How to ACTUALLY GET RICH in real estate with Glennda Baker | Networth & Chill
Vivian Tu: $184,000 was the biggest commission check I ever made. 137 grand-how'd you piss away 137 G's? I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I'm not the dullest either.
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What's up, rich friends? Welcome to another episode of Net Worth and Chill with me, your host, Vivian Tu, aka your Rich BFF and your favorite Wall Street girly. Today it's going down, and by it, I mean interest rates. I think we've all seen the headlines, and the Fed-aka the one bank to rule them all-is lowering interest rates, and they're going to continue to do so through the end of the year and into early 2025. Specifically, what they're lowering is actually called the Fed funds rate. This is a rate that banks use for each other to borrow money overnight, but the reason this is so important is because the Fed funds rate determines all other borrowing interest rates in our economic ecosystem. Everybody's mortgages, car loans, and private student loan rates all depend on the Fed funds rate.
The big question on everybody's mind right now is: if interest rates are dropping like it's hot, is it time to rush back into the housing market? Today, we're going to learn everything you've always wanted to know but have been too nervous or too embarrassed to ask about real estate. Buying a home has been the hallmark of the American dream and financial success for centuries, but with the rising costs of housing, more and more young people are finding themselves struggling to get a place to call their own. In fact, in the US housing market, there are only four major cities where it's actually cheaper to rent than buy. All of this said, this is why I am so excited to talk to today's guest. I'm sure you've seen her face and heard her unmistakable voice. She is an Atlanta real estate powerhouse, power broker, and content creator. Everyone, please welcome Glennda Baker!
Glennda Baker: Thank you so much, Vivian. I'm excited to be here with you today.
Vivian Tu: First and foremost, you always come ready to show up and show out. You always have some cool star outfit on. Tell me about that-why are we wearing stars?
Glennda Baker: My mom always told me when I was a little girl, "You're a star, dress like one." And I started wearing the stars. I mean, I've always had them. When I was a little girl, my mom got me this little cowgirl outfit, and it was yellow with these white stars and this white fringe. I remember wearing it to church like it was yesterday. She always kind of dressed me in really cute outfits, and when my mom passed away, I just realized I was so much more attracted to wearing them, and I just feel like that she's with me when I have them on. It's like a little piece of her.
Vivian Tu: Oh, I love that so much, that's so sweet. And speaking of your mom, I want to know all about baby Glennda. Let's rewind a little bit. How did you get into real estate? Is it something that was in your family? Is it something that you grew up with?
Glennda Baker: My mom worked for a developer. I was raised by a single mother. We moved here when I was two years old, right down the street on Piedmont, and my mother raised me by herself. She got a job-the only man that would hire her because she had a small child. Back in 1968, nobody would hire her because she was a single woman with a small child. Mr. Moore took a gamble on my mom, and she worked for him her entire life. He was a developer here in Atlanta, and so my mom worked side-by-side with him. I watched him, and it was so strange to me. I remember as a child driving through these subdivisions, and my mom looking for where the fire hydrants went.
I remember when they started developing up in Roswell, which was north of Atlanta, and it was like a thousand miles away-it might as well have been Michigan-and my mom was like, "Pumpkin, nobody's going to move up here, I don't know why he bought this, nobody's going to move up here." And Roswell now is one of our most popular suburbs of Atlanta. My mom worked for him, so it wasn't like she was a builder or developer herself, but I saw how much she loved it. We lived in an apartment; we didn't even own a house until I was in high school. So when my mom was able to buy the first house, I saw how much pride it gave her, and so I feel like I have been in real estate all my life.
Vivian Tu: Officially, when did you start? Were you like 18, 20? Sit down.
Glennda Baker: 1992, when Jesus was a baby, that's when I started. I was 24 years old. My little daughter was born in October of 1991, and I started in real estate September 4th of 1992.
Vivian Tu: How did you feel going into this industry that's often times been pretty male-dominated?
