THRIVE Show featuring Lisa Hart & Noah Conner - The Real Impact In Real Estate In COVID-19

Hey guys, welcome to the Thrive Show where we are talking all about creating a healthy lifestyle. a thriving business and a life of intention even amidst the coronavirus chaos. I have here today a special team that I am so excited to share with you guys. They're one of my favorite teams ever. As a matter of fact, I've had the opportunity to work with them both and they are amazing. And they're going to share with us all about what's going on in the real estate world. I know a lot of you guys have this on the top of your mind. whether you're selling, whether you're buying, whether you're in between or just wondering about it. So we have today Lisa Hart and Noah Connor from Windermere Central Oregon Real Estate Redmond Branch. I am so excited. So welcome, Lisa and Noah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Awesome. So we were talking a little bit before we pressed record. And you know, the thing that is coming up for a lot of people is, What's going on in the real estate world? How do I sell a house when we're so worried about germs and spreading and we're— maybe you're in shelter-in-place. So what are you guys seeing?

Yeah, well, we are seeing a huge decline right now in buyers out in the market because they, they don't know, you know, what to do. And our sellers are concerned as well about having people come into their homes. So we're just educating our sellers and our buyers and giving them different opportunities to do it in a different way and in a new way. So we're doing things like virtual tours, and we're doing things that— to where that someone can look at it online. Or, you know, Noah, you know, has a way where, you know, he could go and do it on FaceTime.

Mm-hmm.

You know, walk through the house for you and have you be seeing it, you know, that way.

Then we just have to worry about one set of gloves, one set of booties, you know, all that, because I can just go in myself. Yeah, do— I mean, there's so many options. If you don't have an iPhone, don't do FaceTime, you can do Facebook, has a free video chat. And so there's so many ways now to do it that we're just adjusting to this being our new normal.

That's awesome. Because I know that, you know, the shift to technology— I mean, I'm an online entrepreneur, and I know that the shift to technology has been a little bit challenging for people. And it sounds like you guys have this all dialed in.

Well, we kind of got thrown into it like everyone else. And we've, we've had to, you know, our, our office is pretty much closed. We do have our receptionist is still here, but, and she takes care of the phones and that sort of thing. But we're doing all of our meetings online. We're doing them through Zoom and that sort of thing. And, you know, so we're just meeting with clients, you know, on the phone a lot or however they want to meet us, you know, Zoom or on a conference call, however, whatever it takes. Yeah. You know, we have, we have some elderly clients. We have a few elderly clients that are concerned about people being in their house. And so those houses in particular, we're getting virtual tours done on so that they don't have to let anyone in until maybe just like those, like that's the house they want for sure. And then we'll make arrangements to get the people in. But we can do a lot online. And the world is still moving.

It is, and people are on their computers more, they're at home more, looking at Zillow and things more. So, you know, a lot of what we hear right now is that we're at a dead stop, but really things are moving in the background. You know, the gears are turning, and it's gonna be really quick when we'll start to see that, you know, kinda come out. We were talking a little earlier about the whole, you know, can't hit neutral before, or can't hit go from reverse before you hit neutral. And that's where we were. We hit a dead stop for a second. Everyone kind of freaked out. They go, how do we look at houses? How do we do these tours? And we didn't know either, you know, 'cause this is so new to all of us.

Right.

So, and we were just talking a little earlier today about, you know, you can call and call and you will not find a real estate expert on pandemic response.

No.

'Cause none of us have ever been here. We don't, you know, so it's just adapting day by day is just—

But we're still working.

Yeah, every day.

I love it. That is so funny. I actually just went on a little bit of a tangent in my Facebook group about still showing up in this time. So I am loving, because for those of you who don't know, I'm going to brag for them. This team is so phenomenal at what they do. Team Hart, Lisa Hart has been around for over 30 years in this area, has been through it all, 2008, the whole thing.

Yeah.

And then Noah came in recently, which has been such a joy, such a charm, such a great skill set to this team addition. And, you know, like, this is why I have the people that I have on this show, because we're still showing up. Yeah, you can still thrive in this time. So, so hear that.

Yep. And we just listened on a podcast, he just said, you know, you can't plant your seeds when it's time to harvest. And just like I said, behind the scenes, the, you know, the gears are turning. And so we need to be planting our seeds now. Because yeah, a lot of people in this industry are sleeping right now. And then, you know, we'll be harvesting because, you know, no days off, you know, TGIF, grind includes Fridays. So.

