Interview with Brandon Gee Moore - Top Burnaby REALTOR® - RE/MAX Crest

Hey, Matt Parker here. Very excited, super grateful had Brandon Gmore with me today. Brandon, thank you so much for joining me today.

No problem at all. Yeah, it's a pleasure to be on with you.

No, we're lucky to have you. I know you've been, you know, busy, busy guy this year, I'm sure with the market the way it is. And Brandon's with Remax Crest Realty and he's been a top producer there for a few years now. And I like to start off with a fun question and what's one thing not many people know about you?

So one thing that not a lot of people know about me is as successful as I am, as hard as I work and with the industry that I'm in, the one thing I would say that not many people know about me is actually I'm a huge sleeper inner. I do not like to get up early. You know, with the amount of deals that I do, a lot of, you know, everyone's thinking that, you know, wake up at 6am, go to the gym, start my day early. No, I get up at like 9 o'. Clock. I have difficulty getting up at 9 o' clock and you know, I try every. Like this is one of my huge goals is to actually try and wake up early. And I'm slowly, slowly, slowly working on it. But, but yeah, just getting up at like 8:30, 9 o' clock is difficult for me and it always has been growing up so, so interesting.

I've, I've actually been that way too for, for most of my life. It was just until kids, until the kids came, it was like no choice.

Yeah, no choice, right.

It's interesting that. Thank you for sharing because most people, most people wouldn't, wouldn't be that honest. So I appreciate that. And you know, you're probably extremely efficient when you're working then.

Oh, definitely, yeah. I work till from the moment I wake up till the moment I sleep. But you know, sleep, sleep, I get a lot of sleep. So.

Awesome, awesome. Thank you. That's cool, that's fun. How did you get started in real estate, Brandon?

Yeah, so my parents, they're in the business, they've been in the business for a very, very long time. Growing up, I never actually wanted to be a realtor. You know, just seeing the hours that my parents work and seeing the lifestyle that they had, you know, they were never home while raising me and my sister. You know, I never really wanted to be a realtor, but when I was 20 years old, you know, I hadn't really done Much with my life. I was just doing some sales on the side and just kind of enjoying life and you know, my girlfriend who we're still together today, she was like, hey, we should get our real estate license. So I said sure, cool, why not? Let's do it. So we did that. We got started in the business together. I kind of branched off on my own pretty quickly. My girlfriend went into working as an assistant for my parents. Kind of went off on my own. Me and my dad didn't get along very well. And then yeah, I've been on my, been on my own since. You know, my girlfriend, she's, she works with me now as of the last year, year and a half.

Oh cool.

Just when I started getting really busy last year, she wasn't happy. She was working with the city of Burnaby at that time and yeah, we've been working together ever since and yeah, wonderful.

No, that's, yeah, because my interest, it's such an interesting dynamic with family and business and all those different things. I know that you. I worked alongside with sort of my parents mortgage company for many years and then also just say I'm going to go kind of do my own thing sort of different, you know, time to time to do my own thing and. Which I did for a long time and then. But it's family and business can be tricky.

Yeah, definitely have your partner with you. Yeah, it's not the easiest but. But we make it work and yeah, definitely parents especially, you know, dad and son, you know, you just headbutt all the time. Right. So. And it feels better when you know, you earn all the business on your own. Like I went, you know, went and just try and got my business, my own clients which was very difficult to begin with but, but it's definitely feels a lot, a lot more rewarding when you do it on your own. So.

Yeah, no, 100%. 100% and no, I can, I can resonate a lot with what you're saying. So that's, that's nice. That's very similar. What do you love sort of day to day just in terms of, you know, when you're helping clients day to day, what do you love about what you do?

Yeah, well, sleeping in is one thing. If I had it on 9 to 5, I would not be able to sleep until 9 o'. Clock. But. But no, I think the business itself is just something that comes naturally to me. You know, I just, I get along with people, you know, on the side. I mean I'm normally a shy guy but when it comes to real estate, you know, I'm always connecting with clients and I love helping people. I think that's a big thing for me. It feels good when I'm doing the best job that I can for them, especially because I have a lot of clients who, you know, they've had realtors in the past and they were just trying to push them around and get the deal done. And I'm more focused on, you know, making the clients get what they want and making sure the clients get end to end service and, you know, just. Yeah, I think that's kind of what, what I love about what I do. And. Yeah, just, you know, with my parents being, you know, being grown up in the real real estate industry, it just, yeah, the business just comes naturally to me.

So.

Yeah, not something I have to like, you know, not look forward to everything. Yeah, myself. Yeah, exactly. For sure.

Yeah. And I think you brought up a good point, which is like the opportunity to serve, like to be of service, to like truly go in and like actually provide true value from a service standpoint because there are a lot of professionals on both our sides that maybe don't have that same mindset. And that's where, you know, obviously you've probably stood out because of that fact, because of, of this, of the service you provide. So I think that's so, I mean, it's so crucial, especially in a, in a difficult market like we've been in, which, you know, especially if you're, if someone's out there trying to buy a home or, you know, maybe list and then also buy a home, sell and buy creates a lot of, I think what. We've seen a lot of stress for clients these days, so even more opportunity, I think, to sort of provide guidance and support and all those different things throughout because, you know, it has been a difficult year. Um, anything sort of. What's the biggest challenge that you found or that you've been facing over the year in terms of the market that, that, that you faced and sort of how are you tackling it? How are you sort of getting in front of it currently?

