Guru Crissi Matthews with Crissi and Co

Announcer: 0:01

Advisors Mortgage Group is proud to present in these real estate gurus hosted by Rick Ripma and Ian Arnold the hard working mortgage guys, please contact Rick and Ian for all of your mortgage needs at HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com That'sHardWorkingMortgageGuys.com Now here's the hard working mortgage guys, Rick Ripma and Ian Arnold

Rick Ripma: 0:25

Welcome to Indy's Real estate Gurus we're recording today from the advisors Mortgage Group studio right here in downtown almost downtown Carmel Indiana we're close enough that's gonna be our I'll just start saying downtown nobody's gonna question me and I'm recruitment your hard work a mortgage guy have been in mortgage lending and new home sales for over 34 years I've been in the real estate industry. I've helped over 5200 folks finance their home and we believe in my team and I believe in custom tailored loans not those one size fits all approach. We believe there is a right mortgage for you. And we believe we're the team to deliver it.

Ian Arnold: 1:04

And I'm Ian Arnold part of Rick's hard working mortgage team. I've been in financial industry for 15 years helping customers find the best possible financing options I'm experiencing building credit and your overall wealth Abdu have a passion and building your financial security and helping build for your family's future.

Rick Ripma: 1:23

Yep, and I wanted to remind everybody that if you have any questions or you want to know any any information on the Indian real estate market or on mortgages go to HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com Or you can call 317-672-1938. That's 317-672-1938 And I keep forgetting that the camera. That's not good. I don't use that one. And we're really excited to have Chrissy Matthews Chrissy is a guru real estate agent here in Indiana. She has she does huge volume or customers lover and we are really excited to hear your stories today. Thanks for coming. We appreciate it.

Crissi Matthews: 2:04

Yeah, thanks for having me here.

Rick Ripma: 2:05

Great. Well, you know, we always like to know how you got into real estate like, well, actually, let's start before you got into real estate. What was what did you do? You know, where were you born? Where were you raised? What was your family? Like? Okay,

Crissi Matthews: 2:19

so I was actually born in Miami, Florida. But I was raised here in Indiana. So out in a little town called Knightstown. Oh, yeah, a lot of people and not a lot going on out there. And when I got started in real estate, the way I actually started in leasing apartments, okay, so I thought, hey, it'd be fun to get to go ride around on a little cart through through the neighborhood and show houses to people like How hard can that be? It sounds fun. You know, you just get out of school and you're like, What can I do that sounds like you know, it would at least be enjoyable. So I started out leasing apartment complexes. And along the way I did different things, different jobs, opened and sold, or were crashed, different companies along the way, but I just kept coming back to real estate. So I came back into real estate actually leasing houses this time, and I worked for one of the big real estate investment trust American homes for rent. And from there I was just recruited and worked for several several of them progress homes, and just several of those and then I eventually was like, Hey, wait a minute, I I'm helping people find housing, wouldn't it be better to help people find something that is home something that is a financial investment for them? And so I went ahead and just moved over and I've been selling houses ever since then.

Ian Arnold: 3:57

Well, that's a great transition. So what's your family? Like? I mean, our know we talked briefly about dogs and stuff. And if your customer has dogs, she'll look after you.

Crissi Matthews: 4:11

In fact, I I'll probably remember your dog's name. good about that? No. So my family I am married and I have two stepchildren who are awesome and amazing. And we have actually two rescue dogs and a rescue bunny rabbit right now. Oh, wow. And yeah, so we we just enjoy a lot of family time. And yeah, like we talked about before we came on here. I'm that person that anytime I see a stray dog I'm like, Hey, if you need to if you need a home, let's just bring you home. My husband has to stop that a lot of times

Rick Ripma: 4:56

my wife does the same thing. Yeah, crazy now. And then and then. So what led you? So you you did all the leasing and all of that. And then after that you came into real estate. So what was it? What was that transition like? And how did you get going? What did you do to get your business going?

Crissi Matthews: 5:18

Well, when I first transitioned over, I joined a team. And that team didn't really work out, it was a team of other really young professionals that also didn't have a lot of experience. But I also didn't know exactly what to look for. So I just thought, everybody kept saying, hey, you need to get on a team before you go out on your own. So I joined a team and I ended up leaving there and finding a couple other mentors that kind of helped me to get going along the way from there. So it's, even though you're doing the same thing, it's a lot different selling than leasing. So I was used to just, you know, following up and saying, Hey, do you want to look at this house, and the decision wasn't as big for someone to lease the home versus this. So it was a lot of mentoring about, you know, how to find new business, and you know, how to make yourself a better realtor, how to provide them with the best services and things like that. So it was quite a bit different. So that's kind of how I managed to take off from there.

Rick Ripma: 6:27

Well, you've done phenomenally well, is there any any piece of your process that you you did back then you're doing now and you think it's critical for anybody who's in real estate that they need to do one or two processes that you have?