Yes, I love that because it's so true. You know, some people are taking this as a time off. And what I'm seeing from people who are successful— Lisa's like, what? But no, seriously, I'm talking to entrepreneurs that are like, well, you know, I'm just using this time to like lay in bed. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like, it's not— and I know your guys' hearts.

Yeah.

Is that, you know, you show up to serve.

Yeah.

And that, that's huge. That's gonna like, that just speaks so much about your character and who you are.

Thank you. And not only that, it's I love what I do. I absolutely love being in the market, you know, selling real estate, working with people, finding their dream home, giving them their keys, selling their home so they can step up and move into a bigger, more beautiful house. Or selling to move closer to their family and their, you know, their goals are being met. This is my heart. This is what I love doing. And, you know, we don't want to stop because, you know, there's someone's hit pause.

Yes.

We don't have to stop. Just pausing. And we're, we're adjusting to the new normal, you know. You know, we can't control What it is right now, but we can go with the flow and continue, continue on. Um, you know, we're here to navigate this time. We're going to navigate through this together. And, you know, we're going to sell houses and we're going to help people buy houses because they need to be, you know, they need to have a shelter. Noah was teasing the other day and he said something about That folks are gonna wanna get a new house when they get done with this because they've been in this— what were you saying?

They've been in their house for, yeah, 2 months straight and they're like, I hate this house. I figured out that I never enjoyed it and I'm ready to leave. So I really think that we'll see a lot of that this summer. And also just as far as it becoming our new normal, we were heading this way for a long time. You know, when Zillow started taking over and things like that. I mean, there's been a lot of talks in the realtor world about how we're going to adapt to, you know, those, those new websites that are kind of taking a lot of the personal side out of it.

That's true.

And so this is gonna be, I think, a big exodus for realtors who can't keep up with the times. The times are gonna change, and, and this is like a force— it's a forced change, you know. It was coming and it was coming, but here it is. Like, we are here, we are in the change, and yeah, you adapt or you die.

So I cannot agree with you anymore. And you know what, this— I'm seeing this across every industry right now. You know, um, I also, I do ministry in my church. And so like, we were already heading that way. And so the moment this hit, we were like, okay, great. Let's get in the studio. Let's keep rolling. Like, in, in every single industry online, you know, I work with a lot of different business owners. And I see that like, this was like this, this pivot that was happening. And like, this just forced us into really accepting it.

Yeah.

Yep, exactly. And I believe that from here on out, this is, this is gonna be like, maybe not to this capacity, but this will be a new normal.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And we've been changing, you know, it's, it's always just adapting. You know, she was telling me that they used to, you know, scratch addresses off a piece of paper, you know, look at all the listings in town, and that was how we did it.

Yep.

And so, you know, and it just keeps coming with change as we keep adapting, change keeps coming in now. Yeah, showing 8 or 9 houses in a day might become less popular and people will really narrow it down because our video tours are gonna get better.

Yep.

And our photos are gonna get better. And yeah, and our, you know, our descriptions and everything. Like, it's forcing us to be better at what we do and more thorough in, yeah, letting, letting these properties be seen, right, without actually seeing them right now.

So yeah.

I love that because I can imagine as a realtor and as a buyer, like, I'm thinking of the people out there right now who are thinking about selling And we have people from all over the world. So it's hard to say what their specific situation is. For those of you who don't know, here in Oregon, we're in shelter in place. We can still, you know, travel, but they haven't shut down everything as of yet. You know, things change day by day. But, um, you know, someone who's thinking about buying, like for me, honestly, I could get into a lot more houses just scrolling on my phone and looking at tours. As opposed to actually physically driving around. So I feel like this could be a really great shift.

Yeah.

And like she said, it's a forced change. It's where we were headed already. So it's just now it's being forced upon us.

So, you know, and I think that there is still the need to do a little bit of driving just in that you can do the visual tour of the inside, but you can't smell or see the neighborhood.

Yes.

So that's kind of something that you're still going to have to do on your own. But, but that you can do in the safety of your own car. And then you can, you know, see if that's a neighborhood that is somewhere you want to live, and then reach out to your, your agent. And, you know, let's, let's minimize how many we're actually getting inside of homes we're getting inside of, you know. But yeah, we are, we are actually busy. We do still have people that are seeing some of our listings. And we've received a few offers in this time. And so, you know, we still are working.

