19 Jul Ep. 44 Ted Wight of StLouis.Style

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS AND GOOGLE PLAY

In this episode, Realtor Adam Kruse and Realtor Shannon St. Pierre talk to Realtor Ted Wight from StLouis.Style. Find out how blogging helped Ted find his niche with mid-century modern homes.

Email questions to PODCAST@HermannLondon.com

WHAT’S INSIDE?

0:45 Hermann London just had their mid-year business planning event. An agent won an award at a golf tournament. The property managers are incredibly busy. A couple new agents have joined the team. Call Hermann London if you are interested in joining the team (314) 802-0797

1:35 Adam introduces Ted Wight from Dielmann Sotheby’s.

2:50 How long has Ted Wight been a real estate agent?

3:25 How did Ted Wight get the reputation as someone who sells unique properties? How did starting the St. Louis Style Blog help Ted Wight become a successful realtor?

4:34 How did Ted Wight become interested in mid-century and contemporary homes?

5:06 How does having a niche help realtors become successful?

6:08 Who are William Bernoudy, Harris Armstrong, Ralph Fournier, and Isadore Shank?

6:55 Why is it so hard to find mid-century/modern homes on the MLS

7:15 What is ModernSTL?

8:45 What is so unique about Ted Wight’s marketing remarks/descriptions for his listings?

9:50 Moynihan & Associates may be St. Louis’ best landscape architect

10:30 How does Ted Wight research his properties? Who is Frederick Dunn?

12:20 How does the MLS’ character limit inspire creativity with marketing remarks?

16:40 Is there an age limit to being a real estate agent? When should a real estate agent retire?

18:10 How do helicopter rides help buyers get a feel for the area?

18:40 What real estate shows does Ted Wight watch?

19:45 What kind of a team does Ted Wight have? Does Ted use assistants and marketers?

20:25 Why does Ted Wight have 5 Instagram accounts and how does he manage them?

21:10 Ted manages Ladue Style, Clayton Style, CWE Style, and his personal Ted Wight Instagram

22:30 How often does Ted Wight post on his blogs?

22:38 Does Ted Wight outsource his marketing or does he have full time employees?

25:00 How many hours a week does Ted Wight work?

26:30 What happened when Ted Wight found a maggot covered bag of meat on the hardwood floors of a CWE condo that’s supposed to close soon?

28:38 What kind of advertising does Ted Wight do? Print advertising? Postcards? Video?

29:30 When does Ted Wight create a video for his listings?

31:15 Why are wealthy people a little quieter with their money in St. Louis compared to other cities?

32:56 Ted Wight lives in a William Bernoudy designed house that Bernoudy lived in

34:29 Contact Ted Wight at TedWightRealEstate.com, StLouis.Style

35:26 Who lives under Ted Wight’s roof?

35:41 Where is Ted Wight at his best?

38:23 What is the weirdest property Ted Wight has ever sold?

40:40 Is it hard to appraise and underwrite these interesting properties?

41:47 What is Ted Wight’s favorite blog or podcast?

44:06 What is Ted Wight’s guilty pleasure?

44:54 Who is Ted Wight’s mentor and how has he thanked them?

 

TRANSCRIPTION

Adam: live from the rooftop of the Hermann London real estate group in beautiful downtown Maplewood it’s the st. Louis realtor podcast with your host Adam Kruse welcome (2) everybody to the st. Louis realtor podcast live from the rooftop of the Hermann London real estate group in beautiful downtown Maplewood Missouri I’m Adam Kruse today is July 17 2018 I’ve got my co-host here Shannon st. Pierre

Shannon: Hello

Adam: quick update on the goings-on here at Hermann London is we had our mid-year business planning event we had a ton of good topics a couple speakers really good turnout from our agents and everyone seemed to walk away motivated which was great we had an agent play on a golf tournament and they won an award I think it might have been for the highest score but an award nonetheless the property managers in the leasing department are staying incredibly busy I think this is a popular time for people who are renting to be moving and we are excited because we had a couple new agents join our team and one’s gonna focus on commercial and one guys working with a lot of investors joins us from another company so we’re pretty excited give us a call if you’re interested in real estate or becoming a realtor with Hermann London and we’re both excited because we have a very special guest with us Mr. Ted white.

Ted: hello thank you so much for having me

Adam: and if you don’t know you should but Ted white is a very successful realtor from Dielmann Sotheby’s right

 

Ted: correct

Adam: the king can I call you the king of high-end real estate

Ted: I have a lot of wonderful properties and some of them are high-end some of the largest wonderful property

Adam: wonderful properties we (2) had a listing I think eight years ago or something like that that we couldn’t sell and we referred it to you I don’t you probably don’t know this but it was a sort of a weird mid-century modern house in Tower Grove and it had like the second storey was a bedroom I had a hot tub in it

Ted: yeah and I always forget you pronounced at Juniata or [???]

