Hot Property: Richard Soto, VIP Realty. Kind of a VIP Himself!

Meet Richard Soto, owner/broker of  VIP Realty here in Dallas. Richard has an interesting story: he is an agent who spends more time on marketing and SEO than he actually does selling. That’s because Richard is an extremely tech-savvy agent, and he knows where his business comes from: the web. Whether it’s Dallas homes for sale, Fort Worth real estate or Dallas Condos, Richard always tries to maximize his listings’ SEO, he says: that’s job one!  In fact, our interview was conducted via video shot at Richard’s desk when he was down in Houston, then emailed me. Love it!

CD: So are you a native Dallasite or what…..

RS: You bet, born here in Dallas, right at Parkand Hospital.

CD: Where do you live? House or Condo? House style?

RS: We live in a home in Coppell, a traditional style home.

CD: And you drive a… let me guess, Mercedes Benz

RS: You got it! I drive a Mercedes Benz.

CD: What’s your favorite ‘hood in Dallas and why?

RS: Lavalita in Las Colinas. There are always a lot of kids there, all my son’s friends live there, and there’s always a 3 on 3 basketball game going on! There are lakes and a true family friendly environment.

CD: If you could move in Dallas, where else might you live — what other neighborhood?

RS: If I could move anywhere it would be Highland Park, great area and great neighborhood great schools. But living in Highland Park is very expensive.

CD: How the heck did you get started in Real Estate? Who’d you work for first?

RS: I got into real estate by default: I graduated from college, and could not get a job. Nobody was hiring. I met Mike Reese who works in Keller Williams in Frisco, he introduced  me to Jay Kinder out of Lawton, OK who  I hung out with him for a couple of days, thought it looked easy, Jay he was doing very well for himself was one of the nation’s top producers. I got back to Dallas and said, I think I’ll go get a real estate license.

CD: What’s your worst sales nightmare? Just worst transaction ever?

RS: We showed a client 80 different homes, they ended up buying a new home, new construction, but they didn’t put my name down because they assumed they would get a better deal by not paying me a commission.

CD: What’s your best/highest sale?

RS: A $3.5 million commercial shopping center

CD: Oh you do commercial too, that’s right. How quickly have you ever turned a house?

RS: Within 24 hours, contract signed, ink drying in 5 or 6 hours.

CD: How much did you sell last year?

RS: We did more than 250 real estate transactions last year.

CD: Not going to give out the volume, eh? Secrets to marketing a house?

RS: The secret to marketing a home is pricing it right. As we both know Candy, the only thing that really matters ultimately is the pricing of the home

CD: If you ever change careers for an encore you’ll…

RS: Become a marketing and SEO and consultant. I am passionate, I love SEO, but I don’t want to do anything else but real estate for the time being.

CD: What is your favorite place for a second home and why?

RS: Chicago, I really love Chicago, the skyline and the lake. Another would be San Diego: that 75 degree weather would sure come in handy when it’s 110 degrees in Texas!