The Realty Check Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Planning to buy a home in the Sacramento region and want an elite agent and lender team in your corner? Reach out below to work with us today, and make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss a dose of real estate reality!  Get ready for a fully educational breakdown of what actually happens after you find the house you love. If you've ever wondered what your real estate agen...

Send us Fan Mail School is officially out, and the summer chaos has already begun! In this episode, we are ditching the real estate talk to recap the emotional rollercoaster of our kids' joint kindergarten graduation. From crying ugly tears in the audience to the pure comedy of a child confidently belting out songs completely off-beat. But with summer break here, real survival mode kicks in....

Send us Fan Mail  Welcome back to Realty Check ! We are 11 episodes in, and today we’re pulling back the curtain on the secretive world of mortgage lending. Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes after you apply for a loan? We’re doing a deep dive into the nitty-gritty (but not too geeky!) drama of the wholesale market, focusing on the industry giant: United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). From the...

Send us Fan Mail We made it to double digits! To celebrate Episode 10 , we’re ditching the formal studio setup and hiding out in Amanda’s brand-new car for a classic "gab sesh." No scripts, no agendas. Just two girlfriends decompressing, yapping, and getting real about the "dumpster fire" world outside. From geriatric pregnancies to psychological thrillers, we’re covering the w...

Send us Fan Mail Last week, we talked about the "golden window". That magical 9-4 slot where productivity is high and calendars are clean. This week? Reality hit. Between spring break, random teacher in-service days, and the never-ending cycle of school germs, that window doesn't just close, it disappears under a pile of laundry and snack requests. Join Amanda and Lenicia for an hon...

Send us Fan Mail Is it possible to run a high-volume real estate business without losing your mind (or your sleep)? This week on Realty Check , Amanda and Leni take you behind the curtain for a literal "day in the life" of an agent and a loan officer who are also primary parents. In this episode, we’re getting honest about: The "Crying vs. Thriving" Scale: From infected fingers...

Send us Fan Mail  Is your brokerage a partner in your success, or just a place to hang your license? In this episode, Amanda and Leni dive deep into their personal "brokerage journeys". Sharing the highs, the lows, and the pivotal moments that led them to where they are today. Whether you are in real estate or the mortgage industry, the environment you choose dictates your ceiling. We’re...

Send us Fan Mail  The Power of the Collective: A Masterclass in Career Evolution. What happens when a former school teacher decides to rewrite the rules of real estate? You get a brokerage that feels less like a corporate ladder and more like a collaborative community. In this episode of The Realty Check Podcast, we sit down with Darcy Hargrove, a powerhouse Realtor and Broker-Owner based in West...

Send us Fan Mail Lead generation doesn’t fail because people aren’t working hard enough.  It fails because they’re trying to use strategies that don’t fit who they are. In this episode, Amanda Freeman and Leni Lopez unpack what relationship-based lead generation actually looks like in practice, the good, the uncomfortable, and the long game most people underestimate. We talk about repeated behavio...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Lori Hawkins to talk through her full career journey in the mortgage industry, starting as a lender assistant, moving into processing, underwriting, owning a processing company, and eventually opening her own mortgage brokerage. We talk about what each role taught her, why understanding every layer of the loan process changes how you show up for c...

Send us Fan Mail When "Business as Usual" Feels Impossible. The world feels heavy right now. Between the headlines and the household, it’s easy to feel like you’re just screaming into the void. On this episode of The Realty Check Podcast, we’re stepping away from the housing market stats to have a heart-to-heart about the state of our country and our lives. As Sacramento parents and busi...

Send us Fan Mail Buying a home doesn’t just change where you live.  It changes how you trust, how you ask questions, and how safe you feel making big decisions. In this episode, Amanda Freeman and Leni Lopez share their very different home buying experiences, one as a buyer, one as an observer, and how those moments shaped the real estate professionals they eventually became. They talk honestly ab...

Send us Fan Mail Branding isn’t your logo, your colors, or your fonts. It’s the decision you make about who you’re allowed to be publicly. And most people are still building a business around a version of themselves from five years ago. In this episode, we strip branding down to what it actually is, how people experience you when you’re not in the room, and why inconsistency isn’t usually the prob...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re a primary parent running a business, this episode is for you. Not the polished version of entrepreneurship. The real one, where flexibility exists, but it often shows up as working late, stacking responsibilities, and constantly adjusting around everyone else’s needs. In this episode, we talk honestly about what it means to run a business as the default parent. The flexi...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder how a Realtor and a lender become inseparable business partners and real-life friends? In this episode, Amanda and Leni pull back the curtain on their origin story. From past careers to motherhood to real estate, they share the pivots, the breakdowns, the breakthroughs, and the one moment that turned two hustling moms into a powerhouse duo. Whether you're in real...