Yeah, totally. Yeah. I think there's a couple, I have a couple answers to this question here. I think for me, myself, personally, I think the biggest problem with this market is is getting time to myself like this. Just this, literally from February till now, it's just been working every day, all day, non stop, you know, getting no break. And you know, I'm even trying to take some time off in December just because it's been such a Busy year. But I just can't like middle. I can't get one day where it's just like no one calls me or emails me. It's just every day, you know, at least a couple things, you know, but it's just the business that we're in kind of just have to work around it and you know, take as much time as you can around those busy times. But, but I think in terms of the market, I think the most difficult challenge is, is getting people in. Especially this year with townhouses and houses. You know, I've had clients, we've written, you know, nine to 10 offers before they finally get something. And this is going subject free, going over, asking and still losing.

Yes.

I think that's the biggest challenge is just getting into the market. You know, especially now with the low inventory prices are just going crazier and crazier and it's just non stop. So I definitely think, yeah, just getting into the market is, is the biggest challenge. But you know, there, there are a lot of strategies that we can work around. For example, you know, you got to be accommodating with. It's not just price that wins in multiple offers. You know, as you know, it's, it's no subjects, it's deposit, it's dates. You know, there are multiple factors and I've actually won quite a few battles where we weren't necessarily the highest, but we had a deposit in hand. We, we had gotten the mortgage fully approved before the offer deadline. You know, we were super accommodating with dates and you know, that's all really you can do is just do your best. But I mean a lot, not, not a lot of realtors know these few, these tactics and they end up being the highest in price but they don't win on the other aspects. And there's, there's many aspect that you can win on and that you can beat price. Right?

Yeah. No, it's interesting. I know that you know, like, like what you said, like day to day in our office, it's a lot of hey, we're getting clients ready to put in offers so we have to. Okay, how do we figure out a way that they can a go subject free or you know, how do we get to them that point? Like you're saying, you know, getting it done beforehand. So it's just, I would say yeah. What we've seen from a challenge point of view is, is continually having to do that over and over again and client losing out on the property and then back and doing it again. So it's like that due diligence has been a very difficult thing. And then on the flip side to that is the stress from a buyer's point of view of having to manage expectations, knowing it's a market that they might have to sort of offer on multiple properties before they get the right one or they get the properties. So it's really just, you know, it's been a lot of that, letting you know everything works out, it happens for a reason, all that kind of stuff. But, you know, it's been, like you said, such low inventory that, hard to see where it goes or how it. How it gets solved. Right. I think that's the biggest, biggest concern is what next? Because it's not like if there's a magic supply of housing inventory coming down the pipeline. So.

Well, I mean, they say inventory is the highest, so, you know, just maybe waiting till the spring. But, you know, I had a lot of clients where we've put in multiple, multiple offers on multiple properties, and the one they end up getting is actually the one that they end up being most happy with. And they're like, oh, I'm so glad that I got the property. But, you know, them being upset so many times was, you know, made it happen. Right.

So I do believe, like, I truly believe that things work out for a reason. Like, I think things do come together the way they're supposed to. There's some sort of plan in place. But.

The best. Right. As long as you're doing the best you can, you have a lot of clients that, you know, they say, oh, you know, what if we don't get it? You know, we don't want to pay so much over asking, you know, and just kind of being stubborn. And those people end up making regrets. But, yeah, they end up learning. Right. So in a market like this, well, you brought up a lot of good market. So, yeah.

And you brought up a lot of great tactics that. That you will implement with. With buyers, too. Not necessarily have to be, again, that top price. And it's not always the sort of indicator of the one that's going to be the best offer. Right. Because there are so many different factors. Any memorable. Any sort of properties that you sold or had a client buy or a transaction that you can think of that stands out as very memorable to you or sort of an experience that you could come in and sort of provide even more value of some kind of.

Yeah, definitely. You know, obviously the most expensive home always comes to mind. So the most expensive home I've sold was 2.6 million. And that was this year that was in the crazy market in March. And you know, I told these sellers that it was only worth 2.4 and we ended up pricing it higher. You know, they wanted higher and we ended up getting higher just because the crazy market. So you know, it was definitely the market to take advantage this year. You know, it was a five year old home, 4,000 square foot. So yeah, the, you know, most memorable always comes to the highest price. But you know, another one I thought of was a penthouse suite that I've sold. Phenomenal view of all of Metrotown, all of Richmond. You know, those are, yeah, definitely another high end condo. But, but you know, I think third one on the list is actually the low lowest priced home that I've ever sold or the lowest priced condo, I should say. And I sold it for 175,000 in Maple Ridge at the very bottom peak of the market two years ago. And yeah, it was a one bedroom condo in Maple Ridge and 175 grand. You don't see that anymore.

