How We Turned Our First Messy Deal into a $60K Profit - Despite Everything Going Wrong

In this episode, we break down our very first distressed property deal - a challenging transaction that taught us crucial lessons about navigating complex ownership situations, dealing with occupants, and the importance of having multiple exit strategies. 

What started as a seemingly simple $500 acquisition turned into a four-month journey involving multiple parties, aggressive negotiations, and eventual success.

Key Highlights

• Property: 1+ acre infill land in gentrifying area of Houston
• Total Investment: ~$50K
• Sale Price: $195K
• Net Profit: ~$60K each for both parties
• Timeline: 4 months to close

Deal Breakdown

1. Initial Situation
   • Three brothers owned property (25% each)
   • One brother's deceased (three children with 8.33% each)
   • Two brothers living on property in poor conditions
   • $35-40K in back taxes due
   • Property heading to tax sale
2. Key Challenges
   • Occupants living on property
   • No direct communication methods (no phones)
   • Multiple failed negotiations
   • Family interference
   • Had to pay significant taxes to stop sale
3. Turning Point
   • Draft lawsuit as leverage
   • Final cash offer + partnership structure
   • Creative solution involving all parties

Key Lessons

• Importance of early assessment of occupancy situations
• Value of multiple exit strategies
• Power of legal leverage in negotiations
• Significance of proper deal security
• Balance between persistence and knowing when to walk

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How a Google Ad Led to a $120K Joint Venture Deal in Big Sky Country

In this episode, Clint and Jeremy break down an unconventional partnership deal that came through their Google ads - proving that messy title opportunities can come from unexpected places. 

What started as a simple $20K request evolved into a $60K investment with creative deal structuring, showing how flexibility and proper security measures can turn challenging situations into profitable ventures.

Key Highlights

• Property: A-frame house on 8 acres in Montana
• Investment: $60K total (in multiple draws)
• Expected Return: $120K
• Timeline: Multiple months from first contact to final agreement
• Structure: Pure partnership/joint venture deal

Deal Breakdown

1. Initial Contact
   • Lead from Google PPC ads (unexpected out-of-state inquiry)
   • Owner wanted to split property and needed capital
   • Initial purchase offer rejected
2. Evolution of Deal
   • Owner disappeared for months trying traditional routes
   • Returned after failing with other options
   • Deal structure evolved from purchase to partnership
3. Unique Challenges
   • Owner had check fraud conviction
   • No traditional financing options
   • Property required lot split
   • Out-of-state complexities
   • Multiple draws needed for various expenses
4. Security Measures
   • Extensive identity verification
   • Joint venture agreement with deed of trust
   • Purchase option at $250K if default
   • First position for repayment

Key Takeaways

• Creative deal structures can solve complex problems
• Importance of proper security in partnership deals
• Value of patience in deal evolution
• How to handle out-of-state opportunities
• Proper vetting for online leads

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Ever wonder how to turn a disaster into a goldmine? 

In this episode, we break down the Edinburg Deal - a property that had everything going wrong: imminent foreclosure, feuding ex-spouses who hadn't spoken in years, and a ticking clock of just 5 days to save it all.

Listen as we reveal:

• How we stopped a foreclosure with days to spare
• Our strategy for dealing with hostile owners
• Why we only invested $45K to make $100K
• The simple $850 repair that helped seal the deal
• How we got multiple offers within hours of listing

This is the exact type of deal we LOVE to find - what we call our "bread and butter" opportunity. 

We'll show you why these messy situations create the perfect environment for profitable deals that other investors miss.

Plus, we share our complete timeline from first contact to closing, and break down every number so you can replicate our process.

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🎓 Want to learn how to find these deals yourself? Register for our FREE Messy Title Masterclass here: https://programs.learn.land/ff-registration-page

In this episode we discuss a deal that covers the other end of the spectrum, deals that make you a modest $20k or $30k profit.

This particular deal we talk about is SUPER interesting because…

This property had $166,000 in unpaid taxes.

Yet across the ENTIRE deal, we only had $3,300 in out-of-pocket costs…

Which means our $30k profit 9x’ed our out-of-pocket expenses!!

How the heck did we manage to pull this off...

Where we were paying only 100 bucks to most heirs for their deeds…

Leveraged Google ads for the first time to complete this deal…

And want a peek into how to handle complicated title situations with minimal risk?

Tune in to find out!
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Register for our FREE Messy Title Masterclass here: https://programs.learn.land/ff-registration-page

Walk through what it took to take down our best messy distressed deal to date, a 6 acre industrial property that was purchased for $200,000 and sold for $800,000. 

This deal involved complex challenges including:

-Tax distress ($100,000+ in back taxes)
-A deceased owner with no direct heirs, requiring tracking down multiple distant family members
-Complex title issues including life estates
-Multiple fractional ownership interests that had to be purchased individually
-Significant risk as purchases were made without title insurance

On this episode we explain how we persevered through months of follow-up, eventually succeeded where a previous wholesaler had failed, and detail in how we navigated the complex closing process. 

We also discuss lessons we learned about title insurance and our ultimate decision to sell rather than develop the property themselves. 

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In this debut episode, hosts Clint and Jeremy introduce their new podcast focusing on complex real estate deals with messy titles. They share their journey from traditional land flipping to focusing on distressed properties with title issues, explaining how market changes in 2022-2023 led to this strategic pivot.

The hosts discuss how this new approach has yielded better returns with lower marketing costs and shorter cash conversion cycles.

Key Points

• Market shift in 2022-2023 led to seeking alternatives to traditional land flipping
• Transition from high-volume land flipping to complex, messy title deals
• Zero marketing spend approach vs traditional $30k/month marketing budgets
• Shorter cash conversion cycles compared to land deals
• Focus on infill properties and houses vs rural land
• Higher liquidity in current strategy reduces market risk
• Value-add component leads to more satisfied sellers

Subscribe to follow their journey through complex real estate deals and learn about their path to generating $1 million in revenue through messy title properties.