Crissi Matthews: 6:42

Um, I don't know about processes. But I would say learning along the way, like you should never stop learning more. So for me, it's been critical because I help a lot of first time homebuyers to learn a lot about the lending side, because it goes hand in hand. And oftentimes, I see that, you know, realtors might not know that side of it, and you, you can't really coach or help a first time homebuyer as well. If you don't at least understand that or even when it comes to listing houses, I'll see people list houses, and it'll say, we'll take certain types of financing and it it doesn't take that type of financing. So really, knowing the ins and outs of that has helped me a lot, because then I'm able to also coach buyers on the right questions to ask and what to look for. Because as you guys know, the regular public, they're just like, what's my rate? Everything is what's my rate? And it's so much more to it than what's my rate? Did you did you have to buy down that rate? Did it cost you points? Did you discuss all the different programs that you can get? You know, just there's a lot of other questions, especially, like I said, for first time homebuyers, that they they need to understand and if we're their agent, and where their advocate, it's not just coaching them on houses, it's really the whole process of credit, lending, finding the right house, the process of the house, all those kinds of things,

Rick Ripma: 8:15

well, that all matters, it's all important. And, and it has to be, it has to be communicated. And it helps to have more than one person communicate a lot of the because it's sometimes it's somewhat hard for first time homebuyer to understand, sometimes it's hard for you know, somebody's been in for a while, you know, there's people who are really good at numbers, and they can get it right away. And, and there's other people who aren't so good at numbers, and they need a little bit more help. And so the more that the more people that go through it, the better.

Crissi Matthews: 8:43

Oh, definitely. And I think it's so much information for them upfront that a lot of times you guys will coach them on things and they'll forget or I'll coach them on things and they'll forget. So I think it definitely helps to hear it from both parties as a reminder, because there's just there's a lot for them to know and figure out and remember, so changes.

Rick Ripma: 9:03

So you have to you have to stay on top of it because it changes all the time. I know for us we like to put together you know, a an analysis so they can actually look at you know, here's your options. So we can put four different options up and it may be may, you know, so you can look at a conventional compared to an FHA. Yep. And how does that affect you and what is it going to how's it gonna affect you down the road? And how is it going to affect you at closing? What how much you know how much cash flow this is one big one for and you probably coached them on this big one for first time homebuyers. They think I have my down payment Well, that's only a piece of the puzzle right? There's more money than so you have to know what is my approximate cash to close how much money do I actually need? And and that's vitally important and it's it's It is incredible how many times a homebuyer especially a first time homebuyer doesn't understand that because nobody went through it with them. It's you It sounds like you go through that make sure they understand we go through it make sure they understand. It's just it's vital that they do. Yeah, that makes a big difference.

Ian Arnold: 10:07

So, let's go into so how did you know when you were on the team with all the new people? And you're like, Alright, now I got a transit, I gotta get a different team. Yeah. So how did that all work out? And what did you end up with the company you are with now?

Crissi Matthews: 10:24

No. So that's, that's changed along the years, I also didn't know what to look for in a brokerage. So I just thought, Hey, you gotta go big name. And they said, here's the big names. Basically, you should choose one of these. So I started out like everybody else, they were basically like, Here, sit down and start calling all your family and friends. And ask them if they're looking to buy a house. And I'm like, well, they're my family and friends. I know whether they're, you know, this kind of a big life choice. I kind of know that. And I'm like, and even if they are, what do I how do I help them? Like, what do I What do I do next? And there really was no, like, follow up to that, because that's what they hid her to is like, I don't know, you just sit down and start calling all your sphere of influence and see what they have to say. So eventually, like I said, when I got other coaches, they were like, hey, you know, there's different pieces to this, like you, you're gonna have your sphere of influence. But who else do you want to work with? Who else do you want to help? What do you think you're good at that is going to help you narrow down like a niche or where you go from here. So having someone to be like, Hey, let's sit down and look at other pieces of this not just hey, you just sit down and do this or cold call or things like that helped me to really go down a path of understanding, okay, like, what are my strong suits? How can I use that to help my clients? You know, where do we go from here? And then really, as far as the brokerage? You know, I'm with Fathom Realty now, and I started out at REMAX, and it's a great company. But, again, I've just learned along the way, like different questions that I felt like I should ask, a lot of it to me is not just the company, it's about who your principal broker is. So there's a lot of great REMAX is and Tucker's and small firms and big firms. For me, it was like, you know, who do you align with what, what principal brokers have the same ideas about the business and are supportive and things like that? So

Ian Arnold: 12:36

that's awesome. Now I know we're coming up on the break, how would somebody get a hold of you?

Crissi Matthews: 12:41

Um, you can text or call me on my cell, which is 317-909-3111. Or if emails better, they could email me at Chrissy and co@gmail.com

Ian Arnold: 12:57

That's a great phone number though. 909311. And, Rick, how would somebody get a hold of us?

Rick Ripma: 13:05

I'm afraid to say our phone number now.

Ian Arnold: 13:06

I'm a true test.

Rick Ripma: 13:11

HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com or 317-672-1938 31767 to 1938.

Ian Arnold: 13:20

And after the break, we'll find out what is crazy superpower.

