Speaker 1: 0:12

Welcome back to Market it with Atmo, where we give you the tips, tools and strategies to help your business be successful. I'm your host, dori, and today we have on the show Kevin Hunter with Hunter Realty. Welcome, kevin. Hey, good to be here. I'm so glad, dori. And today we have on the show Kevin Hunter with Hunter Realty Welcome.

Speaker 2: 0:25

Kevin, hey, good to be here.

Speaker 1: 0:26

I'm so glad you made it so you have 25 years of experience in sales and the commercial sales space or the luxury.

Speaker 2: 0:39

Yeah, enterprise software is where I kind of cut my teeth. But yeah, I moved over to real estate a few years back and so, yeah, focusing on residential currently, and then now with the luxury space.

Speaker 1: 0:50

Wonderful. So, with over 25 years of experience, how did you transition into the luxury real estate space?

Speaker 2: 0:59

Well, it started with just kind of traditional residential Okay. So I had a bunch of friends when I was leading sales teams for enterprise software companies and they said, hey, we think you would be great in real estate, right. The way you take care of your clients right, turning into raving fans, the work ethic, the expertise that you bring and set your customers up for success you'd be amazing in real estate. So it's something that kind of sat in the back of my head for a while, yeah, and finally one day I just said you know what I'm going to go do what I want to do, right. I've always had kind of an entrepreneurial spirit. That's great and I thought this is as good a time as any.

Speaker 1: 1:38

Right.

Speaker 2: 1:38

And it proved not to be, because last year was a really hard year in real estate with interest rates and all that kind of stuff. But it allowed me to kind of get my feet wet in the industry and really understand how to take the way I support customers and apply that to kind of the real estate industry.

Speaker 1: 1:55

Yeah, so would you say that one of the unique qualities of Hunter Realty is the fact that you give that kind of that value and support to each and every client that you meet with.

Speaker 2: 2:05

Yeah, I mean I really focus on trying to have my clients feel like they're the only ones I'm working on.

Speaker 1: 2:10

Awesome.

Speaker 2: 2:11

So they get the individual attention, the experience, responsiveness, and then I really focus on learning what their goals are and then aligning my skill set and kind of the ecosystem that I've built. Some of the top kind of industry leaders around real estate, as far as you know, contractors and title companies and lenders and all that have some of the best around. So I kind of bring that together to create kind of a holistic, seamless experience.

Speaker 1: 2:40

That's wonderful. So you would say your, your strong structure of your networking group is what really helps you be successful.

Speaker 2: 2:46

It's one of the pieces for sure. Yeah, I mean it's finding the home or selling your home is obviously a major piece of it. But there are other major components right the financing piece and if you need to do. You know if you do, the inspection and their repairs need to happen.

Speaker 1: 3:03

You need to have somebody you can trust, right.

Speaker 2: 3:05

So there's a lot of home insurance, I mean all that is. You really have to find the right vendors to make sure your customers can get the same experience that they're getting with me.

Speaker 1: 3:16

Absolutely so. Can you share one of your stories? You said last year was a really tough year for real estate and you are obviously still in the real estate space, so can you give us a success story, maybe how you overcame that hurdle?

Speaker 2: 3:30

Yeah, well, you know, one of the things that I've learned in 25 years of enterprise software sales and leading teams is how to negotiate. I have clients who say hey, you know, this is the price point that I'm looking for. I say okay, when I create this search for you, we're actually going to increase that by $20,000 or $30,000. And they get kind of nervous and I'm like, because I'm going to help you negotiate all of that away.

Speaker 2: 3:53

So, let's understand what your budget is, let's get connected with the lending company and then from there let's understand where you're comfortable because, there's nothing worse than being house poor, absolutely From there, let's understand where you're comfortable, right, Because there's nothing worse than being house poor, right?

Speaker 2: 4:08

Absolutely. So if you do that right, right, get a soft credit pull. If you get some proof of funds and stuff like that and understand, okay, this is where I need to be looking, then I can help maximize that dollar to get you maybe a little bit more house than you were expecting and then probably get some equity built in immediately. Like I had a client out in Fort Worth who literally, as we were going through the contract phase, got an appraisal back for $35,000 more than we were buying the house.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Wow, that's incredible and that was you think. That was based on the strategy that you helped them create to sell.

Speaker 2: 4:44

Yeah, I mean, it's really up to the individual client, but I've managed to find some that get really aggressive and so you go out and you do your comparative analysis, you understand the market right and you understand different levers that you can pull and push to make sure your client is not overpaying and, again, just building equity from the very beginning.

