Full Transcript is Below:
– [Announcer] Executive leadership. Industry news makers. Top producer insights. This is NFM TV.
– This is hands down of my favorite things that we do on NFM TV. It’s the Top Producer Series, and August addition takes us all the way down to Tampa, Florida. We’ve focused on a lot of originators. We’re flipping the script now and focusing on one of the top agents of the country, as we welcome in Jason Pithers from the Pithers Group of Coldwell Banker. Jason, thanks for being with us.
– Thanks for have invited me on. Great to be here.
– Really really delighted to have you with us. I just want to go over some of your amazing accomplishments in the 19 years you’ve been a realtor, including 17 in Tampa. You have eclipsed the 600 million dollar mark in real estate transactions. Congratulations. Did you ever think you’d be able to get to such a high number when you first started out?
– Not in a million years. It’s been an amazing journey. I’ve been extremely fortunate. And I should say, Tampa Bay has been fantastic to us. It was a big move for Diane and I to move out of New York City back in ’02, but we came just at the beginning of the growth at Tampa Bay and it’s been a fantastic move for us.
– Tell us about your team. Uh, how many people on your team, how many members?
– It’s myself and my wife, Diane. We’re the two team leaders in the lead part as we are 50/50. And then we have four amazing associates in our group as well. And then, none of us would be successful without our staff either. We have a tremendous staff with us.
– Alright, so given all that support, give us a window into what the experience is like for a borrower to work with you and your team. What are some of the things that stand out?
– I think, ya know, I think the beautiful thing is, ya know, Janelis is our transaction manager. She is our safety net quite honestly. She is a huge part of any attraction and once we go to contract, making that she is pivotal in the communication between all our parties. And including the buying of sales as well. You know, it’s all about communication, communication, communication.
– And your average purchase price, uh, you told me before we went on air here around 450, 500 thousand. So that gives everybody kind of an idea. What about listing to buying? Where do you line up there?
– We’re at about sort of a 55% percent listing, 45% buyers for the last six months.
– Okay.
– We’ve come a little bit. We’re listing heavy this year, which is a good thing.
– Do you have any quality of life? How many hours are you putting in, and what are you doing to get that balance going of, uh, work life?
– I haven’t heard that before, quality of life. Uh, we’re working 70, 75 hours a week. Ya know, you get out of it what you put into it. It’s something, you know, as we start to wage up a little bit, it’s been a forefront of our mind that we’re trying to get down to a more balanced life. 55 hour weeks would be phenomenal. We’d love to achieve that, and with the new start we’ve had in the last six months, we’re heading in that direction.
– You did 80 million in transactions last year, you’re on pace to do that again. One thing I noticed in doing a little research on you as we look at some of your videos uh that you’ve done, is you appear to be making a concerted effort at doing more video stuff. Tell us why that is and what role you think that’s gonna play in the future.
– Uh, we’re brought in for two reasons. One for marketing, generally in our listing site, but more importantly, communicating with our clients. Ya know, it is a process as you know on the lending side, and it certainly is on our side as well. We feel that, if we’re to put in each step, once we go to contract in our video, I think the clients will pay much more attention to that, and appreciate everybody’s role within the transaction. You know, they won’t, as we set this out in a video, people can’t resist clicking on a video just to see, you know? The can ignore an email, they can ignore a letter, but in a video, they have to push that button. And we can see when they’re read it as well, and I think that’s really gonna become a growing part of our business, the communication, and the process.
– Well, we’re constantly having to reinvent ourself. Both on the mortgage side and the real estate side. It kind of goes hand and hand. And with that in mind, perfect segue into asking you about discount realtors. Uh, the red fins of the world charging a poultry 1%. Uh, is this a threat and what do you say when someone says to you, “Wow Jason, should I use you or should I use them?”
– I think, you know, it goes back to the old adage that you get what you pay for. That at the end of the day when you do a true side-by-side comparison of what you bring to the table, ya know, where they could save a few thousand dollars may cost them many many more thousands of dollars in the negotiation and the pricing of a property as well. I was recently, I recently won a listing against a reduced commission brokerage and there was a $65,000 swing in my evaluation compared to theirs, and we got full price of my evaluation. If they’d have gone the other route, they would have been 65,000 less.
– Oh wow. That’s staggering and definitely impactful when you lay it out like that. Uh, lenders. Let’s talk about them for a moment because we’ve got a lot of people watching this right now. How often are you approached by lenders, and what’s the biggest mistake they make in trying to get your business?
– We’re approached from lenders on a daily basis because the size of our group and our success. And I think one of the most unproductive way for them to spend their time is really is to text us. Ya know, at the end of that it’s the personalized approach and having consistency. Ya know, it’s not gonna be easy to pierce our veil in our preferred lenders. Ya know, we have relationships that we know and trust will get us to the closing table. Um, and it’s really that constant follow-up waiting for that lucky break at the end of the day. It’s like sitting on the bench in a sports game. Ya know, you’re waiting for someone just to have an accident to come off the field so they can go on. And yeah, if someone were to retire, we have a bad experience, ya know. Maybe that would be that window of opportunity. They would need to be at the forefront of my mind and consistently followed up.
– Okay, great insight. I wanna ask you about some charities that are near and dear to you down in the Tampa area. The Children’s Home Network. Also, the Save the Children’s Fund. Um, tell us about your involvement with those charities and why they are so important to you.
– Well, Diane and I, we have two boys ourselves so kids are very near and dear to our heart as I think all kids are with everybody. And, ya know, they’re helpless in many many respects. So we, I believe and Diane believe that, ya know, people as fortunate as we are need to give back. Um, and to us, children is one of the big things that we want to give back to. Uh, Save the Children is some we donate to on a financial basis every single month. But then on a more localized basis, uh, we wanted to help The Children’s Home Network. There’s a home just down the road from us where we donate both financially and physically give of our time as well. Most recently, we actually combined with NFM Lending. We went down to help reorganize their donations warehouse. Had a great day there, it’s a good team building exercise. It was fun. We gave back, and we’ve said to them, ya know, as we move forward did they need buildings painted, help with landscaping, what do they need? And physical products every single month, they’re always short of something that we go off to Costco, fill up the truck, and take it down to the Children’s Home.
– Those are incredible causes, Jason. Thank you for sharing the information. We’ve got the website up on the screen for those people that want to dig in a little bit and learn more about these charities. Also, of course, your contact information. This has been a real pleasure being able to sit down with someone of your stature. Thank you so much for all the incredible little nuggets you gave our viewing audience. Jason Pithers from the Pithers Group of Coldwell Banker. Our top producer. It’s our top producer series for the month of August. Jason, thank you.
– Pleasure, thanks Greg. Appreciate to you and thanks to NFM.
– Alright, continued success. We’ll talk to you soon. I’m Greg Sher. So long.