Are you an agent because you want to achieve financial freedom? Real estate can be a great way to do it—if you learn to leverage your commissions. Today’s guest, Michael Banovac, built an impressive net worth by putting his commissions back into his personal real estate portfolio. Listen and learn about the best ways to leverage your real estate knowledge, earnings, and brand to build your net worth fast. Michael also covers ways to win luxury listings, where to focus your time, and who to partner with when developing real estate.
Listen to today’s show and learn:
About Michael Banovac [0:47]
Michael’s start in real estate [3:17]
Buying and renting your first property [7:49]
How to get approved for a home loan as a new real estate agent [11:16]
Tracking your net worth [14:31]
Financial freedom [16:51]
Creating higher margins for less work in real estate [17:54]
Shelby Johnson’s first year in real estate [21:08]
How to get started with luxury listings and real estate development [21:41]
Location, location, location [24:29]
The best way to work the best real estate locations [25:31]
Grant Cardone’s best piece of advice for real estate agents [27:18]
Layers of legitimacy and cultivating your personal brand [28:46]
How to put yourself in the same room as successful people [33:25]
A big benefit to running a podcast [36:10]
Who to partner with when developing luxury properties [37:31]
The riches are in the niches [40:37]
Being selfish to become selfless [42:28]
Changing your mind to change your circumstances [45:38]
Where to find and follow Michael Banovac [46:29]
Michael’s final piece of advice for listeners [48:07]
Michael Banovac
Michael’s expertise encompasses Real Estate, Marketing, and Internet Entrepreneurship. He currently holds an Arizona Real Estate License with The Agency at EXP Realty and is partners with Tarek El Moussa (the star of HGTV’s Flip or Flop & Flipping 101).
He prides himself as the agent of choice for any professional seeking to buy or sell residential real estate in Arizona. In 2007, he was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President George W. Bush.
Related Links and Resources:
It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email.
On Instagram last month, reality television personality Tarek El Moussa posted a video of himself strolling a street in North Hollywood to tell his 1.3 million followers about his new big plans.
El Moussa co-hosts a real estate show on HGTV called “The Flipping El Moussas” with his wife, Heather, who is also a cast member on Netflix’s “Selling Sunset.” El Moussa shared that he had just finished walking the nearby property where the couple is developing a “super cool, super modern” 138-unit apartment complex with a rooftop pool.
“We got so lucky to find this land,” El Moussa said. “Because finding land like this in North Hollywood, it’s literally impossible.”
Advertisement
El Moussa left out of the video why a lot like this was available in the first place. Just a week before, the current property owner was convicted in federal court of hiring someone to set fire to vacant units on the site, an arson that tenants say was part of a years-long illegal harassment campaign to force them to leave.
Now the El Moussas are evicting the five remaining tenants, who all are in rent-controlled units. The residents worry about their future in L.A.’s sky-high rental market and believe they should be compensated for the turmoil they’ve gone through.
“It’s been my home for 40 years,” said Cathy Livas, 77, who pays $824 a month to live in a dingbat unit with her 56-year-old son with special needs. “Why would I want to live anywhere else? Do you know the price of rents?”
Livas and other tenants said they’d be willing to negotiate a buyout but believe it should be far in excess of the up to $25,000 required under the law given that their outgoing landlord, ArthurAslanian, tried to burn them out of their homes and otherwise illegally force them to go.
In a presentation to investors, the El Moussas project that after five years they’ll be able to sell the apartment complex for $26 million more than what it costs to acquire the property and build the development.
Advertisement
“Pay us to leave,” said Clare Letmon, 32, who lives in a bungalow with her husband, Jonpaul Rodriguez, 35. “But pay us an amount of money that’s dignified and recognizes the profit they’re set to make off of everything that was done to us.”
Neither Tarek nor Heather El Moussa could be reached for comment. In an emailed statement, Eda Kalkay, the El Moussas’ public relations representative, said that the El Moussas recognize the property owner is involved in “several serious legal matters” but that the couple and other development partners will have no affiliation with them once the sale of the property is finished.
