What if buying a home isn't a transaction but a deeply emotional transition that reveals who you're becoming?
In this episode, Scott Harris shares how he helps people navigate the emotional journey of finding their dream homes as the founder of Magnetic Real Estate, a boutique residential real estate brokerage in Manhattan. Scott has been a residential real estate agent in New York City for almost 23 years and has sold over $2 billion in real estate. Growing up as a child of divorce, he moved back and forth between his parents' houses approximately 500 times before turning 18, and when he started helping people buy homes, he realized he was healing the damage of being from a broken home himself. He nearly burned out in 2014 while building a team, emerging wiser with the realization that real estate is much more than a transaction. His innovative approach, The Magnetic Method, ensures clients attract homes that help them reach the fullest expression of who they're meant to be. Scott firmly believes real estate agents are doing sacred work, and he wrote "Pursue Your Home" to change the narrative around buying a home.
Scott reveals the relationship that transformed his career: Howie Cusack, his mentor at a booking agency in Boston when Scott left college wanting to be in the music business while performing as a singer in a boy band acapella group. Howie took Scott on as an intern and trained him for six years, teaching him how to manage crazy artists, put complicated deals together, and navigate producing concerts and booking tours. Scott toured approximately 100,000 miles a year in an RV performing about a thousand shows opening for bands like NSYNC, working from dial-up internet as the original work-from-home person. When Scott moved to New York and got into real estate, he realized he was armed with incredible skills from Howie, plugging right into the business from day one. This foundation equipped Scott to deal with level-11 insane moments, like when a client called the night before a $7 million closing asking to borrow $350,000 in closing costs, and Scott channeled Howie's ballsy presence from when a reggae act pulled out a chainsaw demanding payment and Howie said "get your butt on stage, you know you're gonna get paid."
[00:05:20] Founder of Magnetic Real Estate
Boutique residential real estate brokerage firm in Manhattan, New York City
Been residential real estate agent in New York for almost 23 years
Serves people buying and selling real estate in New York
Connects with people all over the globe
[00:07:40] Child of Divorce: Moving 500 Times
Child of divorce, moved back and forth between parents until age 18
Did the math: moved about 500 times between their houses
Started on rental side of business in New York, felt very transactional
Got into sales and got such satisfaction from helping people buy homes
[00:08:00] Healing Through Helping Others Find Home
Finally put two and two together
When helping people find homes, also doing work to heal damage of being from broken home himself
When he bought home with his wife, it was same work
To have a place that's really yours changed his life
[00:09:20] Helping People Through Tough Things
One of first sales: helping older Italian woman who was divorcee find home after bad divorce
Got call from estate attorney representing Maurice Sendak's estate (wrote "Where the Wild Things Are")
His estate went to serve organizations that helped kids
Satisfying to know they were helping many people when they sold the apartment
[00:12:00] Real Estate Agents Are Doing Sacred Work
Firmly believes real estate agents are doing sacred work, really important work
Some of most important work there is
If people change the way they think about themselves and what they're doing, changes whole tenor
Need to bring whole self into relationship with buyers and sellers
[00:15:20] Started in Music Business as Intern
When first left college, wanted to be in music business
Also was singer and performer
Got job as intern at booking agency (represents bands or talent buyer like clubs/colleges)
Introduced to Howie Cusack in Boston
[00:16:00] Learning to Sell Bands and Put Tours Together
Real estate is competitive and hard, but go try to sell bands to bookers at clubs
Or to college kids probably smoking weed half the time on phone calls
Really hard to put tours together for bands
Had amazing mentor in Howie, worked together for better part of six years
[00:16:40] Producing Concerts is Multifaceted
Producing concerts is so multifaceted
Putting bands on road, booking tours, all those things
All skills from working with Howie influenced way he plugged right into real estate business
Right out of the gate, made huge impact on his life
[00:17:40] Touring 100,000 Miles a Year
Working phones from RV while doing 60,000 or 100,000 miles of touring a year
Really grateful to Howie for making huge impact
Had RV, went all around country performing at venues
Boy band version of acapella group (like contemporary Pentatonix) with beatbox
[00:18:20] Opening for NSYNC and Doing 1,000 Shows
23 to 24 years ago
Opened for bands like NSYNC
Did about 1,000 shows together when he was there
Credits experience for making him appreciate giving back
[00:18:40] Everyone's Got a Story
Been to so many little towns: upstate New York, Indiana, Ohio, eastern seaboard, California
Meet people living their lives, get to know them
Everyone's got story to tell
What's their superpower? Everybody's got something they're uniquely awesome at
[00:21:00] The $7 Million Townhouse Crisis
Represented songwriter (very well known, wrote popular songs in 60s and 70s)
Made a lot of money, but also crazy deal maker
Night before buying $7 million townhouse, calls Scott
Even though told him 50 times about closing costs, didn't register he'd have to spend $350,000
[00:22:00] Get Your Butt On Stage
Howie looks him right in eye: "Get your butt on stage. You know you're gonna get paid. Get outta my face with that"
Scott inhabiting this ballsy guy
Client asking for money Scott didn't have sitting around
At closing table, client did significant gymnastics to make it happen
[00:24:00] Free Resources at Pursue Your Home
Bunch of free resources so people can get flavor of what's in book
Go to pursueyourhome.com
Can take assessment to learn your own communication style
Strongly encourages people to take time to be prepared before jumping in
[00:26:00] Surround Yourself With People Who Care
Need to surround yourself with team who really cares about you
Family and friends that support you, cheer you on, in trenches with you
If there are people in your life that secretly want you to fail, leave them on outside of this conversation
Important to surround yourself with feeling where people see you and hear you
KEY QUOTES
"I firmly believe that real estate agents are doing sacred work, really important work. We're doing some of the most important work that there is. If people change the way they think about themselves and what they're doing, it changes the whole tenor of the dynamic." - Scott Harris
"Everybody's got something they're uniquely awesome at. If you prejudge them, you miss it. You miss that moment. If you can just be with somebody, you end up learning a lot." - Scott Harris
"Finding a home is one of the most stressful things people go through because it is so deeply important to our existence. The word for human and the word for home are the same route. You can't untangle those two things." - Scott Harris
CONNECT WITH SCOTT HARRIS
🌐 Website: https://www.pursueyourhome.com
🏠 Magnetic Real Estate: https://www.magneticre.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrisresidential
📱 Instagram: @scottieharris
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottHarrisResidentialTeam
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