Adam: I think that’s right yeah yeah remember the street name yeah but we so we wanted to bring you in here today because I think you list all sorts of interesting properties you know I love interviewing and learning from top agents in town and we did a deal together recently so I’m proud of I’m like I did deal with Ted White

Ted: yeah

Adam: something to be proud of but I (2) guess we want to we just want to ask you a bunch of questions if you don’t mind

 

Ted: sure let’s go after

Shannon: how long have you been a real estate agent?

Ted:  I’ve sold real estate I think like 14 years

Shannon: okay

Ted: I did it um you know I worked in corporate America you know since graduating from college and start selling real estate part-time you know at first well I was you know doing other jobs had two evenings and weekends and then I just you know created enough momentum felt comfortable with my income level that I was able to you know quit my full-time job and to start doing real estate full-time

Shannon:  that’s awesome

Adam: did you start out but you have a couple blogs Shannon said I know about one is it st. louis-style

Ted: yeah

Adam: st. louis-style did you start out with that and kind of making a niche for yourself as this sort of unique property guy

Ted: yeah when I you know I started I you know again this was a while ago I guess when was it like you know early 2000s or so and that blogs were I started reading some blogs that I really liked they weren’t necessarily real estate blogs but I found it was sort of fun you know when you’re at your desk you have a cup of coffee and before you really want to start working you know you browse through websites the same ones updated so I began to think that was a really great tool to you know communicate to people and started following and you know it was focused on st. louis-style you know has evolved quite a bit we do get about a thousand readers a day

Adam: Wow

Ted: know which is really [???]

Shannon: is that your original one

Ted: yeah

Shannon: okay so when he brings you up I’m like oh the mid-century modern guy you know is that how you started that little niche or am i totally off really

Ted: yeah it was like it you know okay so I got into mid century and contemporary homes my (2) parents had bought after we I came from one of four boys after all the boys moved out they bought this little bird annuity design mid-century home and it really helped expose me to mid-century I got excited about you know design and clean lines and you know before I was I just loved pillars would have you know what turned me on but then I yeah as you get more educated exposed I really start appreciating mid-century and you know they always talked about them real estate where you should farm a specific neighborhood or have you know sort of expertise so I started to you know go into mid-century talking about these architects that were local in st. Louis you know I’m taking pictures of mid-century things so really sort of you know you know just start what became the go-to place for mid-century and also contemporary homes

Shannon: okay

Adam: did you start by this kind of looking up architects and calling them up and saying can I take you to lunch and ask you questions or like

Shannon:  what is go to school for it was anything to do with

Ted: no

Shannon: okay

Ted: not architecture I mean I think at one point I wanted to become an architect I actually did like an internship and college down at HOK Hellmuth about an Kassabaum but then I realized I wasn’t a precise enough person to be an architect and that most architects end up you know I’m ant planning air ducts not designing a big gorgeous you know building

Adam: mm-hmm

Ted: but what I did is I you know I just started you know researching some art local architects in st. Louis like William Bernoulli and Harris Armstrong and Ralph Fournier and Isadora shank and just sort of exposing people to their architecture it’s an effort to create that sort of expertise it also created sort of a Google I call it you know when Google ability you know what people are googling hair sorry I’m strong they would find my website if they were googling mid-century home st. Louis my web site would come up on top so it really did help build some momentum there I found especially for like people that were moving in from other parts of the country that you know it’s hard search the MLS for a contemporary home or a mid-century home

Shannon: yeah but the thing that I think that’s interesting about it why I clued in on that niche of yours is because there seems to be this huge following for mid-century modern homes like there’s a whole club and they all kind of I don’t know because you know I just know about them but it’s not something that I dive into because they do so much in the city

Ted: yeah and it is like let’s cut like there’s an organization called modern STL that they have house parties and a website

Shannon: yeah that’s what I’m thinking of yes

Ted: but the whole effort is to try to braise awareness to the sort of clean lines open floor plan but it’s also to save these properties you know like when I first over to the late 1990s you know early 2000s it really nobody wanted these ranch mid-century ranch homes they were all being torn down really quickly because they had big lots and people thought they were ugly and you know what they call manche burgers there’s something like that that you know people were building these big McMansion so I think again like Inlet you know maybe red you know red right around 2000 people started you know likings are the retro look of you know mid-century homes and then they started were appreciating the big windows and

Adam: all the light and everything

Ted: yeah if you look at I mean look what’s popular now like dwell magazine you know which is clean lines and it’s I think it really appeals to you know I big I think like the younger market appeals to because they love the clean lines and openness and I think it appeals also to older people they’re looking for single level living

