won't name names, but you and I both know one that we just.
[00:09:50] Speaker C: Like better than others. We'll just say that.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Are equipped to handle all of them and willing to learn. So somebody comes to you with a system from a different brokerage that you haven't worked with before, you're able to adapt and take them on.
[00:10:04] Speaker C: Right. And it helps that they're all, it's pretty streamlined on what information they want. I think that the, the key difference with different brokerages is going to be their disclosures that they require, but other than that it's, the systems are pretty similar.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: Do you think being a licensed agent helps as a transaction coordinator?
[00:10:25] Speaker C: Yes, because a lot of times and when it comes to the training for a tc, it's like there's, there are training packages out there, but to me you're going to learn more being hands on, whether that's, you know, learning through an agent, whether you join a team and you're trained as a tc. But the on, on site, so to say training is going to be more beneficial to me.
But being licensed definitely helps because you're able to do more for your agents if, whereas if you're not, then you're obviously limited to what you can do.
[00:11:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I got you. And we were, I just asked you these questions right before we started, you know, for, for anyone outside looking in last week. We addressed, you know, what do real estate agents do and, and how do they get paid as well as asking a few other questions within that area. But for someone looking in to say, hey, this is a good place for me to start into the real estate business, what will it take to get to be a transaction coordinator?
[00:11:29] Speaker C: So for, like I said, there's the trainings that you can do online, but the best way to, in my opinion is you're going to join a team and be trained from that team and have that experience with. I mean honestly, every agent that you work with is going to be different and every file is different. So just getting your hands in there and learning with obviously someone who's going to be there to answer your questions to help you learn as well. Because it's a lot of information to start out with because obviously every transition is different. So you're going to have questions with every starting out. You're going to have questions that need to be answered. So I think that having a mentor or joining a team and learning from them is definitely beneficial.
But there's no like licensed PC programs. But that's why I think that it's best for agents or for TCs to be licensed agents.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Is that a team or someone, a real estate agent working to train you, managing the transaction or a team of Transaction coordinator.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: So I, whenever I started out I joined a team and I was trained to do the TC side of things. And I, I think that that was very beneficial to me. But just to learn the TC side of things, but also to be around other agents who are, are actually in the field and they're doing the agent side of things too. Because to me that's very different. The TC and the agent side of things.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Gotcha. That's a very, very valuable point that people don't want to get. Although the transaction and you're managing the transaction part of things, it's a big difference on what the agent actually do and what they're required to have a license for doing and managing the transaction aspect of things and other documents.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Let's break down prices and how much for the services and what exactly you guys offer.
[00:13:32] Speaker C: Okay, so for our listings we charge 150 and then that includes your input into.
Well, we're in Georgia so I'm, I'm sure we have people that are watching that are not in Georgia. So we have the two different MLS systems. We're going to add your pictures, we're going to add your disclosures, we're going to sync your supra, we're going to sync your showing time. So any showing restrictions or any of that sort of things will update in showing time. So whenever people request showings, we're going to have all of that information in there from the beginning.
And then if that listing is withdrawn or expires and you want it to be relisted, then it's $75 and we do the same thing for that one.
And as well with listings, we'll add your open house in FMLS and Georgia MLS as well.
And that's no extra charge. That's just part of the listing maintenance.
And we have two different packages for our contracts to close. So we have, the first option is going to be a 400 flat fee if it's just one sided and then 450 if we're doing both sides and a zero dollar service charge if it doesn't close. And then our second option it's 375 for a single side and 425 for a dual side. And then if it terminates after due diligence that's going to be a $50 fee. But we like to give the option. So if you know, like say a lot of people work with first time home buyers or investors and so they have a lot of terminations, a lot of those agents use the $400 package. But if you know that you're working with, you know, second time home buyers or they're more comfortable and they're more confident in their decision, then that 375 option. But we like to give the option.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: And when you say both sides, what does that mean?
[00:15:23] Speaker C: The both the buyer and the seller.
So if you're representing both sides.
Gotcha.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: And you guys see that happen a lot?
[00:15:33] Speaker C: No, I do see it, but not as frequently as you would think.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: And so you say you get paid at closing. Now obviously I know how that works, but can you explain how that works for everybody listening?
[00:15:48] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. So we send an invoice. Once we have all of our closing paperwork from the attorney and your file closed out within MLS and within your brokerage system, we're going to invoice you and then you have five days to pay that invoice. And then obviously on the invoice there's instructions on how to pay that.
[00:16:06] Speaker A: Gotcha. So it's not paid out of closing where like the closing attorney would put you as, you know, one more person getting a check. It's something that's separate. You, you bill us and then we pay you for the service. Yep, gotcha.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: I think that's very convenient, very smooth process there because.