Unknown: 13:26

Advisors, mortgage brokers licensed by Indiana Department of Financial Institution equal housing opportunity. NMLS 33041 Rick Ripma NMLS 6649

Rick Ripma: 13:35

Hi, I'm Rick Ripma. With the hard work and mortgage guys and advisors Mortgage Group, where we believe delivering the best mortgage for you is why we exist and it's how we all succeed. We believe honesty, kindness and hard work are how we honor each client

Ian Arnold: 13:48

at hardworking mortgage guys, we believe in custom tailored loans, not the one size fits all approach.

Unknown: 13:53

We believe in always presenting you with all your options. So you get the loan you want the way you want it. We believe in continually monitoring the rules, rates and market trends. So you don't have to we believe in working hard to meet your closing date so that your entire plan isn't upended. We believe in offering the same quick online process that the bookstore mortgage companies brag about whether you're refinancing or buying your first home, we believe

Rick Ripma: 14:18

there is the best mortgage for you and we believe we are the team to deliver it find us online at hardworking mortgage guys.com.

Announcer: 14:30

Brought to you by advisors Mortgage Group where we believe the more you know about financing a home the less stressful buying and refinancing will be

Ian Arnold: 14:43

all right. Hey, welcome back from the break and Chrissy is still here. So the break we're doing a good job lately keeping people down their seat. Yeah, well, the chains and the handcuffs might help but All right, so before we get into what is your superpower It's time for question of the week.

Unknown: 15:02

Now it's time for

Ian Arnold: 15:04

questions with the gurus. The question of the week is actually sponsored by Rick and me, the hardworking mortgage guys, where we believe in helping, helping is important. You and your realtor by sending constant updates throughout the process contacts us today. HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com

Rick Ripma: 15:28

It's easy for him to say right? Yeah. Contact us today.

Ian Arnold: 15:34

Hey, you better conduct. Alright, right. So what was your first car?

Crissi Matthews: 15:42

Oh, I think it was called a Beretta. One of those bright yellow Berettas. And now I went and dream and drive in that because it attracts way too much attention to you when you're speeding down the road. But yeah, it was yeah, no, never. But just in case, you know. But yeah, it was one of those yellow what I forget what the name of the actual Camaro? No, no, it was. It was Chevrolet. Yeah, I think so. Chevy brands. Yeah, I think so. Yeah.

Rick Ripma: 16:15

I thought was a Camaro. tag on it. Yeah, I thought, but I may be wrong. Was it a two or four door?

Crissi Matthews: 16:22

It was a two door.

Rick Ripma: 16:26

But they may have put on other cars. You know, it's funny. You're talking about speeding that I was saw somewhere today where I guess the Indiana General Assembly is trying to put something in where they'll they'll have radar cameras now. Speed Cameras within give us tickets with a camera? Great.

Ian Arnold: 16:42

I better not put that on 465. Everybody's getting?

Rick Ripma: 16:47

I don't know how they could give that many.

Crissi Matthews: 16:49

I know. I know. We've got to speedway's around here we've got the motor speedway at Indianapolis. And then we've got 465 So

Rick Ripma: 16:58

465 Is it? I mean, it's I cannot believe how fast people are 65 now. Amazing.

Ian Arnold: 17:07

Yeah. If you're going the speed limit, you're getting ran out. Oh, yeah. Better

Rick Ripma: 17:11

not. Yeah, the speed limit. And I don't even I've started the I stay out of the fast lane. Because I mean, there's people going in the fast lane to their 100 miles an hour. Yeah. Thanks, Mark. Yeah. Dad gone. I mean, I I like to I like to go fast. But not It's not safe people aren't that that good to drive? Yeah, to be safe for me to go that fast on a road like for the speedway though I would be willing to.

Crissi Matthews: 17:37

Yeah, yes. That would be a fun experience,

Rick Ripma: 17:39

though. Other cars. So my favorite question is, what are your superpower? Or superpowers?

Crissi Matthews: 17:48

Um, I would say my superpowers are where superpower is taking people who don't really think that they have the option or the ability to become homeowners and helping them through the process. So sometimes people just reach out and ask questions, but they don't really think it's going to happen for them and things like that. So for me, knowing what I know, on the lending side, and knowing as much as I know about helping people build credit or take care of negative items and things like that. I find a lot of people are like, wow, you know, so this this kid, actually, you could actually help me do this. And so I would say I have helped a ton of people go from renters to homeownership, just due to the knowledge that I have and the patience and the processes that I have in place for them to be able to you know, make it make it down that funnel and make it to homeownership. So yeah, I would say that's probably my superpower.

Rick Ripma: 18:58

That's awesome. And homeownership is a life changing for many people

Crissi Matthews: 19:04

definitely is it's it's a huge it's a huge accomplishment for people and it's just a different feeling to come home to a home and not a house, a house that you can do what you want to you can paint it your colors, you can hang out photos of your family you can get another pet without having the approval of someone it's just a game changer for people. I mean, yeah, I've I've seen people's excitement and it's just

Rick Ripma: 19:35

it's great wealth, you help them build you know, I don't know why I've had many people talk about it, but I wonder we should probably run the numbers sometime and see what the average person increase in wealth is by buying a house like a first time homebuyer because if they stay there, any time at all, they build a tremendous amount of wealth the difference between a renter and a and a homeowner and the average The wealth that they have is like a half a million dollars.