Shannon: yes I can see that

Adam: so I just have to say that you know I consider myself to kind of be knowledgeable about real estate and whatever but when I come in to the MLS and I start looking at your listings and reading your marketing remarks and stuff I literally feel like I’m tapping into this other world of real estate that I’d know nothing about it’s kind of interesting and I like to learn and you know always get better and so if you don’t mind I was just gonna read for the audience just a couple sentences from one of your listings and I have to say there’s words in here that I don’t know what they are and maybe you don’t either I wonder who writes these marketing remarks if it’s you or somebody else but here’s one of my favorite ones this Fredrik done home was reimagined by the collaboration of Brian Smith Jamison Jamison interior design and Moynihan and associates to create a neoclassical Regency experience with one-of-a-kind features throughout the Sir John Soane inspired residents guided by the by symmetrical philosophy spans 13,000 square feet and on and on it goes but what is that

Ted:  that is a mouthful as most of that doesn’t mean anything to people but sometimes like you know in a description like that you realize well I’m just not getting a standard house

Adam: yeah that’s awesome

Ted: there are you know and I think if like you know people in the know you know like Moynihan is like st. Louis’s best landscape you know are correct and Brian Smith is you know well-known architects so some people know but in general you know what it does it just creates sort of an idea saying my lord I’m just not buying a house you know [???]

Adam: yeah well we’re spinning 6 million dollars

Ted: sona’s oh

Shannon: so do you ask sellers how do you know when an architect has played a significant role and then or architects or landscapers how do you know when how much of a role they’re playing are you specifically asking this and searching and asking the sellers this information to try and be able to write a more creative marketing my remarks

Ted: usually you know it has to be you know a relatively well-known architect even that I should even consider including it like Frederick done is a well-known architect in st. Louis people mean but sometimes if he does you say oh designed by you know Harvey you know Harvey Hancock you know unless if people really know who he is it doesn’t really but a Frederick done home you know does carry extra value

Adam: do you find that people I mean these this house was listed for almost six million dollars right so do you find that people in these price ranges just pay more attention to that kind of thing

Ted: well I think it’s just showing that this isn’t just you know another mansion that it really is yeah that this home really is a very special you know and it’s sold it closes next week so that’s the good news but I think it just helps create sort of showing that this is again not just a standard house

Adam: that’s where we I think when you say stuff like

Ted: this house has a pedigree you know that’s what you [???]

Adam: okay okay

Shannon: I like that so do you write your own marketing remarks

Ted:  I (2) do I like I think that one I can I had a help with from several people on in general I do write them on my own I find it’s the hardest thing in the world you know because of the MLS which is our you know where you load all your homes and to the realtor is sort of yeah I think you’re bound by a thousand characters

Shannon: right

Ted: which is just exhausting sometimes because especially a house like that you want to go on and you want to talk about how you know the stove is sub-zero at a Viking you know rage and you want to talk about all these things and you’re limited by characters

Adam: and you don’t need to talk about a stove being sub-zero when you have a pool house that echoes Queen Victoria’s Brighton Pavilion

Ted: I know

Adam: You know what i mean

Shannon: I love it [???]

Ted:  I don’t know

Shannon: I think you have some really creative writing

Ted: I think there’s some people you know like it look at real estate there’s as you know there’s some people that just look at pictures like I’m a visual person I don’t really read descriptions you know what I’m looking at things but I look at pictures you know but I think there’s a lot of people that want to you know get the spirit of the home you know and find out more about you know are more detail-oriented

Shannon: yeah and I think that that’s one of your greatest strengths is capturing a spirit of in (2) the marketing remarks it’s not about talking about the stove or some of the other aspects of the home capturing the spirit to draw them in I think there’s a few realtor’s in (2) st. Louis I guess who are really good at actually writing remarks instead of just going off on listing just facts they write more of a story and yours is more of a story to kind of help draw you in the rest of it will fall in the place if you can just capture the attention

Ted: I think you’re right I mean people can look at pictures and if you can tell that it’s you know granite counters you know all I need to say it again but what you may want to say is that you know it’s two blocks from the Metrolink you know or ride your bicycle to Forest Park or you know a variety of things that you can talk about that you can’t see in pictures

Adam: that the four car garage doubles as a covered valet drop-off for parties [???]

Shannon: ohh my

Adam: it was awesome

Ted: that is the worst time I’ve ever seen that and I you know the funny thing is the owners are the sellers designed it that way as a neat feature they never really used it but it’s basically think of like a tuck under garage where you can drive in one door and if you want to get up if it’s raining they could drive him one door you know they could the guests could get out the valet get that and could take the car out a back door so it started looped around

Shannon: I’m thoroughly impressed like I didn’t know that was a feature

Adam: I didn’t either

Shannon: or even a thing but I do now and that might go on my list of dream

Adam: well it’s it’s just I mean honestly I think it’s nice to hear that you didn’t go to school for this stuff or whatever because I think anyone who’s listening can be motivated to say anything I want to be interested in I can read about learn about it and then be about it right so you’re you’re obviously spend a lot of time just kind of researching this stuff and talking to people to even be able to describe as a neoclassical Regency

Ted: yeah I mean it’s excited I think it’s again you know part of our job as a Realtor is to educate people you know on you know you know we get back to