Glennda Baker: Well, I didn't know that you didn't get paid every Friday. Like, I didn't realize I had to sell a house to get paid. I thought it was like a regular job. So I'm in the class, and the teacher is talking about, "Oh, well, you know, when you sell a $100,000 house, you get X% commission," and I was like, "What about the other days?" And she was like, "You only get paid when you sell a house." At first, I thought, "Oh, well, I need to get a job as an assistant, and then I'll have a paycheck every week," right? Because I had this small child, I needed a paycheck.
I went and interviewed with these ladies, and they were militant. They were the relo ladies, and I mean they were buttoned up, bows in their hair. I'm there and I'm talking, and she goes, "You can stop now." And I'm like, "Excuse me?" And she goes, "You're way too bubbly, you would drive me crazy, you can leave." I went to my car, I was crying. I was like, "Oh, my gosh." I called my mom, I'm like, "Mom, they won't even hire me because I'm too bubbly." She was like, "That's ridiculous, those are not your people, pumpkin."
The next day I had another interview, and I loved these ladies, Lucy and Irene. They called me the next day and they're like, "We love you," and I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, I love you guys too," and they're like, "Yeah, we're definitely not hiring you." And I'm like, "Why?" And she's like, "You're not going to be an assistant for long, and we don't want to train our competition. We wish you the best of luck."
I had been reading a book, How to Develop a Six-Figure Income in Real Estate, and I went to the real estate Taj Mahal-the biggest real estate office in Atlanta-and I walked in and I said, "Can I talk to the broker? Can I have a job, please?" I said, "Would you hire me?" And she goes, "Well, sure," and she was telling me a little bit about what I'm thinking. I said, "Look, I read this book. It says go to everybody that you know and tell them you're going to be a real estate agent. Five people are going to list their house with me, and nobody wants to hire me as an assistant." And she goes, "You have five listings? You don't even have your license yet?" And I said, "Yeah, because I read this book and this is what it told me to do, and that's what I did." And she goes, "You are hired."
I got there Monday morning at 9:00, and it was just me and the office administrator, the secretary. There was nobody there. I said, "Carol, where is everybody?" She goes, "It's real estate, it's optional, they'll stroll in if they come in around 11:00." I was like, "What?" And you're like, "This is amazing." I didn't have to be there until 5:00. She was like, "Nope." I said, "That's so weird," because my mom had worked Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, her whole life. I didn't understand that.
Then I started getting the lay of the land, and I saw the girl who was number one in the office. I moved my cubicle right outside of her office. I listened to everything that that girl said. If she needed a copy or a coffee, I went and got it, and I just absorbed everything that she did. By December, I was agent of the month. I went in every single day at 9:00.
Vivian Tu: You did that quick!
Glennda Baker: I didn't have the luxury to fail. Not selling a house was not an option, not getting a paycheck was not an option. I had to have the money.
Vivian Tu: How did you budget knowing that real estate's a commission-based job?
Glennda Baker: I literally didn't spend any money. Every single thing I spent, I spent as little money as possible. I ate like rice and beans and just took care of my little baby, and kept everything I could because early on I realized that I might not sell a house all of the time. I couldn't figure out the cadence of selling a house because I would see these agents and they would sell a house and then they wouldn't sell anything. I thought, "What is the difference? I need something that's predictable." What I realized was as long as I worked every day and I was consistent, the money would be consistent. That was probably my first biggest lesson in real estate: if I worked at it consistently, then consistently I would make money.
Vivian Tu: I can tell you're someone who loves to eat what they kill.
Glennda Baker: Absolutely. I was never picked on the playground-the last kid picked on the playground-and so for me, proving myself was important. When I found out, "Oh, wait a minute, I can do this and I don't have to reinvent the wheel, this girl's making a truckload of money, I can do that too," for me it was not only eat what you kill, but it was to prove myself.
Vivian Tu: Was there ever any animosity between that girl and you, now that you've kind of taken her seat?
Glennda Baker: No, there was never ever any animosity because she inspired me. We were never competitors; I stood in such awe of her and I realized the gift that I had been given to have the opportunity to listen to her talk, listen to her talk to clients, listen to her talk to agents. I had so much reverence for her. Competition happens in the basement; it doesn't happen in the penthouse, because in the penthouse you're always talking about how you can help each other.
