Sleaze-free Real Estate Investing

Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs know that taking a relationship-based approach to negotiating with Sellers not only feels right, it works really well to get deals done too! But when done well, these nurtured Seller relationships can propel our businesses even further in the future through referrals! In this episode, Jeff interviews veteran real estate investor Melissa Johnson, who shares her insights on doing business in a way that generates future referrals for more acquisitions!

Many investors want to transition to full-time real estate entrepreneurship, but feel like they need to keep their day jobs so that they can continue to qualify for bank loans. They say, “I’ll quit my job after I’ve maxed out my conventional loans.” But is that a good way to think about it? Is the investor accidentally limiting themself with this mentality? In this episode, Jeff discusses two important considerations when deciding if you should be focused on maxing out your conventional loans, or not: First, don’t let the lender tail wag the investor dog, and second, don’t assume bank loans are better.

Let’s be honest, as humans we tend to invest a lot of our energy worrying. What are we worrying about? Often times it’s risk. And as real estate investors, we think about risk a lot—what is the risk of this deal I’m doing, or in my investment strategy, or in choosing Property A over Property B? But what exactly is risk? And how should we develop a responsible perspective on risk, so that we consider it appropriately without letting it paralyze us? In this episode, Jeff discusses the two big categories of risk we need to consider, and asks the question, “what type of risk do you want?”

Most real estate investors have no clue what their Seller really wants—they just assume it’s the highest price. But as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we know that each Seller is unique and wants different things. But while it’s great to understand WHAT the Seller wants, it’s even better to also understand WHY the Seller wants what they want. In this episode, Jeff discusses and explains how understanding not only what your Seller wants, but also why, is critical for getting more proposals accepted.

In this episode, Jeff interviews John Crutchfield, a full-time, successful real estate investor and entrepreneur who encourages people to “grab the map” and take charge of living the life they want. John shares his story of getting started as a real estate investor, transitioning from his previous full-time career and ultimately becoming one of the biggest real estate investing players in his market through doing great, creative and entrepreneurial real estate acquisitions.

Everybody loves the BRRRR Strategy—Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat—because it allows investors to recycle their cash and repeat the process over and over again without needing additional capital. But can you do the BRRRR strategy with Seller financing? Yes you can! In today’s episode, Jeff shares two simple frameworks for using Seller financing to BRRRR properties and build your rental portfolio. Plus, Jeff also shares one advanced bonus framework using the principles of Supercharged Seller Financing.

We know that before we can Solve the Deal—and ultimately get the Seller to say yes—we have to Solve the Person, so that we understand our audience and know their perspectives, opinions and motivations. But where do we start? In this episode, Jeff shares a simple way to begin Solving the Person: every Seller is either moving TOWARD something, or moving AWAY from something. Once you understand which of these your Seller is doing, you can make great progress Solving the Person.

Instead of racking up rentals by simply buying existing properties and renovating them, what if you were to physically build your rental properties from the ground up? And what if instead of keeping all those homes, you sold many of them and built a great business and brand as a homebuilder? In this episode, Jeff interviews George Hale of Woodhill Homes, a top-notch homebuilder in Oregon. Jeff and George discuss why sex sells when it comes to homebuilding, how to decide whether to keep or sell a new home, the value of adversity, the idea that in every negotiation, someone is lying, and so much more.

There’s an old expression in real estate: “Your Price, My Terms…or My Price, Your Terms.” It’s an extremely simple idea, and provides a great, simple framework for thinking about how we can negotiate win-win deals with Sellers. In this episode, Jeff explains how to use this simple rule of thumb to be creative and thoughtful in your deal structuring efforts, and ultimately to craft more proposals that get accepted.

As Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we only propose deals that are mutually beneficial—win-win’s for both buyer and seller…right? Yes, that’s true, but this brings up a very important point. Just because we only propose mutually beneficial solutions doesn’t mean that we frame the conversation with the seller as being “mutually beneficial.” In this episode, Jeff explains that the perfect negotiation is one that does indeed result in a mutually beneficial transaction, but without ever focusing on the buyer’s win at all.

