Mike and Amy speak with Tracy Crawford, a realtor in Jacksonville, Florida, who shares her journey from being an Army nurse to a real estate professional. Tracy discusses the importance of education in the home buying process, especially for military families navigating VA loans and the complexities of closing costs. She highlights recent changes in real estate practices, the roles of buyer and seller agents, and offers insights on how to find the right realtor. Tracy also addresses the decision-making process between renting and selling a home, emphasizing the importance of connecting with trustworthy professionals in the industry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Real Estate and Military Transitions

06:36 Understanding the Home Buying Process

11:27 Navigating Changes in Real Estate Practices

16:31 The Role of Buyer and Seller Agents

21:40 Preparing for a Move: Timing and Research

21:43 Understanding Home Buying Timelines

22:48 Choosing the Right Realtor

25:49 Virtual Home Buying Experience

28:18 Criteria for Selecting a Realtor

29:00 Sell vs Rent: Making the Right Decision

32:08 The Value of a Realtor’s Network

34:05 Final Thoughts on Real Estate Transactions

Takeaways

• Tracy emphasizes the importance of education in the home buying process.

• Military families often overlook closing costs when using VA loans.

• Recent changes in real estate practices focus on transparency.

• Buyers can negotiate the commission for their agents.

• The relationship between a realtor and client is crucial for a successful transaction.

• Timing is key for transitioning service members to start their home search.

• Finding a military-friendly realtor can ease the home buying process.

• Renting may be a better option for some military families than selling.

• Realtors can provide valuable connections to other professionals in the industry.

• Knowledge is power, and sharing it helps military families make informed decisions.

Links

You can reach Traci at her website ⁠https://newlifetimememories.com/⁠  or email her at tracicrawford at newlifetimememories.com

Schedule a consultation with Mike: https://nextmissionfinancialplanning.com/contact/   

Schedule a consultation with Amy: https://www.instarfp.com/contact

Transcript

Mike Hunsberger (00:00)
Hey, Amy, we’ve got a great episode today. We’re joined by Tracy Crawford, who’s a realtor in Jacksonville, Florida, former Army nurse. And so really looking forward to it. I’ve been to a lot of different things, including how to find a realtor, when you should consider renting versus buying and just the different roles and how a realtor plays a role potentially as a buyer’s agent or a seller’s agent. Some of the

know, changes that have come about in the last couple years to offer buyers and sellers more transparency when they’re working with an agent. So I encourage you to listen. I think it’s ⁓ going to be a great show.

Amy (00:42)
I agree, Mike. This is something that is one of the biggest, if not the biggest purchases that we all make in a lifetime. And sometimes we don’t understand the role of the experts that help us through that process. So I’m super excited to have Tracy here. Just as a side note, Tracy was my boss way back when. So it’s also good to reconnect with ⁓ somebody who is focused on helping military members in the real estate world.

Amy (01:42)
Tracy, it’s so good to have you on the podcast today. We’re excited to be talking with a real live realtor. We were talking a little bit beforehand how some military members have never purchased a house throughout their entire career, or maybe just one or two. In any case, it’s kind of a mystery sometimes what realtors do. So we’re excited to have you here and to learn from you. ⁓ To get started, can you just tell us a little bit about your career, how you…

⁓ chose to be a realtor after the military and anything else you’d like to share about yourself.

Traci Crawford (02:15)
Sure, first I’d like to thank you and Mike for having me on. I’m truly honored that you guys selected me to come on and talk about this really very important topic, because it is the biggest expense that people are gonna have and it can absolutely be a mystery. I don’t care how many times you’ve done it, even as a realtor, I’m still learning things myself. So I can’t imagine still being on the other side. So I’m excited to share about that. ⁓ And just to talk just a little bit about myself, because this is more about educating people, but.

