Jeff Stephens, creator of the Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneur and Sleaze-Free Real Estate Investing Podcast, returns to the show today to talk about a deal he closed earlier this year. In this episode, he talks about how he acquired a building that was two separate properties, negotiated two different deals with two different creative financing strategies, and what he's done with the property now that he is the sole owner.

Key Takeaways:

[2:00] This deal was about an 18-month deal once all was said and done. It was originally a bank, and due to a lot line, it had been split 60-40 since a few years after it was built. He sent mailings out to a niche list of owners of buildings that weren't structurally sound for earthquakes (unreinforced masonry), including this one.

[5:20] The first contract for the smaller side of the building fell through, but when the chance arose a second time he put down $15,000 non-refundable, and also pursued the bigger side. After about 12 months of follow-up, he had both sides under contract in two separate negotiations.

[8:25] He used two separate financing strategies for the different sides of the building, and closed on them in November 2018 and February 2019, becoming the first person to own the whole building in 101 years.

[9:30] The list Jeff used to send mailers was a pretty niche list. In Jeff's situation, he was able to get to sellers around the same time as the city was, which made the conversations a little easier. This letter was very similar to his regular mailer — he didn't necessarily say anything about the unreinforced masonry situation for those properties. The list became relevant to the negotiation as well.

[13:10] Some things to think about with niche lists: competition — are you going against many others who have access to the same list? You also want to keep in mind how you can use the list to your advantage when talking with the seller.

[13:40] Persistent follow-up was key in this deal, with parties on both ends of the building. Taking a chance on the follow-up for the smaller side a second time ended up being a win. When the stars aligned with two yeses, his follow-up had succeeded.

[16:25] Jeff breaks down the financing for the two separate transactions. He negotiated the first side down to $840,000 down; he set himself up for financial success a year before. He had previously bought a five-unit apartment on a note, and he put that up for sale to change the collateral of the note. He used the buyer's money from the five-plex to provide the money.

[20:15] The financing he negotiated for a past deal ended up providing the financing for this new deal. Jeff set himself up for success a full year before he knew about this commercial property. At the end of the day, the success of real estate is really about financial structuring.

[22:10] Negotiating the second side of the building was a little less glamorous. Traditional financing was difficult, and ultimately he ended up going to a commercial hard money lender to get the money for closing. Now he's working on refinancing the building as one.

[24:15] The financing idea of moving the collateral under notes is a big strategy for Jeff. It's complicated but is an intellectual challenge that really makes real estate fun.

[25:40] Since buying the property, they've filled some vacancies and turned the biggest unit into a co-working space. They were able to make some cosmetic changes for about $20,000, and rent out the space as a shared working environment.

[28:49] Real estate doesn't have to be all go buy, fix, sell, rinse repeat. There is a lot of creativity to be found in real estate!

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

The Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneur

Sleaze-Free Real Estate Investing podcast

Savvy investor Maria Giordano joins Brian on the show today to talk about her real estate ventures. In this episode, they talk about negotiating, creative deals, and the meetings Maria organizes for female investors in AZ, the Phoenix Women's Real Estate Investor Network. Listen in today to hear how Maria negotiated an amazing creative deal to get her current property.

Key Takeaways:

[2:05] Maria talks about getting started in the real estate and some of the prejudice she faced getting started as a woman in real estate. Shortly after getting into real estate, the market crashed and she started investing with other people's money essentially at the start of her venture.

[3:50] They started by doing fix-and-flips and vacation rentals, and switched their focus to buy-and-hold to reduce the amount of work they had to put in. This also allowed for more flexibility to be away from home and will provide legacy wealth for her children.

[5:30] When she first got into real estate, Maria was a divorced mother of four. Though the real estate business is a male-dominated industry, it doesn't mean that women can't succeed the same way male investors do. For other women who want to get into the industry, two tips she has are to educate yourself as much as possible and then get to where you feel comfortable asking questions.

[9:25] Maria started a real estate group for other women in real estate. They discuss issues in real estate from a woman's perspective. The structure also provides a comfortable place for females in real estate to network and ask questions.

[13:40] The bulk of Maria's business revolves around buy-and-holds structured with more creative deals like 'subject to,' lease options, etc. Creative deal options allow her to make more deals happen and also yield a higher ROI.

