SAN FRANCISCO – Yes, that is Donald Trump’s real hair. And no, there won’t be a bursting real estate bubble.
That’s according to Kendra Todd, 27, a real estate entrepreneur who was victorious in the latest round of Trump’s reality show on NBC, “The Apprentice.”
Todd, who spoke Wednesday at Real Estate Connect 2005, a real estate technology conference, told a crowd of real estate professionals and innovators about her secret to success: do something different, and do it well.
“Create a niche and grow rich,” she said.
She is a licensed real estate agent for RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Boca Raton, Fla., and president of MyHouseRE.com, a marketing company that supplies investors with information on pre-construction and new-construction projects in Florida and other select markets.
“You have to do something different. You have to set yourself apart from the rest. Find a niche that not everyone else is doing and do it better than the rest,” she said.
Todd first entered the real estate market as an investor, and she realized there was a need for more information about real estate investment opportunities. She has been a licensed real estate agent for about three years. She advises clients against flipping, she said, though it does happen in her market areas.
While the Florida real estate market has been very hot, Todd said she doesn’t believe there is any cause for alarm. Real estate is a conservative business, and properties will continue to sell if they are in the right location and at the right price, she said. “Bubbles are for bathtubs, folks.”
Still, investors should be educated, she said. “We need to educate people so they’re not flying into real estate investment like cowboys and cowgirls.”
While “The Apprentice” reality TV show features a game show-like competition for a job at one of Trump’s businesses, the real business world is not so different, Todd said. “It’s not a game, but in business you have to employ strategy. It’s all about timing.”
She is no stranger to the media spotlight, and has starred as a radio personality in Florida prior to her appearance on reality TV. “I recognize the power of the media,” she said.
Real estate is a great vehicle to realize financial freedom, Todd said, and it is also an empowering career. “Real estate is a great way to transform your life and be your own boss,” she said.
Though she has been a licensed real estate agent for about three years, Todd does not focus on listing properties and doesn’t use a multiple listing service – the properties she specializes in generally don’t appear in an MLS. “I wish there was a better database to find projects and to find deals,” she said.
Her clients won’t work with a real estate agent if they don’t have to, she said. “They don’t care about where they get the information as long as they get the best resource.”
As the winner of “The Apprentice,” Todd is in charge of sales and marketing for a 43,000-square-foot estate in Florida that she said is expected to fetch one the highest home prices in U.S. history.
As for Trump’s hair, “It’s real, it’s just really hair-sprayed. It’s a distinguishing characteristic.”
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