Guru Chris Imel with Chris Imel Realtor

Ian Arnold: 0:00

Hey, Rick, we had Chris mo on today, and he's a guru and a phenomenal one. And what do you what's go? What do you think you got most out of this? I, first of all, he has a very diverse background, which, you know, the fact that somebody can go and tell people go to somebody's house after there's been an accident and and, and give them that terrible news just shows he can he he has a lot of compassion, you know, volunteer firemen, that type of thing. But he also with that he can talk to people. And I think that's any any cares about people. And I think that's what shows not. I mean, obviously, he has tremendous knowledge. And real estate is a phenomenal agent. And he's doing extremely well. So it's just very interesting guy I thought to talk to Yeah, I did, too. I mean, the stuff that he's been the jobs prior to what he does now is built a built him for what he is doing. Now he is growing his team getting, becoming a mentor to other people. And so if you are looking at buying, selling, or looking to possibly get into the business and have a mentor, you definitely need to listen to this. Welcome to India's real estate gurus, your ultimate guide to the dynamic world of real estate in Indiana, and I'm recruited by your hard work and mortgage guy and I've been in real estate and mortgages for over 24 years. And I'm Ian Arnold, a loan officer on brakes hard work in mortgage game, and we're both with advisors Mortgage Group together will empower you with expert advice, market trends, assessable stories from Guru realtors and local experts. Whether you're a homeowner, investor or pro Join us as we navigate the thriving in the real estate market. Now get ready to unlock the doors of success. One episode at a time. I'm excited today. So as he and I believe, you know, nobody has never excited. He's not excited. We have Chris, MO. And Chris, you're a huge agent. I know you do a ton of listings. But before we get into your real estate, let's go back into your background. Where'd you grow up? You know, tell us about yourself? Yeah, absolutely.

Chris Imel: 2:12

So I've lived in Indiana, most of my life. I grew up in Columbus, Indiana, Greensburg, Indiana, moved there when I was in high school, that area have pretty much lived in that general area in Indianapolis my whole life, done a lot of things. So it's not always been a real estate. I've run a lot of restaurants and did a lot of jobs like that. And I'm always that person that's had two jobs at one time. So I've kind of done a little bit of everything. I did get my license first when I'm back in 2009. I had them for three or four years. And to be honest with you, I just really wasn't that good at it. And I don't think I was really ready for for the business. So I got out of it. And I didn't I went back to run and restaurants and things like that. I'm a volunteer firefighter. I was a deputy coroner and the county I lived in for a while. So I've done a little bit of everything. And I finally got my real estate license back and really took it serious. And I've done great since. Well,

Ian Arnold: 3:04

I got to know. Yes. I don't know whether a deputy coroner or coroner does I see what they show on TV. But yeah, what did you actually have to do? So as

Chris Imel: 3:14

a deputy coroner, you're not the elected official. So there's an elected official in every county in the state of Indiana, that's the actual coroner and the deputy coroner are appointed people that are appointed by that coroner. And so when when someone does pass away, and there's any type of reason that maybe suspicious death or anything like that, they are called to the scene or there's an accident or something like that, and you work the scene, you gather information, you you alert the family, I mean, sometimes the you are you are the person who's going to the house to alert the family that something's happened, which I think is one of the things that's given me such a good aspect in this business or any business is I can talk to people at no matter what stage of their life they're at. And I can have compassion no matter what stage of the life they're at. And so I think that's just helped me adapt to be able to talk to people.

Ian Arnold: 4:02

I would think that that's a tough one. I've had worked with retired police officers and they said that was you never knew how somebody is going to react when

Chris Imel: 4:10

you open the door. And if you expected one way, it's gonna be the total opposite.

Ian Arnold: 4:13

Is it sometimes they want to punch you and other times they drop on the ground? Yes. Yeah. Yep. So that must make doing cold calls easy for you. It's easy. Yeah, that's easy. Yeah, I

Chris Imel: 4:23

don't I don't mind the phone calls and the cold calls. And, and yeah, I mean, it's definitely a better aspect in that. That's,

Ian Arnold: 4:30

that's a, that just sounds like a but it sounds like a tough job. But what great training, it

Chris Imel: 4:36

was good. I really enjoyed it. I was on the volunteer fire department for years. I as a matter of fact, at one point in time, I was the youngest volunteer fireman in the state of Indiana. So there was a cadet program when I was growing up that you could be 16 to join. And my local volunteer fire department started that well. A friend of mines parents were heavily involved in it, and they allowed me to start it when I was 15. So I started training when I was 15 through that so I I was on that volunteer fire department for years. And then I got out of that because you just move around you don't live in a rural area where lots of thing, and then years ago I got back on it and that's how I kind of got reengaged with with the other aspect.

Ian Arnold: 5:12

So where are you? Are you a volunteer fireman Currently,

Chris Imel: 5:14

I am currently in Ladoga, Indiana, which is where I live, which is out near Crawfordsville. Indiana. Okay, I'm originally I do a lot more business in Columbus than I do in Ladoga. I kind of joke that I run the L, I run 65. Straight up to Indy and 74 over to Ladoga or to Crawfordsville. I get a lot of referrals in Columbus area. I grew up in Greensburg area, so I kind of handle all of the status or the central part of Indiana, and then I'm also licensed in Florida.

