Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Winning in Real Estate with Kelly Killoren Bensimon
Episode Date: December 31, 2024With the housing market so bananas right now, it's time to phone a friend. Enter real estate expert and former Real Housewives of New York star Kelly Killoren Bensimon; Kelly tells Nicole all the do's... and don'ts of navigating this market, whether you're looking at an investing property, or trying to beat out competitors with a stellar rental application. Plus, you've heard of the boomerang employee (the employee who leaves a job and later comes back), but have you heard of the boomerang (Real) Housewife? Might Kelly be next? Nicole asks Kelly whether she'd join the cast of Real Housewives of New York: Legacy. RHONY fans will not want to miss her answer! Originally aired 01-06-2023
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Happy New Year's Eve, money rehabbers.
It's Morgan, the EP of the show. As we look back on the year, one of the
biggest questions that came up again and again, was all about
how to make the most of the cuckoo crazy housing market. So
today we wanted to re air an episode with one of our favorite
real estate experts, Kelly Benzimon, who also was a Real
Housewives of New York cast member.
Today she shares all about the do's and don'ts of navigating the real estate market, whether
you're looking at an investment property or trying to beat out competitors with a great
application.
You're also going to hear a bonus story in the middle of the episode from me about how
I make a little extra income through real estate.
So don't miss that part.
Again, it's around the middle of the episode.
Here's Nicole and Kelly.
I'm financial expert Nicole Lapin.
It's time for some money rehab.
Today I'm chatting with Kelly Ben-Symon.
To Roni fans, Kelly is an icon from the two seasons she spent on the show over a decade
ago.
Now, she's a successful real estate agent who closed nine figures of sales in 2021 alone.
Of course, with real estate being such a hot topic, I wanted to get all of her inside expertise.
But there's another money trail I also wanted to follow.
The money trail of the real Housewives.
Full disclosure, I've never actually seen an episode of The Housewives.
I know I'm probably the only person on the planet.
But somehow I am still hooked.
Despite not watching the show, I see all of these headlines about cast members who have
gone bankrupt or are embroiled in some kind of financial scandal
And my question is why?
Why are there so many housewife stars with financial skeletons in their closet seems to be a story there and I wanted to find out
Kelly Benzema welcome to money rehab. Thank you. love that Money Rehab. It's such a great title.
Thank you.
I think we're going to keep it.
How did you start in real estate?
So I actually stumbled upon real estate.
Unfortunately, my mom fell ill.
And I wanted me to help sell our family properties.
And my father's older.
So I oversaw that, quickly got my license, and wasn't really thinking that,
this is like just one million dollar listing had gone on,
and I was just finished, I just retired from Housewives,
getting my MBA, and I was just like,
and I just kind of stumbled into this
because I had to do it.
And so out of something that's so traumatic
came something like so incredible.
Who'd have known that, you know, she's asking me to do something to like preserve our family.
And all of a sudden I'm pulling in 110 million on my own.
I was just about to ask that. I was just good. I was waiting to like throw down that number
because you were like, I just stumbled into this little thing. Casual. $110 million in sales later.
Last year. Yeah, just last year.
In one year.
One year. Started with the number one deal of 2021. So we're in COVID. No one's in New
York City. And I sold 150 Charles, front house of 150 Charles for 42 million, all cash.
Nicely done.
Yeah, that was really nicely done, actually. It was so, a friend of mine happened to be looking for a $30 million apartment for his
son.
Does that guy want to adopt another child when he wants to buy a $30 million apartment?
Who is that kind of person?
I mean, they're just New York investors.
I think a lot of these New York, a lot of New York guys knew what was going to happen.
They forecasted that there was going to be something happening.
They were just, they just bought everything up.
Because it was on the down.
So buy low, sell high.
And so when-
Buy low, sell high, that's your business.
That's right.
But it works in real estate too.
It's really hard to time the market.
It's hard to figure out the trends of real estate.
It's so city specific.
What do you think is going on
with the real estate market now?
If you could give us a pulse check.
Well, so, you know, stock market's your business, real estate market's my business. But, you know,
we had, you know, 14 contracts over 4 million last week, and for those were over 20 million.
