KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Lost Your Passion For Real Estate? Watch This Comeback Story!

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

Hi and welcome to Let's Talk About Real Estate Podcast, the podcast for real estate agents absolutely everywhere. I'm Lisa B, and during this podcast we're going to be talking about everything real estate. What's working? What's not working? AI, automation, technology, EXP Realty, and absolutely everything to do with real estate. I'll have guest speakers as well where we'll answer your questions from the Facebook group, let's talk about real estate. So if you haven't joined the Facebook group, make sure you do that now, and we'd be happy to help answering any question. And again, welcome to the show. Barry Feldman, welcome to Let's Talk About Real Estate Podcast.

Lisa B, it's been about 10 minutes since I spoke to you last. I know exactly. We talk all the time. Today, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. What I want to talk to you about today is your experience in real estate, basically. So for anybody that's feeling that, you know, I guess feeling a bit lost, feeling they can't do real estate, not sure what to do, feel like giving up, you've got to listen to Barry's story. You really do.

So do you want to say the story about how we met? Yeah, I was on Facebook because I used to scroll a lot. I still scroll a lot. And somebody was on Let's Talk Real Estate asking for, and I didn't even know I was part of that group, asking for a business coach. And I was a bit struggling at the time. It's like I can, I could. And Lisa suggested, she goes, I used to coach, but I can put you on to different coaches and blah, blah, blah.

So I never met Lisa. This was about June, May June last year, 2020. And I sent Lisa a message saying, I'm looking for a business coach. We got on to one of these things called the Zoom. And I don't know why, but I think Lisa, to show her about empathy at the time with my story and said she'll coach me basically for free and then I was uncoachable.

So basically we used to log on for Zoom for an hour a week and it was just a waste of time. And I was working at a major franchise at the time but we shouldn't mention Mr Hooker's name and with a promise that everything came into the office I was the only salesperson, I would be the lackey, 54 year old,

Lacky with 30 years experience and get every sale and it just didn't happen. I got onto a Zoom with Lisa and said that's it, I'm done. Finished. Real estate's not for Barry anymore. I'll find something else driving Uber.

I've got to pay kids, pay rent, etc., etc. So Lisa started talking to me about this concept called EXP. And I knew about it because I was speaking to someone else in Melbourne and I'm going, I can't do this again.

I just can't. I've been with everyone. You name of real estate franchise. Yeah. Independence. At Realty, Eview, you name it. I've done it. Harcourt's Ray White, everyone.

I can't start again. I don't want to start again. So I said, I don't have even the money to start again. So Lisa said, I'll get you three months free at EXP. All you need is $200-something dollars joining. fee, and go and get some cards printed. You have a computer, you don't need anything else. And she goes, I'll be backing you.

Not financially, but mentally. And I said, well, I got nothing to lose. So I did. I joined DXP, chose my sponsor, which was the hardest decision, but luckily I think I went the right way. You think? I know, she got me hat. Yeah.

And within the first week of joining, I was just out with some friends. And a guy says to me, do you know, can you sell a house in this suburb in Melbourne? And I didn't even know anything about the southern. Except they knew I was hungry. I said, yeah, I can do that.

And signed up my first auction with EXP, signed up my second auction with EXP, and then got called into a 20-minute dollar listing. I wouldn't, if I would have been, LJ. Hooker, I'm not going to say what suburb it was because that's not nice. I would have been pointed into that little area, and this was now a driver as a farm. So I had no chance, but being international, I took my ex-P pollard and my pet like that and my listing kit,

and I drove to the farm in Warrigal and walked out with a $20 million listing using the power of an $89,000. the nearly 90,000 network of 24 countries, soon to be 27. Yeah. Sold it. $19.5 million and really haven't looked back. Yeah, that's amazing. So since then, just, so that's a year ago, that that sold on my birthday became unconditional, the 26th of November, 2023.

So I had, so I capped in a day because I was a day in a day. So until August 1st, I then was on 100% and I was listing and selling and listing and selling. And I didn't get to ICON because I didn't really push that hard, but I will in 2020 this year. And I hired a PA who's out of the about today. I rented an office because I can't work from home. I bought a new car, bought an investment property. I'm looking to buying a second investment property.

And talk about your holidays. How many holidays? I've been to Bali, one, two, I've been to Bali in the last year, three, twice, been to Phuket once and been to India for work once. And I'm going to Bali on Monday again. Exactly. So it's all right. Work-life balance.