It's very memorable now, right. Looking at real estate prices today. I mean like you, it's like we grew up around this market and just sometimes you see what something sells for what it's worth today and you go, okay, I guess so, right? I guess, I guess so. But it's tricky and it's pushed people into, it's hard to get into those price points, especially as you get in that 2, 3 plus million. It's ever challenging. So yeah, I'm sure those could stand up for sure. I mean, from the market point of view, I know we talked on a little bit, but any sort of advice on potentially, you know, what the market is dictating or where it's going, or any sort of feedback or advice that you're giving to anyone that's thinking about maybe looking to sell their property or get into their next place.

Yeah, you know, I think we've had such a crazy year for four townhomes, duplexes and houses. Personally, I, I think the condo market's next. I mean, you know, if you look at the average housing prices graph, detached homes have passed its history peak from 2016. Townhomes have significantly passed its peak from 2017, 2018. And now we're left with condos which still haven't yet passed its peak from 20, late 2017, early 2018. And I'm sure you're really very familiar with when that was, when the stress test was implemented. Yes, January 1, 2018. That was a big, big Change in our industry. I think condos are next. We've already noticed in the last month, two months condos are starting to gain momentum, sell way higher than what the last sale was, which people are going like our mind blown. Wow, that sold like $30,000 over what the last one sold for. You know, while the housing market was going crazy. I actually purchased a few condos myself around the summertime and just because I thought that was going to be next and I think next year is going to be a crazy year for condos. So. But that's just my personal opinion. Anything can happen, I think. Yeah, I mean capitalize, definitely capitalizing on the low interest rates is a huge thing because yes, likely next year they'll probably be going up, probably not all at once. It'd probably be a more gradual, gradual thing and you know, you would probably know more about that than I would. But I think definitely locking in a mortgage pre approval, you know, getting in while you can. So you don't know what's going to happen next year. I mean if you're holding real estate long term, the value is always going to go up, Right. And yes, if you're purchasing and you know, you feel like you're overpaying, don't worry because if you're keeping this for five plus years, even if you've overpaid, it's going to continue to go up, maybe go down, you know, throughout the next couple of years. But if you're holding it long, then you know things will always go. Go higher. Right?

Yeah, yeah, I think that so true. It's like I always like to say sort of the trend is your friend. It's like as long as it's trending in the right direction long term, which I think generally speaking, real estate generally is, is more of a long term investment or strategy than then. Yeah. And it's interesting what you say about the condo market because I think, yeah, like, like you said, it's that that gap can still shrink a little bit. Meaning like maybe detached homes, you know, wherever those values do. But I think there's room for that to close down and generally speaking as probably that condo market coming up, not the other way around. So interesting point.

Funny that you did that hand gesture. Whenever I'm explaining it to clients, I always do the same thing. You know, when it goes too high, it's got up and put all the match here. Right. That's awesome.

Very visual. I get it's for myself, I think.

I'm more of a. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

That brings me in just the last one is I talk to clients, I use the term house rich, but I'm, I talk a lot about Smith Maneuver tax deductibility, like accessing equity for investment purposes, whether it's real estate or the market or whatever, like creating wealth from equity growth in the home. We. When I say house rich, anything come to mind from your point of view of what that means to you?

House rich? Yeah, I think to me it's more like, you know, owning your own home and owning the equity in your own home and paying your own mortgage rather than paying somebody else's. Right?

Yes.

If you're renting, you're always paying somebody else's mortgage and it's, you know, as much as it's your, you feel like it's your home and the end of the day it's not. So I think just building your own equity is most important. And that's what I would say what's called house rich. You don't necessarily need to have 10 properties to be considered house rich, but it's more of just building your own home and without even thinking of it. Right. You're saving for retirement without even thinking about it by just paying for where you live on an everyday basis. Right.

And just, I think it's always just a benefit to be in the market is like if you can get in, it's just like what. While being in the market, then you're sort of isolated from the factors of, you know, housing price increases. Because you're in there, you're, you're able to sort of ride that wave or grow with it too. There's my hands going. But, but you know, you can kind of see there's so much opportunity and a lot of our clients have sort of moved up the ladder. Maybe the condo to the townhouse, to the home was because of the fact that they grew with the market over time and built equity for that purpose. So yeah, those all great points.

That's, you know, it's hard for people to understand that sometimes it's like you kind of got to start small, start with a condo, then get into a townhome, you know, over five, this is over a five, 10 year period. And then, you know, the next five, 10 years, then get into a home. It's not, you can't just go straight to a home for the average person. Right. And a lot of people just, they want to save, save, save, save, save until they can get what they want. But then, you know, as much as they're saving, the market always surpasses what they're saving.

Right? Yes. That's. Yeah, the opportunity cost. Makes sense. Yeah. Well, Brandon, thank you so much. Really great information. It was. It was a lot of fun. What's. Where's the best place that anyone can reach out to you or find you?

Yeah, I mean, if you just Google my name, Brandon G. Moore, I'll pop up and. Yeah, I'm good with all sorts of contacts. Phone, text, email, however, WhatsApp. However you want to reach out to me, I'll be answering you.

I appreciate it. Thanks again. And we'll be in touch.

Sounds good.

Okay. No.