Ian Arnold: 5:40

Okay, yeah. So you have great knowledge of Indiana, because you've been here your whole life, and you've kind of lived all over. It sounds like you're going around. And now you're now you're down in Florida. Yes. Also, yes,

Chris Imel: 5:51

the Florida panhandle area was where I'm at there, I'm attached to a team down there. Up here. I'm a solo agent. And I do have agents that work with me, so that I can get some help and things like that. But down there, I actually went with one of the large teams down there purposely, because I needed to learn the area. And when you're going into a new area, you need to become the expert in the area, you can't just assume because you're an expert in Indiana, that you're an expert in Florida. So I've attached myself to a very knowledgeable group down there, that's also with exp, and there are a lot of help. And that's really, really done a lot of good with them. Yeah,

Ian Arnold: 6:25

we've we've talked to not a ton of agents that are that are licensed in multiple states. Now, is it becoming kind of the thing to do? I

Chris Imel: 6:34

think it depends on the company you're with. So one of the great things about exp is you have one cap on all the states that you're in. So if I'm licensed in five states, and exp has a cap on your commission of what you pay for them, you pay that total for all states, so I don't have a separate cap up here versus down there. Whereas if you're with some of the older style brokerages, you had to join a totally different brokerage down there that weren't involved. So you had dual caps down there, it is a little pricey, because you still have to join all the boards and be active in those. And it has to make sense that you're doing it. But I think it really becomes something that if you're thinking of, of moving to that area, or you're in that area frequently enough, it definitely makes sense. Or if you have a lot of contacts in that area, meaning if somebody's originally from Indiana, and they have a ton of knowledge here and they move, well, there'll be an agent in the new area that they're at, but they may might as well take advantage of the business that they can get here and help their friends, they may not actually be the one showing the houses and things like that. But a lot of times they're still helping their friends with referrals and things like that. Right? All right deals anywhere in the state central part of Indiana. But if somebody calls me in Kentucky, whether I'm licensed there or not, I still have the ability to help them because of the networks that I'm involved in.

Ian Arnold: 7:50

So one of the things is, you know, I think people don't realize the expense to be a real estate agent.

Chris Imel: 7:56

Yes,

Ian Arnold: 7:56

there's a lot of expense, right? It's

Chris Imel: 7:58

a lot of expense. And, and with me, at the stage of my career that I'm at, I'm trying to bring agents on to my team, and when I'm using the word team very loosely, but really, I'm trying to bring agents on that are either struggling or newer agents, because I've went through that, and I want to help somebody do that. And one of the things that I found is so many people do not understand the original cost that it cost just for that first few months, not talking about what you need to hold back to be able to pay your bills for a few months until you get deals really consistently rolling. But just the upfront cost. I mean, it's it's definitely a lot. That's

Ian Arnold: 8:33

expensive. So when you got into real estate, you've done I know you started and let's because you're kind of that's kind of unique. Yeah, for years where you didn't do well, then you've got out and then you came back. So what did you do different when you came into it the second time that has made you flourish like you have,

Chris Imel: 8:50

so when I a lot of it was I think age and any maturity, you know, to be honest with you, this was 2009 I didn't really understand what I was doing. I worked for your standard brokerages, you know, that had offices and things like that. There was probably a lot of knowledge in the office, but a lot of it wasn't shared. You know, you had a lot of agents in that day and age that they were trying to build their own business they weren't trying to help, right. And now I'm in groups that like literally when we figure something out, we want to tell everybody, like there's no secrets about how I do business. If an agent wants to know what ads I'm running, what I'm doing, how I'm doing, how I'm getting what I'm getting. I do conversations with agents that I don't profit a dime off of every week, just to give that information out because somebody gave it to me and somebody understood. It's a lot of collaboration in this day and age with social media with the way that you can do this. And I think just having that maturity of being back in and doing it. The other thing is when I really took it and started this time going all in I literally went all in. This was 100% I wasn't a part time I imagine I wasn't figuring it out. This was going to be we were going to make it and I was going to sink every dime I have into this to make sure that I made it. Because it always bothered me that I didn't before I knew I was good enough to do it. I just hadn't figured it out yet. And I this time, I was either going to figure it out, or it was going to have to be something that was wiped off the table. So

Ian Arnold: 10:20

what what, like, what are the top one or two processes that you would tell somebody, this is what you have to do to be successful?

Chris Imel: 10:27

Time management is huge, because people want to whatever, whatever person you're dealing with, and it doesn't matter if it's a lender, if it's a client, if it's a prospect, everybody thinks they need to be the most important person right there. And it's really easy to answer that phone call immediately. Or answer that email immediately or at nine o'clock at night or four o'clock in the morning or first thing when you should be prospecting when you should be making calls. So you need to make sure that you time block and make sure that you're really allocating enough time to prospecting. But you still have to have time to call those clients back to follow up on everything. You can't leave them hanging, but you have to designate time. So the way that I do it, and the way that I've been successful with it is I get up super early in the morning. And my time to get organized in the morning is that early time in the morning, I go through who's been on my website, and I'm sending them emails and texts. Now I'm not sending them text at four o'clock in the morning, I'm putting them into a system that will automatically send it to them at nine o'clock in the morning. So that they're getting my response at nine o'clock in the morning, what nine o'clock in the morning, I'm making calls. So I'm not bothering with that stuff. I've already done it from four o'clock in the morning till six o'clock in the morning, to be able to allow me to all my emails are answered before then. And they're delayed so that I don't I don't look like a crazy person up at four o'clock in the morning. But they're delayed, so they go out at normal times. But that allows me at nine o'clock, I'm processing I'm prospect now making calls, or I'm doing something to increase my business. Or I've set aside time throughout the day at other times to do that.

Ian Arnold: 12:03

I get up at four also. Yeah, 330 this

Chris Imel: 12:05

morning was the time and I will tell you I'm not, I've not always been like this, this is something that's relatively new for me, I've always get up and go person, but really being consistent about it has has made it so much better for me, I go to bed better, I sleep better at night. And I just get so much more done from 330 or four o'clock in the morning till six 630 in the morning. And there's nobody bothering you. There's no phone calls, there's nobody texting you, you're following up with emails from day before. And the other thing is, then when my wife gets up, or my son gets up, and they're getting ready for school, if he you know, I'm letting the dog out, I'm having coffee with her for 30 minutes before the kid goes to school. We're doing stuff together in the mornings where normally you're trying, you're busy on your phone, you're trying to respond all this stuff that you just saw that morning. So I get all that out of the way so that I can have a few minutes of time with them before they head off.

