Great Western Featured Realtor: Never Short on Wisdom, Erika Warfield Works Every Day to be Better Than The Last

Talk about an interesting Realtor! Erika Warfield has a background in TV and has a passion for real estate. Warfield, whose a Realtor with Dallas City Center, is a Dallas transplant who loves our city and is the first to say that she may not be a native, but she got her as soon as she could.

Besides channelling Joan Jett and being an altogether rock star (really!) Warfield is funny, humble, straightforward, and so much fun to talk to. Those are all fantastic assets you want in a Realtor, which is why she is this week’s Great Western Home Loans Featured Realtor, sponsored by Jeff Lindigrin.

Jeff takes great care as a lender, as he should. Of course, every sale should have a lender that works just as hard to get a great deal as their Realtor. What has your lender done for you lately? Find out what you’re missing by contacting Jeff Lindigrin with Great Western Home Loans today.

CandysDirt.com: Where are you from?

Erika Warfield: Well, with my passion for all things vintage and my own personal code of conduct, I would have to say from a bygone era.

I’m thinking the 1950s. Basically, I resonate with Brendan Fraser’s character, “Adam,” in Blast from the Past.

As far as location … I was a military contractor’s brat for most of my youth, growing up in foreign countries that still boggle my adult senses even now (like Tehran, Iran, for starters).

So, I’m not sure I could pick any one place that I’m “from”, other than to say that I was born in California and took a somewhat circuitous route that included parts of the US, Mexico, the Middle and Far East, with a lengthy stopover in the Mediterranean, before becoming a transplanted Texan.

CD: We know you have a background in TV, so how did you get into real estate?

EW: Rather simultaneously if I recall. I got started in real estate about the same time that I was breaking into local Radio/TV/Film.

Ironically, this is the one question where there’s not much of a story to tell.

I can make up a really outrageous one if you’d prefer…

(Like I’m, also, a classically trained musician secretly lobbying Joan Jett, while she’s on tour, for a klezmer clarinet solo in the middle of “Bad Reputation”… Okay, only part of that is made up)…

But, the truth is I got my start when Kevin Caskey hired me…

(Upon being stuck with me as the door prize along with a plastic MetroTex click pen at a TREPAC Auction… Yeah, that’s made up, as well)

… to assist him with lead generating when we were at another brokerage about 8 years ago. Having had a heavy-duty sales background in another industry, lead generating in real estate came rather naturally. I am totally blessed to be reunited with Kevin (and the highly coveted MetroTex click pen) at Dallas City Center.

I, hereby, respectfully request for this question in future profiles to be a Mad Libs, fill-in-the-blank essay question. That was way more interesting than “I was hired to assist Kevin with lead-generating”.

CD: You are too funny! We will definitely take that suggestion under consideration! Moving on, it seems like everyone wants to move to Dallas these days. Tell us: What are some unique challenges that Realtors face in this super hot market where everyone wants to buy a house now?

EW: I think there are many unique challenges in a seller’s market. All of those challenges get hammered in a variety of media by other REALTORS… things like:

• Low inventory,
• Handling multiple offers,
• Sellers not willing to sell because they’ll be stuck with heavy competition and a quick turnaround time to buy,
• Other REALTORS overpricing a listing just to get a listing,
• Other REALTORS finding inventive ways not to disclose the “sold” price in MLS after closing…

(Oh, wait. REALTORS don’t actually “talk” about those last two. What am I thinking?)

Those last two points are my own pet peeves in terms of unique challenges that ethical REALTORS are forced to deal with.

None of those challenges, however, top what in my mind is the universal challenge in any market no matter what the industry, and that is  “managing client expectations,” which addresses that entire list I just rattled off, doesn’t it?

I think if you really are a top-notch sales hound, it behooves you to manage your clients’ expectations. It alleviates a lot of stress for clients, as they don’t feel the need to second guess everything, or feel like they are being left in the dark. They, also, appreciate it when you can do it from a position of knowledge, tempered with humility.

But, I’m thinking if I’m a buyer or a seller, I really don’t give a rip what other unique challenges my REALTOR is facing. Just overcome them.

CD: Where is home for you in Dallas?

EW: Church… during broken, passionate, sold-out-for-God worship.

CD: And you drive a … let me guess, Range Rover?

EW: Bwahahahahaha!

Um.

No.

I wouldn’t drive a Range Rover unless it was one I personally helped to rebuild, or if an American company suddenly bought out Range Rover from the East Indian corporation that now owns it and has its HQ in Mumbai, India.

I drive a Dodge Durango that I personally rescued out of a salvage yard (owned by a guy who has one of the largest private collections of Shelby Mustangs) for $1,000 …  solely for the challenge of pulling a “Steve Austin” transformation in the ultimate recycling project. I named my Durango “Snowman”, after the $80 Champion Show-Jumping Horse of the 1950s, who was an old plow horse rescued from a slaughter house by a Dutch immigrant and survivor of WWII. There’s a great book by Elizabeth Letts if you’ve never read it. Somebody please option this and turn it into a movie stat.

At any rate, it took a year to rebuild the Durango, but things went much faster when I fired my first mechanic after I solved the problem of why the computer and engine weren’t talking to each other. The Durango needed an older model engine that used a 16-tooth exciter ring to be compatible. What it had from the previous owner was a newer model engine with a 32-tooth exciter ring in the crankshaft. So, I sold the newer, incompatible engine for more than what I bought the Durango for, bought a compatible engine in Tulsa, and away we went with our tinkering.