And the reason I say that is because a lot of people don't realize all the expenses that goes into the transaction. And having that, that option available to pay a close is a tremendous help for those agents looking to get that process going.
[00:16:45] Speaker C: Right, right. And I will say our listings are paid whenever they go active. So same thing. We invoice as soon as it's active. That's a different service. So that's a different invoice.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: And if you've ever had to put a listing on to two MLS's, it is a tedious process.
So it's nice to have the option of having a transaction coordinator that can do that. Now you do have to fill out the listings form with the information, but you're not having to put it on one and then copy it to the other.
So it's very nice to have that available with a transaction coordinator. Can you.
For me? I know, I hate doing that, but I mean, I guess it's something that you like, you guys don't mind doing obviously, because that's the service that you guys provide.
[00:17:32] Speaker C: Yeah, the listings. I feel like, I guess I've just done so many that it's, you know, second nature at this point that it doesn't bother me because like, I know I have to input it here first before I can do this step. And then once I do this, then I can do this. And it's like you have the seamless process, but, and that's another thing, is that some agents don't even have a process. They're just kind of a free for all. Whenever it comes to their listing, it's like, wait a second, did you upload your disclosures?
Like, wait, what? You can do that? How do you do that? It's like, you know, that's a lot of the training as well.
I think that would benefit some agents that even if it's one time, like, hey, let me show you how to do that. Because a lot of agents don't know how. And you don't know unless you ask or you take the time to learn, you know?
[00:18:22] Speaker B: Absolutely.
And I, and I see here that you normally work with the same agents. Right.
And if you happen not to be available, somebody else can cover for you for those, for that particular time frame.
[00:18:38] Speaker C: Right.
[00:18:38] Speaker B: Can you elaborate and walk us through that? How important is that of working always with the same agents?
[00:18:44] Speaker C: Yeah, so for me, I think that it builds that relationship with the agent. And, you know, they, they trust that I'm in, you know, I'm doing what I need to be doing for them. And whenever I tell them, hey, I need something, they're not like, okay, like, she doesn't know what she's talking about. And it's that the trust within the agent and also they feel comfortable enough to not have to micromanage you to know, like, hey, Jess, has got this taken care of. I don't have to worry about this. You know, And a lot of times it's easier to communicate because you learn that agent. So, like, hey, if you don't email me back, I'm going to text you because I know that you respond better to text messages or, hey, I know you don't text. I'm going to give you a call because I know that you respond better that way. And to me, that's a, that's, that's very helpful to have that relationship, to know how to communicate with your agent, to be able to get what you need essentially to get us to the closing table.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Absolutely. That, that part of that you said there, I think it's, it's very important and it gets overlooked. Right.
Because you have to build that trust, a method of communication with those agents in order to make that transaction run as smooth as possible.
And, and if you don't have that, it's hard to stay on Top of things. It's hard to, to. It's hard bouncing back and forth between different transaction coordinator, different agents. Because agents are probably easy to complain about things. Right.
And, and they don't tend to put themselves in a position in your position to understand that you're not just managing their transaction, you're managing 10 other agents. Transaction. How is that important? How, how does that come into place on your end?
[00:20:35] Speaker C: Well, for me, I always tell people if, if you don't hear from me, I have everything that I need from you. If you do hear from me, you will continue to hear from me until I get what I need from you. And some people. Actually, one of my agents. This is kind of a funny story. One of my agents that I work with now, she was a co op on one of my transactions and she called my agent that I was working with and she said, can you please get your bulldog off of me?
We'll get her what she needs.
And it's funny because now I work with her and she's like, I love it that you did not leave me alone until you got what you needed. I'm like, well, we needed it for closing, you know, so it was funny that now like, she's like, oh no. And she's like a biggest cheerleader now. She's like, oh no, you need to call Jess. Like, she will have everything that you need. And I think that just that communication and just knowing your agent and for them to be comfortable enough to rely on you is huge.
[00:21:38] Speaker B: Absolutely. Because like you said, some agents completely slack and non respond.
[00:21:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: So. So you being on top of her, I probably made it realize, like, look, I need to stay on top of my game and I'm not. I need somebody like this on my side. Right. Because what she's lacking on you, that's probably your stronger area. You're staying on top of this in order for, for that transaction to go as much as possible.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Right.
[00:22:03] Speaker C: And it worked out in my favor because now she's my agent.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: That's awesome. That's, that's a great, great point. Great perspective and outcome there. So.
Outstanding.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: Do you ever find yourself in a position where the agent is relying on you too much to like run and manage this deal and you have to kind of remind them that, hey, you're the agent. This is, you know, your transaction. I'm just here to assist.