Ian Arnold: 12:58

I mean, the one thing also is Rick and I do the time blocking too. But if you let customers know, hey, I'm available most times the only time I'm not available is nine to 11. Monday through Thursday. Yes. Other than that, if you leave me a message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. But 911 I will not be available and you let people know they'll understand. Yes. So that's the main thing, especially with time blocking. If you just let people know upfront, they'll understand. And

Chris Imel: 13:22

let them know that when you tell somebody, you're going to give them something. I mean, this is a lot of things. I don't know every answer, I don't have every answer to every question. But if I tell you, I'm going to find it out for you. I'm going to get it to you by first thing in the morning. First thing in the morning, you have that answer to you. So you're not wondering. And the same thing is is that they know when they text me, they're going to get a response back in a reasonable amount of time. I don't leave anybody hanging on that. I think that's important. I

Ian Arnold: 13:48

think it helps to have like, like you have a group of people who if you don't know the answer, you can find out the answer because you and I'm sure they come to you for answers. And you go to them for answers. Because everybody has different experiences. And it's amazing. When you're on a good team and you have good mentors, to how much knowledge is there

Chris Imel: 14:04

and the things that you think you know, you still it's a good idea to run past somebody else because you have a small picture of what's happened. Maybe that happened once in your career so far twice. But maybe this person has dealt with that 10 times and they had 10 different outcomes that can help you with that. So

Ian Arnold: 14:19

how would you suggest somebody learn time blocking? Do you have any tricks or

Chris Imel: 14:27

you have to be adamant with your calendar, you have to use an online calendar. You have to be able to shut whatever it is off that you can't do. But you can't just start with big blocks of time. Okay, you need to start with an hour. Start with two hours. Start with whatever that if you're not time blocking anything right now, time block one hour a day. If you're not somebody that's ever made cold calls or ever made calls or prospecting, you can't say that you're going to do it from eight o'clock in the morning till 11 o'clock, five days a week. You're not going to do it. That's 15 hours a day. You're never going to start that you have to Start with 30 minutes a day, you have to I set it up. So I make so many phone calls. And then I do something else, I make so many phone calls, and then I do something else. And it might be that I make so many outgoing calls. And then I make calls to people who have already talked to. So that if you're getting the door slammed in your face, or hung up one for a half hour, at least you have a good conversation for five or 10 minutes to kind of boost your ego and, and don't ever end on a bad note, keep going until you make a good phone call till you get something at least a conversation. I mean, not everybody wants to buy a house. Right? But at least you get a conversation. Yeah, there

Ian Arnold: 15:35

was. There were there was an interview done. And they were talking to a personal trainer. Because he got he'd have new clients come in, they come in for 15 minutes. He's like, Alright, you're done. Go ahead. I'll see you. I'll see you next week. And like two days or whatnot, and that one guy was like, Why are you only doing that? Because if I do sit him down for an hour, and he feels really hard. And if it's hurtful, he's not going to come back. But if I get him every 15 minutes after 15 minutes, the first few weeks, he's going to come back. And just because one he's used to the routine. Yes. And that's what it's about. And then we slowly intimate the time up is so it's not a big drastic change for them.

Chris Imel: 16:12

Absolutely. Yeah. And you have to figure out what you've done. I mean, maybe calling isn't your thing I'm using calling as an example. Maybe you're working your sphere, maybe you're knocking doors, there's, there's 100 different ways to get business in real estate, you have to figure out the three or four that worked for you and go with those, but you can't do. It's really not, it's really easy for new agents to find the shiny object that's out there. And so you'll see that somebody on social media said this is going on or this is and so you stop and you want to run and try that you have to pick three or four things to add to be consistent with and go after those. Now, that's not to say not try new things. But you can't just stop what you're doing and then go to that new thing. I mean, I've always got things I'm trying in the background. But it's kind of a test market. You know, you're just working that. Yeah.

Ian Arnold: 17:00

All right. So I don't want you to have to be making all these cold, cold calls and all that I want your warm calls. Yes. So if somebody's looking to buy sell, or they're looking for an experienced mentor like yourself, yep, what's the best way they can reach out?

Chris Imel: 17:13

Why cell phone number is obviously the best way. Call or text either one, my direct cell phone number is 812-343-3373. Again, call or text that number 812-343-3373. If you Google me, you're going to find a lot of different phone numbers out there. I've got different area code of phone numbers, but that one is my personal cell phone that'll go directly to me. And

Ian Arnold: 17:36

it's easy to remember because it has a lot of threes in there it is

Rick Ripma: 17:39

it does. And he remembered his number, which is really good. I hope I hope I do the same thing. Let's see you're trying to hold the VNR I got a HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com. That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com. Or give us a call at 317-672-1938. It's 317-672-1938. That is a call no text. And I need to do a text number off to the text number next

Ian Arnold: 18:02

year learn to text first. Yeah, well, text, I actually do a lot of text. So give us a call. Or go online, you can find all our information at hardworking mortgage guys.com. All right. So before I get into this question I do have because being from Florida, and we always hear all these agents that when they go, they're doing real estate in Sarasota or Miami, Orlando, what made you choose the Panhandle.

Chris Imel: 18:29

So we want to relocate to that area. And that's the ultimate goal. So when I came back to exp, I strictly searched for an agent that was in that area that was doing well that I thought I could learn from that was networking that was doing a lot of social media that was active on video that was doing things that I really had a desire to do. And I aligned myself with them. They happen to be in an area that I liked. We go to Panama City for a lot of vacations. It's a quick drive from here, there's a quick flight, a direct flight from Allegiant Air, twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday, down to that area. So if I need to come back home and see my mom, I can do that. So I think that's important that you, you you go to an area that you really want to live in. Would I love to live in Key West? Absolutely. But Ken is that logistically and financially possible? No, it's not. So we'll take that nice Emerald Coast beach. No,

Ian Arnold: 19:25

I mean, it's what is it Nevada, we have this conversation is one of the one of the best beaches in the world. I mean, I lived over there, so trust me, yes, it is very nice. So if you're looking for a real estate over there, please contact Chris. Absolutely.

