Josh Altman Appraises Ramona Singer’s Chances As a Realtor
She already has money — which can be a positive or a negative thing.
Ramona Singer is dipping her toes into the real estate game — and Josh Altman is giving his professional appraisal.
According to the “Million Dollar Listing” star, the Real Housewife has some real house-selling hope.
“Usually Bravo-lebrities are really good real estate agents, because in order to be a good real estate agent you gotta be a little bit crazy, a little kinda off your rocker — and this is all her, right? — you gotta be really outgoing, and you gotta be obsessed with making the deal happen,” he declared outside his Beverly Hills offices on Wednesday.
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“So that means you got to go out all night with clients… it seems like she likes to go out and party. So if she’s in that environment, she can get a deal done.”
Indeed the 42-year-old claimed that in his first ten years of business he was out at the club every single night.
But, “when most people were drinking and getting all f–ked up, I was actually looking for the next deal.”
Ramona, he says, has both the big advantage and big disadvantage of already having money: While it means she runs in the right circles, it also means the killer motivation just might not be there.
“Rich people have rich friends; so right there she’s doing ten deals a year,” he claimed.
“It’s tough; it’s easy to get in, but to actually stick with it? That’s where you lose people. Everybody can go get your license, everybody can go try to do one deal.”
“But is she actually gonna live it, breathe it, and just like become a workaholic? I don’t see that happening. Especially when you have money.”
Ramona has indicated she’d like to work for the same outfit as Altman — Douglas Elliman. Altman claims that while he may choose one resume out of the couple of hundred he receives every month — Singer definitely does have a shot at working for the company.
There is a misconception he agreed, about how fast and easy the money in the business is; anyone watching “Million Dollar Listing” will see a guy sell a $10million house in an hour at a 2.5 percent commission, and conclude: “That guy just made $250,000 in an hour!”
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“They don’t realize you battle for your commission, you gotta pay taxes obviously, you got partners, you got brokerages, you got this and that,” he insisted. “The deals you see? Those could be a year.”
Over on the opposite coast, Singer was recently told by MDLNY’s Michael Lorber that her experience in fixing up houses will translate well to selling; not so, says Altman.
“[That’s like] Surfing and snowboarding,” he said.
“I used to flip houses, I’ve probably flipped 30 houses in my life, on the side as a hobby,” he said. “It has absolutely nothing to do with closing deals in real estate.”
“One is negotiating, the other is building. One is creative, the other is a chess game. The only thing it’s gonna help you know is how much it’s going to cost if your client wants to replace their countertop before they put the house on the market.”
As for advice for Ramona?
“Go get your license, go join a team, do a couple deals, see if you actually really love it and want to be in it, and you know, go from there,” he said.
“But remember: first of all, you start doing deals with your friends; if you mess up, you mess up the relationship. Like, you gotta take it real serious. You’re talking about 99.99 percent of people’s biggest investment in their entire life, is buying a house.”
“You f–k that up, you kinda just messed your friendship up, you know? So she’s gotta know what she’s doing.”
He also pointed out that her market is New York — and New Yorkers can be tough.
“But I think she’ll do really well,” he concluded. “I think she’s crazy enough to be a real estate agent. And, uh… we’re all a little crazy.”
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