[15:10] The market conditions are right for people to be using more creative deal structures. There are several opportunities in this market, especially for people who don't have much equity in their home or people who want to sell properties with dated value. Her main focus is on cash flow.

[17:10] Maria talks about how she works with buyers to steer them in a more creative direction. The most important thing to find out is the motivating factor behind why they want to sell. Asking questions to figure out what a seller really needs can help you negotiate the deal how you want.

[19:20] Maria breaks down a huge deal that she closed in Pennsylvania using creative deal structures. She originally got the lead from a Zillow search and reached out via letter and door-knocking until the seller responded.

[23:10] The house had two mortgages, and Maria was able to do a short-sell of the second mortgage (down from $315K to $73K). She bought the first mortgage from a loan company subject to the existing financing.

[27:30] She negotiated the second mortgage first to save the property from foreclosure. She was able to get the first mortgage 'subject to,' despite the risk. It can be risky because the note could be called due.

[32:25] When she closed on the property, she paid about $137,000 cash (from private money) and started making payments on the first mortgage. She had the property appraised, and ended up getting an $825,000 property for that price. She refinanced and was able to get the money for her rehab, which made the value of the house $1.2 million.

[35:30] This is something any listener can do! Maria was successful because she followed up properly with the seller and negotiated with the right people. By doing this, she gained a property with a lot of equity and was able to help the seller out of her own situation.

[37:15] Let Maria's story serve as an inspiration! To get in touch with Maria, check out any of the links below.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

"How to do 'Subject To'"

Maria's Website

Email: [email protected]

AZREIA

Phoenix Women's Real Estate Investing

Today's guest is the CEO of Spartan Invest, and the third guest from the company to join the Podcast! Lindsay Davis is on the show today to talk about their full-service turn-key company. Spartan does so much for REI Live, Birmingham, and even the nation. They cover everything from their business model, property management, the real estate market in Birmingham, tenant placement, and how they work with wholesalers.

Key Takeaways:

[1:15] At Spartan Invest, they are a full-service turn-key provider that will purchase the property, renovate, rent, and sell to investor clients, in addition to managing the properties after the fact.

[2:25] Lindsay and Brian discuss the market conditions in Birmingham. There is a great deal of job growth, and resale values are high right now. There's been increased competition in the turn-key space. Spartan primarily focuses on the outskirts of Birmingham, in single-family homes in places like Hueytown, Bessemer, Pleasant Grove — basically a circle around Birmingham.

[5:03] They've ventured further out in order to be able to offer their investors diversity. By being able to expand, it allows a single investor to be in several markets with a single point of contact. Getting into some of those other markets (Huntsville for example) has allowed them to get prime turn-key properties.

[7:35] Lindsay and Brian talk about the difference in the rate of return and appreciation between Huntsville and other markets they're in.

[9:00] The biggest thing that sets Spartan apart from other turn-key companies is the service aspect. Since they handle all aspects of the process, that enables more people to be able to invest. Their long-term goals also add an accountability piece that makes these transactions more like a life-long service relationship.

[13:05] The market inventory is down nation-wide. Inventory is getting purchased quicker, and for Spartan, it's been a struggle in the past when the demand gets higher than they can fill. Quality of service is always a top priority, so their inventory stays at a number they can comfortably manage.

[14:45] In property management, there can come a point where the service drops off. Lindsay talks about some of the challenges they've faced, and what corrections they've put in place to help that. They added a second Client Services manager, and the managers contact all of the investors once a month to keep them updated on their accounts.

[17:00] Lindsay talks about some of the qualities of a good property management company. You want to check on things like their occupancy, maintenance ratios, and renewal rates.

[19:15] Many investors are impressed and satisfied with the property management through Spartan and Alabama Rental Property. One of the big advantages is that Spartan has done all the renovations, and has fixed these houses up for the long-term. If they began to manage other properties, they couldn't speak to the quality of those properties.

[20:40] The average stay for their tenants is about 40 months. They offer two-year leases and have criteria for their tenants before they will rent to them: 550 or better credit score, 3X rent in income, no evictions or bankruptcy in the last two years, no felonies in the last seven years. Their criteria are constantly evolving.

[23:10] In addition to turn-key, Spartan also works with wholesalers to buy properties. What drives their purchase power is what it will rent for. They're usually around the 1% rule.

