The Power of Compassion and Building Relationships in Real Estate

Rick Ripma (00:00.462)
How do you go from brand new in the business to one of the top agents around, a guru, and do it in very short fashion? Well, today we're gonna talk to Angie Summerlot. Angie, her tagline is your go -to real estate girl, your go -to real estate girl, love the tagline. And Angie's done phenomenally well. She'd been in the business just over four years.

She's on a team, they're doing great things. So she's really interesting to listen to. I think her real superpower is her compassion. And she just really, she has just a great heart. She's a great person. I think you really enjoy listening to her. I think if you're a real estate agent, you learn a lot. If you're a client, you're gonna learn who she is.

And hopefully you'll find that entertaining and interesting and helpful. So please listen. Thanks so much.

He talks of dedication, the long nights and the grind. From small town beginnings to the big deals they find. Stories of success through sweat and tears. Indies on heroes. Angie Summerlaw, correct? Correct, yeah. Correct. And hi, how are you? Thanks for joining me. Yeah, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Angie's a guru real estate agent. You've been in the business for quite some time.

I think we'll find out here in a minute. I know that you do huge volume, you're a great agent, and we really want to get to know you and find out, find about you, certainly my audience does. So let's start with where did you grow up? Where have you been before real estate? What did you do? I grew up on the south side of Indianapolis. I graduated Southport High School, 93. Gosh, just had my 30 year class reunion, hard to believe.

Rick Ripma (02:22.862)
and pretty much have been on the South side, but now I'm on the Southwest side of Indianapolis in the Mooresville area. It is weird when you have been out of high school so much longer than when you were even out of school, longer than you were in school. It's hard to believe. Yeah. I think I hit my 42nd year out of high school or something like that. It's like, man, that's a long time. Yeah, it flies by so much faster than you think it's going to. And it took forever to get there.

to high school. That was tough. So you grew up on the South Side, you're now doing South and Southwest is where you're at, correct? Well, I'm kind of all over, but as far as where I've just resided, kind of lived in areas that I've predominantly been in for sure, yeah. Now, where'd you go to school? Southport. did you really? Yeah. Okay, awesome. And so you're obviously on the South Side. Now you do real estate.

throughout the entire state or are there certain areas that you really stick to? To be super honest, kind of the field that I came from prior to getting into real estate, it had me anywhere from about like an hour to hour and a half Indianapolis and surrounding areas. So I've been really blessed that a lot of the clients from previous work that I've done kind of followed over. So I am honestly everywhere within probably an hour and a half radius of Indianapolis, but predominantly tend to be on the south west side.

just in those areas a little bit more. Yeah. Basically, an hour, an hour and 15 minutes in Indiana gets you almost anywhere if you're in the middle of the state. Yeah. Yeah. You can almost get anywhere. I know for me, I have grown up in Indianapolis. That's where I grew up. Now I live in Carmel. And if we go to, I mean, Bloomington is an hour or so. My kids were down there.

The only place that's really hard to get to is way out on the west side of Indiana down on the south. Well, I guess they've made that road. Have you tried that new, there's a 37 they took straight down? I haven't traveled all the way utilizing it quite yet, yeah. Me either, me either. So you got, what were you, I can't talk. What were you doing before real estate?

Rick Ripma (04:43.31)
Prior to that, I was known as Angie the Auction Hunter and did a lot in the antique and kind of mid -century line of specialty. And what I sold, I used to be a part of the antique mall, actually here in the Carmel area, just down the street before they relocated. I had a booth there and booth in other locations. And then prior to that, I've always been in a

sales industry and I worked for an MLM structure business for a little over 23 years. wow. Yeah. Okay. So you, but you had, you had a antique business and it must've been auctions. I love auctions. I have to ask about auctions. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Did you go all over? Yeah. I was probably at, anywhere from like three to four auctions a week in various areas.

and I would oftentimes bid for other people that couldn't be at an auction. So you might want a particular item, you would tell me your max bid, I would bid, I got items for myself to sell. So it was a combination of a little bit both for my clients and just resell for my booth or whether that was on eBay or other online platforms for that. I would think that serves you very well in real estate.

It's actually kind of what led me into real estate, to be honest, being at a state sales and being a part of sometimes an auction of a property. I tease everybody else took me into becoming a realtor. I didn't know that that's what I was going to be per se, like when I grew up, but it kind of found me. And honestly, I love it more than anything else I've ever done. So, yeah, that's awesome. So what is your favorite part of of the business of being a real estate agent?

