S2 E39: Relationships in Real Estate | Referrals, Trusted Partners & How Connection Drives Closings

Real estate is a relationship business, and nobody knows that better than Brittney. In this episode of Closing Chapters, she wraps up her 2019 transaction log by sharing one of the most fulfilling deals of the year: a referral she got to give rather than receive. A connection from her Shaw Air Force Base days reached out with a friend who needed help buying her first home in Greenville, South Carolina. Brittney had exactly the right person for the job: a fellow realtor she had built a genuine relationship with through the Buffini and Company system over many years. The result? A 26-year-old first-time buyer closed on a two-story home near 2,000 square feet for just $285,000 in October 2019. A win all the way around.

But the episode goes much deeper than one deal. Brittney unpacks what it really means to be the source of the resources, how she builds her referral network intentionally, and why matching clients to the right agent or lender is as important as the transaction itself. From customizing lender recommendations to plant a soft listing pitch in a FSBO exit conversation, her approach to relationships is methodical, genuine, and deeply values-driven.

She also opens up about a current client scenario involving a military member relocating from Hawaii, a mom serving as POA, household goods coming from overseas, and a tight timeline before field training kicks in. If you have ever wondered what it truly looks like to advocate for a military family through every layer of a move, this episode makes it crystal clear.

Key Takeaways

• Referrals are not just about sending business. They are about matching the right people with the right professionals.
• Building a referral network takes years. The payoff is that when the moment comes, you have exactly the right person to call.
• Every lender and agent in your network should be vetted for personality and working style, not just results.
• Referral fees are a real and valuable part of a sustainable real estate business. Do not give them away for free.
• Military clients often have moving parts most people never consider: POAs, overseas household goods, field training schedules, and tight timelines.
• Being the source of the resources means your reputation lives on both ends of every connection you make.
• First-time buyers in their mid-20s purchasing solid homes is worth celebrating and supporting with every tool you have.

🎧If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone building a real estate business or navigating a military move. Every share helps this podcast reach the families and agents who need it most.

Closing Chapters Podcast: Where Every Mission Has A Story

Thanks for listening. We talk all things military real estate, my transactions, the mistakes, the wins, and simple plays you can use right now.

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Disclaimer: This podcast education only & is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Talk with your own pros about your situation. Opinions are my own.

© 2025 Brittney Frye. All rights reserved. Realtor, license # 352197 in NC. Brokerage: REAL Broker l Military Division

