IAM948- Realty Investor Buys Houses in Baltimore

Steve Groom is a Certified Realty Investor, graduate of Towson University and Investors United School of Real Estate, an author and a life-long Maryland resident. Prior to real estate he worked in Retail Management and Call Center Management. These experiences instilled in him a burning desire – to experience and to provide – superior Customer Service in everything that he does.

• CEO Hack: Work out first thing in the morning
• CEO Nugget: Love what you do
• CEO Defined: Responsibility to help people

Website: https://www.homebuyersmd.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveBuysHousesBaltimore

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[00:00:09.80] – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO podcast.

[00:00:39.20] – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast, and I have an exceptional guest on the show today. I have Steve Groom of Maryland Homebuyer. Steve, it's awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:48.10] – Steve Groom

Thank you very much. Good to be here.

[00:00:50.10] – Gresham Harkless

Definitely. Super excited to have you on. And before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Steve so you can hear about all of the awesome things that he's doing. Steve is a certified realty investor, a graduate of Towson University, an Investor United School of Real Estate, an author, and a lifelong Maryland resident. Before real estate, he worked in retail management and call center management. These experiences instilled in him a burning desire to experience and to provide superior customer service in everything that he does. Steve, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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[00:01:18.50] – Steve Groom

I am. Looking forward to it.

[00:01:20.00] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kinda kick everything off, I want to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you got started. Could you chase through your CEO story whether you get started with all the awesome work you're doing?

[00:01:29.40] – Steve Groom

Well, I think you hit on it a little bit with the bio. I graduated from Towson, and I got into retail management. Was in retail management for a while, and then I got into call center management and inbound call center management. I ran call centers for approximately eight years. And, around two thousand two, I decided that I wanted to, start my own business. It was something that, I'd always, dreamed of and hoped for. And, I thought the situation at work was a good one, to make the change.

And I started in real estate two thousand two and, have done very well. There was a rough patch, for me personally and professionally around two thousand seven, but since two thousand eight, been backed into it full-time. So, love what I do, and that is the main thing. In my opinion, the mon the money is gravy, but you gotta like what you're doing.

[00:02:33.19] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. I think so many times we forget, you know, in life and especially in business too. It's important, of course, to be able to be successful in how we define success. But I think a key part, if not a foundational part that we all should kinda focus on is that fulfillment and making sure that we do in our extremely passionate and feel fulfilled in the work that we're doing regularly.

[00:02:52.69] – Steve Groom

Yeah. I agree. One hundred percent.

[00:02:55.19] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So I know, I touched a little bit on it, when I read your bio. Could you take us through a little bit more on how you serve your clients and what exactly that process looks like?

[00:03:03.30] – Steve Groom

Sure. The perfect client for me would be a homeowner, obviously, in the Baltimore area or around, the Baltimore area. And, they would either have a distressed home or they would be a distressed homeowner. And by that, I mean that I don't deal with the same people that realtors do. Mhmm. The people that have a pretty home in a pretty neighborhood and want full retail price. What we do is we help those folks that have, perhaps a a vacant house or a house that needs a lot of work or an inherited house, those types of things, and they just don't have the time, the money, or the patience to fix it up to please a realtor to sell it on the retail market.

So we buy it as is. No hassles. If there's a lot of stuff in there, they can take what they want, leave it behind leave everything else behind. So we we try to make it as easy as possible for them, to be done with the house. And in most cases, that's what they want. They just wanna be done with the house. It's become a headache. It's become a hassle, and our job is to relieve them of that headache.

[00:04:17.30] – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Yeah. And it sounds like and correct me if I'm wrong, from that distressed property standpoint, it sounds like sometimes people acquire houses or whatever in certain ways, and it becomes more of a burden, I guess, than an opportunity.

[00:04:33.50] – Steve Groom

Yeah. I mean, somebody, for example, said they live in Virginia and they own a home in Baltimore. The home needs work. It's, subject to vandalism because it's vacant. They're paying the property taxes. They're paying for the electricity. It's just it's a pain in the butt for them, and they just wanna be done with it. So they're not necessarily looking for top dollar. They're just looking for, pain relief or, a problem solver. And that's basically why I am the problem solver, for their situation. And I think it's it's a good good, it's a good thing to do for people. Typically, at a closing table, I'm getting, hugs and kisses and tears and things that it makes your day, that you've helped these people to unload this burden.

