{"id":104687,"date":"2018-12-20T00:02:18","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T07:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=104687"},"modified":"2023-02-09T20:43:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T03:43:57","slug":"biggerpockets-podcast-309-closing-75-deals-first-year-by-modeling-others-steven-pesavento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/biggerpockets-podcast-309-closing-75-deals-first-year-by-modeling-others-steven-pesavento","title":{"rendered":"Closing 75 Deals Your First Year by Simply Modeling Others with Steven Pesavento"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever considered flipping houses for cash but aren\u2019t sure where to start? If so, today\u2019s episode is perfect for you! Brandon and David interview <strong>Steven Pesavento<\/strong>, a long distance flipper who\u2019s doing 75 deals a year. Steven shares several of his tips for success, including just what he does to keep his pipeline full of deals, how he follows up with qualified leads, and the strategy he used to get good at closing deals working for someone else! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll love Steven&#8217;s system for choosing the best market to flip in, how he systematically ramped up his business, and how he built a team from the ground up (including each team member\u2019s job title and description)! This episode is chock full of specific, actionable advice that will apply to newbies and experienced pros alike. Download and listen today!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How he finds his deals, where he is consistent and wins the long game, how he flips 75 houses a year, when to grit and when to quit, how to know when it&#8217;s time to ramp up your business, how to build and scale your business, the order in which you should hire, what makes up an all-star team, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">why repetitions are so important, and what to look for in a partner to help grow your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/biggerpockets-podcast-real\/id594419649\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a>\u00a0to listen on iTunes.<\/p>\n<h2>Listen to the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=BIGPOC5272785576\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"overflow-y: scroll; max-height: 400px; background: #eee; padding: 20px; border: 1px solid #ddd;\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>This is the BiggerPockets Podcast Show 309.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>\u201cTwo years ago I was sitting on a boat in Minnesota on a fishing trip listening to BiggerPockets Podcast soaking everything I could and I didn\u2019t know anything about this industry and now I\u2019ve done 150 deals. Most people never do that in their whole life and I\u2019m not special, I just ended up working with some great people, found out a system that worked out to grow a business. Everyday I\u2019m out there learning.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>You\u2019re listening to Bigger Pockets Radio, simplifying real estate for investors large and small. If you\u2019re here looking to learn about real estate investing without all the hype, you\u2019re in the right place. Stay tuned and be sure to join the millions of others who have benefited from biggerpockets.com your home for real estate investing online.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>What\u2019s going on everyone! This is Brandon Turner, host of the BiggerPocket Podcast. I\u2019m here with my co-host Mr. David Greene. David, how are you doing buddy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I\u2019m doing great man! I\u2019ve been working very hard. I\u2019m putting out more content for free for the masses. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I have noticed that. You have videos and blog posts. You\u2019re showing me up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Yes basically. But see, you do other things that matter to you like have a family, raise a kid, right? I don\u2019t have to worry about anything, my family is BiggerPockets. I\u2019m trying to provide everything for them and share all this stuff that paid the painful-est to learn with the people but it takes a lot of time to do it. You have to edit videos, you have to publish them, and you have to come up with ideas so I am looking to hire someone to let me be a content publisher or maybe a marketing person. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So if anyone out there is listening and knows someone who has experience or has skill with branding, marketing, content publishing, can help figure out ways to make more content and put it out there please contact me because we\u2019re looking to hire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Very cool and I will say since you brought it up. We are hiring for BiggerPockets for a number of roles as well. A few roles are going to work directly with me on my team at BiggerPockets which is kind of fun. If you\u2019re interested in hanging out with me, working, you know, it would be fun. Biggerpockets.com\/jobs you can always check out since there will be fun stuff coming up into the New Year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">With that, speaking of the New Year, and the holiday season that come upon us if you listen to this when it comes out, let\u2019s go today\u2019s quick tip.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Okay today\u2019s quick tip is very simple. We are going to have a one day pro-Christmas, we\u2019ll call it a pre-Christmas sale on Friday the 21<\/span><span class=\"s2\"><sup>st<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> of December. If you\u2019re listening to this in the future that sale may not apply, who knows what\u2019s coming up but if you want to check that sale go to biggerpockets.com\/gift, G-I-F-T, because it\u2019s our gift to you. I\u2019m not going to tell you what the sale is exactly because I want to tease you to actually go there biggerpockets.com\/gift and check it out!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And if you\u2019re listening to us in the future go there anyway because there might be another gift for you who knows! I don\u2019t know I can\u2019t tell the future but I can tell you the future of today\u2019s show because today\u2019s show we have an amazing guest lined up who has a cool story who went from nothing to 75 deals in his very first year. It\u2019s crazy the entire marketing he used, the team he hired, the postcard that he uses, all that stuff. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So you guys are going to love today\u2019s show but before we bring our guest Steven let\u2019s hear from today\u2019s show sponsor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Today\u2019s support comes from Fund Rise. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Look, if you listen to this podcast you probably already know how tough it is to find really exceptional real estate projects. You\u2019ve also probably felt the pain of finding those projects but not have good enough capital to get the deal done. And that\u2019s where Fund Rise comes in.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Fund Rise enables you to invest in high quality, high potential private real estate markets. I\u2019m talking about anything from high rises in DC to multi-family in LA, institutional quality stuff. And each project is carefully vetted and actively managed by a Fund Rise\u2019s team of real estate pros. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Their high tech , low cost online platform lets you track the progress of every single project and keep more of the money you make. But wait this is awesome, you don\u2019t have to be accredited. I\u2019m telling you Fund Rise does feel like the future of real estate investing.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Visit fundrise.com\/biggerpockets to have your first three months of fees waived. Fund Rise, F-U-N-D-R-I-S-E.com\/biggerpockets.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Alright thank you to the sponsors of the show, you keep us on air always. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Now as we get to today\u2019s show remember if you enjoy this content, make sure you share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, whatever you use, share it, talk about it and shoot us a rate and review on iTunes a little Christmas present of your own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So with that let\u2019s get to today\u2019s show with our guest Steven Pesavento. Alright Steven welcome to the BiggerPockets Podcast, good to have you here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Hey I\u2019m excited to be here. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>So I hear good things that you have been kind of crushing it with your real estate investing and before we start recording here I heard that you\u2019ve read my books but you haven\u2019t read David\u2019s books but you invested at distance so I don\u2019t know how that works but we\u2019re going to dig into that today. Does that sound good?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>That sounds good to me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright, well, let\u2019s start at the beginning. Why and how did you get into real estate? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>You know just like with so many people I had this dream of owning investment properties and living life where you\u2019re making passive income and I kept making up all these excuses that I couldn\u2019t do it for years and years I never took the leap and then finally one day I had this realization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The past two years we bought and sold 150 houses in 2 different markets all living remotely and I never had experience on real estate investing before that<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Wow that\u2019s awesome. So alright, where do you live and what market are you investing in? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So I live in Denver, Colorado now but when I started the company I lived in Southern California. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>It\u2019s a beautiful place out here Brandon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I\u2019m kidding, it is, it is. What\u2019s the weather like today? Like 12 below?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>It is like 60 degrees, it\u2019s actually cloudy. It\u2019s never cloudy in Denver but we\u2019ll take a cloudy day every now and then.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That is true you guys have the opposite when I was in Washington. We have 300 days of cloud days and you guys have 300 days of sun. No, the funny thing about Denver with regards to real estate you guys have negative 12 degrees and the next day in the morning it will be like 78 degree and everyone\u2019s in shorts and tank tops and then it goes back to snowing and they\u2019re like you can\u2019t predict anything in Denver, so I don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>That\u2019s the best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I don\u2019t know, if you say so. Alright! So you live in Denver and where are you investing, you said?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So we invest in Raleigh, North Carolina and Minneapolis, Minnesota<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Minneapolis my home state! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Are you going to get al Minnesota accent on us now? Also my home state.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Really where are you from?