Your Buyer Has the Down Payment but NOT the Closing Costs • Alex Maldonado

Watch this interview on YouTube. Live from Zillow Unlock 2026 in Las Vegas, D.J. Paris sits down with Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist at Zillow. They cover why some markets are rising while others cool, the one number agents should check every month, how to talk to buyers about today’s rates, and what to plan for before spring 2027. What you’ll learn Check one number a month. Mischa’s pick is the change in Zillow’s home values, because it shows the balance of supply and demand better than sold prices or price cuts. Right now home values are rising, but by less than inflation. (10:53) Buyers have more choice than they’ve had in years. Inventory has grown for more than 30 months in a row in most markets. (16:14) Pricing is where listings are won or lost. Well-priced listings with full exposure are selling in the normal amount of time. Get the strategy wrong and the listing lingers. (24:13) Watch your local rental market. The gap between renting and owning has been shrinking, and as it shrinks, more renters turn into buyers. (29:54) Get ready for volatility. If rates drop faster than expected, competition ramps up quickly. Reconnect with your sphere now, not when it happens. (31:15) “If you’re getting that listing strategy wrong, then you’re looking at lingering for months and you’re in the price cut purgatory.” Mischa Fisher (at 24:17) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:09 Live from Zillow Unlock in Las Vegas 04:38 Why Chicago is up while Sun Belt markets cool 07:34 What Zillow’s browsing data says about future buyers 09:18 The economic signals he’s watching now 10:53 The one number to check every month 15:09 Do high rates really stop buyers? 17:41 Payments have doubled, incomes are up a third 20:30 Rent vs. buy: who should buy now 23:47 Pricing right and avoiding “price cut purgatory” 24:47 Zillow’s forecast for fall home sales 27:38 How the Fed and the bond market set mortgage rates 29:54 What agents misread: the rental market 31:08 One prediction for spring 2027 32:19 Homework: run rent vs. buy for three renters This week’s homework Pick three renters in your database. Run the rent vs. buy math on their actual rent and send it to them this week, even if the answer is to keep renting. Links from this episode Mischa Fisher on LinkedIn Zillow Research, including the rent vs. buy dashboard Mischa mentions: zillow.com/research Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. Kim Rittberg, a speaking and video coach for real estate agents and founders, and a former TV producer and media executive who worked at Netflix, joins Keeping It Real for a short solo episode on AI. She explains why generic AI content makes agents look the same, and how to use AI and video to show clients who you are. What you’ll learn AI exposes generic content. If your posts are something anyone with an AI account could make, or just what your brokerage hands you, they won’t help clients get to know or trust you. (04:21) Tell AI about yourself. Give it your audience, your area and what sets you apart, such as a finance background, a love of interior design or strong negotiating, so the scripts are for you and not for anybody. (05:39) Redline the draft like a contract. Change anything that doesn’t sound like you or doesn’t show you as the expert, and skip any script another agent in your area could also make. (06:36) Win the first two seconds. Every video needs a compelling opening, because that moment either sinks the content or makes it work. (07:45) Your speaking skills set you apart. Because everyone else is making the same kind of content, showing up on video makes you more competitive and more compelling. (08:51) “So the one thing that AI cannot copy right now is you. You being uniquely charming, you being uniquely insightful, you having decades of experience, maybe one year, maybe 20 years of experience, that is what AI can’t copy.” Kim Rittberg (at 05:15) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:01 Meet Kim Rittberg 03:51 Will AI replace agents? 04:12 Why generic content isn’t enough 05:15 The one thing AI can’t copy 05:39 How to teach AI about you 06:33 Redline AI scripts like a contract 07:45 Hooks: the first two seconds 08:07 Video Bootcamp coaching program 08:51 Why video sets you apart Links from this episode Kim Rittberg on Instagram and LinkedIn Kim on YouTube Kim’s Video Boot Camp, live small group coaching for agents Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. Sarah Maslowski, a real estate agent who says she has closed over $140 million in real estate directly from YouTube with no paid ads and no cold calling, hosts this solo episode of The YouTube Lab on Keeping It Real. She takes on the fear that stops most agents before they press record, and answers the most common excuses one by one. What you’ll learn Successful channels aren’t polished. The agents getting leads and closings from YouTube were regular agents talking about life in their area, not TV hosts. Sarah realized she only had to show up as herself and give people the information they were looking for. (04:34) Editing hides the stumbles. You can stop, fumble a sentence and start again while filming, and a good editor leaves one clean, confident thought. (05:59) Comfort comes from doing it. Sarah says nobody is comfortable on camera at first. A teleprompter app can take the pressure off if going off the cuff feels terrifying. (06:49) Your market is your content. The best neighborhoods, the commute and what surprises people about moving there are questions you have answered for clients for years. (08:28) There is room for you. Even with a dozen agents making videos about her market, Sarah says they are all getting business, and that YouTube produces the most leads of the platforms agents use. (09:02) “Nobody is comfortable on camera at first. Nobody. Comfort comes from doing it, not from waiting until you feel ready.” Sarah Maslowski (at 06:49) Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:58 Why this episode is about fear 03:50 Starting YouTube with no roadmap 04:27 What successful agent channels look like 05:29 What the first videos felt like 05:59 Why editing is magical 06:37 Excuse one: I’m not comfortable on camera 07:51 Excuse two: I don’t like how I look or sound 08:22 Excuse three: I don’t know what to talk about 09:02 What if someone in my area already does YouTube? 10:00 Why YouTube is the best return on your time 11:16 Sarah’s five-week YouTube course 12:00 Stop waiting and press record Links from this episode Sarah Maslowski’s agent page Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Anna Kara, a loan officer who started as a receptionist and built her own mortgage company by age 20, and who works with borrowers in all 50 states. They cover how to talk to buyers who want to wait for lower rates, why the monthly payment matters more than the rate, how she helps self-employed borrowers, and how to build a brand people remember. What you’ll learn Waiting for lower rates creates competition. Anna says a house with five competing buyers today can draw 20 or 30 when rates drop, and she has seen 61 offers on one transaction. The rate can change later, but the purchase price can’t. (21:54) Show the payment, not just the rate. When she locks a rate she gives buyers six or seven options with costs and payments side by side, so they can see when paying $12,000 up front doesn’t make sense. (17:38) Self-employed borrowers are often turned down because of the filing. Anna works with the borrower’s CPA so allowable add-backs aren’t lost, and she has bank statement and asset depletion programs when tax returns aren’t enough. (09:25) Say “here’s the reality,” not “I’ll fix this.” After a deal stalled for weeks while a borrower’s accounts were shut down, Anna changed how she talks to clients: lay out the situation and what she can do, then let them decide. (35:34) Build your brand on being real. Anna gives information and never pitches. She says people remember the person they feel they know when they are ready to buy, and that authenticity and consistency matter most. (26:48) “And if they make sense, they make sense. Numbers don’t lie at the end of the day.” Anna Kara (at 14:42) Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:59 Meet Anna Kara 07:23 What to do when a bank says no 08:44 The self-employed buyer who writes off everything 10:46 Buyers who have the down payment but not the closing costs 12:02 Homeowners locked into a 3% rate 17:13 Why the monthly payment beats the rate 19:55 Do borrowers call when rates go up? 21:33 What to say to “I’m going to wait until rates drop” 23:28 Building a brand on social media 28:50 Creating content and staying consistent 31:46 A deal frozen by a federal clearance 36:36 What agents should expect from a lender during escrow 38:08 Getting her first borrower at 20 41:44 Nine questions for vetting a lender 43:36 What borrowers get wrong today 47:07 Staying front of mind between transactions 51:30 Homework: three buyers who went quiet This week’s homework Find three buyers from the last year whose bank said no or who went quiet after pre-approval. Text or call each one this week and ask how the home search is going, and ask about their family too, not only their business. Links from this episode Anna Kara Loans Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this month’s Better Your Business With Ben, D.J. Paris sits down with Ben Lalez, who leads the Ben Lalez Team, a Chicago team of about 30 agents. Ben explains why his team calls the fourth quarter “separation season,” why the next 90 days are about planting seeds for 2027, and how to find the activities that actually produced your past deals. What you’ll learn Q4 is when agents separate themselves. Many agents take their foot off the gas, and for the next two or three months the work won’t show a visible result. Ben says the agents who push through the uncomfortable basics are the ones who plant the seeds for Q1. (04:13) Do the scary thing, then leave people behind. Each time you do something that scares you, like picking up the phone, you pass the agents who didn’t. Ben says he has trained himself to get excited when something scares him. (08:50) Run an autopsy on your past deals. List where each transaction came from, then ask why that person referred you and what triggered it. Pick the activities you can repeat, not the lucky ones, and do those for the next 90 days. (13:40) “I already have an agent” is not a no. Ben cites a National Association of REALTORS study and says 85% of agents never contact their client after the sale. His line: “I want to be your backup agent,” then send value every month. (16:01) Add new people to your database. Ben says only 2.8% of homes in America sold last year, so a smaller share of your sphere will need you in the next 12 months. Ask for referrals, and go meet new people. (18:28) “I want to be your backup agent in case anything ever happens. And then you just consistently send value to them every month and wait five years and see what happens.” Ben Lalez (at 17:41) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:04 Welcome Ben Lalez 04:13 What “separation season” means 05:57 Counting the days left to close in 2026 08:16 Why the scary activities are the right ones 12:17 Building your plan for the last 90 days 13:40 An autopsy of where your deals came from 15:03 Which activities you can replicate 16:01 Why “I already have an agent” doesn’t matter 18:28 Why you need to add people to your database 20:34 How to reach Ben 21:01 Shout out to Content Club Chicago 22:44 Do the hard things Links from this episode Ben Lalez Ben Lalez Team on Instagram and TikTok Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this Monday Market Minute, D.J. Paris sits down with Carrie McCormick, who leads the Carrie McCormick Luxury Group at @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in Chicago. They cover how to answer “how’s the market?”, what luxury buyers want right now, how to price a listing this fall, and how clients are using AI to challenge agents. What you’ll learn Answer “how’s the market?” with a question. Each neighborhood, building, housing stock and price point performs differently, so Carrie asks which market and which segment the person means. She says that specific answer builds credibility. (07:35) Luxury buyers are discerning. Carrie lists location, architecture, privacy, views, land, condition and a home that feels special as what matters to buyers around $5 million. Most want plug and play, because time is their most valuable resource. (09:29) Don’t chase the market this fall. The first few weeks on the market are when everyone is watching, so Carrie says to watch pricing, activity and marketing in the first two weeks. Pricing, presentation and positioning matter most. (14:43) AI is a fact-checker, not a replacement. Clients now arrive saying “my chat said this,” so Carrie says agents have to know their information cold. She uses AI as a coach and always double checks it. (18:44) Be there when they decide. Carrie stays away from automated touch points because she wants the human touch, and she uses a Nordstrom shoe department story to explain why: you want to be the person standing there when the client is ready. (29:24) “If the house is sitting on the market more than 120 days, they see that as a negotiating strategy. So the buyers have become so intuitive into what this market is.” Carrie McCormick (at 15:50) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:09 Welcome Carrie McCormick 05:57 The fall market: rates over 7% and price reductions 07:35 Why “how’s the market?” needs a specific answer 08:51 What luxury buyers want today 11:35 Do luxury buyers want to renovate? 13:11 Adding a special feature to a listing 14:27 Advice for sellers: don’t chase the market 16:02 Clients are quoting AI chatbots 18:01 Are luxury clients replacing their agent with AI? 21:49 Fall trends: selective buyers 24:19 Planning for 2027 25:44 Staying in touch after the sale 30:56 Social media and luxury clients 34:21 Wrap up Links from this episode Carrie McCormick Carrie McCormick on Instagram Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Brenton Miebach of Southwest Florida Lifestyle Living with eXp Realty in Cape Coral, Florida, a former Army National Guard military police officer who built his business from scratch in Orlando and then again in Cape Coral. They cover buying internet leads, learning a market fast, the AI system he built in Claude, and how a Facebook page grew from about 150 followers to nearly 3,000 in about 10 days. What you’ll learn Learn the market before you prospect. In his first 30 days in Cape Coral, Brenton drove around finding the hospitals and schools and talked to local people so he could navigate the area. (06:48) Be first on paid leads. Brenton spent about $3,000 a month on Realtor.com leads in Orlando and up to about $7,000 a month on Zillow leads in Southwest Florida. He bought an Apple Watch so he could call leads the moment they came in. (11:17) Keep the information in front of you on cold calls. He never tries to bluff, and keeps the MLS and Google Maps open so he can talk about the house two doors down that sold four months ago. (18:05) Build AI skills your team can share. Brenton built a showing packet skill that schedules showings, pulls MLS and county data, and produces a printable PDF, so every agent on his team prepares the same way. (48:34) Use AI to make local history content. He photographed a book about Cape Coral, had Claude turn it into video ideas and colorized old photos, and the videos drew more than 100,000 views. (1:01:44) “The internet leads for me weren’t an easy button. The internet leads for me were a way for me to break into a market and actually get deals done…” Brenton Miebach (at 15:27) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:16 Meet Brenton Miebach 06:48 His first 30 days in Cape Coral 09:37 Where his leads came from 11:09 How much he spent on leads 12:14 The first five minutes after a lead comes in 17:09 Cold calling in a market he’d just moved to 20:50 Working with out-of-state buyers and written buyer agreements 27:12 How he replaced staff with AI 35:50 Why “don’t work too hard” was bad advice 39:48 What day one looks like on his team 48:34 The showing packet skill 55:18 Growing a Facebook page in 10 days 59:30 The Cape Coral history videos 1:06:17 Why YouTube is his next frontier 1:09:07 Homework: own a zip code This week’s homework Pick one or two zip codes you want to own. Pull the last 10 sales in each and write one sentence on each: the street, the price and why you think it sold. It takes about 30 minutes, and the next time you talk to someone from that zip code you will sound like you have been there for years. Links from this episode Brenton Miebach Southwest Florida Lifestyle Living on Facebook (search for the name) Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Bill Melnick, a luxury agent with Harney Real Estate in Litchfield County, Connecticut, who spent 28 years at Ralph Lauren and rose to chief merchandising officer before switching careers. They cover how a lifestyle-merchandising mindset shapes his listings, how he sold Ivan Lendl’s estate for a county-record $12 million, and why second-primary buyers are changing his market. What you’ll learn Sell the lifestyle, not just the house. Bill says luxury buyers look for 360 degrees of lifestyle: the location, the cachet, the home and the view. His job is to present all of it in a cohesive way. (05:58) Edit before you photograph. Staging is mostly editing. Remove clutter and anything that becomes visual pollution so buyers can picture their own things in the space. (07:34) Price is more than square footage. In his market, lakefront, big mountain views and pools can add real money, and so can usable acreage and conservation land next door. Bill calls it a much more complicated equation. (11:36) At the top end, you find the buyer. On the Lendl estate, Bill partnered with his broker and called top agents in nearby markets and New York City. He says a lot of agents don’t understand that in luxury you often have to find the buyer for the listing. (19:43) Go easy on AI for client messages. Bill uses AI for research and for drafting brochure copy that he edits, but he says answering every email with it is a turn-off for buyers and other agents. (42:07) “…a lot of agents don’t understand about luxury is a lot of times you got to find the buyer for the listing agent.” Bill Melnick (at 21:09) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:06 Meet Bill Melnick 04:37 What Ralph Lauren taught him about selling a lifestyle 06:54 Staging and editing a listing 11:08 Why buyers don’t buy square footage 13:06 Local knowledge in an AI world 15:38 The Ralph Lauren move for a $450,000 listing 17:19 Selling Ivan Lendl’s estate 21:34 Managing up, down and side to side 24:18 Having the tough pricing conversation 29:01 Leaving Ralph Lauren and starting in real estate 33:12 Staying in touch like a concierge to the community 38:01 Starting with no sphere 41:57 Where to draw the line with AI 44:48 Second-home buyers vs. co-primary buyers 50:36 The deal he lost to a beaver 53:11 How out-of-town buyers find an agent 56:43 Social media content that works 1:00:01 Homework: five past clients This week’s homework Pick five favorite past clients. For each one, write one sentence about the life or lifestyle they bought, not the house: what their Saturdays look like, their commute, their kids’ school. Then text or call each of them this week and bring it up. Links from this episode Bill Melnick at Harney Real Estate Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Alex Maldonado, a Los Angeles agent with Circle Real Estate who serves South LA, East LA, Northeast LA and Long Beach, works with first-time and first-generation buyers in English and Spanish, and also runs Maldonado Marketing. They cover how to close the gap when a buyer has the down payment but not the closing costs, how to keep an offer with credits competitive, and how Alex generates leads. What you’ll learn Cover closing costs with credits. Alex works with a lender who offers lender credits and writes seller credits into the contract. If the buyer has the 3.5% down payment, or can get it from family, he says he can usually get them to ownership. (08:26) Make the offer strong in other ways. To offset credits, Alex builds them into the price, offers 3% earnest money and uses a lender that can close in 21 days, because sellers care about their net and speed. (15:53) Break bad news slowly. When a buyer fell in love with a neighborhood she couldn’t afford, Alex sent her recent closing prices so she could judge for herself, and explained that many of the listings were cash-only. (13:41) Know your local assistance programs. Alex explains city and county down payment assistance as a way to get in the door and start building wealth, in exchange for giving up a share of the appreciation. (19:10) Earn trust in the Hispanic community. Alex says referrals carry the most weight, and a client invited him to speak at her church after he told her to walk away from a property with termite and foundation problems. (28:59) “…I first get to the root cause of it because everyone has a different motivation for wanting to be a homeowner.” Alex Maldonado (at 08:26) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:11 Meet Alex Maldonado 05:20 Why he got into real estate 07:33 Down payment vs. closing costs 10:01 Working with renters before they’re ready 13:16 Managing a first-time buyer’s expectations 15:25 Asking for credits without losing the offer 17:33 What listing agents should know about credit offers 18:53 City down payment assistance programs 20:45 Generating leads: ads, SEO and backlinks 26:30 Writing for AI and generative engine optimization 28:11 Marketing to the Hispanic community 33:24 Fixing your Google Business Profile 36:18 Responding to one-star reviews 39:45 Worst advice: “it’s a numbers game” 43:25 Story Brand and your elevator pitch 47:08 Mispronouncing a neighborhood 48:52 Knowing if your marketing works 55:15 Where to spend five hours a week 1:00:43 Homework: down payment assistance This week’s homework Look up the down payment assistance programs for your city and county, and write down the maximum amount, the income limits and the details. Ask AI, your managing broker or lenders to help. Then text it to three renters in your sphere. Links from this episode Alex Maldonado Free marketing audit from Maldonado Marketing (limited, first come first served) Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this month’s Unpopular Real Estate Opinions, D.J. Paris sits down with Chris Linsell, Chief Marketing Officer at the Mitten Group, a Michigan brokerage group based in Traverse City. They cover how AI will split the agent profession in two, why organic social is out-converting paid leads for his brokerage, and what Zillow and Compass mean for independent brokerages. What you’ll learn AI rewards relationship builders. Chris says agents whose value is relationships and advice get a “miracle technology,” because the back-end admin work goes away and they can spend their time on clients. (14:49) Lock box value is at risk. Chris predicts that agents whose main value is operating a lock box and confirming showings could be reclassified as gig workers within 18 to 24 months, while top agents hire them for the grunt work. (16:31) Disruption opens business up. Chris argues that if the weakest-performing agents drop out, a share of transactions becomes unassigned, and doing nothing is the one guaranteed way not to reach your goals. (23:53) Organic social beats paid leads on conversion. At the Mitten Group, Chris says organic social is now a more important lead source than paid, because the conversion rates and relationships from opt-in followers are not comparable. (27:06) Watch independent brokerages and Zillow. Chris expects Zillow to keep growing and says some independent brokerages may start quietly planning exits from Zillow-related obligations, with strong storytellers explaining why the independent model is better. (33:49) “…if you are a real estate agent who has no value outside of your ability to operate a lock box, my prediction is that in the next 18 to 24 months, you will be reclassified as a gig worker in this space.” Chris Linsell (at 18:25) Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:04 Meet Chris Linsell 04:58 Is AI going to kill us all? 14:36 What AI means for agents 16:31 The two classes of agents 22:24 What to do if you’re close to the bottom 25:26 Build a following on short-form video 29:00 Zillow and the Chicago MLS ruling 31:42 Why Zillow keeps growing 36:09 Compass, walled gardens and independent brokerages 46:06 Where Chris is speaking next 48:23 Next month: the future of associations Links from this episode Chris Linsell, including his newsletter, The Bottom Line Chris Linsell on LinkedIn Listen and follow Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by Real Geeks and Courted.io.