Chris Imel: 19:39

And I'm very active in that area. Also, I mean, all the way from Panama City, up to Pensacola and all up and down the coast there and inward, obviously crest Crestview and areas like that. There's a big military town there. And the brokerage that I'm with down there is very active in that area. So we'd be happy to connect you with anybody down there. If if not myself,

Ian Arnold: 19:59

yep, All right, so now we're getting my, one of my favorite questions. So if I got to take away your phone for 24 hours, you cannot work whatsoever. After you get done having a heart attack. What do we catch you doing for fun?

Chris Imel: 20:12

So, outdoors, anything that's warm, I absolutely despise the cold weather, hence the Florida. In the summertime, I'm outside all the time we're on the lake, we're on the boat. I'm a very active Second Amendment supporter. So we do a lot with firearms and training and things like that. So things like that is what I really love anything near water. I don't care if you're just sitting on a crick, or on a lake or just on a beach, it doesn't matter. That's just calming to me. And that's relaxing to me. I don't like to be inside watching TV and stuff like that. That's just not me. But in the wintertime when it's cold. I don't like to get outside. So So that's definitely a different thing there. So what do you carry? Glock 19. Every day, okay. Yep. Yep. And I think number. Nice, nice. Yeah, I've carried a Glock for years. It's been it's been very consistent with me. I've done a ton of training. And when I say a ton, I'm talking hours and 1000s and 1000s of rounds downrange, I've trained with some of the best in the area. I had my FFL license for several years. So very active in the community. I was the president of the Friends of NRA chapter in Bartholomew County for several years. So very active, and not only myself, but in youth shooting sports and and that's one thing that they donate a lot of money, all the money that's raised theirs for youth shooting sports. So it's definitely it's nice to be able to at the end of the year, we would sit down and we would go over and those scholarships would go out to youth shooting facilities and ranges that had youth shooting facilities. And it taught handgun training and any type of like hunter safety courses or anything like that to children.

Ian Arnold: 21:55

I think I grew up around guns I grew up in South grew up basically redneck style. Yeah. So but one thing that and I think that gets lost is the education. Yeah. And because and that's one thing that I've had sit down conversation, even with my eight year old boy is if he goes to a friend's house, I want him to be familiar, but not to be a curious what's this? What's it and start playing with it to understand that it's a dangerous object? Absolutely. I do think and I think that more training needs to be done, especially with kids early on. Yeah, as you were just there's

Chris Imel: 22:28

a the NRA has a few videos that are Eddie Eagle videos. And I remember when when my wife and I got together, she had a son, and coming to my house. And one of the first things that we did when he started coming around, was these videos had to be watched. Now I'm obviously very smart, I keep my guns locked up, I keep things like that, I go through the safety precautions. But if he's going to be in my house, he needs to watch these videos and have a good understanding of what those are. And I think it's important and it's it's a cartoonish character. So it resonates with kids, you can start them at whatever age you need to and release whatever age you're comfortable with. If you're not comfortable with having a firearm in your house, then don't have a firearm in your house. You know, like this is not I'm not here to sell anybody on it. You do you but if you're going to have a firearm in your house, and you're going to have kids have access to your home at any point in time, there needs to be training,

Ian Arnold: 23:21

correct training and you need them locked up.

Chris Imel: 23:23

Yes, absolutely.

Ian Arnold: 23:24

They gotta be safe. Absolutely. Yeah, that's that's a that's a big thing for me is you got to keep you got to keep everybody safe. Yes. Because you're not you're not you're carrying a gun for your own protection. You know, but you're not you're not doing that. And nobody really wants to shoot anybody right now. And you'd hate to have somebody shot by mistake. I mean, just a terrible. Yeah,

Chris Imel: 23:45

yeah. I hope I never have to pull the trigger on it. And then right in that aspect. Yeah.

Ian Arnold: 23:50

Yeah. That that's a good gun owner. Yes. Yeah. Well, that he didn't have a gun because you know, he just wants to shoot him head. I will say no, no, I only shoot deer. I've shot boar, I mean, animals, but I'm also eating them. I'm not just letting them while you go. So absolutely. Well, I want to get on my favorite question, which is what is your superpower or superpowers?

Chris Imel: 24:16

Alright, so I kind of thought about this because I know you ask it. And I think a couple I really have to, and and it's really from just past, being able to talk and communicate with people is really huge. Because of some of the stuff that I've done in my past. I have the ability to talk to anybody. I don't care what walk of life you're on what situation you're in, or you're going through. If you're living in a $50,000 mobile home, or you're living in a million dollar mansion, I can still have a conversation with you. If you're going to see me show up most of the time like this, you're never going to see me in a suit and tie walking in there because I want it to be a comfortable environment. Now if you If you prefer that, and I know you do, and you're selling a million dollar house house, yeah all show up in a tux, it doesn't bother me a bit. But I want to dress to the comfort level that you are and that you're going to feel comfortable with. Because I need to build that relationship, we need to be friends, we're going to spend the next 90 days together, and we need to like each other. And there needs to be both ways I need to get along with you, too. I mean, I've I've turned down clients, I mean, that I know, I'm not going to I'm not going to be the best fit for. So I think the ability to communicate with that. And then really one of the niches that I found is being able to sell a house regardless of its condition. So many people in this day and age are trying to sell their house cash, because they don't think they can sell it on the open market. And they're going to investors, and they're going to things like that, and they don't have anybody working on their side. And I think it's important that they have an agent on their side now is there opportunity to sometimes sell to an investor. And that'd be the best point. Absolutely. But you still need somebody on your side working for you. And a lot of times you can still list those houses on the market, in the condition that they're in, as long as you market them correctly, you can still sell them and still get top dollar for what they are. So I think the ability to some houses that agents walk into, they're like, You got to do this, this and this before I ever listed, well, I don't mind that you don't do those things. As long as you understand that this is the price it's going to bring if you don't do those things, some people don't have the money, so I can adapt my marketing to whatever that person needs and whatever fits their need.