Crissi Matthews: 20:06

I saw the other day, I wasn't sure in terms of dollars, but I did see the other day were on an article where someone said people's wealth is 40 times greater if they're homeowners versus renters. So, I mean, you're just automatically saving your you're forced saving. You don't I mean, if you're gonna make a payment every month anyway. And you know, it kind of goes hand in hand with saying that, hey, you're throwing money away. People are like, Oh, well, I can't save money. I can't save money. Well, you're, you're automatically saving money by being a homeowner every month, not only in the equity that you're building, but the money that you're paying down the house. So it's like twofold, right? That you're making money, or gaining, I shouldn't say making money, gaining more wealth in the ownership status.

Ian Arnold: 21:00

I mean, easy way to think about it, and I try to explain it. Let's take appreciation out of it. If you just take the average house in in Marin County sells for about 220, I think, last I saw on my board. So if you take that just you bought a house for 220. All right, and you did a 15 or 30, year mortgage, whatever, you paid that off, guess what? That house now is your equity is 220,000. You have wealth to you, because you paid off your house. That's not including, again, no appreciation, nothing like that. So that's quite a bit not to mention what you've saved up in the long run anyway. So

Crissi Matthews: 21:40

yeah, I mean, it's, it would be hard, I think, for the average person to save as much as they can save without home ownership, honestly,

Rick Ripma: 21:49

right? Because you have things to spend it on, like, where you live, and food and all that other. So if somebody's out there listening to go, man, I want to work with her. I want her to be my real estate agent. What's the best way for them to get a hold of you

Crissi Matthews: 22:04

call or text me at 317-909-3111 or email me at Christiane co@gmail.com.

Rick Ripma: 22:13

And you know, she's a lot better than me because I have to look at my phone number every single time I can. I have so many phone numbers. I can't remember them all. You know,

Ian Arnold: 22:23

the funny thing is, if I were to ask you back in 2001, what phone numbers were you could probably rattle them off like crazy. Oh, yeah. As soon as you got that cell phone numbers went out the window, because you don't

Rick Ripma: 22:37

lose your phone. It's over

Ian Arnold: 22:39

with. If you

Rick Ripma: 22:40

need to get a hold of ESRI, it's hard working mortgage guys.com. That's hardworking mortgage guys.com or 317-672-1938. That's 317-672-1938. And on the website, you can look around the website, but you can also get all of our contact information there. That's probably the easiest way from the website to contact. Yes.

Ian Arnold: 22:58

All right, so crazy. What is one thing somebody should if somebody is looking for a real estate agent? What should they look for in a real estate agent? And also what type or in question they should ask a real estate agent?

Crissi Matthews: 23:12

Well, I think across the board, a couple of things that you should look for is someone who's very good at communication. Because communication is the key to every deal, not with the client only, but with the title company, with the lenders, with the appraisers with the inspectors, communication. It's like the glue that holds these deals together. So someone that's got great communication, and obviously they're going to, they're going to answer your call when you reach out to them. And someone that's got a good reputation as well, because it's a relationship business. And you want to work with people who have good relationships with other people. I've I've actually won deals for my clients before where we were not the highest offer. And it's because I had done other deals with these agents and they liked the way I handled things and it was professional and they knew it was gonna get done. So reputation and communication, but I also think it depends on what you're looking to do as well. So if you're a first time homebuyer, you're gonna want somebody who's very patient with you. And, you know, knows, like we said the ins and outs of like financing and other things to advise you on. Or if you're somebody who's relocating, you probably want someone who is more familiar with other sides of town. Some realtors only work a very specific area and they don't go outside of that. So you want someone who's you know, lived or worked on multiple sides of town and can advise you from their own personal experience, I think so. It really just depends, but

Rick Ripma: 24:59

it's obviously The important you get the right agent and communication. I think throughout every transaction in a real estate, there's just so many moving parts that can I agree 100% Communication is, is king. And definitely if you're trying to get an agent, you know, you're interviewing agents or talking with agents, and, and they don't communicate with you, that would probably be one to just move on from. Right. If they, you gotta give everybody a chance, because I have had times when the email I sent, you know, I sent didn't got lost, they didn't, they didn't see it went to their spam, or you miss a call those things happen to everybody, even great people, communicators. But, you know, you got to give them a chance to make sure but if they consistently don't contact you, it's one of those pet peeves of mine. It drives me crazy. Yeah. Yeah. And quickly, I want to be I want to be communicated with quickly.