When I'm at work, I work seven days. Yeah. And every three months I try and take a week off overseas. I leave my business to the tailor, my PA. Yeah. And she's great, but I'm always there on the phone and internet and Zoom. I can do anything. I've even learned to, I'm learning how to use DocuSline.

Boomer. I'm learning to be paperless, which is really hard. Yeah. And what about the weekend? What happened on the weekend? Three auctions, three sold only reserved by hundreds of thousands and another private sales. So four in the last weekend.

Yeah. Average sale price, one two, one three. something like that. Good time. Next year, next year you're going to be focusing on luxury as well. So, XP,

I've got this thing. As you can see, my background was a world tour. So I spoke on luxury. I spoke about EXP luxury. EXP luxury is a game changer. So my office is situated in Brighton in Victoria. It's the second most expensive area of real estate in Victoria.

It's Turak and then there's Brighton. Yes. And there's been a lot of past in sales in the last six months or four months. And we just haven't had time to concentrate on it yet because we've been selling a whole lot of other stuff. Yeah. But January, when I get back from holidays, Taylor and I are concentrating on luxury listings.

Yes. Going in the $4 million plus range, EXP can offer you $27,000 of marketing for zero. Exactly. Barry Feldman real estate or Melbourne real property, what we call powered by EXP will pay for real estate.com and everything else. So we'll offer your marketing. We'll take a no one just to zero approach. We want listings over four million bucks.

And we're going to get them, sell them. And that's our focus for next year, as well as any other real estate that we get. We're not going to just concentrate on that. So I'm looking. I actually had a meeting with, you don't even know this yet. Lisa. At the Taylor yesterday, we might be looking at putting on a second person to focus on one part of real estate. Well, Taylor and I focus on the actual part.

and it's time to, I don't want to grow too big because I don't have patience for staff. I don't have patience for myself most of the time. I want work-life balance. I still look after two kids, two cats. I've got Lisa B on my head. You know what? Can I just interrupt? Like when we were coaching, I saw you as like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

You know, I always had belief in you and I just needed to get you to see that. you know, and you did, you know, and that's the thing, is having the belief. And so what do you think the difference was, okay, working for yourself, you know, like, what do you, working for myself is huge. Finding the right PA was huge. Yes. Investing in myself. So I took the.

And taking a gamble on yourself. I don't gamble, but I, um. Oh, sorry, okay, not that word. I invested in myself. fly out. Yeah. I was flying to Bali, I made a few sales and I sat,

no, I was flying India in January. It was 12 hour flight. Yes. I sat on the flight and I wrote out for the first time in, I don't know how many years of, you know, I started a proper business plan with a proper budget.

Yes. And I sent it to Lisa and then I was going, it must have been June. I went to Bali and on the way back from Bali, I had a five hour flight. And I did it again. And this time I put a budgeting with figures on how much it's going to cost me and how much everything's going to cost me. And I sent it to Lisa and I sent it to Taylor my PA and I said, this is what I'm going to invest in.

This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to go risk reversal. I'm going to do standard real estate.com accounts. I don't believe in feature plus whatever they call it. Yeah. I can prove it on the weekend. I sold four properties on standard. Yeah.

Other reserves when others didn't sell that many. So I got the track record. Yes. If a property is priced right, it will sell. It will sell. Yeah. So standing real estate dollar-com account is costing me $20,000 a year. Yeah.

And I took the, invested it into that real estate.com account. We're right now investing into a website, just taking time because I haven't had time to sit down and review everything. It's just chasing my legs. So, but I have all in January to plan again, ready to go for February. And on the plane. Two weeks of January, we'd be just planning for February.

Yeah. And it's exciting. I've got to tell you, I'm... It's so good. Like, the difference, I just, I'm so proud of you. The difference to when I first met you to now is like chalk and cheese, how somebody can transform, basically like that. You know, it's, you changed from one minute to the next.

you were like, I'm going to start this other business. Remember, you were going to do something else? And I said, well, what about, you know, and we sort of talked through it and then you went down this road, which, you know, you haven't looked at it. I joined the B&I group. So if you in real estate and you can get into B&I group, do it. It's hard. It's a pain in my bum being on.