“The goal is to work closely and respectfully with the current tenants by providing proper move-out compensation and constructing a safe and pristine new apartment complex that will also include 14 low-income units,” the statement said.
The property, made up of multiple lots, currently houses 10 bungalows, five dingbat apartments, a single-family home and 6-foot-tall weeds growing next to the burned-out structures.
The horrors of living there began years ago when tenants said Aslanian started ripping out the walls of their units, exposing them to asbestos, mold and vermin and retaliated against them when they complained or pushed for repairs.
In February 2022, Aslanian promised to pay someone $2,000 to set fire to the property, federal prosecutors said. Using a borrowed gas canister and a hotplate, only the outside of a building was scorched. The next month, a second fire, prosecutors said, was started by another co-conspirator, burning two of the vacant bungalow units.
Prosecutors said Aslanian’s arson campaign was designed to force the tenants out, and most of the residents have left the property. Aslanian secured approval for the new 138-unit project within months of the fires.
“Those permits exist because of everything Arthur did,” Letmon said. “The building was almost vacant because of everything Arthur did.”
Aslanian was convicted of three charges related to the fires last month in addition to multiple charges for conspiring with his employee to hire a hitman to kill two men — one who opposed him in litigation and the other who represented one of his companies in bankruptcy.
Letmon and Rodriguez’s rent is $1,650 a month, but they’ve stopped paying, saying they refuse to give money to a landlord who set their home on fire.
Some previous tenants sued Aslanian over conditions at the property and have received a settlement for an undisclosed amount. The current tenants have a pending lawsuit against him.
But conditions at the property remain dire. The burnt-out bungalows are boarded up, and tenants say they’re still unsafe. Vacant units in the dingbat have broken windows. A tree next to Livas’ unit is overgrown.
A new development group called NoHo 138, which includes the El Moussas, took over the project earlier this year. Representatives of the developers, though not the El Moussas, met with tenants in the winter. The El Moussas began to advertise the apartment plan to investors.
In a video posted to YouTube in May, Tarek El Moussa, whose first real estate reality show was called “Flip or Flop,” stood outside the property touting it as “my biggest flip ever.”
“I am more excited about this thing than anything I’ve ever done in my life,” El Moussa said.
The tenants received their eviction notices in late June. They have become even more alarmed as the El Moussas ramped up their investment campaign.
On Instagram, the El Moussas promoted the development opportunity using a fire emoji, something Letmon and Rodriguez said was insensitive given the arson. Tarek El Moussa said that they planned to break ground “in a few months.” Under the law, tenants 62 or older can remain in their apartments for a year before getting evicted.
“My year isn’t up until June next year, so I don’t know how they’re going to build with me here,” Livas said.
Kalkay, the El Moussas’ spokesperson, said Tarek filmed the video that promised an early groundbreaking before he knew the full context of the tenants’ situation with Aslanian, and the developers will follow all provisions of eviction law. She added that El Moussa meant no offense with the fire emoji.
“Anyone that follows Tarek would know that he is a fan of using emojis on social media,” Kalkay said in response to emailed questions from The Times. “By no means was he making any insinuation or mockery of the tenants’ past experience with the seller.”
Letmon and Rodriguez have tried to track the El Moussas’ promotion for the development. They said it’s been difficult to watch the couple talk about their expensive vacations and advertise that their investors will get invitations to exclusive yacht parties with them.
“It’s an insult when I know he’s spending his summer in the Hamptons and in Cabo and he can’t make time for tenants whose displacement is enabling ‘the biggest flip of his life,’” Letmon said.
Letmon and Rodriguez also have begun posting about their plight on social media, tagging El Moussa on Instagram and asking to meet with him in person.
“Real smart…Keep offending someone that is trying to help you,” El Moussa responded in a July 12 direct message Rodriguez shared with The Times.
Kalkay said that El Moussa is the one being harassed.
“Regardless of the alarming personal attacks sent to Tarek El Moussa and his family via social media DM, he continues to remain sensitive to the situation of the tenants,” she said.
