Unlock the Secrets to Real Estate Success
Rebuilding a real estate career at 55: niche strategies for long-term success
In this episode host Kathy Burns shares a deep, practical story about reinventing a real estate career later in life. She explains how she shifted from financial planning to real estate, carved a profitable niche as a waterfront specialist, and used targeted tactics like phone duty and systematic door-knocking to build momentum. If you’re searching for low-frequency, high-impact strategies such as "how to farm a peninsula territory" or "door-knocking expired listings on waterfront properties," this episode outlines an executable roadmap.
Targeted territory farming and waterfront listing tactics
Learn how to pick a compact geographic farm, focus on the price band that matches local demand, and become the go-to expert for shoreline and lakefront buyers. Kathy describes building a territory map, previewing homes, and tracking listing histories to prioritize homes with motivated sellers. These practical territory-farming tips help you reduce driving costs and increase conversion.
Phone duty, expired listings, and door-knocking systems
Use phone duty to capture leads and win high-value listings. Kathy recounts getting her first million-dollar listing from phone duty and details a two-person expired-listings system. She explains making a local MLS worksheet, qualifying whether sellers had equity or were upside-down, and how regular Saturday canvasses created consistent appointments. This episode is rich with methods for "phone line lead generation for realtors" and "expired listing door-knocking scripts" adapted to modern lead follow-up.
Short sales, multi-lender negotiations, and legal diligence
The episode dives into short-sale certification and negotiating with multiple lenders. Kathy outlines how lender priorities shift—first-mortgage versus second- or third-mortgage—and why that affects transaction timelines. She also highlights due diligence on docks, setbacks, and manmade lake regulations, making this useful for agents working lakefront real estate and "waterfront compliance checklist" searches.
Brokerage choices, partnership dynamics, and collaboration
Kathy shares lessons from switching brokerages, co-founding partnerships, and pivoting into coaching and mentorship roles. The conversation culminates in why eXp changed her business through equity, collaboration, and scalable revenue. If you want to rank for phrases like "benefits of eXp collaboration" or "brokerage fee transparency comparison," this episode provides first-hand perspective.
Takeaways: Focus your farm, systematize outreach, learn short-sale mechanics, prioritize legal diligence for waterfronts, and choose a brokerage that supports collaboration and growth. Subscribe to hear more agent stories, tactics, and mentorship insights for scaling a real estate business.