Vivian Tu: Throughout your career, obviously a lot of things have changed. What do you think are the biggest changes in the industry overall? How did you sell a house then, and how do you sell one now?
Glennda Baker: The mechanics of it have changed because you have the ability to get so much more exposure with social media. Keep in mind I started in 1992-we still had a book, the computer text on the screen was green, and we used a fax machine.
Vivian Tu: For context, I was born in '94.
Glennda Baker: Yeah, so you don't even know what the green computer screen looks like. We still used microfiche! The mechanics of it have changed, but what hasn't changed is knowing the houses, knowing the data, and knowing the people. It's literally like a love connection-being able to match the person with the house. Those fundamentals will never ever change. What will change is how you do it, how efficient can you be. I look at AI and technology, and it only makes "super Glennda."
Vivian Tu: Do you remember the first sale you ever made?
Glennda Baker: So I listed my husband-at-the-time's cousin's house. It was a $60,000 condo, and he was ill. Everybody knew he was ill, that's why he was selling. We got it under contract on November 12th, and it was supposed to close on December 6th. He passed away between contract and closing, and I didn't tell anybody because it was my first sale and I hadn't had a paycheck since September 4th. The attorney calls me and says, "Hey Glenda, I just want to check and make sure that the seller's going to be coming to closing." And I said, "The seller will not be at closing." And she goes, "Okay." And I said, "But it's okay, we have a power of attorney." And she goes, "Okay."
I hang up the phone and I call Albert immediately. I said, "Hey Albert, they called and wanted to know if [the seller] was going to be at the closing, and I told them he's not going to be at the closing because he's passed away." The phone rings on my desk, and it's Linda Curry, the closing attorney-everybody knew that he'd been out. She says, "Glenda, is the seller dead?" And I said, "Yes, but it's okay because we have a power of attorney." She goes, "Glenda, the power of attorney died when he died." And we're like four days out from closing! I said, "This is a problem." She goes, "Yes, let's take a deep breath. Send me everything that you've got, have Albert call me, and let me talk through this with him."
Do you know that that attorney-the first closing attorney that I ever worked with-got us to closing on time? She called the probate judge that she knew, she got everything pushed through probate, she took care of his family, and she got us closed. That was when I realized on my first transaction who you knew was so important, and how competent they were was so important to the transaction.
Vivian Tu: What advice do you have for people who want to build out their network and know good people without feeling like they're just kissing ass?
Glennda Baker: You need to remember that you are in the driver's seat, that you are the one driving the bus, and you need to make sure that everybody on that bus with you understands that and understands how you work. I tell agents all the time, you need to make sure that you're working with people that are an extension of your brand, that will do whatever it takes to get you to the closing table. I don't spread out all my referrals among a huge group of people; I am loyal to my circle because those people are going to make sure that I'm a priority, that my client's a priority, and they're going to take care of us.
We had a problem yesterday, and the attorney is like, "Well, you know, I'm a real estate closing attorney, I'm not going to give them any advice about this." And I told Eveline, who's been with me nine years, "Let me explain something to you. If we're not working with an attorney who is creating more clarity than questions, we're not working with that attorney anymore, period." Everybody on my team creates clarity, because if you don't give the client clarity and certainty, they're confused, and that's where you lose them.
Vivian Tu: What is the biggest commission check you've ever cut?
Glennda Baker: $184,000 was the biggest commission check I ever made.
Vivian Tu: What'd you do with it?
Glennda Baker: I saved it. My 137,000 checkthatIpissedaway-Ilearnedalotfromthat.In 1995, I had the largest residential transaction in the state of Georgia ever- 5.5 million. I made $137,500 from that. I went out and bought a new Mercedes, I went on a shopping spree, and I pissed that money away rather than buying a townhouse on Lenox Road. That townhouse that was $100,000 in 1995 is now worth a million dollars. The car-who knows where, some salvage yard-and those clothes damn sure don't fit. I learned from that, and so when I made that $184,000, I stashed that away because I realized, not soon enough, but better late than never, that real estate would build generational, legendary wealth for me and my family.