Kalkay added that other development partners plan to continue contacting the tenants and have already reached out to the tenants’ attorney in the hopes of continuing negotiations over their departure.
“As just one of the partners that make up NoHo 138, Tarek’s role is to work on other areas of this deal, but the appropriate people managing this area intend to meet with all tenants,” Kalkay said.
Times staff writers Noah Goldberg and Salvador Hernandez contributed to this report.
Christina Hall is a woman of many names. Forget the multiverse, we’re talking multi-monikers.
We first made her acquaintance back in 2013 when she was known as Christina El-Moussa. A decade ago, she likely had aspirations of stardom with the launch of “Flip or Flop” on HGTV, but nothing could have prepared her for the fame—and tabloid headlines—ahead.
Her show with then-husband Tarek El-Moussa became a hit, but their relationship deteriorated. The couple separated in 2016 and divorced in 2017. She quickly rebounded into a relationship with British TV host Ant Anstead and the duo were married in late 2018. The former Mrs. El-Moussa took Ant’s name and became Christina Anstead.
But after just 21 months of marriage and one child, she announced her separation from Anstead. In late 2020, after filing for divorce, she announced that she would be now known as Christina Haack—her maiden name.
Her backtrack to Haack lasted less than two years, when she married real estate agent Joshua Hall in April 2022. Now known as Christina Hall, it’s her fourth name in ten years. It’s been a challenge to keep up with Christina’s switching surnames, but there’s plenty else to learn about this well-known home designer.
Curious about what curveballs you might have missed? Brush up on these surprising facts about this famous house flipper.
1. Her original name is a real mouthful
Christina was born Christina Meursinge Haack and raised in California’s Orange County. She attended a local community college when she realized she’d like to pursue real estate as a career.
2. She originally wanted to be a sports agent
Although she shines in the spotlight, stardom was never a burning desire.
“I never thought about being on TV. I wanted to be a sports agent like Jerry Maguire,” she admits.
An Instagram photo of a young smiling Christina alongside NBA legend Magic Johnson hinted at her future plans.
Yet during college at San Diego State, she opted to get her real estate license instead.
“I got started in real estate at 21,” she says, “which led to selling houses, which led to flipping houses, which led to TV.”
3. She and Tarek El Moussa met working in real estate
Christina began working at a real estate office, which is where she met Tarek El Moussa. She was 22. Things moved quickly for these two.
“The day Tarek and I officially started dating, which was Oct. 9, 2006, we moved in together,” she said in an interview with Good Housekeeping. Talk about a whirlwind romance!
In 2009, the two got married and had two kids, Taylor and Brayden. Seven years later, they separated, but not before making a name and business for themselves as flipping partners.
4. Christina and Tarek started flipping because of the recession
In the late 2000s, the real estate market was hit hard by the recession and the burst of the nationwide real estate bubble.
And because they both worked in the real estate realm, the couple had some hard times. They even had to downsize their own home, going from a house with a $6,000 mortgage to a rental apartment with a roommate.
To make ends meet, Christina and Tarek decided to try their hand at house flipping. The couple bought their first investment property for $115,000, with business partner Pete De Best, and split a $34,000 profit. Not bad for a couple of first-time flippers!
5. ‘Flip or Flop’ began with a borrowed video camera
With their house flipping ventures proving successful, Tarek thought their projects would make a good show. He borrowed a video camera to make a demo. At the time, Christina was seven months pregnant with their daughter, Taylor.
Soon, Pie Town Productions, which produces shows for HGTV, expressed interest in the couple. Their show was named “Flip or Flop,” and 13 episodes were ordered in the first run. The couple were reportedly paid $10,000 each per episode during that first season.
6. One hit show led to another, ‘Christina on the Coast’
Despite the couple’s off-screen drama, “Flip or Flop” became a huge success for HGTV and led to spinoffs for both Tarek and Christina.
El Moussa now tutors novice flippers on “Flipping 101,” while Christina has the home design show, “Christina on the Coast.” Her show premiered in 2019 and is now headed into its fourth season.