Honestly, it's my clients. It's the relationships that you build with them, getting to help them reach their goal. And then even when they have purchased their home, got into the home, I just love seeing all the different things they do to make that home their home. I was just commenting this morning on social media, just seeing the work.

Rick Ripma (06:57.422)
of a recent home sale that I did and just seeing all the different things that I've done and it just, I don't know, that kind of warms your heart that you got to be a part of that. To me, it's a business that is all about relationships. Yeah. And most people, I don't know, I think before you get into it, you don't realize that maybe, but you think it's about real estate. It's more about relationships, I honestly think, than it is the real estate. Yeah, the real estate is more of that byproduct. Yeah, I agree 100%. I think that...

what you really do is you have to be good at working with people, right? Yes, yes. So what would you say, and this kind of leads me into one of my favorite, I'm a little early on it, but might as well get into it. What would you say your superpowers are as it relates to real estate? My superpower, I feel like I'm really good at connecting with people. So once I've been kind of tapping back into the relationship building.

And I really feel like I can kind of get to the heart of what somebody really wants. You know, a lot of times somebody will say one thing, but you can kind of tell that underlying they're saying something else. And I feel like I've always been able to kind of see, like read between the lines as they say, you know, a little bit. And I think that that's really helped in that connection process. And sometimes, you know, gets people out of their own way in reaching a certain goal too. So.

Yeah, so when you connect, you obviously connect with your customers, and that's hugely important. But I find that there's a lot of agents who are also very connected with all the things that a buyer's going to need. Yeah. Like they need work on the house, they have lists for people. Are you that way? Yeah.

I kind of tap into my name being Angie and saying that I have my A -list of recommendations. That way, if they do need somebody in a particular field, that once again, I can be their go -to real estate girl and that girl that they go to, whether it's immediately in that home buying or selling process or whether that's down the line. Sometimes you've just got those questions after everything's finished that you need help with. And I want them to feel like that they can always talk with me about any of that.

Rick Ripma (09:15.854)
So what is your story with your tagline, your go -to real estate girl? I felt like Angie D. Realty just kind of rolled off the tongue a little bit. And so I've always been a little bit into the way things were named when it came to marketing and advertising. So I just wanted everybody to feel like they had a go -to person. And I felt like I'm going to be their go -to girl.

So that's how it kind of got started and it just kind of stuck. And I think I did that maybe within my first 30 days of business, kind of came up with that catchphrase and have just been utilizing it for promotion ever since. Yeah. But you know, I love it, but I like taglines. Yeah, yeah, me too. I'm probably a little biased. But I think it's a great tagline. I think, I was on a call the other day and they were talking about that

that you need to designate yourself because it helps people know who you are. Right. And then, because really, I don't know if you're like me, I want to work with the people that I work well with. Yes. Yeah. I don't want to work with the people that I don't work well with. I want them to find somebody they work well with. Right. Right. Right. And there's plenty of people out there that you and I would work well together with. Right. Or you'd work well with them. I'd work well with. And so it's just finding your right group.

Yes. Yeah. And that's that I think is extremely important. That's what this this whole call was about. Now, let's get a little bit into your I think I think which I can't believe you don't look old enough to have grandkids. But do you actually have grandkids? I do. I do. I have two grandsons and a granddaughter. Wow. Granddaughter is just four months old. And then my middle grandson, he's two and my oldest is six.

Are they like the most special things you've ever had in your life? They are. They tell you how awesome it is to be a grandparent, you know, and you believe them, but you maybe don't believe it all the way until they're here. And it's all the best parts. And then you get to go here, you know, so you get to be the fun one. And, you know, I've just loved it. I tease my my kids. I was like, I think I love being a grandparent more than I did being a parent sometimes.

Rick Ripma (11:32.462)
I think that's a true statement for most people. I only have one grand, I have a granddaughter, but we have a, my youngest has one on the way, so we'll have two here shortly. congrats. Thank you. And it is, it's just easier. Yes, yeah. You're just, you're kind of the fun one. Yes, definitely. Yeah, and we get to be, you know, we get to be, you know.

They love us and everything else, but we don't have to discipline them. They're excited always to see us. We get to do all the fun stuff. You're just at a different phase in your life too, where I think the wisdom that you've maybe gained over the years, that you can share that, even with your kids in that parenting process. I would say the other piece of that is, is because we are a little older, they also wear us out.

