REMEMBER BE A SERVANT: Episode 15: Daren Blomquist VP of RealtyTrac

Today we’re joined by Daren Blomquist, data expert and Vice President of RealtyTrac. He graduated from Trinity International University with a degree in English Communications, in the hopes of becoming a newspaper journalist. However, in 2001, he started with RealtyTrac thinking it would be a small, internal publication. But to his surprise, he ended up sticking with it ever since.

He’s directly responsible for the creation of the company’s U.S. foreclosure market and sales reports, and they’re sided by hundreds of media outlets nationwide, like: CBS, ABC, CNN, Fox Business, and USA Today. He’s been quoted in hundreds of national publications like: The New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. They also work closely with numerous government agencies at the national state and local level, and he’s a highly sought after speaker at industry events.

“Whenever I let go of control, I get more of it. It’s almost like holding on to a cactus: the tighter you hold on, the more it hurts you.”

Today is really all about data analysis, how and why RealtyTrac came to be, and some ups and downs Daren faced while the company was growing. We talk about the importance of handing off tasks as today’s Profit Master’s Investment Strategy, and the positive results that come from passing off responsibility and control. Daren tells us this is his best piece of advice to running a successful real estate data team.

We discuss a great strategy that we have observed in successful investors, which entails buying the foreclosure rights on houses before they can be repossessed, and are able to do this by using the information provided by RealtyTrac.

“People give up on something quicker than they should instead of giving it time to succeed.”

Lastly, we get a best-kept secret about the RealtyTrac website, and how you can use it to dominate the foreclosure market. You’re basically creating lists of people you want to market to, so this is just as useful for marketing as it is for investing and real estate. So go ahead, create a free account, and check out the millions of records we have on file, today!

Daren loves hearing from his audience. So, if you’re an investor, e-mail Daren at daren@realtytrac.com, and tell him your stories and what you’ve been seeing in your market.

“Even when I don’t feel like I’m making as much of a difference as I’d like to, just continuing to believe in it and continuing to do what I know—is what I should be doing.

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