So, I’m sticking with my “Snowman” until he can drive no longer, and would not consider a Range Rover pretty much ever. A Shelby, however…

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

EW: I think last spring’s pink, two-tiered, mid-length trench with detachable hood by Betsey Johnson on sale at NorthPark Center is pretty groovy. So cute and utterly feminine!

You know… I don’t really have a favorite “’hood,” per se. I think that’s a loaded question for any REALTOR to answer, especially with regards to EHO.

What I can say is that I whole-heartedly believe that any ‘hood that gives back to the community and uplifts the plight of others in any way, be it for people or stray/feral animals, to make Dallas a better place for all is my type of ‘hood.

CD: What was your best/highest sale?

EW: With my former business partner, $1.75 million was my highest, but then again I don’t necessarily equate “highest” with that which is the “best”…

For that, I would have to say any sale where all parties, including the REALTORS, act like grown-ups, is the best sale because then you have what amounts to a “Win-Win” transaction for everybody involved.

I’m all about alleviating stress for everyone, especially in a business relationship. Stress is literally the silent killer of our culture. Folks certainly don’t need anymore stress from me.

I think you can represent and protect your client without becoming ugly about the whole thing, and too, this is where being able to manage yourself and others comes into play once again.

CD: Likewise, what was your most challenging or memorable transaction?

EW: I think the most memorable one is the one I’m working on now that hasn’t officially become a transaction. I’m in the process of assisting a senior citizen who lived through decades of segregation and Jim Crow laws in Dallas and went to Booker T. Washington long before it was an integrated Arts Magnet. Others have taken advantage of this senior citizen previously, and I cannot bear the thought of it happening again. I could not care any less if I never see a dime in commission, because that is entirely not my motivation. Making sure this person is safe is all that matters to me.

CD: How quickly have you ever turned a house?

EW: Five offers within 12 hours of listing (with my former business partner).

CD: How much did you sell last year?

EW: Over $11 million in production (with my former business partner).

CD: What words of wisdom do you often share with clients?

EW: “Sagacity, intelligence, sense, common sense, shrewdness, astuteness, smartness, judiciousness, judgment, discernment, prudence, circumspection; logic, rational, rationality, soundness, acumen, and advisability.”

Oh, you meant “advice”?

Be coachable.

And, don’t eat gluten or refined sugars.

Oh, you meant about real estate?

Yes. “Be coachable” should cover that.

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

EW: Be a ridiculously festooned, acrobatic, opera singer extraordinaire with Cirque du Soleil traveling the world with my rescue Pit, or the first female Republican President of the United States.

There is a theme there regarding timeline, by the way.

How about a sharp-shooting, MK11-wielding sniper for the Navy SEALs with my own knitting and “cyclista” blog?

Nuts. I thought so.

If money were no object, aside from all of the above career choices, I would devote my time to animal rescue, which is one of my many passions. Animal rescue, in terms of advocacy and financial support, is an area that I adamantly incorporate into my business practice currently. In fact, while I’m on that subject, there is a great 501(c)3 here in Dallas called SAFER Stray and Feral Rescue in desperate need of funding…

SAFER’s Mission is:

• To practice Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in the humane sterilization of all cats to control Dallas’ HUGE over-population problem.
• SAFER is recognized, supported and preferred by Dallas Animal Services, under the auspices of the Dallas Cat Lady.
• SAFER is looking to raise $200,000 for their own spay/neuter clinic to affect a more drastic drop in the number of unsterilized feral cats with regard to our city’s feral over-population problem.

For anyone interested in donating to improve the lives of homeowners/Dallas residents and the feral cat community, as well as lowering taxpayer burdens regarding the use of Dallas Animal Services, please go to www.SaferCat.org, or DallasCatLady.org  or feel free to give me a call. Thanks!

Another area of profound interest, advocacy and activism, which I have recently started to explore, is issues pertaining to women’s health.

CD: Do you have a second home? If so, where?

EW: Yes. Parked next to a multi-million dollar Class A Coach owned by a Dallas Maverick and a fully restored 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

My second home is a tricked-out, renovated, extremely rare 1967 FAN Coach Travel Trailer that I take “glamping” with my rescue Pit, Bettie.

(Yes, I did have a hand in renovating that vehicle, too).

Our next trip is a vintage trailer rally (and contest with a “Tin Can Tour”… like the Neighborhood Home Tours, but with bonfires and gourmet Beanie-Weanies) to hang out with some really cool folks, who also have a passion for vintage travel trailers, unless I sell the FAN before then.

Currently, I have her on the market, but will only sell her to somebody who appreciates the history and Americana of vintage travel trailers. It’s the “Trailer of Supreme Awesomeness” that Kevin Caskey so kindly showcased on his personal FaceBook page. As much as I would like to keep her, I’m finding that I don’t get to take her out as much as I used to, and she deserves to be out and about more than she is.

Having the FAN has given me a renewed spirit of adventure, one that you just can’t get going back and forth from House A to House B, like the little tin dude you plink at with a toy gun at the State Fair.

Plink, plink, plink, PLINK!

Not really my schtick.

For anyone interested, if that’s not really your schtick either, hit me up (via phone at 214.793.2332, or email at [email protected]) and we can chat about my vintage, retro 1967 FAN Coach Travel Trailer…

Or we can chat about something that most likely is more interesting to you, like finding or selling your luxury home!