Amy (02:33)
you

Traci Crawford (02:44)
I ⁓ served 30 years in the military. That’s where Amy and I met. ⁓ I was a nurse in the military. Absolutely loved it. I loved my career in the army. I loved ⁓ the opportunity to give back. ⁓ know, most people that serve in the military have a service heart. And I truly enjoyed that aspect of it. I loved the camaraderie. I loved being able to go from different places in the

U.S. or the country and know someone already and already have a family member there because that’s truly my personality. I love to just be around family and to be around people. ⁓ And so I couldn’t imagine 30 years. like, all right, you got to go. Like, fine. It was funny when I got to 20 years. I was like, I’m 20 years and I’m out. And my colonel and my colonel at the time, he’s like.

you might want to get your passport for the next 10 years. I’m like, next 10, 20, I’m out. And then 30 years later, like, OK, now you have to go. like, OK, fine. Now what do I do? So I really had thought about going back to be a nurse practitioner. ⁓ But as many of you guys know, our kids serve with us as well. ⁓ And so I was looking for the opportunity for them to land someplace and to finish out high school, start high school. And for me,

Amy (03:45)
you

Traci Crawford (04:04)
to be present with them. If I had gone back to do nurse practitioner, I would have spent crazy hours just, you know, what you need to do to hone that craft, right? So I’ve always loved real estate. I’ve, you know, owned several homes. I was like, a friend of mine said, well, why don’t you try real estate? I was like, really? I’m like, okay. And then a good friend of mine was going to open up a business in interior design when she retired as a nurse. I’m like, what? You can do something other than nursing? Cause I never thought of doing anything other than nursing when I retired.

So there we go, 2018, I started and I haven’t looked back. Was it terrifying? Absolutely. Cause you go from an automat trusted profession to one where you have to earn that trust. Right. And you worry, am I going to be able to do that? But I was and I found my people and they find, they find you and my people are my military family members, even though I’m in a 100 % Navy town. Right. But it doesn’t matter.

the service, even though we give the Air Force grief, right, Mike? We’re still one big happy family. And so I love just being able to give back to the military service members because, you know, PCSing is stressful enough. And I don’t just help people buy houses. I have a Facebook organization that I’m a part of, it’s called PCS Pay It Forward, and we help all military transitioning. So whether they’re going into base housing, whether they’re going to rent.

Mike Hunsberger (05:06)
Yeah

Traci Crawford (05:33)
because renting is equally as scary, right? You wanna have a place to land, you don’t wanna have to stay in temporary housing or better yet rent side unseen. They’re even scarier than buying side unseen sometimes, because you just never know what you’re gonna get. ⁓ So I do help military members find a rental as well as purchase a home too. And I really just do that for my military family members, just trying to reduce the stress off of them as their PCSing, because there’s already…

so many other things that you can’t control for. that’s, you know, the biggest stressor is where am I gonna live? You where are my kids gonna go to school? Right, how far is it gonna take me to get to work? And is this gonna be a good, comfortable, safe place? ⁓ So that’s how I got into it. And I just absolutely love it. I’ve carved out a niche where I can continue to serve my people, which are my military family members. And ⁓ we do a lot and I do a lot.

for them and continue to do that. And at the same time, I sell houses.

Mike Hunsberger (06:36)
That’s awesome. That’s a great story. Sounds very familiar to other people we’ve talked to, want to continue to serve and just help out the tribe. ⁓ That’s fantastic. Let’s talk a little bit about what specifically you do as a realtor when somebody’s interested either in buying or selling a house, whether it’s the first time or the…

Traci Crawford (06:46)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Absolutely.

Thank

Mike Hunsberger (07:04)
fifth or sixth time that they may ⁓ be doing that.

Traci Crawford (07:05)
Mm-hmm.

It’s interesting you say that because one of the things I do in the military Facebook group is, you know, I invite them to do what’s called a PCS plan call with me. ⁓ And it’s whether it’s your first time PCSing or your 50th time PCSing, there’s always something that’s different about this one, or you may just want someone just to go, ⁓ and then you’re like, okay, I got it, and you go. So for buying, education is the absolute first place to start. So when I meet with someone that are interested in buying, you know,

this may or may not be the right thing for them to do. So we start with, know, what do you know about buying? What have you prepared for buying? What do you expect that you’ll have to do? You know, as a veteran, of course, we’re going to use our VA loan. Does that mean we don’t have a down payment? Does that mean we have closing costs? Wait, what’s the between closing costs and a down payment? So I really start with educating them about the process and finding out, you know, what

their experience if anything has been with buying. Because even if you’ve bought before, it may not have been a great experience. So I try to pull that out and then just give them as much education as I can to get them started. Then we just walk through the process of home buying.

Amy (08:23)
And what do you find service members are most confused about or ⁓ not confused but don’t realize as far as the home buying or selling process is concerned?

