Under Contract

Tim Donovan
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship

Under Contract is a show for real estate agents and team leaders who want to build a real business, not just chase the next transaction. Host Tim Donovan sits down with top-producing agents and brokers across the country to break down exactly how they built what they built. Their lead generation systems, follow-up philosophy, pricing models, team structures, and the turning points that changed everything.  No fluff, no recycled advice. Just real numbers, real strategies, and the operational details most agents never get to hear straight from the source. Plus an honest look at where AI actually helps a real estate business, and where it doesn't.  New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe if you're serious about scaling.

  1. 8h ago

    John Armstrong: The ChatGPT Prompt That Got Bloomington Buyers Their $5,000 Back

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: John Armstrong is the designated managing broker and owner of RE/MAX Rising in Bloomington, Illinois, and leader of the Armstrong Burns home selling team. A second-generation realtor since 1996, he has twice served as president of the Mid-Illinois Realtor Association and is a Hall of Fame member and past Realtor of the Year. He also hosts On the House, a weekly Bloomington Normal real estate radio show he has run for 15 years. Episode Summary: John Armstrong joins Under Contract to reflect on nearly 30 years in real estate, from payphone showdowns for keys to today's AI-assisted transactions. He shares how he builds and rotates a team of new agents, screens for inner drive, and uses ChatGPT as a daily business partner for training, marketing strategy, and even resolving a disputed home inspection dispute. He closes with a philosophy on karma and professionalism that he believes drives long-term referral business. What's Covered: Armstrong traces real estate's evolution from pre-internet days of controlling listing information and driving buyers around to today's bottom-of-funnel buyers who arrive already informed from online listingsHe describes his team structure as a training ground for brand-new licensees, moving them through stages until they graduate to independent production, while hiring a proven top producer to model best practices for newer agentsHe explains his interview method for spotting inner drive in potential agents, asking about the first time they made money as kids rather than taking claims of ambition at face valueArmstrong details how national headlines miss hyperlocal nuance, citing his market's seller's conditions, five-day average market times during peak season, and a cross-market strategy pairing a seller's market sale with a buyer's market purchaseHe walks through using ChatGPT to staff internal panels, expand his marketing team into outside client work, and build a timeline of evidence that pressured a seller's agent into admitting undisclosed water damage, recovering a buyer's earnest moneyHe closes on a philosophy of professional conduct and karma in the business, arguing that agents who communicate honestly and protect the deal's integrity earn long-term referrals even decades later Timestamps: 01:33 - Looking back at getting licensed in 1996 and growing up as a realtor's kid 04:45 - How market strategies flip between buyer's and seller's markets 06:17 - Structuring a team as a training pipeline for new agents 14:54 - What separates consistent producers from struggling agents 19:04 - What's happening locally in Bloomington that national headlines miss 21:19 - Lessons from 15 years hosting the On the House radio show 26:01 - Where team business actually comes from at different career stages 35:02 - Rethinking team culture around diversity rather than similarity 36:33 - Doing the right thing even when it costs a deal 43:48 - Using ChatGPT to resolve a disputed water damage transaction 48:42 - Closing thoughts on karma and professionalism in real estate

    John Armstrong: The ChatGPT Prompt That Got Bloomington Buyers Their $5,000 Back

  2. 5d ago

    Britany Boatwright: Training Her Replacement Agents Mid-Chemo to Scale Max House Past $100M