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey there friend, welcome back to the closing chapters podcast where every mission has a story. When we know that our friend is a jam-up realtor on the other side, we want nothing more than every opportunity to send business their way because we know that they one deserve it, they've earned it, and two, will take fantastic care of their clients, which in turn reflects very well on us. Hello, hello, my friends. Welcome back to the Closing Chapters podcast. We are officially ending 2019. We are gonna discuss my last transaction of 2019, and it was actually a referral that I was able to give, which is our dream as realtors to be able to pass along good people to other good realtors, which is amazing. So I just want to hash out some of the reasons why in this business relationships are so so so important. And this is on a client level and a business level, and this is one of the examples why. So often we spend all of our time trying to make these connections and have these great realtors and a network all around us, and that sole purpose is so that we get to support someone on both ends of the deal whenever it is time. And what I mean by that is when there's other great realtors in the business and you know that they are doing things in a morally, ethically inclined way, and that they care about their client first and they align with you and how you do your business, to you, that is like, can I please support you so there's more of us in the world? And it's not someone's better than the other or whatever have you, but still when you find people that are like-minded and work well and work and align with you, you want to support them, right? It's the same concept as when we have our friends that are selling great products and we want to help support them doing arts and crafts or this fresh food or selling their eggs from their chickens, whatever it might be. If they are in it, we are in it to win it with them, right? We support them all the way. It's no different in real estate. When we know that our friend is a jam-up realtor on the other side, we want nothing more than every opportunity to send business their way because we know that they one deserve it, they've earned it, and two, will take fantastic care of their clients, which in turn reflects very well on us because we are the source of the resources, aka a trusted advisor. Now, this also goes on the flip side. Whenever we are sending these referrals to these people that we love, know, trust, and have built a relationship usually for many years, waiting for that moment to be able to support them. We same deal. We want to send them good referrals. So we are looking for people that we enjoy working with and asking them, like, hey, duplicate yourself, please. I want to work with more people like you. So, in this instance, I had an opportunity to speak with one of the spouses in our CE unit back from Shaw Air Force Base. Mind you, at this time we were in South Dakota, and they actually, funny story, this particular spouse, their family had gotten stationed in North Dakota. So they were in Minot, North Dakota, and we were in Ellsworth, South Dakota. Very thankful that we were in South Dakota. North Dakota is a little lot more harsher than where we were at, and they had actually been there for a little while, but we were connecting over that, and then it was like, oh my gosh, I have a friend that is wanting to move to Greenville and needs some help buying her first home. Do you have someone there? And I was like, Yes, hands down, I do. And I have had the beauty of having a relationship with this amazing realtor, Susan Waters, in that area for many years. We met through the Buffini and Company system and we've always kept in touch. And so it was very awesome to be able to say, Susan, I finally have one for you, because there's not really a big military installation that way. We are about two hours away from them in Sumter, and we loved going to that area to visit. It's a beautiful area. However, my world typically revolves around mainly military folks. So the idea that I was gonna have a whole lot of opportunities to send people her way was hard. So this was like a winter winter chicken dinner. I was so excited. So, and on top of it, the gal that introduced us, the one that was the CE spouse, she is top-notch, top notch. She had been going to school, finishing her master's program for social work, and she had it together, and she was a very kind, sweet, encouraging human being. Whenever our spouses were deployed, we went out a couple of times together, just very genuine, cared about her health and was very service-oriented, all around good people, and all around good people tend to attract all around good people. And this was no further from the truth. So, but I want to tell you this is probably nominally now, but this gal bought her first house in a blooming, busy city for $285,000 in October of 2019. That is amazing, and I'm not talking about a rink-a-dink, very, very, very, very basic home. I'm talking about like a nice home. I it was two stories, almost 2,000 square feet, and a decent size home for a single lady buying her first home. That, my friends, is an amazing accomplishment. An amazing accomplishment. And at the time, the gal that referred her was in her mid-20s. So I would assume that maybe she was probably in her mid-20s, which is even crazier. Just the fact that people in their mid-20s are purchasing homes is fantastic on their own. And I think that this is just one of these beautiful ways where we see community come together. So often we're like, I'm I'm so sorry I don't have anybody for you. I want to send someone your way, but you know that you're the first on my list. And then when the opportunity arises and you're like, game on, let's go, let's go, friend. Then it feels so good and so rewarding to know that we are getting to give love back, right? So this is the one of the huge blessings of real estate as being like a realtor is one, I want to be a trusted advisor. I want to be the source of the resources, and I want to make connections because I really, really do care actually about who I'm sending referrals to. I really care about connecting with other people that do align with how I run my business. And when you find those people, they appreciate that, right? So that's the blessing is that they understand there's a purpose and a reason behind some of the questions, and why do you do this or how do you do that, or whatever the case might be. They don't see it as why are you drilling me? And honestly, it's not even like that. Most of the time, we have gradually made a relationship over time, met at conferences, had one-to-one Zoom calls, whatever