Vivian Tu: When you talk about generational wealth, what do you mean by that?
Glennda Baker: This troll guy who makes my head spin around-snort flat on my nose-talked about these people that spent $150,000 on a house in 1975, and he says, "Oh, but Glenda, if they had put $150,000 in the stock market, it would be worth a zillion times more." Well, no shit, Sherlock! $150,000 is not how much they had to put down. For a $150,000 house back in 1975, they put $30,000 down. And now that $150,000 house is worth a million dollars. And that stock-if they bought Blockbuster or Kodak, two huge companies at that time-wouldn't be worth the paper that that shit's written on.
Number one, they had a place to live. Number two, they had a house in the best school district, it appreciated. So basically, not only did they live there for free, their money grew exponentially. That was their first home, they raised their kids there, and when her husband passed away, she had money for the rest of her life.
I don't want people to think you have to be rich to buy real estate; you don't. You just have to be smart with your money. Every time that you want to spend money at Crystal, at McDonald's, at Starbucks... every time you want to buy that pocketbook-my stars and stripes pocketbooks are expensive these days-every time you want to buy those shoes, if you just took that money and transferred it from your checking account... at the end of the year, you would have enough money to buy a house. Do you understand a $300,000 house you could buy for $10,000?
Vivian Tu: Specifically, you mentioned putting $10,000 down on a $300,000 home. Most people think you have to put 20% down. What do you mean by you can put down 10?
Glennda Baker: If you're a veteran, you could do 100% financing, but a first-time home buyer can do an FHA loan for 3.5% down [96.5% financing]. You can have the seller pay your closing costs. You could get a two-bedroom house-the worst two-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood that needs a lot of cosmetics, like Grandma's house. Grandma isn't living there with a terrible roof; she may be living there with avocado green appliances and shag carpet, but that's "Sweat Equity." You don't even have to know how to paint; you could get the paintbrush and learn how to paint. If you live there for two years, all of the money that you make is tax-free up to $250,000 if you're single, $500,000 if you're married, and then you can take that and put it into your next investment property.
Vivian Tu: I'm going to ask you your opinion on a couple of different real estate terms. House hacking: what do you think that means, and is it worth doing or is the hassle an issue?
Glennda Baker: For your first product, why would you take on that much liability? If the air conditioning goes out on a fourplex, do you have the money to replace an HVAC unit? I mean, it's Atlanta, Georgia, in August-it's like 100 degrees, humid. If the roof goes out, are you going to be able to replace the roof? And what is the likelihood that one of those three people is going to be difficult to deal with? One in four people are some sort of crazy! That's why I always say get a two-bedroom something to start, because let's start with whatever is easiest first and grow from there.
Vivian Tu: Airbnb arbitrage?
Glennda Baker: Do you understand that in the lease contract, in almost every lease contract, it says that you can't sublet and you can't do a short-term rental? When you enter into that arena, number one, you're doing something that's illegal; number two, you're doing something that's going to get you in trouble; and number three, you're going to get caught. It's 2024, 2025 for God's sakes, everybody gets caught in 4K! You don't need to do that.
Vivian Tu: Investing in foreclosure properties?
Glennda Baker: Foreclosure properties... if you don't have the money to make your house payment, when was the last time you had the HVAC unit serviced? Never. When was the last time you checked the gutters? People that don't have the money to make their payment fall behind, and there's a ton of deferred maintenance. There are not a ton of foreclosures right now in the market. If you can find them, praise the Lord and pass the money, but there's not a ton of them.
I honestly believe with all my heart and soul, if you can find a four-sided brick ranch, you can literally make legendary wealth out of buying those over 10 years of your life. These aren't the sexy homes; this is the bread and butter. Grandma's house-a four-sided brick ranch built in the '50s, '60s, or '70s. You can literally rent that all day every day and twice on Sunday. If it's vacant, you're not going to feel it like you're going to feel a fourplex with two units vacant.
Vivian Tu: Flipping a house à la Chip and Joanna Gaines?