Shannon: styles

Ted: styles or why things are important or why you know you know why it’s important that you know a house be preserved you know and not you know torn down maybe there’s some history doesn’t necessarily

Shannon: ooh I like that

Ted: century but it could be you know just an important you know home so it’s a lot of it’s about education you know the public and you know I got into real estate I’ve always liked like you know homes interior design and gardening and you know I thought about becoming a realtor when I was you know a lot younger but it was like something it was still it wasn’t a profession you know you’ve one of the graduate from college and climb up that corporate ladder

Shannon: yeah until you realize the corporate ladder is

Ted: ah yeah and then I realized that I wanted to have more control over my life and I didn’t have to one of the wait for an extra week of vacation or getting a raise and I found real estate was really great you know thing we’re really you’re running your own business you know I talked to some clients that say okay you know Ted I’m 60 years old you know if I lose my job you know how hard it is to find another have some a higher you know six year old but look here in real estate I have a feeling I’m gonna be that 80 year old man that you know it was still running around selling the house

Shannon: and you should be that

Adam: yeah with a lot of Realtors you there’s kind of no reason to exactly retire right

Ted: now

Adam: and then the first time you retire you’re gonna see a for sale by owner sign or something like that come up in your neighbor’s yard and you’re gonna back I don’t know get that list

Ted: Yes or it’s gonna be that you have a friend you know that calls you and said Oh Ted you’re the only one I want to use

Adam: a huh and what are you gonna say

Ted: I’m just gonna get a chauffeur that will drive me around

Shannon: I like it

Ted: now look at the first floor and I’ll let them go up the stairs and down at the basement we report back to me

Adam:  why do more Realtors not do something like that do you or do you know anyone in town who has someone who kind of drives you guys around you and your clients around

Shannon: is that like the million dollar listing guy in New York like [???]

Adam: yeah they have like Sprinter vans and stuff now that are really nice you know what do you do anything so that’s that you know

Ted: I think that…I think it’s a good idea that you know because that way you can sort of talk to your client I haven’t done it yet I know that from of our other Sotheby’s affiliates like out in California

Adam: it’s more popular

Ted: yeah I think or New York like they’ll do it because that way they don’t worry about parking they can get in and out of you know the car but they’re doing helicopter tours also

Adam: [???]

Ted: out in San Diego you know that’s part of their standard thing is for people in your area well they (2) take people on a helicopter ride to get a feel for the area

Shannon: okay I I like that but I also think those are totally different markets I mean you’re talking about both those cities you just mentioned have higher traffic volumes than st. Louis we’re still very easy City to go around I mean within what 15 20 minutes it can be anywhere

Adam: if they were gonna have a TV show in st. Louis with Realtors right I think you would definitely be on it you know million dollar listing agent st. Louis right you definitely done it do watch that show at all Robin

Ted: I do…yes

Adam: New York LA do you have a favorite

Ted: I like it like I used to like (2) LA you know more and sig Malibu and all that stuff

Adam: which (2) one of those people do you think you’re kind of most like when you see how they run their businesses

Ted: it’d probably be more like one of the New York you know one of the New York

Adam: yeah it’s fun Fredrik right

Ted: yes all of them

Adam: all of them..ok

 

Shannon: all of them combine the best features and there you go

Adam: okay so if you if you don’t mind we kind of want to ask a little bit about your business side too we have some we don’t know exactly who our listenership is but I know it’s aunt mayor Z and you know

Shannon: a lot of Realtors

Adam: the public and Realtors and stuff listened to and so you found a lot of success in the business and I was just curious if you can tell us do you have do you have a team I know you have at least an assistant right

Ted: yeah so I have a you know there’s different models out there there’s the model of like the realtor team where you have a few agents that work together

Adam: mm-hmm

Ted: I haven’t really gotten that route as much I would consider myself more of an individual agent with a great support staff so I have Claudia who’s a full-time agent license that she’s my assistant we have a great sort of a marketing I call them my millennial marketers you know that helped me with the blogging

Adam: there’s a couple people

Ted: yeah blogging and Instagram I still do a lot myself like I’ve gone you know I’ve really have adopted Instagram a great deal so it gets a little crazy because now I have like five Instagram accounts that I’m managing and you create any of these it’s (2) like feed the monster you’ve really

Shannon: so you have five different Instagram accounts

Ted: so I have like st. louis-style but

Shannon: do they coincide with all your different blogs too

Ted: they do

Shannon: okay

Ted: so we try to have a get original content on the blogs but you can put something on Instagram and have it feed automatically to the blog and Facebook so we have a st. Louis style and then we have some micro sites for other areas that you know I would say would be you know that I focus on ones Ladue style ones Clayton style ones cwe’s style and then I have my own individual you know one

Shannon: [???]