the case may be, hopping on the phone every once in a while. So we have just learned each other from having those general conversations, like checking in about our lives and what we're doing and how business is going, what the highlights are, all that stuff very authentically and naturally comes to be. So it certainly helps that we're both in the Buffini system because that truly is like the foundation, the baseline of relationship first, meaning people first, client first. We take care of our clients and then worry about the rest, or the rest will come, is the way that I think about it. So to me, that makes all the difference in the world. And also, this is one of the things on a sidebar that I honestly need to get better about in my business. I have a tendency to just want to help people and forget that I am an entrepreneur and that I run a business and that that it takes money to run a business. So, in this instance, it was beautiful. I was able to get a referral fee from this connection and setting the these ladies up. But all too often, I'm like, yeah, I'll get you connected and don't worry about it. And that's not the way that we should be running this business, and that's not the way that I should be proposing it to my clients. If you are a past customer client, friend in my sphere, then you should know that that is a huge part of supporting my business is to say, hey, I have a friend. Hey, I have a family member that's going through a transition. We need someone. Who do you have? And allowing me to make those connections because one, I am going to pre-vet those connections. And two, if you tell me or I know of this person and there's a certain dynamic or personality trait that we need to match well, then I'm going to customize who I'm referring you to based on that information. It's the same thing with my realtors, right? Like I, my realtors, my lenders. I give a list of at least three lenders, and I tend to choose realtors that have lenders, my goodness, if I can get my word straight. I choose lenders that have different traits or strengths on purpose. I get along with all of them, and we have a very common denominator, but there's some that are more hands-on, gonna step you through every step of the way. There's some that are just very numbers-driven and oriented. And then I've got my chill as a cucumber. Let's just do this thing. You're not worried about me, and I'm not worried about you. Get me the paperwork and I'll make it happen in the background. So, very different styles depending on what each person feels they need or would like to have in their experience. Same thing with realtors, right? They all can be a little bit different. We all have our different strengths and weaknesses, and depending on that, my recommendation may be different. The other part is that it might be a situation where someone's, I need more than one name and I will vet them myself. Fantastic. Then I'm gonna give you the names and I'm gonna give you my breakdown, just like I do with my lenders. Whenever I send over my lenders, I will say, Hey, this is their superpower, this is their personality. You need to, here's your here's our checklist, who aligns well with you and who do you want to reach out to? But here, here is the quick overall view of what you're gonna get with them. And I think that that tends to be so helpful because then we are truly taking the time to play matchmaker and align people with the correct people because that is a part of the experience. If I connect you with someone that just wasn't right for you and you don't jive well, then once again, that reflects upon me. So building these relationships and having good referral partners truly is a huge part of my business. And just a reminder and a shameless plug, once again, if you or anybody that you know has someone that is going through a transition and needs a realtor, please reach out to me. I am always happy to be the source of the resources and to make the connections. I love this part of my business. I love getting to support other realtors, I love getting to have the conversations with them and to say, hey, this is the scenario, this is what's going on. I need someone that's gonna love this person deeply through this process and these are their goals. Let's go! And be able to be the glue there. So it's so amazing. Also, on the flip side, when I get to receive a lot of my business is by referral from other agents, meaning I'm receiving referrals from other agents. And just yesterday, I had an amazing conversation with another agent out of Charlottesville, Virginia. And she called me and she was like, I talked. So I have a client in Hawaii, and I had the pleasure of having mom come into town to do the in-person vetting. So that way we can have a house ready for him before he's boots on the ground, which is amazing. All too often we don't have someone close enough to come be the intermediary. So it's always really cool when you get that opportunity. So she calls me and she's friends with mom too. And she's, I just talked to mom, and she said that you guys found options, and I'm so excited, and I'm just so thankful that you are the one. You are the one on the other side of the deal. And we started talking a little bit more and talked about some of the stories that we shared, and it was just a really good conversation with this realtor. And then I let her know, I was like, hey, oh, by the way, because we're not under contract yet, right? At this point, we have just picked out properties and we're talking to the lender for the next steps because it's a new construction, and there's some extra things along the lines there. So we're in the process of. And I said, Hey, we've got some options, and depending on which one he chooses, our outcome could be a little bit different. Meaning our closing time frame could be a little bit different, and there's some moving parts going on behind it. So I just want you to know we have discussed worst case scenario, and this is what it is. And that for her was like the icing on the cake. And you might go, gosh, Brittany, why are you talking about the worst thing that could happen? Let me fill you in a little bit. The worst case scenario was, hey, my client can't be here to sign for his house. What do we do? Right? Mom is now our POA and we are making sure that we get this house, get keys in our hands. By the way, my household goods are coming from overseas, and when they arrive, they arrive and somebody needs to get them. And if I am not here, if we do not coordinate this to when I'm going to be here, what happens? I don't want myself going into storage. No problem, my friend. I will receive your household goods. We will make it happen. So those were the scenarios