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes I was born in Burnsville around the twin cities St. Johns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>No way, ah look at you. You probably played you in sports. I went to North Branch up in a half an hour from both those cities. Anyway, alright, so why did you choose those markets and then we\u2019ll go on your first deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So I was living in Southern California when I decided to take the leap and the way that I got started is I started going to some events and I wanted to find somebody who I can learn from. So the person that I was working with locally, started copying everything that she was doing and it was not working. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In about 6 weeks I have written about 85 offers on the MLS, give or take, and I didn\u2019t get any of those deals except 15 phone calls. I didn\u2019t have a lot of money then and South California markets are hard to get in to. I was looking for models of people who were succeeding elsewhere and I realised that if I went the Midwest or maybe the South that my dollars would go a lot further.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I started modelling some people that we\u2019re doing what exactly I wanted to do and I realized that I had to take the leap and go out of state. So I thought, well I\u2019m going to have to move to Minnesota, I\u2019m going to have to move to North Carolina to get it going and then I decided to partner. Partner with somebody else who already knew some of the parts of the business but they really didn\u2019t know the marketing piece. They really didn\u2019t know how to find properties off-market and go direct to seller so I came up with this system that ripped off from other people who were doing what I wanted to do and we just started doing it. We just started doing what exactly other people are doing and putting it into place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And it took quite a few months before we got our first deal and really started moving. Once we started closing deals we poured everything that we made right back into marketing and we created a snowball effect. First year we\u2019ve closed 75 deals between those two states. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright so first thing I want to point out here and probably David\u2019s going to jump on this one too. This idea of modelling, right? A lot of people if you\u2019re going to go start let\u2019s say you have a cool idea say I\u2019m going to start a dog walking business for people who have, I don\u2019t know, purple hair. You are making that up, you have no idea what you\u2019re doing but with real estate, one thing I love about real estate investing is you can completely rip off and steal exactly what other people are doing and it will probably work for you. No guarantees in this game but you\u2019re like hey what\u2019s working for them, I\u2019m going to figure out what they\u2019re doing and then just do what they\u2019re doing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Is that always how you\u2019ve operated your whole life or is that something you\u2019ve picked up on? How do you get that mentality to just model what other people are doing?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Oh I started learning this definitely, probably within the last 5 or 6 years thinking that I\u2019ve looked at others for models. But one of my favourite mentors Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss some of these people what they talk about is let\u2019s just learn from others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Your models don\u2019t have to be people in your neighbourhood that you can go and see every day. They\u2019re people just like you and me, people who are out doing a mission or an activity. This is the first time that we\u2019ve met but I\u2019ve listened to 200 plus podcasts of BiggerPockets before I got started. I learned a lot from these other people who are taking action and doing it. So that\u2019s essentially what I did here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And for example in Southern California I had heard an investor a fix and flipper on a podcast. I saw that she was speaking locally and I went and approached her. The way I approached her was with value so at the end of the meeting when she finished talking I walked up to her, I noticed that she had a terrible website and before I was in real estate I was in managing and consulting, websites and did digital marketing. And I thought to myself I don\u2019t have a lot of money I can\u2019t pay for some course or do something like that. I want to find somebody doing what I want to do and I turn around and I offered her this website and I said I usually charge 10 to 15 thousand for this but if you just let me follow you around for a couple of months, let me just be close to you and hear kind of how the deals work and what happens. I couldn\u2019t even finish the pitch before she put her hand out to shake and make it a deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And within those first few months I was able to see first-hand how you deal with contractors, how you end up putting the numbers together, how you go and find discount cabinets and how you put that all together into design that\u2019s going to end up being a beautiful place and so that was one of the first people I modelled in real estate on a personal level where I was able to ask questions. And that really helped me take that next step. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Yes we should just stop for a minute and think how brilliant that approach was. We\u2019re always tell people they\u2019re going to bring value and what I find is people approach me and approach Brandon and they say, \u201cHey how can I bring you value?\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That doesn\u2019t really work because now you\u2019re giving me a job where how can I figure out a way you could help me without knowing about what you\u2019re good at which means you\u2019re basically asking for free mentorship where I have to teach you how to help me assuming you can do it well. It never works well especially for busy people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Instead Steven approached someone and said you know how to do this and said I\u2019ll do this for you and you can tell me if you like it. That is brilliant! The person doesn\u2019t have to figure out what I\u2019d use you for or if you could help me. You don\u2019t have to interview on what your skills are and then if you don\u2019t like what you made you just get off their back, you don\u2019t have to use it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Someone approached me in the same way his name is Dave Vanderpol and he makes 3D animations for movies and stuff and he said, \u201cHey I noticed that you could use some marketing materials for your business. Why don\u2019t I make you this 3D cool thing.\u201d Explaining to David Green what it is and he made it for me and he made hours doing this thing and it came out awesome right? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Do you think I\u2019m likely to send him deals that come my way or mentor him and give him advice? What I\u2019m saying is he made it very easy for me. Someone who\u2019s listening can stop and ask themselves \u201cWhat am I good at?\u201d. We\u2019re all good at something. You\u2019re an analyser, you\u2019re a creative person, and you have experience on something or other things, and you\u2019re a handy person. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you know what you\u2019re good at that\u2019s what you should be telling people this is where I help you. \u201cHey! I\u2019m really handy if ever you need any work in your rentals done give me a call maybe I can show you how to do it or something like that.\u201d Much better approach than just, \u201cHey what do you need?\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yup love it, totally agree. I love that. Absolutely. So let\u2019s walk into your first deal. The very first thing you did, do you remember what was that flip?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Well the very first deal I did was a struggle. When I finally decided to take the leap and start marketing at North Carolina I was out of state and I was pretty much doing everything myself. I had a partner who once we got the deal we were going to do some work on it and to really monetize that but upfront I started sending direct mail and I wasn\u2019t getting a ton back because it takes some time through direct email. I was going through Craig\u2019s List and every place I was trying to find people where you can just dial a number.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I got this woman on the phone and we ended up getting that property under contract and for about 2 months we sat trying to find a buyer for it. So as a whole sale we were looking to get quick money so we could roll that right back into marketing and keep it going.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And about two months later I did a lot of work. I made 4500 hundred dollars. I made a lot more in wholesale since then. Some of the best money I\u2019ve ever made because it finally came together and it proved, hey, I can really do this and I could make a living doing this. I can really build a team around that income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes I love that. You know one thing, I did a ton of research and I\u2019ve been to a ton of research on goal setting. In fact we just did a podcast a few weeks ago I\u2019m not sure what episode number this is compared to that one but we did one a few weeks ago on what actually makes people succeed in their goals and one of the things we talked about is one of the most important things we use to get a small win. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The faster you can achieve a little win, the better. Even if it\u2019s not a homerun, even if it\u2019s not that significant that separates people who stick with their goals versus those who don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Love that you said. That\u2019s one of the best money that you can make because it\u2019s something. Even when it\u2019s not a big deal it got you motivated then, it got you a little money to get back into it so it is fantastic. Do you have any advice for people who are in the same shoes right now that they\u2019re looking to get started, they don\u2019t have a lot of money and their like, \u201cAlright I just need to get that first little win.