So, and it was Thanksgiving. So, you know, that's really interesting. I mean, there's a lot of big
cash buyers out there. So when people ask me about my business, they're like, well, you know, people aren't selling
anything.
You know, I don't want to sell.
I'm like, well, you can sell.
It's like any market.
If the person wants what you have, they're going to pay the price for it.
So it doesn't matter what the state of the stock market is.
You know, it's like people want what they can't have.
And the good news about my business is I have a lot of great properties
that most people can't have.
Well, it sounds like it's really a relationship business.
Completely, completely.
But this isn't something that I just fell into.
People are like, oh, she's got a license,
and all of a sudden she's running 42 million.
This is not how that works.
I mean, I went to Columbia.
I have an MBA.
I had great mentors along the way.
I started L Accessories, I had Gotham Magazine. Like I'm really, I'm used to working with, you know, investors. I'm used to working with
advertisers. I'm used to like, you know, I think one reason that real estate really resonates with
my clients is because I know everything about lifestyle. I started a magazine based on
lifestyle. So it's like I already put the work in.
And so I can kind of sit back and say,
okay, this is the strategic opportunity for this apartment.
This apartment needs staging.
This apartment needs press.
This apartment needs a party.
Whatever it is, everything needs a little love
in some kind of way.
And you just can't like, they always say,
put lipstick on a pig, like we don't do that.
I like make it movie magic.
I did bid on a place in LA and I lost it.
So I need help.
We've seen these crazy bidding wars.
It was like, you know, when interest rates were nothing, lines around the block for open
houses like they were giving something away.
I mean, that's-
For rentals and for sales. Yes.
And that's kind of changed as interest rates have gone up.
But what would your advice be for winning a bidding war?
To have your financials in order, just be ready to go.
Because, you know, for example,
my daughter is looking at an apartment
and they were like, okay, it hasn't even finished yet.
It's like, they literally, the apartment is in construction and they're like, okay, you need to sell finished yet. It's like they literally the apartment is in construction.
And they're like, okay, you need to sell the money, you know, first month's rent, earnest
deposit, all this money, like sell it.
No checks, sell like right away.
So you have to be really ready to go.
You can't be like, oh, wait, hold on, let me just get myself together because there
is that person that has their money ready to go.
And that's when you lose something.
I mean, I don't hate renting. because there is that person that has their money ready to go. And that's when you lose something.
I mean, I don't hate renting.
I talk about this a lot too, because if you are taking out a jumbo mortgage and you're
paying money every month, most of that's going to interest in the beginning, right?
And that's money you're not getting back.
So when people say you're throwing money away by renting, you don't get that interest back.
You don't get a bunch of other stuff back.
You don't get that interest back. You don't get a bunch of other stuff back. You don't get closing costs back. And so do you think we should bring sexy back to
renting? I mean, there are so many. I mean, the rental market in New York is just insane right
now. And I think there's a lot of fear associated with buying properties because there's fear with the unknown. And it's not
like because of the volatility of the stock market, people are like, okay, that's a forecasting
of what's going to happen in the real estate market. But again, I live in this beautiful
building. I just sold, it's approximately, because it's a co-op, so it's approximately
1,800 square feet, one apartment for $2.9 million.
And then I sold another one a couple of months later for $4.1.
So I basically raised the price of the building.
Obviously, the other apartment was a different apartment with a different narrative.
But do you see what I'm saying?
You can really make really good money or you can...
If you're living in a great home,
like for example, like I represent this insane home on the Upper West Side, 26 West 87th
Street where Billie Holiday, she lived. And it's this phenomenal townhouse. It's been
completely renovated for 13.7. And, you know, that's a place like if you bought that home,
I mean, you could really later on do whatever you want
and really make a lot of money.
So it just depends.
You're not paying a lot of mortgage.
Because if you take that big lump sum,
like if somebody saved up $200,000
to buy a million dollar place, but they only have $200,000
and they put all that money into their house,
they're kind of house poor,
and then they can't use that money to put in the market and make more money potentially.
So that opportunity cost of the big lump sum sometimes doesn't make sense for people.
