Real Estate Happens
All things Real Estate! From the crazy things you see in real estate to better ways to do business. Thought provoking to get you fired up and ready to take on the day. Kenny Letner is the Broker and Owner of Aweigh Real Estate in Virginia Beach VA. Join us as we explore the different aspect of Real Estate as it pertains not only to the real estate professionals but also to the consumer and see what is changing in the real estate landscape.
Real Estate Happens
From Debt Collector to Credit Savior: Overcoming Financial Hypocrisy and Turning Lives Around with Dwayne Jenkins
Ever felt like a hypocrite in your own life? Our guest, Dwayne Jenkins, founder of Credit Kwon Doe, certainly did when he was a debt collector with terrible credit himself. Listen to Dwayne's journey as he shares how he managed to raise his credit score by 240 points in just six months and ultimately decided to help others turn their financial lives around.
In today's digital age, we're constantly bombarded with distractions, and it's easy to become desensitized to our own issues. Together with Dwayne, we explore the concept of "flies on your face" and how this can hinder us from addressing our problems. Be inspired by the story of a single mother who triumphed over her financial struggles and became a homeowner within nine months, and learn about Dwayne's organization, Gathering for Greatness, and how it's making a positive impact in people's lives. Don't miss this eye-opening and inspiring episode!
Hey guys, welcome back to Real Estate Happens. Your host Kenny, letting it with the way Real Estate Ends. Real Estate Happens. As we all know, shit happens in real estate and that's what we're here to talk about. It is my pleasure today to have with us none other than Dwayne Jenkins, with Credit Juan Doe Dwayne, i'm so happy to have you here. We've been talking about doing this for a while and we just, you know the timing has never been, you know exactly right, but you know we got it on a schedule and we got you in here and I'm really really glad. Give us just real quick before we kind of get into. You know anything else that we're gonna talk about wherever this conversation leads us, just tell us a little bit about you, how you got into this industry, what's going on, where you want to be, and just have at it.
Speaker 2:So I got into this industry, needing the cure and not knowing where to get it from. I have very bad credit. I've never had a drug issue. I don't have a bunch of kids or the most common factors that give people financial troubles. I've never been married to. I've never been divorced. I mean I was just irresponsible. You know, i thought my visa credit card was a gift card. I mean hell, they both say visa right. So I mean I wish I was a crackhead or I did heroin so I could at least blame my problems on that. I was just bottom line stupid.
Speaker 2:And to just illustrate even further what I did for a living, to have bad credit, i was a debt collector for one of the largest third-party countries in America third-party companies in America. So that means that my job was to call people on the phone let them know how sad and trifling they were for not paying their bills on time. And in reality most of the people I talked to had a higher credit score than I did. So I was the hypocrite of all hypocrites. If you look hypocrite up in Webster's, you would see my smiling face. So you know my FICO score might have been 600 if I added all three of them together. You know you couldn't tell the difference between a FICO sample and my FICO score.
Speaker 2:And what had happened? my car caught on fire. You know, i knew that I was gonna have car problems because the only thing that worked on this car was to check engine light. And when I went to the dealership to get it, the salesperson ran my credit. And then he came back and said you couldn't finance a Twickers if you had a Snickers-esque lateral. And I was like, wow. So I kept driving this car and then eventually it caught on fire. Now thank God, you know it happened in my parents' driveway because that's where I was living with my bad credit. But from there I started working on my own credit. Long story short six months I raised my credit score 240 points And I said, man, this is something that I could properly do for other people and feel like I'm making a positive difference in their life.
Speaker 1:And you know, for 10 years later, here we are now helping people get homes or whatever.
Speaker 2:That credit is the obstacle for.
Speaker 1:You know it's a. I heard you say something there that I find very interesting And I was asking a question about it. Do you think making all those phone calls and hearing all of those sob stories of why they couldn't pay their bills or why they're not paying their bills, do you think that had an effect on you and the empathy that you had for these people in the situation there that maybe led you to where you're at now?
