How to Build a Dream Team for Real Estate Success (Ep. #5)
Finding good deals is only half the battle
How to Build a Dream Team for Real Estate Success (Ep. #5)
Finding good deals is only half the battle. Building a trustworthy team of agents, escrow officers, and allies is what truly unlocks real estate success. After 45 years in the trenches, I’m sharing hard-won lessons—and a few battle scars.
I’m going to start with agents first. We found it critical to have long-term relationships with three main types:
A good real estate agent
A good escrow agent
A good insurance agent
I’m going to break this topic into two, maybe three episodes—mainly because the stories are enlightening.
As I mentioned in earlier episodes, we were lucky to find, over 20 years ago, a real estate agent I consider one of the best I’ve ever worked with. And I’ve worked with hundreds over my 45 years in real estate. Most were self-serving and mediocre at best.
As in any service industry, there are good ones and bad ones. Real estate is a difficult business. It takes a lot more work than many new agents realize. They are often seduced by the appearance of easy, big money.
I’ve seen agents sit on the sidelines waiting for easy listings or sales—only to die a painful death when times get tough.
I’ve also seen cutthroat behavior fueled by desperation for big commissions.
Examples from Experience
In my early carpentry service days, I got caught up more than once doing repairs on properties in escrow.
Blue-Collar Marc Early 1980s
Real estate agents would reach out to maintenance contractors for repairs needed to close escrow—often promising things they had no control over. If escrow fell apart, many times it wasn’t worth the legal expense to collect your payment.
On the flip side, during slow times, I would solicit agents for this kind of work, offering to wait for payment as long as the job was mostly labor. Once a bill was submitted to escrow, you were likely to get paid at closing.
I put together a group of independent carpenters. I was good at finding jobs; they were good at getting them done. Together, we could tackle just about anything.
The real estate agent we used for the Spanish-style house (from the last episode) saw how efficient we were. She said:
“I will work on lining up deals for you if you give me exclusive representation.”
After doing the math, I agreed. If she could keep deals coming, it would free me up to focus on the work instead of searching.
At first, it worked great. She was a new agent, but she was born and raised in the small, overlooked community we were targeting.
Our success was her success—until she got greedy.
I believe her retired husband planted the idea.
We finished and sold one project. She quickly found another off-market property—an absolute keeper.
One of the real estate classes I took taught a simple formula:
“Sell, sell, keep. Sell, sell, keep.”
It was a no-brainer. We told her to submit a full-price offer.
She came back saying, “You were outbid.” (Odd, since it was off-market!)
Instead, she steered us toward a total teardown—way above our financial ability without bringing in partners.
As Dave Ramsey once said:
“Partnerships can be sinking ships.”
However, I had a great relationship with a client doing income property renovations in another area. He had the resources we needed, and our partnership ended up being long-term and positive. (Dave was wrong—this time!)
This project needed permits, plans, architects, engineers—and lots of patience.
One day, driving past that original duplex we “lost,” I spotted our agent’s husband working in the front yard. Busted!
I said nothing, just shook my head and moved on.
Months of hard work, over-budget stress, and surprises, we finished the new project.
A young couple heard we were about to list it and approached me directly. They wanted it badly and agreed to our asking price.
Luckily, my partner had an active real estate license and handled the transaction, saving us commissions.
Our former agent was furious. She claimed we still had a deal with her.
I simply said:
“I don’t think you want to press this. I know about the duplex.”
Her face turned beet red with embarrassment.
She muttered that her husband had pushed her into it, thinking we could all get rich flipping properties together.
I never worked with her again.
Lesson learned: Never work with people you can’t trust.
Antoinette’s Real Estate License Story
“Late 1980s “dressed for a success”.
Antoinette, my beautiful wife, was an executive secretary—Assistant to the Securities Director at Northrop, later working at Hughes Aircraft on top-secret contracts for fighter jets.
At one point, we were buying and selling several properties a year. Real estate contracts seemed simple enough. So Antoinette got her real estate license.
Her very first client was one of my oldest friends. He gave her specific details on the home he wanted.
She spent hours after work and every weekend searching.
One Sunday, we found the perfect house at an open house.
Antoinette introduced herself to the sitting agent (who was covering for the listing agent). She gave the agent her card and left a message for our friend to come immediately.
He got the message, rushed over, and the sitting agent stole him—convincing him to sign with her instead.
“You’re doing your new agent friend a favor by teaching her a lesson.”
Antoinette’s broker filed a complaint, but our friend begged us not to jeopardize the deal.
Antoinette decided real estate wasn’t the life for her—and quit.
Finding Our Permanent Real Estate Agent
For years after, we worked FSBO (For Sale by Owner). Eventually, we met Vince Grillo—after working with hundreds of agents.
He stood out like a star.
At no time did we ever feel Vince wasn’t acting in our best interests.
More than once, Vince caught issues during due diligence—even at the risk of losing his commission.
He quickly learned exactly what we wanted, never wasting our time with bad deals.
We trusted him so much we’ve made site-unseen offers based on his advice—and never regretted it.
Vince’s loyalty has made us millions.
Today, we won’t do a deal without him involved.
If two agents are already in the mix, Vince works it out. He’s never greedy.
His loyalty has been paid back with ours—over and over.
Lesson:
“Pursue this kind of relationship with a good real estate agent. It could make you millions, too.”
Finding the Right Escrow & Title Insurance Agent
Vince Grillo made sure we also got the best escrow officer:
Greg Kester at Pioneer Title.
Greg carefully reviews closing costs and title reports—spotting questionable charges and potential problems early.
Example 1:
We purchased a 10-unit complex across two city lots.
After closing, we received a substantial utility lien bill that had been undisclosed.
Greg at Pioneer Title made sure it was paid—at no cost to us.
That one event sealed our loyalty to Pioneer Title.
Example 2:
Later, we were pursuing the purchase of a historic Inn that needed major renovation.
Thanks to our strong relationship, Pioneer Title agreed to finance the deal at very favorable terms.
Next Episode
In the next episode, I’ll cover how to find a good accountant and lawyer—and why they are critical members of your team.
Quotes to Ponder
“Early in American history, Americans well understood buying land and waiting for the population to increase was a path to riches.”— Richard Vague
“Balance your thoughts with action.” — Bruce Lee
Stupid Joke to Make You Smile
Why did the house go to therapy? Because it had too many deep-rooted issues from being flipped one too many times!
Fun Fact
Donald Bren (est Net Worth ~$18 billion) Founder of the Irvine Company, Bren owns over 129 million square feet of apartments, offices, and malls. He started with a $10,000 loan in 1958—and now practically owns Orange County. Rumor has it, even his GPS gets tired finding his properties!
Happy Investing,
Blue-Collar Marc
Marc Archambeau, CEO Black Horse Construction Inc. Retired Contractor & Grateful Landlord 45 Years Building, Investing & Managing Real Estate
📧 BlackHorseConstr@earthlink.net