Hey, guys. Are you ready for some money rehab?

Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, Gamestop.

And should I have a 401k? Because then I- You don't do it? No, I never- You think the whole world revolves around you and your money?

Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time.

I will take a check.

I got an old-school check.

You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg.

The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand, Nicole Lappin. I'm actually going to bring today's guest on so we can introduce the topic together. Eric, welcome to Money Rehab.

Thank you for I mean, Nicole, I'm honored to be here with you.

I am honored to work with you. You are such a badass real estate broker. You're even featured in my latest book. We've been working together for a bunch of years. You are the best of the best. And lately, we've been working together on finding a rental. I asked you to come on the show to talk about tips, of course, for navigating this insane, insane, insane housing market. And we will definitely get to that. But after I invited you on the show, this crazy-ass thing happened to us, and we have to spill the tea. We have to talk about it first. Can you set the stage?

I would love to set the stage. So we were looking for a writing retreat for Nicole. We wanted something special where she could be inspired and have a quiet space to work from and create. And we were looking in some wonderful neighborhoods, Bel Air, Beverly Hills. And we stumbled across a really, really cute cabin that has been completely remodeled and redone. It has a famous history as well. And so we started to look around and poke around at that house.

Yes. We looked at that house. We It was so cute. It was like out of a movie if I had described what I was looking for to a Hollywood set designer. So we went to go see the house, and I was like, Let's put an offer in.

Yeah. So it's like an idyllic cabin, right? If you pictured a cabin that's Instagramable, Instagramable, and turn it, this was it. Enchanting, gave it. We got to keep Nicole safe. You know what I'm saying? That's right. And so it was great. And so we really liked it. There were a few things with the property, but overall, we thought that it would be a really nice opportunity for Nicole. And so we did our diligence. Nicole is very savvy with money, as we all know. And she had some questions about the pricing. And I always rely on data. And I said, well, let me get to that. Let me go look. And Nicole can be pretty sharp, but I actually agreed with her. I was like, you know what? Okay.

So if we're getting here. The only way I know how to tell a story, Eric, is to tell it honestly. And let's just throw out the real numbers. So this place was listed for 9,500, okay? And so I said this place, while adorable, should not be 9,500. It's offensive to me. Let's pull the comps. Can you tell us what comps are? And then can you tell us what you found from them?

I would love to. So comps Comps are the easiest way to describe it, comps are properties that have similar characteristics to the subject property that you're considering. And in this case, Nicole had felt like that the price was high. And I always like to go to the data because the data is what we can rely on and leverage to our advantage in some cases. And so when I took a look at the data, I agree with her. The best comp, and there was only one, was actually 8,500 a month. And that property had more square footage. It actually had a view of Los Angeles. It was absolutely stunning. And the home we were looking at was great, but it was $1,000 too high. And so we agreed that we were going to make an offer, but at the market value, which was 8,500. So we made our offer and we submitted it. And the agent said, Hey, look, Eric, I'll discuss this with our seller and get back to you. Now, also, because we were coming in under asking, it is typically a seller's market, and it's also a landlord's market in Los Angeles right now.

And so in establishing rapport and trust, which is very important when you're trying to make a deal, I just reached out to the agent and said, hey, look, we have a different pricing evaluation on this one. I want to let you know that we be coming in under asking. How do you feel about that? And she strongly encouraged us to submit it, even though we were under asking it, she would do all that we can. And that's all you can ask for from an agent is, Hey, give us a shot, letting you know we're coming in under. So we felt good about that. And we also felt that relative to the market that our offer was highly competitive, it was a fair value.

Yeah, it was thoughtful.

It was thoughtful. In addition to that, we included information about how Nicole would be a great ideal tenant. She would be lightly living in it and using it seldom. And so we waited for their response.

And I was bugging you. And I'm like, okay, well, I get it. La is cuckoo bananas. A lot of real estate markets are cuckoo bananas in that they're on the market for one second and then they're snatched up or they go for over asking. So I had a little bit of remorse. Like, maybe I should have increased it more. Somebody is going to scoop this thing up. Where are we at? Where are we Eric all the time. And then what happened?