we were talking about. And she was like, I can't believe that you guys have that all lined up, that you just know and and are doing all of that. And she was like, This is why you do what you do. And it is why I do what I do. This is not just about the actual transaction, this is about making sure my whole person is taken care of. When you are transitioning in the military, there are so many moving parts. And this gentleman is no stranger to that. And he is literally coming in, has this time frame to get settled, boots on the ground before he is out of state for a training, back to go into another training, right? And that training is gonna be a ping-pong machine, no consistency, no understanding of what your next step is going to be. Basically, you get a phone call and say, be here this day, this time. Oh, by the way, this weekend you're gonna be out in a field for 30 days, no contact to anybody, a lot of volatility, a lot of volatility. And I know this. And so the best thing I can do is have control of those strings and the hard parts and make sure that we are two steps ahead. And this is why choosing who you work with on the other end can be so important and why understanding what's going on in your buyer's world or seller's world is so important, right? I have a seller right now that is in Spain. I needed to have everything situated before they were out the door. And as soon as they were out the door, it was like, okay, how are we proceeding forward? So we have done a great job of just being able to ping pong off of each other and make sure that everything is taken care of. And oh, by the way, when it comes to negotiations, having to say, no, my friend, you will not have an answer by this time because it's the middle of the night their time, and they're not going to stay up all night waiting for us. So truly understanding all of the dynamics and what works best for each client is so important. And one of the things we talked about with my folks in Spain is they were shipping puppers with them. And I said, Hey, before I knew when they were leaving, I said, Are you accounting for the dogs? Are they coming with you and are you good there? And they were like, Yeah, we're actually leaving in two weeks to make sure that we can fly with the dogs before it gets too hot. Because the dogs go in the cargo areas, and if it's too hot, they will not let them fly. So I've had a friend that was going to Guam and she actually had to stay behind. Husband had to go ahead, she had to stay behind with the pets because they had to wait until it was far enough past the high heats and humidity where it was going to be safe for the pets to travel. So there's all these little nuances and things that you start to learn along the way whenever you are working with military families. So then our job was to prioritize. Okay, you have two weeks, that's no time, my friend. So this is what we need to focus on first and foremost. And the rest that does not get handled, we will take as it comes. If it's a concern, if it's an issue, then we will address it when we need to. So that's like where we were at. And that's okay. I think this idea that everything has to be done in one foul swoop is beautiful and amazing, but it's not always practical. Now, when I tell you what we prioritized, my what we prioritized was having the house showing ready. It was clean, it was painted, it was not disheveled in any way, shape, or form. Now, did we do updates to the house? No, we did not. Did we work on a dock out back? No, we did not. There were some things that were like a contingency. Like if you just have all the time in the world, this would be lovely. This should be done in an ideal world. But the house is the priority. Make sure the shutters are taken off, painted, and put back up. Make sure there is nothing like shrubbery-wise growing on the house or close to the house. Get that fresh mulch down. First impressions matter. They had new carpet going in. There is rooms that have been painted and rooms I had not. Take off those vent covers, scrub them up, put them on, paint them, give them a fresh coat. All of those things to make sure that the house conveyed very well. And they did all of that in less than two weeks, which is amazing. So, once again, this is one of those things where knowing your priorities, knowing what's going to actually give you the most bang for your buck, so to speak, given the time frame and the parameters that we are working with, is where I excel, where most realtors that have military experience excel. And we know the life and we know what we can work with and what we can help with on the back end. So relationships matter, my friends. I am so blessed to work in a relationship business because if you know me, you know my heart is to care deeply. And I wear my heart on my sleeve openly, and I value that. I really feel like everyone deserves to have someone in their corner, and I am always their biggest cheerleader. And I want to make sure that everyone is taken care of, regardless of whether I am the one that gets the honor of taking care of you or not. And there's a lot of times that I will stretch and try my best to do what I can to make sure that I get to be the one to take care of you because I I love the opportunity and care about it. And but if it's not in my wheelhouse, then I surely am going to make sure that the person on the other end is your person. And I actually recently had a referral to coming out not in Greenville, but a little bit further out on that side of the world, where somebody was selling a house and they were selling this my client's house that was not an easy sale, and they got it done quickly. And my client was so impressed. And oh, by the way, she used to be a realtor, and oh, by the way, she also was a lender. So she's a very apt in this world and knows what to expect. And she just kept saying, Brittany, I am so impressed with him. He is crushing it. So that is the biggest compliment in the world for both ends, too. So I just want you to know that I value my relationship so highly, and I love the fact that I am trusted to play matchmaker and make sure that you or anyone you know is in really good hands, whether it is me or one of my referral partners. So I hope you have a wonderful day. And remember, all of those beautiful relationships around you, they matter and they are worthy, and you are worthy all day long. Hey! I just wanted to say thank you for being here and listening in on this episode of Closing Chapters with me. I truly enjoy putting this content together, and I hope that you enjoy it too. If so, could you like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you know that will enjoy it just as much as you did? Thank you so much.