Things are moving.

We're still busy.

Things are moving.

So, and then there's going to be changes in the appraisal market as well, where the appraisers are going to be doing more be doing more drive-by, pay more attention to the pictures. And, you know, won't be coming into a home unless they really necessarily need to, you know. So that's going to change as well.

Wow. Yeah, that's interesting. That's something I wouldn't even think about, like the appraisers need to come in. And then there might even be like insurance people that are walking through the house. There's a lot of things that sound like are going to be different.

Right, home inspectors, getting a home inspection. We are still seeing home inspectors doing their inspections, but they're just bringing, you know, a sanitation, you know, sanitation with them and wiping everything down after they've, you know, touched it. So, you know, they're going to still need to be in your home. But, but it's going to minimize— we're minimizing a lot of traffic.

Yeah, but it sounds like your team, maybe as an industry, as your, your company, you guys have really like thought this out.

Yes.

Yes. No other option. You have to, you know, because we have to keep surviving. So yeah, I mean, we have to just think of everything we can. And it takes a lot of new podcasts and things that are coming out. I'm sure if you've watched any TV, just about every commercial is about this, and the program that you're watching is about it probably too. Unless it's Tiger King. So, yeah, so it's just, yeah, we got to be on our game. It's the only option.

So, yeah.

Full disclosure for the people who are watching, I didn't know what Tiger King was before this interview. I'm so— I feel like I should be embarrassed. But Miss Hart here is representing the Tiger King, so Whoop whoop to any fans out there.

It's funny, it's really funny actually. But yeah, I don't think that fear is going to be, you know, what we really need to do right now. I think we just, you know, that's gonna generate more fear. And, you know, that's not what Noah and I are about. We are not about fear. We're gonna stay calm. We're gonna help anybody that has questions about this to navigate this. You know, and, and then we'll just use all the tools available to find you a home or sell your home. In, you know, in this, in this changing world, it can be done. It definitely can be done.

So I'm wondering with that, what advice would you give somebody who right now, maybe they're sitting at home watching this and they're like, yeah, you know, I've really been thinking about selling my home, maybe I'm relocating, maybe I just want to upgrade. But they're nervous, like that person who's sitting there right now going, oh my gosh, this just seems really overwhelming. And you know, with, with all of the unknown and the chaos and all of that, like sometimes our— we just— simple tasks like that can be very overwhelming. What advice would you give to them?

True.

Yeah.

Well, recently, I mean, I think you need to check with the state. If you're going to move out of state, you need to check with that state. and make sure that their borders are not closed, because we have run across that recently where someone wanted to move from Bend, Oregon to the state of Washington, and they couldn't get their moving truck across state lines. So those are things that you're gonna have to do now that we've never had to do before. Check on those kind of things. But if you're moving locally, you know, it's not a big deal. There's still moving companies—

Yeah.

That we're familiar with. That are doing a lot of moving.

Yeah, I have a very close friend who works with a moving company here locally, and he's worked every single day since the lockdown. Because people know, yeah, they're like, I don't know what's happening, but we gotta, we gotta do what we're doing. And so that's what I was kind of talking to her about was, you know, if your plans were to buy a home or sell a home in this time of the year, don't let this totally scare you away because business is still happening, deals are still getting done. The world's still turning a little slower than normal, but it's still moving. So if it was in your plans, go ahead. And if it wasn't, maybe look at, you know, some of the things coming around, 'cause we're gonna see some price changes and see a lot of things changing. Just keep an eye on it, you know? And we'll see where we're at in, you know, 2 months or a month or, you know, but every day things are still moving.

Wheels are still turning.

Love it.

That is great advice. And so I was curious too, as far as, you know, like what kind of precautions specifically are you guys taking when you do have someone touring a home?

Well, we, we asked them to take their own car now. I used to love to have people in my car. It's my favorite thing. Because I love talking to people while we're in the car in between places. But Now we have to have them bring their own car and we have to have them meet us there. And then we just ask them not to touch things. I'll be the one to touch things. We'll try to keep a distance between us, you know, that— well, we do keep a distance between us. So I'll touch doorknobs, I'll touch the light switches if that's necessary, walk them around the property, that kind of thing. Is really the only changes that I can think of.