[00:22:32] Speaker C: Yes. And that's it. From the beginning, I tell agents, I'm like, our first transaction together is going to be kind of wonky because I don't know how you communicate and it's going to be a little bit of toe stepping because they don't know exactly, you know, hey, does she do this? Does she not? I'm like over communicate with me to where I know and where you know what's expected of the other ones. Because sometimes people will ask something and it's like that has nothing to do with me. That's the lender. Like you see the same emails that I do and you know, that's then where I'm like, listen, like that's a lender question. Like you need to direct that question toward the lender because I have no control over that. And you've seen the same thing that I did.
So Yes, I do, I do see that. But also it's, it's in the same thing is where I'm like, listen, this is the expectation of me and what I'm going to do for you. And if you need something more than that, then you know, that's something that you need to re evaluate.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: It's, it goes both ways. You have to set up those expectations and, and, and an agent needs to be clear as to, okay, this is what she's going to be doing.
[00:23:42] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: And of course understanding the role. I've heard some number of stories of, of clients not knowing what the next steps are or, or missing some documents and lack of communication thereof from an agent for that age for that lead or that client to know exactly what they need on hand for whether it's something for the lender, something for title, but having that communication with you and relaying being constant with that, I think it's a valuable step and then asset needed. Right. Because a lot of agents don't realize how helpful you can be for their business if they're trying to scale their business.
How important having a team member like you on their team is to in order to achieve the number of transactions that they're looking to achieve. Right. Because let's be honest Heather, if you're closing 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 transactions a month, if you're looking to scale to that level, having Jessica on their team, how helpful is that?
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Oh my God, it's like a hundred percent, if not more percent helpful because the amount of time that I would have had to spend doing the things that she's doing takes me away from doing the things that I would need to do to generate that type of business.
And you know, especially if you've got, you know, family, kids, parents, pets, anything else that relies on you, you need to have your, you know, Your time mapped out and know what you're spending time on. And Jessica easily saves hours every day on things that, you know, something as simple as, like, following up on something that you know that she does. Still, every little thing counts. Every little thing as, you know, a minute in your day here, a minute in your day there, and before you know it, it's an hour.
So by having that transaction case, transaction coordinator there to do all those things, it frees up the time so that you can lead gen or you can spend time with your family, or you can show more houses. And it really is about finding the transaction coordinator that works for you, because not everybody is going to mesh with everybody. And that was my thing. I am very micromanaging. I want to know that everything is done. And because Jessica and I work together so long, I don't have to worry about that anymore. I don't worry about micromanaging. I don't need to worry about the process, and I'll let her get into the portal and how we can track things. But I don't even really do that because I just know that Jessica's going to handle it at this point.
[00:26:18] Speaker C: Yeah. And to go off of that, I don't think that a lot of people realize how many hours. What's your guess on how many hours for, like, the back side of things once you're under contract, like, the paperwork, that side of things.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: Like, 20 to 30 hours.
[00:26:37] Speaker B: I would guess about 30 hours.
[00:26:43] Speaker A: Yeah. That's because I'm trying in my mind, thinking about how much time I've spent, you know, on the. The stuff before using a transaction order. Why can't I say transaction coordinator?
Why? I don't know. I can't talk today before you. And that's how long? I think? Yeah. About 20 to 30.
[00:27:02] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's what I tell people. I'm like, you know, you leveraging that. And some people are. They're just control freaks. And I get that. And it's like, but if you are gonna spend three times the amount of time struggling through to get something done, is that really worth it to you to not just be like, hey, all right, I. I need your help. Like, let me help you. Because for me, it's like, I am here to help you on the back end to where you can call, you can do open houses, you know, that sort of thing. The things that are gonna make you busier to where you get to your goals, to where you know it's successful on your end and my end, because I want to help you Grow. But if you're not willing to give that up, then it's like you're gonna kind of plateau.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: And to give you guys kind of like a real world example, let's say I'm out showing houses, and this is something that. That we have done. Let's say I'm out showing houses on one deal, and there's another deal that needs an amendment to be written. I call Jessica and I'm like, hey, can you write amendment number two? And then, you know, I tell her what it is, and then she'll write it and then send it out to the parties to be signed. Now, if I didn't have a transaction coordinator, I would have to finish my showings, go home, write that amendment, send it to everybody to be signed, wait for it to be signed, get it back, and then send it to all the parties that need it.
But now I just do a phone call or a text message to Jessica, and that's all handled.
[00:28:34] Speaker C: But that's also a benefit of being a licensed tc, because if you're not licensed, you cannot do that.
[00:28:42] Speaker A: Right. If you're not licensed, you can't write the amendments.
So make sure that if you're going to choose a transaction coordinator based on them being able to do licensed things, make sure they're licensed.
Would that be helpful to you, Andres, if you're out showing knowing that you had somebody, you could just call and be like, hey, write this amendment?
[00:29:03] Speaker B: Heck, yeah.