7. Her move to Music City inspired yet another spinoff
In early 2021, Christina looked beyond the comforts of her familiar surroundings in California. She plunked down $2.5 million for a modern farmhouse near Nashville. The six-bedroom home sits on 23 acres in Franklin, TN.
It also proved to be the perfect setting for another HGTV spin-off, “Christina in the Country.” The show documents the expansion of her design business in the Nashville area as well as putting down roots in a completely new environment.
[embedded content]
8. Christina has her own flooring line
While Christina is best known for her HGTV shows, she’s also branched out into the wide world of flooring.
Her collection of waterproof vinyl flooring designed to resemble hardwood is available in a variety of colors and styles. She insists vinyl floors can be stylish and said, “I would never sell a product that is not attractive.”
After battling health problems in recent years, Christina went to an alternative medicine center in late 2022. She wanted to get the bottom of her ailments and turned to a quantum biofeedback machine.
The HGTV star reported on Instagram that her test results showed mercury and lead poisoning—a result that she attributed to all the “gross flips” she did in her early career with Tarek.
Prior to her diagnosis, Christina documented her health struggles and her attempt at healing in the 2020 book, “The Wellness Remodel.”
Christina Hall and her husband Josh have a busy summer ahead.
An all-new season of “Christina on the Coast,” the Southern California-based HGTV docuseries that chronicles Christina’s home renovation and design business and family life, is set to debut June 29. In addition to transforming a new slate of clients’ coastal-inspired homes, Christina will also tackle a remodeling project inside the ultra-modern Newport Beach, CA, mansion she purchased in 2022 for $12 million.
“Now that Christina is settled in a new home closer to family and friends, the busy mom of three, author and entrepreneur also will tackle her own kitchen overhaul alongside husband Josh Hall,” according to a press release.
The property, built in 2021, is chock full of luxury touches like floor-to-ceiling windows, an “interstellar” home theater, and a lap pool. And although we have yet to get a good view of the kitchen, it’s hard to believe a home this new—and this deluxe—is worthy of a renovation. But that’s all the more reason to tune in.
Prior to buying in Newport Beach, Christina and Josh, who tied the knot in September 2022, put down roots in a modern farmhouse on 23 acres in Franklin, TN. The southern suburb of Nashville was their home base while filming the first season of “Christina in the Country,” the countrified spin-off that chronicled the HGTV stars expanding their business on the other side of the country.
Just in case you’re keeping track, Christina separated from her second husband, Ant Anstead, in September 2020, and their divorce became final in June. They had been married since December 2018, and stayed together for just under two years.
Christina explained on Instagram that she and Josh had been dating in strict privacy for “several months” prior to her going public with their relationship in July 2021.
“I met Josh when I wasn’t in a state of fear or fight-or-flight … I had taken time off social, hired a spiritual coach and smoked a Bufo toad (which basically reset my brain and kicked out years of anxiety in 15 mins),” Christina said on Instagram. “When we met this past spring, the synchronicities hit us so hard and fast they were impossible to ignore.”
In any case, Christina seems to dig romantic relationships with men in the real estate industry. Her first marriage, to her “Flip or Flop” co-host, Tarek El Moussa, lasted over ten years, and their TV series ended in 2022 after 10 seasons.
Ahead of the sixth season of “Christina on the Coast,” here are a few surprising facts every HGTV fan should know about Josh Hall.
1. He’s a real estate agent in Austin
Hall is a real estate agent at Spyglass Realty, having relocated to Austin, TX, in 2017 “after visiting and falling in love with its beauty,” he explained in his bio. “I just could not leave without buying a home of my own in this little slice of heaven. I was actually born not too far from Austin, at Ft. Hood Army base where my father was stationed.”
Yet while his bio and contact information used to be proudly displayed on Spyglass, all that’s there now is his square-jawed headshot. Could this mean that he may soon be moving into Christina’s gorgeous new Newport Beach home, and getting his real estate license in California? Perhaps. In fact, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if we soon see him in cameos (or more) in “Christina on the Coast.”
