Million Dollar Listing LA Episode 3

Million Dollar Listing LA – Episode 3

Another week of positive comments from Altman, Flagg and ………….?  Oh yea Madison..  I think I may have offended Mr. Hildebrand with my past blogs because I have not heard from him…  Oh well, you can’t please everyone..

This week opens up with Josh and Heather having the open house at that beautiful condo.  Seemed to going great.  Good vibe in the room, plenty of brokers, Josh and Heather doing their thing and then… I mean really!!  Madison shows up because he wants to see what was worth Heather leaving him..  Closure is one things but showing up at this open house was childish.  I understand they were friends outside of work and she was an integral part of his life, but to show up there was unnecessary.  I am hoping that was Bravo drama and not Madison drama..  Jury is definitely out on that one.  I want to watch Million Dollar Listing not Million Dollar Kindergarten.  Josh’s listing in Melrose was a nice piece of work by the “flippers”.  I think they paid attention to details and spent a considerable amount of money, I will say well spent on the finishes.  I also think they did a nice job of staging the house post construction.  It showed well.  Josh’s idea of pricing the property where he wanted to was a good call.  We constantly see a theme of owners over pricing themselves in this tough market and that my friends is not Bravo drama.  Us brokers deal with that on a daily basis.  Furthermore, a $300k profit on that flip is pretty damn good.  I would like to know why that profit margin was their absolute bottom line?  Unless they are way over-leveraged, I can’t think of anything other than greed…  Hope to find out.  I just might have to ask Josh directly on this one.  Ok..  Mikey…  NO DOUBLE DIPPING!!!!  You don’t stir the lemonade and then re-insert the spoon after you taste it..  Josh, buddy, cater the damn open houses please!!!!!!!!!  At the end of the day, Josh did exactly what he said with this property.  He created the buzz, the open house was very active and in the end, he produced 2 offers.  I think the “flippers” were dead wrong on their attitude toward both offers.  What people fail to realize is that the market determines pricing, not us brokers.  Josh brought 2 very valid offers.  One was all -cash and all-cash buyers expect a discount.  The other was a full price offer with a mortgage contingency.  They should have strategized instead of chastised..   Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered..  Next week’s opening scene should be at a slaughter house..

Mr. Flagg..  Gabby was a tough one..  Her timeframe was immediate but her sense of urgency was not.  I did say in last week’s blog that I hoped the quality of the rentals was better this week and I was not disappointed.  Josh showed her some decent choices and in the end they finally did a deal.  I was holding my breath wondering if the problem client was ever going to make a decision..  One thing I was surprised at was when Josh called the other broker in front of his clients.  I never like to do that but in this case it turned out perfect.  Gabby was able to hear, straight from the brokers mouth that the current tenants were extending their lease and the timing would not work.  Her second choice was definitely not disappointing and in the end she seemed happy.  Josh did teach us a valuable lesson in that this deal was not one where he made a lot of money.  He did it for the referral aspect of what could come his way in future business.  I was happy that he remains humble with his success and works hard for ALL clients.  I will tell you from experience that this approach works.  I recently was approached by a family friend to help with a luxury rental.  During my search, I was hired by an owner seeking to sell their $4MM ocean front home.  I closed the rental transaction at $12,500 per month and got the multi-million dollar listing.  Josh definitely has his business mind heading in the right direction.

No one will argue that Madison seems to have a nice relationship with his family.  Seeing them interact in that gorgeous home in Park City was nice.  I was happy to be able to see Madison as a brother and a son and not a winey businessman.  I am sure no one will argue that the 2 homes owned by his family were spectacular.  Phil Hildebrand was the Vice Chairman of NY Life.  Obviously he has done very well in life and he was a very respected businessman.  More on that in my closing.  I think having Madison interview agents to see if they will have the ability to work well with his Dad in selling home #1 was a good thing.  I provide the same service to clients in states where I am not licensed and it adds a level of comfort for sellers to have someone in their corner that they respect and trust.  Madison was fully engaged in the process and I am sure he will pick a Realtor that will do a great job.  His brother did have a great perspective when he said that you have to put work aside sometimes and enjoy life.  A balance needs to be struck.  I hope Madison keeps life and business in perspective and chills….

Phil Hildebrand was a college athlete playing football for Arizona University.  Unfortunately he did not graduate and left school to begin a career.  He once said, “You don't have to have an Ivy League degree to be successful," Hildebrand says, "but you do have to have a balance between work, family and enjoying life, and you can't be afraid to dream big."  Those are some very prophetic words to live by.  There are many successful people that did not go to college and have gone on to be successful in life.  I am not talking about monetary success.  Success can be illustrated by having a great family, a healthy relationship with a spouse or partner, well-adjusted children and a decent balance in life.  Our world is a stressful place and at the end of the day, health and happiness are worth more than any amount of money.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I never went to college.  I have a successful business and a wonderful family life.  My wife is my partner in every respect and our children are our world.  I work hard and I dream REALLY BIG.  The following is an excerpt from something I wrote about success..  I would like to share…

“It’s never a mountain that trips us up, it’s always the bumps along the way.  It is important to remember this and enjoy the moment.  Successful people do successful things every day.  This does not occur by accident, it occurs because we think it and we act.  Don’t take it for granted.  Know that you gained success because you went and took it, it did not come to you.  Yes, some will say, that your success came because you were lucky or in the right place at the right time.  That may be true but even if it was in front of you, you still had to reach out and take hold of it, nurture it, build it but most if all, you have to sustain it..”