Yes. You have to be in the cult of B&I. I'm not into that cult version of BNI yet, but I do it because the rewards are there. Yes. And so find the B&I group. They're hard to get into for real estate agents because everyone wants them for some reason. Start your own BNI group. Network.

I'm out talking. I'm going to tell you that I'm not going to say how much commission I've written, but I've done a lot of sales. Yes. Last year. And I haven't prospected. I've done zero prospecting. Well, you're prospecting by going to BNI, shall you?

One reason for one way of prospecting. of it is just me picking up something that I hadn't picked up for a long time on the telephone and saying here somewhere and just making deals, make him happen. Yeah. It's a hard marketing, Melbourne. It's like really hard. Yeah. I'm just out there hustling.

Tell me, how do you say it's hard when you made four sales? What to me, to describe for people that are listening that are known Melbourne. How was it? I had to get the price on the one. Yeah. Like I had to. So the only expectations are a lot more than what the buyers are prepared. In 90% of the cases.

You've got to have the tough conversations and all that. I've got an option this Sunday or this Saturday at 12 o'clock. My vendors or the price from the public is X. My vendor is Y. Yeah. My previous phone call to the Zoom was ringing up my purchases, my vendors and saying, it's your choice is yours. I'm happy to cancel the auction.

Yeah. What do you mean? this, well, you're 200k above market, you're 20% above market. It's not going to sell. So what do I have to stand there for? Just, I don't need to put a suit on. And they don't like that conversation. I don't like that conversation.

So I start, I preference to conversations when I go into a vendor and I say, I wish I could tell you a conversation when my cat could sell a property. What do you mean? Well, I said two years ago, three years ago, anyone could stand an open for inspection. give out the brochures. Three weeks later, the auctioneer would come, and he would scream.

You'd get 300 grand above reserve. And no one did any selling. It was the market conditions that did it. Now you have to find the buyer, find the seller, get them together, get the prices aligned, negotiate and work and get the sales done. Yeah. And it's hard work.

It's green-haired work. I don't pick up anything heavier than a pen. Yeah. You also do on Air Tasker. Yeah. I don't do any physical work. But I sit there and I work out. I've got the scripts and dialogues.

And I tell them the truth. I don't lie to vendors. I don't give them fake offers. I just, I don't give them the expectations. When I list the property, I tell them this is what I have, tell them there's three figures.

The figure, you tell me, the figure you want, the figure that's achievable, the figure the market's going to give and the one to some time, like we had three on the weekend where we had, roller coaster figures

when they were doing somersault down the street so if the vendor won't listen to the market the market then gives the price we can only massage the market that much yeah in the end if the vendor doesn't want to listen I'm not afraid to go to a vendor

and give them back their keys and so thank you for the opportunity yeah only that many hours I've gotten the day and now that I'm on a hundred percent commission because I've capped. I can make deals. I can give a little bit off the commission if I have to. I can.

Yeah, you're in control. That's my business. You know, EXP is great. EXP's there. They're training every day. Yeah. Do you think that's the difference from going out by yourself? Do you think that's the biggest thing that you had faith in yourself to do?

I'm accountable to three people. Yeah. I'm accountable to you. Mm-hmm. Actually, I'm accountable to myself. Yes. And then I'm accountable to my bank account. That's my life.

But then I'm accountable to you. I don't lie. I'm accountable to the 21-year-old PA. And I'm accountable to my personal trainer. So my personal training gives me an app. And if I bullshit in the app and I say, I've done 12 reps at 50 kilos of a thing, of an exercise. And then I train with her the next day.

She goes, oh, look, Barry, you did 12 at 50. and she puts the 50 kilo weights on and I can't lift it up. I can't lie. No, exactly. You can see I can't do it. Yeah. So you need accountability. You need someone, you need to do this work.

Real estate doesn't just walk into your door. But that's what you did. You did your business plan. You sent it to me, Taylor, and I think you're your personal trainer. You know, you sort of, you've got those people around you. And I think that's really important to set yourself up with people around you that that you can talk to about business. And if you're struggling, they know you're struggling and they've got you've got your back.

You know, they're there to go, you can do this, you know. Even with my trainer, I think I've trained with her. She's my biggest expense in my life. But it saves me because I don't eat out that much anymore. So it's called girl maths. I've learnt about girl maths. So, but it's good for my mental health. So the first thing I'm doing the morning, I'll go to gym.

