Women Leaders Of Real Estate: Kris Terrill of Strand Hill On The 5 Things You Need To Succeed In The Real Estate Industry

An Interview With Jason Hartman

Cash is not always king: Cash buyers no longer have the advantage when competition is involved. Sellers are inclined to take a higher offer with a large down payment and a pre-approved loan versus a lower cash offer. In these cases, cash buyers don’t get the discount that cash used to provide.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders of the Real Estate industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kris Terrill, REALTOR® at Strand Hill.

With over 19 years’ experience in the beach cities residential real estate market, Kris brings a wealth of information and expertise to her clients. If you have worked with Kris, you are likely her client for a lifetime as she prides herself in her ability to serve her clients (and their referrals!) in multiple capacities- from their first home to their forever homes. Prior to her real estate career, Kris held corporate management positions in retail store management, gaining strong abilities in site selection, financial analysis and contract negotiation. Her ability to function in a corporate environment, as well as manage 200+ retail stores and employees taught her the all-important lesson of listening to what people want and delivering on that information. Kris is a lifetime resident of Manhattan Beach and specializes in the Beach Cities and Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?

I was working in a corporate retail position which involved a lot of travel. I wanted a career that allowed me to be home more often, but also supplied a lot of variety in my daily routine. Since I worked with the public most of my career, the people aspect was very important to me. Real Estate fit the bill as it was something new every day and had a lot of personal interaction, bringing new people into my life on a daily basis.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

Actually, one of the best stories is from early in my career. I was sitting in my office and a young (and I mean young!) man came into the office and said he wanted to buy a house. As it turned out, he was an 18 year-old entrepreneur who had just sold his company. He’s been a career-long client since then, buying and selling homes with me over the years. He always says that I was the only person who took him seriously when he came in asking about buying. Everyone else just dismissed him. The takeaway? Everyone has an interesting story, so just LISTEN!

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

A lot of my clients are going through transition — empty nesters being a big part. Finding their new “forever” home and leaving the old one takes a lot of patience. Again, listening to their story and figuring out their exciting next step is something I relish.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Strand Hill has an incredible mix of experienced and new agents. That makes legacy an important part of what we do. Helping new agents develop their skills is evidenced by the commitment to training and support in the company.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve been fortunate both in my real estate career and corporate retail career. Prior to going into Real Estate, I worked with a particular person who recognized my potential, and supported my climb up the corporate ladder. I can only hope that I was able to pass on some of that encouragement to those that worked with me in subsequent positions. I started my Real Estate career in an office filled with veteran agents. They gave me time, they gave me opportunity. One agent asked me to go on a listing appointment at the last minute — he had an emergency- and I got the listing. We ended up co-listing and selling the same property together 10 years later! Another agent shared a buyer with me and we had the same scenario five years later. I was given every opportunity to succeed with this great group of mentors.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. The Real Estate industry, like the Veterinarian, Nursing and Public Relations fields, is a women dominated industry. Yet despite this, less than 20 percent of senior positions in Real Estate companies are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what do you think is the cause of this imbalance?

I think part of the issue is women join the residential real estate ranks later in life than men. It’s often a second career. We need to make the career appealing to a younger demographic. You have to have a financial cushion to survive in Real Estate, and I think that holds back a lot of newcomers that would otherwise be successful in working their way to senior positions. For instance, most industries have internship programs to attract college graduates to their companies. Internships are rare in Real Estate.

What 3 things can be done by a) individuals b) companies and/or c) society to support greater gender balance going forward?

It has to be built into the culture of the company from the very beginning. Like my experience when I was new- those around me gave me a leg up. Companies can be more supportive with entry level positions and internships that support learning and growing quality individuals. I think Legacy programs are a great way of doing this; pairing experienced agents nearing the end of their active career, with new agents, eager to learn the business and take on the “book” of business the experienced agent holds.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I think women are required to have a higher degree of preparation and knowledge than their male counterparts in order to be taken seriously.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry?

1. Every day is different.

2. Every transaction is different — even after 21 years!

3. You meet and learn from the variety of people you encounter.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

1. Affordable Housing: I think states and counties have been charged with increasing affordable housing with a one-size fits all ruling. Individual cities should be allowed to generate a plan with accountability built in.
2. Competition from sources outside traditional real estate practice: Real Estate is in a constant flux with new techniques of selling homes — many of which are based on impersonal transactions. Buying and selling a home is an emotional business, and that’s where agents fill the gap. We work with people. Having said that, there is a lot we can do to make ourselves more effective by embracing those advances and incorporating them into our way of doing business.
3. Technology: this ties into #2 — realtors really do need to lead the way in refining the tools available to us to make the buying and selling experience seamless. Right now, it’s a free for all with technology, but there isn’t one application that really addresses what realtors need — they all lack something. I think our associations need to invest resources in developing tools versus buying into them.

You are a “Real Estate Insider”. If you had to advise someone about five non-intuitive things one should know to succeed in the Real Estate industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?

1. People will buy a home without seeing it. This is happening more and more and I think COVID-19 accelerated this practice. As technology improves I think this will become even more common.
2. Cash is not always king: Cash buyers no longer have the advantage when competition is involved. Sellers are inclined to take a higher offer with a large down payment and a pre-approved loan versus a lower cash offer. In these cases, cash buyers don’t get the discount that cash used to provide.
3. Buyer Preferences: Buyers will make a list of features they absolutely have to have, but can fall in love with a home that has few of the must-haves. As much as you customize their search, they’ll ask to see homes with features outside their initial preferences! For instance, a client that wants a one level home fell in love with a three-level home (without an elevator). The reason? A great view, which was prioritized lower than a one level due to health issues!
4. “Bubble Talk”: As markets soar, talk of a bubble bursting grows. But sometimes that bubble takes a long time to pop and prices continue to rise and stabilize at those higher rates. In my market (not all), when the bubble pops, inventory declines rapidly (sellers just remain in place), so prices don’t drop dramatically. Hence, those who wait don’t necessarily reap the benefit of the pop.
5. “Information Overload”- You would think that the more information you can glean about seller motivation, market trends etc., the more prepared you would be to make an offer. But often, subjective information interpreted by the buyer creates a scenario that results in inaction. As a realtor, it is very important to help the client sort between what is actual fact and what is an assumption. A good example is an assumption related to seller motivation- a question buyers are schooled to ask. The only good answer is “very motivated” when considering pricing. Divorce, relocation — all those others come with unknowns you cannot assume will affect price.

Because of your position, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’d love to see us figure out how to incorporate the elderly into our busy lives and take advantage of their life experience, while sharing how to move forward in a rapidly changing world. There is a big disconnect between then and now I wish we could bridge.

How can our readers follow you online?

Okay I admit it, I could do a better job there. I’ll stop posting photos of my dogs on Instagram and get serious! @kristerrill. You can also follow Strand Hill on Facebook @strandhillproperties and on Instagram @strandhillchristies.

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!

About The Author: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of JasonHartman.com, The Hartman Media Company and The Jason Hartman Foundation. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. His company helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind. Jason educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s highly sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his ultra-hot “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.