To celebrate this milestone 100th episode, Jeff interviews his personal coach and mentor, Greg Pinneo. Greg is a 45-year full-time veteran of real estate investing. He is a national speaker and acclaimed educator of real estate entrepreneurs, and is known for his truly unique and inimitable mix of fresh perspectives on real estate finance, negotiation, philosophy and life. As Greg is known to say, his specialty is “wonderfully disturbing” the people who have the opportunity to listen to his message. In this incredible interview, Jeff and Greg discuss everything from real estate finance, to left-brain and right-brain balance in real estate acquisition, the value of adversity and so much more.

When you’re negotiating a deal, is it best to just ask for everything you want all at once, upfront? As Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we believe in the art of “incremental negotiation”—the process of strategically getting a series of micro-agreements, instead of just asking for everything we want at once. Instead of insisting a Seller take one big leap, we often use the skills of incremental negotiation to move them along a series of smaller stepping stones, in the direction of the end result we want. In this episode, Jeff describes the importance of incremental negotiation, and how to do it thoughtfully and strategically.

Is there a role for “emotion” in real estate investing? While many investors take a very rational, logical perspective to real estate, Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs also understand the importance of the subjective side of real estate—the emotional connection a tenant or buyer has to a property. Properties that speak to the hearts of the people using them are more special and rare—not to mention financially resilient—than those are simply functional and utilitarian. In this episode, Jeff explains the considerable value of buying properties that elicit an emotional connection.

If you’re a rental property investor, why would you ever buy properties without cash flow? Does it ever make sense to do so? Most traditional investors answer “no” emphatically; Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, see a broader perspective. In this episode, Jeff discusses the scenarios in which it might make sense to consider buying a rental property without cash flow.

Many people these days believe it’s impossible to buy properties off-market with seller financing. After all, they argue, “why would a Seller sell you their property off-market when they can get an all-cash offer for a higher price by putting it on the market?” But this perspective, while perhaps understandable, is wrong and limiting. In this episode, Jeff discusses five reasons why Sellers may still very much prefer to sell you their properties off-market, even with seller financing, despite the heated “seller’s market.”

Most real estate investors look at a potential deal, then look at the resources they have to work with—such as their cash available—and think, “I can only get this deal done if it’s within the resources I have available.” Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, think “how can I negotiate a deal that makes good investment sense, regardless of the resources I personally have to work with at this moment?” In this episode, Jeff discusses how to upgrade your mentality from the scarcity perspective of “I have limited resources” to the abundant perspective of “I will find the resources once I’ve negotiated a great deal.”

Let’s face it—most people don’t just suddenly dive into full-time real estate entrepreneurship on day one. Instead, we usually start doing real estate on the side of our full-time W-2 jobs. And while for some the vision is to quit the day job and do real estate investing full time, for many others the goal is to build wealth and cash flow while maintaining a rewarding career. In this episode, Jeff interviews Kimberly Kesterke of The W2 Landlord. Jeff and Kimberly discuss the advantages of investing while having a W-2 job, what it means to achieve one’s financial freedom number, and what it means to be an active investor while holding down another full-time job.

When the market is hot, prices are on the rise and inventory is low. So the big question is: should you buy in that hot market? Or is it smarter to sit back and wait for things to cool down before jumping in and buying your next property? In this episode, Jeff explains why the “don’t buy in a hot market” argument is simplistic and wrong, and he breaks down five key points to consider as you decide to move forward and buy properties in a hot market.

If you want to become a full-time real estate entrepreneur, it comes down to one question: what do you actually DO every day? It turns out that there are several clear, specific things you must do every day or every week—and if you do them, you will predictably be able to succeed in being a full-time real estate entrepreneur. In this episode, Jeff explains the four big categories of daily actions that you must take to become—or remain—a successful full-time real estate entrepreneur.

Why do so many real estate investors become overwhelmed by the responsibilities of property management? Because they lack Vision, Infrastructure and Process—what guest Mark Dolfini of Landlord Coach calls the “VIP method.” In this episode, Jeff and Mark discuss the VIP method, the importance of having a relationship-oriented approach to working with tenants, the value of having empathy while maintaining a business-like approach to property management, and much more.