Episode 1: "If It Is to Be, It Is Up to Me"

0:11 All right, welcome to the show. This is a show called Keeping It Real Estate. I'm Max Doyoni, and this is a show about real estate reinvention and keeping it honest, especially with yourself. In particular with myself. This is the first show. I'm sitting here in a booth in the library talking to myself, which is a strange experience, so bear with me. Yeah, the name is obviously a play on words. I'm trying to keep it real in an industry that sometimes feels a little less than that. Sometimes it feels super real. We are people who bring, you know, the community new faces, and we bring a different energy to towns, and sometimes.

1:00 Sometimes we get judged pretty harshly for it. And in the past, I've been. I've been a big piece of that judgment, whether it's been just my inner monologue or even externally in certain groups, in certain situations. Look, my. My mantra has always been to be sort of overly honest. And maybe not always, but it's been for the last 30 years or so, it's been something that I've tried to lean into really heavily. There's just no point in keeping secrets. I found that to be much more difficult than just saying things the way that I see them, whether I'm right or wrong, and then owning the mistakes.

1:43 I am doing this alone today, primarily because I'm alone in this industry right now. I have a good team at Christie's International Real Estate in Park City, but I'm kind of waiting on my friend Lauren Androsa. She's gonna join the real estate industry, and she's gonna come in as my partner sometime in the next six months or so. We have been planning on starting a podcast together for a long time, but, you know, the way life, family, business transitions, these things are difficult. And we have been trying to organize a day to get together and start this whole podcasting thing and just hasn't been able to line up, which is kind of crazy.

2:31 You know, you'd think that'd be concerning as going into a new partnership that we can't get together for 35 or 40 minutes to do a podcast. But she's currently in a totally different job, and I'm building this business solo in the moment using a whole bunch of tools that I've never used before and learning a lot along the way. But, you know, my dad has a ton of one liners, and one of them is 10 two letter words. If it is to be, it is up to me. So I just decided today to come in here and record this first episode and see how all this equipment works and sort of get a little bit raw with you guys. Even saying you guys sounds weird because there's nobody out there. I don't even know how I'm going to post this thing yet. So you're catching it extremely, extremely raw. Yeah, it's really weird to be creating content in this way. Never really thought this would be something I would do, but it feels like this is the way the world's going. And everybody says to themselves, you know, our conversation is so interesting, or my conversation with this person. You know, so many people say, you should start a podcast. I'd listen to that. I don't know how many times I've heard that, but, you know, it feels like everybody's super interested in what they have to say. And oftentimes there aren't enough people out there asking the right questions and

4:02 then challenging somebody. So when we invite people to come on this podcast, it will come with the caveat that we really don't think anything's off limits. We're going to ask, and if you don't want to answer, that's okay. But please don't come in here and expect us not to ask the hard question if it happens to come up. Are we going to try and keep this thing, real estate focused? Maybe. Right. We're going to keep it real here. We're going to focus on people, people, which is what this industry is all about. We're going to focus on transitions. We're going to focus on where we have been weak in our past and where we feel like our strengths are. We're going to focus on asking people to get real with us about their opinion of their industry, whether it's real estate or otherwise.

4:55 And then we're going to get into the things that people want to get into, whether it's their experiences in this industry or if it's, you know, their experiences with friends and family as they made their transitions. Some people have been in this industry for their entire professional life, and they don't see it through the lens that those of us who've had other create other careers see it. Right. I mean, those of us who have done other things have historically been pretty judgmental of the real estate industry. In particular in Park City, where on the surface, it feels like real estate agents make a lot of money for a little bit of work. I was one of those people. And the reality is it's not accurate. That's a misrepresentation of what happens in this industry. I think another misrepresentation would be that it's hard work, and maybe we'll get into that in another show. But, you know, the definition of what hard work is is an interesting conversation for me, and I want to try and dive into that really deep with many of our clients or our episode or our guests, because hard work feels difficult to me. It feels like a challenge.

6:16 It feels like it's difficult to figure out and. And nobody's done it before, or it's physically demanding in some way. I think the real estate industry is not necessarily hard work. It's a lot of work, though. It's a significant lift in terms of your time, your energy. There are a lot of moving parts, and no two deals are the same. Every single real estate agent that I've ever talked to reiterates that. And. And what I'm finding, being in this industry for a little while, is that that's accurate. I have, you know, I have complicated feelings about the real estate industry, and that'll come through in this podcast because some days I just love it. I think it's really a great industry to be in.