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Britany Boatwright is the founder and CEO of Max House, a real estate team serving Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee. She started in real estate in 2017 after leaving a career in insurance and teaching, and by 2025 had grown Max House into a mega team closing more than $100 million in annual sales. Along the way she rebuilt her team nearly from scratch and continued leading through breast cancer treatment. Episode Summary: Britany Boatwright walks through how she went from selling life insurance and teaching school to building Max House, a top-producing real estate team in Knoxville and Nashville. She details the systems, leadership structure, and mindset shifts that let her step back from production, including how she trained two agents to run the business while she underwent chemotherapy. The conversation also covers her approach to KPIs, lead management, and the custom AI tools she has built to run her team's operations. What's Covered: Describes her path from a depressing after-school teaching job to insurance sales to real estate, and how a mentor's belief in her shaped her confidenceExplains the daily discipline behind her first six months in real estate, including a self-imposed rule of 100 cold calls before lunch that led to 36 closed dealsDetails being diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks before a planned franchise launch and how she trained two agents, including her future top producer, to fully replace her production during chemoOutlines her Max Mental Map framework requiring agents to bring three of their own solutions before calling leadership, reducing dependency on her director of salesShares the specific numbers she tracks daily, including a self-built AI transaction tracker, a $10 million monthly revenue floor, and conversation and appointment metricsBreaks down her lead sources, her decision to cap agents at two lead pools instead of flooding them with opportunities, and the fast results of a newly hired non-real-estate ISADescribes her in-house AI assistant stack, including an AI version of herself trained on company knowledge, built with tools like Claude, Grok, and LovableRecounts a visit to fellow team leader Grant Johnson where he and his team called out her tendency to rescue her director of sales instead of letting him lead Timestamps: 00:00:18 - Why this is a special double-referral interview 00:03:01 - Getting into real estate in 2017 and early mindset 00:07:58 - The 100-dials-before-lunch discipline behind 36 deals in six months 00:11:32 - Realizing she wanted to build a business beyond herself 00:17:50 - Breast cancer diagnosis three weeks before her franchise launch 00:19:27 - Training two agents to fully replace her production during chemo 00:22:58 - Introducing the Max Mental Map and solution-oriented culture 00:24:44 - The daily KPIs and $10 million revenue floor she tracks 00:29:50 - Capping agents to two lead pools instead of an open buffet 00:32:28 - New ISA with no real estate background sets 17 appointments in two days 00:36:10 - Her custom AI assistant stack including Maxine, Bob, and Henry 00:40:36 - What Grant Johnson's team called out about her leadership habits 00:43:06 - Closing thoughts on scaling through people and mission over profit

    Britany Boatwright: Training Her Replacement Agents Mid-Chemo to Scale Max House Past $100M

  3. 6d ago

    Vincent Koo: How His NYC Team Replaced Roleplay Partners With an AI Call Coach

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Vincent Koo is a second-generation real estate professional with 26 years in the business who took over his parents' Queens brokerage after his father fell ill and grew it into three locations with 350 agents. He now leads The Alliance Team, a 30-agent group covering New York City's five boroughs plus Long Island, operating under the Place platform. Episode Summary: Vincent Koo walks through his journey from inheriting a family brokerage to building and eventually stepping away from a 350-agent operation, and now leading a growing team under the Place model. He details how his team generates leads, structures long-term database follow-up, and leans on AI tools, including an AI call coach his agents use to rehearse sales conversations, to run a leaner, more efficient business. What's Covered: Vincent describes how his father's illness pulled him into the family brokerage 26 years ago, how he expanded it to three locations and 350 agents over a 14.5 year franchise run, and how he later transitioned into being a team leader under a new brand.He explains his team's current structure under Place, a brand-agnostic operating system used by roughly 500 teams that pools resources to purchase shared technology and data sources like public records, cutting costs and keeping everything on one platform.He outlines how new agents build a starting database of around 200 sphere contacts, aiming to close about four transactions from that pool, while more experienced agents choose their own lead channels like open houses or circle prospecting.Vincent breaks down his follow-up philosophy, insisting on human first contact followed by automated drip campaigns, market reports, and listing alerts, with a goal of touching every database contact at least every six months so no opportunities slip away.He highlights his team's use of an AI call coach with multiple conversation personas for sphere calls, price reductions, and for-sale-by-owner outreach, noting one agent logged 36 hours of practice calls that transformed their business results.He shares his view that AI will keep expanding into tasks like CMAs and contact summaries but that real estate agents will remain essential for the human judgment needed on major financial decisions. Timestamps: 00:00:42 - How Vincent got into real estate as a second-generation broker 00:02:00 - Current team structure and production numbers 00:03:34 - Key turning points and Mike Ferry coaching influence 00:04:02 - Details on the Place partnership and shared technology 00:07:23 - Advice for rebuilding a business from scratch in a new market 00:09:11 - The follow-up process and lead cadence over 12 to 18 months 00:11:43 - Lead generation channels and building a 200-contact sphere 00:14:56 - Balancing lead generation with client service 00:16:15 - The AI call coach and the agent who logged 36 hours of practice 00:19:16 - Magic wand answer: fixing agent mindset 00:21:20 - How AI is integrated into the business today and where it's headed 00:27:40 - Where to find Vincent and The Alliance Team

    Vincent Koo: How His NYC Team Replaced Roleplay Partners With an AI Call Coach

  4. Oct 7

    Sean Hettich: Why a Lafayette Top Producer Is Engineering a Controlled Descent from Deals