Speaker 1: 5:03

See, you feel like you really put a lot of value in it. I may need to talk to you about selling my home after this. Yes, so what you were talking about. How do you find your clients? So what does like social media? You have an Instagram page, correct?

Speaker 2: 5:18

Yeah, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, all of the above.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Okay. Facebook, TikTok, all the above Okay. So what role does social media play in how you market your strategy? And platforms like Instagram? How do you use those to engage potential clients?

Speaker 2: 5:33

Yeah, it's really just, it helps clients understand kind of who I am and kind of the value I bring. So a lot of it's educational. Right, I'll do interviews, different podcasts, with lenders with home insurance. Right, I'll do interviews, different podcasts with lenders with home insurance. Right, different subject matter experts that when my clients are looking to sell their home or buy a home, they can go to my YouTube channel or they may be following me on Instagram, right, and so at that point they're getting my feeds daily and going oh yeah, here's the five things I need to do to fix up my home the big areas.

Speaker 2: 6:04

Right, get about the little stuff. Nobody cares about it. But you know how does your roof look, how does your floor look right? How's electrical right? Some of the big pieces of making a successful sale of a home.

Speaker 1: 6:14

Right and would you say so? We have a customer value funnel and a customer value journey that we follow awareness, engagement, conversion, delight and advocation. No-transcript what you do.

Speaker 2: 6:33

Yeah, Referrals are a huge honor right Because that means that you've made your client so happy that they're out there talking about you and kind of singing your praises, Like Kevin was able to do this for us, or we were really worried about this, and Kevin kind of alleviated all that pressure, Right. So um the the main way I meet clients, though, is is through open houses Uh right.

Speaker 1: 6:52

I was just going to ask that how do you meet your clients?

Speaker 2: 6:55

Yeah, Um, I used to like to play golf on the weekends, but that was the first thing to go away.

Speaker 2: 7:03

Oh yeah, because of the weekends, Because on the weekends you're doing open houses, and when you have clients, you're out looking at homes, right? So as a realtor, it's my full-time job, so I can go during the day, at night, during the week, oh, that is nice. But during the week, but most people have jobs, and so when they look for homes it's usually on the weekends, and so that's when I spend a lot of time face-to-face working with my clients.

Speaker 1: 7:22

Okay, so you kind of initiate that initial trust by letting them know who you are and how you really care about the process, yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:31

And when you go to an open house, right, you're walking in, you're like, oh, there's the realtor. I just really want to look. I don't necessarily want to talk to someone or fill out a form, so I make it as easy to either fill out the form or not fill out the form, right. It's really about the connection that you have with people. You really want to be comfortable with your realtor. You want to have a sense of like. I kind of like this person.

Speaker 2: 7:51

I can see kind kind of hanging out with them a little bit, because we're going to spend a lot of time trying to find that perfect home for you, right, and so you have to have that comfort level right, and personalities have to kind of mesh a little bit and you have to really kind of have faith and trust that this individual is going to be able to take my needs. Put them first, right, we've got a fiduciary responsibility as realtors to make sure they're taken care of. But you really have to go beyond that, right, and so understanding what their goals are, and sometimes they may change right I mean, I'll work with a client for six, seven months to find a home.

Speaker 2: 8:25

The home that we were looking at at the beginning of that search sometimes is completely different than the criteria that we have at the very end. Right, Because it's a journey, right? You say, yeah, this is what we want from a home and you start looking. You're like, oh no, we have to have a walk-in closet like this, right? So now, all of a sudden, that changes everything. Or we need to have a water view, right?

Speaker 2: 8:42

Or we need to have a gated community, Something that may not be there at the beginning but, as we go out and look at homes, they're like, okay, I want this now right as you go through it.

Speaker 1: 8:56

That's interesting. Do you lay out that strategy for them, letting them know your insights may change as to what type of home you want, so you give them that kind of roadmap ahead of time to walk through?

Speaker 2: 9:04

Yeah, yeah. I mean it's really important to say, hey look, the home that we start off with is maybe completely different than the home you end up with. And that's my job is kind of to align with those fluctuations and those changes and kind of be malleable to help them understand. Okay, this is what I wanted the first, but now these things are actually more important as we've gone through the process. What I thought was important really isn't important.