Speaker 2:I would. that's a great question. I've actually never been asked that before. I would think it had the surprising effect of becoming numb to it. And you know they say you could judge a person's success by the people that they're closest to. So you know, having bad credit and hearing people who were in the same situation maybe feel like I wasn't alone, or hearing people that had a slightly worse situation, made me feel better about my toxic situation. You know, what I always say is you know, a D is better than an F, but you still ain't going to college. So just because I heard somebody in a slightly different, worse situation in mine, it really made me more lax and daisical about fixing mine And it just took away the sense of urgency, if anything. So that's the effect.
Speaker 1:So, instead of what I was saying, it kind of had the opposite effect on you. It's like oh, everybody else is here, So I'm in good company, Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, No, that's a very interesting thing. What is the worst scenario that you've seen that you've been able to help someone with? And I would imagine look, we all make stupid things and I can tell you a whole history about my stupid mistakes. You know that I've made and had a ton of credit card debt at one point, So we all make these things. It's how we get past those. I think a lot of it has to do. Is the person willing to make a change right, Do things differently than what it is that got them? What's the worst you've seen that you've had to deal with that you've been able to help?
Speaker 2:I think I'll share my favorite success story. So during COVID, you know, the real estate market got really weird, right, where it just got time out.
Speaker 1:Old fashion Yes, how is it? It's perfect. No, we gotta have a scale of one to 10. You know 5.6, 7.2, somewhere along in there You've seen one bite pizza guy, right? Same way on old fashions. I gotta have it Be honest, brutally honest. Oh well, look, i thank you. That's a hell of a good score. I'm gonna give today's cause they're always a little different, right, i'm gonna go with like a 7.3. So I'm not gonna give you the best word. No, not yet. There's something a little off about today. It's good, don't get me wrong, it might be. I usually use a rye bourbon. I've used it a weeded bourbon today, like Weller's original weeded bourbon, which is good. It's just a little different. So maybe it's not quite what I'm used to, but not bad, i'm enjoying it All right. Well, there you go. All right, let's get back to that success story. I'm gonna sit over and drink and listen.
Speaker 2:So what happened with the real estate market in 2020 is that it flipped upside down and it seemed like it was very profitable to sell your house. So I had a woman come to me who had very bad credit and her dilemma was here's this. Let me paint the picture. It's a single mom, she's working multiple jobs, she's got five children five. She literally has a basketball team the starting lineup. She's got five kids.
Speaker 2:Okay, and in that scenario, you're not gonna find an apartment that's gonna accommodate all those people comfortably. So she was obviously living in a house When COVID came and people wanted to sell their properties. She kept having houses sell up underneath her, so eventually it got to the point where she found herself in a hotel and her credit was bad. On top of that, she had a horrible experience with another company, so it took a little convincing for her to use this, but she was referred to us and she did everything we asked her to do And in less than nine months, when she became a homeowner, closed on a house. So that means that not only she went through her process, but she was able to find a property in a span of nine months. She's a homeowner of a townhouse in Hampton And that's a story that we're proud of.
Speaker 2:Now I mean, come on, all your excuses are eliminated with this story. Single mom, no child support, working multiple jobs I mean we've got kids from age six to age 17, different schedules, managing that all in a tight hotel room okay. And even she said that during the process there were things that she liked to do, she loved shoes and she had to cut out some discretionary spending to be able to make this happen. So that hits all the nails on the head And that's the story we're most proud of, because if a single mom with five children can go through the process and make it work, we feel like that's the example that anybody can follow and go through the process and make it work.
Speaker 1:You know there are a couple of things that you said and know that I like. And there's this old saying, right, if it's a priority, you'll find a way, if it's not a priority, you'll find an excuse. But there's a caveat to that right, because when we say that, we automatically assume that if you make it a priority, then you automatically have the knowledge of skills, the training, the access, the opportunity to fix what you're trying to fix. And that's not always the case. Right, you can have somebody that is absolutely make something a priority, but they don't know what to turn, they don't have the skill set, they don't have that. So I think, when you talk about somebody like this lady, right, she made fixing her credit a priority And thank God she has somebody like you that come into her life that was able to show her the skill set, the plan and the way to do it. But it's still, at the end of the day, it's up to that individual to follow through.