\u201d? Those who need to figure out how to get their first win even 500 bucks, how do I do that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I think first you have to step back and ask yourself why do you want any of this stuff and get really clear on what you\u2019re going after and why you want that. And make that as real, make it as real as possible because most of the reason why people don\u2019t succeed is because they never push through or persevere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And when you make a hard look on why you really want something real ask yourself questions like, how is this going to make my wife or my daughter, or my son, or my mom or my day, or my friend, or someone else around you, how is that going to make them feel you succeed or you don\u2019t succeed? Really get some leverage so that you\u2019re going to push forward<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When you start looking at how great your life is going to be when you succeed you\u2019re really going to push through those hard times of not making any income that eventually you\u2019re going to hit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The first thing that I would do from a real estate perspective is I would figure out what is going to be your strategy, right? So there are a lot of flavors or real estate, different things that you can choose to go with and I\u2019m a big believer on focus. Gary Keller\u2019s The One Thing is really a fantastic book. All of the great people talk about focus and so think of one way that you\u2019re going to push through real estate, stick with it, make a commitment that you\u2019re going to that in 2, 3 to 4 months at the very least and don\u2019t change, just continue to do the same thing over and over again unless you realize you\u2019re doing the wrong things here to get to my end goal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes and that\u2019s a hard topic. We can touch it if you wanted to but when the idea of when to grit and when to quit. I like that phrase like when do you stick through when it\u2019s not working. If you work and try for 4 to 5 months sending a lot of direct mail, spending thousands of dollars on direct marketing when do you say that\u2019s enough and when do you say I\u2019m going to keep pushing through? Do you have any advice on that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I know that\u2019s a super hard question, there\u2019s no good answer for it. I think for myself at least you have to know, it goes back to that outcome. For my outcome it\u2019s a pretty huge thing. I want to live a great life, I want to have passive income in the future, I want to be able to travel the world and do all these amazing things. It\u2019s a really clear outcome of what I\u2019m going after. And for me there was no way I was going to give up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The way that I went into it was I fired all of my clients and I had no other way of making an income other than Airbnb-ing my house one week out of the month to pay for my rent so there was no way that I was going to quit. No matter what I was going to succeed in this real estate thing. I think personally that\u2019s how I would persuade people to go about it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The other way, thing is, I also went on this mind set of if I went back to school and got an MBA or went and got a graduate program how much money am I going to spend to get that experience. I went into this not thinking how I\u2019m going to get rich it is how am I going to learn everything that I can possibly can. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So in the last two years we spend a lot of money on marketing and I learned a lot about running a business. We\u2019ve made some money but I haven\u2019t gotten rich quickly but at the end of that day what you can ever take away is that experience and that learning and you\u2019re learning most from failure so I would say persist no matter what.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And maybe you decide to pivot and want to go another direction and that\u2019s ok but at least do it long enough that you have some data and some information to be able to say that hey this is what I learned from it and this is actually why it\u2019s a good thing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>So what are some ways Steven that someone can go hey it\u2019s time for me to take that leap? I mean I\u2019ve been thinking about this, I\u2019m interested in it, I\u2019ve been kicking the can a little bit. How can someone know that it\u2019s time to get serious? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>The way that somebody knows that it\u2019s time to get serious is when there\u2019s no other option. When that want turns into a must there\u2019s nothing that you\u2019re not going to do except figure out a way to succeed. And so that\u2019s why everything goes back to setting some goals, setting some clear intentions, getting your mind set right because otherwise your mind is going to eat you alive if you have this negative beliefs. And we all have them I still have them to this day. And I know I\u2019m going to have them the rest of my life but I\u2019m going to continue to try and figure out where those are, pick those out, pick those weeds out and then push forward. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So the answer is start now. If you really want to go after this don\u2019t hold back. I wish I would have started this when I was sixteen or seventeen when I first read Rich Dad Poor Dad but it took me 10 years before I finally took action. But everything that led up to that point gave me the ability to be a better business owner when I actually did start down this real estate path.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright so I want to shift gears a little bit here and talk more about the marketing, about getting people, getting leads. We\u2019re in a very competitive market right now it\u2019s hard to find them sometimes and you\u2019re 75 first year, 75 on your next year, that\u2019s some serious marketing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So what did you start doing and do all the way through? What does your marketing machine look like during those first 2 years?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So to get started what we started doing was we did direct mail. And that first mailing right around 5,000 pieces that first month. I think the next month we went up to 7500 the next month we went up to like 12,000 mail pieces. We stayed there consistently until we had a little nice repetitive process going on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You know since then we\u2019ve scaled up we send between 50 to 75 thousand mail pieces per month. And the reason why we do that is because it works and so we started small but we started big enough to know that what we were doing is working or not working.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you only send a thousand mail pieces unless it\u2019s a very specific niche list it\u2019s hard to know whether or not what you\u2019re doing is because of the mail or if you just didn\u2019t hit enough people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So we started out with direct mail and it\u2019s still a huge part of our business. There\u2019s really no secret there. We happen to be really fortunate the real estate business branded as a marketer you know we\u2019re very far behind where internet marketers are today though we can take advantage of that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The other ways that we market for properties is paper click, SCO, a lot of those kinds of things. For the most part we\u2019re doing paid marketing and the reason for that is because we\u2019re building a systematized business and for us to be able to do things at a scale, spending money is one of the best ways to do that and so in the next year we\u2019re actually hoping that we can lean more into some of the network-based marketing and relationship-based marketing and getting deals sent to us but everything that we\u2019ve done so far and we put a dollar in and we get 3 dollars back<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome. Alright let\u2019s dig deep on direct mail a little bit. What kind of letters do you send is it a postcard letter and what\u2019s your message on there? What have you found that works well?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>We\u2019re a big believer in the postcard we think the postcard is one of the best ways because it\u2019s the most affordable way and our ideology pretty much says we want to be in front of that seller when they have that decision, when they have that motivational event that they want to sell their house to an investor. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so that means we need to be in front of that person every single month, month in and month out, because one month they might call us and say take us off your list, I wish no one would send this to us we have no interest. Six months later they might have an incident that happened that makes it makes sense to them to sell the non-traditional route. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so we send that postcard and typically that postcard is a bright color of pink or blue, yellow, just like everyone else we\u2019re not special here we\u2019re just modelling what works for other people and it just says we buy houses, fast in cash, we close on the day of your choice and has some other small little things but for the most part that\u2019s the messages and the idea is that it doesn\u2019t matter so much about the messages it just matters that you\u2019re there when they\u2019re ready to pick up the phone and give you a call.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so for us we just want them to get on the phone so we have a chance to talk to them and maybe see if they\u2019re the right fit to what we have to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Now wait a minute Steven. What you\u2019re saying here is that there\u2019s no magic bullet, this magic phrase or this magic post card having the right puppy or baby on the picture, what matter is consistency and doing it? Is that what you\u2019re saying?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>That\u2019s it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>But you can\u2019t package that and sell that for 997,000 dollars in a training course so I\u2019m confused.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I wish I could I\u2019d be in a different industry right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I love hearing that you\u2019re not doing anything special, you\u2019re just doing it. And so many people out there are worried on what the exact postcard has to say. What if I say the wrong thing and you\u2019re saying, it sounds like, just do it, just get out there and start sending, you know if you\u2019re going to go that route, start doing it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>That\u2019s the biggest take away I want for anyone who\u2019s listening to have is that two years ago I was sitting on a boat in Minnesota on a fishing trip listening to BiggerPockets Podcast soaking up everything I could. I didn\u2019t know anything about this industry and now I\u2019ve done 150 deals and most people never do that in their whole life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m not special I just ended up working with some great people, found out a system that worked on how to grow a business. Everyday I\u2019m out there learning and so anyone can do this, it\u2019s not rockets science, it\u2019s actually a very simple business it\u2019s just not always easy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes I actually say that a lot. I mean it\u2019s a simple business. It\u2019s not always fast it\u2019s not get rich quick but it\u2019s fairly simple. You get leads, you figure out how you\u2019re going to get leads and then you run the numbers on the leads that come in and you decide if you\u2019re going to pursue them and if you do decide to pursue them you pursue them and they can offer. And if it works out great and if not well next one. It\u2019s a fairly simple model it\u2019s just that most people don\u2019t do it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">How many people do we talk to who are like I really want to get into real estate I\u2019ve been trying for months and I\u2019m like:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Q: its ok how many offers have you made?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">A: Oh I haven\u2019t done that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Q: How many deals have you analysed? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">A: I don\u2019t really analyse deals I\u2019m not really sure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Q: Ok how many leads have you got?