Keeping It Real Podcast • Secrets Of Top 1% REALTORS ® • Interviews With Real Estate Brokers & Agents

Welcome to our monthly feature Unpopular Real Estate Opinions with  Chris Linsell . In this episode Chris and DJ unpack the proposed 21st Century Road to Housing Act, exploring how it could boost housing supply, improve affordability, and why its delay has become a major issue for the real estate industry. They also examine the growing influence of institutional investors, the challenges of i...

Valerie Fitzgerald shares her journey from arriving in Los Angeles as a single mom with a three-month-old baby and no connections to building one of the country’s top luxury real estate businesses. Valerie also reveals how she’s adapted to today’s AI-driven market through content, SEO, and relationship-focused marketing, while sharing a practical roadmap for new agents looking to...

Zach Geisendorfer returns to share the exact systems behind his “mega open house” strategy and how it consistently fills his pipeline with qualified clients. He and DJ break down how Fam Real Estate scaled too fast, hit a breaking point, then rebuilt with bulletproof onboarding, Fam Camp, and clear production standards. Zach also reveals his SOI playbook, pricing framework that turns listings into...

Julia Hurley shares her 90-day reset playbook for agents whose business has cratered. She walks through exactly how she rebuilt after being voted out of a national brokerage partnership, including her systems for re-engaging past clients, reviving a dry pipeline, and turning open houses plus door knocking into consistent deals. Julia also opens up about managing “baggage” from politics and online...

Welcome to The Inner Game of Real Estate Success with high-performance hypnotherapist and mindset coach Paul Salter . In this episode, Paul breaks down one of the most common yet invisible patterns driving ambitious real estate agents, entrepreneurs, executives, and high performers: the need to prove themselves. He explores how a deep-seated desire to gain approval, earn acceptance, prove someone...

Julia built a $14 million real estate business without a marketing plan or consistent social media strategy. Her success has always come from relationships, but she knows she’s capable of much more. In this episode of Breakthrough with Michael , Julia uncovers what’s really keeping her stuck: a lack of focus, resistance to structure, and the challenge of turning natural talent into a s...

Welcome to our series “Coffee Talks with Tim and D.J.” In this episode of Coffee Talks, Tim and D.J. reveal why TikTok is the “empty stage” where 100 million people show up daily but only 15% of real estate agents bother to step on it. They break down three simple moves of the “Empty Stage Method” and along the way, they crush the myth that “my clients aren’t on TikTok” showing how even short, unp...

Welcome to another episode of YouTube Lab with  Sarah Maslowski . In this episode, Sarah dives into her full lead conversion system for YouTube-generated real estate clients, moving beyond views and inquiries to signed contracts. She explains how Zoom or Google Meet consultations correct the imbalance between informed buyers and uninformed agents, while naturally filtering out less serious le...

In our June episode, Carrie McCormick explores how AI-generated wealth is transforming luxury real estate, fueling a new wave of young, all-cash buyers focused on lifestyle over size. Carrie and DJ discuss wellness-driven homes, smart technology, and turnkey design to cutting-edge tech like circadian lighting. They also spotlight Chicago as an underrated value play for high-end buyers and dig into...

Welcome to our monthly feature Learn With A Lender with  Austin Clarence . In this episode, Austin talks about a major change in the lending world – how Credit Karma’s VantageScore can now be used by certain lenders, and why it often beats traditional FICO scores. Austin explains the key differences between FICO and VantageScore, how agents can leverage Credit Karma with their buyers, and wh...

Natalie Taflinger returns to share how she’s thriving in a shifting market by refusing to rush listings and having honest, data-backed conversations with sellers. She breaks down her pre-listing process, from low-hanging “bang for your buck” improvements to using comps and market feedback to guide pricing. Natalie also explains how community involvement and genuine relationships fuel her referral-...

Welcome to our series “Coffee Talks with Tim and D.J.” In this episode of Coffee Talks, Tim and D.J. unpack why the median home in 2024 sold in three weeks, and what happens to the listings that drift past that “three-week wall.” They reveal the three biggest culprits behind price cuts and DJ introduces the “Three-Weekend System” to give every listing a clear job each weekend and prevent slow, pai...