Ted: that white you know yeah so it but it’s instagramming is so easy because like I could be at the gym you know I take a picture you know I can load it up you know and (2) not

Adam: automatically feed into your site and all that comes

Ted: yeah so it makes it easy and it just creates original you know great content

Shannon: so each of those are just micro sites so you focus on LeDoux Justin LeDoux areas CW is central us and just around those specific neighborhoods so

Ted: yeah it’s sort of like

Shannon: why not have one now though that feeds into the one

Ted: well we do have like st. louis-style covers everything but then we thought you know Clayton style would be good we could talk about Clayton restaurants in particular or klaich in the home that sells so it just creates again a little bit more expertise but still like st. Louis style as still I caught the mothership

Shannon: ok

Ted: you know that gets everything that gets Clayton Homes that gets centralized n homes it gets you know ladoo restaurants it gets everything so uh but the idea is and like st. louis-style still gets the most readers I mean we get the blog it’s about a thousand people a day

Shannon: How many are you posting on the blog I mean anyway I looked at [???]

Ted: we try to do it once a day

Shannon: yeah okay

Ted: so that’s again bidding getting back to feed the monster you can create these things and you

Shannon: and are you writing it are you enlisting you’re [???]

Ted: you know I create I would say it’s probably 50/50 you know that I’ll create about fifty percent of the content and then

Shannon: are you telling them what’s you like a subject I’m like

Ted: yeah I’ll like an idea I’ll send them something set look at this (2) is interesting it talks about the most beautiful homes and st. Louis create a link put it on the website there’s I may get like a new listing and it talks about you know maybe down this edge West and (2) I say go research this you know the architect and try to find a little story on it

Shannon: so these marketers…actually work for you or you just

Ted: they do work for me full-time

Shannon: they are actually a 100 percent your employee

Ted: yes

Shannon: okay (2) so that’s

Ted: so it helps again it’s I know it but it’s sort of like again like you know sometimes you look at these websites or blogs that last time they were updated was September you know

Shannon: right and it is really hard to do it all especially when you’re an agent like so you’re doing a million things

Ted: yeah but it is it helps create you know what basically it you know we do it so that when you’re googling for Central West End homes or

Adam: you want to be there

Ted: century you want your websites to be on top and these blogs tend to be a little bit more organic and (2)they you know when you’re googling things they pick up quicker than just as you know I do it standard like Ted white real estate website but it’s a little more static these are a little bit more alive you know watch content

Adam: so you know sometimes when you do a deal with the realtor you do the whole deal with them and sometimes when you do a deal with the realtor you talk to them at the beginning and then the rest of the time you’re talking to someone on their team my experience with you was that we kind of you were very involved the whole time you know that we had a couple issues or whatever with our deal right and you were right there you were there to help out you made it happen I’m kind of curious are you working tons and tons are you kind of like one of these 90 hours a week guys or how are you doing that

Ted: well I you know I do try to stay involved with all of my deals in listings so and I say that it’s sort of like you know the benefit of me being an individual agent with a great support staff is that you’re interacting with me you know 90% of the time I always start up related as like you know sometimes these real estate teams that feels like in college you know when you had like a group a group project know now and it’s like

Adam: I thought I did you gonna do that

Ted: I know everybody thinks somebody else is doing the work and then it’s like nobody’s doing the work you know or one person is doing the people check out sometimes when they know other people you are doing it so you know I I think that’s the benefit of it being an individual agent that I’m completely accountable it’s my responsibility and but I do have a great support staff that but you know they do help you know and then they do communicate but you really have to stay involved as you know these deals care complicated and

Adam: sure

Ted: you know you need the work [???]

Adam: [???] high and I mean especially in these high-end properties I’m guessing people have a lot of different personalities and they’re want to make sure they’re getting what they’re paying for and all that kind of stuff you know

Ted: you know and things you know and I you know I do like a you know here give you an example there was a Central West and condo that I had it was supposed to close you know a few days ago and it seemed that the owner had left a bag of meat from the refrigerator on the hardwood floors

Adam: what

Ted: and it was over you know we discover it for about ten days in this heat so

Adam: this was your listing

Ted: yes and so it’s like you know we’re really hands hot I mean I was the one that was discarding this bag of meat that had maggots on it

Adam: oh my gosh

Ted: and coordinating you know getting the place fumigated and I we better get the wood floor is doing so I really am hands-on so to answer your question I do work a lot and it’s always like like last Saturday I looked at my calendar and I didn’t have anything on my calendar which was a real rarity you know and I said well we’ve got a family farm so I went to our farm and I said oh my gosh how nice but that’s a rarity usually you know you are working all the time I would say last night I was down at that same condo you know vacuuming you know till 8 o’clock

Shannon: ohh so do you [???] I am impressed

 

Ted: you work a lot but then at the same time the moment you’re not working or it’s quiet you get very nervous you know you think oh my gosh you know where’s the business so

Shannon: but I have to admit the bag of meat that’s a new one

Ted: yeah…yes

Shannon: smell like I think the trash

Ted: oh no it’s it’s impossible so it’s but it’s up we’re taking care of this problem