Traci Crawford (08:35)
I would say they all know that the VA loan, that they can buy it with their VA loan. They know that they don’t have to do a down payment, but they forget about the closing cost aspect of it, right? You’re like, what? We have to do closing costs and what are closing costs? So then I just break down and the simplest way I tell them about closing costs is that it’s basically the sales tax for buying a house, right? So it’s not, cause the down payment goes towards the loan.

The closing costs are all the tax associated with buying, just like the car, tax, tags, and titles, right? Same thing with the house. And that’s the biggest thing that people don’t realize, that they still have to have somewhat of a nest egg, if you will. And I say somewhat because in this current market, because our current market is really a buyer’s market and homes are sitting a little longer.

And it depends on your market. So at least for the Jacksonville market, other markets are a little bit different. So at least in the Jacksonville market, I’ve been pretty successful in getting most, if not all of the closing costs for buyers covered. So then they really can come to the table with little to no money and buy a house. ⁓ Even with new construction, new construction are offered lower interest rates.

which makes it a little bit more affordable to them as well as paying closing costs. So those are two avenues that people can take to purchase, but the closing costs aspect is one that a lot of, and I would say mostly VA buyers, because conventional buyers know that they have to a down payment down, but even them, they forget that there’s that and this other piece as well. And the sales tax is what I.

Mike Hunsberger (10:18)
Yeah.

Yeah, that’s a great way to frame that. I hadn’t thought of it as the tax piece of it. But yeah, all those little things, the inspection and all those things. So I know there’s been some changes kind of recently in the real estate with getting a realtor now and some changes there. So can you talk a little bit about what those changes were maybe in light of both the

Traci Crawford (10:28)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Correct. Correct. Yep.

short.

and

Mike Hunsberger (10:52)
buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent and what’s changed, what maybe hasn’t changed type thing.

Traci Crawford (10:59)
Sure,

sure, absolutely. Well, there was a big lawsuit and the lawsuit centered around lack of transparency, if you will. So what the fix for that was is that you have to have a buyer representation and you have to actually sign a buyer broker agreement as a buyer. The other piece, and I’ll go back more into that, but I wanted to back up a little bit.

In the past, the buyer’s commission was customarily and it just depends on state. But, cause I remember one time when I was selling my house in Texas, I’m like, wait a minute, why do I have the buyer and the seller’s commission on my, um, on my statement? And they’re like, you pay both. I was like, I pay both. So I didn’t know that, right. And my, my real estate agent didn’t explain that to me as we were selling the house. So I’m like, okay. So.

Even in Texas, it was customary for the seller to pay not only their real estate agent, but the buyer’s real estate agent. So now, and again, it’s customary, but everything is negotiable and people forget that, right? Or people don’t realize that because it’s all in how it’s presented to someone. So it can be presented as you don’t have an option, but you’ve always had options.

So now they made it seem as if it was a change and that you don’t have to pay this if you don’t want to, well, you never had to, you can negotiate how much, well, you’ve always been able to, but now that conversation has been brought to the forefront. So more people are aware of it and they believe that it’s a change, but it isn’t, it just was never articulated the way it should be articulated. So then now as a seller, as…

As if I’m your agent and you’re a seller, I’m going to say to you, here’s my commission and we’ll talk about that. And there is room to negotiate no matter what we say, right? I may want this, but you as the seller don’t have to. So it’s my job to sell to you why I think I should get this amount for the commission. Then when it comes to the buyer, my role as their agent to the seller is to say, it probably makes sense.

Amy (13:00)
Thank

Traci Crawford (13:15)
for you to offer a commission to that buyer because that buyer then let’s think about it. Let’s say they’re not a VA buyer. That buyer has to pay the buyer’s commission. They have to pay the closing costs and then they also have to put a down payment down. So that’s going to limit the pool of people that can buy your home. So it makes sense that you do offer a commission to the buyer’s broker and you do have the ability to negotiate.

how much you wanna pay them. You don’t have to pay them the full whatever customer your amount is, you can pay them something less or you can say, yes, I’ll pay it, but then here’s, you bring me your offer and I’ll let you know whether or not I want to give you that amount. So there’s a couple of ways, but it makes sense and I advise my sellers that they should offer some sort of buyer broker commission. And then we just talk about what that looks like. And it’s gonna be based on their overall net because