Heck, yeah. And my other question to that was, aside from all the paperwork, do you help the clients coordinate inspections and things like that? Of course. We provide them a list of, you know, vendors to help them in that process, making sure that on the listing side, just like we heard last week, on the inspection side, the property did not have electricity. Right.
Did you communicate that to the. To the vendors and say, hey, electricity needs to be back on the property in order for inspection to go through?
Do you help coordinate those. Those.
That part of the business?
[00:29:49] Speaker C: When it comes to the inspections and things like that, I do not.
However, when it comes to getting utilities to the buyer or the seller, whichever side we're representing, I'll request those and get it to the party that needs it. But when it comes to inspections and things like that, I do not schedule those.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Awesome. Awesome.
[00:30:09] Speaker C: Some. Some TCs do, but we do not. Just for the liability of not having to choose the one, it's like, I'll let you choose that and get that taken care of. So. So if something does go wrong, hopefully it doesn't. But if it does, then that's on you, you know, you the buyer, that's not you, the agent.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:30:33] Speaker A: Can you walk us through this real time track, transaction tracking?
[00:30:37] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Our backend system that we use is called a frame. Essentially what that is is going to be my checklist of everything that I'm going to do for you.
It's going to show you exactly what day I'm doing, what task. If we need a termite letter, I have a task on there and it's going to be either if it's due or I have a reminder a week before something like, hey, have we ordered the termite letter yet?
It has everything on there for say the seller information sheet for the attorney. I have a follow up on that. You'll see, hey, she's sending that on Wednesday and then a follow up a week later, you know, to make sure we get that for the attorney.
And then it also shows all of our attachments in there. So all the parties to the contract, all of my deadlines, the attachments, anything that's pertaining to the contract, I see there.
And then the checklist as well. So it's everything that, that I have for the transaction you can find in our book.
[00:31:40] Speaker A: Gotcha. And that's really good about building that trust and building that rapport. Especially when you're working with a new agent. So they can kind of see every. And that's also there because they can see everything you're doing and they're not like, why am I giving this person chunk of my check? What did they, what did they actually do?
[00:31:57] Speaker C: Right.
[00:31:58] Speaker A: It, you know, because at the closing table, our check always gets smaller and smaller and smaller because we're having to pay out for, you know, services.
So it's nice to be able to see in real time what's actually being done. So they know where their money is going.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Absolutely. And not just where the money is going. The hours that, that you're getting back that you're able to put more into your business. I think that's a component there that gets overlooked. Right.
Like we said earlier, 20 to 30 hours just based on documents and managing the transactional things that you can put back into your business. For prospecting, have you found that agents from the other side are reaching out to you for information that should be coming from your, the agent you're representing?
[00:32:45] Speaker C: Yes and no. But like I said, whenever I get those emails, I'll respond or I'll call or text message my agent and be like, hey, have you given this to them or. Because sometimes agents do reach out to try and be a little shady, but I just copy my agent because it's a. A clear line of communication with me because I want my agent to know that they can trust me. But also I want to help that other agent because we all have the same goal in mind. We want to get it closed and whatever we need to do to get it closed. But I'm not going to go against my agent to get them what, you know, if it's not something that is agreed upon or whatever.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:33:28] Speaker C: But I've also found where agents who don't have a tc, they are expecting me to write all of the amendments, and if they need something, they're expecting me to do it. And I'm like, well, here's my fee. If you want me to do that, then here's my fee and here's my agreement.
However, that's. That's on your side. You know, that's something that you need to do.
[00:33:51] Speaker B: They probably think you're managing the whole transaction, even for them. Right?
[00:33:54] Speaker C: I take advantage of it, for sure.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: They're like, oh, man, somebody's doing all the paperwork for us. That's outstanding.
[00:34:02] Speaker C: I have to do. No, no.
[00:34:06] Speaker B: Just on this side, please.
[00:34:08] Speaker C: Yes. But there has. That has happened quite a few times. And, you know, that good relationship with my agent. I'll be like, look, why are they asking me to do that? You know, that's an. That's an amendment that they need to write, you know, and all of my agents, that they would be like, you know, you're right. Tell them no, tell them to write it, and then we'll get it signed. So that definitely. I feel like some agents try and take advantage of that, but the agents that I work with, they protect me. So.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: Good. Yeah, good deal.
[00:34:40] Speaker A: Do you ever run into the situation where, you know, you're representing your agent as a transaction coordinator and then the other agent also has a transaction coordinator all the time?
Is that easier? Worse. How does that kind of rank in the grand scheme of things?
[00:34:55] Speaker C: I like when other agents have TCs, if they're a good one, sometimes it makes it more difficult because they're not responding in the same way that I expect to be responded to.
