How To Wholesale Your First House Interview - Pro Wholesaler VIP Students: Stevie & Richard

Meet Stevie & Richard from Florida. They're both awesome members of our Pro Wholesaler VIP Program and recently wholesaled their first house!

Stevie, Richard, & I sat down to chat about how they were able to go from knowing zilch about wholesaling houses to wholesaling their first house in Florida.

The best part is: they made more money from wholesaling this house than what the real estate agent made on the deal!

If you've ever wondered how to get your first wholesale deal, then you're in for a real treat!

In this video interview, we discuss: 

• How they met through our Pro Wholesaler VIP Community
• How they wholesaled their first house
• How they found the Cash Buyer for this wholesale deal after their original Cash Buyer didn't want it
• How they both utilize our 2x a week Pro Wholesaler VIP Q&A Calls to continue learning and get feedback on their deals
• How all Cash Buyers aren't created equal and what to look for in Cash Buyers
• How you don't have to have it "all figured out" to get started

 

Below here is Stevie's & Richard's profit check from wholesaling their first house! This was posted in our exclusive Pro Wholesaler VIP Community with 500+ Pro Wholesalers across the Nation!

 

--- Video Transcription ---

Alex Martinez:

Hey, guys. I'm here with two students of mine, Richard Castano and Stevie Bell. They just completed their first wholesale deal. They're members in the Pro Wholesaler VIP program. They're winners. They're finishers. They're people that didn't take no for an answer. They're people that believe that it could work, put in the work, and made it happen. So, happy to be here today to talk about their first deal, talk about the program, talk about them teaming up together, and anything else that comes through this process. So, how you doing, guys?

Stevie:

Awesome. Happy to be here!

Richard:

We're great, Alex.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, happy to have you guys here. I know you guys just completed your first deal over in Jacksonville, Florida. What's pretty cool is you guys utilized the Pro Wholesaler community and teamed up pretty early on. And I think in real estate there's always power in numbers, and power in relationships and teaming up, working together, learning from each other. And it's cool because we haven't had two students do their first deal where they teamed up together and made it happen. So, it's something that has happened down the line where other students have co-wholesale deals together but not on their first deal, really. So happy to have you guys here and to share about a little bit.

Stevie:

Thank you. Well, I attribute our teaming up with Richard reaching out. He needed access to the MLS, and he talked about partnering together and I loved the idea because, honestly, I can't even say I would have closed a deal by now if I had been by myself. We both work full-time. I work full-time in real estate. He works full time at his job. And to just find time we get caught up in this. I really love this, and we get so caught up in it and busy and then the time goes away. And I'm thinking, "Wow, I either have to make a deal happen or I have to go sell house because I've got to earn a living."

Stevie:

So, to have a partner to me is priceless. And I think I told you this before maybe it was Ryan, I was talking to the other day. I'm not sure. But Richard brings so much energy to our partnership. I think I told you he makes coffee nervous. I mean, he's like, and I love that because he brings me up, brings me up a level. I'm in my pace, and I'm going about it, but he's the man.

Alex Martinez:

Awesome. Yeah, it's important to have partners. [crosstalk 00:02:28]. Go ahead, man.

Richard:

Yeah, so I definitely attribute our success and our teaming up to this program. I wouldn't have found Stevie without the Facebook group. Actually, I think it was either Sam or Ryan who tagged me in Stevie's post saying she's willing to help someone out in Florida. And that just worked out perfectly. And I messaged her to say, "Hey, are you going to the REIA? I invite her the REIA, and we met that first day at the REIA, and it worked out well."

Alex Martinez:

That's awesome. I remember that. Yeah, Stevie, you've made that post in the Facebook group wanting to put that helping handout. I'm looking at it right now. Yeah, Sam tagged you in there. It's how it all started. That was only 10 weeks ago, which is pretty cool, too.

Richard:

Yeah.

Stevie:

Wow.

Alex Martinez:

So, in 10 weeks of teaming up... Oh, I just want to mention with partners too. Yeah, it's so important that your partners bring energy to each other. I've had partners in different businesses and in real estate, and I've had somewhere they didn't work well. And kind of go with your gut instinct. They suck the energy out of you. But you need people that are going to give you energy, that you work well together with. It sounds like you guys have that. That's something special and not take for granted.