[25:40] To send potential deals, email [email protected]. Their admin will send them to the appropriate agents to be evaluated within 24 hours.

[26:35] Some of their long-term goals are getting on the ground on Huntsville (which they've already started) and are also looking for their next market outside of the state of Alabama.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

Spartan Invest

Today's guest joins us from the Central Valley market in California. Don Costa runs a high-volume rehab and wholesaling business. In today's episode, he talks about the struggles of when he first started in real estate and the mindset shift that changed the game for him. He breaks down some of the logistics of his business, how they manage both rehabs and wholesales, as well as the motivation behind some of the extracurricular projects he's taken on.

Key Takeaways:

[1:05] In addition to his podcast, Don is still doing quite a bit of volume, primarily rehabbing but also some wholesaling. He started in real estate back in 2003; it seemed to be the best outlet for his desire to be an entrepreneur. When the market changed, he didn't react quickly enough, and he lost it all in the crash.

[4:50] In 2012, things came back around for him to step back into real estate. He talks about the soul-crushing moment when he realized he had to change something in order to preserve his family's finances.

[8:09] In both of his startups, Don can recall a specific moment when his mindset shifted, and it changed the game. The mindset shift gave him the power to know his value in a given situation. You don't have to wait for someone to tell you you have value behind you.

[10:55] It's easy to stay stagnant when you're in survival mode because you're thinking about the small things rather than the domino that could change the course of everything.

[11:40] To get to the amount of volume Don is currently doing it takes a great team that can operate when you get out of the way — also having proper cash flow and the right mindset to get financing from lenders.

[13:35] There are many times when we're not ready to hire, but it's important to hire someone before you need to hire so that you have time to effectively train someone before you're in the weeds. Hire for where you want to be.

[15:45] Some of the pitfalls people encounter when it comes to hiring is that people tend to plug and play. Be intentional about where you are placing hires and take the time to develop them before you put too much of the weight of the role on them. Owners or managers also can be a bottleneck holding their team back. It's also important to keep an eye on your hires until you know they've effectively mastered the role.

[17:20] Right now they're about 50-50 between rehab and wholesales. They started wholesaling because they had a lot leads coming in that didn't fit the criteria for a rehab. Instead of throwing those deals away, they adapted to be able to start wholesaling.

[20:40] Don talks about some of the aspects of his business he's had to change in going from rehabbing to wholesaling. The main advantage is that they've been able to monetize leads they normally would've thrown away. One of the disadvantages is that it created a gap in their cash flow for rehabs. It's important to anticipate these so you can compensate.

[23:15] Don describes a typical rehab project for his business. They are usually three-to-four-week projects, and the price is roughly $30K–$35K on average for cosmetic rehabs. It really comes down to systems and processes to make these happen.

[25:00] Don breaks down the systems of the rehab business. They have six to eight crews that work on their inventory at any time. They spend about $150K all in for a deal. Don breaks down the system for their crews, which typically include a manager, then general contractors that report to the manager, and hourly employees that report to the general contractors. Don and Brian discuss the pros and cons of paying these employees in-house versus a more contracted system.

[29:45] In addition to his business, Don also has a podcast, an education platform, and a mastermind. He picked up the podcast when he didn't need to be involved in the day-to-day aspects of his business. The podcast gives him an opportunity to speak to experts and also keeps him grounded in real estate.

[32:25] Don has started all of these projects because he wants to impact businesses and change lives. If you're interested in getting ahold of Don, you can email [email protected]. You can also connect with Don on Facebook or YouTube.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

The Flip Talk with Don Costa Podcast

YouTube

Facebook — Don Costa

Facebook — Flip Talk Podcast

Facebook — Flip Talk Group

In today's episode, CEO Lee Arnold joins Brian to talk about various aspects of funding and lending. With his company Secured Investment Corp, Lee shares the different ways they are helping investors get the money they need to acquire real estate assets. He discusses the importance of finding a good deal, as well as some of the qualifications they consider when lending to investors.

Key Takeaways:

[1:20] Lee is the CEO of Secured Investment Corp, a full-service real estate educator, funder, financer, and money manager. Their main business is helping investors get the funding they need to acquire real estate assets.

[3:30] Lee shares some tips for real estate investors to get funding. Don't go out and get pre-qualified; in the investment world, lenders are concerned with security, risk, and how they are going to get their money back (entrance and exit strategy).