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Sean Hettich is a top-producing real estate agent in Lafayette, Louisiana, closing around 150 to 200 homes and roughly $50 million in volume annually on his own, with the help of a licensed assistant and an outsourced marketing team. He founded his own brokerage, District South, grew it into a top producing firm locally, and in 2023 merged it into Real Broker, where he now leads an agent attraction organization of over 460 agents while still running a sizable individual transactional business. Episode Summary: Sean Hettich joins Tim Donovan to unpack how he built a high-volume solo real estate business in Lafayette, Louisiana, then pivoted into agent attraction with Real Broker as a deliberate exit ramp from transactional work. The conversation ranges from brand building and lead generation on a budget versus with resources, to a candid discussion of shifting priorities with age, and closes with his views on AI and ChatGPT as emerging referral sources for agents. What's Covered: Sean explains his path from marketing and business ownership in Australia into Lafayette real estate after spotting a post-GFC housing recovery opportunity in 2013He breaks down his production numbers, running solo with one licensed assistant and a contracted marketing company while being fully leveraged out on transactional capacityHe describes founding and scaling his boutique brokerage District South to the fourth largest firm in his market before merging with Real Broker in 2023 to pursue agent attraction as recurring, scalable incomeHe lays out two distinct business-building strategies for new agents depending on whether they have a marketing budget, from sitting open houses and community involvement to paid leads and Google SEOHe discusses his shift to a less aggressive, appointment-focused follow-up style and reflects candidly on how his priorities around money and hustle have changed between his 30s and mid-40sHe shares how he actively manages his visibility in ChatGPT and AI search results by maintaining reviews and synced closed-sale data, and predicts agent ownership models will keep gaining ground while AI remains a support tool rather than a replacement for agents Timestamps: 00:00:33 - Sean's path from Australia to Louisiana real estate 02:48 - Current production numbers and team structure 05:07 - Building and merging District South brokerage into Real Broker 10:43 - Advice for a new agent with no budget versus with resources 21:10 - Sean's non-aggressive follow-up philosophy and spiritual shift in business 31:18 - The magic wand question: reaching agents beyond his local market 33:16 - How Sean uses AI for listings, photo edits, and ChatGPT visibility 42:00 - Five year industry predictions and why AI won't replace agents

    Sean Hettich: Why a Lafayette Top Producer Is Engineering a Controlled Descent from Deals

  5. Oct 7

    Robbie Faithe: Albuquerque Broker Who Turns Agents Into Investors, Not Just Closers

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Robbie Faithe is a real estate broker and investor based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, leading a 21-agent Keller Williams team alongside a six-person in-house investment operation and hard money lending arm. He got his start in 2005 buying his first rental property as a college student, moved into real estate full time in 2016, and now builds his business around teaching agents to invest alongside their clients. Episode Summary: Robbie Faithe joins the show to explain how he built parallel businesses in retail brokerage, off-market real estate investing, and hard money lending that all feed one another in Albuquerque. He breaks down why he coaches his own agents toward ownership and eventual independence rather than long-term production, and shares his exact follow-up cadence, qualifying questions, and lead-generation economics for building a 27-person enterprise. What's Covered: Robbie traces his path from buying a four-bedroom rental as a college student in 2005 through the 2008 crash, creative financing deals, and joining an REO team before going full time into real estate in 2016.He describes his current enterprise structure, a 21-agent Keller Williams retail team paired with a six-person investment team and a hard money lending business, all sourcing and recycling the same off-market deal flow.Robbie explains his philosophy of training agents to prospect as buyers first and brokers second, converting seller conversations into investment opportunities or seller financing before falling back to a traditional listing.He outlines his team's structured follow-up system, a 10-day blitz with multiple daily touches tapering to one per day, built around the idea that most transactions require 12 or more touches to close.He shares a specific qualifying question for stalling prospects, asking whether they would move forward today if a perfect home at their price appeared, to surface the real reason behind a stated timeline.Robbie discusses his use of AI and an ISA for inbound call answering and lead qualification, his target three-month cash conversion cycle on paid leads, and his biggest ongoing worry, which is leads slipping through the cracks of an always-churning database. Timestamps: 00:00:32 - Robbie's start as a real estate investor in 2005 04:41 - Current team structure: retail team, investment team, and hard money lending 08:47 - How agents on his team get involved in investment deals 09:50 - The mentor whose deal history sparked his investing turning point 11:25 - Hiring help and building a team as a second turning point 12:16 - What he'd do first starting over in a brand new market 16:35 - Lead generation channels and PPC economics 20:35 - The 10-day follow-up blitz and the 12-touch rule 23:40 - The key qualifying question for stalled prospects 26:05 - Why most agents overlook ownership and investing 29:43 - The magic wand answer: plugging leaks in the lead pipeline 34:30 - How AI and an ISA handle inbound lead follow-up