Ian Arnold: 26:29

Yeah, I think in that vein, it's it's there, there are, number one, you need an agent like yourself, who will educate somebody. So even if somebody's thinking about selling that to an investor, they should at least talk to you absolutely right. Yeah, you should talk to you because they should they need to learn. There's also financing options. Yes, if somebody wants to buy a home, and it needs work, you can finance that you can finance homes, with with renovation loans that you cannot finance and under any other terms. And

Chris Imel: 27:00

there are reasons to sell to a investor to a cash investor immediately for one is I mean, if you're, if you're losing your house, I mean, you don't know how many people I've talked to they're losing their house next week, like it's gone next week, and they've procrastinated to this point, well, the only option we have is that but at least you've explored every option. And if at least then you have somebody on your side that's going to still help negotiate for you and tell you whether you're getting the best deal or do things like that, you know, sometimes you buy your dream house, and you have to sell your house in order to get that and you don't have time for it to sit on the market, or you're gonna lose that house. It's a perfect example. But again, you need an agent working on your side, because that investor has somebody working on their side, they're not working for your benefit. They're working for their own. So you need somebody working for your benefit. Yeah. And the the other

Ian Arnold: 27:47

thing that you can always look at is, you're not going to charge them to come out to their house to have that conversation, right? Yeah, no, absolutely. Before you even sell it to an investor. Why not talk to Chris? Yeah. And be like, hey, look, what are my options? I'm thinking about selling this investor for blah, blah, blah, money? And do you think I should do that? And you look at the numbers to be like, I can at least get your 20k Extra probably you don't have to do anything with painting your house? And what are they going to do? shake your hand hug? Yeah. Yeah, ask you for dinner.

Chris Imel: 28:13

And and there's times that they don't, they still may look at it and say, I don't want to have somebody walking through my house. I don't want to have that. Well, at least you're exhausted though. And I walk away. I'm not not pushy. You know, I want to work with people that want to work with me. But I want to educate people who want the help.

Ian Arnold: 28:29

So because you're out there, and you can do that to help them out. And this is a great time to put your phone number in there. What is your phone

Chris Imel: 28:37

number? Yeah, so my direct phone number is 812-343-3373. And that works for Indiana or Florida. So if you're looking at this and you're in Florida, I can do the same help for you down there. Same number that's going to come directly to me and call or text call or text me 12343 3373 Okay,

Ian Arnold: 28:55

I just can't remember. So I was gonna ask, just keep hitting three. Lots of

Chris Imel: 29:02

lots of threes. I've had that number for years, and I am not letting it go. That's good. Yes. All

Ian Arnold: 29:08

right. So let me ask this question. So you've been in the industry for a while so you got to have some good stories. I love stories so what do you think one of your most memorable transaction for oh you stumped them Yeah, you did you Did I get a gold star. He's got a memory like mine. I think

Chris Imel: 29:39

it's it's not closed yet. But it's it's closing today. And I think this is one of those that this so it'll be closed by the time this airs. So I'll go ahead and talk a little bit about that. It was a perfect example of somebody who was going to sell their house cash was selling to an investor. They wrote the deal with an investor The investor backed out at the last minute, they had a little clause that they could back out. These people were packed, they were already moving, they'd already moved out of the house except for just beds and items like that. And literally, they got a phone call one afternoon, and said, We're not closing. And they were supposed to close on a Friday. And this was like a Wednesday, I immediately went to their house, I explained to him what I could do for him, we kind of went over the details, they were very apprehensive of throwing it back on the market. But I said, that's your best scenario there. So we put it back on the market ended up way more than what they were going to get from a cash investor. Now we did run into some problems with the home, there was some structural issues with the homes that needed to be fixed. I got a contractor in there that was able to fix those, and able to build them at closing for that. So it wasn't something that that they had to come out of pocket for their closing today, the home is structurally sound, it's been fixed, it's warrantied. And they literally are walking away with way more money. After even after paying that than what they were able to it got them in a better situation now they can go on and start something else. And they had bought this home during the middle of COVID time when there wasn't inspections going on, and they'd waived the inspection. And so the problems with the home were before they even had it. So they literally had just they thought that everything that they had, they were losing, they were literally losing money to sell to this investor. And the investor backed out and we were able to sell it. And we got above asking price on that home and it's gonna close today.

Ian Arnold: 31:31

That's awesome. Yeah. So Bubi realtor, Rick and I have our own personal opinion. I want to hear your the whole COVID waiving inspection,

Chris Imel: 31:40

Lord, no, no, no, no, do not do not. I mean, I wouldn't buy a house and waive an inspection. I wouldn't there's no, please do not do that, you know, unless you know that you're buying a house that you're already gutting. I mean, in that situation, if you're an investor, and you're buying a home and or and I am saying investor, you're buying your first rental property, and you know, you're gonna go in and go to it. Maybe, but why? I mean, the Yeah, even then, even if you lose your earnest money, do an inspection. I mean, even if that's what you've got to do, there's, there's things to do or get somebody in there to look at this. There's no way I would never want somebody to buy a home without an inspection

Ian Arnold: 32:24

I've had. I've had people come to me, and they say, Yeah, we're getting inspect. We don't need one, really. But we're getting it you know, but because this house is perfect. We walked through it is perfect. Yeah. And then in the inspection is a disaster. Yeah. And it's like, you can't see behind the walls. And

Chris Imel: 32:44

even if you even if there's not anything on that, even if it's not something that kills the do, it's teaching you what you need to do over the next couple years to maintain this house to look for because most people don't know what they what, you know, first time homebuyers, younger people that have never worked on things, they don't understand the maintenance things, a lot of those things that the a good inspector is showing are items that need to be fixed over the next couple of years. They're just routine maintenance. They're not items that kill a deal or anything like that, you know, caulking around a window and things like that. Those are things that I mean, does a 20 year old know that you need to do that on older homes? Probably not, you know, and it's not that expensive. It's something you can learn to do yourself. Absolutely. Everybody needs to do an inspection. And if they're not going to do an inspection, we have a very strong conversation. I have had them waive inspections. And I mean, I can tell you my opinion. But I also have you signed something that says that I strongly advise you to get this inspection. That's

Ian Arnold: 33:46

what I would do because because it's never people. We're all the same kind of this not everybody, but it's funny how when the if something backfires. They want to we all want to blame somebody. Sure,

Chris Imel: 33:59

yeah. And we're likely the one to be blamed. And I understand that, you know, you want to protect

Ian Arnold: 34:03

yourself and absolutely, but also, it's not even just that. It's also you want to make sure they really understand you really, really, really believe they need to have an inspection.