Speaker 2: 9:25

Right, and you go through it and someone's like, oh, I won't buy something with messy brick. And you're like, okay. And then you get it to a house. Well, there's messy brick on the inside Right and they're like, oh, but I do like this messy brick, I just don't like it on the outside of the house. So things change a lot and you have to have a realtor that can take those changes into consideration and make sure that that constantly evolving journey and search is going to line up with what they want.

Speaker 1: 9:49

Absolutely so. I feel like in any type of sales you have to create relationships right.

Speaker 2: 9:55

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:55

I mean I'm not going to give anyone my money that I don't trust to take care of it right and to put it in the right places. And so I would say, in any industry, having that relationship building technique not so much technique but ability is so invaluable. Yeah, it truly is getting to know someone and feeling heard.

Speaker 2: 10:16

Yeah, and that's what I know, someone and feeling heard. Yeah, and that's and that's what I try and create in an open house, right? Just a snapshot of me, right? Who is Kevin Hunter? And like, is that somebody I want to work with? Like, I meet a lot of people and not very many of them work with me. And that's because they either have realtors or they're not ready, or maybe there's good fit and I'm completely fine with that right.

Speaker 2: 10:34

Because, this is, this is going to be one of the biggest purchases of your life, right.

Speaker 2: 10:39

Absolutely this is absolutely a very important time in your life and so you should want to feel very comfortable. And so an open house for me is kind of that almost that first date right when you get to know each other and do they laugh at my joke or do I find them interesting, do they think I'm capable, right, and you just like, literally in that 15, 20 minute period, they're walking around the house, coming back to questions hey, can you give us a tour? Absolutely, that's. That's your chance to see if that's going to be a good vibe and if you guys are going to fit and if you're excited about working together.

Speaker 1: 11:08

Absolutely Cause at the end of the day. I mean, I feel like every business and prospect it has to be mutually beneficial. You don't want to waste your time with somebody that you know you don't mesh with. They don't trust you. It has to be a mutual relationship.

Speaker 2: 11:23

There are 10,000 realtors in the DFW market 10,000.

Speaker 1: 11:28

right now it's shrinking.

Speaker 2: 11:30

Right, it shrunk last year, it's shrinking this year after the NAR lawsuit, but there's a lot of really good realtors out there and I may not be the best fit for you, and the sooner we figure that out, and if you can do that in five or 10 minutes in open house, that's it, and all I need to do is find one person who's like you know what I like, kevin, and he seems really sharp, and then he was really informative about this house but he's not even selling right.

Speaker 2: 11:53

He's not the listing agent. He's working with buyers like us, so I really appreciate his attention to detail and giving us some insight and some pros and cons of the house.

Speaker 1: 12:05

I think he would be a good fit in our search, absolutely so. Would you say that that's kind of what sets you apart. That's what why you're continuing with the luxury real estate space, because you have. What, would you say, is your approach to separating yourself from the 10,000?

Speaker 2: 12:20

It's really kind of attention to detail, it's a level of professionalism, it's instant communication. Right when you're working for some of the largest enterprise companies in the world, you have to be really, really good, because you're going up against some really significant competition.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Right.

Speaker 2: 12:36

And that's what I'm doing in the Dallas market. I'm not the only good real estate person out there. There's probably thousands of really, really good and so I'm looking to kind of differentiate myself from the ones who are not going to take good care of a client Absolutely. Who aren't professional, who aren't going to be responsive, who aren't going to put in a lot of work to make sure their client gets the home they want.

Speaker 1: 12:59

Absolutely so. You have a value and a moral basis with Hunter Realty Group that you follow and abide by, and I truly think that's what sets you apart, because if you don't have those morals and values and you don't follow by them, then how can anyone follow you?

Speaker 2: 13:15

Yeah, and that's one of the reasons that I enjoyed the transition from the corporate world into building my own business is that I get to do things my way right. Sometimes in the corporate world you're challenged by things that you don't really feel comfortable with and I'm very customer centric and I'm very pro customer and I'll do anything I can to make my customers happy and sometimes in the corporate world you're restrained right. You're not able to do that. You don't have the time, money, whatever.

Speaker 2: 13:42

But, a lot of times. I invest in my clients when they're trying to sell a home. I do everything I can on the marketing perspective and staging and things like that. I will partner with them and it's easier to do on kind of the luxury side. But yeah, I will do whatever I can to set my customers up for success.

Speaker 1: 13:59

And ethics.

Speaker 2: 14:01

I mean, if you think about it, it doesn't take a whole lot to be a realtor, right? You just have to go and get your training and you put your shingle out. But the background that I have helps me just differentiate by default right. That my 25 years of working with clients is is really really an outstanding experience for them. And that's why they keep coming back and that's why they have referrals right.