[5:45] Lee shares a specific example to illustrate two different approaches to asking for money. If investors spend their time finding quality deals, funding will be readily available when they find them.

[7:30] Lee shares his argument against the idea that private lending is a relationship business. Initially, it is 100% an opportunity business. Once you have an opportunity, then you can form the relationship.

[9:15] Brian and Lee discuss the qualifications that lenders look for when an investor approaches them, including experience and how that affects loan to value, and risk.

[11:50] If you have no money and no experience, cross-collateralization and partner equity are two creative options to get in the game. Partner equity is more about partner experience than money and could end up getting you more funding.

[16:20] In addition to experience, another qualification is credit. It's less about actual credit and more about what past performance would indicate about future performance in a deal.

[18:30] There's more money flooding the marketplace right now than ever before. Investors are having more trouble finding deals than finding the money. Lee talks about some of the implications of the current market conditions and lending.

[21:55] If you're an investor with a great deal, lenders will compete to give you money. This gives you as an investor/borrower the leverage to negotiate on terms, interest fees, points, etc. The borrower should feel empowered!

[24:00] At their tuition-paid training events, attendees are taken into that market to demonstrate what would be good deals. Lee suggests single-family homes as the best place to start and focus on.

[28:15] Amass as much cash as you can and be ready for the market correction when it hits full force, so you can still acquire assets at a premium price.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Secured Investment Corp

Nationwide Funding Tour

Submit a Deal

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

Marc Pelletz joins the show from Sarasota, FL, where he is currently practicing real estate. With over 40 years under his belt, Marc is on the show to share his ideas on the importance of a positive mindset and power of practicing consistent, effective habits to grow your real estate business.

Key Takeaways:

[1:05] Marc has been in the real estate business for about 40 years now, and for the past 20 years has been in Sarasota, FL buying, holding, and flipping real estate. His company also has a full-service real estate brokerage, property management, and a training center.

[2:35] He has gained financial and time freedom by setting goals early on, and following the path one day at a time to achieve his vision. It didn't happen in a day, but over time with persistent and consistent action. It starts with a thought that transfers to a goal and you have to shape your mindset around that.

[5:20] One of the first things you can do to get on the path is to find a mentor — someone who has been in the business and is still in the market today.

[6:15] Marc actually left real estate for a brief period because his initial success allowed him to make some decisions that weren't sustainable. He lost all his money, but when he decided to get back into real estate the first thing he did was write down his goal: 50 rentals by 50 years old.

[8:45] He talks about how he pitched a deal to his first seller so he could purchase with no money down and create some cash flow. You have to find a motivated or willing seller and create some belief, first within yourself.

[10:45] He was able to rebuild by partnering with sellers through creative deal structures, so both parties were benefitting from the deal.

[12:25] It's always the right time to buy real estate if you know how to buy it. The market crash in 2007 actually ended up being the most opportune time for Marc. By buying property that takes care of itself, he was able to continue making money whether the market was good or bad. For people anticipating the market correction, that is where the opportunity lies.

[16:05] Marc's book, Think Like a Real Estate Investor, focuses more on mindset than real estate. If you don't have the right mindset to who you want to become and what you want to do with who you become, there's little chance of success in real estate. Mindset is key — it doesn't matter how much you know.

[18:20] Take action on what you know now; there's always going to be a new way to do something so it's important to take action and start doing things.

[19:30] Marc talks about the power of thoughts, and how they help us manifest the goals we set for ourselves. Thoughts lead to action, actions repeated daily become the habits that make us who we are. Success comes from the interaction of the words we tell ourselves, how we feel, and the action we take.

[22:35] Some takeaways from Marc: Get a mentor who can teach you not just the tactics, but also the daily habits. Also, bring a positive mental attitude to the game of life, and any other ventures you pursue.

[24:30] Take some time to evaluate your habits. Are you trending up or trending down?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

REI Live Sarasota

Marc's Website

Think Like A Real Estate Investor, by Marc Pelletz

The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness, by Jeff Olson

Brian and Rob are back for another episode of the Birmingham area market update.

For cash-flowing properties or advice on the Birmingham market, contact Rob Drum at [email protected]

Contractor-turned-teacher Ryan Garcilazo joins Brian on the show to talk about fostering good relationships with contractors. Many investors dislike working with contractors, and Ryan's business has set out to change the relationship between investors and contractors. In today's episode, he shares four things to do before you ever start demo or groundbreaking on a property. These steps help the investor take control of the project and create favor for both parties.

