How to Predict a Real Estate Price Dip

Transcript: 

Jack Butala:                       Jack Butala with Jill DeWit.

Jill DeWit:                           Hi.

Jack Butala:                       Welcome to our show today. In this episode, Jill and I talk about how to predict a real estate price dip. That's a nice way to say it, price dip, versus catastrophic downturn is how I would have written it but I didn't write the title of this.

Jill DeWit:                           Love it.

Jack Butala:                       Before we get into it let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free.

Jill DeWit:                           Okay. Kevin asks, "Do you look up the zoning before buying, or ever?"

Jack Butala:                       100% of the time I do.

Jill DeWit:                           I do too. You know what, I try to do it right at the head of time too when I'm downloading the data, I'm including the zoning for the properties that I want. I'm not going to put in there any federal land or, I don't know, anything crazy in there. Industrial. I'm not going to include that in my data set when I'm downloading it. You better believe before I pull the trigger I double-check it and make sure it's residential or something like that.

Jack Butala:                       Jill and I just released a website called parcelfact, F-A-C-T.com ,and it's literally, you type in an APN or assessor's parcel number on any property in the country, you know, the state, country APN, and it pulls up all the assessor data, including a map with the corner points and everything. And one of the things on there is zoning.

Let me tell you a real quick story. If somebody signs a letter for a one acre property that you send out, signs an offer and they send it back, it's like opening a gift at Christmas for me. And then, if the zoning is like RV over like single-family residential or mobile home, then it's like that's the cherry on top of the cupcake. Because mobile homes are gold in our business. Mobile home lots and RV lots are gold in our business.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly.

Jack Butala:                       Not only do I look it up before buying, I look it up right when we're making a decision whether or not to say, "Heck yes."

Jill DeWit:                           It's too easy to look at that all at the same time when you're doing your due diligence. You're pulling up the zoning, you're checking where they stand on their back taxes.

Jack Butala:                       It's too easy.

Jill DeWit:                           Is there an HOA? All that good stuff. Are you recording me?

Jack Butala:                       No, I believe it.

Jill DeWit:                           I'm like "Are you making fun of me?"

Jack Butala:                       No, you have a natural ability to make things in less than one sentence, really make sense.

Jill DeWit:                           Oh, thank you.

Jack Butala:                       And I have a natural ability to complicate the hell out of everything.

Jill DeWit:                           What'd you just say?

Jack Butala:                       It's too easy.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Jack Butala:                       It's too easy to just look it all up all at once and get excited or throw it away.

Jill DeWit:                           Check all the boxes, now I'm going to get serious about it. That's what I do, Kevin.

Jack Butala:                       If you got a question or you want to be on ... You should have a list of stuff that you look at before you buy and check it off.

Jill DeWit:                           I do have a list.

Jack Butala:                       I know you do. You listeners should have a list, no you, Jill.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. When it's you acquisition criteria.