Well, we have like different buckets. So we've got the Midwestern bucket where they're putting
money into under their mattresses, and then we have the real estate bucket, and then we
have the stock market bucket. So we have like different people trying to figure out their finances in different kinds of ways. And it's
just kind of, it's just really like, what works for you? Some people are just like, I'm just going
to put that cash under my mattress, which we don't recommend. But some people are just like,
I'm just going to save it for a rainy day because cash is king. So queen, queen, king and queen.
So you may not recommend it, but at the end of the day, sometimes it's good because, you know, if during COVID, when you had a lot of cash, you could really buy
anything you wanted. So just it's there's just three different kinds of buckets. And
it's just really what you want to do and how you want to do it. At the end of the day,
whether it's real estate stock market or your mattress, you know, the most important, the
number one priority for me in anything that I do with anyone
is I tell them like, your family, they're your legacy. So you need to give them shelter.
I like it.
Like that's crucial. And, you know, food, water and shelter, those are the things that people need.
Everybody needs shelter from the storm. Can we talk about a type of storm? The storm that is
the housewives. I think there are a lot of people listening who will know you from the storm. Can we talk about a type of storm? The storm that is The Housewives.
I think there are a lot of people listening who will know you from The Housewives. Do you think
there's anything that you learned doing that show that helps you with real estate?
I mean, I am so grateful for Housewives and for Bravo because they gave me this massive,
they basically took my name that was like a small name in New York City and like blew me out of the water
So looking back this is not something you regret doing you're happy about being on the show. No, it paid dividends
Yeah, many many
I mean
I think that like when everyone ever asked me about the regrets like the only regret that I ever had was not
Showing like my real life because it wasn't fair to the two single women
To not show them like how I was
making money on my own. Like they just thought that I was running around, you know, cartwheels,
like, you know, like chewing gum, having fun, which is something that I do all the time.
But I also know how to make money and provide for my family.
And they didn't show enough of that, you know?
Well, it was yeah, they didn't want to because they were like, she's a supermodel. And you have
to remember, too, like back when I was on television in the
ice age, it was like 2009. You know, being a single parent was definitely not sexy. That was
like almost taboo. Being able to provide for your family was like an anomaly. And, you know, just
talking about being single was something that's like, oh, you're not with a man. It's like you don't have, you're not a unit.
Right, you're not complete. You're not like a
traditional family. So there were all of these interesting layers of things that were, that people didn't want to necessarily hear about. And now
people are like, how did you do it? How did you do it? I'm like, um, I don't know, you asked my kids.
They did it. I didn't do it. I just like pushed them. So weird rumors that Bravo wants you to come back
for Housewives of New York Legends show.
Are you gonna do that?
I mean, I'm definitely thinking about it.
It's like, I love the brand and I love the women.
So I'm definitely thinking about it.
But leaning more toward yes?
We'll see. Sounds like it.
We'll see.
We'll see what happens.
I never, you know, you never say never, but you know, everything has to, everything has
to align.
Hold onto your wallets.
Money Rehab will be right back.
Hey guys, it's Morgan, the EP of the show.
And as you're loving all of these great real estate stories with Kelly Bensimon, I have
another tip for you.
Hosting on Airbnb is an amazing way to make your real estate work even harder for you.
I love hosting on Airbnb. Because I work remotely, I'm lucky enough to get to spend summers back
where I'm from in Maine, so when I'm away for the summer, I host my apartment on Airbnb,
and it's been such a great side hustle. So yes, I am a proud Airbnb host,
but what I'm even prouder of is the fact
that I got my best friend's mom, Laurie,
to be an Airbnb host too.
Laurie lives in New England and is retired
and she and her husband go off
on all these really cool backpacking trips
for weeks at a time.
And when they're gone, their house just sits empty.
I told Laurie that hosting on Airbnb
is just a no-brainer for her.
Her house could be collecting checks for her
instead of just collecting dust.
But also, because she's retired,
she's just not making the big bucks anymore.
And through hosting on Airbnb,
she could have some income coming in.
That income can help her feel even better
about her retirement nest egg,
but also can contribute to a slush fund
for those phenomenal trips she takes with her husband.
But the idea of having to make the house spotless and coordinate with guests while she's also
getting ready for a big trip felt like just too much for Lori.
But Airbnb's co-hosting feature changed the game.