Shannon: and what do you do with the hardwood floor

Ted: well you have to like we’re looking for replacement boards right now

Shannon: you actually have to replace the boards

Ted: yeah

Shannon: that’s wow

Ted: I know

Shannon: that’s not a small little task by the way

Adam: I see you and I go to my grocery store I see you at the checkout thing you know what I’m talking about

Ted: yeah and in Richmond Heights Schnucks

Adam: I’m at the Schnucks in Tonica

Ted: ok yeah that one…yes

Adam: uh-huh and so I was curious do you do you obviously do that because I see that but do you do other types of advertising in addition to the blog and the grocery store stuff

Ted: yeah you know I I am I do a lot of advertising so and I you know it all cost a lot of money so I believe it like we know we do the traditional postcards you know when we have listings or things are sold

Adam: would you mail the neighborhood around the listing or do you have like a certain area that you’re constantly mailing over and over again

Ted: now we do usually like a radius around the (2) listing I do a lot of print advertising still like you know our local like Latinos and sophisticated living and st. Louis at home magazine and especially like you know like again we had like that that wonderful Brett Moorpark listing that you would read the description for we had that we put an Architectural Digest

Adam: oh wow

Ted: you know an ad there’s a regional ad you can do so we do a lot but it’s really that these listings you know are (2) beautiful and they’re unique and you know they need to be pictured in order to catch people’s attention

Shannon: so you do anything so I see some I’ve seen video do you usually do video for everyone

Ted: you know I would say we do videos for special properties that I feel like are just not a standard you know for bed two-and-a-half bedroom you know home it’s got to have like some you know either decorated in an exceptional way or have a just a beautiful home and then it’s worthwhile you know videotaping they we have you know like the that we have a great listing up and in Wild Horse Creek ballet that’s on 75 acres and a beautiful custom home that’s built on it and that we have a you know a like a drone video because you really want to show the context of where the house is listed you know and the spirit of it and what the views there like and so

Adam: I love that listing by the way I watch that video and can you imagine just well you’ve been there but can you imagine just pulling into that estate every day that driveways got is it a mile long

Ted: yeah

Adam: it’s like it’s a mile long driveway you just pull up and there’s got to always be somebody they’re working right there’s got to be some when they’re mowing or doing something

Ted: again mowing the grass on Monday and they end mowing the grass on Sunday and they start all over it go tell

Shannon: [???]

Adam: yeah 77 acres but so the maintenance is crazy but I I love looking at these listings and then I get out my mortgage calculator you know and I go how much of the payment be you know I’ll I just it’s so interesting to me that there’s that there’s people in town that are buying these kind of places and you know Ted knows them I guess

Shannon: and paying $50,000 a month for their mortgage like

Ted: yeah they’re you know there is like a I think in st. Louis that there is a lot of money in st. Louis and st. Louis money traditionally has been a little quieter than other places in the country you know like that you know like spending five million dollars in a house people may have the money to do it but yep they think well I don’t want to be you know

Adam: [???]

Ted: I know no one to know I don’t want everybody to know and I don’t want to be you know the most expensive house you know you know in the neighborhood but you can see I mean the money is there and you know it’s interesting I go to with these Sotheby’s I go to some of their events you know throughout the nation to meet my you know other people that are you know in New York Gore

Adam: hmm

Ted: San Francisco or Las Vegas and it’s so like there it’s like it all starts at ten million dollars you know to get a small house so we really are st. Louis’s is still pretty affordable

Shannon: it’s very affordable and I think it’s very affordable on the scale of and you know and we still have a lot to offer as a city

Ted: oh yeah I mean it really and it’s easy to get around I mean there’s so many wonderful things but the whole idea is you know I would say this for 200,000 you know you can get a really great well-built house like in st. Louis Hills you know or you know out on the county so I mean you’re you can afford a home you know other (2)places the country you know

Shannon: now did you grow up in st. Louis

Ted: yes

Shannon: okay (2)

Adam: I saw you posted on Facebook recently you live in some sort of architects house don’t you

Ted: yeah I live and

Shannon: that should not surprising [???]

Ted: I live in a home designed by William Bernoulli who studied underneath Frank Lloyd Wright and I bought it for my mother about six years ago

Adam: okay

Ted: and she was ready to move

Adam: at the house you grew up in

Ted: now well no I mean I grew again I came from one of four boys

Adam: uh-huh

Ted: so this might my Bernoulli design house is relatively small you know it’s like the main house it’s about 1500 square you know on a slab and but it does have like a little Gasthaus that’s about maybe six hundred square feet

Adam: well there were Bernoulli so you had to have it you think

Ted: yeah I mean it’s but it’s perfect for me I do have two sons one’s 24 and one’s 25 so the 25 year old lives in the guest house so it’s all right

Adam: he’s loving that

Ted: well yes you know he used to live in his den G sha you know apartment and now he’s in this nice guest house but it’s nice for me because he’s with me but not with me you know