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">A: Oh I don\u2019t really know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Right? So do you really want to invest on real estate or you want to talk about investing in real estate. That\u2019s different. Some people do it and some people don\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I would challenge everybody who\u2019s listening to this. If they\u2019re sitting at home and they\u2019re thinking about taking some action to get really clear on why you\u2019re going after it and do everything you can to not be those people. I go to a lot of real estate investor events that\u2019s where I\u2019ve met my business partners, that\u2019s where I\u2019ve met my lenders, that where I met a ton of people I work with. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">And then he differences between those people, myself, and people who never take action is I\u2019ve met people going to real estate investor meet ups for 5 or 10 years and still never done anything so if you can just take that away it\u2019s a fun environment to be around other people but just ask yourself what do you really want and go after it because you can totally do it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah I love that. Now you took off like a rocket. You\u2019re first couple of years 75 deals each. Do you think that\u2019s good advice for everybody? What type of person should go like a rocket like that? Most of all the type that should go slower, start with one deal their first year. What are your thoughts on that? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I don\u2019t think everyone should start off the way that I started mainly because not everyone\u2019s going to have the personality profile to take the kind of risk that I\u2019m willing to take right so spending everything that you have and a lot that you don\u2019t into growing a business in the beginning is a pretty tough pill to swallow for a lot of people. And so I\u2019m not going to recommend that to everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But if you have that kind of personality just like I need it, I need it now, I need to learn everything that I can possibly can, you\u2019re the kind of person who gets completely obsessed on whatever you\u2019re working on then that\u2019s the method because you\u2019re going to learn so much so fast. It doesn\u2019t have to be perfect especially like me where my goal was not to become a millionaire, my goal was to learn everything I can possibly can about real estate investing and become an expert in this space and then from there I can decide if this is what I want to do forever and I can make money at that point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The reason why we\u2019ve only done 75 deals this year is because we\u2019ve increased the margin dramatically. We focused on how we can run a better business versus in the first year everything was just about how can we learn. We still made money it was still successful. It wasn\u2019t as good as we want it to be. We just learned from that and we kept going. But you know probably would have saved a lot of heartache and stress if I would have just done one deal at a time but doesn\u2019t match who I am.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes. David what do you think? What\u2019s your opinion on this? When should people go slow, speed up, see what works?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I had an epiphany about this when I was in police training. Every two years we have to train in how to manipulate and manoeuvre an emergency vehicle. And they set this course up for us with all this cones and you have to drive the course as fast as you could. You have to be able to do it at a certain amount of time and you cannot even hit one cone, couldn\u2019t hit it at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So what would happen is guys would go in there and one of two things will happen. They would go super slow so they won\u2019t ever hit a cone and they wouldn\u2019t make the time or they would go bad out of hill and really get a good time and run over half the cones. It was very difficult to get the right balance of both, right. What I figured out is the best way is to start the day really slow and learn the course and learn the car, conditions, was it raining or was it not. When I come out of a turn and I step on the gas how much of delay before the accelerator kicks in and the car goes. When I need to go fast and break how quickly can I get that without losing control? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So you\u2019re kind of learning all the pieces of how these things work and once you\u2019re comfortable you can really start to push the envelope and you should be pushing the envelope because that\u2019s how your skills grow. And I feel like business works the same way. When you first get into real estate you should exactly do what Steven said you should be learning everything there is to learn, that\u2019s your goal, and it\u2019s not to be a millionaire it\u2019s to learn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You\u2019re learning how to drive the car, you\u2019re learning how the course works, learning the fundamentals of vehicular manipulation. And as you get better what you notice is that your brain starts to anticipate what\u2019s likely to come next while you\u2019re still on your current step. So I come out one turn and I already know the next turns really sharp so I got to break a little bit and I got to get on the gas during this turn right, or, the straight away is coming I want to keep it at as much speed as I can because when I come out of this straight turn I want to be the best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When you start to see that just send out the mail, I\u2019m going to get a lot of calls. What should I say when the people call? I\u2019m really good at knowing what to say, I know I\u2019m going to get more deals and I\u2019m able to handle myself. How am I going to whole sell it? That\u2019s when you know when to step on the gas. That\u2019s when you need to expand, to leverage, get more people, to spend more money on your marketing. When you\u2019re feeling like I know what\u2019s coming next and that\u2019s the best way I found to describe to people that in between I don\u2019t know should I jump in with both feet or should I keep going at this pace. When your mind know ok I just did this so this one\u2019s coming and you\u2019re already preparing for it that\u2019s when you know you\u2019re ready. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s a good analogy, look at that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I think it\u2019s a great analogy. I totally agree with that. The one thing is either way you do it you have to get the reps in the gym, you have to be able to take the phone calls and have those conversations and if you\u2019re taking a hundred phone calls a week you\u2019re going to learn really fast about what to say and what not to say. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So you probably don\u2019t want to go right into it the hundred or two hundred phone calls a week, that would be crazy, you know you start out at 20 and you\u2019ll probably get good at 20 and you really listen into those phone calls, what could have said better, what could you have missed, how did I put my foot in my mouth there and then you scale it up a little bit more. And you can do all this without actually doing it yourself. Work for somebody who\u2019s got a business like this. Partner with somebody or volunteer for them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">While I was building this business in North Carolina I was partnering out with somebody who\u2019s in Minnesota. The partnership was just literally he just traded me some training that he had paid for that had some systems that we could practically rip off and I took his phone calls for free because he had a W2 job and I had plenty of time and I thought well I really love to learn this thing but I\u2019m not going to spend the money on it, you know, nor do I have it or I want to. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And you know he had shared all that coaching that he had paid for which was super valuable to us and I took all the phone calls and so I got better at my job which was handling sellers and he had somebody who took over and we ended up partnering and scaling that business after that so it ended up turning into a better relationship instead of just trading for skills.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>So let me just call something out here. So first of all I love how you said you can go and work with somebody, partner with someone, get employed by someone, whatever you have to do you don\u2019t have to do this on your own right? But then the second thing that I want to point out was for me if it was answering phone calls from one of the sellers it just terrifies me that just freaks me out but other people might actually enjoy that so if you\u2019re somebody who likes doing that find somebody like me and answer their phone calls right, do their marketing or somebody who has no job or has a flexible job and be the boots on the ground or if you\u2019re somebody who has a job and is working all the time but maybe you have contacts, raise funding or whatever, figure out a way to make it work if you don\u2019t want to do it all yourself or if you can\u2019t do it all yourself. So there you go.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I mean that\u2019s the biggest take away if you\u2019re going to build a business and not be just one person doing one investment deals at a time which is absolutely 100% fine. If you\u2019re going to build a business if you look at the people who are successful business owners they hire smarter people than themselves and those people end up working and relying on each other. There\u2019s always going to be somebody who\u2019s going to be better at raising funds, or taking phone calls or making sales. There\u2019s going to be someone better at the numbers, those people should be working together. There\u2019s no problem if it\u2019s a partnership or you\u2019re just volunteering for somebody.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>So real quick Steven can you give us an idea of what somebody should look for in a potential good partner if they want to copy your model?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I think the biggest thing that somebody should look for in a partner is shared values and a similar direction that they want to go in. and I think if you really know what goals you\u2019re after and why you\u2019re after them and you find somebody who also wants to build something that\u2019s exactly that and is going to allow you both to live the life that you want to live then that really works perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You want to find somebody typically who has a different skill set than you. You know two sales guys working together is great but in the beginning you really need some different skills so if you\u2019re working with somebody who got the exact same personality profile as you that\u2019s probably something that isn\u2019t the best partnership unless you\u2019ll be able to hire the right people in. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Very good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s good. Alright I want to move to funding next. Doing 75 deals in your first year you got to have some source of funding so what have you been doing for that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes so like I mentioned when I started I didn\u2019t have any money so what I did I won\u2019t recommend to anyone else. I floated everything on credit card, I took the bet and it worked out. Paid 30 to 40 thousand dollars on credit card for marketing over a few months paid that off and it\u2019s working out great for me. But on the actual deal perspective we found private lenders, hard money lenders<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>that fund all of our deals. They funded a 100% of them and because we were going out refining such great deals that they\u2019re happy to take the risk. That\u2019s how we were able to do the volume that we have just by working with other people. Our lenders made as much if not more money than us last year and it\u2019s great because they allowed us to employ all these people and build the business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes that\u2019s really a good point. I mean the lenders they\u2019re going to make a lot of money but that\u2019s ok. They\u2019re making money, you\u2019re making money, hopefully everyone is making money and they\u2019ll keep working with you. You know over time you can maybe get cheaper money and can find better sources but in the beginning you just have to get it done no matter how you get it done, get it done. So I love that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">By the way if anybody is interested you can go to biggerpockets.com\/hardmoneylenders it\u2019s a site on BiggerPockets totally free to go check it out. It\u2019s the web\u2019s largest directory of potential hard money lenders so go on their search in your state, find the ones on there and you\u2019ll find some cool stuff there. So that\u2019s awesome I love that. I guess it\u2019s time to go into the deep dive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Alright so we all put off thinking that we know what we need to do all the time and that\u2019s the store of my life. I mean we know we have to organize our garage, or clean our closet or something or whatever it gets in the way. I know I need to send direct letters on the way right. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Funny how home security can actually be like that as well. We all know it\u2019s a good idea. We have things that we want to protect but there\u2019s always something in the way or holding us back like maybe the idea of paying a middleman to handle the whole thing or scheduling some 6 hour installation window where you have to sit around. Who has time for that, right? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Well fellow procrastinators of home protections Simpli Safe home security has gotten rid of all those reasons for you not to get a home security system because they believe nothing should come between you and your home. We\u2019re talking no contracts, mark ups, no complicated installations. It\u2019s professional grade home security that\u2019s engineered to do one thing quickly and brilliantly that\u2019s why I have it. Love it!<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>So yes you can add this to your epic to-do list or hey you can just get started right now. Just go to simplisafe.com\/pockets there\u2019s no time like the present. That\u2019s Simpli Safe, S-I-M-P-L-I, simplisafe.com\/pockets.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Alright it\u2019s time for the real deep dive. This is the part of the show where we dive deep into one particular deal that you\u2019ve done. So Steven you got one in mind correct? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes I have one in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright first of all what kind of property is it? What are we talking about here?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So this was actually our first flip that we completed and it was a condo. It was originally a rental property that the owner owned for about ten years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Ok so it was a rental, a condo, that\u2019s actually unique, first flipping is a condo. That\u2019s cool so alright we can talk about the pros and cons of that later if we want to but how did you find the deal specifically?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So we found the deal through direct marketing. We sent him a postcard in the mail. He\u2019s gotten tons and tons of postcards in the past but when he talked to our people we seemed really personable because we are. And that\u2019s why he decided to meet with us and sell us the property.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>How much was it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So we ended up paying 85,000 but we ended up putting this together in a pretty interesting way. A little back story about us finding the property. I was hiring a new acquisition manager maybe at some point we can talk about that team that we built here but our acquisition manager would go on sales appointments, whole sellers and put together great deals for the seller and for us. And I was going out there to train him because I was living in Minnesota and this was a deal that was in Minnesota and we went back and forth on price and he was pretty stuck at $85,000 and I was like well I don\u2019t know if it doesn\u2019t really work if we buy with cash and he was open to seller financing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so we floated this idea of seller financing 85,000 zero percent no money down, 85,000 and we kept talking about a cash price of about 75 and so we went back and forth and he really had to think about seller financing and I\u2019m not really a big fan of think-about-its because usually when people want to think about it they\u2019re probably not going to call you back and go back to not taking action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So what I decided to do in that stage was to sign it up. We actually agreed on $82,000 cash contingent on the inspection. Within 3, 4 or 5 days after planning it up we got back on the phone we talked about that seller financing idea again and he decided he wanted to go with that. We were going to have to reduce the price a little bit and ended up being win-win because he didn\u2019t have a mortgage on it and he didn\u2019t have anywhere to put the money and so for us to hold on the property for 3 to 4 months while doing the renovation without having to put any dollars on the table was a big win for us. We were happy to buy it with cash but it being a big win for him as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome, that\u2019s a really great negotiation story and funding story. So what did you end up doing with it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So we ended up doing a full renovation on it. Thought about keeping it as a rental but we were early on in our career and we really wanted to make sure that we have more money coming into the company so we decided to list it and we ended up selling that property for $157,000 in change so it was a great sale price a little more than we expected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">What was interesting about it was a cash buyer actually bought that property and they wanted to hold on to it as a vacation rental. So they bought it with cash, closed within a few days, and they were the highest offer even higher than the traditional mortgage offers that we get. And so we put about $20,000 into that property and all said and done after paying everybody, our team and all the people, we made about $34,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome I love that story, that\u2019s cool. What lessons over all did you learn from this experience?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I learned that you might as well ask for what you really want and it\u2019s ok if they say no, it\u2019s ok if it\u2019s not going to be the right fit. In this case seller financing worked out really well for us so I\u2019m really glad that we decided to take the leap because it\u2019s the thing that seems kind of weird. If you don\u2019t really understand it why would the seller want to hold on to the note but in the end he ended up making a little more money than he thought of and we ended up saving money on the financing side instead of paying our lender we decided to pay our seller that money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes that\u2019s fantastic, I love that. Well normally this is the point where we end the real deep dive and move on to the next segment but I actually do want to cover something that you mentioned, that\u2019s your team. And I know David I know that you noted here to talk about that as well. Actually you know David I\u2019ve been hogging the mic for the last little while why don\u2019t you ask the question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Nobody minds when you hog the mic it\u2019s like when Scarlett Johansson hogs the camera right? No one\u2019s complaining about that Brandon but thank you for blessing me as like your ugly friend or something. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ok Steven I\u2019m very fascinated about your team because A. it takes a lot of humility to say I need to be on a team, I can\u2019t do this all by myself, B. it takes a lot of courage to say I\u2019m going to split up the money and still trust that I\u2019m going to make more in the end because we\u2019re following these principles that everybody is different together and C. it makes it more complicated because it\u2019s easy when it\u2019s just you that does everything. When there\u2019s more moving pieces there\u2019s more complication. In my opinion human beings are like the most difficult part in any form of business that you do. You know your soft wares are going to do what they have to do but people are unpredictable. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So, I think what hold back a lot of the investors in my personal opinion is that they know that they\u2019re weak on certain areas and they focus on that rather than their strength so they never get started because they say what happened was if I started A,B or C happens. So tell us how did you start? What was like your first hire? How did you kind of grow the team at an overview that the listeners who hear this thing would be like oh I can do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes absolutely so as I mentioned to get started I was taking all the phone calls. It\u2019s not that I had the time I was living in Southern California at the time I started the company. I\u2019m not in North Carolina so I couldn\u2019t be the one on the ground doing the in person sales appointment even though I would probably have loved to do that. I feel like I\u2019m very good face to face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So the first hire that we had to make was our acquisition manager. We call that position a home buying manager talking with the seller so a cleaner title but that person pretty much what they do is they go and they meet with the sellers face to face, they run comparable in the property and the value and they walk us through. They really build rapport to get to know the seller. They get to know situations, they understand what challenges they\u2019re dealing with. And what we really are, are problem solvers so they\u2019re essentially offering is solutions to the problem and for the most part that\u2019s typically buying the house and making it so they don\u2019t have to do all the work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And the acquisition manager position is the first hire and we\u2019ve been through a number of acquisition managers because for us our whole team is 100% they work for us. They\u2019re not working for other companies. Typically we might have a property manager or real estate agent or some folks like that who might do some work for us but you know they also work for a lot of other clients. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So acquisition manager was first and then the next person once we essentially scaled up to the point where I could hire myself off of the phones. Found a really good team member she is like the lynch pin that holds the company together is our lead manager so she is an inside sales agent, handles all the inbound phone calls and all the follow ups. And her job for the day is to vet all of the potential opportunities that come and schedule appointments. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So she\u2019s just really focused on how can I fill that outside sales person that acquisition managers calendar so that they can go out on appointments. And that person\u2019s paid an hourly wage and they also get a little bonus on every deal that\u2019s signed up. The acquisition manager typically they\u2019re paid 100% commission or on a small based plus commission depending on what they need where they feel the most comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Then the next person we hired was a disposition manager that also did transaction management so we ended up kind of putting these two roles together. Now they\u2019re two separate roles but the disposition manager\u2019s responsible for networking with all the investors. They\u2019re the ones going out and building relationships and they\u2019re the ones going to the property and they\u2019re going to show it to other investors and sell that property to another investor or sell the contract to another investor if we\u2019re not going to flip it ourselves. When we do a little bit of wholesaling that helps keep our team running because sometimes there\u2019s deals that don\u2019t make sense for us to flip but make sense for somebody else and the ecosystem just works better if they have an opportunity to find the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Then on the transaction manager side that person works with all of our buyers, sellers, our title company or our closing attorney depending on what state we\u2019re in and they make sure that everything is going smoothly. Their jobs is to make sure that there is no uncertainty, that the seller doesn\u2019t have any questions that aren\u2019t answered because there\u2019s nothing worst when selling your house to not know what\u2019s going on. You quickly start to feel like oh is this a scam, is this really going to happen and so the transaction managers super organized and really focused on making sure that everybody knows where to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And the final member is the project manager and so when we\u2019re doing a full renovation they\u2019re the ones going out and checking out the scope of work. They\u2019re the ones who are managing the contractors making sure that we\u2019re on budget and doing all the repairs after we\u2019ve sold the property. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Wow really good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome. So before we go to the fire round, what does your future look like? Where do you see yourself headed? Doing flip house, adding rentals, where you headed?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes so as the market changes our company is going to change with it as we keep learning more so you know a dream of mine has always been to own a rental unit whether those are apartment buildings or single family, it seems to make the most chance to go bigger because the economy is at scale. And the more that I learn the more I think that\u2019s the direction. I think in the long term that\u2019s where I\u2019d like to do but in the short term what we\u2019re going to do is we\u2019re going to flip properties, we\u2019re going to keep wholesaling and start doing the BRRRR method on a lot of the flips that we have. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Just trying to hold on to some of those for the long term because most of the mentors that I know that have pretty big net worth and are really living a great life, they didn\u2019t build it all at once. They bought a long time ago and the waited 10, 20 or 30 years and they sold and they got all the benefit down the road. So we\u2019re going to look at holding on to a lot more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Even though the markets some people think it\u2019s getting to the top. If you buy right and you\u2019ll go for the long term it smoothens out a lot of those ups and downs in the market. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes that\u2019s a really great point. Cool alright lets shift gears and head on to the world famous fire round. It\u2019s time for the fire round!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Memphis Invest the longest operating and largest truly turnkey investment in the country invites you to learn about passive real estate investing. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>For fifteen years Memphis Invest have assisted passive investors building solid, consistent and trusted rental property portfolios. Today Memphis Invest manages over 5,000 single family homes across multiple US cities for 1800 plus intelligent investors. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>As a trusted turnkey company Memphis Invest continues to maintain an impressive growth and is on pace to return over<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>40 million net rental income to their valued clients. The key to their high performance is a property management company that treats their rental property residents with respect and trust helping to maintain less than 4% vacancy consistently.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Happy residents equals stable and reliable investment returns so go to memphisinvest.com\/biggerpockets today with your turnkey questions to find out if Memphis Invest is right for your passive investment needs. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>That\u2019s memphisivest.com\/biggerpockets, memphisinvest.com\/biggerpockets<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Alright it\u2019s time for the fire round. Questions that we pull from BiggerPockets forum and we fire them right at you in a nice, quick back and forth question and answer time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Number one- a friend of a friend asked me to partner with him and another guy in a house to flip. They flipped several properties and this is my first. They found the deal they\u2019ve done the inspection. I\u2019m going to putting out the cash for the down payment and the rehab which is 30K out of pocket. They\u2019re proposing a 40-40-20 split where I get the 20. I think it should probably be split evenly because 20% for just the money seems like excessive. What do you think?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Brandon would you mind saying that just once more because it\u2019s a bunch of numbers?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Sure it is yes. Basically it\u2019s saying there\u2019s 3 people total. 1 person is putting up the money, not all of it, but the down payment and the rehab costs and they\u2019re going to give him 20% for doing that. Do you think that\u2019s a good idea or a bad idea? Or how would you value that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I think that it depends. How much experience do you have doing this, what are you going to end up getting out of it beyond the monetary piece of it, what experiences did those other people bring? If all three of you guys are brand new in real estate you\u2019ve never done a deal together and one guy found the deal, one guy is going to manage the deal, the other guy is going to bring the money that might not be the greatest deal but it may also not be a bad deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But if those other guys have a lot of experience and they\u2019ve been doing that for a while and you\u2019re going to bring the 20% to the table that\u2019s 20% that you won\u2019t be making if you didn\u2019t bring the money to the table. And the other way that I would take away from it is you\u2019re going to learn a lot from it. The situation matters but I would go into it a little bit different of a mind-set thinking to myself what am I going to learn from this versus what am I going to make if you\u2019re new to the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b> Brandon: <\/b>I love that, that\u2019s fantastic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I would also pose that if you\u2019re thinking if this is fair there\u2019s really no way of coming up with an answer for that because it\u2019s a subjective way of looking at it. I mean I probably wouldn\u2019t even give you 20% if you\u2019re just giving the money because what if I can go to a hard money lender and get it much cheaper right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Exactly. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I would be asking is this better for me to do than not to do? That\u2019s a way better question, right? If I\u2019m putting in $30,000 and I\u2019m getting 20% of the profit and that ends up being $30,000 then I get a 100% return on my money. The question is do I want to get a 100% return no my money or can I get a better return from somewhere else as supposed to is it fair because you just get stuck in this endless loop that has no answer if you\u2019re asking if it\u2019s fair.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes that\u2019s great. Alright next question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I\u2019m about to start a new flip and having problems approaching banks for rehab loan. Do you tend to go in armed with blueprints and sketches? What kind of presentation do you use when trying to get funding for your flips? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Oh I typically don\u2019t work with banks. I just bought a house in Denver that I\u2019m going to house hack and I did buy that with a bank loan. That\u2019s the first time I ever had to go through that process and it\u2019s a lot easier to work with a private lender. I\u2019ll just put it that way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The way I\u2019d go about it is I\u2019d go find a hard money lender, private lender, you can find these people on BiggerPockets or you could meet them in your local real estate investor club association and I just go out and I say hey here\u2019s the deal that I have and if it\u2019s a good deal people are going to tell you because they don\u2019t want to lose money and they want you to succeed so that you come back time and time again. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s the way I\u2019d go about it, I wouldn\u2019t necessarily go to the bank. They\u2019re going to have a lot more requirements, they\u2019re a lot tougher to work with. If the deal can afford to pay the points of interest that\u2019s the direction I\u2019ll go. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I want to talk about something you said earlier because I think that\u2019s important. A lot of people I guess stress with the money, you know that\u2019s the number one issue people have is that they don\u2019t have the money. And when we talk about hard money lenders or private lenders I want to point out I guess 2 quick things. 