I would have to agree with that. I just had all three the other day and I was telling my husband, I was like, I used to do this all the time and not get so tired afterwards. But I was like, they wear me out. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how you do three. Sometimes I don't know because especially on a day when real estate's going crazy and I'm juggling a two year old and a baby and trying to keep the six year old two year old entertained.

But at the same time, you know, take care of the baby too. I was like, how did I do this before? How do you do it? How do you do it with real estate? You just kind of do it, you know. I know that maybe feels like more of a blanket answer, but, you know, you just kind of have to go with the flow and do what the day calls for. Right. You know, and some days are crazier than others because of it. But I've just always tried to take the attitude of looking like everything's always an adventure.

And it can be a day -to -day adventure. It doesn't mean that it's like that great big Mount Everest type adventure. So that's really helped in that going with the flow kind of process. Like even when it's not such a fun day, it's like that was just part of the adventure. Yeah. Yeah. So we kind of touched on it, but how did you get into real estate? What was it that you thought

Rick Ripma (13:44.11)
all of a sudden, okay, I'm gonna be a real estate agent, because it takes a lot of work to become an agent. Yeah, after 23 years of being in an in -home party business, where that was, that I had spent a predominant amount of my time, really thought that that was what I was gonna be doing for the rest of my life, to be quite honest. And I got to a phase in my life where I was like, okay, this just isn't what I want anymore. And that led me into the Angie the Auction Hunter business.

That made a really great side business, but it didn't really make a good, that was gonna be my main source of income, put it that way. And just being at those estate sales, other people, I guess maybe knowing my personality also was like, you would just make a great realtor. So I tease everybody else talked me into getting into real estate and I'm glad they did because I definitely love being a realtor. I think it's very interesting because I'll

There's so many people who I've talked to who, it wasn't that they meant to become a real estate agent. Like I didn't mean to become, get in the mortgage business. I was a new home sales and I was working for a builder and it just kind of happened. The guy that I came in with, he was bringing in a new bank and he wanted me to come work for him and I was in between, I'd left the builder and I was like, okay, you know. I'll give this a try. I really would.

I'm thinking I'm still looking for a job in real estate, in new home sales, but I'll do this. And I loved it. And that's what I find with real estate agents. They get in and they love it. Yeah, yeah. Like I said, I didn't know this is what I was going to be doing, but the minute that I did, I hit the ground running because honestly, I got in right before COVID happened.

I graduated real estate school in June of 2019. So really, literally just had to learn. It was like swim girl swim. It was like you're being thrown into a pool and everything that happened to the real estate market during that time. But it was also a great time for me to start because it really helped to propel my real estate career. Yeah. So let's talk about that a little bit. Before we do, if somebody says,

Rick Ripma (16:05.998)
I wanna get a hold of her. I want Angie to help me with my buying or selling. What is the best way for someone to get a hold of you? They can, I always say I'm only a phone call, an email or website away. So I wanna be sure everybody always has their go -to girl stored in their phone.

so that you literally can give me a call, send me that text. angdreality at gmail .com, you know, to be able to email me. And I'm a part, of course, of the Indiana Gold Group and our website. You can contact me, reach me directly through there too. And that's indianagoldgroup .com? Mm -hmm, yep. Okay, it's the spell of the entire Indiana. Yes, -huh.

IndianaGoldGroup .com. Yeah. And to get a hold of me, go to HardWorkingMortgageGuys .com. That's HardWorkingMortgageGuys .com if you have any mortgage questions. Or you can give me a call, but I can never remember my number. It's 463 -223 -9592. I know that sounds like a weird code, but it's the new Carmel area code. And I couldn't get the 317. I didn't know that. Yeah, it's bizarre.

Well, we ran out of numbers. Right. With all the cell phones and everything, we ran out of numbers. Okay, so let's talk about your, you got into the business and you got in in 2020. You've done phenomenally well. It's a tough business to get going in. So how did you get going? What did you do? What was your process to get your business off the ground?

Well, honestly, being in the sales industry, I guess for 23 years, I was very, very fortunate that I had built up a clientele from that business and predominantly a lot of my clients from that business became real estate clients. And then I utilized social media a ton.

