Finding Momentum and Mindset in Real Estate with Keli’i Lum

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Interview Transcription

ATTILIO: 
All right, so our guest today is seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in Oahu market, born and raised in Mililani, he brings deep local knowledge and a strong commitment to client success. He currently serves as a buyer and listing specialist with Team Lally, and he has some kind of resemblance to a k pop star.

ADRIENNE: 
He also, we call him the international agent with all of his languages that he speaks. He’s a graduate of Leeward Community College, and UH is Shidler College of Business. He also studied abroad in Japan and held leadership roles in student organizations. Please welcome back our guest. Kelii Lum, hey, Kelii Hey, so that’s right, we had you on the show before, when we talked about the was the sushi

ATTILIO: 
business? Oh yeah, the sushi business. Now we are

ADRIENNE: 
no more sushi. No more sushi. Hey.

ATTILIO: 
You know, I was talking with Frank De Lima the other day, and he he asked me a question. He said, you know, Atelier, you know why the sharks like to eat the Japanese tourists in the ocean. Do you know why? Kelii, why? Because they have umay in the middle. Okay, no. What does that have to do a killing nothing right now. But it was a funny Frank De Lima joke. I had to slide in there when we saw sushi. So questions.

ADRIENNE: 
Keli’i, How many languages do you speak? I mentioned, we call you the international agent. How many languages

KELI’I:
I speak? English, Japanese, Korean, and then you found it a few years ago. Pigeon, pigeon.

ATTILIO: 
You’re like, and then they’re like, yes, we understand you. Keli’i, what language to me? Oh, he speaks pigeon. No, not that kind of pigeon. Anyway. Keli’i, so what you know, you’re an agent on the team. Talk to people like, we’re gonna go back in time. We’re doing the dream sequence. And like, sound like one pigeon too. But anyway, same sound effect. We’re going back in time, going back to the beginning. You went to the real estate what, by the way, what real estate school you intake?

KELI’I:
Oh, I went to ABE. ABE Lee.

ATTILIO: 
He’s like, the godfather. He’s the godfather of real estate. He’s like, Hey, if you’re going to come up to me and take on my real estate, course, I need one thing from you anyway. So you went to the ably real estate school. What made you decide at your crossroads in that time? Because people are thinking about the real estate career, especially if they’re going to come to a career night. So take us back in time. What made you like, hey, you know what? I go take this real estate course, and then I’m going to be this thing called a realtor.

KELI’I:
Oh, you know what? Yeah, going back in time, we started from when I’ll the day I was born, that

ATTILIO: 
much time on the show

KELI’I:
I had joining, I guess, an investor sort of event, or the weekend, yeah, their advice was, hey, you need To gain experience. We recommend you call the top real estate companies, teams, yeah, or engines to go work under them. Go, yes, some experience. Go, mentor. Um, on that mix was team Lally, and I started raping in there calls. Worked as an intern, and then as I was getting experience with Team Lally, I decided, You know what? Hey, you know I should become a real estate agent too, and that’s where the whole journey started. Yeah,

ATTILIO: 
I know. The first day we had you make all these phone calls, and you went in there, and then he was all like, sweaty and stuff. When you came out of the room, your hair was all messed up and feeling like he just came out of one sauna. You was so sweaty. Now when you go make your phone calls, you’re cool, yeah, cool and calm. Because talk about that with with people that want to move into anything that’s uncomfortable, what like? What was your mindset to get through that and not just quit because you was like, super sweaty dials?

KELI’I:
Don’t know, I ate just one phone call that time. I was just uncomfortable with any phone calls with somebody Yeah and one phone call took me an hour to prepare, because I was had no courage. You jumped into

ATTILIO: 
it. It was seven digit. She was like, how many days I said seven, and you kept going and back and forth with me, how many digits. And then finally you got you dialed it so you got prepared. You psyched yourself up. Now, what were you thinking before you got on that first phone call? Was this like sentence worse than death to make this first phone call? Were you like that so freaked out about it? What? What made you do it anyway?