Not expect to, but it's like that I would hope to be responded to. And what's crazy is some TCs, they're the ones that leave me out of emails. I'm like, you're in my shoes. You know how frustrating that is?
Come on.
But I do for. I do enjoy, for the most part, Whenever another agent has a tc, because it's like, we, we know how it is on the other side. It's like, I know that you need this from me and I need this from you. So it's kind of a mutual thing for the most part.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: But it's kind of funny in that situation. It's like, have your people talk to my people.
[00:35:46] Speaker C: For sure.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: Your people might be.
Can you walk us through a, A transaction? Of course. No names.
Where it wasn't ideal. You know, things were not looking great and.
[00:36:06] Speaker C: Well, I had one.
This was actually one that terminated. And it had been under contract. This was actually just last month. It had been under contract since November.
And it turned out that it was a estate deal they had to go through and all of that. So we go, the client and the agent go to do the final walk through and there is squatters in the house and there is a leak in the house.
And the co op agent was like, well, we'll just call the cops and get the squatters taken care of and we'll close. And it's like, no, we're not going to do that. Because for one, the house is not in the same condition as whenever the buyer saw the first time. And two, squatters are very hard to get rid of. And that agent was trying to refuse the termination to be signed.
And so we had to get the brokers involved. And that was not fun.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Wow.
And it was on the contract since November.
[00:37:14] Speaker C: There was multiple people who had to sign for the estate and all. Yeah, it was, it was a nightmare.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: Wow, that's crazy. It's. You know, real estate is so interesting. There's no two deals that are ever the same.
[00:37:29] Speaker C: No.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Always learning something.
You're all, if you think you know everything about real estate, you're crazy. Because you're always gonna be like learning something new on every single transaction. Things you didn't even know, Right? No. Until you find them out.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: That's the beauty of it. Right?
[00:37:45] Speaker C: Yeah. And I, I feel like it's like I've said, every transaction is different. But also, you know, you learn to work with people at the level that they need you to work with them, you know, because some people like to be communicated with all the time. And some people are like, just tell me if you need something from me.
So it's just learning those personalities too.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: What you said there is so powerful learning to work people at the level that they need to work with, that they want to work with.
You run across people that wants to work at this level and that's it like they're going, going, going.
Everything else doesn't make sense, they don't want to work with. And sometimes you got to take a couple of notches down and be able to work to someone, be able to help them get to that level or help them grow and go a little bit faster or, or just simply bring yourself down and, and manage that transaction.
Not only are we learning with this transaction, not only are we learning from, from the business itself, but we're learning so much from each other, from each relationship that we're building in that transaction. And that is so impactful moving forward because every other transaction, we're just continuously learning, continuously plugging into different areas of the business, of people, communication, behavior, all things happening at the same time and so differently with each transaction. It's incredible.
[00:39:17] Speaker C: To me. It's just, you know, you meet people where they are and it's, you know, some people I, I've come in contact with, their files are a disaster and they're like, I need you to help me. I, however, I don't know what I need. You know, I, I need you to tell me what I need to, where we can get through this. And it's like some people, they are very type A and they all of this stuff in line. However, they want to just leverage out the TC side of things to where they have more time to lead, generate and to build their business to hit their goals. And it's like, okay, you tell me what you need from me. You know, here's my expectations of here's what I offer and then, you know, if you do this and whatever, then we'll go from there, but meet them where they need you. And I think that that has a huge help in all of that too.
[00:40:09] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: So to kind of recap, if I'm an agent and I want to hire a tc, at what point during my transaction do I bring in the teeth?
[00:40:24] Speaker C: So for us, it's whenever you're under contract. As soon as you go under contract and you send over that congratulations email like, hey, we're under contract, that's where I hop in. That's where I start all of my introduction emails to your clients, to the co op agent, to the lender, to the attorney, I send an intro email who I am, what's expected, what I need from them, and then from there is whenever we actually start the process, but whenever you have a buyer brokerage agreement signed, I don't need that until we're under contract, if that makes sense.
[00:41:02] Speaker A: No, definitely makes sense. And make sure that you tell your clients about your tc. Otherwise they're just going to get like a random email and they're going to be like, who's Jessica?
So you want to make sure that you tell them, hey, I have a transaction coordinator. You definitely will be hearing from her.
[00:41:19] Speaker C: Right? Well, that also what to expect of me too, because I've had to where I sent the seller information sheet and for those who are maybe in a different state or whatever, we the information sheet comes from the attorney and people are like, why are they asking for my loan information on the listing? And it's like, the attorney needs that. I don't need it. I'm just the middleman. Like, you're going to be expected to fill this out.
However, I wanted to give you a heads up that you know that it's coming so you're not caught off guard again from the pre closer whenever they send it to you.