Rick Ripma (17:57.806)
I tease, I never mind even being a bit dorky on video just to grab your attention. But I feel like in those moments, people connect with you as well too. So it always circles back to connection. I just wanna make as many points of contact feel like that you always know me. Even if you don't know me, I feel like I want you to know me. So I try to be an open book in that way, but I feel like that that's what has initiated those connections.

and then referrals, you know? So those connections led to other connections, led to other connections. And so I've just been really blessed to stay consistent in this business from the start. Yeah, it's remarkable because a lot of people really struggle. What is it? Like 80, 90 percent, I think it's 90 percent real estate agents. And in business hall, I had one of the real estate coaches on. He was a real estate agent, became a real estate coach. And it's like, yeah, it's Rick.

It's real estate, but it's also every business. 90 % of them within five years, they're gone. And it's when somebody does well, especially from the start, they did something and you were able to get going. You said you already had kind of a built -in clientele. But I hear that a lot from people when they're getting in the business and yet they don't really benefit by that because my thought has always been,

They have to remember, they know you as what you were, they don't know you as a real estate agent. So what did you do to make sure that they knew what you did? They knew who you were, they knew you were a real estate agent. So when they thought of real estate, they thought of Angie. I did a lot of reach outs in that early phase of just getting started, letting people know that, hey, I know that you've known me as this before, and I hope that that trust and the relationship that we built.

during that time is gonna carry over so that you know that you can trust me with, you know, that biggest purchase often times in somebody's life is their home. So I was able to create that trust early on and just really reached out to everybody that I knew, whether that was, you know, via a phone call, a text, you know, I did a lot of newsletters in my previous business. So I definitely utilized that platform to spread the word, you know, to.

Rick Ripma (20:20.686)
and just did everything I thought I could to get the word out, to make those connections again. And, you know, one thing just kind of like led to another in the way of those referrals. And so I've just been able to keep that momentum going since then. So what was your view on that? And there's a lot of people, and I know yours is going to be different. There's a lot of people who will tell me,

Well, you know, I don't really want to, I don't really want to, I'd bother anybody. I don't, you know, they don't want to tell anybody what they're doing now or bother them or, so you obviously don't look at that as an issue. And I think it would help people to understand why, you know, what, how do you look at it so that they, maybe they can look at it that way. I definitely don't want to ever look at something like I'm being a bother to somebody, but I, I feel like that if you don't.

let them know they're not going to know. I mean, I know that sounds very, very basic, but I've just never really worried about, I don't know if that's a bad thing. I'm never really worried about like bothering somebody per se, because to me, I've just kind of warmed things up a little bit in that process of making that introduction. So even if they're gonna pick somebody else, that's okay too, but at least you knew

about me and you knew, you know, what I was doing as a realtor, what I was able to, you know, do to kind of like help you out. So I guess I just maybe take a different perspective on it and makes me a little less intimidated to make that approach. Yeah. The reason I asked that, I really didn't even want to tell you what other people, how they look at it, because the reality is, is here's what I got. Number one, you work.

You went ahead and you called and you text and you emailed and you did what you had to do to get your information out there. You look at it as you're not a bother. You're actually, they know you, they like you. They already trust you. That's the other thing. You show a lot about who you are and why somebody should work with you when you change an industry and those people who knew you from the old industry work with you in the new industry because there's already trust there.

Rick Ripma (22:42.062)
Right? I hear new agents getting in. Well, you know, I'm new, so nobody's gonna... No, that's not true. They just have... My niece was a teacher and is out in North Carolina. And she went into real estate and she said, I couldn't believe how many of the students' parents used me. Yeah. Because she's a really kind -hearted, very good, genuine person, which I feel you are too. Yeah.

And when people know that, you resonate with them. They worked with you before, because the reality is they worked with you before because they liked you. Right, right. Hopefully, yeah. That's why they work. Most people don't work with somebody they don't like. They work with somebody because they like them. They like them, they trust them. They feel if you don't trust them, you aren't going to work with them. If you don't like them, you aren't going to work with them. So they're working with you. So anybody knowing that, as long as they resonate with you, you're the right person.

That's what's gonna happen. They're gonna like working with you because you're somebody who cares about your customer and you really take care of your customer and you watch out for them. And obviously you know how to negotiate because you did auctions all the time. That's a huge deal. That did help out a lot in the industry for sure. I would think so. So I think I'll go to the, whoops, I think I'll go to the question of the week. Okay.