Well, and one of the things we also recognize was that it had sat on the market for a little bit. It had been on there for about what? Like 15 days, which in this market- Which in typical times is not that long. Which is another their indication that they were asking too much. So we did feel good about our offer, all things considered. And then we got an email back that was short. I don't know if the word is short, but it was short, and it said essentially no. And that was all that was in the email. And so Nicole and I were like, this seems off given the conversations that we've had with the other side for about a week at this point. I mean, they were lovely at the showing. They provided private access in the evening for us. They knew that Nicole wanted to go back in the evening to check it out. They were patient with us in that regard as well. And so getting this really short email response that was a hard no without a counter, seemed a bit off, particularly given our offer was price-wise, was something that you would think that they would respond to.

And so Nicole and I texted back and forth. And I was like, That's weird. And if you know Nicole, Nicole said, Eric, what's going on here? And she wanted to know what happened. And I said, You know what? I agree with you. I think that this seems a bit off. Let me find out. Let me get the low down, so to speak.

Yeah, because I was like, should we increase the offer? Should we do some concessions? This is a negotiation. Mama loves negotiating. So bring it. True. But then I also wanted to see exactly what was said because I overanalyze everything. So you sent me a screenshot of the actual email passing and said, dear Eric, thank you for your application. Our client is passing on the offer. Thank you for all of your efforts. And that's it. And I was like, This is something I've never had before. I do love... My favorite sport, as everybody listening knows, is negotiating, and perhaps the only cardio I get. And I love it. But this was like, the door is closed.

And I was like, Eric, is this about me?

And you were like, No, no, no. Let me call these folks. And like, whatever. Then what happened?

Then I called those folks, and it was about Nicole.

I wish I didn't say, I told you so.

I really wish in this one. But holy hell. Somebody- It was personal. It was like, We will not rent to Nicole Lappin. You are not invited to this rental.

Yeah. No suit for Nicole. They did not want to work with you. And It's like, I guess you've reached a level of Fame, Nicole, where you got some haters out there, but you ain't got no haters. You ain't popping.

I love it. You're not doing something if people don't like you. I didn't know that this was a whole other level of success where I'd actually be rejected from giving people my money. But cool. And I'm not at all upset or embarrassed about this. In fact, we're spreading this information because I'm proud of it. And I think there's a lot of things that you can learn from it. So the folks said, I'm not even going to say if they're... I'm not going to do any distinguishing factors here. We're going to keep it all anonymous.

Yes.

But all the other facts are totally It's really true. So you talk to the folks, and then what happened?

And they told us the reason, and I had to tell you. So there's a couple of things. You're a long-time client, but you also share a birthday with me. We've known each other for years. We are friends. I care about you and your wellness. So there were all these layers, and we both like to win and typically do win. And so there was a lot of things I had to process before I spoke to you. How do you tell Nicole? What do you say to Nicole? All these things. It was awful. And the thing about it is for you, for me, it It's a little old lease, a little old cabin, but it was big. It was bigger than that. And that's the thing about real estate. It's never about the money. It's like a relationship business, it's about the services, about the client. And so it's- Yeah, it's a home. It's a home, right. Exactly. Exactly. And so there was all these things I had to process to share this with you. And it was the first time I'd ever encountered that also. I mean, I've seen so many things over the years. I haven't come across this.

So we had to talk about it.

And so NetNet, they were like, We know somebody that you know, and there's some beef or something. It was a vague beef.

Yes. Yes. Someone in your network, they know someone in your network, and they did not either like what they heard or like what they know of Ms. Nicole.

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So we had this conversation and you said it doesn't matter. You could give them 9,500, you could give them 10,500, you could give them a million dollars. They do not want you in their property. And I was like, At first, I thought you were punking me, because it was my instinct when I saw the email, but I was like, That's not a thing. I've never experienced that. But you've actually experienced this before with some other clients.

Yes, I have. So we work... It's Los Angeles, right? And so entertainment is one of the biggest industries here in town. Everybody knows that. And I've been fortunate to work with artists, entertainers, actors, people in music, sports, et cetera. And you do run into situations where landlords just don't want to rent to certain talent. And I thought that it was cool that Nicole is up there with some of the bigger rappers in the world in terms of the scrutiny when being reviewed for a lease application. So that's a feather in your cap, I think.

