Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Michael El-Bitar, Realtor with West & Main Homes

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

Michael is a Colorado native and was raised in the Vail Valley. Growing up in a family that invested in real estate, he grew up in the business. Michael brings lots of experience to the table with knowledge from a father in construction who taught him renovation skills and creating value in properties and a mother who was in real estate, who taught Michael how to find the “deal” as well as the property management side of the business.Michael will put this knowledge to work for you in assisting in all your real estate needs, whether it is helping you negotiate a deal on the purchase or sale of your home, commercial property, rental property, investment property, or even a flip. Michael is a member of the Colorado Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS.Michael earned his Eagle Scout in 2010 and graduated valedictorian of his high school class. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in psychology while obtaining his pilot’s license along the way. In his free time, Michael enjoys reading, investing, and the outdoors.Learn more:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-el-bitarhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/westmainhomes/mycompany/https://www.westandmain.co/michael-el-bitarhttps://www.instagram.com/livingtonegotiate/Elite Real Estate Leaders Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/elite-real-estate-leaders-podcastSource: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-michael-el-bitar-realtor-with-west-main-homes

Welcome to the Elite Real Estate Leaders Podcast, brought to you by Trailstone Insurance Group, bringing you interviews with the best real estate and mortgage professionals, empowering you to understand the current trends in the housing market so that you make the American dream your reality. Enjoy today's episode. Welcome to the Elite Real Estate Leaders podcast. Today we have with us Michael Elbatar, who's a realtor with West and Maine Homes. Michael, welcome to the program. Hey, how's you going, Mike?

Doing really good. Hey, get us started with getting to know you. What's your background and your story? And how did you get into the real estate business? Yeah, so I've been, you know, in the real estate industry for two years as an agent. But before that, growing up, I'd help my parents find investment properties and kind of, they used to do kind of the birth mess. method before that was really a thing and that got me into real estate um and then i studied

psychology in school and um and by my junior senior year i realized that i didn't want to go through with the masters and whatnot but switched to real estate because i figured that it would still be really useful here you know it's funny you said master's because with that degree program pretty much you need a master's or beyond to do anything with it and but you yet I think at the same time, I'll bet you find that some of the concepts in psychology really help you in your current business because you're really learning how to work with people and how they people make buying decisions and how you need to listen and serve and educate and show empathy. So talk a little bit about that background of psychology, how it helps you

in bringing the best value to your real estate clients. Yeah, you're completely right. It's, um, studying psychology really taught me how to listen and, you know, pay attention to the important details and really make people be heard, which is really helpful both in serving my clients because then I can help them find exactly what they want and on the negotiation side because all negotiation is is really communication. So I've got to use it quite a bit. Yeah, so what are some of the ways that you see that communication style coming into need? Because I'll bet you find it in initially talking to clients, discovering what they need, but then also as you move through the process.

So how does some of those touch points unfold? Yeah, I mean, going through the process, a lot of times whenever I'm working with like a first-time home buyer or someone who hasn't bought a house in a long time, it's a natural reaction to get nervous because this is one of the biggest investments you'll make in your life. So I found it really helpful for helping keep everybody calm and making the process feel as smooth as possible for them throughout the process. 100%. And even then when you get into negotiating and what's best for each side of the equation, because when you negotiate a win, win, win, then everyone feels like that they have contributed and that no one's losing out. So I think that's a huge piece. So talk a little bit about some of your negotiation approaches because it's really not like, ha ha, I won.

I fit to square peg in a round hole. It's let's figure out how everyone can feel good about the transaction. Exactly. And that's kind of the best way that I approach it is really figuring out, for example, if I'm representing the buyer, figuring out what the seller really needs and wants to get out of the sale of this property. and then I can use that to structure the deal that my client will still get everything that they want and the seller will be happy because I like to focus on kind of net numbers they'll walk away with,

which really lets us come to an agreement that makes everybody happy rather than it being kind of a battle against each other. We're all working towards the same goal. And then I also use silence a lot because that's one of the, big things that you kind of learn is as long as you let other people speak, it, you know, can help drive the conversation forward pretty quickly. Yeah. Yeah, because people feel uncomfortable with that silence. You want to feel in the gap, but then it just carries the conversation ahead.

You even have an Instagram name Living to negotiate. So talk a little bit about that approach that you take to negotiations and what you deliver on your Instagram. Yeah, so I pretty much like to share as much as I can on my Instagram there because I figure if I can give out a lot of tips and just helpful information and keep people educated on the market, then using my negotiation skills, we can help get them to their goal. I use it as kind of a way to keep everyone educated and let them know kind of where the big negotiation points are going to. be. And if you're in the position that has the most leverage at the time, then it might be worth reaching out. 100%. So talk a little bit about some of the types of clients you work with. You mentioned that

you work with buyers and sellers. Do you work with investors? And what's your approach that way? Yeah. So I work with both buyers and sellers on the residential side. And then I love to work with investors just because that's my goal in the next, you know, five years is to be investing in a lot of real estate. And my approach there is a lot of buying hold investors. And I have a lot of younger clients who are buying multifamily properties and I like to educate them on kinds of things that they should look for to see if it's a good value for the property and see if it's something that they'll be able to hold on to for, you know, the next. 20, 30 years that can set them up pretty well for the future.