Stevie:

Exactly. And I think it's unusual. It's probably an unusual matchup for the two of us. I'm twice his age. I'm old enough to be his mother, but I treat him like he's my little brother. So, it works. It works. What we have really works. And again, I attribute that to Richard because he's laser-focused, and we both... We have the same goals. We both just want to be successful with this and we love it. So far we're having so much fun as well.

Alex Martinez:

Absolutely. And on top of that you're licensed and then Richard isn't too, right?

Richard:

Right.

Alex Martinez:

Cool.

Richard:

That helps me out a lot. That's... Sorry. It's delayed. That to me is my almost if I have to describe my security blanket, if a realtor comes up to me and tells me a word I don't understand. I just nod my head and I call Stevie. Hey, this is what they said. What does this mean? And then she'll explain it to me, and we'll go back and forth. That's just worked out well, and I definitely think it's been... It was definitely easier partnering up with someone for my first deal because Stevie understands the language a lot better than I did. I'm starting to understand it better. But at that time, I didn't really understand the lingo. I didn't understand some of the things we did. So yeah, definitely, my success is definitely because of Stevie because she explains everything to me as I'm going along.

Alex Martinez:

She's your real estate translator.

Richard:

Yes.

Alex Martinez:

There's a lot of little things. I mean, when you start from scratch, EMD, far bar, RPA, contingencies, different types of contingencies. I mean, everything under the sun, all the different types of reports, title, understanding, but once you do a few transactions, it just becomes pretty simple. And everything blends in together. But at the forefront I remember my first deal was just like, "What are all these line items?" This contract is 10 pages?

Stevie:

Acronyms.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, the REIA.

Stevie:

[crosstalk 00:05:44] acronyms.

Alex Martinez:

All right, so you guys teamed up about 10 weeks ago, and I know you guys been working hard. Let's talk about that first deal that you guys just did. I think it closed Monday of this week. So, a few days, four or five days ago. Can you guys talk about that one? Because I think the first deals are always really fun. I remember my first deal I learned so much. And let's just chat about that. There'll be a lot of [crosstalk 00:06:12]-

Stevie:

Go, Richard.

Richard:

Okay, yeah, I could start and it's, I will say this first deal was definitely a... I to describe it as trial by fire because anything that could happen did happen. This property, when I was looking at different properties. I was in MLS, and I was looking for specifically expired listings. And the reason why is because the person that I was looking, or the financing partner that I was looking at these properties for was, I think I told you, Alex, they were looking for 60% in Zillow.

Stevie:

Yeah, the Zestimate, the 60% Zestimate.

Richard:

Yeah, Zestimate, yes. So, I found one that was well below that. And then it was off market, it was expired on the MLS. And then when I... So, weird, I contacted the real estate agent and said, "Yes, this property is off market, but there was someone living there." And I was, "Okay, that's fine." The person is going to be evicted. So I submitted an offer for the asking price, which was 30K, and I submitted... The offer was from... When was it? [crosstalk 00:07:18].

Richard:

I don't remember the exact date. The person can get evicted. They can have their property ready, and then we can close on it. All right, so when the property... So the next day, that was Friday, Saturday morning, we went to see the property Stevie and I. The real estate agent told me I was tentatively approved. Or I think that's what she said. Your offer has been tentatively accepted. You have to go and see the property. So I get there. And then she said, "Hey, things have changed. The property is back in the market. And we're now accepting the highest and best offer by Monday morning." So that was kind of a-

Alex Martinez:

She pulled a quick one on you.

Stevie:

With nine showings that day and four the next day.

Richard:

Right.

Alex Martinez:

So, it was off market. You found it off market, called the expired listing, talked to the agent. She got an offer and then she's like, "Oh, I'm going to put this back on the market," right?