Speaker 1:And you said it in your thing Everything you asked her to do she did. And I mean I got it. I mean, lord, i'm mercy. How can you ask for anything more? Now? it puts a lot of pressure on you, right Cause you tell somebody right, hey, if you do this, this, this and this, the result will be this Well, you better be right. Right, you better be right, you know. So we find that sometimes people want things and they want a certain result, but they're not willing to necessarily make the hard choices and the sacrifices to get those results. And that's, i think, where you come in with your coaching and things of that nature. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, it does make sense And I mean you have to make it a priority, but then you also have to have the persistence behind it. They say the reason the Native American rain dance works so well is because they don't start dancing until it starts raining. And you've got to surround yourself with positive people And that's why our team makes the effort to get to a closing, when our customers, you know, do everything we ask and they get that house and they are closing on it and becoming a homeowner, because that shows that it's real. You know, our biggest obstacle is not really anything on the credit report, it is the misinformation that's on social media. You know about credit. You know I was having a conversation with someone the other day and I'm sure you're familiar with The Walking Dead, right?
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely love the show, yep.
Speaker 2:So I posed a question. I was like what if the title The Walking Dead didn't refer to the zombies and it referred to the people? You know and I feel like a lot of folks out here are literally The Walking Dead, and then they're surrounded by people that validate mediocrity, you know. So you know, once somebody understands how important credit is, then they will understand that their credit is their absolute reputation, and then we'll stop putting our money in the Michael Jordan's name and Ralph Lorraine's name and other grown men's name on our backs. I mean, if we'd invest the money in our own reputation like we do in Time Brady or LeBron James reputation and I love those people but at the end of the day, when you go to a bank, you can't write LeBron James' name down on an application, you know.
Speaker 2:So we go to closings, we put out the education to show people that this actually works And, by the way, i only share the success stories that we have testimonials from that customer with five kids. We've got that on video testimony so you don't have to take my word for it. You can see the story you know.
Speaker 1:So I love that and I think that's always important Social proof of what happens and what's going on We talk about. And you mentioned in that conversation about social media and just kind of getting validation on things. And I'm going to kind of we're going to diverge here and just talk about the social media and what I consider the problem with social media and the algorithms that all the social media outlets use. And I think it's just been this huge detriment to our society because it puts everybody in an echo chamber And not only does it put them in an echo chamber, but then it starts to validate all of the false conceptions that they have. And here's what I mean by that.
Speaker 1:If you go on to social media and you start looking at just pick a topic, it doesn't matter what the topic is, but you start looking at that, it's going to that algorithm because everything is about viewable seconds on the screen. So the algorithm is doing everything it can to keep you looking at that screen And it doesn't really give a shit what you're looking at. It doesn't care, it just wants to keep you on that screen. So TikTok is a prime example of that. If you're looking at things about, let's say, liberal issues. It will continue to feed you liberal issues and never give you an opposing view. It will only give you the view that you looked at the most. So once it does that, then you start to get these okay.
Speaker 1:So I think this is right. And then, after about three hours of it convincing me and showing me nothing but that, now I don't think it's right. I'm convinced it's right And it's taken away that ability for that independent research and that opposing views, which I think is so important in our society to be able to have. And the same thing, like you just said, with the credit And someone is getting validated that the credit is this or the credit is that, and it just keeps repeating it to them, then that's a problem. And that is something that we've got to address as a society, and social media is killing us when it comes to that.
Speaker 2:Oh, I agree, I mean it's customizable distractions.
Speaker 1:You know, I've never heard that term, but I like that. I'm going to steal that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the customizable distractions. I mean shit. if you put a cheeseburger in front of me, i mean I'm good, but somebody who struggles with weight and obesity, that might be their distraction, you know. I mean, if you put a crack pipe in front of me, i'll be like wow, that it looks different than it does on TV, because I've never seen one. but I'm not going to, like, sit there and smoke crack, you know. So it's a customizable distraction for you.
Speaker 2:I mean just, you know, i'm probably the biggest Michael Jordan fan out here. So I mean them damn Bulls highlights from the nineties will pop up. And then they're saying, you know I'm watching. I mean I already know what's going to happen and I'm sitting there watching. I know he's going to hit this shot. I know I just please go work out and I just sit there and watch it anyway. So we really have to be mindful. I have a phrase that I talk about and I call it Flies on your face. So you know, when I was a kid, the Biggest visual that I remember wasn't the Smurfs, it wasn't the Flintstones. You know, I guess I'm kind of aging myself talking about the Smurfs, but no, you're aging yourself talking about the Flintstones.