You know, they may not have a lot of room because I’ve had some where and they still offered it, but they were making very little and they were coming to the table at the closing cost with closing with money needed at closing as a seller. Usually you want to get equity out. But if you don’t have any equity, then you have to bring it to the table. So it just really depends on what their net is. And that’s just an educational conversation that I have with my clients to explain all of the possible scenarios.

and help them make the best decision for themselves. So then the other piece that was added onto this, so if I’m gonna show you a house, we have to enter into an agreement to say that we are working exclusively together. ⁓ One, so you’re not gonna work with another agent and two, I’m gonna do my best to get you the best deal that I can. And also in signing this Brier Broker Agreement, you’re helping me to get paid.

So in that buyer broker agreement, we’ll put a certain amount, whatever that commission percentage is. And then in most cases, the seller is paying that commission. And if the seller isn’t offering the same amount, we just make some adjustments so that it’s covered. But that’s the other piece. I, know, buyer broker agreements are not new. When I bought a home in Virginia in 2009, I think it was,

I had to sign a buyer broker agreement with my real estate agent. I, in my practice, I didn’t do it because I’m a relationship person. I was like, I don’t want to force them to work with me. don’t, you know, if they don’t want to work with me, I don’t, that’s fine. I don’t, you know, want them to have to. So now I have to do it, but I tell them you can break up with me at any time. My feelings might be hurt, but.

I’ll let you out. Because I want to make sure I’m taking good care of you. If I’m not taking good care of you, then I need you to be with someone who can take good care of you. So I always caution people, because when you sign your buyer broker agreement, just look at it. Because some agents were charging them to break up with them. Some agents were charging them a retainer fee. ⁓ I wouldn’t sign one for a retainer fee. I wouldn’t sign one where there’s a fee for me if I decide you’re not the right person for me. Because there’s no reason to do all of that.

Amy (16:03)
Thank you.

Mike Hunsberger (16:27)
.

Traci Crawford (16:31)
So in mine, all of those things are zero. Only thing that’s on there are tears if you break up with me, but other than that, nothing else. ⁓ And then the commission. So it makes it easy to ⁓ explain, especially for me, because I have a service heart.

And so I can ⁓ just tell them, no, if this doesn’t work for you, then we’re fine.

Amy (16:56)
So just to clarify a little bit, because I quite honestly have ⁓ in the past been confused about this and maybe some listeners too. So the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent, sometimes is it literally as simple as this is the agent who represents the buyer and this is the agent who represents the seller or there are other distinctions between those two terms?

Traci Crawford (17:18)
So yes, that’s exactly it. The seller’s representative and then the buyer’s representative. Now, where it may get confusing is sometimes they can be both. And you say, how is that possible? So I have a house and I’m helping someone sell. The buyer comes in and says, I don’t have an agent. Can you represent me? So that’s different state to state. In our state, because we’re what we call transaction brokers, so we represent the transaction, we can do both sides.

Amy (17:28)
Interesting. Yeah.

Traci Crawford (17:47)
It’s a little tricky and it takes some finesse and it takes some experience to help both sides feel comfortable that you’re giving them the best service. But you can, but it is as simple as the seller’s representative represents the seller and the buyer’s agent represents the buyer.

Amy (17:47)
Thank

So maybe, ⁓ can you tell me if this is an accurate sort of representation? ⁓ So the buyer’s agent always has to act in the buyer’s best interest. The seller’s agent always has to act in the seller’s best interest. If you’re doing both, then you become almost like a mediator where you’re not advocating for either side. You’re just trying to get both sides to come to the best available. Okay.

Traci Crawford (18:30)
you’re advocating for that is correct because you’re advocating

for the transaction. So you are correct. That is a great way to put it as being a mediator, which is what, and I found myself in a significant mediator situation before. So, ⁓ and it can be done, right? And that’s where I feel like my nursing skills and my leadership skills came into play ⁓ because I understood how to, you know,

Mike Hunsberger (18:38)
Thank

Traci Crawford (18:56)
work with both sides, right? And hear both sides and get them both to the closing tape.

Amy (19:03)
Perfect.

