Real Estate Transaction Coordinator with Kayla DeBoard

This is episode number 208 of The Homeowner Show. Whether you're DIY or looking to hire, we're here to help you find the best information and options for you and your home. My name is Kevin Hackett, and here with me is Craig Williams.

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to The Homeowner Show. We're so glad you could join us for another live episode here in the studio. What's happening, Kev?

Man, I'm just glad to be here. But, um, we got a really great episode tonight.

Yep.

We're gonna talk about something that I have no idea what it is.

I didn't even know it existed.

Me either. I'm pretty excited.

I'm actually excited to know that it does exist.

Yeah, it's— I think it's a great thing. So with further ado—

Without.

Oh, without. Yeah, further ado. I thought we were going to talk about something else first.

No, no one cares. No one cares.

So let's bring on our guest.

Could be the rudest thing you could say. With further ado, because I have more boring things to say.

That's right.

Not everyone's sleepy enough.

Well, we have on the show tonight Kayla DeBoard. I'm gonna let you—

Did he say that right?

Yes, he did.

That is impressive, Kevin.

How about that?

And it's funny because I don't ever go by Kayla DeBoard. I go by Kayla Marie. But you asked me my name when we got on, so I gave it to you.

There you go.

Well, which is it going to be tonight?

It's Kayla Marie. All right.

All right, good deal. Well, tell us about you and tell us about what you do.

So, um, I own a company called Your TC Girl. There's a bug on me. Um, so I own a company called Your TC Girl, which is a transaction coordinator agency. So we at the agency, um, a transaction coordinator's job is to assist a real estate agent. So we are a third party in the transaction as well, but we work directly with whether it's the buyer's agent or the seller's agent, whatever your agent is doing, that particular agent, my client. And our job is to make sure that that transaction goes from contract of execution all the way to closing as smooth as possible.

Okay.

So we, um, Keep up with all the contingent dates, because in a contract there are tons of contingent dates.

I mean, I remember in the last sale that I went through, I got an email. These are the dates. And those are the last time I looked at those. Yeah.

Which, if you're selling your home, it's not that big of a deal. It's more on the buyer side, because the buyers, you have your option period, you have your loan contingency. So you have to have your loan approved by that date. You have your close date. You have, when is that survey due by? When do you have to have your inspections done? Like, there's a lot of contingent dates and most of them are for that buyer. So if you have a busy agent out there growing their company and being the rockstar, growing the face of their business, it's hard to do both.

Yeah.

To be in the front end and make sure that everything's being done because there might be some negotiating going back and forth, and then you finally get it negotiated and you have to send documents right then and there. But if you're driving down the road and it's 4 o'clock and your option ends in an hour, you have to pull over on the side of the road, right? So if you have a transaction coordinator, that's when she has already told you way ahead of time, it's getting down to the nitty-gritty, we need to have this done now, right? And it's 4:59 and you get that signature and you get Then, so it's like, you not only

have to send these documents, once your client signs, you have to make sure the other client signs, and then you have to get all this paperwork to the lender and the title company.

Yeah.

And everybody needs to have the final documents. So a transaction coordinator comes in and she makes sure that if the title company's requesting any documents, the lender is requiring any documents, that you can get those taken care of by all parties and then returned in a timely manner. Versus if an agent is out and doesn't get home till 8 o'clock at night, She doesn't want to sit at the table sending documents, getting signatures, and then sending emails. So it, it really saves the agent time so they can go out and do what they do best, which is sell. And then it makes their commission check so much more valuable because they didn't have to spend those extra 10 hours per transaction

communicating and sending documents.

Yeah. Is, is this something that most real estate agents do? take advantage of?

Yeah. I mean, I was gonna ask a similar question, but I'm gonna ask you a different way. How—

Well, I asked how first.

Too late. Like, what percentage of real estate agents do you think actually use a service like this?

Not very many.

Okay.

Not very many. A lot of agents don't understand exactly what a TC does.

Okay.

A TC, transaction coordinator. And they'll say, oh, well, my broker has one. Well, the broker, the difference between an in-house transaction coordinator and an independent, which is like myself, I work strictly for that agent. I have a carrot in front of me, which is your close date, because I don't get paid till that file closes, versus an in-house is usually paid by salary.

Okay.

And they work for the broker, not the agent.

Ah.

So their main thing is to make sure that that agent is compliant, which is a thing that I do for them. I upload all their documents to their broker site for compliance. But I help make things run smoothly so we can get to that end goal.

So is there a— is there ever a broker that's like, my agents don't work with a TC? Or is that something that a— that an agent has complete control over with their license? They can do whatever outside of the brokerage, but the brokerage can only restrict these types of things. I know there's some weird things there.

There's some— no, there's some agents that try to be TCs, and that's where you get into some touchy water because that agent is represented by that brokerage. And if you're being a TC for other people, it gets a little sticky. But I've never had a broker say that you cannot use a TC. Um, but there are brokers that have an in-house TC and they say you have to use our TC and they make them pay for them. Oh wow.

