Meet Eric Engelbert of Orange County Real Estate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Engelbert.

Hi Eric, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
I graduated from West Hills High School in Santee, San Diego County. Then, I went to Indiana University with the intent to study psychology and have a career in psychology. After 4 years of school, I had enough. A friend of mine said I could live on his boat in Newport Harbor, so I hung up the phone and drove to Newport. After a year working for Airtouch Cellular, I landed with a mortgage company. I worked my way through 4 different companies, learning about second mortgages, first mortgages, commercial financing, and then private financing. It was the private financing job where I learned the most. One investor in particular taught me how to appraise properties, both residential and commercial. He also taught me how to look at things that could be a problem later, risk assessment. He was investing his money, so he was very conservative and thorough. When I opened my residential real estate sales company, Orange County Real Estate, Inc., I was well-equipped to assess properties for buyers and sellers. Plus, with my background in finance, I was able to help clients navigate the lending process. 

I grew up skateboarding all over San Diego. I loved to explore and experiment. I was often in trouble because I was so curious. The trouble led me to a visit with a psychiatrist. I went kicking and screaming, but I came out of it wanting to do what he did. One of the things I learned from him was how to really listen to people. And the best thing I learned is young children don’t need therapy; their parents do. That’s why I studied psychology at Indiana University. It’s interesting that kids have to choose what they want to do for the rest of their lives at a young age when they have very little experience or even exposure to occupations. If the trouble I was in as a youth led me to go to work for a plumber… 

When I was working for Airtouch Cellular a woman came in to sell life insurance and annuities. No one in the office spoke with her so I went in. Her son was playing soccer for Indiana University, and we had a connection. She told be about a mortgage company where people in their 20’s were doing well and that I should look into it. That’s how my career started in real estate. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I started Orange County Real Estate, Inc. with no residential real estate sales experience. There was a little fear about that in the beginning, but I had a couple of mentors help me get started. I had my broker’s license at that point, but I had to take a crash course on the contracts and learn the legal side of it. 

I don’t have a tech background, but I wanted a website and other technological tools that would help me grow. I spent the first 5 months building my website and then found out I was doing it incorrectly, so I had to go back and fix the mistakes. That was painful. I found myself pecking away at my computer for hours a day. I was used to being outside and on the go. Of course, building a website is a never-ending process. I add content every week. 

My experience in real estate up to that point definitely helped me. The lending background and the ability to see the property’s complete picture and communicate what I saw was a big value to buyers and sellers. Knowing whether or not an obvious problem with the property was as big as a problem the buyers or sellers thought it was. I am very good at discovering and then addressing all the issues appropriately. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Orange County Real Estate, Inc.?
Our biggest assets are the people we work with. Listening is the most important skill for us, and we use it every day. It helps us connect and helps us deliver the expected goal. When we meet with a new client, we are trying to build a picture based on what they are telling us. We try to talk 20% of the time and listen 80% of the time. 

What sets us apart is to truly understand and empathize with our clients so we can address their unique challenges. We take pride in this, and it’s a big part of our brand and our commitment to our client’s success. 

What are your plans for the future?
The real estate industry is at the beginning of some big changes. All around the country, there are lawsuits that home sellers have filed against big brokerages like Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, etc. One of the issues is the lack of transparency. Buyers and Sellers feel they did not completely understand how commissions were paid and the NAR “participation rule.” I wrote about the lawsuits here if you want to look further into it. https://www.ocrealestateinc.com/blog/navigating-legal-landscape-recent-real-estate-lawsuits-california/ . We are ready for changes. We plan to be flexible and adapt any new policies that result from these lawsuits. In the meantime, we will continue to maintain transparency in all of our dealings. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ocrealestateinc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocrealestateinc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ocrealestateinc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-engelbert/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ocrealestateinc