Yeah. And a few times I've walked out on it. because my head's not there. But when I concentrate and when I do things, same as real estate. Some days I go, I can't do it today. I'm closed on computers.

I've got a couch in the office and I have a nap. Yeah. Some days it's just not there. But when I focus on work, we're out there and we're hustling. And I think that anyone can do real estate. Yeah. But I want to know how many people are going to be doing it

in six months in a hard market. Like it's getting hard now. I don't listen to economists. I don't listen to the public on the street. Yeah, that's right. You're on the call face. Yeah. But, you know, when you're in a national company like EXP

and you go on a Zoom and they start telling you that it's getting hard on in Adelaide, it's getting harder in Sydney, it's hard in Melbourne. So the agent that hasn't been, like I've been doing this too long, but not with as much enthusiasm as I've got now. So the scripts and dialogues, I'm lucky. They just come out of my brain. Yes. And I'm lucky that I've got all that in the brain

and I can still remember it. But it's having the hard conversations. It's not taking it personally. It's not taking it emotionally. It's out there telling the Vendor's the truth. I made a deal that I'm not going to lie to a Vendor. Yes. You know, if I might, you know, I remember once that I was doing an open for inspection

and six people, only at that time six people came straight. And it was an empty, the bend doors had vacated and moved to the country. And I remember the conversation today, I ring the vendor, straight after the open. I go, hello, Mrs. M. Barry, how are you? She goes, great. She goes, how many people came through I said six. And she goes, who's going to buy it? The blonde couple with the baby or the single brunette?

she was watching the open for inspection on cameras. It's everywhere now. You can't lie. You can't lie. You can't lie. You're going to get caught. If I would have told her 23 people came through, I would have lost all credibility with that vendor.

Absolutely. So if I have zero, I tell them zero. Yeah, exactly. You can't lie. Back in the days, people used to do car drops and things like that, you know. But, okay, so tell me, if somebody is feeling lowest of low, they're in real estate, they really don't know what to do. Give me a call.

Well, what advice would you give them? What did you do? When you felt that down and whatever else, what did you do to turn it around? You were exercising every day. What else did you do? Mentally, what did you do? Eating a bit better, which I still have to do again.

Eating better, yeah. I did a business plan. Yeah. Spoke to us people. So if you're feeling that you can't do real estate and you've got zero experience or lots of experience, find somebody who you're like I couldn't find anyone with it you know I've got someone in the Goldcast you I'm in Melbourne

we have no similar backgrounds except for real estate we have similar brains our brains don't stop thinking but find someone who you can connect with that's got more experience than you yes who does it better than you like I'm not going to find a business coach who doesn't understand real estate. No.

It's going to BNI, every B&I group has a business coach. I'm not going to use that business coach if they know how to coach KFCs. Yeah. I need someone that's been in real estate. So if you're out there and you're struggling, find someone in your office

in your office aren't going to care. That's the problem. If you're in a big franchise group, if you're at one of these big groups, no one of your office, everyone's competing with you. At least I found you, you're not competing with me. No, exactly.

You're helping me. Yeah, yeah. So that's the difference between EXP and any other agency that I can think of. No one can put, like, there's no competing when you ask someone for help, especially if you pick someone into state. Yeah, exactly. And it's in your team, right? So, you know, if I make money, you make money.

If I have someone in my team, we both make money. You're not going to steal the person and you're going to help that person. Absolutely. So people is thinking about a change in real estate. It's nearly Christmas, yeah? Yeah. Pick up the phone, ring me, ring you. Yeah.

And we'll give you the difference in power of real estate. And the world thing, like, Lisa tells me in Australia there's 50,000 real estate agents. Expe's got 90,000 around the world. So I remember I got a member in my team. He didn't last long because he lied. and I actually threw him out. But he got a listing in his first week in EXP

from EXP in Texas. Yes, he did too. He did. Yeah. He got a lead. He never listed it or he possibly threw him out before he had a chance because he lied to us. But he got a lead from an EXP agent in Texas

who had family in the part of Melbourne where he was. Yeah. You know, there's amazing opportunities like that. Yeah, there is. But I think that's why you're thriving as well because, I don't know, we're both kind of a little bit ADHD brains. You know, we sort of, you know, don't stop. Like you said, our brains don't stop.