Crissi Matthews: 25:54

Yes. And, you know, you'll see deals that all that will fall apart because there was bad communication, maybe between the appraiser and the lender. And if you don't have someone that's willing to jump in, and not the person that says that's not my job, but they will jump in and say, Okay, well, what are we doing here? What's up, you can't get a hold of them, I'll try to get a hold of them, you know, what's the contact information? There's a lot of stepping out and doing things that aren't quote your job, right. But they need to happen. And so do you have an agent that's willing to get out there and make sure it happens? Yeah. So

Rick Ripma: 26:30

like, to that point. Now for appraisal? We can't even talk to an appraiser, right, right. It's like, I can't talk to him. So I can't communicate, which is a weird thing. When you have a vendor you can't even talk to, but we have people in the office who can talk to him, right? But you still have to be very careful what you say. I have found this though, where I've, you know, you have a real estate agent where you're trying to communicate. And I've or you're a customer who you can't get them to do what you need. Or you have a title company that you can't get them. You don't work with them all the time. You can't get him to do what you need. You call the agent. You know, if the listing agents, when awarded the title work, you call the listing agent say hey, listen, can you help me out 99% of time, they jump in happily and take care of it. And it makes ever it's for everybody, it makes everything go smoother? We don't want to do that. But what else are we going to do sit sit there and wait. And they don't get what get us what we need. Because there's certain things we have to have from a title company at certain times, in order to keep moving forward and progressing. Yeah. And you run into the same issues, I'm sure, yeah. And it can drive you crazy. If everybody doesn't work together, I like working with people who will see it as a team and we all work together to ultimately we all have the same goal to get the house closed.

Crissi Matthews: 27:45

And it goes back to the relationships like we talked about, does this agent have good relationships with title companies? Do they have good relationships with their lenders? You know, when we say, hey, when we give referrals and we say, Hey, this is a team of people that I'm used to working with, you're you're probably going to get better responses from those people than someone that's just a one off that you're not used to working with. So I think it's helpful when you listen, you know, to your realtor on the referrals they give you because this is someone if we work with them a lot, they're going to be more responsive, because they know there's a lot more work that's going to be done with them a lot more deals and things like that. So they tend to respond to you. A little bit quicker. Yes.

Rick Ripma: 28:32

Sometimes, yeah. There's certain people that I think what you really you're kind of eliminate the ones who don't communicate. We communicate a lot, you know, and that's one of those things that we think is extremely valuable. You have to communicate, so we're always, you know, we call everybody every week, everybody in a transaction gets called every week, just because you have to know right? Yep. You got to know we are running out. Up on the break, aren't we? Yeah, man. This has been quick. It has been alright, I guess not the break. This is the end of the radio show. We're gonna go over to the podcast size that works. Let's do it. Well, let's do it. But first, Chris, if somebody needs to get a hold of you, for any real estate needs, what is the best way

Crissi Matthews: 29:14

you can call or text me at 317-909-3111 or you can email me at Christie and co@gmail.com.

Rick Ripma: 29:24

And to get a hold of the inner eye. It's hard working mortgage guys.com That's hard working mortgage guys.com or 317-672-1938 31767 to 1938. Join us on the podcast

Ian Arnold: 29:36

in the real estate gurus

Announcer: 29:39

you're listening to in these real estate gurus with Rick Ripma and Ian Arnold. To hear the conclusion of this interview, go to hardworking mortgage guys.com and hit the podcast have. Brunch NMLS number 33041 Recruitment NMLS number 664589 Ian Arnold NMLS number is 199546 and On equal housing opportunity, some restrictions apply.

Unknown: 30:03

Well, first off, thank you for joining us, Danielle. I appreciate it. And I just was curious, how did you come to find out about Rick Ripma and advisors mortgage? Well, I was looking for a mortgage for myself for a brand new home that I was building. And I wasn't sure the direction to go, I didn't have anybody in mind. So I kind of just spoke to whoever I could speak to, I got their number, and everything seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. So I went with them. The thing I liked the most about Rick and his advisors mortgage, is that I could go and upload things online. And I didn't have to always be on the phone with them or sending them documents or trying to look for certain things that I needed to get the process going. Which was really great for me, I had a processor named Mark Coleman, who really helped me out in making sure I had everything I needed. Because I I didn't know the first thing about having a mortgage. So it was awesome to have so much help. I think probably what I've benefited from the most is really just the understanding that sometimes I would get busy. And maybe I forgot to upload a document or I forgot to do a certain part of the process in a timely manner. And they would get right back with me and it wasn't like a, hey, we really need this right now. It was always Hey, just wanted to make sure you still remember that we need this. Well, you don't get that too much. In this day and age, it seems like most people are either, you know, very demanding of something they need from you. And they need it right now. And, and I agree. I've seen that in Rick's attitude with us over over the last 10 years that he's very patient, but also helpful to get the right things he needs. So, exactly. In conclusion is Rick Ripma and advisors mortgage, somebody that you would use in the future and or tell your friends and family about? Absolutely. And I just want to thank them for all the effort they put in to help me find my dream home.

Announcer: 31:54

Ranch NMLS number 33041 Recruitment NMLS number 664589 equal housing opportunity, some restrictions apply. I'm Rick Ripma, you can go to hard working mortgage guys.com

Ian Arnold: 32:04

Hey, welcome. If you just joined us on the radio, you chose the right chapter. So congratulations, gold star for you. All right, that's exciting. I know. Hey, who doesn't like gold stars?

Rick Ripma: 32:15

Your kids love them.