Speaker 1: 14:26

Absolutely, and I know from my past experience in sales and other industries you don't ever want to promise something you can't deliver.

Speaker 2: 14:34

Yeah, I'm, I'm, I under promise and over deliver all the time, and that's and I did that in the corporate world and I do that in my personal world is right. The little touches go a long way.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Absolutely. Advent Trinity has the same mindset and it's worked very well and growing and expanding. So, as you grow because you're still kind of in the build phase of hunterability as you want to expand, what are you looking for in someone that you'd want to expand your business to Like agents if they wanted to join your group, what would you be looking for?

Speaker 2: 15:08

It has a lot to do with personality. You have to immediately be able to connect with people. You have to be kind of a people person. I'm naturally an introvert, but when I get around clients, a different side of my personality comes out. And so to be able to connect immediately, to be able to kind of transfer that faith and that trust that they'll have in you. And as I build my team out, I'm looking for people that are truly excited to go work with clients and will match my level of enthusiasm integrity and effort.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Yeah, so you shared that being an early riser helps you stay ahead in your career. So you're kind of looking for somebody else to be on the same early riser path.

Speaker 2: 15:51

I'm a little bit manic.

Speaker 2: 15:52

I'm in the office by 30 am because that allows me to do all the searches and all kind of the administrivia stuff and then that gives me time to you know, again, I'm printing out packets and information and all the all the things that my customer because because my job isn't to like find a home my job is to give them the information to determine which home is the best one for them. Right, and it's different for every, every client. So if I'm in there at 630 in the morning and I'm pulling up all the information and doing the analysis and doing the market research, I'm going to be able to give them information that once we go through it together and once they take it home and they're like oh yeah, hey, I found this on here, this is great information. What about this? Exactly? That's why the search is going to change, right, and so if they have the information to make the best decision for them, then I've done my job. So when I'm looking, to recruit people.

Speaker 2: 16:43

I want people who are not afraid of hard, work right and who have a passion for clients and really giving them an experience that will make them want to work with Hunter Realty for the rest of their lives.

Speaker 1: 16:53

Absolutely Somebody that can help be an extension of you in a way. Yeah, and you, we mentioned you have values and morals that you follow by ethics. So how do you balance that corporate not corporate life, but your business life, with your personal life? Would you say you put boundaries or parameters on that, or would you say it's mixed?

Speaker 2: 17:16

No, I think you have to Right. And when I, when I left the corporate world and went into kind of building my own business, I had to sit down with my wife Right and I had to say, hey look, this is where I had boundaries before it's. It's going to be a little bit more of the Wild West, right, right? I mean there's things that we do with my daughter that are absolutely unmovable, sorry.

Speaker 1: 17:38

Non-negotiable.

Speaker 2: 17:39

Yeah, she's at a play, or she's doing a soccer game, or whatever it is. If I'm committed to that, that's where I'm going to be. But, outside of that, I'm all about my clients.

Speaker 1: 17:49

That's wonderful and I think it's good to have that healthy relationship because if your family isn't happy, a happy wife is a happy life.

Speaker 2: 17:57

You're talking to Noah about water. Yeah, I mean, you have to have balance right, and that's one of the things that realtors struggle with right. Because it's literally a 24-7 job. Right, you're available in the mornings, during the day, at night, on weekends. I mean I literally work for three months straight. My goodness, I'm doing open houses on the weekend. I'm taking clients out to see homes.

Speaker 2: 18:22

And then kind of the Monday through Friday grind as well, yeah, but you have to kind of carve out time just for yourself and then that allows you to be a better realtor for your clients, right?

Speaker 1: 18:33

And more present for your family.

Speaker 2: 18:35

Yeah, I mean family is huge for me. It's the number one thing. I mean, if my wife isn't happy, if my daughter isn't happy, then I'm changing stuff to make that happen.

Speaker 1: 18:46

That's wonderful. At the end of the day, you have to have a lot of structure and self-discipline to do what you do.

Speaker 2: 18:52

Yeah, the discipline thing is right, because you're out of your comfort zone a lot. That's how you grow as a person, but it's not always a thing that when you wake up at 5 or 530 in the morning you're like I can't wait to do all this stuff. That's super uncomfortable. Getting on the phone and calling people I've never spoken with and say, hey, do you want to work with me?

Speaker 1: 19:09

Right, so um, would you say that's a common misconception people have, that you guys are just always in a great mood and ready to help.