Shannon: he’s a separation

Ted: yeah but it’s a beautiful home and it’s got great you know it really helps me appreciate and it’s actually the home that William Bernoulli built and lived in himself

Adam: yes okay that’s what I thought I saw in there so which when you heard that I’m sure you’re like I have to have this

Ted: oh yeah [???] it’s in Ladue

Adam: okay (2) so before we forget though I just want to say can you give your information so people can get a hold of you if they want to

Ted: sure (2) I you can look at my websites there’s stLouis.style

Adam: is it stlouis

Ted: dot style you don’t need a comma in there anything like that and that takes you to the main website there’s Ted white real estate calm okay my last name spelled a little funny its W I G H T and then you can also look at cwe’s style Ladue style and Clayton style

Shannon: or you can google just Ted white

Ted: yes

Shannon: and it does come up the main one comes up your main comes up and then you can get to all the other

Ted:  but the last name spelled funny again it’s W I G H T it’s sort of a burden it’s like right without the R

Shannon: so go head

Adam: so I have five questions okay we’re kind of wrapping it up another time I know you’re a busy guy you probably got to go get ten more listings tonight so I have five questions I like to ask every guest that was you mind

Ted: sure

Adam: okay well you already sort of answered this one but who lives under your roof

Ted: I live underneath my roof and then my son lives on at the guest house roof

Adam: okay you’re like but I still own that roof so it’s

Ted: yes

Adam: okay and where are you your best

Ted: where am i my best I would say I’m in my best when you know I’m you know being enthusiastic about a home or property and again it doesn’t have to be a five million dollar property it could be we all started the conversation about that weird little house on Juniata you know that was designed by Adrian Luchini and it was weird and hard to sell but we sold it and

Adam: you went over there and probably got excited and you thought oh my God look at this.

Ted: yeah it’s getting excited about you know unique things and (2) I and I found that house it wasn’t expensive was it I forget it’s like 100 it was yeah fifty thousand or something like that but just has beautiful light so that’s one of my best is I’m excited about something it could be the location you know we sold a house up in Louisiana Missouri is beautiful art deco house perched on top of the Mississippi River bluff and you know these gorgeous 180 view of the Mississippi going up and down and (2) that was not contemporary wasn’t mid-century as Art Deco but it was I was excited about the view

Adam: you do a lot of driving around I guess if you have listings all the way out there didn’t you have a castle and Pacific or something

Ted: we have the castle of Montebello done an imperial

Adam: Imperial okay

Ted: she’s a beautiful it was done by the one of the magic chef you know stove airs and that Imperials not far away it’s only 30 minutes away

Shannon: yeah I think..yeah it’s not far

Ted: we sold last year we sold a Episcopal Church up in Clarksville so by Fred designed by Frederick done that somebody had turned into a home

Adam: oh well

Ted: and we sold that last year

Shannon: is it castle so on the market because my dad I like that

Ted: it is…60 acres and Imperial is only 30 minutes away

Adam: Imperials where they have those car races too

Shannon:  [???] to grass yet so until she can [???]

Ted: stables there so does she look what a horse

Shannon: yes we love horse riding

Adam: I saw this one when I was there listings are gonna find that again and reread

Shannon: so when you have the odd properties not that the castles odd is the yeah so but you use the word odd when you were coming in talking it’s so interesting maybe not the norm is it the trick really is to find something to get really excited about and really hope

Ted: it’s all about picturing and creating the spirit but I’m trying like the weirdest thing I’ve sold I sold up in Louisiana Missouri up along that we have a farm up in Pike County so that’s the reason why okay which is that near Clarksville in Louisiana it was an old water treatment plant tank that was turned into a house

Shannon: ah yes

Ted: so we had like in an artist but it was really cool I’m sitting right on the Mississippi River and it wasn’t expensive again but it was like eye candy hashing it about it and they had put it on a few of those HGTV shows like you live in what and (2) stuff like that so it’s just fun okay

Adam: well I need to know how do you price a lot of these houses that you have because you’re not doing normal comps right you’re not pulling a quarter-mile radius and getting the price per square foot right you have such unique properties how do you price these things

Ted: yeah that’s a good question a lot of its feel you know like oh this house feels like a million dollars or you know it feels like I would say like again like that the house we sold up in Louisiana that was at a beautiful view of the Mississippi River if we sold it for over five hundred thousand which was really a big price for that we thought but look at these views you can’t find these views anywhere else and you can’t find this house anywhere else and price it somewhere you know sometimes you price something more because you know it should have a million dollar price tag on it we had a big (2) in the country we had a big you know 10,000 square foot turn-of-the-century pill home that was in pretty bad shape but we priced it at a million dollars because it looked like a million dollars

Adam: so for you a lot of it is feel and I guess scent growing up in the area and you know especially your five or is it four main areas or whatever you know those really well so you go to a house you’ve probably seen it your whole life you know I think on warson road there’s all those huge houses you probably just like I could price each one of those suckers right you like