So the opportunities that we have, there's so many that you don't get bored either. You know, you can list and sell. You can grow a team. You can do your property management. You can do so many different things. You can do it globally, you know, and all channel it into real estate. And I think if anybody's feeling really down about real estate, I think the biggest thing you've got to think about

is that all your circumstances where you are is that real estate can change in a moment. You know, you can have a listing on the market for six months and I've been there, you know, two years, had a had a listing on the market. And somebody will walk in and buy that house and you think, where have you been for the last two years? Where have you been for the last year?

If you just happened to us, we had a listing for six months, seven months I had this gas listed. Yeah. And the vendor and I were clashing and it was like getting nasty. And someone walked into last week to the open for inspection. A week later, under offer. Two days later, sole sticker on the board yesterday. If you go to my social, you'll see the nicest couple with a dog and me in a t-shirt and shorts,

putting a salt sticker, all of us hugging. Yeah, that's right. Exactly. That happens. It's, you can make a sale in a heartbeat in a very quick moment if you've got the listing. Or you can get a listing very quickly as well. if you're doing the actions. So like you said, do the business plan, then work out the actions of what you're going

to do. And then discipline. Don't wait for the motivation because you'll be sitting on the lounge going, I'm not motivated yet. You've got to actually go, okay, that's it. I'm going to do it. I don't really want to make the calls, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to contact people I know.

I'm going to do withdraw from sales. I'm going to do all of these things. And you need to listen to advice. Saturday morning, we had said it this weekend we had three options. When on Saturday and two on Sunday. I texted my PAS and I see you at the auctions. And she goes, and she texted it back and she goes, if you don't have a shirt, jacket and shoes on, don't come.

Because I walk around in a polo and liking Jordans. She wrote then she wrote back, if those Jordans are on, don't come to the auction. So for the first time in weeks, I put a shirt on, put a jacket on. You know, we do hold you to a higher standard something. times than what you want to do, which I like to, but you listen to us. We go, no, no, no, and you go, all right. You know, you kick and scream, but we drag you across sometimes. I like the, I've lost one listing this year, because I didn't have the blue suit.

Yeah, right, yeah. So I reckon that's a pretty good effort. Yeah, that's right. But you're doing your way, you know, that's the thing, is that, you know, EXP, again, it allows you to do things your way. Nobody's your boss, you know, we've got, we've got a, boss, you know, that runs EXP, you know, they run the administration

sign. Yeah, but it's Agent Central for agents. You are the boss of you. I'm going to tell you, and my last LJ. Hooker office, I hated going to work. It was a 30 minute drive from my house and I needed to go in to pick up one stupid

piece of keys. I needed to go get a keys. Yeah. So I came from Jim to get the keys and the bus looked at me and goes, I go, yes, sir. Yes, man. He goes, in this office, we don't wear tracksuits. I said, okay.

And I didn't go back into the office for three weeks. Yes. And I think that's when you left. That was the straw. In this office, we don't wear tracksuits. I said, man, I just came to get a pair of set of keys. I'm not putting a suit on for a set of keys. Yeah, that's right.

In my office, if we're not seeing clients that day, I wear what are shorts and t-shirts. and if I keep up, like I keep a pair of real estate clothes if I need them to change here and if I have to change I do. Otherwise, like today, I've just put this t-shirt on for the Zoom. Yeah. And I had a different, Lisa goes, when of the Zoom said, I had a different t-shirt. And I just think that people like normality, people like real and I'm real.

Yeah, exactly. You know, I'm keeping the, I'm, And the admin support in EXP Australia, you know, I've got Kirsten leading a team of amazing people. Rachel Griffiths, Emily, Renee, people I don't even know their names. Yeah. They've got my back. Yes. You know, they've got my back.

It's the best admin team I've ever had. Yeah. And if you really get stuck, you've got 24-7 support from people in America. If I haven't needed to use that. Anyway, Lisa, I've got to go. All righty. Thank you so much. So anybody that's feeling a bit, a bit, you know,

a bit down in their real estate, create give Barry a call. 0410448277. All right. Leave us. All right. See you later. Bye.

Thank you for listening to Let's Talk About Real Estate podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. If you have a question about real estate, then please join the group on Facebook, also called Let's Talk About Real Estate. For those of you who are interested in EXP, please join us at 10 a.m. Brisbane time.

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