Ian Arnold: 32:16

I know. It works for the chore list. That's awesome. So Chris, what was your most memorable deal?

Crissi Matthews: 32:27

Oh, man, I've had a few of them honestly. Can I talk about my most memorable so it's not one deal, but it's one family. These people reached out to me they had had kind of a not a great relationship or experience with another realtor. And so they reached out to me and it was this really young couple which I get really excited and really happy to see young people taking the steps so quickly and just moving up but they had just started their family and they they had purchased a manufactured home out in the country as just their starter home just a way to get started, which I think is great and very smart for them to do. And as their family was growing they're like hey, you know we need our next house well, they had built quite a bit of equity and had paid down that quite a bit so they weren't quite ready to you know, go to like that forever home but but they were really coachable. And they you know, I suggested some areas and some things and they said we trust you let's just let's do what we just did here again, let's move to the next house that works for us right now. Knowing it's not where we're going to be forever but let's just do it. She was great at decorating and redoing things and so she used that skill a lot to her advantage. So we found them a home in Pendleton and they came in and did a lot of great things with it made it really beautiful on the inside. And within like two years they called me again already and said okay, now we found the forever home we're ready to move and I mean these people are on their third house now already in their in their 20s and this was just really exciting for me to see them transition like this. They went from that first starter home to a house on several acres now that again she's redoing and things like that, but it to me that's just so exciting to see someone so young, really go out there and make it happen and make that decision. And like I that's just so exciting to me and it makes me so happy. They're good friends of mine now and I'm just like, really proud of them I guess I would say so that's one experience that I always think of, I guess the now When just real quick is, I have a family that every single time one of their children turns about 18 or 19, they call me and say, we're ready to get them out of the house. Find them at home. But I think it's so nice that these parents are so trusting of me to take this kid that they're, you know, pushing out into the world and say, We're gonna call up our realtor, she helps and, and I, I've helped three of their kids already. And they just let me know, hey, about a year, we'll be calling you for the last one. So.

Ian Arnold: 35:37

So has any of the kids just popped in and goes, I didn't get far away, can I move to California or something at somebody's house? They're

Crissi Matthews: 35:44

not so far. Not so far.

Rick Ripma: 35:47

That does say a lot, though, when they went to when the parents trust you to take care of their kids. Yeah. It says a lot about you. And it's a it's very rewarding, I'm sure when that happens.

Crissi Matthews: 36:01

Oh, definitely, definitely. And, again, like you said, it's because it's the parents saying, Hey, you're going out into the world. And here's the person that we trust to take you and find you. A good affordable home to get you started.

Rick Ripma: 36:14

And it's so important. It's just like that the the first one you talked about where they're, they've done three homes already. You think of the each house I'm sure that they made, because she's good at decorating, she's good at that. So they made money on each house. So they just parlay that into the next house, and then parlay that and you keep moving up. And as you do that you're building your wealth. So it's not only your home, your your wealth is going up, it's such a critical piece. I just think that's, that's really, really important. So what do you find yourself spending your most time on as a real estate agent?

Crissi Matthews: 36:48

Oh, it's it's split up between a lot of things. Obviously, being out showing houses is a lot of it, because you want to make sure you're finding the right one. But I'm following up with people like finding houses and following up with them and just saying, hey, you know, what do you think about this one? Do you think this would work. And when you've got a lot of people that are looking, I'll get up and spend a lot of time in the morning seeing what new houses have hit the market? Are any of them a good fit for my buyers? And, you know, instead of just setting them up on a search and sending that just blasting them with a lot of houses, I tend to go through because I know my buyers really well and really look at them myself and say, you know, is this a good fit for them, they really wanted this or you know, these people are good at fixing things up, they would be fine for this house or you know, these people want move in ready in this house looks great are different people's styles or the size of their kitchen, there's a lot of time that I spend looking through those houses before I forward them on and say, Hey, I think this house would work well for you. And I've had two times here lately where I said, Hey, I think this house would work for you. And they looked at the pictures and they said no. And then when we were down the street looking at another and they said you know what? Let's just Let's just go look at that house that you sent real quick. And we'll just see. I don't think it's going to work. They bought both of them. Yeah, so that's like, all right. I knew I knew it. So yeah, that's, that's always fun to see that like, all right. So I, I didn't know exactly what you were looking for. Well,

Ian Arnold: 38:30

sometimes pictures don't show the true house. I've always said this, especially back before drones and stuff. You people take picture the back yard and it would look humongous. And you walk back there and it's like a two by two by two foot square. And you're like, This is all my backyard is Oh,

Crissi Matthews: 38:50

yeah. Well, they use those angled lenses to make rooms look really large. And then you you can't even walk past each other while you're in the house. Right?

Rick Ripma: 38:59

I don't get that because I would I would be a little irritated that it was so fake. And and I would not be. I mean, they got you in there. Yeah, but I don't know how that helps you get get a buyer. Yeah, maybe it does. But to me, I don't see how that works.

Crissi Matthews: 39:16

Honestly, I think portraying the house is closest to what it is in real life is the best way that you can portray your listing.

