This month, Rick Orr is in the Realtor Partner Spotlight. Rick is a serial tech startup entrepreneur and has been a Realtor/Broker in Austin, TX for 19 years. He is a valued Realtor partner of The Home Inspectors and has been a partner with us for over 3 years. Rick shared his background, advice for new Realtors and home buyers, and why he chooses to partner with The Home Inspectors.
I am based in Austin having lived here since 1995. My firm is Vince Young Realty in partnership with, well, Vince Young the well-known UT and NFL QB. I’ve been selling in Austin and Dallas since 1998. I’ve been working with The Home Inspectors for 3+ years and have had a fantastic experience.
In addition to real estate, I’ve been a startup tech entrepreneur (founded TabbedOut and RealSavvy (sold to Ojo last year) in Austin my entire 20+ year career. As such, most of my real estate clients are local tech entrepreneurs in Austin. I enjoy the negotiations aspect of real estate and the opportunity to work with people to find something that changes their lives. My wife is also a Realtor which allows us to keep everything in balance.
It’s super fun helping buyers and investors land a property. The whole process is fun, especially when competitive. Twenty two years of buying and selling homes alongside raising close to $100M of venture capital for startups has helped me hone the skills necessary to win these types of deals – it is really fun!
I play a lot of golf, enjoy weight training and running for physical activities. I’m also an avid hunter and fisherman. My favorite thing outside of work is my family – wife and two twin daughters.
Focus on your network and your sphere. Don’t get caught up in the online leads game or you will waste a ton of time and money.
Make sure you are working with someone who can handle tough negotiations. Getting a contract is one aspect but the real negotiation comes when you get the Home Inspector report and need to cut more deeply to get the best outcome for your buyer. Conversely, when you get a rough inspection, you need to work with someone very experienced with how to push back where to consider giving on a repair or cost.
I love how easy it is to schedule (and occasionally reschedule) and I have been very impressed with the inspectors themselves. All around, fantastic experience.
It’s a partnership. If I need to help a client win a deal by giving on a shorter option period, I know I can lean on The Home Inspectors to get it done.
Don’t take all of my time slots! Kidding, of course, they have scaled with my business and will scale with yours.