Richard:

Yeah, that's exactly what she did. So then we go back to the drawing board, Stevie and I. Stevie brings up the great idea about the escalator clause. So we submit that offer of $30,000 up to $40,000. So, beating the highest offer by $500,000. And that's our... It worked for us. It helps us... I think our offers are taken more seriously. So then she calls me back and she's like, "Hey, we're willing to accept your offer of $40,000?" And I'm like, "Okay, so that's fine. That's fine if you want to accept that offer for $40,000, but which offer did I beat?" "Oh, there's bunch of offers that are higher than $40,000," that's what she explained to me. "There's a bunch of offers that are higher than $40,000." And I say, "Why are you accepting mine?" Well, you were the first offer. That's why."

Richard:

So then I hang up, and this is the best part about having Stevie. I call Stevie I'm like, "I think she's lying to me." I was like, "There's no way she's accepting my offer even though she wanted highest and best offer." So then I call her back because Stevie tells me. I call her back and say, "Hey, what is the offer that I beat?" She's like, "Oh, I misspoke earlier. The highest offer was $39,000. Your offer is going to be accepted for $39,500. And I was like, "Okay, that's fine. We'll accept it." So then she draws it up. She writes up a contract.

Richard:

And then that's where Stevie's strength is. So I get the contract. I forward it to Stevie. Stevie reviews it, says, "Where is the offer you beat?" I emailed the agent. I actually called the agent. I'm like, "Hey, I see that you drew up a new contract, which is fine, but at least send me the offer that I beat." She's like, "Richard, I know how to do my job." Oh, yeah. I mean, she's representing me as an agent. Yeah, great time. Great time to be to have your first deal. And she's like, "Richard, I know how to do my job." I'm like, "Okay, that's fine. Then just send me the offer I beat." She sent me later in the day. So then Stevie is like, "All right, that's fine. Let's just move forward with it."

Richard:

She doesn't change the listing on the MLS as a contingent or it's still active. I go back to the original financing part that I acquired this property for and he's like, "We only work with things that are expired on the MLS. Can you check... Tell your agent to change the status." So I call the agent and she's like, "No, I'm not going to change the status." Then I speak to Stevie, Stevie is like, "Well, she has to change your status to..." What was it, contingent?

Stevie:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Contingent taking backup once the seller has signed our offer, has accepted our offer, they usually change the status. They have 24 hours to change the status.

Richard:

Right. So she gets really upset about that, that I told her to change the status. Because I'm telling her how to do her job again, and she's not a very nice lady. I tell you for your first deal when you're uncomfortable, that's a very difficult situation. And I probably would have walked away if it wasn't for Stevie had to walk me through the process.

Stevie:

She was beating up on my little brother, and I had to make a phone call.

Alex Martinez:

[inaudible 00:11:30] in there. Yeah, you lay down the law.

Richard:

So then I called the financing partner, and he's like, "Well, we really want it off." They're a wholesaling company, and they just try to find off market property. And their strategy is we're providing a service for real estate agents before the property even gets on the market. And that's how I think, but they're pumping out 15 to $25,000 in ads a month trying to acquire these properties before they hit the market, which is fine. That's what they're doing. I'll stay with my expired listings, and I'll find that stuff on the MLS. The same way we learned in your program. So then, what happens? Stevie, do you want to take over from this part? I mean, I guess this is where it gets complicated because I'm at work, and Stevie is not at work.

Richard:

And then... Actually no, I lied. This is where it's I joined a call. Stevie told me that, "Hey, join a call, give it to Alex. See what Alex has to say." I walked through, I explained what's going on, and then you say, "All right, well, it's good that you have it. Congratulations that you have something on your contract. I'm like, "It doesn't feel too good. But yeah, sure." You tell me to play backwards. You tell me to... You find this company called JWB, and so I write down. I go on their website and I tell them, "Hey, I have this house under contract, are you interested?" It's just on their website, and an email gets generated, sent to my email saying, "Your email, your message was sent." No one's returned my message or didn't return my message at a time. S"

Richard:

Then I go back, and I do what you explained to me, which is why I think this is what separates show program is that we can continuously bring scenarios that you have your expertise, Ryan has his expertise, and you guys walk us through these situations that we wouldn't have thought of. So I find the properties that are sold nearby. I look at the tax records, find the company, it just so happens to be JWB. So, I call JWB and they're like, "Yeah, we received your offer. We actually emailed you." And I'm like, "Great."