Chris Imel: 34:11

Oh, yeah. Do not waive this. Because you're why why would I need to sign this? Well, because I'm telling you, I think it's that important that I want that liability try for me. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ian Arnold: 34:21

It's always interesting. I came from the car business and you'd have people take the cars getting inspected all the time. Yeah. But you want to inspect your house? Yeah. Whoa, you got your priorities mixed up here and

Chris Imel: 34:33

your average person is in a home 15 minutes. I mean, if you think about this, your average showing is 15 minutes. Your your car, they're usually driving it longer than that. Yep. Then they are the home a lot of people in this day and age. We're going on showings and they're seeing it 15 minutes and that's the one they want. You know.

Ian Arnold: 34:54

That's, that's amazing. Yeah. That is amazing. So when you when You look at your business, what do you what are you really excited about in your business right now?

Chris Imel: 35:05

I've had a great January. I had a horrible December and, and when I say horrible, it's December, you know, I had a couple of deals fall through at the very last minute. And that and fell out, which hurts, you know. But in January the first 23 days of January, I had seven deals under contract. Wow. Resolutions. Yeah, it's, it's been a strong start to the year. My database is growing. I'm getting new agents, I've got one that's taking their tests this week, that's going to be coming along to help me I just the progress progress that I've made to grow to the next level and to see the things that I'm investing money into actually making a difference and getting me to that next level. And then seeing some of the agents that I'm helping them also getting to that next level is exciting for me,

Ian Arnold: 35:56

you can't get to the next level doing exactly what you're doing. You got to change. You can't

Chris Imel: 36:00

Yeah, you got to end and it takes money. It takes money or time. And I don't have time. So we haven't figured out how to make the money. So I'm curious

Ian Arnold: 36:09

with with the excitement, everything that's going on, how much of that? Or how much value has it been to get up early?

Chris Imel: 36:18

Oh, it's It's been huge. I can't I can't imagine not getting up early. And and doing that. Now. Is it hard? Absolutely. Is it hard on my home life? Well, yeah, because to be honest with you, my wife is used to me staying up till 11 or 12. At night. And, and her also. And now I'm like 930 Go to bed, I'm going to bed, you know. And so it's taken a little bit of getting used to, but she knows the goal that we're after the goals that we're trying to achieve. And to do that you have to do what people are not willing to do. If this was easy, everybody would do it right. And not only just easy to do it, but easy to do it and be successful, you really have to do. When you start out, you're your own transaction coordinator, you're your own marketing person, you your own social media person, your own, I mean, everything, you've got six different titles that you're doing that you have to figure out how to do well, during nine to five, I'm a real estate agent. So that's when I'm really doing that. So I have to figure out other times to do that. So it's either get up early, or you're sitting in your office till nine or 10 o'clock at night, and then you're not seeing your family anyways. It's not something I want to do forever, as far as 330. And I don't know, I'm kind of getting used to it. But I don't want to have to do that. But you have to do it in the beginning to get the results in. Yeah, so

Ian Arnold: 37:46

I love it, I would never stop I love it. So what you need to do is is train your wife to wake up at four o'clock in the morning, she you start doing your stuff, we'll both go to bed at nine. It's

Chris Imel: 37:57

kinda it's kind of funny, because up until about the same time that I really got diehard serious into this. She was getting up at three or four o'clock in the morning because of her job. And since then she started a different line of work. And so now she is a dog groomer. And she is making her own schedules, and she owns her own business. And we're kind of working into that. So she's got a little bit better schedule. And so the last thing she wants to do is get up early in the morning now

Ian Arnold: 38:23

emphasize that one of the benefits of getting up early is you're by yourself, yes, that nobody's bothered. Yes. And it's a one the morning is a phenomenal time of

Chris Imel: 38:35

the day. I forgot a podcast playing. I've got something playing on YouTube, while I'm doing it, of audio books, something like that. I've got a couple of screen monitors that I'm doing. I'm working through emails, I'm making my list. You know, I always try to make a list before I go to bed of the three or four things that I have to accomplish the next day. But that morning time is when I really get all that admin work done. Now obviously I have a transaction coordinator. Now I have a VA that helps me with some stuff. But a lot of times it's double checking what they're doing and making sure that everything went out the way it needs to be right. Yeah, cuz

Ian Arnold: 39:08

you still have to run your business. Yes, yeah. All right. So I gotta ask. So have you started putting your emblem and your phone number on little bandanas. So when your daughter your wife gets done grooming, she just tied it around their neck and gives it away? You

Chris Imel: 39:23

know, I haven't, but we might be checking for a place to order.

Ian Arnold: 39:27

That is a great idea. Yes. Yeah. free advertising to a point. So pretty inexpensive. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is.

Chris Imel: 39:35

And everybody. Everybody loves dogs. And it's great. There's a huge dog show this weekend in Indy. So I will be walking around with a real estate shirt on. Oh, yeah. So it's nice.

Ian Arnold: 39:46

So in your in your real estate. Do you do much social media?

Chris Imel: 39:52

Yeah. I don't know how well I do it. But I try. I do some tech talks and things He's like that, you know, nothing's professionally done or anything like that. But I'm active on all social media platforms. I do have separate social media platforms for the Florida real estate, so that it's a little bit more designated for those areas and things like that. I don't feel like everybody here. I want to rub the beach pictures into them. As much as down there.

Ian Arnold: 40:22

I don't you know, I don't know. When when we had that terrible is few years ago, and I mean, it was cold, and it snowed. And it was, I went and I watched, I picked up every show I could watch that was filmed in a warm area. Yeah, there was Florida, Hawaii, South America, I did not care. I just wanted shows that showed beach.