You know, you mentioned buy and hold, and that's a wonderful strategy because it brings a lot of benefits. Do you ever find that you're working with your investors on holding it for the purpose of short-term rental, or is it a mixture between that as well as people that just want to rent it for years on end? Yeah, yeah, I have kind of a mix. We have short-term rentals have been really popular the past few years. And so there's a lot of people that go into it looking for a short-term rental. And I always like to kind of walk them through like, yeah, short-term rental in this area, it could work because there aren't any restrictions on it and kind of help them run

somewhat of the numbers that they can get there and obviously just kind of show them like, this is great. Your plan is really good. If it is, if it's not, then I'll probably say that as well. But then showing them the value in looking at it as the long-term rental and midterm rental as well, in case something changes with that short-term rental market since regulations around it have been changing quite a bit recently. Yeah. And having someone like yourself that stays up with all of those changes is huge.

What is an example of some of those changes that you've noticed? So different counties and different towns have started not allowing short-term rentals. Like a lot of the things that we see is that they'll make a minimum rental stay of 30 days. So if you bought the property only expecting to use it as a short-term rental and really banking on the cash flow from short-term rental, then as soon as one of those gets passed and you're no longer allowed to do a short-term rental, it can put people in a hard place. So that's kind of why I like to run through like, okay, well, in case something happens, let's look at what this property would do for you as mid-term rental and what it would do as long-term rental to make sure that you

won't have to liquidate the property out of the need. Like, if you want to, that's fine, but you won't be forced to do just from one little regulation change. You know, that's a huge point that you bring up because having a backup is not like giving up and going, oh, that didn't work. Let me try this. It's just let's ring all the value out of plan A that we can. And then if and when we need to move to plan B, that's fine. It's just a matter of realizing that you, you know, need to pivot. Exactly, exactly. And especially because it's one of those that, you know, you can be good for years. Like, I know up in the Bill Valley, they have striped to stock short-term rentals a couple of times.

And a lot of areas that are still usable there. But if, for example, you didn't live up there or didn't know the market up there too often, then you might not know that just because the short-term rental is okay right now, it might not be okay next year. Yeah, that's huge. And And here's the other thing from a, I guess from a psychological standpoint, you need to make this correlation, which is, if it's too late and you discover, oops, we should have done this differently, you can't go back and turn time back. You've got to know ahead of time and you've got to know enough ahead of time to make these certain decisions so that you have time to execute them without feeling like you're under pressure and stressed. So having someone like yourself realizing, hey, guys, here's the end game. we need to make sure that these contingencies are in place. That's exactly right.

And, you know, you make a lot better decisions when you're relaxed most of the time than when you're in that real life operating from a necessity standpoint, which is kind of why I take that approach. And yeah, that's from my psychology background where it's just, I like to set you up that we're going to avoid major issues, you know, for the long term. Yep. And then when that happens, you are. able to deliver a smooth transaction and then your projected numbers on that investment property

are right in line because you've now banked off of wise planning ahead of time. And then that client is happy because they're like, hey, Michael, you told us what to expect. We hit that road bump like you were thinking and we moved right through it, around it, up over it, under it. And we've now on the other side and it worked out really well. So that then, I would suspect, brings you to the point where people really are able to refer you because the biggest frustration in real estate transaction is when those things implode. And if you don't have a, if you have a way to avoid them or work your way through them smoothly, then that's huge. So do you find that some of your clients are now being able to refer you to their people that they know because now they experienced a

wonderful relationship with you so far? Oh, yeah, constantly. Most of my past clients send me about three to five referrals per month, and they might not be someone who's ready right now, but even if it's just bringing them to an event I host once a month, which is my next gen investors event in the Rino office at Weston, Maine, then, you know, they're always constantly referring me and helping build up their friends and families education around real estate as well. Yeah, and it's sometimes. just a mindset shift. It's like an introduction. You know, there's no referral. There's no

transaction needed. It's just like, hey, I'd like to introduce you to, Michael, or hey, who can you introduce me to to come to our next upcoming event where people can learn? Because then they know you're not a high pressure person. You're just teaching and educating. Exactly. Exactly. And I've been pleasantly surprised with, you know, how many people I can help educate. And, you know, help get them interested in real estate and really understanding how it all works. That sounds excellent. Well, it's been such a pleasure chatting with you here. If someone is interested in learning more and also reaching out and connecting with you,

what's the best way that they can do that, Michael? Yeah, the best way for them to reach out to me would be giving me a call at 970-471-9887 or sending me a message on Instagram. Awesome. Well, I will make sure to have the link to your Instagram as well as the link to your website in the show notes so people can click right on that. And I just wanted to thank you for coming on today. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Perfect. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Elite Real Estate Leaders podcast. Brought to you by Trailstone Insurance Group. To learn more about the topics mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www.com.com. real estate leaders.com.