Mike Hunsberger (19:03)
Yeah,

that’s interesting. And especially, go back to the, you you said the buyer’s agent, ⁓ hey, we’ve got a requirement. I mean, like you said, you got to read that contract because, you know, if you’re PCSing in, you may think you’re going to buy. And if you can’t find anything quick enough, you still need a place to live when you get there. So it may turn into, okay, I’m going to base housing or I’m going to a rental and

Traci Crawford (19:17)
Yes.

Hooray.

Correct. Yes.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mike Hunsberger (19:32)
Yeah, so you don’t

Traci Crawford (19:33)
Yeah.

Mike Hunsberger (19:33)
want to jump into something where it’s like, okay, you’re going to be on the hook for a lot of money if you end up not buying.

Traci Crawford (19:40)
Correct, correct, correct.

And that’s the simple one, right? It could just be a personality thing, right? It may be that you guys just don’t mesh or there’s something that you were looking for or expectations didn’t match up, right? And you don’t wanna have to pay to get out of what an expectation wasn’t for you. So yep, that’s the other piece of it as

Mike Hunsberger (19:47)
Sure, sure.

Amy (20:04)
So maybe going back a little bit to ⁓ one of the challenges that you see with military family members, ⁓ let’s assume that there is a service member retiring from whether it’s overseas or somewhere else in in Conus. They’re coming to the Jacksonville area. That’s the area you probably know the best. ⁓ What is the right time for that transitioning service member to start thinking about where they want to live and the real estate process in, in

Traci Crawford (20:20)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Amy (20:34)
Jacksonville and can you kind of make a distinction between what goes on in your area and what you what you see maybe in other parts of the country?

Traci Crawford (20:41)
So I would say as soon as they know that they’re moving to that particular area, I would start doing homework. Finding out more about the area. If you don’t already have a real estate agent that you know, like and trust, start looking for someone. If you’re not sure, if you think you want to buy and you’ve never purchased before, get as much education. Finding an agent first would be helpful, but if not, find a lender that you trust to start looking through and looking through your finance. Because I always tell them,

Trust your lender, tell them the good, the bad, the ugly, and they can prepare you for the process, right? They’re not to judge you, they’re just there to help you navigate. Because if your goal is to buy a house, they can tell you what you need to do based on your circumstances. So I even tell them even more than me, I I stayed in a holiday in select, so I know a little bit about lending, but I would prefer that you talk to a lender and they’ll, you know, that way they’ll open up.

everything to them and to tell them everything and then we’ll figure it

Right, so definitely you want to find out about schools, especially if you have school-aged kids, neighborhoods, commuting times. ⁓ But then as far as purchasing, resale, you can generally do with as little as three weeks, really. could buy a home in three weeks. ⁓

Average is about 30 days. You could take it a little bit longer depending on both situations, whether the seller is amenable to waiting a little bit longer. New construction, that’s a little bit easier, particularly if they already have a home already built that you can move into. It’s just been on when that’s ready or if you’re gonna build, then that’s a longer time. If you’re gonna build, that’s anywhere from four to six months to upwards of a year, depending on the builder and the type of home that you’re building.

So the more time you give yourself, the better. But if you’re crunched, you can do it within 45 to 60 days. can. Even with the VA loan. My lender can close the VA loan in three weeks. Yep.

Amy (22:39)
Even with a VA loom. Okay.

Nice, nice.

Mike Hunsberger (22:48)
Yeah, that’s great. ⁓ So when somebody’s trying to decide on a realtor, what do you suggest they look at? are some things or how do you suggest they go about that if they’re coming into an area where their PCS had never been there before, even haven’t been in a long time or maybe never bought, but they’re getting ready to transition out and retire and they’re looking

for that final place.

Traci Crawford (23:20)
So if they start searching, can search military friendly realtors. I’ve had a lot of military families find me that way. ⁓ You wanna look for their online presence, right? You wanna look for reviews, just like when you look at other things, you’re look at reviews. And I’ve had many people say, we loved your reviews and that’s what sold us. And so it’s important for us to make sure we’re getting reviews so people know other than from someone than us.

how well we’re gonna do. So you wanna do your research. If you know people, recommendations always work as well too. ⁓ But you want someone who’s gonna be open with you, who’s gonna communicate with you, who’s gonna educate with you. One of the things that I do, I know this was something we had maybe talked about before, is I do a lot of virtual home buying for my clients. A lot of them have purchased.

basically sight unseen. ⁓ And I have gone in and I do the good, the bad, the ugly. said, listen, I’m going use all my five senses. You only have one, right? Maybe two, visual and hearing. I got the rest. I’m going to touch it. I’m going to smell it. All of that. And I’m going to tell you everything that I see.