    Robbie Faithe: Albuquerque Broker Who Turns Agents Into Investors, Not Just Closers

  6. Oct 7

    Patrick Moore: 35 Years in the Air National Guard to 800 Deals in Topeka

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Patrick Moore leads the Moore Home Team with Keller Williams in Topeka, Kansas, after a 35-year career of simultaneous military and civil service with the Kansas Air National Guard. He got licensed at retirement age, capped his first year, and has since built a five-agent team producing 80 to 100 transactions and roughly 20 million dollars annually. Episode Summary: Patrick Moore joins Under Contract to discuss transitioning from a 35-year military and civil service career into real estate at nearly 60 years old, and how he built the Moore Home Team in Topeka, Kansas. He shares his low-overhead, autonomy-driven leadership philosophy, his disciplined approach to advertising spend, and the follow-up habits that have produced over 800 transactions and a referral-heavy pipeline a decade in. What's Covered: Patrick describes retiring from 35 years of combined Air National Guard service and civil service work and deliberately choosing real estate because he wanted a second career that still felt meaningful to other peopleHe explains how he capped with Keller Williams in his first year despite starting as a solo agent, and how his wife joined six months in to run admin and back-end operations without getting licensed herselfHe details his leadership philosophy of not managing or driving his five team members day to day, instead recruiting self-starters who run their own businesses, and how that tradeoff has shaped the team's culture and outputHe walks through his real-time lead follow-up process, including same-day callbacks, daily attempts until contact is made, and prioritizing in-person consultations even if it means traveling outside TopekaHe shares his philosophy on advertising spend, cautioning new agents against buying leads or marketing before they have established cash flow, based on early advice from mentors in his officeHe reflects on a full-circle moment when his very first clients from over a decade ago called him back for a new purchase, and shares his view that AI will never replace the human relationship at the center of real estate Timestamps: 00:00:36 - Patrick's path from the Air National Guard into real estate at retirement age 00:05:15 - Building the Moore Home Team and bringing his wife in to run operations 00:08:08 - Team production numbers: 80 to 100 transactions and 20 million a year 00:09:04 - His philosophy on not managing people and recruiting self-starters 00:14:38 - What he'd do first starting over in a brand new market 00:17:00 - Repeat business story: first-ever clients returning after ten years 00:19:53 - His caution against overspending on leads and advertising 00:20:16 - His lead follow-up cadence from first contact to months later 00:28:15 - His take on AI and why the human role in real estate will endure

    Patrick Moore: 35 Years in the Air National Guard to 800 Deals in Topeka

  7. Oct 6

    Mike Galbally: Why Digging One Lead Well Deep Beat Chasing Ten in St. Louis Real Estate

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Mike Galbally leads a St. Louis, Missouri real estate team built around a lean, high-production model, closing over 100 deals a year with just himself, his wife, and longtime partner Eric Macy. He got licensed in 2009 after a rough first-time homebuying experience, scaled to a ten-agent team that hit 227 sales in 2021, and now runs Finest Homes Network while also investing in real estate alongside his business partner. Episode Summary: Mike Galbally traces his path from running a grocery store chain in St. Louis to becoming a top-producing listing agent, then explains how he scaled a ten-agent team to 227 sales before intentionally downsizing to a lean, highly productive unit. He shares his philosophy on lead generation, follow-up, and agent relationships, plus how he uses AI tools like Google Lens in daily showings and where he sees the industry heading over the next five years. What's Covered: Mike recounts moving from Long Island to St. Louis to open a grocery store chain, getting burned on agency during his own 2005 home purchase, and getting licensed in 2009 right as the market was collapsing.He describes scaling to a ten-agent team that hit 227 sales in 2021 while personally handling 99 listings as the team's sole listing agent, then deliberately streamlining to just himself, his wife, and decade-long partner Eric Macy doing over 100 deals a year today.Mike explains why he believes the internet lead heyday is over, recounting a 2019 deal with a major lead provider where a 30-minute follow-up window produced a roughly 70 percent close rate until the company began reselling the same leads to multiple agents.He lays out his advice for new agents starting from zero: land a first listing through expireds or FSBOs, then use that listing's marketing to generate the next one rather than spreading effort too thin.Mike details his follow-up process, favoring an initial text that positions him as an advocate before moving the conversation to a phone call, and stresses committing 6 to 12 months to any proven lead source before judging whether it works.He discusses valuing agent-to-agent relationships and smooth, win-win transactions over adversarial deal-making, his current use of AI tools like Google Lens to identify equipment ages during showings, and his belief that real estate will stay a high-touch business supported by, but not replaced by, technology. Timestamps: 00:34 - From grocery store exec to licensed agent in 2009 03:03 - Team structure and current production numbers 05:11 - Turning point: riding the internet lead wave 06:20 - Starting from scratch: landing your first listing 08:38 - Shifting strategy as internet leads lost value 13:14 - How long to test a new lead source before judging it 14:34 - The 30-minute follow-up story and a lead provider's bait-and-switch 17:16 - The one problem he'd fix: contention between agents 20:32 - Using AI and Google Lens during showings 23:10 - Predicting the next five years of real estate