2. He’s not a real estate snob
A review of his Realtor.com® profile reveals that he was responsible for 15 home sales in the past two years, representing either the buyer or seller. The market in Austin has been feverish over the past two years, and Hall appears to have specialized in homes in the $200,000 to $900,000 range. Most are traditional, two- to four-bedroom houses, some on sizable lots measuring an acre or more.
No Instagram, no Facebook, no Twitter feed, not even LinkedIn for business purposes! Believe us, we looked. He may be the last remaining real estate agent of his generation who doesn’t at least promote his listings somewhere online.
Christina seems to like it that way, and we can’t blame her.
“The internet and social are great for businesses or staying up to date on fam / friends but also can be toxic and (let’s be real) pretty fake,” she wrote on Instagram. “Josh doesn’t have social media.”
4. He was formerly a cop—for all the right reasons
Hall’s bio also reveals this: “While living in southern California, I realized my passion was to help others and I became a police officer at the age of 21. Before my 16 year career was cut short due to injuries sustained in the line of duty and ultimately leading to an early retirement, I took great pride in helping people with everyday difficulties and putting them at ease.”
It seems he’ll once again be protecting Southern California properties and citizens, at least in a more personal way, as his future wife and three stepchildren all call Orange County home.
5. He loves dogs
In Hall’s spare time, he says, “You can find me exploring with my two dogs, floating on one of Austin’s many bodies of water or flying to rescue puppers from kill shelters.” Talk about a noble cause!
Since Christina already has two pups of her own, a Rottweiler named Biggie and a French bulldog named Cash, her Newport Beach home is already pet-friendly. But the question is, will Hall and his pack all fit inside their home—and on the family bed?
6. His sisters are reality TV–famous
Something else Hall and Christina have in common is reality TV. In fact, Hall’s younger sisters are deeply steeped in it. His sister Stacie Hall Adams appeared regularly on “The Hills” as Stacie the bartender. His sister Jessica was a former Playboy model, hosted the MTV reality series “Burned, and made regular appearances on “Kendra” and “Kendra on Top,” as the close friend of fellow Playboy star Kendra Wilkinson.
7. He has an uncanny link to Tarek El Moussa’s fiancee, Heather Rae Young
Hall’s sister Jessica now hosts the podcast “Flashbacks” solo, but she formerly hosted it with bestie Heather Rae Young of “Selling Sunset” fame. Yes, that Heather Rae Young, the one who’s engaged to El Moussa, Christina’s first husband. Hollywood is such a small town!
8. He’s inked to the brink
Oh, the tales Hall’s tattoos could tell, like what’s up with that hatted man adjacent to his left pec, and why the spiderweb on his left knee? He must have his reasons for them all, and he could spend countless hours in the telling.
9. He’s already close to Christina’s kids
He appears to already be fully accepted by Christina’s kids, at least her two oldest, Taylor and Brayden. A recent Instagram post revealed that the four of them spent a quick, kid-friendly weekend in Las Vegas: “24 hours in Las Vegas with the big kids—wave pool, aquarium, steak dinner repeat ❤️🎰.” Cheers to that!
10. Christina has his back
Don’t you dare be all judgy about Christina’ third engagement on social media, or Christina will come out swinging.
She’s posted several Instagram tirades, including this one: “People are way too concerned about other people’s lives. They spend so much time judging others to avoid working on their own sh*t … Life is short. Do what you love with the ones you love. For me, that’s Josh, my kids and a few close friends and co-workers. ✌🏼”
Now that Tarek and Heather El Moussa have joined forces in holy matrimony and in the business of flipping homes and in starring on their own show, “The Flipping El Moussas,” we figured it was only a matter of time before they took the next step that all reality star couples take.
Can you guess? They’ve embarked on selling their own line of home decor.
Pretty much all big-name reality TV stars hawk their own products, of course. Chip and JoannaGaines peddle home accessories galore at Magnolia and Target. Property brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott launched a furniture line at Living Spaces. Dave and Jenny Marrs of “Fixer to Fabulous” have a slew of outdoor wares at Walmart. Even Tarek’s ex-wife, Christina Hall, has her own bracelet line. In short, the list of celebrity-endorsed products is nearly endless.