Yeah, I mean, I think it's not fair. Well, it's not. I think that one of the things that I like about what you're saying is it really helps a realtor be much more efficient. And because you're right, I mean, good realtors are good salespeople.

Yeah.

And they may not be great at paperwork or they may not be good at certain types of time management, which is nothing bad against them. They're great at understanding their client, getting a relationship put together and knowing, like, I'll tell you right now, Our— my, my realtor, um, I, I love her to death. I mean, she's a friend. And— but she knows us so well. She sold us 2 houses now. She knows us so well that whenever she found this house that we're currently living in, she was like, this is probably the one that you're going to get. And we, we hadn't even seen it yet. She just knows us so well. So that— let them do what they do really well and let somebody else do what they do really well. And honestly,

it's, uh, it's kind of this perfect little marriage.

Right.

Sounds like.

Yeah. So, and it's nice because I like that agent to still be the face. So it's like, I might be having the— I like to say I'm an overqualified babysitter because I like to make sure everybody is doing their job and everything's working smoothly. But I want that agent to still pick up the phone once a week and call and say, hey, how's everything going? Is, you know, what can I help with? Is there anything that you don't know what's going on? Just to still keep that connection. But she already knows that everything is being taken care of on the back end.

Yeah, yeah. I, you know, I think that, um, it's almost like outsourcing, right? It's just outsourcing the, the parts of the job that we really don't like. If you're a realtor, I don't really like that part of the job, but it's part of the job, right? You know, so they're just outsourcing it and they can go do what they really want to do.

And a lot of TCs were agents at one time, okay? And they didn't like the selling part. They liked to be behind the computer. They liked it. 'Cause our job as the TC lives off of email templates and checklists. Everything is very organized. I know I can handle, you know, 40 transactions at a time because I have everything labeled. I know exactly when it's due, when the emails have to go out, versus an agent's like, gotta shuffle through everything. I have a software that keeps it all organized for everybody.

Those are, those are just 2 very different personality types. I mean, really good sales realtors are not super organized most of the time, and doesn't necessarily mean that's, um, always the case. But, you know, the Type A personalities probably get really frustrated whenever, you know, the, the buyer is like, I can't make that time that we agreed on yesterday or this morning. And it's like, well, I rearranged my entire schedule for you, and that Type A personality just can't function in those. So if I could just deal with it once it's already done, I can see it's like this perfect little balance.

It really is.

Between everybody.

Yeah, I mean, we, we work all together as a team, and there's so many people involved in a transaction.

Sure.

So to have the TC that's sitting there walking, giving them weekly updates, letting them know where we are, what's going on, and what we're waiting on It's always title. No, I'm just kidding.

Well, so I, I do think that it's important, for probably some homeowners to know that this position exists.

Correct.

So if you call and, and, hey, I need this or I need that. Well, you're not my realtor. It's like, yeah, but I'm working for your realtor, with your realtor, and really for you in many ways as well. So it's probably good to know this is a position that exists. And, well, especially if, like, if your realtor is, like, your cousin Jimmy.

Oh, and you're like, listen, I've known Jimmy since he was 5, right? Like, he's a great guy, but he doesn't know his hand from a hole in the ground. Like, hey Jimmy, do you, do you have a good TC? Yeah, like, just like, you know, nudging him in the right direction, helping the guy out, right? You know, do you have someone to, to handle all this stuff for you?

Exactly.

You know, like, because we were talking about this before the show, like, people always tell you, like, when you get into real estate, you know, make a list of your 100 friends and Yeah. You make them your clients. It's like, they don't wanna be your clients.

No. They don't.

Unless you can impress them and make— show them that you're, you know, maybe, maybe you're not organized, but you have someone to be organized for you.

Yeah. That person becomes the backup. My realtor screwed me, or my realtor was horrible, or they didn't do this, that, or the other. I, I've gotta move on something. So-and-so called me the other day. I'll just go with them.

Yeah.

That's a backup. Yeah.

Or you can go out and say realtor, and they're all gonna come out the woodwork.

Yes.

That does happen.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, well, uh, look, I get— I think we, we've kind of covered a lot of this, uh, and we want to, we want to keep these short. So, uh, how— if, if a realtor is listening, which I know we have a lot of, uh, realtors listening, um, how would they get a hold of you?

So I am Your TC Girl on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and my website is yourtcgirl.com.

Perfect.

Yes.

I love it. Awesome.

Thank you.

Well, uh, thank you for being here. It's been really, really good. We've learned a lot.

I did.

Stuff that we didn't know was even a thing anymore. So yeah. Uh, and everybody listening, thanks for listening.

Yeah.

It's, uh, another Tuesday, right?

You're a realtor, get a TC.

That's right.

You probably need it.

Yeah, this one specifically. Well, thank you, uh, everyone listening and, uh, watching. If you haven't already, go like and subscribe to the podcast. especially on YouTube, do that please. That would be really helpful.

Please.

Until next time, we'll see you later.

See ya.