1. Those people have a business and they need you in order to put food on their table right? Lenders that\u2019s how they make money is off lending money so first of all understand that you\u2019re not asking for a favour when you\u2019re asking for a loan from these people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But secondly these lenders are making good money. I guess it\u2019s this way, you said earlier how your lenders made as much probably as you did in your flipping business and they didn\u2019t have to get their hands dirty. They didn\u2019t have to go out there and spend on marketing so why would people fund a deal, people always ask me that, why would people fund a deal when they can just go do it themselves, because they don\u2019t want to do it themselves. They make more money than they have time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So I guess once you get that mind-set shift about funding you realize that it breaks through barriers that people have in their head like funding is hard I\u2019m going to have a hard time getting it and it\u2019s a tool that\u2019s out there, there are people who do it and people who need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Well here\u2019s also the dirty little secret about lenders people don\u2019t realize. They\u2019re letting you borrow money at 10%, they\u2019re probably not using just their own money, they\u2019re using other people\u2019s money too and they\u2019re pulling and borrowing it from someone else at 5% to lend it to you at 10% right? So that\u2019s why they don\u2019t want to do it themselves. Their job isn\u2019t to will the hammer it\u2019s to go and find someone else that will let them borrow money at 5% to lend it to you at 10%. And the whole thing only works with the investor who actually finds that money and turns it into profit somehow so very well said Brandon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Well thank you. Next question for the fire round. This is a great question by the way. I understand it\u2019s common to under estimate the amount of funding I\u2019m going to need to flip a rehab, in other words, go over my budget. Do you have tips and tricks to ensure that you won\u2019t go over budget during your rehab?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Well we definitely learned the hard way on this so I think anybody who\u2019s going to do this you\u2019re going to run into this at some point way over budget. I just went way over budget in this house in Denver and I know what I\u2019m doing but frankly it just happens. So I would always plan at least a 10% or 15% buffer and that buffer can come from a lot of different places that can come from your profit. You can try to make that into the deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The challenge is if that if you build too much of a buffer you might not be able to get a deal because other people who really know the game are not going to build that buffer because they\u2019re going to make it over 10, 15 properties over the year. So you want to be conservative, make sure you have a lot of money to afford it. You don\u2019t want to be too conservative where you take yourself out of the running.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah that\u2019s great. Do you have any tips for just people who are just getting started and are just like I don\u2019t even know flooring cost, I don\u2019t know what it cost to put in the water heater. They\u2019re just completely new to the idea of estimating rehab cost. Do you have any quick tips for them or places they should check out to know more?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes I would go and talk to other investors in your area and find out kind of how much they\u2019re paying. What I learned was for paint it can be anywhere between a dollar, 3 dollars per square foot depending on the area. In Southern California you can pay a $1.50 per square foot, in North Carolina we were paying $3 a square foot. Now we found affordable options but every market is<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>different because of the talent pool you get a poll from so that\u2019s a big thing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But go out reach out go to the BiggerPockets forums, people are going to be willing to share that information on there. But the big thing is you just be able to ballpark what that\u2019s going to be and then you go and get a contractor then actually put together<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>a bid and if you talk to enough of them or people are willing to work with you they\u2019ll usually be willing to go the extra mile for an itemized bid. Though even if you have to pay a little bit upfront because they don\u2019t really believe that you got the experience to get stuff done pay them for an itemized bid and then go back and look at that and now you\u2019ll be able to use that in the future and say ok it\u2019s look like in my area it\u2019s about $2 per square foot for flooring and I can build that into my model for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah I love that. And by the way BiggerPockets released 4 or 5 years ago that book from Jay Scott the book on estimated rehab costs. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever mentioned that on the show, Jay re-updated it made a new version, all updated numbers and methodology figures and all that. That comes out I believe it\u2019s in January. So this show comes around that time right around that too I think. I\u2019m not sure what episode this is but yes we\u2019re pretty darn close so anyway check that out biggerpockets.com or you can check the updated version of the book on estimated rehab costs there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So alright last question on the fire round. David?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I lost my job over a year ago went through my savings and in the process my credit started dropping drastically. I\u2019m a hard worker and I have all the time in the world. How do I qualify for a loan to fix and build houses without savings or good credit?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Well you\u2019re in luck here because 99% of the hard money lenders out there they don\u2019t care what your credit looks like they care about the deal. Go and find a really good deal, you do that through direct marketing, you do that through door knocking, you do that through a realtor, you go and really find a good deal and bring that to the hard money lender and sure they\u2019re going to have requirements regarding credit. They\u2019re going to make sure that you\u2019re the kind of guy who\u2019ll pay it back. They\u2019re going to look for bankruptcies or other issues like that but even those things can be overlooked by a lender if you have a good reason or situation that you\u2019re able to share with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So don\u2019t let credit bring you down it\u2019s more about going out there and hustle. Find that good opportunity everyone\u2019s going to want to jump in on that because you know a good deal says a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Perfect answer. Alright let\u2019s head on over to Famous 4. These are the same four questions we ask every guest every week. Question number 1. What is your favourite real estate related book?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>So this is a tough question because I listen or I read a lot of books but the book that has been the biggest impact on me personally and for my business this year would probably be Ever Split the Difference by Chris Voss. That book is unbelievably incredible for two reasons. 1. It teaches you a lot about negotiation but the other big take away is that you\u2019re going to learn about how to talk to people and how to listen. And so that affects everything from your personal relationships to all the way down to when you\u2019re sitting putting a deal together and making sure that they feel really good about it like they won as well. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Awesome. What is your favourite business book?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Favourite business book. Again there\u2019s so many to choose from but one that made a huge impact on me was Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins. It\u2019s an old book but it\u2019s a classic. I think what it\u2019ll do for people if you want to go check it out it\u2019s going to teach you a lot about mind set, motivation, about understanding why you\u2019re going in the direction you\u2019re going and how you\u2019re going to get there. It\u2019s a good introduction to some of his content. There\u2019s so much out there that if you end up liking it I mean you can spend hours, days, and years soaking in some good knowledge from him. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes I listened to a 5 hour thing on YouTube called Time of Your Life it was only a pro activity from Tony Robbins and it was fantastic. Any way I love Tony Robbins stuff. Have you been to any of his events?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>I went to Unleash the Power Within earlier and then I\u2019m actually going to Date with Destiny next week so I\u2019m going to be there on stage which is exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome. That\u2019s on my list of things to do some time. Cool alright.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Alright next question. What are some of your hobbies?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes so I definitely love personal development, reading and kind of soaking in new information so I\u2019m always kind of working on that. I spend a lot of time snowboarding, hiking, I took up salsa dancing when I moved back to Denver so I go out and do that. Body weight exercise some gymnastics, some hand stands, just anything where I can stay active and you know get away from the computer a little bit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Good stuff. Gymnastics I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve had anyone answer that as a hobby.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>No. I don\u2019t even think anyone has ever said the Tony Robbins book either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That might have been a first. Alright last question from me and last of the famous 4. What do you believe separate successful real estate investors from those who give up, fail or never get started?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Yes I guess the biggest thing is you just have to take action, you just have to do it. I think when you learn something you have to put it into practice right away so that you actually learn that and learn what actually works. So I think you just have to get up and go after it. it\u2019s the biggest take away. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright I like it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Last question, this has been great Steven, where can people find more about you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>You can find me in all the social media sites Steven Pesavento just search me on there. You can also find me on BP or head on to my website modellingmastery.com I learned so much from these other people that I just essentially putting out all the stuff I learn for free to other people. Trying to give back to give a little bit of karma that have been taken from stealing all these ideas from people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I love it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Do you get a lot of crass from other people thinking you\u2019re a model and that you\u2019ve named your site modelling mastery? You have the blue steel look as like your cover?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes he\u2019s a good looking dude so I could see that getting confused. Say modellingmastery.com ?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>modellingmastery.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Perfect. Alright dude well this has been fantastic. Thank you so much for joining us today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Steven: <\/b>Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>And that was our interview with Steven Pesavento. Love that dude, he was awesome. What did you think David?