I asked this same question we ask everybody for the question of the week, and that is, and it's tough, what was your first car? First car my grandparents actually gave to me when they went to purchase their next vehicle, and it was a white Caprice Classic with red interior. And I guess I mentioned that red interior because I remember that I had to put like thumb tacks up in the...

the material just to keep it up or it was like drooping down as you were trying to drive. You know, I think one windshield wiper worked one day like that. You know, it had its all different quirks, but and it was a boat, you know, back in the day. Yeah, those are big cars. But yes, that was that was my first car. And, you know, it's funny, you know, now you look back, it's like, I wish I would have hung on to that. I know, because probably would have been worth some money now. But yeah, yeah, that was my first car.

Rick Ripma (25:05.358)
That first car, for a lot of people, some people don't care at all. But other people, it's like, yeah, that first car has great sentimental value, much more value than the car actually has. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I think it's just, you know, when you first get your license and you're able to drive, and so that's special in and of itself. And then that creates that memory with that first car. And it's all those like first, you know, I drove here first time memory. Yeah. If I remember correctly, you're kind of a car person or not?

My husband a little bit more so. I tease he's still got his teenage car so he has a 1979 Trans Am T -Tops. I envy people who are smart enough to hold on to that. I had a 69 Corvette. wow. I got rid of it and what a dummy. I wish I had it today.

Yeah. Yeah. And his is a 79, 79 Trans Am. Trans Am. What color? That midnight blue. that's beautiful. Yeah. And blue person. If you can't tell. Yeah. Yeah. T tops. Yeah. Yeah. That's just had it out the other day. That's a beautiful car. Does it still run well? It does. That's one of the things I like about the newer, like the newer old cars. Yes. OK. 79, you had a car that was probably going to start when you got in it.

It was probably going to run. It probably wasn't going to have any problems when you drove it. Right. Like today we get in a car and I mean, if it breaks down, it's like what in the world just happened? They don't break. I T sometimes the more technology just, you know, makes things more difficult. Sometimes the simpler something is, the better it is. We can fix it. Yeah. The 79s you can fix the 69s you give it, but the 69. And I've had other cars in that age or even older, but you know, when you went out to that car,

and got in it, you really never knew if it was going to start. True. It started most of the time. Right. But not like today. Today, it's like, if it doesn't start, it's like, what in the world? Yeah. It's usually because, like, my wife's truck won't start. It's like, well, have you heard the battery going dead or in debt or as you try to start it? Well, I did.

Rick Ripma (27:17.614)
Okay, well that would be a good time to tell me. Before it goes down, let's get a battery replaced, right? I'm guilty of like my husband, so what sound was it making? And then, you know, I'm trying to imitate the sound and I'm sure it's like not resonating with what it is at all. My son calls me when they're coming back from IU, they went to school. He calls me and he says, hey dad, my car's making a funny noise. What's wrong with it? It's broken.

I can give you just as much information as you gave me. You just gave me. So it's just how people are. It just is. So I love to hear stories of your business. So tell us a story of maybe the most interesting deal you were in. I mean, there's always something, people have something that's just been

Some of them are really, some people won't tell them on air, you know, because of things that happen. But just, you know, good, bad. What would you say? You know, I feel like, oddly enough, sometimes it's the harder transactions that stick with you the most, but in a positive way, because to me, with every transaction, you know, you learn something that benefits you in one way or another with the next one.

But sometimes those difficult ones make you have to get creative, you know, think outside of the box. But you know, you can tap into that in the future. You have somebody that's maybe in a similar predicament or whatever, you know, that issue was that you overcame, you know, and you can tap back into, hey, you know, maybe this would work for this scenario because it worked then.

or it does give you that knowledge to kind of tap into from what you learned from that that you just didn't know before that transaction. So I guess maybe that's why I try to put that positive spin even on those more difficult transactions. Cause if you can just, somebody taught me that many, many years ago, say, what can I learn from this? You know, even in the most difficult, crazy scenario, what is this trying to teach me? And so when you look at it from that perspective, it just really,

Rick Ripma (29:34.126)
helps, I think, in future situations for that reason. Yeah, I think it does. So that kind of leads me to the next question. I know most successful people, especially real estate agents, but most successful people have mentors. Yes. So who are your mentors, and what would you say, maybe one, two, three things that they've really helped you with?