KELI’I:
I knew that I needed to grow any more, and this was one way that one only one of the many challenges that I needed to overcome. Even though it wasn’t really a big one to many other people, for me myself, it was huge. And what I’ve learned over the many years, when you’re in a state of being uncomfortable, that is where you learn and grow the molds, no matter how old you are, no matter how Yes you are, yeah, that state of long term wellness is where it’s at. Growth

ATTILIO: 
occurs in the areas of our life that we get uncomfortable with. And if you lean into it, you grow so and then

ADRIENNE: 
Adrienne got a question, Keli’i, you are constantly growing. You know, we watched you,

ATTILIO:
yeah. We showed up at the office one day and there was this little bassinet with a baby swaddled in it, and it said, This is baby, Kaylee, can you take care of him?

ADRIENNE: 
Yeah, so we’ve, you know, we’ve enjoyed watching you grow throughout the many years, with all your different endeavors and even learning a new language, going through the psi training, being a business owner of a sushi restaurant, so just all sorts of things, vacation rental, purchasing and

ATTILIO: 
managing. Now for you, you had a life goal of marrying one Korean lady. And you’re like, you told you came in the office one day, and you’re like, Tilly, oh, I want to marry a cur. I want to give me a Korean wife. So I am going to go where there’s a lot of Korean ladies at Kapolei barbecue. No, you went to Korea and you did this like, why you were a realtor, and how, like, how did like, explain to people, like, how did being a real estate agent and going able to do that and then coming back and doing real estate again? How did that work out?

KELI’I:
Well, I would say number one is that with real estate, you can be in. And step away for just a little bit, and you can just jump right back in to continue where you left off. One thing with being on Team, Team Lally especially, was that I have one of reliable team members to rely on in times where I’m not on item, yes, like that time I studied for real, they were there to run, run the ball for me, as I was in another land, got you,

ADRIENNE: 
and we were, we were pleased to have you come back, of course. But then, I mean, even after that extended time that you spent in Korea for the full immersion to learn the language, yeah, and, you know, just spend more time with your I guess she’s your future wife, yeah? Well, speaking yes, um, yeah. So like now you know you guys are doing the long distance, so you’re back and forth. But how do you, how do you manage that without having your business skip a beat? Yes,

KELI’I:
your number one is definitely Communication Always no setting time to do phone calls. But one thing, going back onto the whole team aspect, is that I have the ability, not only from the income that I make from real estate, to travel back and forth from Korea to Hawaii to some time. After all, for those who don’t know there’s The Five Love Languages, I’m a quality time love language guy. So yes, that’s most ideal for

ATTILIO: 
is quality time. And so that costs money, that costs time. And then for your clients, would you say that it’s nice to be able to have the team to lean on, so that your business doesn’t skip a beat. And we got that part tell us more about your your your real estate career, because when you know you did take a break, you went out there and be exercise your entrepreneurial muscles. You got all jacked up and had a whole bunch of sushi locations, decided to get back into real estate. What was it like getting back into real estate? Because it was almost like it, like you were. You left it and then came for a long time, and then came back to it. What do you think was the key to gain you the momentum that’s giving you the results right now? What did you do when you came back?

KELI’I:
Well, when I came back, my something that I’ll pop by you guys, Adrienne Attilio, was that you need to sharpen your AX before you you start chopping at the tree. The tree being real estate and being away for so long, a lot of the things that I remembered and still had ingrained in my mind and soul were just a little bit out deep. So during my first jump in was sharpening that act, start bringing my knowledge, and then from there, it just launched off, yeah, comes.

