WELCOME

Hello! I feel extra inspired today, so I hope y’all are ready for a pep talk in today’s story time section. There’s just something so invigorating about the changes that fall brings that I can hardly contain myself. Regardless of the 90 degree temps earlier this week in the ATL, believe me when I tell you I am wearing sweaters inside my heart.

So let’s get into the thick of it!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

So this is a little odd, as in it’s never happened to me before. I have two different buyers under contract and in both cases, the sellers’ agents got a hold of me and said, “Hey, here’s our inspection report from a couple of weeks ago, do you want it or do you want to go ahead with your own inspection?”

In both cases, I gave my buyers the option to accept or deny, and in both cases they cancelled their own inspections, choosing to take the previous inspector’s word for it.

Now, I have a love/hate relationship with previous inspections. When I am in the backup position and the primary buyer has the inspection and uses those results to squeeze the seller, I love it because I can use their zeal to hedge my bets and maybe move my backup further up the list. Mind you, I am not 100% dependent on it, but I can definitely review it and especially when I know who the inspector is, I can give it the weight of my influence.

However, I am against when my buyers are dependent on someone else’s inspection because I never want them to have to come back to me and say that I should have told them to get their own inspection.

In these cases, I always say, “Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, I want to make sure that we’ve had this conversation and I am going to follow it up with an email saying that I believe you’re going to want to get your own inspection.” (This is one of the many things you’ll learn when you’ve been selling real estate since Jesus was a baby.) I tell them, “Two sets of eyes are better than one,” especially if the first inspector misses something.

In this situation, it goes one of two ways, as in they take it or they don’t. And for the first time ever, both buyers decided to accept the earlier inspection, as both sets of these buyers are weekend warriors and they’re not afraid of having to make some tweaks. That said, I’m always trying to verify my buyers’ tolerance to repairs and to their expectations on condition, so I put the option in front of them with my caveat. Personally, it gives me that peace of mind to get them to verify on paper if they’re going to smash or pass on a second inspection, even though I’m advising them to smash.

So I’m curious—how do y’all handle it when your buyer says they’re fine with an inspection from the previous thirty days? Let me know on my Instagram!

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STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

Today Is the First Day

Oh, boy, there’s nothing like a fresh new rate cut to make everything seem shiny and bright! Couple that with the first day of fall and to me, it feels like I’ve embarked on the first day of the rest of my life in real estate.

I’m looking at all of this as the hard reset we’ve needed. You know how people always say to pay off your lowest balance credit card first? They say that because a paid-off card helps you gain momentum. It helps you gather some wind beneath your wings. So let’s use that principle and apply it to selling real estate.

Let’s get ourselves rolling.

The easiest way to start is to check the hot sheet to see what’s new on the market. Make that the first thing you do. The second thing you should do is think about everyone you’ve talked about real estate to in the last 90 days. The rates are down, the season has changed, and everything is just a little different now. Use that to your advantage. So I want you to either call those people—or find a new set of people to call.

The third thing I want you to do takes a little more consideration, as it will expand through the end of this year. For the next 90 days, I want you to decide what you’re going to focus on and take that time to master it. You have from now until the Christmas holiday to become the foremost expert in something. For example, let’s say you’re going to learn everything you can about selling in Smyrna. (Personally, I’m talking about Smyrna, GA, but if you want to make it about the ancient Greek city on the Aegean Coast, that sounds like fun, too.)

If you want to know how to master Smyrna, GA, or Smyrna, Greece (now called Izmir, FYI), the method is the same. I want you to learn every single thing about Smyrna. I want you to preview every house on the market. “But, Glennda,” you might say, “that’s 126 houses.” Great! Do five of them a day and you’ll have it done in less than a month! I want you to go to Smyrna’s football games, I want you to hang out in Smyrna, I want you to have dinner there because the other patrons are most likely from Smyrna. Sit at the bar. Find someone to talk real estate with. Heck, make Smyrna your whole dang personality. Make yourself synonymous with Smyrna.

If it’s not about learning either of the Smyrnas, I don’t care. My point is that you do three to five small, executable things every day between now and the end of the year because that is how you gain your mastery of your goal in the next 90 days. And then do you know what happens? MAGIC!! You’re going to kick off January with closings! The 90 days you spend getting that ball rolling now are going to be your launch pad for Q1 of 2025. And how great would it be to start your year already being able to count your wins?

If neither Smyrna is your thing, no worries. You can spend your 90 days in other pursuits. Here’s an idea—with these rate cuts, I want you to look at every single person who bought a home from you in the past two years. Then I want you to pick up the phone and call your preferred lender. For me, that’s Brian. Brian worked with the majority of those buyers we sold houses to. Have your Brian look at what their rate was when they closed and put you together a rate sheet of what it would look like if they refinanced. And if you’re like, “But Glennda, how does that make me any money?” Oh, I promise you, if you’re doing that for your lender, and he runs across someone without an agent, yours will be the first name on his lips.

Then I want you to let every one of your clients know what their payment would be now if they were to refinance. Let’s say they bought in October of 2022 at 7.6%. If they decided to refinance now, they’d save $500/month. No one’s going to be mad at you if you not only got them in their dream home, but now you’re saving them $6,000 per year because when you sold it, you reminded them they were marrying the house, not the rate. (Now, you don’t have to suggest they put that $6,000 savings into a trip to Smyrna, Greece, but it sure does sound nice.)

So this is it.

This is your sign.

Take the next 90 days and start the ball rolling on a mastery project so you look at the new year like Travis looks at Taylor.

GLENNDA’S GURU

Welcome, Tristan

I could not be more delighted to introduce y’all to my friend Tristan Ahumada! Tristan is a real firecracker, as he became the Rookie of the Year at Century 21 when he was practically still a baby. (24 is a baby in my book.) But he wasn’t satisfied with just being a success on his own—he wanted to bring everyone along for the ride. That’s why he founded the Facebook group Lab Coat Agents, which now has more than 137,000 members (OMS!) and is a leading educational resource. And did I mention that in 2015, his team surpassed $100M in production and he’s now in the top 1% of agents? That is why I am just thrilled to introduce y’all! Enjoy!

Thank you, Tristan!

GLENNDAISM

It’s the Ultimate Resource

GO HOMES.COM WITH GLENNDA

I’m Still Not Over It

Okay, this is not my listing. This is not even in my state. But I got to preview this home for Estate Media and I swear to you, I am still weak in the knees for having seen it. I’m talking about this absolute stunner. Oh, my stars and stripes, love at first sight is possible… and y’all would not even believe who once owned this property.

And as always, with Homes.com, it’s your listing, your lead