Speaker 2:Okay, dwayne, sure, sure it was so, so, but the biggest visual from my childhood, other than the United Negro College Fund commercial, that commercial stands out to me being African-American, but it was the Sally Struthers commercials, where they would just show these kids in third world countries and they would just have these flies Crawling all over them. And it was so foreign to me because, hell, if you're like me, if a fly could be in the general vicinity of me Mine in its own business I'm gonna climb on top of furniture, i'm gonna grab something. I'm probably destroying my place trying to kill this fly. As I can I stand the fly being anywhere near me. And here, these kids with flies Crawling all over them and I'm just like.
Speaker 2:They have been so beat down And they've gotten so acclimated to their situation that they don't even raise their hand to swat at the fly. So we have situations in our lives where we have become so used to being down We've supposed could become so used to this adversity. That's not even a diversity more, it's normal. So I ask what are the flies in your life? What are the the situations that are right there on your nose that you're so beat down by that you can't even find an energy to Raise your hand and swat at them, right. So you know, sometimes credit could be one of the flies in your face, but really is probably an emotional issue that led to the credit. Every charge off, every collection, it's a, it's a husband, it's a job loss, it's a sickness and illness and death in the family. That's distracted us from the path. So I would just ask people to increase their sensitivity To things that they might have perceived as normal, because they're surrounded by people that won't lead them to this, to the success.
Speaker 1:Well, we tend to, as humans, shy away from pain. Right, we want to ignore, we want to get rid of it, we want to run away from it. You know there's this phenomenon Sometimes when people have surgery They have surgery on their hand or something like that They'll get a neglect where they don't even recognize at the hand, especially when they're drugged up right. So so it's the same thing of what you're saying and I love that analogy with the flies. You're, you're so desensitized to this irritating, unhealthy thing that it's just was now becomes normal, right, you just, it's just normal, okay. Well, yeah, there's flies in my face. It's a problem, i understand it's the issue.
Speaker 1:So so I get it, and that's a great way of putting it in being able to shake people out of that reality And get in touch with them. And I can tell look, dwayne, i've known you for two or three months now and really glad to get to know you better. I See you're gathering for greatness, which I gotta tell you. I want to talk about that for a second. Gathered for greatness is a Bunch of like-minded business people that have gotten together to do something good within the community on a monthly basis, and you know it's bringing a lot of people together and and I just want to say, hey, man, good on you, i'm so great that you guys are doing that, and you guys just did an event at Newrealm for the Samaritan house And that's what a great cause and just man, thank you so much for being such a positive impact on the community and doing those things Well.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you coming out to support that. I mean your regular face at our events and I mean your personal influence.
Speaker 1:There's always alcohol, dwayne. I mean you're gonna get me there if you use alcohol, i'm just gonna happen.
Speaker 2:Fair enough. I mean, we have your you know we have our things that people like to get them there.
Speaker 1:Let me, let me tell everybody how thoughtful Dwayne is right. So we're at this, we're at Newrealm brewery and He comes over and I'm like, hey, man, we've got to get this podcast thing going. I talked about the beginning show. We just haven't done, we got to get this podcast thing going. He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, look, get your calendar out, look, let's get it on the counter. So we get on the counter and I said to him I like, look, you know, we'll do this during this time during the day.
Speaker 1:I said, but I don't do a podcast without you Drinking old-fashioned. I just, it's just, i don't care if it's in the middle of the day, i don't care if we do it nine o'clock in the morning. We're having a drink and scum Brady goes Yeah, that's cool man, no problem, i'm down. I'm like cool, turn around to Waco's. No way, i go my other way. 15 minutes later, here He comes from the bar. Here he comes from the bar, right, he's carrying a beer for him and bringing me an old-fashioned. I was, you know that really, i was really appreciative of that. So, man, i that was, that was, that was a, that was a good move right there. So it was, it was all right.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, yeah, it's showing the love, showing that we appreciate you, showing that we appreciate your support.