ATTILIO: 
I remember writing like, I remember when we sat down in the office and then we had a counseling session to get you started in your career. And I said, I said, Keli’i, you need to go and wax this car, and then I need you to paint this fence and sand this Oh, wait, no wait, no. Wait, that was a karate kid. Never mind. But I’m joking. And I’m not joking in that those are, like, the basic skills. And what I like about you, Keli’i is we tell you to go do something, wax on, wax off, up, down, up down, not all over the place with your skill sets, as far as you know, learning the systems that we have in the processes, and you do it, Keli’i, you know I and I don’t expect you to know this right off the bat, because you some people get it or not, but would you say that in our in our process, that it’s good to have questions, but don’t question things. Do you an Adrienne or Keli’i, do you guys understand when I say that it’s good to have questions, but don’t question things as far as what we have you do to be successful.

ADRIENNE: 
I mean, I I understand it. Yeah.

ATTILIO: 
I’m curious about how you guys like when I say that to both of you. What are your thoughts?

ADRIENNE: 
Well, I mean, just don’t, don’t doubt the process. Yeah, if you need clarity on what the process is, then question, gain clarity, but not like, not like, Why? Why? Why? It’s just more like, you know, let’s go a little deeper, yeah. And then I guess if there’s input or feedback on something that could be improved, then obviously, like, we’re always open to feedback to improve. You know what’s happening? Because the market does shift and change, and there’s so much you know technology that’s coming in, like we need to be aware and stay

ATTILIO: 
ahead. Keli’i, would you say that your results? You got a lot of results quickly, because you just trust the process. Put your head down and go do it.

KELI’I:
Oh, yeah. And it makes sense, because from you guys who have gone through the process, yeah, you’ve mastered all every little step there’s to follow that is will just lead you to success. Yeah, definitely, it’s hands and if they leave you the whole process, oh, man, they just gave you success. So yeah, follow through and let. Call you mentioned, have questions and that we might, my opinion, that is, just keep yourself curious, keep yourself Yes, that word, you continue to grow,

ATTILIO: 
right? Yeah. And Keli’i, we always talking about PSI, personal self improvement. What is the institute? Or anyway, psi, you know, it’s a weekend course. Here. You’ve taken that one plus the seven plus seven, that was something that we have as part of our culture. What difference has it made for you personally, going through psi?

KELI’I:
No, it gives you clarity, knowing where, without revealing too much, knowing your own self, where your limits are, what’s holding you back, and how to overcome those things, as well as not just how to do it, but to gain that momentum and courage and just that movement to get it done. Not only that, but you’re surrounded by people who have that same goal for themselves. So makes it that much easier.

ADRIENNE: 
Well, let’s, let’s talk about the market right now, because Keli’i, you work with both buyers and sellers. Let’s what’s happening out there. What would be your number one tip for sellers out there, and then give us the tip for the buyers.

ATTILIO:
Yeah. Tell

KELI’I:
Well, let’s start with some buyers. I would say the best time to buy real estate is always yesterday or now, and waiting rarely saves you money, especially in Hawaii, whether it’s for your home or an investment, getting in the market is the first step to building wealth. That’s what I know for buyers, for sellers. If you’re thinking about selling or not sure what to do, the most important is to get in front of us, the team Lally, and let’s talk. The main thing we want to make sure is put together a quick game plan, whether that means selling, renting or just holding on to your property. Our job is really just to lay out the options so that, you know, you as an owner, can make the best decision for your future.

ADRIENNE: 
I like that. So more of a consultative approach. It’s not any kind of a hard sell. We just go over the different options. And, you know, Keli’i is very detailed.

ATTILIO: 
Keli’i, yes, let me ask you options. Have we ever taught you to bring the seller into the office for the consultation and forget about their goals and priorities, put them in a hammer lock and choke them out until they sign the listing agreement? Have we ever taught you to do that?