[00:05:31.19] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And getting that opportunity to create that win-win scenario, where you said and I'm glad you talked about that at the beginning where you said it's not necessarily, you know, you have, I guess, the white picket fence, so to speak, and you have the perfect lawn. Sometimes it's a situation where it is, in fact, that burden and you want to be able to, have an opportunity to move it where you don't necessarily sound like want to invest the time, energy, and resources into it, but you get that opportunity to kind of create that win-win opportunity where you don't have to hold on to it.

[00:06:02.39] – Steve Groom

Right. And that's my objective because one of the things that we try to emphasize is that we're not here to rip you off, we're not here to take advantage of your situation, we're not going to lowball you, we're going to offer you a fair price. It's not gonna be retail. It's not gonna be, a lowball. It's gonna be a fair price for the condition of the house. And in most cases, people are, just happy to move on.

[00:06:26.30] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And so what would you consider to be what I call your secret sauce? The thing you feel kinda sets you or your business apart?

[00:06:33.89] – Steve Groom

The secret sauce, I would say the fact that we buy houses as is without a realtor. It eliminates the fees and the hassles. You know, like I said before, they can leave their stuff behind. Just take what you want, and leave everything behind. We'll take care of it. But they get a fair price and they get a resolution to their situation and they don't have to worry about inspections, and financial contingencies in the contract. They don't have to wait there's no uncertainty. They just they're done with the property, and they're so happy to be done with it.

[00:07:09.10] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I feel like there's, you know, even a lesson within that for us as business owners and entrepreneurs. I think so many times we get so stuck into, like, what exactly we do and there's importance in that. You know, you're not gonna go and call Steve to get pizza or get a hamburger or something like that. You know, there there's a place for that. But I think touching on that pain relief, that, you know, frustration and understanding, like, that human part and what you're truly solving is something that we sometimes forget when we're talking about our products and services or even recognizing the true value that we're providing.

[00:07:41.60] – Steve Groom

Yeah. I think, to add to that, I also like to as long as I screen them properly over the phone, I do like to meet them, because that, for me, is the clincher, not that I'm something special. But they get to meet me. They get to know me a little bit, to trust me, and then there's a bond there, you know, that here's the solution to my problem. Steve can Steve can make this happen. And a lot of times, people won't even call anybody else. You know? Maybe I was the first person they called or maybe, they called off Google, what have you, but they're not even gonna pursue anybody else, because, they feel that I'm gonna treat them right, and I'm gonna get the job done.

[00:08:28.50] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And you get that opportunity when you do have that kind of more one-to-one focused connection to tap into that human aspect to develop those connections and understand how you can, of course, solve those problems. And so, I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

[00:08:50.29] – Steve Groom

I'd like to start the day off right. I get up early, and I try to work out every day, every morning. I typically work out in the morning because if I don't work out in the morning and, and plan it for later in the day, it probably doesn't happen. Right. I'm too tired or I'm too busy, what have you. But if I do it first thing in the morning, and I follow that up with a shake, a protein shake, So I feel like I'm starting the day right. I've got my metabolism burning. The cobwebs are out of my head. Mhmm. The shake is gonna be a very nutritious shake to start the day. And it's it's been pretty effective for me, and I've been doing it for about three years now. It gives me energy throughout the day, and, it helps me, to handle whatever's coming at me.

[00:09:44.60] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. And that's huge. And I think Tony Robbins has this phrase, where he says, to win the day, you have to win the morning. I have a very similar start to my day as well too, where I try to do some type of activity in the morning and then drink that protein shake. And I think what it does as even Tony Robbins said, in the quote, is it starts to repel your day, where you start to have that energy going. We can do those things sometimes at the beginning of the day that you may not want to do later on in the day, but it gives you that energy so you can carry that throughout the day.

[00:10:13.79] – Steve Groom

Exactly. And I think that if the stress level gets, a little high, you're much much better prepared to handle it, if you've, started the day off correctly with a workout and a shake.

[00:10:25.79] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah.

[00:10:26.10] – Steve Groom

At least for me, it's working.