So I do that in my videos. It was so funny. One of my clients laughed at me because we went in the closet. was like, wow, this closet is huge. And I put my foot out and I had it in the videos. Like, look at my foot and look at the rest of the closet. And they just cracked up laughing. I was like, it gave you a visual, right? Or I went into one house like, ⁓ this one smells bad. And I do that even for my clients that are renting, especially my clients that are renting because.

Amy (24:48)
Thank

Traci Crawford (24:59)
You have little flexibility. mean, you can fix your own house, but if you’re renting, you know, it’s up to the landlord. And if they’re already presenting it as a, not good condition, they’re probably not gonna take good care of it while you’re living in it, right? ⁓ So I will do that for my clients. And that would be something else, you know, what is your virtual house learning process? How can you work this, you know, if we wanna get here and move right in.

I have a couple later today that I’m going to go look at some rentals and ones in Oak Harbor, Washington,

So like no problems. She sent me some. We already had our PCS plan call. We talked about what she needed. I said, let’s connect first of November by middle of the month. We should be able to get it. ⁓ Go look and then get you settled into a place. So that’s what we’re doing.

Amy (25:49)
No, are there, would you say that there’s, you know, ⁓ any criteria or maybe ⁓ kind of markers of fantastic realtors or maybe this is a realtor you should steer clear of? there, are there any criteria like that? I mean, none of us pick a realtor that often. So how do we get better at it?

Traci Crawford (26:08)
Right,

right. I don’t know that there really is, because it really is about, one, what other people have said, maybe how long they’ve been in the business, maybe how many homes they’ve sold. I say maybe, right? Because at some point, everybody’s new. So that’s not quite the marker. ⁓ And then just talking with them, you know, what’s the feel that you get? Because you’re going to be in a relationship with this individual, and they’re going to help you buy the

biggest purchase you’ve made in your whole life, right? So if you can’t talk to them, if you can’t be yourself, if you don’t feel comfortable, if you think they’re hiding things, or if you just can’t get a read for them, then that’s not the person for you. they’re short, or how about this? If they answer their phone, can you believe how many real sayings don’t answer their phone? It’s like, just answer the phone. can’t, so many people said,

Thank you for answering. I like, really? I’m like, well, I can’t talk to you if I don’t answer. I can’t help you if I don’t answer. So it’s just those little things. I mean, it’s just doing an assessment of someone. Do you like this person? I mean, because you’re assuming that they know their job. And I know that’s a big assumption. I know what we say when we assume. But there’s not really a way to know whether or not they’re good at the details of their job.

but you can tell if they’re detail-oriented person, if they answer questions, how they communicate, are they professional, are they responsive. Though if they have that, then to me that’s gonna lead you to that you’re probably gonna be okay. Now, is everything gonna be perfect? No, because it’s never perfect. So it won’t be that, but it’s how they respond to it, right? And do they take care of you? And at the end of the day, you’re not.

out any money because they didn’t do the right things to make sure that you were protected during the transaction.

Amy (28:07)
Yeah, I mean, it’s a stressful enough process. having someone that you get along with and you like, that can make it at least a little better.

Traci Crawford (28:07)
Thank

Yes.

Correct. Correct. Yes.

Mike Hunsberger (28:18)
And any thoughts or general, I know probably varies by market, but any thoughts on sell versus rents versus, you know, keep your home if you’ve, if you are PCS saying and bought previously, any things you see there?

Traci Crawford (28:23)
And then.