Richard:

They a field agent where the agent goes by and just looks at houses whenever they come in. I call him, he goes in there, and he's like, "Hey, the most I can offer you is $43,000. And I'm like... Oh, I was ecstatic. We would have taken anything.

Alex Martinez:

This is great because when you show up on the Q&A call you thought it was dead in the water because you had this one buyer, 60% Zestimate. And I was like, "All right, we need to find some new buyers or a new buyer, which we call find new partners in the program." And then yeah, you did exactly that, the sniper rifle approach, found that buyer and then like, "Oh, crap, this turned from nothing to a few grand, right?

Richard:

Right. So and that approach, I think I would definitely continue to use that approach just because it's public information. And these people have proven they're interested in buying properties nearby in similar price range. And those are usually motivated buyers. They're, I would say more professional versus trying to cold call someone, and work that way, which is a nightmare because they'll give you all these scenarios and these numbers that aren't realistic like 20%, 25%. I think we had someone Stevie early on what, 50%?

Stevie:

Yeah.

Richard:

Oh, my God, 50%. That's crazy.

Alex Martinez:

Anyone will do that. Yeah, you're stupid if you don't do that deal.

Stevie:

Right? I'd do that deal.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, we all would if we had it. We wouldn't give that deal up.

Richard:

50%, I mean, exactly. You put in 100, you come out with 200. I mean, I'm definitely doing that. Well, so. So yeah, the sniper scope definitely helped. The sniper approach definitely helped because you play backwards, but you also find people who are interested in those specific areas. What helped me out a lot though, because I was at work. So sometimes Stevie does documentation. Sometimes I do the documentation, and we use each other's actually names. So like, I'll do an offer just on the best transaction funding. We'll go on there, I'll put it on Stevie's name depending on how we're going to approach this specific offer or house. But at that time, Stevie was... I was at work, and Stevie was handling all the documentation. Well, the real estate agent got involved and was upset about that because there was a confusion.

Stevie:

Your internet was down.

Richard:

My internet was down. Yeah, because I have a different office and my internet's poor there. So Stevie took over. It was a confusion. And the real estate agent was like, "Oh, well, you have to tell me whether you're going to assign the property. Because now the seller may not agree to it. And I just don't appreciate it lying when..." I tell you and I tell Stevie, I had the script always open. I read it verbatim. I mean, you're going to put the property in my name, or my financing partners name. I never did... I'll get confused by if I don't follow the script, at least for right now until I get my first couple properties. Probably, a year from now, I would say, I'll feel comfortable not using the script. I mean, it's just you can't mess up because it's exactly what you need, the information you need as long as you follow the script.

Richard:

So then she's upset and she almost threatens us. They're going to walk away from the offer. I'm like, "Okay, well, if you can get more than $39,000" which I don't think she could. It was kind of a bluff. Anyways, I guess, we could wrap it up. It was just a lot. It was a big headache because this real estate agent who was just not working with us. And the real estate agent, I believe, was upset because she made 6% off of $39,000, and we made almost double selling the property. But I feel like those were growing pains that we had to go through, and we've had other properties under contract. We just haven't been able to move forward with them because of... For example, JWB was like, they looked at other properties that we've sent them. And they're like, "We're just not interested in this one." As long as we have that inspection clause on there, we can really walk from it. I mean, that's kind of our safety net there.

Alex Martinez:

Totally.

Richard:

Stevie, do you want to add anything? I don't know if I left anything there.

Stevie:

You covered pretty much all of it. That was great. The agent was a challenge, let me just say. Her and I, we exchanged some words, and I tried to keep it pleasant. I called my mentor who got me into real estate, my best friend. She's been in real estate 30 something years and I said, "Look, I'm working with an investor referring to Richard, and this agent is just she's so horrible to him. I think he needs to report her. I would have reported her." She goes, "No. No, no, no, no, don't do that." As big as Jacksonville is, in our square miles we're the biggest city I think in the US [crosstalk 00:18:47] counties square mileage, but she said, "As big as Jacksonville is it's this big, and you will work with her again. You will." And she said, "Don't burn any bridges. Just go make nice and smooth it over and see what happens."