Chris Imel: 40:44

Yes, I do that too. And that's why I'm making that transition full time down there eventually is the goal. Yes.

Ian Arnold: 40:51

But people in Florida don't want to see snow. So I don't know, they all seem to puff out their chest and feel superior when they have nice weather. Well,

Chris Imel: 41:00

it's funny to hear from here go, I sent my I sent a selfie to the broker down there the other day, and it was me walking out, it was snow and it was miserable. I was going to show houses and it was negative four degrees or something here, and um, I sent him a selfie. I'm like, Oh, this is miserable. You know, I can't wait to get down there. And you know, and he immediately like sent me a video message back. That's kind of what we do back and forth. And his was either not gonna believe this, but we have a vacation plan. And we're going to the snow area. So they were going out west to go skiing and stuff like that. So their vacation was going there. And he said, When you get relocated down here, eventually you're going to want to go to those places. And I will not know there's I don't want to I can go the rest of my life and never see snow. I can

Ian Arnold: 41:44

see why you will you know somebody does. Yeah, because we will want to go to the warm areas because we get tired of the weather. And that's, you know, but I like I actually like cold weather. Yeah, but I get tired of it. Yeah,

Chris Imel: 41:59

I don't like it. But I also do think though, that when you if you're going for a vacation now this is not me, I don't want to go. I don't want to go snow skiing or anything like that. But if you're just going for fun stuff and you don't have to work in it. You don't have to scrape your windows in it. You're not trying to go out and show houses in it. It might be a different approach. I don't even want to find out. I'm good with just figuring out how to get on the beach. Alright, so

Ian Arnold: 42:21

I get a cold just real quick. When I say cold, I don't mean negative for you. That's that's beyond coal. Okay, you're talking earlier agrees. Okay. Right, no wind. So I gotta put your expectations, just so you know, your hand handle, it can snow, you know, I've seen two inches of snow in Florida. And how long did it last? It was gone in two days. But just say that it can't happen. Here's

Chris Imel: 42:45

what I will tell you is on my phone. In my weather app, there are two locations that are the first two locations it is our location down there and is our location up here. And no matter how cold it is up here, whenever I swipe to see what the location is down there, it's always warmer. And I'm like, You know what, it's zero up here. I could deal with 34. So as long as it's warmer down there, I'm good.

Ian Arnold: 43:10

It's up for there all used to when you're down there, you're used to, you know, 70s But still, it's probably kind of nice to have a little cool weather, but it does it is funny to me how a little cold there. We went down and we were in what's the beach, the anyway, down in on the Gulf side and Fort Myers Beach. And we went to church. And the and the priest was thanking the ushers that had been outside, you know, helping the cars particle item and the coal that was 70 degrees and we were in shorts. Rough day. Yeah. So it's all it's all relative, I guess. Yeah. What is it? Because we lived up here and then my mom moved down south of us is she got pulled up. When we got that snow. She got pulled over and the cops like No, nobody's put me on the road. She showed her Indiana driver's license. He's like, alright, you may go. Yeah, it's just like it's a total different. I mean, it's same thing happened in Georgia a few years ago when they got a bunch of snow and ice shut down the whole highway. It's ground was

Chris Imel: 44:12

driving through Atlanta one time and it hit some snow flurries. I never seen so many wrecks before in my life. It was just people ever just sliding off just crashing the I just wanted to get out of there. I just wanted to get through it. And it wasn't nothing. I mean, it was just flurries there wasn't even a good ground cover.

Ian Arnold: 44:26

Now when you're talking about they ended up in a parking lot. On the highway. Yeah, again. Yeah. But they also don't have any equipment. Yeah. No in Florida.

Chris Imel: 44:36

Yeah. No, I'm not. I'm not taking the snowblower with

Ian Arnold: 44:38

no, we're no there are no equipment. Yes, yeah, you're gonna be stuck in your house with an interest. And you're okay with that.

Chris Imel: 44:44

I'm okay with that. Yes. All right.

Ian Arnold: 44:46

So do you actually read or anything because earring book books out there that new people should probably pick up or,

Chris Imel: 44:52

you know, I am probably the worst at that question because I have audible and I have like 50 books in there that people have suggested to me. And I listened to him and I listened to him sporadically. But what I typically go for is more podcast and more just things like that, that, that I'm talking to somebody that I know, you know what I mean? Like, I don't want to hear what somebody in a book said, worked five years ago or in a certain market or in things like that, which is why I think your podcast is important is because when new agents are looking at this podcast, or figuring out this podcast, these are agents that are on this podcast that people know that you could call in, or you may not know, but you're somebody does know. And they're giving you real word, real world advice on what's happening in our market. That's really where I focus most of my attention on is just local stuff, or people that I actually have known and trusted. There's a lot of groups that I'm in with exp collaboration groups, I think that's great. I follow a lot of quote coaches, I just went out to Vegas for four days, for big Chet black event, did a private event, he did 40, a mastermind event at his house, there was a group that was 400 of us that went to a four day event, and you got to go to 40 of us got to go to his house for an eight hour event the day before. And so you're taught you're in a room with 40 people that are that are doing this every day. That's where I get my information. That's where I really enjoy. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good book to listen to. But I find that I can't stop my mind from thinking of other things while I'm listening to it. So I'll start it and I am doing stuff. And so I just don't end up finishing it. I

Ian Arnold: 46:36

find with books, I do a lot of books on tape, but I also read a lot. And the books on tape. I never remember the name of the book because I never see the name of the book. Yes. But I but I it does. My mind wanders too, but it's usually something in the book makes me think, Hmm, I wonder if this would be such a good idea to diplomat. And so it really helps me to actually do that. Same with podcasts, he listened to podcasts that are, you know, there's just so many there's so much information out there, if you pick the right things, you could really grow. So as being a coach in your in your future, you know,

Chris Imel: 47:10

I'm not to the level of saying, like, I feel like I'm not I'm not there. And, and I want coaches, but being a mentor being, you know, a collaborator with somebody. Absolutely. I would love that. I all in my career, I've always had a leadership position. So it comes naturally. But I think that me more connecting with somebody that's new with a better coach than me with somebody that's doing it. And then maybe me mentoring them in that aspect is is more along my lines. What