Right. So to me,

the best thing that you need to do is connect with the real estate agent that you trust, right? I mean, and you could probably do some of this ahead of yourself, but look at what homes are selling for, look at what homes are renting for, because you can go on to the Z word or the R word and see what homes are selling for and then connect with the professional to say,

Amy (28:51)
you

Traci Crawford (29:00)
Hey, I’m thinking about here’s my circumstance. What equity do you have in your home? Will you make any money if you sell it or is it better that you hold onto it for a little while? And if you do hold onto it for a little while, then you need to start interviewing property managers if you’re not gonna be local, because you want someone who can keep eyes on the property. So it really is gonna just depend on your circumstance. I know in the last…

year or so I’ve recommended to more people than not that they rent their homes out. Most of them were comfortable with that just because ⁓ of where they purchase a lot of military families are at the price point where it is a little bit more challenging now to sell and there’s a lot more at least in our market there are a lot more at that price point. So the best thing I can say is you just need to it’s a case by case basis. It’s

How are homes selling in your market for your price range, for your size home? How much equity do you have in it? ⁓ And if those things are negative or don’t meet what you’re looking for, then renting may be the way you wanna go

for your circumstances. And that’s why a lot of times when people ask me that question, like, well, let’s get on the phone and talk. Let’s look at, know, are you able to carry it ⁓ if you are at loss? Because maybe some people don’t have the, don’t feel like being a property manager, right? So they’re like, I just want to sell it and get rid of it. Okay, what’s it gonna cost? And they see what’s gonna cost. like, no, I can’t do that. Okay, so let’s rent it. Let me find, and I finally found,

a property manager that I like. You know, they’re not all created equal, right? So I found one that I recommend. So finding a good property manager is the other aspect, because that takes that stress off of you, someone that can worry about it for you, and you don’t have to deal with that. So the short answer to that question is, it really depends on your equity, your net, and your overall goals as to whether selling

Mike Hunsberger (30:47)
⁓ yeah.

Traci Crawford (31:09)
or renting works for you. And that’s the conversation that you have to have to decide whether or not you’re going to rent or sell your

Mike Hunsberger (31:20)
It depends. That’s the ⁓ favorite financial ⁓ advisor answer all the time also. So, yep.

Traci Crawford (31:22)
It really does. It really does. I know someone wants

that quick, just tell me one way or the other. was like, it just depends. And at the end of the day, I also tell them too, is I advise, I don’t make decisions. I advise, I give you all the information I know. If I don’t know it, I go research it. I bring it back to you. And then I lay it out for you. I explain it. And then you have to make the decision. Cause this is your property, your home.

and your circumstances. Because people want you to make the decision for them. And then if you make the wrong one, you’re like, ⁓ and like, mm-mm, nope, I have eyes. And I hold your hand, I’ll talk you through all the pros and cons, but at the end of the day, you got to decide.

Amy (32:00)
Yeah.

So throughout the conversation, you’ve brought up a couple different kinds of experts that really are involved in, you know, home ownership, home purchase, sale, ⁓ you know, all of the pieces. you know, lenders and property managers. And ⁓ so can you just talk to us about the value that a realtor can provide in terms of connecting you to trustworthy sources there and what you are allowed to do and not allowed to do?

Traci Crawford (32:18)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yep.

so yes, the biggest value is that it’s someone that I’ve at least worked with. And at least from my experience, right. They’ve done a great job. And so versus, you know, a Google, you don’t necessarily know that person and that, you know, that reference, maybe it’s good, you know, you’re still checking it out. ⁓ and then what the best thing to do is to give more than one reference, right? Cause you hate to give that one.

and things go south, they’re like, well, you. So I try to, know, the industry standard is really to give three recommendations and then allow them to pick from those. I also try not to recommend people that I haven’t used. And if I haven’t used them, I can say they come recommended from X, Y, or Z, and I’m comfortable with them. So I would at least, you know, look into them and see if they’ll work for you. But I think that value is using people that we have worked with.

and have a relationship with. That’s the other thing, the relationship, right? Sometimes you get a little bit better service because, they’re, and Tracy may send me more, I’m gonna make sure I take good care of them, right? So that’s one of the big values of it as well too, because I can get discounts from my clients from certain vendors because of our relationship.

Amy (33:57)
Awesome, I think that’s very valuable. Very valuable, thank you.

Traci Crawford (34:02)
You’re welcome.

Mike Hunsberger (34:05)
So Tracy, thanks for all this information. ⁓ It’s been great. ⁓ Anything you want to add before we wrap up? Anything we missed that you want to make sure people understand about buying real estate or selling real estate?