I agree. So you've had folks reject other clients before for whatever reason. They don't even need to tell your reason. They could not like your politics. They could not like your religion. They could not like whatever, the way you smell. It doesn't matter. It's their house, and there's no rules against why they can reject you, even if you have perfect credit. I was like, I'm going to pay them upfront. There should be no financial problems here, even though it brought back some PTSD to the times when I did have shitty credit and I didn't have money. And it was really hard for me to qualify for a place. And now I was like, these days are long gone. But this is a whole other rejection that there's no government regulation on. There's no You must rent to everybody who has higher than a 700 credit score or whatever.

That's right. Private property. So the landlord, the owner can choose to rent to who they want to. And the reason was they can just decline. And that's the thing, right? So I was able to get more information maybe than I'm able to typically get in this case. But the reason was a no. And it If they decide that they don't want to rent to someone because the reason that they gave, they can do, even though it doesn't really sit well with me and you.

But typically, they can just say pass. Even if you've had offers go in at asking or above asking. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. So a property seller or property owner can make these decisions in their discretion. So obviously, I think the common ones are credits or there's a mark on a background check, that type of thing. But even if you have all the things in which, in your case, you did, I mean, sparkling credit, you're going to pay cash up front, an amazing personality.

Oh, thank you. I mean, clearly not everybody thinks so or somebody or people I know or whatever the reason is. But yeah, no, the finance financials were not an issue. And it's taken me a long time to be able to say that, but I can proudly say that. And I do not have a rap sheet or a record or anything in my background check.

Have you had any wild parties that I haven't heard about and haven't been invited to? What am I missing here, Nicole?

Not yet. But now that I know it's so subjective, maybe I'm going to start. Because clearly, it just doesn't matter. So in the past, you've had What's your guess? Rejections because they don't like the person's public image or what? They think they're going to have parties? Can we just be honest? Could it be race, too?

It's hard to say. I don't want to speak the things that I don't know. But I think that the problem that people who are famous or have celebrity that they have is that your reputation or your public persona is out there, or or your opinions are out there. And I think that when that is the case, there's just more room for subjectivity. The sellers have more information. And I think that that's one of the unique challenges of working with people that have some measure of celebrity. It's that the people on the other side already know more about those folks than my typical clients do or your clients that are more or private. And so it's just another layer that we have to navigate around. And sometimes, for example, I'm trying to think of... You can think of during the pandemic, in LA, there was this huge party for a house that was rented out, and someone was seriously injured. So there's even more of a heightened, I think, environment since the pandemic started with Los Angeles rentals in particular, where there's even more scrutiny, even for people of means. And so that's just a new challenge that I think we've seen highlighted here in the pandemic since it started.

Yeah. So it made me happy to recently see that these folks still haven't been able to rent their place out. And in fact, they lower the price to $85,500.

To what? To the exact amount that we offered, which is a little bit more of a burn. It's doubling down on the no Nicole.

I mean, I hope they never rent it. I hope that they bring it down to $50 a month that nobody wants it, then they're going to lose their money.

That's the thing about making decisions like that. It's like, karma is a real thing. You know what I mean? It's a bitch. It is. And it's been on the market. The world is small. The world is small. They've been on the market for a month now. They had to drop their price, and then tenants started to think, well, is there something wrong with this? It also was a little small house. I mean, it was perfect for you and your needs, but it's a small little house that is asking top dollar. So good luck to those people. But we landed on our feet, I think.

We wish them love and light.

We wish them love and light.

We did land on our feet. So we went back to the drawing board and we found, I think, an even better place. We snatched it up, we paid up front. We called it a day. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Stay tuned for part two of my conversation with Eric, where we tackle tips to navigate this insane housing market.

Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoy and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson.

Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy.

Huge thanks to O.

G.

Money Rehab team, Michelle Lanz for her development work, Katherine Law for her production and writing, Magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all. You spend my money, money, money. You spend.