Key Takeaways:

[1:05] Investors don't generally like working with contractors, and it is often because they don't understand what contractors do. Sometimes contractors take advantage of investors, and Ryan has set out to change the game for investors and help show them the game.

[2:34] Ryan has been in real estate for 15 years. He was a contractor who primarily flipped houses for investors in the first ten years. After several hundred flips, he made the switch to start teaching people how to change the way they rehab. His credibility from both worlds has allowed him to bridge the gap between investors and contractors.

[6:20] The main part of Ryan's business today is the education piece — they have online classes, live Zoom calls, and some in-person consulting, with different boot camps throughout the year. The goal is to teach investors how to go from an investment model to a construction model.

[8:30] One of the biggest things they teach is the production phase, which prepares you for demo/groundbreaking day one. The four steps to production are 1. Pre-walk the property with three different GC's. Ryan breaks down the three verbal commitments to get on this pre-walk: start date, time frame, and budget.

[13:50] If you can reverse-engineer the GC fee, that'll change the way you rehab. There's a 10% contingency in a budget, and half of most budgets are labor. The whole idea of the model is that you as the investor are controlling every single penny to come out under budget. More often than not, investors lose the deal on the GC fee.

[17:10] Finding a good contractor can be hard, especially depending on where you live. For rehab projects, you're probably hiring B or C contractors. You generally get what you pay for, but taking control of a project with a C level is a little easier because they need you just as much as you need them.

[21:35] The next step in the production phase is 2. Putting the information from the pre-walk into a contract. Your contract should have scope of work, a blank sub-list for the contractor to fill out, a blank page for negotiations or changes, a blank schedule for the contractor to fill out, and material selection.

[25:40] The third step is 3. Pre-construction meeting. Have an all-hands-on-deck meeting at the site and create the job site binder with all signed documents, blank lien waivers, and any layout photos. This binder stays on the job site to make communication more convenient and easier for the investor and the contractor.

[27:55] The last step is the money step: 4. Go over your money and funding and address any discrepancies with your GC. After you complete all four of the steps (approximately four weeks), you are ready for demo day one. These are the steps that set professional rehabbers apart from people who do one-off jobs to make some extra money, but it's doable to any novice.

[30:00] Ryan suggests that investors be involved in their flips, while many investors prefer the opposite. This is part of the reason why investors can get ripped off by some contractors. Ryan has been teaching this to help make rehabbing attractive again for investors.

[32:05] Brian asks some general questions about hiring a contractor, including whether investors should run background checks or give money up-front.

[34:20] The next boot camp is November 7–9 in Chicago. It's $1,500 for two-and-a-half days. In the boot camp, they go over all three phases of construction: time management, general contracting, and project management. You also get materials and access to the online classes.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

The Rehab Depot

Instagram: @legendaryflipper

Facebook

YouTube

Today's guest is Andrew Lucas, host of REI Live Columbia and cash flow expert. He joins Brian on the show today to talk about his real estate journey, and how he and his wife were able to quit their jobs and do real estate full-time. He talks about how the importance of cash flow and how they use other projects to create cash flow.

Key Takeaways:

[1:00] Andrew is based out of Columbia, SC, and does wholesaling, rentals, rehabbing, creative deals, and also runs the most successful meetup group in the city. The core business is to hold cash flow rentals to make money passively. The other aspects of their real estate venture are to make more money for more rentals, financing, or lending.

[3:20] Andrew talks about knowing when too much is too much, and how he was able to transition to real estate full-time. Once he was able to quit his day job and really got into the business, it got easier to tackle everything without all the time and thought being sucked into it.

[5:05] Andrew got started in real estate back in 2007. His own experience renting a place in college inspired his mindset to find his own place. He bought a place, and after he moved out, it's been rented ever since. Each opportunity led to another until his business really took off.

[9:15] Many people new to real estate focus on wholesaling. It's easy to get going, but there's no real wealth in wholesaling — it's transactional business. Andrew starting acquiring rentals from the beginning, and understood that cash flow is the name of the game.

[10:50] If you're just getting started in real estate, evaluate what you can handle and what kind of risk you can deal with. You also need to check in with your bank account. Wholesaling can be difficult to get a business going; if you've got the money, go for cash flow.