Traci Crawford (34:23)
think the one last thing I’ll add is me, just like other agents, I know agents across the country. So as people are PCSing and moving, if you already have a great relationship with an agent, start with that one, even if they’re not in that location, to find the other one. Because a couple of things. One,

We may know someone there, but two, we know the questions to ask to kind of smoke out the ones we want to work. And it’s really some of the things that I’ve already said, right? Is how are they responding? Are they professional? What’s their network? What’s their experience? And, you know, we may hear a little bit of realtor talk, but it’s still that people relationship that I’m talking about. ⁓ So look for the agent that you already know, like, and trust as your referral.

Read some of the fine print, with the buyer broker agreement. Don’t agree to ⁓ have to pay to break up or to have a retainer fee. That’s not necessary with the buyer broker agreement and there are many agents that won’t have you do that. And at the end of the day, this is a service industry. So look for that person to educate you really to talk to.

about, cause I give my clients have my cell phone number. said, you know, text me whenever you, whenever you have a question and you know, if I can’t get to it, I’ll get to it when I can. But I want to make sure that I’m there for them. ⁓ is that a Philadelphia Eagles football in the back that’s rolling around there? ⁓ man. We, we had such a great relationship. ⁓

Amy (35:50)
⁓ goodness.

Mike Hunsberger (35:50)
It is, it is.

Ha

Traci Crawford (35:59)
And on that note, I’m done with you guys. I’m a Dallas Cowboy fan. I forgot to tell you that part.

Mike Hunsberger (36:01)
Go birds.

What?

Traci Crawford (36:13)
But

Mike Hunsberger (36:13)
Yeah.

Traci Crawford (36:14)
just have fun, right? mean, life is too short, right? As long as that person is professional and knows their job and is taking good care of you, then it just makes something stressful a little less stressful.

Amy (36:27)
So ⁓ Tracy, thank you so much for your time today. ⁓ As people get ready to make decisions and start moving, ⁓ folks come into Jacksonville or other places, how do people get in touch with you if they have questions, want to get ⁓ either use your services or ⁓ just want to pick your brain about ⁓ becoming a realtor? How can people get in touch with you?

Traci Crawford (36:35)
Mm-hmm.

and I love to do that too. So if anyone’s interested in being a real estate agent, I’d be more than happy to sit down and talk with you because there are many people that need to be served. And if it’s something that you’re looking to do, then I’m happy to share at least, you know, my experiences and how you can get started. I am everywhere. I’m on Google. I do have my own website. It’s newlifetimememories.com. That’s probably the quickest way for people to remember how to get to me. ⁓

But if you Google my name or Tracy Crawford, which is my name. If you Google my name or ⁓ military friendly realtor, I’m pretty sure I’m going to pop up in any site that you’re searching. But newlifetimememories.com is my website. And it has all of my home past sales and reviews and everything on there and contact information as well.

And even if you’re just looking for advice, I’ve had friends who call me and say, hey, my kids are thinking about buying in there in Minnesota, whatever, you talk to them? Absolutely. So I’m happy to share what I know because, you know, knowledge is power, but it’s only power if we share it with those that need it. So, yeah.

Amy (38:02)
That’s a great message and we’ll include ⁓ your links in the show notes. One other highlight I wanted to go back to because you mentioned it very early on, there was a PCS group that you’re part of or that you support. Can you just call that out in case people are looking for help during PCS?

Traci Crawford (38:03)
Okay.

Okay. ⁓

huh. Yes.

Sure,

at least for me, it’s Jacksonville PCS Pay It Forward and also Mayport PCS Pay It Forward. But PCS Pay It Forward is an umbrella that’s across the country. And at many military bases, there is a PCS Pay It Forward group that they can find. So just look that up and you can find it. But certainly, if you’re looking for me, I can connect you with any of them because we’re in a group of probably 120 or so ambassadors.

and we all know each other. So like I said, there’s ambassadors across the country or real sedates across the country that I know and I can connect and they all have service hearts and we’re here to take care of military members or either ⁓ a family member or they’ve served themselves.

Amy (39:03)
Awesome. That sounds like a great group. Thank you so much for your time today. ⁓ We appreciate all the demystification of buying real estate and what real estate agents do. Thank you.

Mike Hunsberger (39:04)
Awesome.

Traci Crawford (39:08)
absolutely, my pleasure.

You

You’re welcome. Thanks, Mike. It’s awesome.

Mike Hunsberger (39:18)
Thanks, Tracy.