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>That was an inspirational podcast. I love when you hear somebody who\u2019s not afraid to share what they\u2019re doing, stepped up in the game, took action, crushed it, figured stuff out and now can share what they did with the rest of us who have a much easier job following that path once we\u2019ve seen someone else who\u2019ve already walked it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes and I love that you don\u2019t have to be super wicked smart, or well connected, he\u2019s like I just learn what other people are doing and I just went and did it. you can summarize the entire last hour with the word action you know. He just took action on what everyone should be doing. He sent postcards, he negotiated, he analysed deals, did constantly what we\u2019re telling people to do. So if you\u2019re listening to the show and want to be more like Steven do me a favour and come to next week\u2019s BiggerPockets webinar go to biggerpockets.com\/webinar where we\u2019re going to walk through an analysis of a real life deal together to figure out how much we can pay for it. biggerpockets.com\/webinar I hope to see you there. And with that the last thing is I would say is this. David you are amazing. Thank you for being my friend. You want to take us out?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Thank you Brandon. This is David kind-of-cheesy Turner signing off. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"podcast-youtube-video\">Watch the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Closing 75 Deals Your First Year by Simply Modeling Others with Steven Pesavento | BP Podcast 309\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/73oE_so37ro?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Help Us Out!<\/h2>\n<p>Help us reach new listeners on iTunes by leaving us a rating and review! It takes just 30 seconds and instructions can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/25\/topics\/161423-do-you-listen-to-the-bp-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. Thanks! We really appreciate it!<\/p>\n<h2>This Show Sponsored By<\/h2>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-95450 no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fundrise-review-300x66.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fundrise-review-300x66.png 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fundrise-review-768x168.png 768w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/fundrise-review.png 775w\" alt=\"Fundrise\" width=\"300\" height=\"66\" title=\"\">Fundrise<\/strong>\u00a0enables you to invest in high-quality, high-potential private market real estate projects. I\u2019m talking anything from high rises in D.C. to multi-families in L.A. \u2014 institutional-quality stuff. And each project is carefully vetted and actively managed by Fundrise\u2019s team of real estate pros.<\/p>\n<p>Their\u00a0 high-tech, low-cost online platform lets you track the progress of every single project, and keep more of the money you make. Oh, and by the way, you don\u2019t have to be accredited.<\/p>\n<p>Visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fundrise.com\/biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fundrise.com\/biggerpockets<\/a>\u00a0to have your first 3 months of fees waived.<\/p>\n<h2>Deep Dive Sponsor<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-77567 alignright no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/simplisafe.png\" alt=\"simplisafe\" width=\"271\" height=\"58\" title=\"\">If you\u2019ve been thinking about getting a <strong>SimpliSafe\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211; Home Security System, but have been<br \/>\nwaiting for the holidays when all the tech deals come out\u2014you\u2019ve made a smart move! If you go to <a href=\"http:\/\/simplisafe.com\/biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SimpliSafe.com\/biggerpockets<\/a>\u00a0you\u2019ll get 25% off any new system. That\u2019s an amazing deal.<br \/>\nThey rarely do anything like this but they\u2019re doing it just for us!<\/p>\n<h2>Fire Round Sponsor<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-103108 alignright no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Memphis-Invest-Logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"132\" title=\"\">If you\u2019re a real estate investor and looking for passive, turnkey investing, you\u2019ve come to the right place! Memphis Invest has over 15 years of experience and currently manages more than 5,000 properties in 6 different markets. With our clients, we\u2019ve built a $650 million portfolio, becoming one of the largest turnkey companies in the US.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve created a turnkey real estate guide just for Bigger Pockets podcast listeners! This easy, downloadable guide will give you everything you need to know about real estate investing.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2Ab5fWR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visit Memphis Invest today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>In This Episode We Cover:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Steven&#8217;s <strong>background<\/strong> and how he got into real estate<\/li>\n<li>Learning through <strong>modeling successful investors<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The <strong>very first deal<\/strong> (which was not that great)<\/li>\n<li>How he set his <strong>goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Knowing the <strong>right time<\/strong> to get serious<\/li>\n<li><strong>Direct mail<\/strong> and other marketing methods that worked for him<\/li>\n<li><strong>Partnering<\/strong> with great people<\/li>\n<li>From <strong>zero to 75 deals<\/strong> within two years<\/li>\n<li>Raising money from <strong>private investors<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Renting his personal home on <strong>Airbnb<\/strong> to pay the bills<\/li>\n<li><strong>Living frugally<\/strong> to get the business running<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not taking a paycheck<\/strong> until year two so he could invest in people and growth<\/li>\n<li><strong>And SO much more!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Links from the Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/gift\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Gift<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Forums<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/webinars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Webinar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Jobs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tonyrobbins.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tony Robbins&#8217; Website<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Podcast<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/renewsblog\/biggerpockets-podcast-307-science-setting-achieving-big-goals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Podcast 307: The Science Behind Setting and Achieving Big Goals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/hardmoneylenders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Hard Money Lenders<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tonyrobbins.com\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tony Robbin&#8217;s Events<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/amazon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Books Mentioned in this Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/journal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>90 Days of Intention<\/em><\/a> by Brandon Turner (Journal)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2EEXcW2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Four Hour Workweek<\/em><\/a> by Tim Ferriss<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2S6rnIp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The ONE Thing<\/em><\/a> by Gary Keller<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/richdadpoordad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Rich Dad Poor Dad<\/em><\/a> by Robert Kiyosaki<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2ReQ4FL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Never Split the Difference<\/em><\/a> by Chris Voss<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Sc1UO7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Awaken the Giant Within<\/em><\/a> by Tony Robbins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fire Round Questions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/49\/topics\/114522-flipping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Does anyone know of a way to finance a house where I could sell it in 3 months without hard money or cash?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/50\/topics\/633107-funding-and-flipping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What kind of presentation do you use when trying to get funding for your flips? <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/67\/topics\/633086-underestimating-the-cost-funding-for-flipping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Any tips and tricks you use to ensure that you won&#8217;t go over budget during your rehab? <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/67\/topics\/637354-no-money-bad-credit-hard-worker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How do I qualify for a loan to fix and flip houses without savings or good credit? <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tweetable Topics:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;It&#8217;s not about how I may get rich, but it&#8217;s about how am I going to learn everything that I possibly can.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22It&#039;s%20not%20about%20how%20I%20may%20get%20rich,%20but%20it&#039;s%20about%20how%20am%20I%20going%20to%20learn%20everything%20that%20I%20possibly%20can.%22%20BP%20Podcast%20309%20biggerpockets.com\/show309%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;We&#8217;re not doing anything special, we&#8217;re just <em>doing<\/em> it.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22We&#039;re%20not%20doing%20anything%20special,%20we&#039;re%20just%20doing%20it.%20BP%20Podcast%20309%20biggerpockets.com\/show309%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very simple business, but it&#8217;s not that easy.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22It&#039;s%20a%20very%20simple%20business,%20but%20it&#039;s%20not%20that%20easy.%22%20BP%20Podcast%20309%20biggerpockets.com\/show309%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Connect with Steven<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/users\/Steven_P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steven&#8217;s BiggerPockets Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinvestormindset.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steven&#8217;s Company Website<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stevenpesavento\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steven&#8217;s Facebook Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stevenpesavento\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steven&#8217;s Twitter Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever considered flipping houses for cash but aren\u2019t sure where to start? If so, today\u2019s episode is perfect for you! Brandon and David interview Steven Pesavento, a long distance flipper who\u2019s doing 75 deals a year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17340,"featured_media":117598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biggerpockets-podcast"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}