Real Estate Nerds

For many business owners and individuals access to cash or having enough capital is a common problem for those who want to start up, grow, and generate more returns for their business. If you have limited resources it can be hard to expand without the capital you need. Tyler Crandall let’s us know there is a lot of capital out there if you just know where to find it. Listen now, and learn how you can too.

Sakar Kawle joins asset protection attorney Scott Smith to bus some of the myths behind Section 8 ventures and debunk the misinformation surrounding this type of investing Sakar dives deep into why he believes the Section 8 real estate business model is a great one to get into. Check out the latest episode of the Real Estate Nerds Podcast to hear Sakar break down the steps he took to turn his Section 8 real estate deals into a pattern of success. Listen now, and learn how you can too.

Should I keep a piece of property or sell it? It’s an age-old investing question. But today, billionaire REI Grant Cardone explains how he approaches his best deals, why you should never sell a piece of cashflowing property, and how to buy as many properties as you can without becoming overleveraged. Check out the latest episode of the Real Estate Nerds Podcast to hear Grant break down the steps he took to turn his real estate deals into a pattern of success. He’s since grown his portfolio to one billion dollars! Listen now, and learn how you can too.

Have you ever wondered if a deal was the perfect expansion, or perhaps just a little too much of a stretch to jump into? Matt Faircloth explains how he approached his best deal, which happened to be a stretch for him at the time. Listen in to the Real Estate Nerds Podcast as Matt explains the steps he took to ensure that this stretch of an investment was a success! Matt is now an experienced syndicator and also dives into what investors should look for when looking to work with syndications, and what separates a syndicator from the crowd in the market.

John Casmon began his investing career and eventually found himself growing faster than his funding! Today on the Real Estate Nerds Podcast Scott Smith talks with John about how he eventually graduated from investments with his wife into the syndications he operates today. The best deal John highlights was actually found through a broker who he worked with quite often and knew his goals. John discusses what “due-diligence” looks like for him when looking at an investment property. He also explains what factors are deal breakers for himself, and how he tries to navigate the whole process.

Chris Prefontaine is real estate investor who has a passion for mentorship. He not only invests personally with his family business but also with students that he partners with throughout the whole deal making process. He joins Scott on Real Estate Nerds to hash out what his ‘best deal’ looked like as well as some bonus information on how to avoid ‘bad beats’. Scott and Chris talk about how important mentorship is in the real estate game and give advice on how to be successful. Chris also shares information on how to get his free e-book, “Real Estate On Your Terms”.

Nick Aiola runs a 100% virtual CPA firm that caters to real estate investors. Today he joins Scott Royal Smith to discuss his best deal, which actually began as an acquisitional nightmare. Nick explains how he made an offer on a four-family until located just a few minutes from his own home, aiming for the most favorable deal he could land. It wasn’t that simple, and Nick had to go back-and-forth for a couple months between the seller and the bank in order to finally get the deal laid out correctly and favorably.

Scott Smith is joined by entrepreneur and real estate investor Andrew Cushman, who has invested in about 1,800 units so far and is always looking ahead for his next deal. This podcast covers how Andrew got into apartment investing with a deal in East Atlanta, having to work through 65 different lenders before finding someone who would work with him. Andrew shares his pattern to build those connections: networking, creative connections (he just shot a “intro” video in his backyard for someone!) and sheer persistence. In this podcast episode Andrew explains how he seeks out mentors, his process of rehabbing apartments, how to deal with delays and extra costs, due diligence, task delegation within partnerships, property management and course correction when things go wrong.

On today’s Bad Beats episode of The Real Estate Nerds Podcast, Some of you may already know Tyler Sheff from his podcast, The Cashflow Guys. Today, he has joined us on The Real Estate Nerds Podcast to share one of his legendary worst deals.

Tune in to Episode 51 of The Real Estate Nerds Podcast now to hear Tyler’s full story and the full breakdown of his Bad Beat.

Listen To Episode 51 of The Real Estate Nerds Podcast Now

Tyler Sheff on the Value of Processes and Sticking With Your Talents

Our host and attorney Scott Smith welcomes “Cashflow Guy” Tyler Sheff to the show. Tyler has chosen to share about one of his worst deals today.

[1:00] Scott invites Tyler to share a bit about his background before they dive into his worst deal. Tyler describes himself as a “recovering house flipper” who made a lot of money, and also got hit with a massive tax bill once the money started rolling in in the early-mid 2000s.

[2:30] Tyler quips: “Back then I used to think that my charm had an effect on the IRS. Turns out, they don’t really care.” After paying a six-figure tax bill, Tyler resolved to learn more about building wealth and shifted his attention to buy-and-hold investing in 2012.