KELI’I:
Well, the hammer lock you have

ATTILIO: 
no i We there was that one day you never make enough dials. And I went, choke you out. And then I just said, you see, you gotta make your dials when you came to I ate the smelling salt. Sounds like Get back in there and make more phone calls. No, we’re joking about it. But the point being is that it’s not about us, it’s about you as the client. That’s the priority. And take a look at, I mean, just go to our Google reviews and do a keyword search, Keli’i and you’re gonna see all the happy customers, all the clients over the many, many years that Keli’i has been doing this that have been very happy with his servant minded consultative approach to the buying and selling. I would say

ADRIENNE: 
also very he’s a very patient, very patient. I would say that when we have, whenever we have those clients that need extra, extra attention, and maybe that are just, you know, a lot more hands on. They need a lot of details. I was like to match them up with Kaylee E because he has proven himself time and time again with some of those very, you know, yeah, Ari Lally, I don’t want to feel like needy, but they just, you know, have a higher demand, higher demands the average person.

ATTILIO: 
Let’s be real honest. You know who you people are. You are a pain in the okoli. All your family knows, when you show up for Christmas, Thanksgiving, they’ll be like, Okay, there’s uncle pido pain in the okoli. And I

ADRIENNE: 
really has, like, the most, like, he’s had the most patience, because, I mean, I some of these, these people with some of the things that, you know, I’ve heard and seen. Yeah, he’s just, I wouldn’t be able to, you know, handle it, but, yeah. Keli’i, man, he’s just, just, he’s like, a saint. So

ATTILIO: 
if you have one dysfunctional family reunion and you need somebody to provide, like, a calming effect. Keli’i invite Keli’i, he’s gonna calm down. HPD doesn’t need to be called to break up the party. And, you know what? And we joking, we don’t joke, but that’s every local family is like that. We all got, um, we got one pito in all our

ADRIENNE: 
the other fun fact about Keli’i, because I was like, Wow, he’s so good with kids, right? Like, he’s, I mean, we’ve known Keli’i for, I don’t know what, 12 years or so. So he’s watched my kids, you know, kind of grow up, and he’s just always, you know, just so fun. Like, how did you like, how did you get to be so good with these kids? Yeah, he doesn’t have any of his own yet.

ATTILIO: 
Oh, yeah. How many siblings you got? Yeah, tell us about that. Well, how many siblings you what’s your birth order?

KELI’I:
Up. I have a plethora of siblings. Yeah, brothers and

ADRIENNE:
in total. But you’re number are you number nine? Do you right? No, I’m number 10. They’re number 1011,

ATTILIO: 
of us. Do you guys? Do do you live on a farm in the prairie? Is your sister name Laura? Do you refer to your dad as Papa? Papa? What’s for summer? No, wait, this Little House on the Prairie. Not little house in Mililani, where the loves are, big house born in Maine. Big

ADRIENNE:
House, big house in

ATTILIO: 
Mililani, Lums. Oh, by the way, you related any in any way, to the crack seed dynasty, yicklum. There’s a lot of loans, no, but Keli’i is pretty tough. He was actually a bouncer at a crackseed store. All right, Keli’i, uh, last thing before we wrap it up in one minute or less, can you tell us a funny interaction you had with a client? Funny then change the names to protect an infant. Any kind of funny story you want

ADRIENNE:
to leave us with, Oh, so many.

ATTILIO: 
See, that’s how nice Keli’i is said. If you can talk stink about people, talk about stink about all of them, but Keli’i is not going to talk stink about anybody, because that’s how nice he is. All right, thank you for being the pito specialist on the team, yes, and helping, helping ordinary kolohi people, one person, one family at a time, get into home ownership,

ADRIENNE: 
and also the nice ones too. Kelii’s got a lot of patience, yeah, and experience as well. So good work. Keep, keep it up. Maybe, maybe you will be the agent of the quarter again next quarter. Yes,

ATTILIO: 
by the way, go to our website and you can see his headshot. I will tell you right now, if you’re wanting to hire him for K Pop boy band, sorry, he’s doing real estate full time, because that’s what you’re going to be thinking you want to do when you see his headshot on our on the team Lally website. All right, thanks, Keli’i, thank you. Keli’i

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