Speaker 2: 19:17

Um, yeah, I don't know if that is a perception. Um, I've worked with realtors when I was, you know, before I got in the business where I was like, well, they, they seem like they really hate their job, right, um, you can feel it. Yeah yeah, it's, yeah, it's very visible. But when you get really good realtors, yeah, they give you the impression that they absolutely love their job and they can't wait to work with you, and that impression is usually given because that's how they feel, right.

Speaker 2: 19:44

Like when I wake up in the mornings I'm like what a cool job I have, right? I got a bunch of great friends in the industry, right Mentors, mentees and I get to work with clients. And I tell you what we're at the title company and we're signing. That's one of the best feelings I have any given week.

Speaker 1: 20:00

That's amazing because you completed a goal and it seems like you truly value that whole process, the whole strategy and helping someone at the end of the day, yeah, because I work with people who are buying a house at $300,000 or 3 million all in between, because I just love working with people.

Speaker 2: 20:17

And so when you help someone buy their first home at $400,000, I mean we're hugging in the title company, we're like, yeah, high-fiving and doing the picture and I love my realtor and all that kind of stuff. But but like people are like, have tears in their eyes and I helped. You know, buying your first home was a big deal, right, Because you're starting to build equity and you're starting to get that journey of getting away from the crack that is rent. You're never going to get rid of that, but the minute you buy a home now you're going to start building some equity and that's going to help you as you go through life.

Speaker 2: 20:48

So, to be able to help people make that leap to get into something a lot more stable. It's. It is a great feeling.

Speaker 1: 20:56

See, I feel like you have to love what you do to truly be successful at it, and I feel like you're really good at it. Yes, yes absolutely, Because when you have that good heart, when you're walking into something, it found a return right.

Speaker 2: 21:08

Your customers can feel it. I mean I mean, everybody has kind of a sixth sense, and when you get in there and you're not happy, you can't fake it At all. No, because they figure it out really quickly. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:20

So what would you advise? So what are some of the trends or developments in the real estate market right now that you're particularly excited about you can share with?

Speaker 2: 21:29

us. I love the rates kind of coming down right, because it's going to allow people to get more home, right, and it's also going to help the market right. A lot of people have rates around, you know, two and three, and they're like, why would I ever sell my home? Right? But as the feds continue to drop their rates and they're kind of anticipating that, so they're baking in some lower mortgage rates. We expect that to continue through the end of this year and beginning of next, so at that point it's going to allow some product, if you will, some homes on the market that haven't been there for a while, and I think 2025 is going to be a very exciting year.

Speaker 2: 22:07

In Frisco, we have a lot of new construction, right, because everyone's like, oh, there's no inventory out there. I'm like we have a lot of new construction, right, because everyone's like, oh, there's no, you know, there's no inventory out there. I'm like there's a ton of inventory, it's everywhere, right, and if you have the right realtor, they can find that with this new construction or a 20-year-old home, gated community, I mean pool, I mean whatever you want it's out there. And it's really exciting because you have the ability to help people find exactly what they want, right? My job is to make sure you don't feel like you're settling right because you don't say, oh it's, it's pretty close. Well then, we need to keep looking right, because we don't need pretty close, we need like oh my gosh, I can't wait to move in here. Can we, can we do this tomorrow, right?

Speaker 2: 22:42

that is, that's the kind of experience I want for my clients.

Speaker 1: 22:45

Yeah, that's great, kevin. So if listeners wanted to learn more about Hunter Realty Group or connect you, how would they connect with you and what's the best way to keep in touch?

Speaker 2: 22:57

Yeah, I think, like everybody, I'm a big text guy. It's quick, everybody checks it, so you know 214-282-6031. You can also catch me on either Instagram, which is notxhomehunter right, and then YouTube is the same thing.

Speaker 1: 23:15

Texas Home Hunter. All right, so any final advice for our buyers and sellers that you want to share with them?

Speaker 2: 23:22

Just make sure that you're doing your due diligence to find the home that you really want, right? You want to start off on the financial side and you want to make sure that know here's our budget and what we can do and how we can be successful. Sometimes there may be some credit cleanup you need to do, but do the financial piece early and then make sure you have a realtor who's going to support your needs and your desires to find the home that's an absolute dream for you.

Speaker 1: 23:48

Wonderful Well. Thank you, kevin, for all of the words of advice and for just letting us know you're here to help. I appreciate you being on the show Thank you. And for all our listeners out there. I'm your host, dori, and we'll see you next time on Market with Atma.