7:04 Other days, I really struggle with it. I didn't love the real estate industry for most of my life here in Park City, to be honest. I've had friends accuse it of being the reason that Park City has deteriorated in its attractiveness to a certain group of people. I didn't really like the way it operated in town. It was insular, and it was sort of a club, and there was a protectionist element to the industry. And then, you know, there are a lot of people who kind of get into it as a default because they can't do anything else, or they failed at everything else they did. And I didn't want to be that guy. I didn't want to be that person.

7:45 But you know what? I grew up around this industry. My dad was a developer. My. My sister is a real estate agent. My cousin has been a real estate agent through his entire professional career. 27 years or something. I've seen my family make a lot of money on real estate. I've also seen them lose a lot of money in real estate transactions. Real estate deals, development deals, almost sunk our family a number of times, and then they eventually made it. You know, I have juggled every potential job opportunity in Park City, it feels like.

8:25 Now, is that accurate? No. Obviously I haven't been a GM of a hotel or, you know, I haven't. I haven't done every job in Park City, but I joke that I have at least tried them all from driving Taxi. To mowing greens on the golf course, to washing dishes. I've put boots on people, I've tuned skis. I've done the rental shop thing. I've done electric bike rentals. I mean, you know, most of the industries in Park City, I've at least touched them in some way, shape or form all the way up to being an elected official in town. And I mean, I was a substitute teacher back in the day with dreadlocks and I don't know what happened to our school district by allowing me to do that. But yeah, then all the way up to being an elected official in town, I was on the city council. And that actually took me out of my other career, which was running a restaurant, bar and grill in Park City called the Corner Store Pub and Grill. We've been there forever now. It feels like I started that in 2004 as a 27 year old party guy and built my ideal place, right, the place I'd want to hang out.

9:39 Interesting how the only thing I do there now is have breakfast and talk to the management team. Occasionally take the kids up there during the ski season when we get ready to go skiing. It's the most expensive ski locker anybody's ever had. You know, I've dabbled in real estate. I've had my real estate license since boy 2002, it's now 2025. So I've had my real estate license for 25 years or 22 years. Used it very sporadically. Sold a restaurant at some time in the middle. Sold a, you know, a cabin once or something like that, but, you know, less than a hobby. But I've been circulating around this industry for a long time. Done some development deals with my father. Built 43 apartments out at the junction here, Kimball Junction in Park City. We sold that building. I've done some consulting work for some of the larger companies around here, some for free, some paid. And then I worked with my brother in law, Jonathan, on the commercial real estate side for the last two years, you know, doing dirt to Doorknob sort of consulting and then sales. And what I realized in that process was that there's sort of an inverse relationship to commercial real estate and residential real estate in Park City. The bigger the deal

11:10 in commercial, the, you know, the longer it is to get paid, the more lawyers there are involved and the more risk there is, the bigger the deal you get. In a residential real estate, it's more often the case that that's somebody's second, third, fourth home and they've done 10 or 20 different deals already in that realm and really comes down to how they feel on the house, how they, what kind of cabinetry they like or the location or is it going to be convenient for the next couple of years? Because really a lot of these people only own their houses for five or eight years and then they want something different. And they are liquid, they're cash buyers and they can move and shock and jive all they want. So you know, those deals are actually easier once you get to that large scale. Now I'm not there yet, but I certainly am hoping to be there.

12:08 And that's the skill set that I'm trying to curate as I get into the residential real estate world. Yeah, I mean I've my, my opinion about real estate has changed, right? It, it, it's evolving and I'm trying to come at every part of this job with a level of optimism and positivity. I do see my job as being a service to the community. I have always been trying to think of things through that lens. When I built the corner store, it was to, you know, make sure people have felt like they could be a local when they're in town. Even if they're only here for a day. I want them to feel like they can sit at the bar next to somebody who knows a lot about Park City or at least thinks they do, right? The person who considers himself a local sitting next to somebody who is considering becoming a local. I always thought that was a really unique thing to offer the community and it's worked out. People really love the corner store and I feel like it's been a value add to the community when it comes to real estate. When people are moving into town, I want to be there for them. I want to, you know, help them find the right restaurant or know when to travel around town. Know not to go to the grocery store at 4:30 in the afternoon during Christmas week. If you want to do it efficiently, you know, find the right places