Glennda Baker: If we could buy a $50,000 house and put $10,000 worth of shiplap and make it a modern farmhouse, we'd all be doing it. Is there an opportunity to flip? Yes, but in my opinion, if you're not going to make 30% on that, it's not worth it because you've got to think through the tax implications, the real estate commission, the cost to own it while you're doing renovations. If you're buying in an area that is transitioning, you will go broke replacing the interior of these HVAC units because people will steal that stuff. They'll steal the HVAC all day every day and twice on Sunday! I can take you 10 minutes from where we're sitting right now and I bet you I could find you 50 houses that have cages over the HVAC units so people won't steal them.
Go back to the tried-and-true, the bread and butter: the ranch that will rent all day every day. If you can get it close to a college, praise the Lord, because college students will live in that and they can't destroy it. They might make a hole in the sheetrock, but they're not going to make a hole in the brick. If you can get close to a hospital... I love getting close to the baseball stadium, because if you're going to do short-term rental, the baseball stadium has a three-day home stand, usually two adults and a couple of kids. It's cheaper for them to stay in an Airbnb than a hotel, much more comfortable, and they're going to be here three or four days. Praise the Lord and pass the money on that!
Vivian Tu: We talked a little bit earlier about the American dream. What about those of us who, Atlanta included, are living in some of these major metros and feel like it's really expensive to buy a primary residence? Is it better to buy a primary residence or buy an investment property and keep renting your primary?
Glennda Baker: It depends on how long you're going to be there. If Atlanta's going to be your home, if Miami's going to be your home, I'd love to see you buy there because the thing about it is, no matter when you buy-as long as you don't put yourself in a position to have to sell-you're always going to make money. I think that's one thing people are like, "Oh, well, when the market's down I'm going to lose money." True, but if you never put yourself in a position to have to sell, you'll always make money in real estate because you can pick and choose when you buy and when you sell. If you're going to be there long-term, I always think it's better to buy. If you're going to be there short-term, I would actually look at an investment property. I would live in an investment property myself, and then that way when I move from that city, I have an investment property there that I can rent.
Vivian Tu: Aside from length of time, is there anybody where you're like, "You actually shouldn't buy a home"?
Glennda Baker: People that relocate every three years-people who are at the mercy of their job. It's better for you to lease; it's almost like test-driving a neighborhood. If you're in the corporate world and you're relocated every three to five years, you don't need to buy unless you have a guaranteed buyout from your company. You can live in some swanky place with your housing allowance and not have to worry about contractors.
Vivian Tu: What do you think's going to happen with the real estate market now that the Fed is lowering rates?
Glennda Baker: I think it's going to unlock inventory. If you think that 2% and 3% was a normal interest rate, you were wrong-that was an abnormally low interest rate. But 8% to 9% is a high interest rate. Interest rates are just normalizing, but with interest rates coming down, it's going to unlock a lot of the people that are in there at 3% and 4% who are going to feel like their house has appreciated enough to offset the interest rate.
People move for five reasons: death, diapers, divorce, diamonds, and debt. Those things happen 365 days a year. Don't think Boomers are going to stay in a two-story house with 14 stairs between the first level and their bedroom. I promise you they're going to sell sooner than you think because Boomers' knees, hips, and backs are going-they're not going up and downstairs. So they're going to loosen up.
Vivian Tu: If you were not a power broker in Atlanta, what other markets would you want to work in and invest in?
Glennda Baker: I would probably look at Nashville. I think Nashville has so much going for it. And I got to tell you, I love Florida, I love South Florida, even though the real estate is really high and saturated. My biggest concern with Florida is: is it going to be insurable? Insurance companies are a for-profit business; they're not writing insurance on things that are a risk. I also like Vegas. I think Vegas has some opportunity. They got the hockey team, the football team, now they're building the baseball stadium, they're going to have a basketball team. There's lots of money that comes in, and concerts and the Sphere-those are huge money-makers and employment for people.
Vivian Tu: What's some advice you would give to a first-time home buyer right now?