    Mike Galbally: Why Digging One Lead Well Deep Beat Chasing Ten in St. Louis Real Estate

  8. Oct 6

    Michael Schiff: The ER Visit at 27 That Rebuilt His Baltimore Team Around Leverage

    Want the best insights from this episode and more in bite-sized nuggets? Sign up for our free newsletter at https://undercontractnotes.com/ Guest Bio: Michael Schiff leads the Schiff Home Team at eXp Realty in Baltimore, Maryland, with 22 years in real estate dating back to his 2004 license. He grew from a solo agent working investor flips through the 2008 crash into a 14-agent team now closing around 250 homes a year, and he previously served as a regional director overseeing five offices across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Episode Summary: Michael Schiff traces his path from a last-minute detour out of law school into Baltimore real estate, through a market crash that forced him into investor-driven fix and flips, to a burnout-induced emergency room visit that pushed him to finally build systems and hire support. He shares how his team mentors new agents, handles speed-to-lead follow-up, and stays mission-driven through community giving, plus candid advice on investing in real estate and letting go of the hustler mindset. What's Covered: Describes getting licensed in 2004 after pausing law school plans, originally eyeing commercial real estate before residential requirements redirected himExplains how the 2008 housing crash pushed him into investor and fix-and-flip work in rougher Baltimore neighborhoods, which taught him renovations and comps and shaped his later businessRecounts a panic attack and ER visit at 27 from running every part of his business solo, and how a Keller Williams conference his wife pushed him to attend introduced him to systems and leverageDetails his team's growth path from independent agent to a 14 to 20 agent sweet spot, following a model of hiring administrative support before adding buyer's agentsBreaks down his mentorship program pairing new agents with seniors through three buyer and three seller deals using an I do, we do, you do approach, and his speed-to-lead philosophy of booking appointments before over-qualifying leadsShares his team's mission of transforming lives and communities through regular giving initiatives, and his magic wand answer about buying more real estate early and shifting from hustler mentality to a CEO mindset with a production partner Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction to Michael Schiff and the Baltimore market 00:36 - Origin story: law school detour into real estate 02:49 - What the business looks like today 07:55 - Panic attack at 27 from doing everything solo 09:07 - The Keller Williams conference that changed his approach 13:05 - Team growth from solo agent to 14 agents 19:51 - Mentorship program for new agents 21:20 - Follow-up philosophy and speed to lead 24:41 - What's working: mission-driven giving back 28:46 - Magic wand answer: investing early and killing hustle mentality 33:45 - Tactical advice: double your contacts and do open houses 35:37 - Where to find Michael Schiff and his team

    Michael Schiff: The ER Visit at 27 That Rebuilt His Baltimore Team Around Leverage
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Under Contract is a show for real estate agents and team leaders who want to build a real business, not just chase the next transaction. Host Tim Donovan sits down with top-producing agents and brokers across the country to break down exactly how they built what they built. Their lead generation systems, follow-up philosophy, pricing models, team structures, and the turning points that changed everything.  No fluff, no recycled advice. Just real numbers, real strategies, and the operational details most agents never get to hear straight from the source. Plus an honest look at where AI actually helps a real estate business, and where it doesn't.  New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe if you're serious about scaling.

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Donovan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Under Contract
  • Show Website
    Under Contract