Welcome to my rebranded monthly connection. Still no recipes. Not because I dislike food (I eat almost daily). I’ll leave the cooking instructions to someone else. I’m curating meaningful content from three key areas of my life.
- Real Estate (wealth) – My business coach says we don’t have time to make every mistake ourselves, so I’ll share interesting lessons from clients, colleagues, or the industry. Real estate isn’t just about wealth-building, but let’s be honest—it’s a big piece of the puzzle and typically the largest part of most people’s net worth.
- Stoicism (wisdom) – My coach got me hooked on this 2000-year-old philosophy back in 2017, and it’s been shaping how I live, work, and parent ever since. Think ancient wisdom for modern living. Expect a powerful quote or story from the Stoics, and its relevance modern-day. It’s amazing to me that as much as humans and technology have evolved over the last 2,000 years, the Stoics focus on wisdom, courage, justice, and discipline continue to withstand the test of time and be relevant.
- Health & Longevity (wellness) – I geek out on biohacking, health, fitness and longevity, so I’ll share the best insights from what I’m reading and listening to (without making you buy weird supplements).
Oh, and if I dropped any new 805 Talk podcast episodes on inheriting a home or estate planning and how they relate to real estate, I’ll link those too. Here we go!
WEALTH:
The tale of two offers:
What Happens When You’re the First (or Only) Offer on a New Listing?
You’ve found the perfect home—in the right neighborhood and at the right price. If you’re the first or only offer at the time, how should you approach it?
Challenge #1. You don’t want to pay more than you have to.
Challenge #2. It typically takes about two weeks for a new listing to reach all serious, prepared buyers—those with financing in place who have been actively searching and submitting offers.
Example #1: Not taking any chances
My client’s condo was listed at $549,900. On the first day, one of the first buyers to see it loved it and offered full price. Since the home was so new to the market, I advised my client to counter at $555,000, which the buyer accepted. The deal closed at the higher price. Could this buyer have gotten a little lower price? Probably, though they didn’t want to take a chance.
Example #2: The Risky Lowball
A week after listing a home at $949,900, my client received a low offer of $875,000. The buyer was likely testing how much of a discount they could get, especially since there were no other offers. The seller countered at $927,000, and the buyer came up to $900,000. Meanwhile, a second buyer emerged, offering the full asking price.
Although buyer #2 increased their offer to $960,000, buyer #1 raised their offer to $950,000 and the seller chose their offer. It was a close call for buyer #1.
Key Takeaway
As a buyer, remember, if you give the seller a reason to counter an offer, that gives time for other buyers to enter the buying process—and ultimately cause you to pay more, or not get the house.
WISDOM:
When Marcus Aurelius became emperor, he was without question the most powerful person on the planet at the time. While he possessed the power and wealth to dominate most any situation, he was an introspective person and had a focus on self-improvement. Not many emperors cared to live that way.
He journaled many evenings. Not to publish a book, to connect with himself. Somehow these journal entries survived thousands of years and is published in various interpretations entitled “Meditations.”
One of many entries that stand out. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Ryan Holiday wrote a book on this thought alone entitled, “The Obstacle is the Way.” Often, what we want isn’t readily available and we must overcome a challenge, multiple challenges or some type of adversity to get there. We will never have any idea how close or how far away we are from the accomplishment we desire.
In “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill recites a story during the gold rush of a father and son who sold everything they had, staked a claim of land, bought the necessary mining equipment, and got digging. When they gave up and sold everything for pennies on the dollar, they had no idea they were only a few feet away from striking an enormous vein of gold.
WELLNESS:
I recently listened to a podcast that stood out called Improve Your Vision Forever. You can click the link to listen to the episode. While the episode is not focused on a $500 app (a $200 discount is available) the host and guest are selling, 3 exercises are offered.
I plan to purchase the app, but first, I’m incorporating these exercises into my routine to build the habit. While I’m not yet consistent, I’m already noticing some improvement.
If you’d like the three exercises without listening to the episode, let me know and I’ll send you my notes. If you decide to try them or purchase the app, I’d love to hear your feedback.
I’m excited to see how my eyesight progresses by my next exam in December!
THANK YOU! Thank you for reading!