[00:41:52] Speaker A: And it also makes you as an agent look that much more professional because of what you guys do. Because you send out, you know, the update emails and you send out, hey, you're going to be getting this from the attorney. So it's just another way to show that you know what you're doing and you're professional by using a transaction coordinator.
[00:42:13] Speaker C: I think that that helps just to kind of go back to the very beginning. It's like, if they don't know who I am and you don't tell them who I am, regardless, you're. You're gonna get a phone call and I'm gonna get an email. Who are you.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Now?
And obviously I know the answer because we work together, but just for our listeners and new agents. So I've got my clients, we're under contract.
I send you the contract and I say, hey, I'm under contract on this. You have all that information at that point. That's when you start, you know, doing what you do.
What do you need from me after that point? And how does that whole relationship work moving forward in the process?
[00:42:52] Speaker C: Yeah. So once you're under contract, like I said, I will keep you copied on all of the emails. And then whenever it comes to your clients, if they have. A lot of times I've seen where clients just respond to me and not you.
And I always copy you back in because I don't want your clients to think of real estate and to think of me. I want your clients to think of real estate and think of you. Obviously, I'm just here to help you.
But once we're under contract and have all the intro emails sent out, you'll get emails from me and the attorney and the lender. So everybody is in the know of what's going on.
And then as far as do you want me to kind of go through what I do once we're under contract? Okay, so this is going to be kind of our contract to close list. So if it's a listing, we're going to update it in MLS for you and then obviously send the contract to the attorney, the lender, the co op agent and then the sellers. And those are two separate emails. So with this, this the client email, it's going to have what to expect, like our deadlines, it's going to say, you know, hey, here's due diligence and what to expect during that due diligence period.
And then whenever it comes to the co op, the lender and the attorney that's going to have what I need for that transaction, whether it be the instructions of the closing attorney, the utility providers, whenever it comes to trying to like look at my email and think of what we require.
And then if there's anything within the contract that needs to be updated for compliance, if I catch it before I submit it, I'll go ahead and say, hey, heads up, we're going to need section 10 of the finding agreement updated because we missed a checkbox. You know, I'll send it to our side initial and then I'll send it to your side to have that initialed for compliance because we're both going to need that updated obviously.
And then once we have we're through due diligence, we'll make sure that the attorney gets your information sheet, whether it be buyer or seller.
I'll reach out to the lender to make sure that we have the appraisal scheduled, that they have all the documents from the buyer, if there's going to be any hold up when the appraisal is scheduled for and then if we've received it, and then confirm everybody has everything for closing and get the closing scheduled, the utility providers, and then if there's a termite letter, a home warranty, septic, I make sure all of those things are in place and to the attorney and then if there's any repairs for an amendment to address concerns, I'm going to make sure, hey, we have receipts for one through five, we still need six through seven.
And then I'll email your clients the closing details, the time, date, location, and I forgot that I also add all of the dates from the beginning to your, your calendar. So you're, you're in the know of the dates as well.
So they're added to your calendar as well on as our portal. So you have access to that two different places.
[00:46:12] Speaker A: And that's definitely helpful. I know with all the stuff there is like all the things you just listed. Right. That's just one transaction and I'm just going to name like a few to kind of highlight. You've got the due diligence deadline and like you said, if you're working and you need a termite letter or there's repairs that have to be done, they have to be done before the closing. You need proof of the repairs. Just there's tons of different, you know, financial deadlines, financing deadlines. There are so many deadlines that you have to make sure are met in order for that to close on one deal. So imagine if you have multiple deals going on. It's not like they're all the same date. No, they're multiple different dates. And closings don't always happen the day they're supposed to happen. Sometimes you get hit with an eight day or have to hit somebody with the eight day extension. So you have to push that out.
If you're looking at, you know, not offers that expire, but you know, like the amendment is going to expire, the amendment to Risk Concern is going to expire and you need to make sure you have that signed so you have to have that back in time. One of the things I was going to mention too is if you've got all of these different deadlines going on and you're trying to keep track of all of this different stuff, that's just your current business. If you're busy doing, focusing on that, how are you having time to lead gen? How are you out there repeatedly doing the things you need to do to keep this consistent, to stay busy.
So do you think Andres, if you had a Jessica out there with you doing all this, it would help your productivity level?
[00:47:39] Speaker B: Absolutely. I was about to ask Jessica, how does she stay organized?
If you're managing multiple transactions a month from one agent and you'll have multiple agents that are closing within the same time period, how do you stay organized? Because just from everything you said and, and adding up one transaction after the other, how do you do it?
[00:48:05] Speaker C: So that's the, the beauty of our backend system because we have taken the time to create a system that it. So I have a checklist for each transaction and then I have a master checklist which is essentially all of my checklists for every transaction that I have going on and then it's broken out by day. So I need to do a termite letter today or I need to order a home warranty or I need to get the closing scheduled, I need to request a preliminary from the attorney, I need to send the preliminary. It's all on our portal.
