B. Hunter Quistgard, S.E.C.
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An S.E.C. Biography
Hunter and Alberta Quistgard, living on their Ranch near Santa Rosa, California greeted a newborn son in 1937 and named him Hunter. Hunter and his three brothers and one sister grew up on the family ranch. He graduated from Santa Rosa High School where he served as student body president and Rally commissioner in his senior year. He played football and ran track, leading the league in the half-mile.
Hunter put himself through college selling “hope chest equipment to single working girls” (cookware, etc.). After graduating, he became the company’s regional sales manager for the Los Angeles basin. In 1960, Hunter went to work at his father’s real estate firm. Hunter started his own firm in 1962. In 1963, a real estate/social friend had taken Richard Reno’s course “Modern Real Estate Exchanging” and wanted to join S.E.C. but needed an S.E.C. broker. The friend, (Bill Weil, known years ago as the ‘Peppermint Kid’ by S.E.C.’s), loaned Hunter the money to travel to Dallas and take the Reno course and be his S.E.C. broker. Richard Reno’s class was the most significant turning point in his life. Hunter came home from Dallas and fired all his salesmen, got rid of three new home subdivisions listings that weren’t producing, and made more income doing exchanging in six months than he had in the previous three years.
He became an S.E.C. in 1963, claiming to be yet the youngest member to be inducted at age twenty-seven. He was the first regional director, named by edict of Richard Reno (“to prevent political rivals”). Hunter considers being named Counselor of the Year of the S.E.C. in 1984, the highest and best moment of a career filled with many high points. He served as President in 1988.
Hunter, along with Cliff Weaver designed and taught the first exchange counseling course in the late ’60’s, “Exchange Counseling” to inform those who said “What do you mean by ‘a counseled client?'” It was a one day course including numerous forms, formulae, a counseling demo, case studies and lunch for thirty-five dollars. Madge Davis, S.E.C. sponsored their second successful course in Southern California, audited by Evelyn and Dick Reno as guests. Hunter admits that he and Cliff were at first simply trying to recruit brokers to do deals with. Cliff Weaver and Hunter did produce a manuscript for a book outlining the course which was given to the S.E.C. long ago.
His background as a tower operator in the Air National Guard led him to become a private pilot in order to get around the NW to do “S.E.C. deals.” Trading real estate for a Cessna Turbo 210 is one of his fond memories. Trading “You can’t find it!” land in east Oregon for REO houses with an institutional lender is a proud moment; but closing a 9 property, 5 client, 4 state exchange without cash to anyone was his favorite ‘case study’ for demonstration of S.E.C. prowess.
Since the Society was founded on the premise that there is no poor real estate, only owners poorly matched with property, when an owner wants out of a particular investment, the counselor’s job is to discover the reason he or she wants the change. Over time, Hunter developed a technique to focus on the client’s primary motivation, getting to the source of his reason for not wanting the property.
As Hunter counseled, he offered a succession of ways that the client could solve the problem, while keeping his property. As the client turns down successive suggestions, the counselor peels layers away to reveal the real motivation behind the client’s wishes “usually to the surprise of the client.” This way, one can find the core motivation of the client for the given situation and hopefully solve more efficiently. Finding the ‘life goals’ of the client is a philosophy based in Weaver and Quistgard’s course on Motivation and this is one technique that grew out of it. “Quistgard/Weaver” also made use of a clever time saving scheme that could also flush out other motivations. They would give a client/applicant two copies of a property financial disclosure form. This way, when they got to the fraud disclosure at the bottom of the form, they could wad it up and throw it away, and proceed to counsel themselves by completing the second copy with more candor.
Hunter Quistgard’s overall philosophy is: BE A BUYER, “understand the economics of real estate;” keep an inventory of each vehicle’s ‘benefits’ in your head as they will be handy when the needs and objectives of each client shows forth and transaction creating processes, like “Stone Soup” are in progress.
Asked to name any of his strengths and or weakness he’ll say, “I like to think there are unlimited alternatives available to causing a deal. Practicing the art of causing complicated closings as opposed to rubber-stamping your one formula over the world is more satisfying than just making money.” When asked about any weakness he just cocked his head and muttered “huh” or something to that effect.
His wife, Lynda Paulson, runs his current life chasing 4 grandchildren between them from the 2 children each brought to the union, when she isn’t conducting workshops for executives or playing tennis and cards with her ladies.
Hunter is a reflective man who takes life seriously enough to understand that one shouldn’t take life so seriously. His hobbies are sailing, golf and fly fishing. I suppose he takes golf seriously enough to have coined his own epitaph. “Here lies Hunter, an old hacker who finally made it to the hole.” As one might expect he has an intriguing sense of humor. If you’re ever fortunate enough to have dinner with Hunter (as I did in Las Vegas a couple of years ago) I guarantee you’ll learn something profound while you’re enjoying a good laugh.