Welcome to our series Better Your Business With Ben. In this episode, Ben and DJ break down the growing battle between Zillow, Compass, and the MLS over listing control, private exclusives, and what it means for agents and consumers. They discuss why major industry players may not truly be advocating for agents, and how AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are rapidly changing lead generation...

Welcome to The Inner Game of Real Estate Success with high-performance hypnotherapist and mindset coach  Paul Salter . In this episode, Paul breaks down why so many ambitious real estate agents, entrepreneurs, and high performers begin to feel overwhelmed, unclear, and disconnected – even while their business appears to be thriving on the outside. Using a powerful GPS metaphor, he explores w...

Welcome to our monthly feature Unpopular Real Estate Opinions with  Chris Linsell . In this episode Chris breaks down why most agents are invisible to AI and introduce the concept of citation density, becoming the obvious answer across multiple platforms, from .gov/.edu sites to reviews, news, and social. They share specific strategies for agents to create question-driven content, earn high-value...

Welcome to another episode of YouTube Lab with Sarah Maslowski . In this episode, Sarah sits down with Northern Michigan agent and coach Gino D’Angelo to discuss how he built a thriving real estate business through YouTube in a small resort market. Gino shares his journey from spending heavily on Zillow leads to generating consistent, high-quality inbound clients from simple, affordable video cont...

Welcome to our series “Coffee Talks with Tim and D.J.” In this episode of Coffee Talks, Tim and D.J. break down why 72% of buyers are now finding homes on their own and how the “MLS trap” is quietly eroding the value of buyer’s agents. They introduce the Four Doors System (expired/withdrawn listings, FSBOs, hyper-specific handwritten letters, and agent-to-agent networking) to create a parallel mar...

Emma closed over $6 million her first year as a real estate agent. Then her grandfather died, and everything she had built started to feel impossible. She arrived at this conversation burned out, stuck in negative self-talk, and unsure if she could become the agent she used to be. In the debut episode of Breakthrough with Michael, Emma uncovers what has actually been weighing on her, where her dri...

Welcome to our monthly feature Learn With A Lender with  Austin Clarence . In this episode, Austin breaks down the upcoming Federal Reserve leadership change and what it could mean for interest rates and market volatility. Austin unpacks the often-misunderstood relationship between Fed policy and mortgage rates, while diving into practical strategies investors are using in today’s m...

Kristy Nakamura shares how she built a relationship and referral-based business, with a special focus on serving military families and multi-generational households in Hawaii. Kristy breaks down how she uses VA loans, seller credits, and strategic structuring to help clients build long-term wealth through real estate, even in a high-cost market. Kristy also reveals how she and her husband Austin d...

Bella Chaffey Lakic talks about how she built a thriving business after starting in real estate at just 22. Bella explains why the traditional “work your sphere” advice didn’t fit her early 20s clientele and how she pivoted by leaning hard into YouTube and evergreen video content. She breaks down her weekly content cadence, the types of videos that consistently generate leads (especially neighborh...

Welcome to our series “Coffee Talks with Tim and D.J.” In this episode of Coffee Talks, Tim and DJ uncover why most real estate agents are still marketing to a buyer who effectively no longer exists. With the median American homebuyer now age 59, DJ and Tim break down fresh NAR data showing how Boomers dominate both the buy and sell sides of today’s market. They discuss why agent’s first-tim...

Welcome to The Inner Game of Real Estate Success with high-performance hypnotherapist and mindset coach Paul Salter . In this episode, Paul breaks down why so many ambitious real estate agents, entrepreneurs, and high achievers stay stuck despite working harder than ever. He explores the hidden trap of the Grinder Identity – when being the one who outworks everyone becomes a badge of honor,...

Real estate video coach Kim Rittberg breaks down how agents can use short-form video and AI tools to attract more clients and boost engagement on social media. Kim shares practical tips on repurposing home tour content, turning client questions into videos, and optimizing your online presence for searchability. Kim describes how to showcase not just your listings, but yourself – and stay top...

Welcome to “Coffee Talks with Tim and D.J.” In this episode of Coffee Talks, Tim and DJ dive into the “silent referral killer” affecting real estate agents: weak or non-existent Google Business profiles. They explain how most clients now Google an agent before calling, and how poor ratings, few or outdated reviews, or ghost listings can quietly cost agents thousands of dollars in lost referrals ev...