Stevie:

So, I'm sure I made a couple errors as well. We had one paper, one document error when I was submitting stuff for Richard. I was trying to get it done because his internet was down. And I submitted two forms when I should have submitted one, so I withdrew one, and it was the... What's our form that we submit for our fee? There's the assignment.

Alex Martinez:

Oh, yeah. Independent consulting agreement.

Stevie:

Yes. Independent consulting. Okay, so I did the assignment, and then I just automatically pulled the consulting agreement in two. So, the acquisitions manager at JWB she said, "Are you charging us twice for the assignment fee?" I said, "No." She goes, "Well, you have it on the assignment, which we agreed to, and you're charging the same thing as a consultant fee, the 3500." I said, "Ignore that." I assumed that I just had to notate what the assignment amount was. And then the consulting fee was our agreement that you would pay. So whichever one she goes, "Nope, the assignment form is perfect." I said, "Okay, tear up the other one."

Stevie:

So, again, had another conversation with the agent because she didn't understand the assignment. So she filled out her own assignment on behalf of the seller submitted it, made Richard sign it. And I just threw myself under the bus a couple times as whatever, he didn't have internet. I'm trying to help. I've interjected and I apologize if I've caused mass confusion, all this stuff. I hope this you have a better... I hope you have a great day. Oh, and on top of all of that, you can't make this stuff up. Her fur baby died. How old was her animal? Her dog, was it her dog?

Richard:

Yeah, it was her dog.

Stevie:

I mean, literally, this woman gets on the phone with me, and she's like, "I apologize for my voice." You could tell she had been weeping for probably days. She was with him when she had to put him down. And she's in the middle of this deal. And then the confusion, and then we got confused with JWB wanting to use their title company to close as the buyer paying cash. We selected that as our title company. Well, what they were willing to do, the confusion there was that they as a... I forget what they called it, Richard. As a consideration for JWB, they handle all their deals, they would go in and handle the closing. They had a power of attorney to go in and do that.

Stevie:

So we could close at the sellers title company, originally, and the agent was so upset. But we don't know what their fees are. We know what fees she could expect over here. I said, "I'm so sorry." Okay, we changed the wording. We had so many emails colliding. Again, I apologize. I messed up. So we ended up everything settled. I hope I get to work with you again. And this was as crazy as it was, and I'm so sorry about your loss. It's been a crazy week for all of us, and I'm glad everything's on track and we're headed to closing. The deal is going to happen and everybody's happy. So it ended up great, but it was crazy, wasn't it Richard?

Richard:

Right. So even with that, Alex, even with all that, I would say drama, the easiest $3,000 plus dollars I've made. I mean, because Stevie says she has to spend months and months with clients trying to help them buy a home. I mean, I come in here, and I probably have to work a full month to make that.

Stevie:

So, in comparison, I had a buyer I closed on the same week. And their house, they went under contract. It was a new build in August. They closed I think on Thursday or Friday before our deal closed. And a new build, 240 something thousand dollars. My commission was 26, $2,700 something like that. And then Richard and I was $3,500. We did have to pay the broker transaction fee that was $309. So we didn't care. If we'd have made $309 off the deal we'd been so happy.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah. Awesome, awesome.

Stevie:

I'd do it all again. Wouldn't you Richard.?

Richard:

Yeah, definitely. There's some things that I am better prepared for. But I'd definitely do it all again. I tell you what the biggest strength that we have, the biggest strength I feel like, and I always tell Stevie this. The advantage that we have over a bunch of the wholesalers here is first of all their verbiage is horrendous when you're talking and explaining how they're wholesalers. They put it on Facebook. Hey, I'm wholesaling this property. I'm wholesaling this house. I'm wholesaling that. You don't really need to disclose that. And then also, we can bring up scenario, get deals, and you, Ryan, and just our whole group can speak on their experiences and help us figure it out.