I have honestly been with the same mentor. So we got started with Remax, transferred from Remax over to FC Tucker in just in January. My mentor launched Indiana Gold Group, so new as of this year. I think, you know, once again, even kind of with what we just talked about, about resilience and about like, what can you learn from a situation?

She was definitely helpful always in those processes. It's always been nice that if you ever had something that you had a question with that I was able to go to my mentor, she's just truly helped me every step of the way. I don't know if I would be the realtor that I am today without that really strong base that I was able to forge in that relationship with her. So were you on her team with, was it Remax?

Yes. Well, technically, technically, I started with EXP and switched over to Remax from there and was with FC Tucker for just a little over a year. And then this January is when we launched Indiana Gold Group. OK. And that's that's all that's all its own. It's not connected to anybody. So Indiana Gold Group. And why did you guys decide to do that? We wanted to create kind of a boutique type of feel.

where it was more specialized that we were able to provide a service for our clients that sometimes I think when you are working for a bigger name and have the red tape that you sometimes can in those type of situations and you were able to create what you've always wanted to create but maybe couldn't for one reason or another.

Rick Ripma (31:49.838)
So I feel like what we've created is all the best parts of those things and really specialized. And I feel like maybe because we are a smaller boutique kind of a company that we can be a little bit more detailed with the service that we provide. You don't get lost in the shuffle at all. For sure. So why, if somebody's listening, why should they use you? What do you think sets you and your

and the Indiana Gold team apart from there's a lot of offerings out there. So, yeah, yeah. I definitely think that we tap into marketing very, very heavily, both, you know, just marketing in general and on a social media level. I think we do a lot of little touches that set ourselves apart.

I'm always trying to put a fun spin on things. And I think that grabs attention for listings. They get everything sold quickly. I really work with my clients to create a strategy, kind of building up to before we're even going to launch the home. So, like yesterday, I was doing videos and meeting the photographer and doing different things so that I can prepare.

for that launch date. So I think it's all those little things that you do behind the scenes that people don't even see that happens in real estate a lot. Explain launch date so people understand what you're talking about. So when a listing is gonna go live, I kind of call that it's launch date. So, you know, anytime you're gonna launch something, you wanna do all those little steps behind the scenes to make it a big launch, you know, like in a way.

I don't want listings to kind of get lost in the shuffle. I want to set us apart. So yeah, and I think. Now I've been I've been in and around real estate for 40 years, and I think that the. Maybe most people don't understand if seller doesn't understand how valuable, how valuable and how important it is to have somebody who understands and is good at marketing their home. Yeah.

Rick Ripma (34:04.078)
When I was at a new home builder, there was an agent who would list our houses, not the only one, there'd be others. But for some reason, his houses always sold, whatever he listed sold and sold right away. It just didn't sit. And I asked him one day, I said, so what do you do? And he said, well, I know all these agents and before I ever listed, he does what you do, he does a launch. And the launch is you're actually,

When you see the launch, there was a lot of work that went into it before the launch. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. So, and that'd be something if you, if you wanted to come back, we could talk about how you do a launch. That would be interesting to people. the, but, but it's important that you have somebody who does that. And I think it's also, it's, it's, you, you have, you have the marketing and I think, you know, you, you obviously have the knowledge, but you also have a, the mentors and the team.

to make sure if there's anything that comes up, my guess is you have somebody who can help you. Yes, yeah, yeah. You don't miss much. No, no. And that's why our catchphrase for Indiana Gold Group is hashtag from gold to sold. Because we feel like we want to put that gold touch on everything that we do and get you sold quickly. Now, do you mostly work with sellers or do you mostly work with buyers or is it pretty mixed?

honest to say it's almost about a 50 -50 split. Of course, when I first got started, it was a little bit more buyers than it was sellers. And over my real estate career, more and more listings every year to the point now. Honestly, this year, I guess if I'm really thinking about it, I've had more sellers than buyers. So yeah, starting to maybe see a little bit more of like a 60 -40 split. Yeah. Okay. So with a

With a buyer, are you with the new laws that have changed? Are you seeing anything different coming down the pike working with with other than some of the paperwork? I was just thinking about that the other day, and I was kind of thinking of the Friends episode where they had to move the couch and they were like, pivot, pivot, pivot. I feel like that that's what we have to do. You know, things are always changing, whether it's this.