And that is what I live by.
[00:48:46] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:48:47] Speaker C: Person.
[00:48:49] Speaker A: And how important are these deadlines? What if, whoops, we miss one? What could be the, you know, what's the questions for an agent then you know, if they, you know, oops, I missed a deadline.
[00:49:02] Speaker C: So to me that's not an option.
You will, you'll hear from me whenever there's a deadline coming up. However, if there is, I don't even want to say if there is. I don't, I, I don't like that.
But I mean there are times where if there's not an amendment to address concerns signed off on, if it's, you know, hey, the seller already agreed to that, then, you know, that's kind of taken care of. But the other ones I send out, so for your appraisal and your finance, I will send to the lender before the deadline and say, hey, our appraisal contingencies coming up, are we good? Do we need to extend? So we have that and then I'll send you a follow up due diligence the day after. Like, hey, is there any amendments on this one? So yes, it is a possibility. However, I don't accept that.
[00:50:00] Speaker A: Well, that's why you need a transaction coordinator, right? To make sure that you've got that second set of eyes, that second person looking over this deal, making sure those deadlines are being met. Because when you're trying to do it all on your own, it, I mean, I'm not saying there's nobody that can't manage it on their own. I'm sure there are people who can just find, manage things on their own for the business that they're currently working. However, it never hurts to make sure to double check just in case because this is somebody's life, this is a major expense for them. This is one of the biggest things they're ever going to buy in their life, which is a home. It's so much money. You want to make sure that you're doing your best to protect the, their assets.
And you know, if having a transaction coordinator helps you protect your client, that's what you should do.
[00:50:43] Speaker C: Absolutely. And I think that again, that goes back to building those relationships because I have a relationship with you. However, your clients have no idea who I am. So that's when it comes into, you know, hey, my trust in you is also trust in my clients, trust in you as well.
So that, to me, I think, is a lot, a lot to do with not the pressure that the business brings, but just making sure that we are on top of everything.
Because at the end of the day, it's not my money on the line, it's the clients. And I don't want people to lose money.
[00:51:21] Speaker A: No, definitely don't want people to lose money. And not just that, making sure that we're in compliance. So what that means is for every agent, you have to turn in all the documents to your broker. And then what your broker does is they double check everything, triple check everything to make sure everything is correct before you get paid. And if it's not, then you have to make sure it's fixed before they're going to release your funds to you. So when Jessica says, you know, I'll make sure you're good for compliant, or we have to send something back through and get it checked, there's a lot of contracts, there's a lot of paperwork. And, you know, we're human, we're not robots.
So sometimes we miss a checkbox or somebody doesn't initial something. And it doesn't mean that the deal is going to fall apart and the deal's dead. It just means that we have to have that, you know, signed, corrected, initial by all the parties. Because anytime you make a change, everything has to be initialed by everybody. And that's what Jessica does. She's just another person to double check that, make sure everything's right so that your compliance department, your brokerage isn't going to get on you and be like, hey, this isn't right. Fix this, fix this, fix this. Nobody wants that.
[00:52:27] Speaker C: Like I said, being licensed, I'm able to send that over to get that updated for you and then communicate with the other party like, hey, our compliance needs this in order for them to approve the file. So please have your buyer or seller initial this update. You know, that sort of thing.
[00:52:45] Speaker B: And I think you just mentioned that all the documents that need to be compliance. As a new agent, if you're.
There's paperwork that could be messed up, mixed in, right?
Written incorrectly, you just missed the checkbox. So it's so important to having that double check before the closing table and, and having a transaction coordinator and experienced transaction coordinator like yourself, who also have been also licensed, you. You know what to look for. You're paying attention to all those little details that can easily be overlooked. And before it even gets to the broker, you can say, hey, you missed this. Let's redo this document again.
So it brings tons of value into that transaction to that team and those agents.
[00:53:36] Speaker C: Right. And another thing, like with being licensed, obviously we have to keep up with our CE hours.
So taking the updated contracts classes to know, like, hey, this is the change that was updated on this form. We need to make sure we're using this form rather than last year's form, because a lot of times the broker will not accept a form that's from last year, obviously, because it was updated for a reason.
So, you know, hey, we need to update the seller's property disclosure to the new form or this community association to the new form. And that sort of thing is.
It can be timely if, you know, you don't have a process for it.
[00:54:15] Speaker B: So absolutely any.
[00:54:21] Speaker A: Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
[00:54:22] Speaker B: Andres, any final thoughts on. On.
On being a transaction coordinator and encouraging anyone that's considering a transaction coordinator?