Airbnb's co-host network is a network of high quality, local co-hosts with Airbnb experience
that can take care of your home and guests for you.
Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for
or just don't wanna do,
like managing reservations, messaging guests,
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or can even create your listing for you.
When I told Lori about this, she finally signed up
and she has her first guest lined up for the summer thanks to her co-host.
Find a co-host for you or for your friend's mom at airbnb.com slash host.
That's airbnb.com slash host.
And now for some more money rehab.
It sounds like it.
I mean, Bethany has said that there's always a number to go back to the Housewives.
Right.
Do you have a number? Well, it's work at the end of the day, that there's always a number to go back to the Housewives. Do you have a number?
Well, it's work at the end of the day, so there's always a number for everything.
I agree.
It's not a charity.
Okay.
So what was your, like a ballpark?
I don't know, really.
Okay, so I'm going to give you $50 million.
Would you go back to the Housewives?
$50 million, I'd probably go back to the Housewives.
10 million.
We're doing an auction.
Why is it 50 to 10?
That's terrible.
It's usually like 50 to like 47 or like who?
We're not buying a house here, sister.
I mean, I'm just trying to find the ballpark.
I'm just trying to find the range.
Like what neighborhood are we in?
No, but everyone's like, when they ask me, I'm like,
oh, no, no, I don't really like that number.
They're like, why?
I'm like, would you be like, 4975?
They're like, what?
But it sounds like the salary isn't really
where you're making the money.
But you get paid by episode?
It depends on your deal.
So there's not a standard thing.
Everybody gets.
Yeah, I mean, yeah.
I mean, I don't really know what other people are getting.
I don't really like... A lot of housewives, they try to commiserate.
I'm like, no, no. I'm good.
You don't like talking about it? I like financial transparency.
I do too, but I think that you have to be careful, especially on a show like that.
It's different when you're working together, but when you're on a show
that's being filmed under a microscope on HGTV, it gets different
when you're talking because there's that constant, the level of competition just gets really,
really high because of how much the person's getting paid versus what's at stake emotionally.
Do you know what I mean?
Got it.
I'm sure Bravo doesn't want everybody talking about it because they'll probably be like
some collective bargaining agreement where everybody goes up and tries to get money.
But again, you don't want to be like, you don't want to have, I mean, you wouldn't
want to be on a show.
You wouldn't want to produce a show where you have like four people already arguing
about knowing how much the other person is making.
I mean, there's a balance, right?
Because I think, especially for women negotiating in order, this will be a real estate analogy for you,
in order to price your house,
you need to know the comp of the area.
Obviously.
Okay, so the same thing works for like, salaries, right?
If you don't know the comp,
like how are you pricing yourself?
You're shooting in the dark.
Right, that's a good point.
But I think that when you're seeing people
that are getting like a million
versus like other people that are getting like 10,000.
I think that that's such a like it doesn't sound level playing field. And so then people
get like onset like ferocious. And they don't want that they want people to be genuine and
they want people they want to like, it's HDTV you want to see like authentic moments.
Yeah, although I would argue with housewives,
there's been so much financial turmoil
for so many of these women that maybe talking about it
would be helpful, because the number of bankruptcies,
the number of financial scandals.
Well, I mean, if you're talking about actual finance,
if you're saying to like so and so,
like if you went on and were like,
hi, this is what you need to do,
or if someone was in a situation with bankruptcy, if you were there to be like, well, this is what you need to do. Or if someone was in a situation with bankruptcy,
if you were there to be like,
well, I can help you navigate that.
I think that's different than like trying to get people to,
on the onset to be like, you're making 10,000,
I'm making a million, like I'm better than you are,
you know, kind of thing.
Should I bust into the house?
Because you don't know what's gonna,
you don't know like who going to be the breakout star.
You don't know.
Just because you're making X amount of dollars
doesn't mean that you're going to be the breakout star
versus the other one.
You don't know that.
It depends on the narrative.
It depends on what they're doing.
So I'll be honest.
I haven't watched any Housewives franchise at all.
You should be on it.
Which one should I be on?
There's a Potomac.
That's not a joke.
There's Dubai, there's Potomac, they're all over, there's Miami.
I'm coming on.
I'm going to help these women.