[12:30] Andrew talks about building cash flow. When you make money from a fix-and-flip project or a wholesale deal, use that money to put into other investments that will bring you cash flow. Don't spend it on expanding your lifestyle.

[13:30] The Burr Strategy helped Andrew and his wife get to a place where they could both retire from their day jobs. It is essentially buying a house, rehabbing it, renting it out, and then refinancing. Using this strategy, you use your money and then you get it back. This is a good strategy to accelerate you forward quickly.

[15:25] Andrew knew he would be able to retire from his day job when the cash flow was there. He and his wife set tangible goals for each of them to quit their jobs, and they were able to do it sooner than expected.

[19:00] It's not very prudent to jump into any real estate venture without a plan. The goals they set propelled him forward and allowed them to make sure they had a safety net in case something happened.

[20:50] REI Live in Columbia is one of the largest REIAs. They meet once a month, and the meetings are networking, education, and deal-making events. There is a local or national expert that speaks.

[24:30] If you're in the Columbia area and interested in the events, visit the link below. You can also email Andrew for more information.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

Facebook Group

REI Live Columbia

[email protected]

Jeff Stephens, creator of the Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneur and Sleaze-Free Real Estate Investing Podcast, joins Brian on the show today to talk about his holistic approach to real estate investing. This episode focuses on some tactics for sophisticated investors, and how keeping an open mind when looking for deals can yield the highest benefit for you and the seller.

Key Takeaways:

[1:08] Jeff is the host of the Sleaze-Free Real Estate podcast. Sleaze-Free Real Estate hopes to send a message about how people can get into real estate without feeling sleazy. In addition to the podcast, Jeff has been full-time in real estate since about 2013. As he found his voice as an entrepreneur, he created the Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneur to share his experience with others.

[4:10] Jeff specializes in off-market acquisitions and meeting face-to-face with sellers. Jeff focuses on working directly with sellers for new properties. He has had the most success when he has fewer intermediaries to work through. Face-to-face allows the opportunity for more questions to come up with the best solution for the seller.

[7:40] Listening is three-fold: listening to what the seller has to say, maybe reading between the lines in some situations, and being able to create a proposal that goes back to the seller. The market has shifted away from generic experiences to a more personal approach.

[10:20] Jeff prefers to buy from motivated sellers who aren't really facing any problems. If a seller calls you, there is some reason why they feel like their situation could be better. You can't go into every situation with the same pre-programmed solution.

[11:30] Pull marketing is when you are trying to pull people towards you who are searching for something (bandit signs, etc) — you want to make yourself easily found. Push marketing is where you take your message and push it out to them (direct mail letters). The market for people searching for solutions is saturated right now. Jeff talks about his specific method of push marketing.

[15:05] When Jeff gets a call, it's about establishing rapport and arranging an in-person meeting. Once arranged, the first meeting is to start learning about the seller.

[18:45] The first meeting is about getting to know what the seller is trying to accomplish and how they got here. In the case of pushback, just remember this is about making the seller feel comfortable. You'll have to gauge each situation.

[22:20] It's important to be intentional when you're building rapport — just focus on being nice and being yourself. If you can spend time developing rapport before you even start talking about the property, it will be that much easier to transition to talking about the property.

[26:00] Jeff has a triple-threat acquisitions strategy. When he looks at a property, he considers how he could buy a property and hold on to it, do some sort of fix-and-flip, or a wholesale assignment. He comes in with an open mind to see what would be best to build his portfolio at the time, but always has the goal to get terms with the seller.

[28:20] If you're going to be acquiring a property, you're going to be acquiring the building, but also the financing. If you can get them both from the same person at the same time, that's a really good thing. The property and the financing are two separate assets that are equally valuable in different ways.

[31:36] Jeff talks about buying an okay property with great financing and getting rid of the property but keeping the financing. If your loan is from an individual, the collateral doesn't necessarily have to stay the same the whole time. Jeff provides a specific example of how this works.

[34:45] If you want to get in contact with Jeff, visit sleezefreerealestate.com. This will link you to the podcast and additional resources for Jeff's real estate investing strategy.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Meetings

Daily REIA Show

REI Facebook Page

Brian's Book

The Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneur

Sleaze-Free Real Estate Investing podcast

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini