Transcription
Are you willing to learn? What are you doing to educate yourself? Are you aligning yourself with professionals in the area that can help guide you? Are you relying on your gut? So I don't think just lack of knowledge on that particular market makes you a bad agent.
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the real estate show. I'm Tiffany Weber, a real estate attorney at Thomas and Weber, with offices in Mooresville and Huntersville, North Carolina. And today I am joined by everybody's favorite guest, Ryan Weber, my husband.
Well, thank you, Tiffany. I'm not everyone's favorite, other than the one guy on YouTube that told me to take off my stupid hat.
You know what, guy? Got a hat on because I haven't got a haircut in a while.
Well, hopefully this one's not as stupid as the last one.
I don't even know what stupid hats you have. Was it just that you were wearing a hat?
It was my Looney Tunes hat.
Oh, that's a great hat. Go YouTube YouTube comments shout out to you, Tiff. You are officially a YouTuber in my book. 20K guys, this--this little lady over here, 20,000 YouTube subscribers. As I say, you're the YouTuber, and I am your mouthpiece.
Well, good for you. And I don't read the comments.
So I do, and I don't like them. Some of them are really super nice, though, that you tell me. Then there are other times I can just see the look on your face, and I'm like, "He's reading YouTube comments; I better go to the other room so he doesn't tell me what somebody said that's mean."
Yes. So if you are not subscribed--like 93.2% of you guys that are watching these videos--subscribe to the real estate lawyer on YouTube. It really does, um, obviously it helps, um, you know that, and it gives us motivation to keep creating content that is useful. And you know, we made the--we even started this channel so many years ago just to provide some value to people that are trying to learn more about real estate, specifically in North Carolina, but there are some things that apply across the country. And we get a ton of in-person feedback in our office and closing, saying how much they've learned, and it just makes it a lot more, uh, exciting to keep going when people, you know, actually want to watch and they subscribe and they see the numbers going up, like, "Okay, we'll keep doing this."
Well, and like I don't know if you've ever said it on here, like the biggest passion of yours in in what you do--obviously closing real estate's nice, you know, being a lawyer is nice--however, your biggest passion is educating.
Yes, real estate professionals.
Yes, and and it doesn't have to be a real estate, but educating. Yeah, if I had a classroom on this that people just came to every day, that would be like a dream job of mine.
It's called the real estate lawyer YouTube channel. Exactly, so because I don't have that, this is how I'm able to do it.
Yes, so, um, you know, because you're--this is your favorite thing, it's helping you get--um, people are asking you to do speaking engagements so you can educate more and people you love do. So, you know, thank you for subscribing. Thank you for all that because it lets Tiff do the thing that she loves doing, which is ultimately helping you guys with real estate.
Yep, it is. Uh, so I kind of know what we're doing today. You've got--I know that I am reacting to something that you have found.
Well, that Christopher found and that you were going to have me react to.
Yes. Um, so that is all I know. So you're just going to get my unfiltered--I usually like to be able to like, yeah, I like to run what I'm saying out of--out of this mouth through my brain first, and I'm not gonna have a chance to do that. Time, you guys are going to get to hear honestly how good Tiff is at answering questions without knowing what the question was beforehand. That's a lot of pressure. Um, so what--one of the biggest, most controversial, um, popular topics right now is iBuyers.
Yep. Buyer agents. Yep. They feel like this is going to crush their business; others are really excited. But what we're seeing is a complete lack of understanding from the general public of what a real estate agent one, actually does; two, what their value is; and three, agents don't understand how to communicate that without just saying, "You don't know what we do."
Agree with all of that. Awesome. Well, that's going to get us into this where I stumbled across an article, and by me, I mean Christopher stumbled across it and sent it to me, that says "The 12 Clear Signs of a Bad Real Estate Agent and What You Can Do About It." So I'm going to read the 12 to you, okay, and you can say your say--your peace because I kind of want you to say, "Is this a thing? Do you see this?" And what they can do about it. Now I'm sure the article says that, but I'm sure people want to hear what you--you think they could do about that and how it harms the closing. All right, so number one, a bad real estate agent drops the ball on communication. Did my paralegal write that? There's no way they wrote this because it is too nice. Okay. Um, that is--that is 100% true. Now, caveat here, um, if anybody's doing anything at scale, there are going to be times where they fall short. People make mistakes. We--we have that same issue in our office that like, obviously we're striving to get it right 100% of the time, but perfection is unattainable. So there will be times where things aren't perfectly smooth, but if there is a consistent lack of communication, uh, that is a telltale sign of a--of a bad agent that's going to put you in a bad spot. I mean, the number of times, and these may be fixable things, but um, let's just say if you had an agent that was doing this throughout the course of your--your transaction, you may not have been getting the best representation. Uh, we'll be at the closing table and find out for the first time at the table, "Oh, by the way, we amended the contract, uh, here it is. Can you guys get that fixed?" And then they changed the price significantly, and now the property doesn't--nobody told the lender the property didn't appraise for what it needed to, and it's messing up the--now the buyer can't qualify for the loan. Um, you know, that's an extreme example, but otherwise, you know what? That's your fault, Tiff.
I've heard the agents tell you that's your fault.
Yes, that we do get told by these types of agents that it is our fault that we shouldn't have predicted that they increased the price 20K, but that the property didn't appraise; we should have known that they did this thing that they never told us.
Why did you not know, Tiff?
Yeah, same thing with um, what happens more often is not price changes but credits being given, um, or invoices that need to be paid on the closing statement that we find out at the table, like, "Oh, we just, you know, we agreed to credit." Well, your lender's got to approve that. What do you mean? Can't you just slap it on the closing statement? Not without the lender approval because it affects the money that the buyer has to bring, and often there are minimum amounts of money that the borrower has to have put into the property to be able to qualify. So if this credit wouldn't line with that, then they're not going to be able to use it. And I'm even going to give one even before all this: the hardest thing for you guys is to get the sellers' information.
Mhm.
So the people that are selling the house, the faster you guys get that information--name, email, phone number, address--well, you know the address--payoff, payoff communication line started where they actually communicate with you, the faster you guys are going to get problems solved if they arise. Yeah, but what happens is they don't give you that information, and then we'll go weeks without knowing and talking to the seller. Then we might find an issue, and now we're closing in one week, and the issue could have been solved two weeks ago, but now we're trying to start the line of communication; now we're under the gun. Yeah, some lenders, they need a minimum lead time of a week to give us a payoff or--or longer, or HOA statements. If we don't have the HOA information, they won't give us that statement, then it's a rush fee, and then they're mad because they have to pay a rush fee, all because of the communication.
Yes, just lack of communication. Now we'll move on. I know.
Can I say what you can do about it?
Yeah, sure. So one, yeah, communicate. But it can be easy in in a transaction where there are lots of people to assume someone else has told the information. Would you guys prefer someone just copy everybody on, or no? If it is relevant, like I say, if it's something related to the buyer, copy the buyer team--meaning attorney, lender, you know, tell everybody, and also the other rule of thumb is if you didn't send it to us, assume we don't have it. We'd rather get it five times than zero times. Um, we can deal with a couple extra emails in our inbox so that we've got the information than to be surprised at the closing table. Also, let's shout out your Qualia uh, software because that kind of eliminates the issue for all of this because a lot of times like when you get things, it sends out an email to everybody. Um, so while some agents may hate it because it's a login that they don't understand, um, it is to help ease communication so everyone knows where we're at in the process. That login thing, Qualia just did a major update to help with that, so you can just shoot--you can just use your Gmail or your Outlook; you don't have to create a new login. But you know, that's--it's just like any piece of technology; some people are going to hate it, and they don't have to use it; it's just there's a tool.
Yes. Um, so moving on, number two, bad agent does real estate as a side gig.
I disagree, to an extent. To an extent, um, I am thinking--and because I am thinking of a really great agent that has a career--
Oh, I know who you're talking about.
Yeah, I mean, and he's crushing it. Um, I don't think it's--I don't believe it's specifically that it's a side gig; it's more about--it's the retirement plan.
Well, no, I--I--I think that statement is what I'm talking about. I don't think you can say categorically if it's a side gig that that it's a bad agent. I don't believe that's true. Um, a lot of agents are--they dip their toes into real estate because maybe they've had long careers as teachers, and that's what they know. But teachers in North Carolina do not get paid well, and so someone tells them, "You might be great at real estate," so they're trying it before they cut ties with the life they've always known and then end up being excellent. Um, it's not about is it a second--a side hustle, a side gig, a whatever; it's about what kind of effort are they giving it?
I was going to say that--are they giving the time and the effort that it needs? Are they communicating and balancing their time well? Are they trying to further their education in this, or are they just saying, "Hey, my friend wants to sell a house, and I just so happen to have a real estate license, so I'll figure it out along the way." Um, you know, if you want to--I went to law school as a side gig. I mean, I had a whole--whole job and went to law school at night. Um, so maybe that colors my--my reception of this a little bit, but I also personally know really, really good agents that have careers, and they are able to balance it because of the skills, and they are incredibly communicative, responsive, knowledgeable, and they hustle.
Yeah, yeah. So I don't--I think that's--that can be true, but I don't believe it's categorically true.
Gotcha. Number three, uh, has their own agenda and gets pushy about it.
Yeah, I think that's bad. That's a bad agent. Like your--your job as a real estate agent, you are a fiduciary. Let's talk legal terms for just a minute. Fiduciary means that you have to put--I was going to say for the dumb people in the room that means--there's only other one person in the room; you're looking at them. Well, like an attorney is a fiduciary; if your executor of your will is a fiduciary, think of things like that. You have to put someone else's desires--your agenda aside. You have to--your agenda is meaningless when you are a fiduciary. You have to put the--the client's interest--not just their interest, their best interest--above your own. Right, yours is meaningless; everything is about their best interest. So even if what your client wants--wants something really badly, but it is clearly a bad thing for them, then you have to educate and explain. If it will blow up the deal, you have to try and educate and explain it to them, not push your agenda to close the contract to get the commission.
Yeah, it's ultimately what your buyer or seller wants--what is their best interest because that is a fiduciary agreement. So if uh, someone has their own agenda and is pushy about it, I agree, bad agent.
Um, number four, unfamiliar with the market. You know, and everybody was once unfamiliar with the market. I don't think just the--this being your first transaction in that market makes you a bad agent. It goes back to, are you willing to learn? What are you doing to educate yourself? Are you aligning yourself with uh, professionals in the area that can help guide you? Are you relying on your--are you relying on uh, people that know the area well? So I don't think just lack of knowledge on that particular market makes you a bad agent. If you don't know anything about the market and you don't try to know anything about the market and you treat it just like some other place you've always done business in, like the lake is different; we got extra rules. The mountains are different; I don't--I don't deal with stuff up in the mountains because I don't go up in mountains. I don't know--you know, there's a whole different set of regulations. We are law at the lake for a reason; we know the lake.
Exactly, exactly.
Um, but there are just things that--I was on a marketing phone call the other day, um, someone trying to sell us some stuff, and they're like, "Well, what do you--what do you guys want? Like, what's your goal?" Like, we're lot the lake. He's like, "Yeah, yeah," but I'm like, "No, there's no yeah, yeah, yeah." Like, I want the lake.
Mhm.
That's it. I don't need any--I want the lake. Why we're the--we're not the experts; we can't say that word. We know the lake as good as anybody else; we have extensive knowledge.
Thank L for your legal input on that one.
Um, and he's like, "Huh, I don't talk to lawyers because you know, I'm--I'm speaking on behalf of the law firm at this point. I don't talk to lawyers that think that way." I'm like, "I know we think different."
Yeah, gladly. Um, yeah, so I don't think that's another one that could be true, but just the blanket statement's not true.
Um, great. Number five, this is one of Ryan's biggest pet peeves, um, runs late or is a no-show for appointments.
Um, running late is one thing; it's about the communication. Do you tell people? Do you let them know you're running late? You know, are you apologetic about it? Uh, no-show is bad. That's bad. I--I mean, there's the quote out there: it requires being an extreme family emergency or some emergency. But so I have two things: one, there's that quote out there where like things that get you results that require zero skill or talent, showing up on time is one of them. Um, learn that from football many years ago. Um, number two, for me is I am really--I do my best, and I could say with 95% of the time, if I put in an appointment on my calendar, I am going to do it at the original time, not just--not move it; not like if I say I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. Um, so if you get on my calendar, that's like a--a done deal. Um, and the people that reschedule and move around and cancel, that really bothers me because I'm like, "Well, if it wasn't that important to you, you shouldn't have said yes in the first place." So for me, a--that I know that is a big thing for you--for me it's like, I--if you go on my calendar and I say yes, yes, I don't want to get your hopes up and then shoot you down and say, "Hey, we got to reschedule," or "Hey, something else is more important than you." Like that--that--that really bothers--that is also because you are very strict about what meetings you take; you will not take a meeting unless it is going to be the most important thing you can do at that time.
Yeah, and there are other people that will just take any meeting, and then they realize, "Oh, I could be doing something more important than this," and then they just don't--that's just a--that's a Ryan pet peeve.
Um, number six here, not a great negotiator.
See, I actually don't think the real estate negotiation from a realtor--realtor perspective is as important. You know, I can--I've seen it both ways. I've seen people that are not necessarily um, like bulldog negotiators be extremely successful, and it's because of--they're able to convey concepts clearly without emotion. Uh, it can be very easy to fall into the trap in with real estate agents just like it is with attorneys. I want the bulldog; I want the one that's going to be a jerk in court and going to yell and pound the table, and you maybe don't want that. You're going to want someone that can have a calm, focused, direct communication uh, that can convey what matters to you clearly. Maybe that is to some--like I think that is good negotiation, but other people, and they hear good negotiation, they just think the--the, you know, I'm at the--at the car dealership, and "No, I'm not paying $1 more, and I'm not--I'm going to walk out with this price," and um, if that's--if that's what you want, that's awesome. But I think someone not being a bulldog, so to speak, that's not a deal breaker. And my thought process on this is most of the time, once again going back to the fiduciary agreement, the agent isn't doing--or I'm not saying they're not doing the negotiation, but like you're--you're tied to what your buyers or sellers are set in. Now we heard a really good story from Andy G a few episodes ago where he talked about, "Hey, my client was stuck here; their client was stuck here." So as a negotiation, I negotiated with the other agent for us to pay the extra and make up the difference. Now that's great negotiation; that was awesome. Um, but I think just on a normal, yeah, you know, that showed a way to get a deal done where neither client was going to budge, right?
Um, so yeah, those skills are like--but it's also thinking outside of the box. Yeah, there's a l--that's why I'm like a negotiation--force your way, you know, "My client's not paying a penny more," and and you expect like, "I'm only going to pay $99,000 for this house when it's worth $175," yeah, and if your agent can't get you the house for 99,000, you think they're bad, like that's--that's the perception that a lot of people have, and I--I don't agree with that, right?
Uh, number seven, lacks marketing skills. H--marketing--mar is a--is a vague term in this context. MH. Um, I don't think it makes you a bad agent. I think you need to be evolving. I think you need to know how to--you need to know how to reach your target audience; that's what it is. It's not, "Do you know how--do you have this studio like we have?" It's not, uh, "Do I have a billboard?" Though that might be how you reach a target audience. Um, if you are someone who is like your business is 100% referrals and you've got more referrals than you can ever possibly need, um, you don't need to be s--doing a podcast, you know. Um, if you're someone that all of your people are online and they're like heavy on TikTok, but you don't have your face in front of your phone making TikToks, maybe not, you know, like it's about your target audience, and do you know how to speak to--
Them. If you don't know how to speak to your target audience, then you're probably not going to be super successful. And the other thing, like, this doesn't make you a bad agent. You could lack marketing skills and hire someone that has a ton of marketing skills, and you're still great.
Yeah, it's knowing self-aware. Yeah, but I guess also, if we're talking about marketing properties, if you don't know how to get your property—your client's property—in front of the right people as a listing agent, yeah, that would make you kind of bad.
Yeah. Number eight: tells lies or half-truths. Categorically bad. Just bad. Human bad, agent bad, everything bad. Yeah, I don't need no further explanation.
No, no, that that was—if you're telling fibs, even little white lies, you're bad. Uh, that's how we tell our dog that he's bad, which is all the time. Um, number nine is eager—sorry, number nine is overeager to please. Being a bad agent because you're overeager to please. There is an agent that I love dearly; that she was a former teacher. She was told, "Hey, you're going to be a really good agent; just give it a shot." She comes, she leaves teaching, and she's a really good agent. Whoever told her that was exactly right, and it was one of her earlier transactions in her first year in real estate, and she told me kind of at the closing table, um, "Yeah, these people really didn't like me," and it kind of was bothering her, um, 'cause she wasn't used to not being liked. She's a very likable person. And I said to her, "If everyone likes you in this business 100% of the time, you are not doing your job correctly. You're doing a good job if sometimes people are mad at you," because there will be no way to always reconcile what your client wants and what the opposing party wants. And, um, so I think that that can be true—that statement can be true—um, if if you just want to be liked, which is, you know, pot, pot, kettle. I'm a person that likes to be liked; that's why I don't read the YouTube—YouTube comments, uh, but I fight against that—kettle me, pot, don't care at all, don't care at all—uh, but I fight against that because I know that sometimes to do the best job for my clients, it means a lot of other people are going to be very mad at me, and and that's just the nature of this business.
I think I get more upset for people not liking you, 'cause I'm like, "What, what's the deal? She's just trying to help. She's just trying to help you." Like, you know, agent phone calls at night, and they're mad at you; they're mad at you for for stuff that you can't help. Like, I'm like, that really has nothing to do with us. Yeah, you're like giving them the facts; you're telling them, "This is legally what you're able to do," and they're like, "Well, why can't you do anything different?" Because I follow the law. Like, stop being mad at—like, you're just mad at the answer because I gave you the answer that's the truth, but it's not me. Yeah, that always kills me; that's what makes me mad.
Um, number 10: acts as a messenger rather than guiding you through the process. I think for most clients, that would be a bad agent. There are some clients that are very savvy; they know exactly what they want. Um, I just dealt with one like that, and he had very good agents working with him, but he he was on it; he didn't really need anybody to put a spin on it; he just needed to run it by and say, "Am I crazy?" And if he wasn't crazy, then really you just needed to be a messenger. But most clients need something more than a messenger; they need to be told, "This is what—this is the stage we're in, and this is what comes with it. These are the things you need to be thinking of to make a decision," and do that with every stage of the process: from evaluating homes to making offers to due diligence to working with lenders to at the closing table to moving. Um, it can't just be, "Well, my first-time home buyers, um, they only want to put 1% down, and they need a a four-bedroom for 125,000, and that's what they said, so that's what I'm—" No, you got to educate; that's not reality. Um, so I think for the vast majority of clients, someone who acts just as a messenger is not cutting it. We—you and I have done many, many transactions. You are a real estate attorney; I am whatever I am. We we don't really need a guide; we kind of know where we are in it, but we still appreciate it; we want someone to run it by, make sure we're not thinking anything crazy, and uh, and tell us the things we're not considering that we should be, right. Um, my parents, on the other hand, who have moved three times in 40, 50 years of owning a home, um, the last time they moved, they needed a guide; they did not need a messenger, because they don't remember the process. They're also very anxious about the process. We—the opposite—it; we're just like, "We're good; just tell me when to sign." Yep. So yeah, you've got to understand your client to know where they are. Um, I don't think it necessarily makes you a bad agent unless that's how you always do it and you don't understand who your client is.
Uh, number 11: doesn't ask you any questions. Yeah, yeah, because how—if you don't know what your client wants, then you're only pushing your own agenda; you're trying to sell them the house you want to sell. Duty, yeah. And if you don't know what your client's interests are and what their needs are, you can't act as a fiduciary. Yeah, that that's bad. Yeah, you—if your agent isn't asking you what you want and what your goals are and what your needs are—bad agent. Agents, take note. Um, final—I don't think we deal with a lot of agents that have that problem, thank goodness.
No, I don't think so. Uh, final one here: number 12: you're hearing crickets or worse—nothing at all. Man, let me just—I wrote a nice little story in our email newsletter. If you want to subscribe to the email newsletter—I don't have a good place right now because I'm swapping email providers—but um, shoot us a message on on Instagram at L the lake if you want to be added to it. But man, I wrote a great story about this, and I will share it if you would like me to. But yeah, if your agent—you sign the contract, and all of a sudden you don't hear anything from them; you're not getting guided; you have no idea where you are in the process, and then all of a sudden they show back up in the 12th hour and it's like, "Oh yeah, we're good. By the way, you got to do this and this and this. I got you under control." That's not a good thing.
No, no. I've had um, a couple transactions where the—I'd say a couple times a month—we have agents who will not respond to any of our emails. They—we end up having to—like, especially on the selling side of things, you know, we have to call the seller and be like, "We we got nothing; like, we we need you to fill out the stuff; we need you to do all these things," and we get to closing, everything records, and the first time we hear from the agent is asking, "Why didn't we wire their proceeds? Or when am I getting my check?" We didn't know you; we thought you died because we couldn't get in touch with you, and we can't wire to an account that we don't know exists, you know. So it's like, you can pick up a check, you know, come pick that—that blows my mind that there are real estate agents out there that—when you guys who is closing the property to finalize the transaction send an email—they're just ignoring it. If I didn't see it multiple times a month in my own office, I wouldn't believe it was true; I wouldn't think it was possible. There was also a closing that I did where um, the sellers had been doing 100% of the communication; they uh, the contract did not have an agent listed on it, um, you know, nothing indicated that there was an agent involved; the sellers were very much behaving as for sale by owner. We get to the closing table, and they have someone else with them, and you know, trying not to be rude, you know, I'm going around the table, and I'm introducing myself, and I'm asking names, and I'm like, "I'm I'm so sorry I didn't and didn't catch your name." She tells me her name, and it's not—you know, she didn't look like she was their daughter; the name wasn't the same, like, but I'm like, "That could be anything, like, you know, she doesn't have to look like them to be their daughter; maybe that's their daughter," and so I'm moving on, and you know, then I'm just continuing the transaction; we're going over the altas. I give it to the seller, and she's like, "Well, are you not going to give me one?" And I'm like, "Um, well, who are you?" Kind of—I'm like, "I mean, do you guys want her to have a copy of it?" And she said, "Well, I'm their agent; I should." And I'm like, "You're you're their agent? Okay, this is our first time hearing of you; your name's not on the contract; they've never told us about you." Like, I'm doing this delicately, but basically, like, she was upset because she didn't see her commission on the Alta, and we didn't even know she existed; the sellers didn't tell us about her; she'd never communicated once with us—like, none of it—and she was appalled that her commission wasn't on—again, that's your fault—that was her eyes—it was—and I'm like, "Well, who drafted this contract? Or like, did she just come in at the end of the process? Like, did she not think to—maybe—what was the story on that? Did did she actually help? No. Did the sellers give her a commission? Yes."
Man, that is generous. Yeah, um, I guess at the—I don't know if she came in a little bit later in the process, but she was definitely their—their agent—I'm doing air quotes because she didn't do anything—um, she was their agent technically before they went under contract, and she was involved in getting the contract signed, and her name was nowhere attached to this contract, um, you know, I was like, "Well, goodness, is there a listing agreement?" Like, none of that, but they still paid her. Those are nice people. They honestly—they weren't—wow—they were not super easy to deal with, and that was probably—I bet you I can guess why—'cause they were paying a commission, and and legitimately—like, I know that there are clients who think their agents don't do anything, and that is hardly ever true. This would be maybe the one in 6,000 transactions in the last couple years where I believe wholeheartedly that was true, um, and I felt bad for them.
Yeah. Well, that is the list of 12 of things—12 things that uh, bad agents do. Yeah, and I—and again, we don't agree with all those.
No, we don't. Yeah, some of them—what do you—you think uh, what do you think if—what what people can do, you know, we we generally are talking to agents out here, so if you're an agent and you're trying to position yourself as a good agent, what are some of these things that they can tell consumers—um, things that help them stand out? I would—one thing I would be sure to explain to consumers is that you do the common things uncommonly well. Um, you know, you should think that communication is a given, but being a real estate attorney who handles a significant number of transactions, it's not. Um, so laying out for the client how you actually act as their guide—they're the hero of their story—StoryBrand—Donald Miller—and you are their trusted guide, and and explaining to them the tools that you have in your toolbox to help them get there—to what they want and not specifically what you want.
Yeah, I think that's—it's about them, not about you. I think that's about as good of advice as as you could possibly give. You know, I see a lot of the agents out there talking about awesome they are as agents, but but that like that doesn't matter—like, in these people's eyes—but also not explaining why—they don't explain why—but also so great—that doesn't matter. It does not matter how awesome of an agent you are because the buyer or seller only cares about getting whatever it is that they're seeking, so you need to explain to them how you help them get their outcome, right? And you don't need to shout from the rooftops of how good of an agent you are; you just need to shout how good you can make their lives.
Yeah, and then after you've made—made their lives great—they'll shout it from the rooftops for you.
Exactly. Yes. Um, awesome, Tiff. Well, appreciate that. Uh, I I think that was a good little—you know, I like that.
Thanks, Christopher. Yeah. Chris—always shout out to Chris. Yeah, who's about to get like 800,000-plus subscribers on YouTube on his own channel.
Yeah, it's nuts. Magnify—it's really interesting stuff; really interesting stuff. I I can never explain to anybody what Chris's channel is about because they're like, "What what what's his YouTube channel about?" Like, weird—weird stuff. I try to say like, "Interesting Academia," but that doesn't do it justice because it's digestible chunks of information that like you'd never—you know—like, you just wouldn't—I'm going to—it's like the the the Cabinet of Curiosities, or I don't know how to describe it. The only way to understand it is to go watch it, and once you do, you'll be hooked. All right, so this is just a bonus for for you that made it this far. Christopher just drove to—if you don't know Christopher—Christopher is the one that edits our short-form videos. I edit the long-form videos; he's the one that does the short-form videos. So anything for a long time—yeah—anything that's doing vertical video for us, he's our editor. Um, he's he's the man. Um, he just drove up to Indiana, one to watch the Final Four, um, and then also two to watch the eclipse, and while he was in an Indiana library doing his research for his YouTube channel because he goes to the libraries—yes—you didn't see this because you left our Slack channel.
Um, I didn't leave it; I just haven't logged in. We have a Slack channel of just me, Tiff, and Christopher for making notes about our stuff, and now it's just a me and Christopher direct message. Um, he posted this, and this is an ATM in a library for legal help for estate planning in Indiana that says it is an ATM that says, "Indiana Legal Help."
Oh my gosh! Bonus reaction from Tiff. So his—how is that not unauthorized practice of law? His statement to me: So in the libraries in Indiana, they have an ATM—or they have ATM kiosks for legal health where you can just print out estate planning docs and such. Not sure if it's awesome or terrifying—maybe both. So I mean, North Carolina has this thing called eCourts—guide and file for things that um, like summary ejectment or small claims—and they help you fill out the things that most people do pro se anyway; they're not going to hire a lawyer for this. So to minimize fatal flaws in the filings, North Carolina has has set up like interview questions—"What is your name? Are you suing somebody for what?" You know, and then it helps you fill in the forms. It doesn't give you any guidance on like, "Do you have a basis for your claim?" But at least makes it so the forms are done correctly. Um, so maybe it's like that. I don't know. I just figured you'd get a kick out of it.
That is wow. What a way to end the pod. What a way—what a time—what a time to be alive. Yeah, from 1987. Oh my gosh. Well, thanks for uh, joining me on the episode. People really like it when you join. I um, so you know, I I had my my feelings hurt for a while, 'cause you know, no one really wanted me on here, and now we've been getting a lot of feedback—kind of know—they just—you just imagine that in your head. Well, now we got some feedback; they're like, "Hey, we really like Ryan on there," so yeah, which I've been telling you the whole time.
Thanks, guys. Don't believe it from me; they're like, "That dummy on there makes us feel so smart." I don't think that's true, but it's funny that you said it. It's spoken into the existence of the world, so it is now true. All right, so it is the weekend; this is a Saturday; you will see this episode on Monday. So Ryan, this guy has to go get to editing so you can get it out, and we got to go to Costco. Woo!