Alex Martinez:

Totally. Yeah, there's a lot of value in these deals. Even deal under contract. You did all the hard work, let's monetize that thing one way or another. Whether it's if we can't get 10 grand, let's get a few grand, right?

Richard:

Yeah.

Alex Martinez:

That's what he said in the last call, man, you ever get a deal, you guys get deal under contract don't know what to do with it just bring it. We'll think of something.

Richard:

Yeah, and it worked out better than we could have imagined. I mean, because we... I mean, now I have JWB, her field agent on speed dial. We and him text every day, and like we said, these are serious buyers who are trying to close 700 plus homes a year and more, and they also buy land. I've got their specific numbers on what they want to work with. So, it's just right now it's where to... Stevie can explain this a little better. We're in a seller's market. So, it's these people want craziest prices for these houses. Just because of the inventory is so low right now that just right now we're working on his property we're going to submit an offer for. The guy bought it, acquired it three days ago for 55. He was asking 115. Now he dropped it to 105, but he wants us to pay all the closing costs. It's crazy numbers they're throwing at us.

Alex Martinez:

That's where if you can get something under contract, you have all the leverage because it is a seller's market too, inventory is tight. I'm a big believer in reverse engineering success. So whatever you did to get this last deal too, try doing that again. As well as working on the on market. Get some expireds. Maybe you can come up with your own little script on that too because it worked.

Richard:

Right.

Stevie:

Well, Alex, you set a personal goal for us. I guess it was last week's call. I've lost all sense of time because I still am trying to get anesthesia off my brain. But when you were talking somebody was asking you a question on the call, and they were asking about JWB and who is this? And how does this company work? And you were explaining all of that. You said when you find a company like that, that does 700 homes a year, sell them, get 100 homes for them. So, I told Richard, I said, "That's our new goal is to get 100 homes for JWB." We're going to be focused on that. We're going to take our guy out to lunch. We're going to stop by the office, take donuts, Starbucks, whatever. And we're going to say, "What is it you want? Take us out to the job site. When you walk through it, what are you looking for and everything. So it gives us an idea so we can bring you what you want, what you need, help you get your numbers," because we can't do anything but make money off of them.

Alex Martinez:

And learn. Learn so much. How they see... How they look at a property, how they run renovations, how they're able to quickly analyze these deals, how they're able to agree to signing the contract in 24 hours and taking over this deal, right?

Stevie:

They were on it. They were just like that. Weren't they, Richard?

Richard:

Yeah, so I guess for me since it was my first deal. I was so worried about, are they going to do this? Are they going to do this? On the other side, on their side they're like, "Yeah, no worries, we got it. We got it." They wired it, and I was freaking out. Are they going to wire this? I guess they're so used to doing this that I was freaking out about nothing because they know what they're doing, and I guess I was just kind of, when you track your first deal... I keep calling Stevie. I'm like Stevie, "Do you know? Are they wiring it? How do they wire it? I got an email. What should I do?"

Richard:

I think that helps me a lot. I would say that's been the easiest, and best thing about this program was that I have Stevie, and any concerns I had, I can ask her. And then, we can just talk through it. This is what's going to happen. This is actually normal. Oh, this is what's supposed to happen. That's helped a lot.

Alex Martinez:

Totally, totally. And yeah, just keep working with that buyer. I mean, in my experience, we're doing hundreds of deals. Just there's a difference between the buyers. We don't need 100 buyers to try, to email property to when they can have all different types of experience levels, quality levels. JWB, I've worked with hedge funds. I've worked with other turnkey providers. Those people are at the top. They're vertically integrated. They're literally going to do about 700 houses. They have all their processes in order. Like you said, they said, "Hey, we're on it." They're on it. Those are the people you want to work with.

Alex Martinez:

We talked about Pro Wholesaler, about being a pro. There's amateur cash buyers out there. And everything that could have went wrong on this deal in some ways what the agent did. It was the agent didn't want to work with us, and actually everything. The cash buyer didn't want the deal, the original one, that financing partner. But once you had that quality financing partner in there, things went pretty smooth after that. We already put in a lot of work. You put in a lot of work to get these deals under contract. The last thing you want to do is deal with a tire kicker financing partner who doesn't know how to close a deal, who blows up the deal for us.