13:39 to be and the times to be there so that they can become a part of the community as quickly as possible. Some of my best friends, all my best friends really didn't grow up here. They came here after me. And I'm thankful that I have them in my life and I'm thankful that they are a part of our community and I'm sure that they wish they had somebody welcoming them to the community in a more wide open way than they likely did. And being people's first touch point to the community is, you know, it's a big deal so I'm hoping that. I'm hoping that I can do a good job of that for people at all income brackets. I don't think that the wealthiest among us necessarily get a.

14:29 A fair shake sometimes, because as soon as somebody knows how much money somebody has, they treat them differently. And the reality is, you know, whether you're Barack Obama or Donald Trump or Joe Schmo on the side of the street, everybody's just a human, and they deserve to be treated as a human. It doesn't matter what they have or what they don't have. They should start out with an A and they can earn their way to a different grade. But everybody deserves to start out with an A, and they deserve to start out not being judged. If they worked really hard for their money or they were given it, that's none of my business. I don't care how they got there. I just care that when they get here that they become part of our community just like everybody else. Everybody deserves a sort of a fair shake, you know? Yeah. You know, this podcast is going to be a reflection. It's going to be a reflection on me. It's going to be a reflection on Lauren. It's going to be a reflection on real estate industry. On the whole, It'll be a reflection on every guest that we have. Hopefully, they're willing to go there because, you know, what's in a name? Keeping It Real is going to challenge some people, and I'm sure we're going to have people who choose not to come on, but hopefully they'll see

15:59 that this can be like a mini therapy session. We're going to. We're going to get into some stuff. Hopefully our podcast won't run too long. I don't have a framework for how long they're going to be. Some conversations may run on for a while, and others may be short. They may be 15 minutes. I doubt it, because Lauren and I like to hear ourselves talk too much, but you just never know. Hopefully we'll be doing enough asking questions of people that they'll open up and give us a little bit of a glimpse into who they are and how they got into this world. You know, I. I am what I'm also selfishly looking to learn.

16:40 Right. I want to continue to improve my craft. And whether I like it or not, this is my new craft. And I'm going to do everything I can to perfect it, to do it in a way that's authentic to my personality, but also honor the people who have done it forever and recognize That I have a lot to learn from them. And I look forward to bringing those skills and these conversations to every deal I do going forward. And when Lauren does finally show up, we are going to ask her what she wants to bring to the job and what she wants to get out of these interviews and this podcast. And we'll see if we can't be interesting to, hopefully a wide variety of people. One of the things I'm finding really hard is, you know, in that endeavor to be great at something, not losing myself in this job. You know, it's easy to put your Saturday aside and go to open houses and see all of the product that's out there. Last week, there were 22 pages of open houses to visit on a Wednesday.

17:52 And I'd be lying if I say I'd. I didn't really want to go see a lot of them, but, you know, that would be losing myself in this industry. And I don't want to lose myself. I want to try and maintain that authentic voice and that authentic point of view. I also don't want to be super sales heavy. I think sales heavy approach is really tied to outcomes. I personally am not tied to the outcomes here. I am because there are paydays at the end and that's critical. But. But I really just want to be tied to the process the best I can. I want to be reminded to stay in the process because going and finding somebody their perfect house for whatever their reasons are for searching, it has to be personal to them. It does not have to be personal to me. And I certainly hope nobody buys a house because I said I like it or I don't like it. I want them to buy it for them.

18:51 I'm hoping that I can listen to them and get to understand them well enough to really show them the things that resonate with them. And hopefully we can create some magic opportunities for clients in. In their transitions to Park City or out of Park City if they've had enough of this. I want to make sure that I represent their experience here well and let them leave on a high note, you know, selling their property for, you know, at the appropriate price and to the appropriate people, whoever happens to line up with it. Some people just want a fire sale. Other people really care about whether their family house moves to another family. So we got to do a lot of listening. And this will be a practice in that it will be a perpetual practice, and I look forward to that challenge.