Speaker 1:We need to get back down to the. Was it that winery that you did that out? Is that mermaid? No water, was it water? Water's Edge? They had a couple. Now look I'm anybody knows me knows I'm a damn wine. Oh, i mean, if it ain't an old-fashioned. I'm drinking wine and we have a rule at my house Court comes out of a bottle, court goes into trash because it ain't going back in the bottle, right. So Bottle's a wine there. Water's Edge was really good. So anybody listening, if you get a chance down Norway, it's where the old taste used to be taste headquarters used to be right there, so that was a really good place. Anything you'd like to say about gathering for graders? What's it? What's the next event?
Speaker 2:Next event is actually wanting to be a Tuesday at noon, and Chesapeake will be getting together for a lunching network And it's gonna be a corking ball.
Speaker 1:Just had dinner there the other night, all right. So have you ever eaten at heirloom in Virginia Beach? Yes, awesome, right. Lou Chase, chesapeake Oh Man, that place is incredible.
Speaker 1:Corking Bulls good, but it's just not in the category of those two restaurants that make sense. A Nice environment, nice place. I'm looking forward to it. I'll definitely be there on Tuesday because they do serve a pretty good old-fashioned head one there, and it's the one place that carries Robert Biali black chicken, which is a wine that's a red zen, oh, vine dreads in that.
Speaker 1:I drink a lot and had a hard time to find. So what's another good one? Do I, before we close up here for the days or anything else you'd like to say about Credit Kwan Doh, because I think I think it's a great organization. I think you're doing a great service for people. I think it's really important that people pay attention to that and I think the takeaway for me here is that it's really, really important to get people to quit being Desensitized to their bad credit situation, pay attention to it, confront it and fix it and move and be able to move forward with No look, not just buying a house.
Speaker 1:But man, everything in this country is set up on a two-week pay period and credit Right, and you know that's that's a horrible thing, but this is the way everything is set up. We've been spending, seem to take advantage of and make the most money they can. They set up interest payments and name all this kind of stuff. But you know people, somebody ignoring their credit. We, we need to get a whole time and you try to help them fix that so that they're not ignoring it and do something positive about it. Here's what I'd say Outside of, maybe, physical and mental health Because if you know, i'm in the hospital bed, i'm not really worried about my FICO score but outside of your health credit, in my opinion, is the most important thing in life.
Speaker 2:And if someone were to disagree with me, you know they'll typically say, hey, you know, my, my parents are more important in credit, or my children are more important in credit. I'll say, okay, well, go to the bank and I want you to put down Good mom as collateral, or or good, good child as collateral. I want to see how far that application gets in the underwriting process. Chances are, if there's something that's more important to you than credit, you probably need credit to assist that someone or something right. And The other point that I want to make is that there's no shame in needing help for any area that you need help in, particularly credit. It comes with. You know.
Speaker 2:Sometimes people are embarrassed that you know they had a financial difficulty. I would say that if there's any shame in this, it the shame should come in not seeking out the help that you know You need. You know, because your son, your child, the people that are depending on you, they share your FICO score with you. If you got a 14 year old kid living at home with his goals or her goals, ambitions and dreams, they're using your FICO score to ignite those hopes and dreams. So you know the decisions that you make, whether they're good or bad, the consequences are going to be suffered by everybody That depends on you. So just keep that in mind, that you know you as a household leader, you know The issue is bigger than you. So then it circles back to okay, you're going to get the help come to somebody who actually cares about you, that has a track record, that, that wants to put your score Or your situation before whatever benefits them, and that's us credit.
Speaker 1:No, i think that's great. Do I tell people how they can get a hold of you, where they can go to seek you out and how they can the quickest way To get in touch with you?
Speaker 2:certainly you can call our team at 757-568-8100. You can email us at TEAM at CKDUScom again, that's TEAM at CKDUScom, Where you can follow me on Instagram at Financial Chocolate the big black credit snack.
Speaker 1:I love it, duane. Thank you so much for being here. Guys, we'll be back again next week. We're gonna have some more great guests on here. Duane's been great having you on here today. Guys, get out there, sell some houses. If you got any questions, got any concerns, give us a call. You know to reach us.