Rick Ripma (36:25.166)
you know, that's getting ready to change really even in the five years that I've done in, you know, real estate. There's been a lot of different changes. And so you just have to be like a chameleon and adapt and change. And there's always a way to get things done. It's just what how are we going to get there? And sometimes you have to pivot and find a slightly different work around, you know, to make things happen. But you still make things happen. You know. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's important that people

understand, a buyer understands the value of a real estate agent in their process. So what would you say, what do you see as the biggest, maybe three values that a professional guru real estate agent brings to them when they're looking to buy a home?

Obviously, you bring knowledge, you know, because a lot of times, whether it is a first time buyer, even somebody that has purchased before, things have changed, you know, within the market. So you want that realtor to be super knowledgeable, not even just in real estate itself, but what is happening, you know, in the market, what trends are getting ready to make shifts and pivots, and is that realtor staying on top of that?

So I think that's super important. I think it's also, it goes back to maybe when we were originally chatting and sometimes really listening to people, because people sometimes say they want one thing and then in those conversations you find out that there's even more underlying, even more important things. And if you get to the heart of those things, I want that client to feel truly happy with that decision that they made and that purchase that they've made.

So I want them to be very, very educated, like in that process, you know, as well too, which kind of goes back into the knowledge. And then I want, you know, them to know that I am their go -to person, but that I'm always there, you know, because in this market, you know, a house can be on the market and be gone that quickly. You want to know that you can pick up the phone and your go -to girl is there.

Rick Ripma (38:36.974)
So I make sure that my clients know that I'm always available. I'm only a phone call and email our website away. And if for any reason I can't take your call, I always get back with you within typically just a couple hours or less, honestly. Yeah. Unless it's two o 'clock in the morning. Well, yeah. Yeah.

I've had a few of those calls. I think the earliest one that I got one time was like at four o 'clock in the morning. I was like, I am not ready to do real estate. No, my hair isn't ready. Mine would be. I have not had coffee yet at this point. But I think that's, you know, I had somebody tell me, he says, he said, yeah, my phone is always available. Yeah. Which is true.

I may not be, but my phone's available. And nobody who calls you, most people who call you at four o 'clock in the morning aren't gonna really expect you to be available. So you should be fine. So if somebody's out there listening and they go, I wanna work with Angie, what is the best way for them to get ahold of you? To give me a call or text at 317 -902 -5244 angedereality at gmail .com and

I do a lot of communication even on Facebook, I would say. Out of all the social media platforms that I utilize, that's probably the one that I use the most. So I do have clients kind of reach me on the private message, I guess as you call it. Yeah, on here. I find that it's difficult in business now because you can get a text on your phone, you can get a message from one of your...

social media sites, you can get an email, you may have more than one email address. It's like you can get a call, you can get a call from, I think I looked, I have like six different numbers. I keep getting different numbers, I don't know why. No wonder they're running out of numbers. I keep getting. I think I've had the same number ever since I first got a cell phone to tell you the truth. Somehow I've hung on to the same number. I have the same cell number. yeah. But I have.

Rick Ripma (40:35.918)
all these other numbers, like I have follow -up systems, CRMs, and all those. Now because of the internet, you can have internet lines. And so, and then it's like, okay. And I try to separate, because everything comes to my cell phone anyway, I try to separate my cell phone out of it, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right, but I just know it's - It's ever -changing. It is ever -changing. You just gotta figure it out. So -

To get ahold of me, that's Rick Rippman, your hardworking mortgage guy. Go to hardworkingmortgageguys .com. That's hardworkingmortgageguys .com. Or you can give me a call and again, I'm gonna have to look at it. I always wanna say 317 -463 -223 -9592, 463 -223 -9592. And any last minute something you'd like to talk about or go over or do you feel like we've covered everything?

Hopefully we've covered everything, but once again, if I haven't and you have a question, just reach out to your go -to girl and hopefully I will be able to give you the answer. And if not, I will tell you that I will find out the answer for you. It's Angie Summerlot and it's Summer, L -O -T. Yeah, lots of summer. I tell people to remember that way. It's a long name, but an easy name. Right, right. Yeah, I got a short name, but it just confuses people. So that's just the way it is.

Thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. You are a phenomenal agent, great person. Thank you. And we really do appreciate you coming and joining us. Thank you. Branch NMLS number 33041. Rick Ritman's NMLS number 664589. E .N .A. Arnold's NMLS number is 199 -5469. Equal housing opportunity. Some restrictions apply.