[4:00] Scott asks about the beginnings of Tyler’s worst deal. Tyler opts to introduce it with another side story, pointing out that most of what he does now is teaching others about investing. He negotiated what he thought was a great deal on an off-market fourplex, and had attorneys draft closing paperwork according to a partner’s requests. They closed and began renovations, which essentially doubled the value of the property. Only when he went to sell the building did he realize the other party had never signed their agreement with him. “They literally stole a $400,000 building,” Tyler points out--adding that he did all of the work and saw nothing for it.

[7:00] Scott asks Tyler what got him so motivated that he overlooked aspects of due diligence like checking signatures. Tyler points out that, “If you’re smart, you learn your lesson and put systems in place” to avoid repeating mistakes. Tyler believes his biggest failure was ignoring his own systems. Scott agrees that ultimately, a business’s systems are what will allow it to grow.

[10:00] Tyler emphasizes the importance of sticking with what you’re good at in investing: “Investors should pick a piece that they’re good at and stick with it.” He and Scott point out that this is partially the role of real estate professionals--to keep investors on the track of looking for new deals or otherwise doing what they do best.

[12:00] Tyler points to some of his experience as a licensed real estate agent, and what he does in “realtor mode.” The two investors talk about what a debacle closing becomes when nobody has a good process “checklist.”

[Tweet "“Investors should pick a piece that they’re good at and stick with it.” - Tyler Sheff, Episode 51 of The Real Estate Nerds Podcast"]

A Victorian Dream Home Turned Worst Deal

Scott and Tyler get into the details of the Worst Deal Tyler came onto the show to share today. They go through every twist of what went wrong.

[14:00] Scott asks Tyler to set the stage for his worst deal. In 2001, Tyler found a listing that was on the market for $40,000: A 3,000 square foot Victorian home in a nice neighborhood. Tyler believes the property would have been worth roughly $350,000 in “fixed-up condition.” He had one friend front money, while Tyler went out and found opportunities and handled sales. They had a second partner who was a contractor. Together, they were cash-buyers.

[16:00] When the young partners arrived on the property the next day, there was a literal crowd. Tyler approached the agent, offered $50,000 and to close in a week, and the deal was as good as done right there. “Deal of the century right? Well, from there it proved otherwise.”

[17:30] Tyler had been a police officer in the same town where the property was. One day, he was at the property waiting for a material delivery. Home Depot claimed they had delivered the materials, but provided the wrong address, stating that Tyler’s partner had come in and changed it. Tyler discovered the contracting partner was embezzling from his company. Tyler and the banking partner realized they had been wiped from over $300,000 in the bank down to $10,000. They had the option to sue, but soon realized they couldn’t serve the partner, who had run back to his home country of England.

[19:30] The partner who had embezzled from Tyler and his partner attempted to slow actions against him by reporting the pair to to city for his own contracting negligence. However, Tyler and the other partner soon discovered his contracting was part of the con as well. They had never bothered to verify his license because he was a friend.

[20:30] The City Inspector comes to the house based on the ex-partner’s report, only for Tyler to realize he knew her from having arrested her son on drug charges. Tyler demanded the City send a new Inspector. However, the first one had already found Termite Damage and the City issued a demolition order.

[22:40] Scott recaps Tyler’s story so far which includes: 1. $290,000 literally stolen from him by a partner , 2. A crazed building inspector with a personal vendetta against our dear investor busting up the building in his absence. And all of this took place within about one week.

[23:40] Tyler explains how he essentially put every spare dollar into this building for the next few years. It took time, but they solved the property’s problems in small increments, one at a time.

[26:20] Scott asks about how Tyler got the City on his side when he wasn’t in a great position and how he developed that relationship. Tyler credit’s brutal honesty--that at no point did he try to lie his way out of his problems--with helping cultivate that relationship. He was also highly respectful in his dealings, albeit blunt that he had a “colossal nightmare” on his hand.

[29:30] When Scott expresses amazement at some of the relationships Tyler built under these circumstances, Tyler explains: “I was humble, and I truly believe the best in people.” He also believes most people are generally agreeable face-to-face, and will help you if you’re determined.

[31:50] Scott points out that vulnerability and honesty are often the keys to human connection. Tyler makes a parallel to the court system. Scott shares an anecdote that highlights Tyler’s point. What won the case Scott talks about was just reasoning with the judge in a basic, “two guys talking” way.

[35:30] Scott wonders if connection is its own kind of revenue. “Absolutely,” Tyler says. “Any time you’re working face-to-face, you’ll be more successful.”

[36:30] Tyler’s property ultimately never profited. Proceeds from the sale went towards paying back the partner who acted as the bank. They were proud of the quality of the job they did with the rehab, and he believes the buyers got a great house. “We left it better than we found it,” he says.

The Take-Aways

Scott and Tyler each share their favorite take-away from Tyler’s Bad Beat story.

[38:00] Scott’s take-away is the fact that he credits Tyler’s success with his ability to stick to his word.

[38:30] Tyler’s take-away is simple: “Never assume the answers to the questions that you haven’t yet asked.” Scott agrees, and takes it a step further, encouraging investors to hear “no” more times than they think is necessary before accepting it.