704: The Risks and Rewards of Investing in Raw Land w/Paul Hersko and Willie Goldberg

Land flipping is an unusual real estate investment. Unlike all the rest, there are no utilities, renovations, or tenants to take care of. It’s really as simple as buying a piece of land with high demand and finding a seller who either wants to build or sit on it. But can it be that easy? If land flipping is low cost, low risk, and high reward, why aren’t more investors buying raw land? What are everyday real estate investors like us missing that land flippers like Paul Hersko and Willie Goldberg understand?

Paul and Willie, like many investors, didn’t start out in real estate. Willie worked in investment banking while Paul was busy running an ecommerce business. Both were feeling unfulfilled by their work and wanted to build something bigger and better on their own. After a casual skydiving session, Paul and Willie realized they'd be perfect partners together, deciding that buying, selling, and financing raw land was what interested them most.

Now they’re making massive multiples on literal dirt, selling plots online to investors and retail buyers who want to own real estate without the big banks, down payments, and high interest rates. Paul and Willie have built an entire business around these types of deals, and even though land is low-cost, you'd be surprised by how much they make off of a simple land sale. This could be the best low-risk real estate investing out there! 

In This Episode We Cover:

The benefits of buying and selling raw land and why it’s far less stressful than regular rental property investing 

Flipping land and why offering owner financing almost always gets the deal done 

Building a scalable system for your real estate business and the crucial KPIs to track

The risks behind buying raw land and pitfalls to look out for when getting started

Why banks refuse to lend on raw land and using the lack of loans as an opportunity 

The one US state that Paul and Willie refuse to buy land in 

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Find an Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent

BiggerPockets Youtube Channel

BiggerPockets Forums

BiggerPockets Pro Membership

BiggerPockets Bookstore

BiggerPockets Bootcamps

BiggerPockets Podcast

BiggerPockets Merch

Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place

Learn About Real Estate, The Housing Market, and Money Management with The BiggerPockets Podcasts

Get More Deals Done with The BiggerPockets Investing Tools

Find a BiggerPockets Real Estate Meetup in Your Area

David's BiggerPockets Profile

David's Instagram

David’s YouTube Channel

Dirt Cheap Land Flipping and Reaching Motivated Sellers

How To Buy Land & Questions To Ask Before Making Your First Investment

Investing in Vacant Land 101

Work with Discount Lots

Books Mentioned in the Show

Am I Being Too Subtle by Sam Zell

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Made in America by Sam Walton

Connect with Willie & Paul:

Paul's Website

Willie's Website

Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-704

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