So it stands to reason that the El Moussas would also enter into the fray. Yet while I was excited to check out their offerings, I have to admit I was somewhat underwhelmed.
Is Tarek and Heather El Moussa’s home decor line a flop?
Home by Tarek & Heather currently offers only four products: two candles priced at $38, one candle priced at a jaw-dropping $249, and a dispenser of hand soap for $16.
All “smell lovely,” says Heather in a promotional video.
Apparently, these four products are just the start, with more to come—at least according to the second episode of their show, when Tarek and Heather were celebrating the arrival of some samples. They are not only sniffing candle scents, but also plumping pillows and nuzzling what looked like whisper-soft throws.
Tarek describes their new line: “In all of our flips, we’re going to put in candles, we’re going to do floor mats, rugs, maybe blankets, like homey stuff. Like comfy rugs and pillows.”
“So when people walk in, they know it’s a home by Heather and Tarek—er, Tarek and Heather. Sorry,” Heather says with a laugh.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who immediately wanted one of those throws. Given my anticipation, I was sorely disappointed to scour their website with nary a throw in sight—just four freaking products, one of them a $249 candle.
Could they have been overly eager to get to market, or just painfully naive about marketing home products? Tarek is known for selling homes, but selling home decor is a whole different game.
To find out what they might have been thinking, I reached out to consummate branding and marketing expert Klint Briney, founder and CEO of BRANDed Management. His company has worked with celebs, including Ed Sheeran, LeAnn Rimes, Mariah Carey, and Mark Cuban among others.
I asked him why the El Moussas launched so few products right out of the gate—shouldn’t they have waited until they had more to offer? Briney thinks not.
“By entering the saturated market of celebrity brands and home goods, a more risk-averse approach would be to initiate a small launch to test the market,” Briney says.
In other words, less is initially more when it comes to these lines.
“They chose two hero products that are both gender-neutral, accessibly-priced, and shelf-stable,” Briney continues. “In a time when most Americans struggle with decision fatigue, fewer offerings can often initiate higher conversion rates, as they are not bombarding the consumer with too many choices.”
I heard that. When I do a search on Amazon for one specific product and get 20 pages of results, I am usually overwhelmed by the choices and hold off on my purchase.
Tarek and Heather’s products haven’t been picked up yet by big-box stores like Target and Walmart, where their contemporaries have a presence? Is that a bad sign?
Not really, according to Briney.
“It appears they are taking a more targeted and narrow approach upon launch, as it is critical for them to ‘win their own backyard’ before employing a more large-scale, blanketed rollout,” Briney continues. “Their items are strategically branded Newport Beach and Los Angeles, the two markets they work and reside in. This sort of data is great presentation material when meeting with mainstream retailers, which often leads to better terms.”
In other words, you start out small and targeted, prove your work in a niche area, then your business offers a lot more value to a big-box store.
“They can learn a lot by the recent acquisition of Aussie brand Aesop,” Briney adds. This producer of skin, hair, and body care products was recently “acquired by Loreal for $2.5 billion, the largest in company history.”
If they’re lucky, Tarek and Heather, after starting with a few candles and some hand soap, could end up with a billion-dollar deal with a major international corporation.
“In an era of cancel culture and the fast rise and fall of most celebrity careers, the fact that Tarek has had a show in production over 10 years, along with reinventing himself after a high-profile divorce, shows his marketplace viability,” Briney concludes.
Forget the throws. Maybe instead I should buy stock in the El Moussa company.
HGTV star Tarek El Moussa is best known for his stylish house flips on “Flip or Flop.” So what does his own home look like?
The post An Eye-Opening Timeline of Tarek El Moussa’s Own Homes, From His First to Where He Lives Today appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead have managed to find success in real estate, even during a pandemic. Here are their tips for a great quarantine home.
The post Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead’s Top Tips on Flipping Amid a Pandemicâand Beyond appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.