19:43 It's a weird thing to be doing a podcast, trying to talk into the ether here today and not feel like it's about me, but really trying to create some content, start a conversation and get people interested in, in this industry in a different way. Because people buy houses based on emotion as much as they do logic. The logic comes in the money and how it all jives with their monthly bills, but they really make offers on places that make them feel good. And ideally, this podcast will make you feel something, you know, frustrated. With me. Fine.

20:23 Identify with me. Great, right? Want to have a chat, reach out? Let's do it. Let's have a conversation. I'm open to any conversation. This doesn't have to be in a box. I'm going to tie it to the experience of transitioning in your professional life. I'm going to tie it to when you've bought and sold a property or if you've considered that. I'm going to tie it to your emotional state about your mountain town or the town that you live in and, and what it feels like when new people come and go. I'm going to tie it to a lot of things and then this thing will kind of define itself as we go. It's, it's going to be a. It's going to be an interesting ride. So stick with it. Some episodes are going to be really interesting. Some will be emotional, some will be cerebral. Others will probably just feel like a random ramble of conversation with Lauren and I talking about how our 11 year old had a, you know, threw a fit last night because their hormones are imbalanced.

21:31 Who knows what it'll be? I would say that this show is for people who are curious about real estate. They're curious about themselves and maybe they're allergic to bs, right? I mean, we are. Lauren and I are, are together and working together because we share a, we share a common. I'm trying to think of the right word here. Disdain for bullshit. We are just not interested. Right? And that's what keeping it real is all about. Like, if somebody's full of it there, there is a nice way to ask them why.

22:18 Right there. There's always some kind of a reason behind somebody being full of it. And, and I think that we're going to just try and navigate. Hey, when I'm full of it, I know she'll call me out. When she's full of it, I know I'll call her out. And hopefully we can tactfully address when other people are full of it on our podcast. But we're hoping to get people to break through that wall and, and, and tell us something real. That'll, that'll be sort of the goal. And hopefully people who we interview will come out of this feeling like they got something off their chest or they said something that they might not otherwise have said and it feels good.

23:00 Maybe they'll leave and want to come back and say more. We'll see. That would be, that would be sort of the sign that we're doing it right, in my opinion. I, I don't know who's listening to this. Nobody yet because I don't even know how to post it. But people who are navigating their career transitions, new real estate agents who, who feel like they're outsiders, they could, they could probably get a little nugget or two out of this. People who just want a little honesty in their business talk. That might be a, you know, a group of people who want to listen to this. Lauren will be going through real estate school during the first few episodes of this. So that'll be kind of interesting. We'll have conversations with her about how she feels about real estate education. I found it to be, man, it was a challenge, right? It was a challenge.

23:49 It's not the most intriguing schooling, but when you're in it, then the schooling starts feeling more appropriate, but the delivery needs a lot of work. It just feels like a lot of people are self aggrandizing agents who, who need an outlet. Maybe they ought to start a podcast or something, I don't know. But if anything here resonated with you, if anything here sounds like something you want to hear more of, or if you have suggestions on conversations that re, you know, have something to do with real estate. I'll be back.

24:32 I'll be back with interviews, stories, a few rants, I'm sure Lauren, I'm keeping her mic hot here, so I can't wait for her to dive into this whole thing. I think it'll be more dynamic with her here. But you know, if I go back to my old motto, if it is to be, it is up to me. I had to get started. And one of the things that we'll lean in here, lean into here is the concept of correct, don't protect. That'll be one of our initial episodes. We'll be talking about all the different ways that we stumble into protecting a decision or protecting something when the reality is, is we should just step up and correct whatever happened. This is one of those mottos that's gonna come into play throughout the real estate industry because there are so many moving parts that instead of defending what you did or did not do. Right. We just want to fix it and move on because timelines matter, and it's.

25:35 It's interesting getting into how to talk about that with people. So that'll be one of our initial episodes. Stay tuned. This was 24 minutes of me rambling. Hopefully, no episodes will have 24 minutes of me rambling in the future, but I am am just testing this bad boy out and see how it goes. This is Keep It Real Estate with Max Doyle and soon to be Lauren Androsa. Looking forward to long and successful podcasting career. I don't know. It's not a career, but it's something. All right, signing off.

26:16 I don't even know how to. To end this thing. Peace and love. That's how we'll end it. Peace and love.