Ted: and those are those are easier to do it’s (2) again it’s um you know you some of its basic you go down to regular ways of comping things you know if it’s a ladoo home or a Town & Country home but it’s these unique ones that are out

Adam: yeah the castle in imperial

Ted: yeah

Adam: you just had to come up with a price I mean

Ted: and then you sweat you sweat appraisals a little bit but generally they work out

Adam: yeah

Shannon: yeah that’s gonna be tough on the praiser

Ted: yeah

Shannon:  even as well

Ted: yeah and it’s hard getting it through a bank underwriting and all that but you know I think again you just sometimes you have to be a little bit more open-minded you know on what your appraising it to

Adam: if people are buying these two three four or five million dollar properties are in your experience are they often paying cash or they usually getting loans or what are they doing

Ted: you know I think that generally they get some sort of a loan it may not be for the entire amount but usually like 50 percent

Adam: okay

Ted: that they’ll get some sort of a loan

Adam: it’s hard to get a loan in that price range anyway right is that where they’re putting down such a big down payment

Ted: yeah I think it is and it’s you know the tax deductions have been cut back a little bit you know on these you know make up houses

Shannon: yes

Adam:  okay do you have a favorite blog or podcast other than your own

Ted: favorite blog or podcast whose blog do I look at you know I I’ve got it a little bit lazy and so I’m doing more Instagram

Adam: uh-huh

Ted:  no just because it’s easier sort of the pull up and you know I’m a little ad D so I can flash through you know different accounts quickly I (2)start up emulate there’s a great Sam fan San Diego agent set though burn that I is a Sotheby’s

Adam: that’s a big person you follow an Instagram

Ted: yeah

Shannon: Sotheby’s

Ted: though that’s a burn and  so I ran into him at you know Sotheby’s conference and I was you know I’m always trying to find out you know it’s great to steal from people isn’t it or try to find somebody that

Adam: yeah learn from them

Shannon: Inspire…Inspiration [???] just inspire you

Ted: but I thought we hate what he was doing was different

Adam: so when you met him you’re like celeb fan clubbing him you’re like oh my god [???] you’re the man

Ted: Well no I mean I (2) saw him on a panel and then I just started following everything he was doing and he did really cute things he did this one thing where you know he was dressed up as a dinosaur and shopping for a home in San Diego so I just thought it was cute and different

Shannon: okay so why is dressing up as a dinosaur shopping for home cute

Ted:  it’s just quirky and fun it

Adam: [???] stands out a little bit

Shannon: we did and here’s what I’m gonna suit one day and go I’m gonna be a dancer well if take buyers out

Ted: what the scenario was we did okay so we did emulate it a little bit holidays that we I had my assistants dress up in these little Cardinal outfits and we did like a little a little bit yet of them shopping for a home the Cardinal family it’s killer [???]

Shannon: oh my gosh [???]

Ted: I think they ended up in a big mansion on Lindell but (2) it was really cute if you look I think it was like in December like right Christmas if you go on my Instagram

Shannon: okay

Ted:  you can scroll down and find it

Shannon: okay

Adam: what’s your guilty pleasure

Ted: my guilty pleasure is my guilty pleasure

Adam: that you’re willing to share

Ted: what is my cutting I don’t know ice cream I don’t know I’m looking forward to maybe getting ice cream down the block here at the waffle is great

Shannon: oh its very good…what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream

Ted: well I haven’t been to this one in a while but I would say Oh anything with like mint and chocolate

Adam: I heard that there’s clementines in town they have naughty and nice they have our ice cream

Shannon: oh yes [???] Clement

Ted :oh I love Clement

Shannon: [???]

Ted: and they have one in demand

Adam: yeah

Shannon: okay

Ted: shunda mine [???]

Shannon: and it that’s very closer to you

Ted:  yes um I’m (2) thinking about ice cream

Adam: alright well we’ll let you out here we have one more question for you who is your mentor and how have you thanked them

Ted: who is my mentor I would say you know over the years I would say probably my broker you know Andy Dielmann has been my mentor I I’m not the kind of agent that’s moved around agencies a lot

Adam: yeah that’s always company jumping

Ted: yeah I started at Laeken Davis which isn’t around anymore but that was Andy Dielmann’s you know original agency and then he served spun off and (2) got the Sotheby’s affiliate so you know and I think I thanked him by just Selleck getting a lot of great listings and selling a lot of domes and elevating the agents see you know as a whole

Shannon: great now you just put that in Adams head he’s like yeah that’s what my agents need to be doing

Ted: yes Sal right

Adam:  yeah Thank You Ted for being here and anything

Ted: it was a pleasure I’ll come back sometime

Adam: absolutely next time I want to do it at one of these listings so we can be getting a little tour

Ted: oh I love that idea

Adam:  yeah alright and thank you everybody for listening if you have any questions comments ideas send them to podcasts at Hermann London calm and thank you for listening and take care