Glennda Baker: Don't depend on an Amazon Prime experience for your first home. Look for the diamond in the rough. Right now, I have never seen condition intolerance like I have seen over the last 12 months-buyers who want the fixer-upper that's already done by Chip and JoJo, the HGTV Extreme Home Makeover house, the aesthetic TikTok house. They want to walk into it and bring their toothbrush, and that is the biggest mistake first-time home buyers make. I also see them paralyzed by uncertainty. The road is paved with dead squirrels that fail to make a decision-don't be roadkill! The longer that you wait to buy a house, the longer it takes you to start building equity. Don't be so paralyzed by fear, but also don't be afraid of a little work.
Vivian Tu: How much of your income is coming from real estate right now, and how much is coming from content?
Glennda Baker: About 30% of my income comes from content. A lot of real estate agents are selling real estate to create content-they're not really real estate agents, they just sell real estate so they can create content. "Come on this house tour with me for this $10 million house." Tuesday, I was previewing a $10 million house for a buyer and all these agents are there videotaping it.
I create content to sell real estate. When I was at a house on Paper Mill, I'm showing the behind-the-scenes of how the film industry is using this for a location. A celebrity saw that on my Instagram, contacted their real estate agent, and they actually bought that house. I am creating content to sell my real estate. I want to inspire, impact, and inform people with my content.
Vivian Tu: Has additional revenue from content changed your relationship with money in any way?
Glennda Baker: I gamified it. I was like, "This is money I never knew that I would ever make. I'm going to put it all over here in this one account, and if I get to this number, then I'm going to use 50% of it, I'm going to put a swimming pool in the backyard, and the other 50% I'm going to go buy a house." What did I do this year? I put a swimming pool in my backyard and I went and bought a house. I never in my life thought that I would have the opportunity to help people, and people call me from all over the world. Women who have gone through divorce, who haven't worked for 26 years... I want to help those people. That's who I am. Every day I wake up and I get to do this. I'm living the dream.
Vivian Tu: Would you encourage your kids to get into real estate?
Glennda Baker: My little daughter works with me. When she first started, she was difficult-she's a "driver" on the DISC test. But I think you have to kind of find your own way, and I became self-aware enough that trying to push a square peg into a round hole wasn't the right way. My little son could sell you shit and make you think it smelled good! He's so charming, he loves people. I think at some point he'll get into real estate, but he's 23 years old and he's having fun. The most important thing to me for my kids is that they're happy and healthy, and everything else will fall into place.
Vivian Tu: For the next generation, what kinds of changes do you think need to happen to make home buying more accessible?
Glennda Baker: Affordability for homes is so out of reach, and I honestly believe that is because Wall Street is buying everything from zero to $500,000. Atlanta is their top market to purchase. 60% of $0 to $500,000 homes have been purchased by Wall Street to be rentals-private equity companies. They're renting the American dream back to you; they're keeping you on the hamster wheel.
I would love to see some way around giving them every opportunity to beat out Bobby and Susie and the average Joe. Our military, our public safety, our teachers should be first in line to buy houses. Doctors get a 100% loan with a medical degree-they put nothing down, student debt doesn't matter. Why are you not doing that for our military, our public safety, and our teachers? Making lending guidelines and preferable interest rates for those people.
Number two, I don't believe that there should be capital gains on anything that is your primary residence as long as you've lived in it for two years of the last five. Why am I being taxed on the gain when I've paid my property taxes, payroll taxes, income taxes, and now you're going to tax me because the house that I bought, that I painted, that I took care of, appreciated in value?
The cost of living is unsustainable for the average person. What's happening is you're making this gap wider between the haves and the have-nots, and the have-nots are going to be "have-nothings." That is what concerns me about housing: if Wall Street owns everything and we're a renter nation, you're forever going to be on the hamster wheel of working your brains out for nothing.
Vivian Tu: Tell everyone where we can find you.
Glennda Baker: It's Glennda Baker-G-L-E-N-N-D-A B-A-K-E-R. My dad's name was Glenn, I'm Glennda, but it's Glennda Baker everywhere. Just Google Glennda, G-L-E-N-N-D-A, and you can find me wherever you like to be.
Vivian Tu: Thank you so much for being here.
Glennda Baker: Thanks, Vivian.