Rick Ripma: 39:24

Yeah, unless somebody's not gonna come in. They're just gonna buy off pictures. Yeah.

Crissi Matthews: 39:29

But there's going to be a buyer for it regardless. So you don't really need to just bring in as many people as I mean, you want to bring in as many people as you can, but not off of, you know, altering photos and

Rick Ripma: 39:42

you want to bring in buyers who are interested in that house. So that's what I think I think that really, really does matter. So what is what is your team look like?

Crissi Matthews: 39:54

So it's actually just me and my transaction coordinator right now. So She tends to make sure all the T's are crossed, and, you know, i's are dotted and things are, you know, done in the background, you know, being out in the car, showing houses and being in front of people a lot, there's still a lot of things that need to happen on the back end. So she's really helpful in that and making sure there's another person communicating in in the deal. Because I want, I want someone to be able to get in touch with someone when they may have a question or need something fairly quickly. And if I'm with one client, obviously, I can't be but I want to make sure that there's a backup plan for someone for them to get in touch with so. So everything I'm doing right now, it's just me and her

Ian Arnold: 40:42

awesome. So has she, like, basically been your mentor and stuff like that and helped you through getting everything.

Crissi Matthews: 40:50

Um, she's not my mentor, per se, but she is. So she coordinates all the paperwork and all the transaction. So everything that needs to be emailed back and forth, and uploaded here and sent to this person, she helps monitor and make sure that that gets done very quickly. So that everything is really smooth.

Rick Ripma: 41:11

Yeah, that's what a transaction coordinator has, you know, she's kind of your support. Right? Yeah. And so she supports you, and she lets she allows you to go do the things that are out in public. And she's in the background, making sure everything goes smoothly. Yep. And it's a critical, it's a critical piece. Do you have in your like, are you working kind of just the two of you? Or are there other people in the at fathom? fathom? Are there other people there that are mentors? Or that? Or is it just the two of you?

Crissi Matthews: 41:42

Um, yeah, so my principal broker actually, Brent records, he's, he's been a great mentor. I've had, I've had several different good mentors along the way at different brokerages, or even just real estate coaches that are not necessarily at my company. I think that different people bring different value. And so I've been really lucky in that I've met people along the way, who have had a lot of great information and value to share with me. So I mean, even even old principal brokers where, you know, I'm not at that brokerage anymore, but we're still very much in touch. And you know, I can reach out to them if just to say hi, or say, hey, you know, what, what was your suggestion on how to make this happen? Or, you know, whatever,

Rick Ripma: 42:34

I think that's critical. You have to have mentors to help you through, because you can't have been through even even somebody with many, many years of experience hasn't been through everything that can happen on the transaction. And it's helpful that people who can help you walk through those

Crissi Matthews: 42:47

type of things. Yeah, very true. We all have different experiences. So

Rick Ripma: 42:51

yeah, absolutely, we do.

Ian Arnold: 42:53

Okay, so looking towards the future, what do you see one, like the housing market? How it looking here in Indiana, the next few years? And also, are you planning on growing a team or anything? Do you think?

Crissi Matthews: 43:08

So I'll start with the team. First, I actually have a couple of well, I've had several people who are not licensed come to me and say, Hey, I really want to get my license. And I really want to work with you. And for years, I've said, Oh, I don't I don't have a team I'd I don't have a team. But you know, my principal broker Brent, like I said, he finally said to me recently, like, what what are you doing? You have a lot of people come to you, and they want to work specifically with you. Why don't you consider it so I did recently tell a couple of people who are working on getting their licenses right now that I would bring them on and start a team and mentor them to make sure that they, you know, got got out and got running and got good advice and things like that. So yeah, I I suspect I will be starting a team here in the next few months, depending on how long it takes some of them to get their license. In terms of the real estate market, you know, there's just there's still so many buyers that even though all these people keep saying, oh, there's going to be a crash and this and that. I mean, you can't predict everything, but I don't foresee a crash or prices just going down insanely or anything like that. There have been price reductions, and it has leveled out some it's not like the last two years where it was just it was just absolutely crazy. But you know, for example, there, people are told now well, you know, you can take your time and you can No, I mean houses are still getting multiple offers, and might not sell in two hours, but it's, if it's a good house and it's priced correctly, it's still gonna sell in the next day or two, two days. So I just I read up a lot on those kinds of things. there's just there's still so many buyers, you know, even with the rates because contrary to what people say, you know, six and 7% rates Well, while they're not they're not. Yeah, they're not they're not, you know, 15 and 20%, like they have been before, they're still fairly good. I don't think we're ever going to be in like the one 2%, again, where you're just basically getting money for free, I don't know, but nobody can tell you Yeah, but I just, I still see a lot of buyers and a lot less houses. So I still think that it's, it's gonna continue to probably be a seller's market for a while, she must

Ian Arnold: 45:46

subscribe to our channel, sir, because that's basically what we say,

Rick Ripma: 45:51

well, so when you bring a new person on, you're talking about bringing a brand new person on what are what are the one or two or three things that they that you're gonna they need to do, they have to do to, to not fail.