There's Beverly Hills.
They can tell me, we don't have to put it on, they can tell me how much they're making.
I can look at the books because it seems like there's always a headline about a financial
scandal on The Housewives.
There's Jen Shaw, there's Erika Jayne, Teresa, I don't know how to say her last name.
Tudis.
Tudis.
Why do you think so many Housewives get into financial trouble?
Because I think they live above their means.
I think they get excited and I think that they forget why the fans want to hear from
them.
They want to hear their story.
Then all of a sudden they're like,
I'm wearing Louis Vuitton,
I'm in a G-Wagon,
I'm killing it, look at me, I'm famous.
Then all of a sudden,
cameras stop rolling.
It's like in any business,
it's like an entertainment business,
like music, modeling, acting.
You see all these people doing so well,
and then all of a sudden they stop doing well and the money stops coming in
and all of a sudden it's like, dun, dun, dun,
you know, then life gets real.
So I think you'd be great.
I think they would be, you know,
I think it'd be great to just have you just like,
general, just like telling women like, you know,
how to take care of themselves and-
I'm in, sign me up.
Because it's not even living within your means, it's living below your means, which is not
fun and sexy, but it builds long-term wealth.
Just saying.
Right.
With Erika Jayne, she's been having all this trouble with her husband, ex-husband.
It came out that she didn't have a prenup or something like that.
What do you think about prenups?
It depends on the situation. I think that some situations you should have a prenup.
I didn't have a prenup with my ex-husband.
Was that a mistake?
No. No. Because I had money coming in, he had money coming in, and I just genuinely wanted to move forward.
Money wasn't the impetus. I didn't marry him for money, and I wasn't divorcing him
for money. I was divorcing him for freedom and to raise my kids and to give them the
greatest life ever. I just didn't feel like being with him was doing that. I don don't necessarily, I don't think of it like
that. Like some women are like, oh my God, money, which is great.
Or you could flip the script, right? And say like, this is an empowering thing. I'm a woman,
I make my own money. Like I need to protect my own stuff.
Right. Well, there's two sides of it. I definitely raise my kids with good values and a sense of self,
and they've always worked. My daughters work through college, and they've done everything
from babysat to bartending, waitressing. They've done it all. Personally, I don't know. I don't
judge people, but I don't marry for the ring. Like I, you know, marry because he's, you know,
I married Mike's husband
because I thought he was amazing, more human.
If I thought that was marrying for the ring,
like I would have gotten a bigger ring.
Well, I think some people think of it that,
but you know, if you get divorced or if something happens,
it's like having insurance,
you don't want the state to decide.
You just want to be in control of what happens.
You can throw it in the fire or whatever.
Right. So would you get married again? Definitely. Yeah. I mean, if we're talking about
like your inheritance, like your family's inheritance or something like that, like I
don't think that that's fair for, you know, for an ex to get that. That's not fair. But when you
bring something to a relationship and you are in the relationship and you're going under
contract, it's a transaction at the end of the day. It's a legal contract. I'm going
to marry you and this is what we're going to do and here's the terms of the contract.
I mean, that's what it is. So if you don't like the terms of the contract, you probably
shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place.
So you're out dating.
Yes.
How's that going?
It's going well. Are you on the apps? Yes. I's that going? It's going well.
Are you on the apps?
No.
I have a boyfriend.
I have a really serious boyfriend.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
When you were dating, did men feel intimidated by you, do you think?
No.
By your network?
No.
They're always trying to like take care of me.
Men are always like, oh, let me take care of you.
Like that made me feel very insecure, very insecure.
Because you want to take care of you. Like, it made me feel very insecure, very insecure. Because you want to take care of yourself.
Right, because it's like, you know,
here I have these two girls, and what am I going to do?
Just be like, oh, OK, like, let me just, you know,
hop into your arms with two guys.
Ready, set, here we go.
You know, I felt a big responsibility.
And guys that I were dating were very, very assertive
about, you know, taking care of me.
Made me very insecure.
Not to say that I don't appreciate it,
but I felt like it was like,
okay, this is the amount of money you're gonna get
every month.
And I was like, what?
Wow.
Or you didn't wanna show that paradigm to your kids too?
