Episode 156 Transcript: Linda Sopko
On this episode of The Brad and Taylor Show, we have Linda Sopko from Key Realty!
To watch the full episode, check it out on YouTube below. To listen, head over to Apple Podcasts. In the meantime, here’s a transcript of the conversation…
Here’s what you missed from Linda Sopko…
00:00:00:17 –> 00:00:03:17
Taylor: Welcome to the Brad and Taylor show, today, we have Linda Supko.
00:00:16:12 –> 00:00:17:21
Taylor: Hi. How are you doing?
00:00:18:20 –> 00:00:20:02
Linda: I’m doing really well. How are you?
00:00:20:05 –> 00:00:23:16
Brad: We’re good. Doing good, doing good. Well, tell us a little bit about you. What do you do?
00:00:24:19 –> 00:00:34:08
Linda: I’m a realtor here in Jackson, Michigan. I specialize in residential first-time buyers and I travel a lot.
00:00:43:29 –> 00:00:49:02
Brad: I like it. I like it. Well, when you were younger, is this what you had planned for your future?
00:00:49:26 –> 00:00:54:12
Linda: No, I was going to be a world-famous musician and live in France.
00:00:54:18 –> 00:00:56:18
Brad: Oh, nice. Did you do any of that?
00:00:58:05 –> 00:01:04:26
Linda: No, I was a musician for a really long time. I’m not anymore. I’m fluent in French, but I’ve never been there.
00:01:05:01 –> 00:01:08:14
Brad: Yeah. Well, maybe soon enough, soon enough. Well, how’d you get into real estate?
00:01:10:01 –> 00:01:41:20
Linda: I was, I call it a “mall rat.” I was in retail for years and years and years. I got a divorce and I couldn’t live on that income. So, I went out and got my bachelor’s degree in business management. Honestly, I think because of my age, I didn’t get in anywhere. I sent out hundreds and hundreds of applications. So, I had to figure out how to do something for myself. So, I took the jump and counted on my savings, and started.
00:01:42:15 –> 00:01:44:21
Brad: That’s awesome. How long have you been in it?
00:01:45:23 –> 00:01:47:26
Linda: Almost three and a half years.
00:01:47:28 –> 00:01:49:03
Brad: Nice. How’d your first year ago?
00:01:50:26 –> 00:01:55:20
Linda: Uh, not bad. I broke even so good.
00:01:56:23 –> 00:02:02:14
Brad: Yeah. Hey, can’t complain there. How’s it gone since then? Did you start out on a team or did you start solo?
00:02:03:16 –> 00:02:15:02
Linda: I’ve never been on a team. I started at Century 21 and I had my first contract, I think two months after I started. And I’ve just kept going ever since.
00:02:15:02 –> 00:02:16:23
Brad: That’s awesome. Good for you.
00:02:17:10 –> 00:02:23:07
Taylor: How’d that first transaction go for you? Was that pretty smooth or were there some learning curves in there?
00:02:23:28 –> 00:02:40:24
Linda: There was a huge learning curve. So, I guess lots of questions. I got good advice. I got bad advice. So that first one could have been so much better. It was actually a house for my son, so he loves me and doesn’t hold it all against me.
00:02:42:02 –> 00:02:52:24
Taylor: That almost makes it better in a way, because it’s your son. You have a little bit of flexibility with that because he knows you’re newer, but at the same time, it’s your son. So you want to make sure it’s a good fit and everything works out.
00:02:53:17 –> 00:03:10:23
Linda: Yeah. Uh, a story for that. We closed on his property. He didn’t move in until about three weeks later, he started moving in and the next-door neighbor’s house had a tree that fell on his house. So, he got a brand new roof anyway.
00:03:11:19 –> 00:03:14:29
Brad: Wow. That’s crazy.
00:03:15:17 –> 00:03:26:00
Taylor: I know you mentioned you got some good advice and some not-so-good advice when you first started, tell us a little bit about that. Starting with good advice. What kind of stuck with you throughout the years?
00:03:27:13 –> 00:03:46:22
Linda: Don’t tell people that I don’t know. You’re meeting somebody and you’re supposed to be the expert and they ask you a question. You would say, “Um, I’ll get back to you on that.” Yeah, that helped a lot. Cause it gave me a minute to go and find out what I needed to find out and learn new things so I could do it.
00:03:47:14 –> 00:03:51:13
Taylor: What about some not-so-great advice that you maybe received when you first started?
