Malibu Dan is back In the Living Room—this time with Suzanne Seini, founder/CEO of Innovate Realty (aka the “Queen of the Closing Table”). Dan opens with real talk: respect, mentorship, and why he believes brokerages should feel like home—not a cold, cutthroat office.

Suzanne breaks down her journey from prior brokerages (including the chaotic Zillow iBuying era) to building Innovate with a people-first mindset. They talk loyalty, culture, how agents actually thrive, and what makes a brokerage more than “tools and tech.” The episode is a mix of heart + behind-the-scenes industry reality… with Malibu Dan’s signature humor all the way through.

What they talk about (bullet points):

• Malibu Dan’s intro + giving Suzanne her flowers (and mispronouncing “Sini”)

• How Innovate Realty was built with agents and support at the center

• Their past connection at Sertare Properties + the mentor/team culture they respected

• Suzanne’s move into the Zillow iBuying world and how she landed the opportunity

• What it felt like being “enemy #1” during iBuying (hate, DRE complaints, offer madness)

• 2019–2021 market chaos: multiple offers, corporate process, agents taking the blame

• Why Zillow’s model failed: relying too much on algorithms/zestimates vs human comps

• Malibu Dan’s view: real estate is relationships—AI can’t replace genuine care

• Innovate’s “difference”: sincerity, real support, and leadership that actually checks in

• Brokerage culture: feeling wanted + having a real team behind you

• Why agents don’t move even when they’d be happier (comfort, fear, loyalty)

• Suzanne’s leadership style: people-first, not numbers-first

• Creating a non-competitive, “for each other” agent culture

• The lonely side of real estate + why community matters

• Hiring/firing: Suzanne’s honesty about only letting go of one agent (and why)

• Malibu Dan’s Franco & Jennifer Shamu story: one great deal experience that led him to Innovate

• Wrap-up gratitude + Dan calling Innovate his “one stop” home going forward

Early February check-in and the momentum is real. Suzanne and Paul break down what they’re seeing across Southern California — stronger open house traffic, resilient pricing, and rates near three-year lows — then shift into a bigger topic: why most agents and investors lose steam after January, and how to build a system that actually produces results all year.

They dig into consistency vs. “fake busy,” measurable actions, marketing with real ROI, and how both agents and investors can pressure-test their plans with real numbers and post-mortems. Plus: big Innovate expansion news and what growth really looks like behind the scenes.

In this episode, we cover:
• SoCal market snapshot: strong weather, strong traffic, and resilient demand
• National homebuilder slowdown vs. California resilience
• Investor activity rising while acquisition competition increases
• Rates near 3-year lows and why sidelined buyers are re-entering
• Why January momentum often dies in February (and how to avoid it)
• The marathon vs. sprint analogy for business performance
• Busy vs. productive — and why they’re not the same
• Building a sustainable, repeatable accountability system
• Agent strategy: consistency, mindset, and execution after a slow-close month
• Marketing that works: targeted content + real call-to-action vs. vanity posting
• Measuring outcomes: leads, contacts, conversions — not just activity
• Investor strategy: deal math, scopes of work, timelines, and post-mortems
• Why renovation budgets and timelines are almost always underestimated
• Innovate Realty expansion: new offices + new states launching
• What entrepreneurship really feels like behind the scenes
• Realty Talk growth and new agent-hosted shows coming soon

Welcome to the very first episode of In the Living Room with Malibu Dan — a new show built around real estate, lifestyle, and culture in sunny Southern California (with curiosity beyond CA too). Malibu Dan kicks things off by telling the real story behind the name — a radio career, an old-school LA station era, and encouragement from longtime friend Tim Conway Jr. to jump back on the mic.

For the first guest ever, Dan brings in Paul “Fix-It-All” Hanson to talk entrepreneurship, how Bye Bye House really started, what makes flipping “less risky than people think,” and a super practical conversation agents get asked all the time: permits — when they matter and when they don’t.

In this episode, we cover:
• Who “Malibu Dan” is and how the name came back to life
• Dan’s radio background + why he returned through Innovate’s podcast studio
• Why this new show is real estate + lifestyle + culture (SoCal-based)
• Paul’s entrepreneurial origin story (from teenage landscaping to door-to-door sales)
• The University of Utah years, commission life, and early financial lessons
• Paul’s previous businesses: home services, solar/energy retrofits, scaling teams
• How Bye Bye House began: first flips, private lending, and the Center Street connection
• What “doing well” means in flipping: speed, construction control, and margins
• Finding deals: networking, on-market distressed properties, and “math problem” underwriting
• Paul’s view of the housing market in “three tranches” (bottom/middle/top inventory)
• Permits explained: when to pull them (structural/sqft) vs. when they slow everyone down (cosmetic)
• Why buyers misunderstand permits — and what inspectors really verify
• Wrap-up: Dan’s gratitude to Innovate/Bye Bye House + teasing more guests and future episodes