[00:54:34] Speaker C: I. I love what I do, and I think that being a part of someone's journey with real estate, whether it's, you know, buying, selling, or investing, like, I love the process. And so people are always like, how do you do what you do? I'm like, well, because I like what I do. And some people, they just get overwhelmed with all the paperwork, and I'm like, I. To me, I know that that needs to be done, so let's get it done.
So I, you know, it takes a special person, and I. You have to enjoy paperwork. If not, you're not going to like this job.
[00:55:14] Speaker A: You really do have to enjoy. And I'm always amazed at how on top of your emails you are, because I am not on top of my emails. But, girl, you have to be on top of them because you're. You don't miss.
[00:55:27] Speaker C: Well, I am not one. I cannot stand the little notifications. I am one that has to clear all my notifications. So I. If I have something that's in there, I'm like, all right, that needs to be taken care of. I can't deal with the bubble.
[00:55:40] Speaker A: Oh, my phone would kill you. You don't even want to know how many notifications in the thousands.
[00:55:46] Speaker B: Hold on. Heather, are you saying you're one of those that don't check the email that you send you?
[00:55:52] Speaker C: That's why I have to text or call her.
I know that she doesn't text.
[00:55:57] Speaker A: Yeah, Jessica knows. She texts or calls me.
Don't send me an email and assume that like, I'm gonna check it because I'm not.
[00:56:07] Speaker C: Because we work together for so long is that. I know that and I know to expect that. Like, hey, look at your email. I sent you an email. I need this from you.
[00:56:15] Speaker B: You got too much headache from Heather at the beginning with like, Heather, I'm just gonna call you and text you. Okay?
[00:56:22] Speaker C: Yeah, don't email her.
[00:56:28] Speaker A: Even about the event we had the other week. You were, you, you texted me like, hey, did you get the email about our event? I'm like, yeah, totally, I'm. We're coming.
[00:56:38] Speaker C: Yeah, it's. It's under about 500 emails.
[00:56:41] Speaker A: Right?
You're just one of the little numbers.
[00:56:45] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:56:49] Speaker A: Just kidding. I love you.
[00:56:53] Speaker B: Sorry I put you on the spot, but just have to say it.
That's awesome. That's awesome.
[00:57:01] Speaker A: Do you have any last minute questions from like a buyer or a agent who hasn't used a tc? Andres.
[00:57:10] Speaker B: As an agent, what do I do to get a hold of someone like you?
Where do I find Yuga?
[00:57:17] Speaker C: So there are group. Honestly, because I know that you said that you're with exp. They I'm sure have partners within their company. If not online, there is Facebook groups that you can go on and say, hey, you know, I'm searching for a tc, but honestly, what's best is word of mouth around your business, like where you're located at because you can be licensed in Georgia. And then you know, you have no idea about an Alabama contract. And that's why, you know, we're licensed here and we work here, so we don't try to mess with any other states just because of the liability with that because we're not licensed there.
But online you can find on like Facebook groups you can find. But honestly what I would do is ask other agents in your area who work with a TC and their experience with a tc because that I think would be more beneficial than just looking, you know, just googling TC around me. The word of mouth I think would be very helpful for you and for.
[00:58:26] Speaker B: An agent in Georgia. How can they find you?
[00:58:28] Speaker C: Nicoleandco.net and I'm gonna have that linked.
[00:58:34] Speaker A: So that you guys can have that link and just click there and you can contact Jessica at the website you just said nicoletcode.net right?
[00:58:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:58:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:58:43] Speaker B: Awesome. Awesome. This has been very informative. I appreciate you being here with us completely giving us a different point of view into the transaction of a real estate agent.
So not only us as real estate agents can be more acclimated to that process. And why you go through on that end. But also for consumers, clients that are, are that are looking from the outside and say, okay, that's what he. That's what happened. That's what's happening. This is why it's happening.
And, and at the same time, they can feel more comfortable in that process. Right. Because not only are you there to help the agent, but you're there to make their life a lot easier.
[00:59:24] Speaker C: Absolutely. And set those expectations from the start.
[00:59:28] Speaker B: So, so thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Appreciate you and me.
[00:59:37] Speaker A: And that's it for us today, guys. Thank you for tuning in, watching us live. And again, Jessica, thanks for being here.
And we will see you guys. Oh, Andre, do you want to talk a little bit about what we'll talk about on Thursday or we're going to leave that a mystery.
[00:59:52] Speaker B: Let's keep it a mystery for now.
[00:59:54] Speaker C: All right.
[00:59:54] Speaker A: Give it a mystery for now.
[00:59:57] Speaker B: We'll put something up tomorrow or later on today. And let's keep it going.
[01:00:02] Speaker A: All right. Well, we will see you guys on the next one.
[01:00:06] Speaker B: All right, take care.
[01:00:10] Speaker A: And we are.