Crissi Matthews: 46:04

The first is gaining knowledge, because coming out of real estate school does not teach you how to be a realtor. It doesn't teach you how to sell houses, it doesn't teach you how to, or what to look for, and good referral partners for your clients, there's, you come out basically knowing the laws and the rules and your contracts. And that is about it. Right? So gaining knowledge in all the areas that they need to figuring out who they want to work with, and then figuring out how they can provide the most amount of value to that specific person, whether they want to be listing agents, and they they need to do this for sellers or, you know, buyers are even more specific buyer niches. So one is just keep learning, start learning and and don't stop learning as much as you can. The second thing I think is going to be communicating what you do now, because, you know, some people just don't post it on their social media No, like, it's, it's something that you have to have the conversation with people and talk to them about it and make them feel comfortable, especially when you're new. Because they're like, oh, you know, you're new, like, do you really know how to sell my house, like, you know, just communicating what you know. And in starting to build your team of people get really good referral partners. Because for everything you don't know, if you have great referral partners, they're going to help you if you have great lenders to help your clients if you have great title reps. So knowledge and relationships are the two things I would tell them to start working on right away.

Rick Ripma: 47:44

And the where they go work matters, because that's where your mentors are. And that's where you're going to have, because you always have to have, you can be brand new and do well, you just have to have somebody who can help walk you through as you learn and guide you through that. So you don't make you know, any major mistake might still make major mistakes. But it does help a lot to have somebody have those mentors, that makes a big difference. You had mentioned the market, you know, this was one of the things he and and I really enjoy. So I can't just let it go by. But how is our inventory right now?

Crissi Matthews: 48:20

I wish there was more of it, let's put it that way. Not much. There's not as much as there needs to be. So you know, I'll run a search for a buyer. And it used to be where they might have 2530 houses to look at now I might be looking through, you know, run their initial search and maybe have eight to 10 houses to look through. And you know, each day for each one of them, there might only be 234 that pop up that might fit their criteria. So I would say it's a little bit low. And what do you hope to see more houses hitting the market?

Rick Ripma: 48:56

What do you think will happen if rates drop 1% from what they are today,

Crissi Matthews: 49:03

I think it would help buyers to to come back out and start looking a little bit more even though they've gotten a little bit more comfortable with where they are right now with each little bit of a drop there is the more the more buyers start to come out. But I've also seen a lot of first time homebuyers get to where they were approved at like that two or 3%. And now that it's so high, based on the prices that we have, it's very hard for them to find something in their budget. So the lower those rates are and the better those monthly payments are the more I think some of the first time homebuyers will look and go, Oh, hey, I can I can afford again. Now that it's dropped here. This lowers my payment X amount of dollars and I can afford to look again,

Rick Ripma: 49:51

I think as this all happens, because I think rates are coming down. And I think what we're gonna have is very close to what we had before maybe not as much of a seller's market, but there's a huge lack of inventory. There's a huge amount of first time homebuyers because of the age group and the birth rates 3537 years ago. And that's when the first time homebuyers tend to be some in the 20s. But average is in that 30s. So it's going to be I think it's I think it's very likely to get booming again. And I think it's why if you have the ability you should buy now. Because when that happens, you pay more for house, you can always refinance if rates go down. But if they don't go down, then you got the best rate, right? Because we celebrate

Crissi Matthews: 50:36

that's true. And it is hard to convince people with the people that say, I'm gonna wait, I'm gonna wait, they don't realize you're, you're actually paying more if you wait, right for multiple different reasons, the best time to buy is, if that's what's for you. I'm not saying everybody should buy but for the people that can or want to buy, the best time to buy is yesterday and the next best time to buy is today.

Ian Arnold: 51:00

Yeah, and I think it's the first time homebuyers, I think this is about to be their prime time to buy. Yeah, the rates are a little higher, but you're not having bidding on a home with 40 other people and they are 50 $60,000 over asking price because a first time homebuyer doesn't have that much saved up because they haven't had those houses to have the equity in. Yep, I agree.

Rick Ripma: 51:22

It's, I just think it's a really good time to buy right now. I think people should really consider it. And you can because you can always refinance if rates go down. Like I said, if rates go up, then you just got the best rate. I don't think they're going up. Nothing goes rates, they'll go straight down, then they'll go straight up, right? They they're gonna bounce around, but they are. I believe they're on their way down. I think next month could be a little rough. They could go up a little bit, but then I think we'll see see them come down. But we are out of time. So if somebody needs to get a hold of you for any of their real estate needs, what is the best way

Crissi Matthews: 51:53

call or text me at 317-909-3111 or email me at Christiane co@gmail.com.

Rick Ripma: 52:03

And that was 317-909-3111 Yep, call or text? All right, perfect. And to get a hold of Ian or I, it's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys.com Or you can call us at 317-672-1938 31767 to 1938.

Ian Arnold: 52:21

A reminder if you have any friends, family or coworkers looking to buy sell or refinance contact records, and we'll be more than happy to help them and don't

Rick Ripma: 52:29

forget to follow us. Yes, follow us follow us