Ian Arnold: 47:43

What is one thing that you wish you had known? Or were taught when you first got into the business? Do you remember that far back? Yeah, I, I think

Chris Imel: 47:58

just that it's not rocket science, it really isn't. It's all about numbers. It's all about the connections that you make. And it's about genuine connections. If you're in this to make a commission, you're going to fail. I am in this because I legitimately get joy from seeing a new home buyer buy a home their first home from the excitement of doing that I like doing this I like showing houses, I look looking at new houses, I like talking to new agents, I enjoy it. The commission is something that comes in the end of that, if you're focused on the amount of commission that you're going to make or the amount of money that you're gonna make in this, you're, you're starting it wrong, and it's never going to work. And I think a lot of agents get into it because they see $1 amount that they think that we make. And it can be that dollar amount, but they don't know the expenses that go into it. They don't know the amount of time that it takes to get there. And I think that if you just go in it with a genuine want to help people, you will be successful.

Ian Arnold: 49:02

So should we? Well, I'm going to ask this. So tell, because you're going to Florida. So how do you think that's going to? Or maybe it isn't? Because you've already been there? How is that going to change your business?

Chris Imel: 49:17

It's dramatically going to change my business. So I'm already working hard down there to get business. It's essentially starting over. You know, I'm essentially the new agent in Florida. And so I'm having to rebuild this reputation. Now the difference is I've figured out how to read how to build a reputation up here and how to actually do things up here. So I'm relying upon that. But it's a it's a slow and steady split. The goal is June 1 For me to be more in Florida than I am in Indiana. But I'm putting practices in place so that I've got a team up here that can handle it and then I'm up here more frequently than what I need to be you know, so I may not be the person that shows you a home every single home showing that you're in. But I'm still going to be heavily involved in that transaction for guidance and things like that. Much like down there right now, it's just the opposite. I hardly ever show a home down there. But I'm still heavily involved in any transaction that goes on down there. So it's just balancing that act. And it's making sure that you have people that have the right mindset, as you do and have the client's best interest at heart in both locations and the ability to do that.

Ian Arnold: 50:28

Yeah. And like you said, every Tuesday and Thursday, there's a straight flight. Yep. So

Chris Imel: 50:33

I can, Sunday and Thursday. So I can, I can fly back on a Thursday, spend the weekend here fly back down there on a Sunday, or vice versa, whenever I need it. That's like, perfect. Yeah, it is. And it's, it's in a legion. And if you book it, I mean, there's like 50 bucks a flight. I mean, it's, you can't I believe more than that, and get a fly $47 flight. One way flight? Wow.

Ian Arnold: 50:57

Yeah, I don't see him coming, though in December, January, February,

Chris Imel: 51:01

it's gotta be, you gotta be a really good claim for me to come back. They're stuck here. And I think during COVID time, it did teach us that we can show homes in a different manner, that we can do things in a different manner. Now, there's certain things you can't skimp on. You can't skip on the inspections, you can't skip on the appraisals. But there's ways to do things that you can articulate to this. I know a gentleman that's doing this very well, he does not show any homes. He's doing several million dollars in sales a year. And he literally does not have a he doesn't do a single showing his his all through resumes. And through things like that. I don't want to get to that point, because I still want that personal connection. But there's nothing wrong with me pairing you with a partner agent in this area that I've groomed that I've helped do what they need to do. The other thing is if I've got five or six partners that are working in this area, even today, if you called me today and said I want to see a home in an hour, I'm busy today, I don't have time to show you a home in an hour today. But my partner does. So I get the ability of when you call your normal agent and say I want to see this home. They're trying to jumble you into their schedule. I'm trying to juggle you into one of my people schedule, right. So I can a lot of times get somebody into a home way faster than what an average solo agent can.

Ian Arnold: 52:26

Alright, so the last question, and I asked this earlier, but it's alright. Okay. Question of the week though. We always ask, okay, what was your first car?

Chris Imel: 52:35

Chevy S 10.

Ian Arnold: 52:36

Yes. Little nice little pickup truck. Yep. It was

Chris Imel: 52:39

my dad's truck. Before that. He got a new one. And I got it when I was about 14. He still obviously drove it then. But we did some work to it and had it nice and ready to go. By the time I

Ian Arnold: 52:52

never drove it before you turned 16 and got your license about I mean, he did drive out he was out in the country.

Chris Imel: 52:58

And we lived in the country. And definitely we drove beforehand. Yes, absolutely. Yeah.

Ian Arnold: 53:05

I kind of saw that answer.

Chris Imel: 53:07

I've been driving for a few years. Yeah. That's all

Ian Arnold: 53:10

right. That just made him safer when he got on the actual road. That's true. So last time, yep. What is the very best way for somebody to get a hold of you, if they want to buy a home in Indiana, they want to buy a home or buy or sell a home in Indiana or Florida. Or maybe they want, they're looking for a great team, great mentor to work with? What's the best way to get ahold of you?

Chris Imel: 53:29

My direct cell phone number is always the best 812-343-3373 Call or text me anytime. And I mean live. Even if you're an agent that's got questions. That's the best number to reach me. I'd be happy to chat with you about what I'm doing and how I can help you. If you're looking to buy or sell. Obviously I want I want to help. Perfect

Rick Ripma: 53:53

Yeah, and to get a hold of it or I got a HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com Or you can give us a call at 317-672-1938 31767 to 1938. That is a call no text. And please follow us for more indies real estate gurus and

Ian Arnold: 54:11

reminder via your friends, family, coworkers looking to buy sell, refinance, let us know we'll be more than happy. Chris, thank you for joining us, and I appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Your stories and what you're doing is phenomenal. Thank you. It'll be great mentors.

Chris Imel: 54:24

I appreciate it.

Mindy Riley: 54:25

Brent and MLS NUMBER 33041 MLS NUMBER 66459 Arnold NMLS number is 1995469 equal housing opportunity some restrictions apply