Yeah, yeah. We were, we were thinking of getting a couple of those big Zorb soccer balls that you can go inside of to give yourself a 6-foot radius, but we figured we might break furniture and things that way. So we're gonna just go with like the imaginary bubble. Yeah, but yeah, we all speak imaginary bubble. And so I just, you know, I think that everyone's cautious about this. And so generally, You're not gonna have somebody that's walking around right now and just touching everything like, you know, like a kid or something, you know, that I would say probably if you're touring homes with your kids, maybe have them stay in the car.

Yeah.

Like that. But yeah, it's really just, it's, it's an individual responsibility. If you're out looking at homes, you know, you should know how you should, you know, act. And that's just to basically keep your space, keep your distance. And that's what we're trained to do is to do the same. Right now.

So if you're sick, and if you have a cough, stay home, stay home, you know, same thing. Same, it goes, you know, it goes just like that. So because you don't want to bring anything into someone's house, you don't want to do that. No one would do that, you know. So, but there is one other thing that if the house is being rented by tenants, there's a good chance we're not going to be able to see it.

Oh.

Because landlords really can't ask tenants to leave their home with the stay-at-home, you know, in place. What's— so, so if it has tenants in it, you're probably not going to get to see it. You just have to rely on the, on the virtual tour or the, or him or me or someone going in and doing a FaceTime, you know. With you. So yeah, that's pretty much the only changes I can think of.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just, it's a, it's just a lot less in-person right now, you know. And so, but that's, that's, that can be just as good for realtors because, you know, we want to be talking to people on the phone. You know, we, we make a lot of calls in the middle of the day when people are generally might be at work. And right now, you know, a lot of them aren't. And so we get to talk to people that we don't normally get to talk to. And so it's, yeah, it's really good. There's, you know, it's There's a lot of positives in this, and I feel like it's easy for us as a collective to get down on things and see the negatives of kind of where we're at. But, you know, we're getting more quality family time, you know, things like that. We're all getting to be together without being together. You know, we all kind of feel like we're sharing a joint purpose to kind of get this to go away, you know.

Yeah.

And yeah, so.

Yeah, I love that because it is, it's almost like You know, for those people who were around and remember this, like 2001 when the Twin Towers were hit, right? There was that feeling of togetherness and we were all in it together. It's that same feeling. Yeah, you know, like that even when there's something happening in the nation, like we still have that like brotherhood and that sisterhood and we're all in this together.

Yes, absolutely.

And even more so, I would say, even more so because there's just so much efficacy with it where We, you know, it's like we all have an individual responsibility, you know, like with that, that was, that was brought us together patriotically, but this is like, you know, we all know that we all need to do our part. So it's, it's actually could be seen as kind of a cool thing, you know.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, I'm kind of painfully optimistic sometimes, but we're all learning so much and appreciating human connection that I think a lot of times people may have found annoying or, you know, things like that, kind of shaking their fist at the world. And when they come out, I think we're going to see a lot of different people.

Absolutely. I agree. I think that in this, like, what I'm seeing is this, this shift of what's really important, like our priorities and getting back to those basics that, yeah, like appreciative of your families and people that you haven't reached out to, you, you get to connect with them again and just really finding out who you really are, you know, and it's, it is, there's some beauty in it. There's a lot of beauty.

Yeah, there is. There is. And there's hope. And there's hope. I believe in hope. So I'm a big hope fan.

There is hope. That's beautiful. I love it. You guys, thank you so much, Lisa, Noah. You guys are amazing. Thank you for coming on here and sharing with us your wisdom and your knowledge of everything that's going on. Because, you know, Again, we don't know, things change day by day, it could shift again. But it sounds like you guys are really tapping in and getting to just shifting. You're like, you know, like we talked about Apple earlier. That's one of their biggest things is they know how to innovate. And they know how to pivot. And this is what I'm hearing that you guys are doing in the real estate market.

Yep.

So for anyone who's watching this that wants to get ahold of you, has questions, you know, maybe they're thinking about selling their home, how do they contact you?

Well, I would say call me. My number is 541-788-2278. You can also look us up on Facebook.

We have a Facebook page, The Heart Team.

Heart Team on Facebook. Yeah, I think you're a part of that too, Val, so they can see you from our link. And, you know, Google us.

Yeah.

We're on Google. And, you know, Windermere, just look up Windermere in Redmond and you'll find us too.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Yeah, and I can put those links below too so they can find you easily. So thank you guys so, so much. This has been so much fun.

Thank you.

Absolutely. And thank you guys. We will see you tomorrow on the Thrive Show.

Bye.