Right, I still didn't.
I mean, the whole thing just really,
I didn't agree with me.
So with your man now.
But some people really like that.
Like some people are like, great,
like at least I know what I'm getting.
Like, you know, I mean, again, like we're talking,
you know, honestly, like some women just really like that.
I just, that was just never, like I wasn't raised like that.
If I told my father, by the way, I'm marrying this guy
and he's gonna give me X amount of dollars per month, my father would be like, I spent all this money on this
great education for you to think like that.
You went to Columbia to make your business degree?
He passed and he would not be happy. He would want me to have a partner and to build.
Together.
Yeah, he would want me to build. I think that there has to like, you know, women have to
be able to be doing something that really like ignites them and makes them feel whole. So that
the relationship, what started off is, you know, it ignited for a reason. And then all of a sudden,
you know, you go into this transaction, you sign this piece of paper, this, you know, stone goes
on your finger, and all of a sudden the dynamics change. You know, and I think that people get lost. And I think it's not about the money. I think it's about
they just get personally just emotionally lost. I mean, I mean, I know we were talking
about money for you. But I mean, I think of it more like an emotional way where, you know,
I have a lot of empathy for both women and men who are getting, you know, get lost in
relationships. And I don't want someone to be in a relationship with me that feels like that.
You know, for someone like me, I just, you know,
I've waited so long to be with the right person.
And, you know, I've met a lot of really great guys,
but they're definitely not the right person for me.
And, you know, I just want to have respect for my partner.
And I want him to, you know,
do everything that he wants to do.
And I want to do the same.
And do you believe in like a co-creation,
talking about work or having him help you with
Oh, absolutely.
Or connections or stuff like that?
Of course.
And I think that's really important too.
It's like, you know,
Support each other.
You have to be a supportive spouse.
I mean, you can't just be like, Oh, just come over here and let me just, you know, like, Shelf Silverstein, where like all of a sudden the giving tree is like this little stump. Like, that's not fair.
That's give and take.
Listen, I mean, we're talking about finances, but I think that like, there's nothing wrong with love. There's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to get married for money. You don't have to get married because you need to like move into an apartment.
It's like, it's so nice to have someone like you as a role model who can talk to women
about finances because it's something that's daunting.
And I've had to deal with it all my life.
I don't talk about it.
I don't, you know, I know a lot, you know, like a lot of the housewives are like, I made
all this money and they're throwing it around and all these women like are watching and they're just kind of like, what about me? I can't even
pay bills. And you know what I mean? So it's hard. It's hard to see all of that. So I just want women
to be excited about what they have and who they are and to recognize that there are checks and
balances and the money that goes in, the money that goes out, and just to try to be mindful of what they're doing.
Yeah, I think how people are in different parts
of their relationship, if they're avoidant or whatever,
it just transfers over to how you approach money too.
But it sounds like you're saying to viewers
or watchers of The Housewives,
maybe don't emulate what you see,
don't be as frivolous as what you're watching on the show.
Right, right, but I mean, at the same time, you shouldn't be as frivolous as what you're watching on the show. Right, right.
But I mean, at the same time, you
shouldn't be like, I need to be rich in order to feel good.
Because there's so many more things to be happy.
And I've had so many iterations of my life.
And I've been through so much, so many peaks and valleys.
And I don't feel, I still to this day believe in love
and believe in like taking care of myself and taking care of other people. Yeah. What's one
financial piece of advice you would give your former self? It's just what I tell myself today.
It's just like, you know, there's a little for me, a little for the for Uncle Sam and then a little
to put away. Yeah, I I'm always thinking of my girls,
what we're gonna do for them,
and just to be balanced about it.
Because what you were saying before
about to live under your means,
some people just can't do that.
Some people just, you know, it's like,
my father came from absolutely nothing
and he gave us so much education, integrity,
you know, a healthy mindset.
And he lived way above his means, way above his means.
But he created like we were his legacy.
So whatever he spent was well, we were his stocks.
It's just kind of like a different kind of way of investing.
Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network.
I'm your host, Nicole Lapin.
Our executive producer is Morgan LeVoy.
Do you need some Money Rehab?
And let's be honest, we all do.
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which is the most important investment you can make.