00:03:52:18 –> 00:04:19:17
Linda: Uh, I think the worst one was, they’re going to go FHA. You don’t really need to do an inspection. Oh, I’ll do that. So that was not a good move because obviously that person, that was the first house I sold, there was a lot of problems afterward. None of the appliances worked, none of this works, and yeah.
00:04:20:13 –> 00:04:26:00
Taylor: Oh man, bummer. What is the worst property you’ve been to?
00:04:27:12 –> 00:04:52:25
Linda: It wasn’t a foreclosure, but it was not in the greatest neighborhood. I went to meet my clients to go through it. There were broken windows on the front. I was leery about going in there at all because I didn’t know what was going on, but we did, we went inside and someone had thrown a brick through the windows and we just didn’t know if anybody was there. We just kind of looked around and left. So yeah.
00:04:53:06 –> 00:04:55:18
Taylor: Did you end up selling that one?
00:04:55:20 –> 00:04:56:21
Linda: Not at all.
00:04:58:04 –> 00:05:06:22
Taylor: I know those ones are kind of scary, especially if you’re walking up and you’re kind of on edge to go in and already have that feeling. Like, I don’t know if someone’s going to pop out.
00:05:08:08 –> 00:05:12:00
Linda: Hey, you just don’t know. There are squatters everywhere.
00:05:12:26 –> 00:05:16:18
Taylor: What kind of goals do you want to accomplish finishing out this year and going into the next?
00:05:17:14 –> 00:05:27:22
Linda: I would love to get some more listings, so I don’t really push for it and I just let people know what’s out there if they want it. So, yeah. Yeah.
00:05:27:28 –> 00:05:30:22
Taylor: For sure. What’s your favorite way to market right now?
00:05:32:16 –> 00:05:45:07
Linda: I have a Facebook business page, but I don’t put anything on there. Like, oh, look, I sold this home and I did this and I did that. I just put information out there. Yeah. Try and keep it fun.
00:05:46:13 –> 00:05:54:11
Brad: Yeah. The information marketing. It’s awesome. Like if you had to start over today, what is one thing you would change knowing all, you know, now?
00:05:58:21 –> 00:06:23:22
Linda: I’m not sure there’s a whole lot I would change. One of the things I wanted was to have a mentor and say can I go, can I do this? Can I do that? And I didn’t get that. So, I ended up working for myself. So, I called lenders and then met with lenders and got information. I met with home inspectors and I just did a lot of research that way. And I think that’s actually a really good way to go.
00:06:23:22 –> 00:06:25:21
Brad: Do it. Yeah. That’s pretty smart.
00:06:27:03 –> 00:06:35:12
Taylor: Yeah. Especially if you don’t have someone that you can kind of shadow that. I mean, a mentor is obviously ideal, but the way you went about it is really helpful.
00:06:38:07 –> 00:06:53:12
Linda: The agency or the brokerage that I’m with now is pretty independent and everything you do, you’re responsible for everything. So it was a good move on my part originally because I could just chance transition right into there with no worries. Yeah.
00:06:53:29 –> 00:06:57:27
Brad: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. What’s your favorite book that you’ve read?
00:06:59:11 –> 00:07:08:24
Linda: Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. It’s pretty inspirational for keeping you motivated and keeping on track.
00:07:09:09 –> 00:07:13:04
Brad: I like it. I have not read that one. Um, awesome. How can people get ahold of you?
00:07:14:11 –> 00:07:29:14
Linda: I have my Facebook business page, which is at Linda Sopko Realtor. I have a website, LindaSopkoRealtor.com. My phone number and email and everything are all over the internet.
00:07:30:10 –> 00:07:40:18
Brad: Yeah, it’s easy to find the phone number, especially when you’re trying to be found all over the internet, so true. Well, Hey, thanks for coming on and sharing their story with us today.
00:07:41:19 –> 00:07:44:11
Linda: Well, thanks for asking. I appreciate it. Yeah, of course.
00:07:48:04 –> 00:08:06:06
Hello. Hello. Are you there? Are you there? Hey guys, we just wanted to thank you for listening on either a podcast or on the YouTube video here. If you guys wanted to subscribe, that would be awesome. That would mean a lot to us. If you guys could give us a five-star review as well, that would be amazing. And we’ll see you on the next one.
Check out Linda Sopko:
Key Realty
https://lindasopko.ikeyrealty.com/?fbclid=IwAR3J5Q-otRvVHqGogJoPqmWkDFnBgk-1BKn38Is1s1nYCK9qv4TFJ3buBz0
Facebook: @https://www.facebook.com/lindasopkorealtor/
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