[00:10:28.60] – Gresham Harkless

I would endorse that message as well on my end. It makes a difference because you it it seems to me like, you feel like you have more I don't know if I wanna say control over your morning than you have the rest of your day, but I feel like the day can kinda take hold of you a lot more often. Right. So it becomes a little bit harder to manage and control.

[00:10:46.10] – Steve Groom

Yeah. You can attack the day as opposed to react to the day.

[00:10:49.20] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Or react to the day. I love that. So, I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something if you were to hop into a time machine, you would tell your younger business self.

[00:11:00.50] – Steve Groom

You have to love what you do. That would be my biggest nugget because, for me, I love what I do and it never seems like work. So I can put in a 10:12 hour day, and I'm not thinking of how much time that I'm spending. I'm thinking about my goals and reaching my goals. And if you love what you do, then it doesn't seem like work, and you're not looking at the clock, and you're not waiting for 05:00. So whatever you choose to do, make sure it's something that you love to do.

[00:11:34.39] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And I think so many times, we get into the mindset, and I think that what you said speaks to an abundant mindset because I think so many times we get into the either-or that we have to either be successful or love what we do when in reality you can find both if we think in a different way.

And I love that because it is because in most businesses, probably in life, and I think we're experiencing disruption now, in our lives, there is gonna be something that happens. And I think there are gonna be stresses. There are gonna be ups and downs in our businesses and our lives. So why decide when you have an opportunity to love what you do and be successful at it? So I love that, and I love that mindset that it speaks to.

[00:12:15.60] – Steve Groom

I agree. It feels good to help people make money, but also, to do so while helping people. It doesn't get any better than that.

[00:12:25.29] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And that's evident, in your business and your work. And so I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show show. So Steve, what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:12:40.50] – Steve Groom

It's kinda funny because I'm just getting used to the term. I've been a business owner for a long time and consider myself a business owner, But only recently have I considered myself a CEO because I am a small business, with very few employees. So, I've never really thought about myself as a CEO until recently, but, it's it's funny because, initially, it was all about taking care of the income for me and my family. But now it's when you think about being a CEO of a business, there's a responsibility or a sense of responsibility that comes with that, at least for me, and that is to be someone in the community who helps others and projects an image of a good business, a good person, that helps people.

And sometimes I think about maybe donating some money, but, just the responsibility of being a CEO to me means a responsibility to project a positive image, a positive business image to the public that, hey. You know, they're not they're not out there, you know, screwing people. They're they're taking care of people, and they're good, and they, you know, they donate money and this and that. So I think I think of that, you know, just recently, the term CEO has become more meaningful for me.

[00:14:09.60] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I think we sometimes don't realize, like, the, you know, whether whatever the title we might have or the impact that we have, upon other people's lives. And as you said so well, even our clients and being able to be charitable and find causes that we care about and be able to support those in so many different ways. And when we start to look at our actions and the ripple effect that we have, we start to look at that responsibility word that you say so well and that impact that we can have. And I think that's a phenomenal place to be when we start to really, appreciate and understand and see the gravity of all the actions that we take.

[00:14:43.50] – Steve Groom

Right.

[00:14:44.29] – Gresham Harkless

Well, Steve, I truly appreciate that definition and that perspective, and all the awesome work that you're doing. What I want us to do is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and, of course, how best they can get a hold of you.

[00:14:55.60] – Steve Groom

I would encourage people to visit my website. I think that's something that would help to dispel some myths about what we do as homebuyers, professional homebuyers. There's a lot of misperceptions out there. And, if they went to my website, which we recently redid, there's a tab called how it works.

And it's a very complete explanation as to how we come up with an offer on your house. And it's very, very detailed and shows you exactly how we arrive at the offer price for your house. So I would encourage everybody to check that out. If they need to get in touch with me, my contact information is four 01:06 five seven two five two three, or the website address is w w w dot homebuyers m d dot com.

[00:15:48.50] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Steve. We will have the links and information as well in the show notes so that everybody can get a hold of you. But I appreciate all the work you do, the time you took today, and even that reminder of not thinking either or, but, both and thinking in that abundant mindset. So I appreciate you for doing that, creating those win-win scenarios, and reminding us of how to do that as well. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

[00:16:08.89] – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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