Alex Martinez:

So, yeah, just emphasizing the point of JWB, a company that could do 700 houses a year, just you're saying, get lunch with them, go to their office, do an office visit, see how they analyze properties, see what zip codes they're buying, see if you can get a list of all the properties they bought this last year. There are hot markets that they like. And now those are all your zones, your areas that you're going to focus in. Whether it's off market properties or on market, either one. We already know they don't care about on market property, right?

Richard:

They don't care.

Alex Martinez:

They don't care at all.

Stevie:

They don't care.

Alex Martinez:

And that's a big myth. That's what a lot of people think because... And it really comes from the quality of your financing partner, your cash buyer. There's a lot of cash buyers out there haven't done a lot of deals and say, "I don't want to deal from the MLS." But what do we say, a deal is a deal. It doesn't matter where it comes from, and that's the truth. That's the truth.

Richard:

So one thing I will say about some of these big financing partners that are able to buy whatever, and then sell it for whatever price they want to because they have consistent investors that are willing to buy rental properties and take $100, $200, $300 a month on these rental properties. Some agents and some wholesalers don't want to work with these big companies because they think that they're increasing the price of, the cost of living in these areas. So, that's one big thing that Stevie and I have spoken about.

Richard:

We think of it differently. We think they're improving the area. When I spoke to this... one of the employees for JWB. Oh, you guys are doing some great work buying all these houses. You can drive by some neighborhoods and tell which houses JWB have touched. And I was like, "You guys are doing great work." He said, "I wish everyone thought that way. We don't have a lot people that want to work with us." I'm like, "I got you. Stevie and I got you. We'll work with you." I honestly believe they're doing great work. Because if you would have seen this house that they purchased, I don't see anyone who's going to improve that. [crosstalk 00:31:41].

Stevie:

They're just like... I'm sorry.

Alex Martinez:

I was just going to say they're the only company that employs the economies of scale to actually do that. To take it down at the price and fix it up to renovate it for it to be a profitable deal for them. And otherwise, if they didn't buy it, then it'd probably just be sitting, or go to another buyer. And maybe someone would do a shoddy job. But these guys know how to do their work, they know how to fix a house, and improve values. And that's just the way it goes. So, you can fight against the change. The only thing constant in life is change. So, are you going to adapt or are you going to hold on to what's been going on, right?

Richard:

Right.

Stevie:

I think our guy told us, what did he tell you, Richard, when he looked at it. It was a three, one or a three, two. And when he looked at it he saw a four two. And I have to tell you, Alex, of some of the bad houses I have walked through. This was the absolute worst I have ever seen. It was like a hoarder house. There was literally a path, but when you walked in the front door of the living room there was a huge hole in the roof with blue tarp hanging down, and people live there, and were evicted out of this house. And it was so sad. And I think I told Richard when... We're looking at some pictures of some of these houses. He's like, "Wow, nobody lives here." And I said, "Oh, you'd be surprised when people find shelter they'll stay anywhere they can."

Stevie:

And we walk through this house. I mean, I let Richard be the fall guy. I'm like, "You go first." And there were people behind us because there were other showings and it was just you did not want to touch a light switch. You just... And they come in they're like, "Oh, yeah, we love this house. We'll take it. We see it four two." And they had to clean that house out before they can even demo it to renovate. Mind blowing, you would never think.

Richard:

That just adds to don't don't give up on a deal. Even if the renovation you think isn't there what you're seeing as a three one, an investor might see as a four two. I think when we rent a three one we're like, "There's no way they can afford this and still be able to renovate it." But we were doing comps for three ones. They were doing comps for four twos. When we did the comps for four two we're like, "Man, these people are making some good money off of this house now."

Alex Martinez:

We should ask for more.

Stevie:

Yeah. The comps came in, the house next door was exactly the same house and I don't know if it was updated. I can't remember when I looked on RPR at the pictures and stuff. But the comps were $105,000. I think maybe $120,000 on the high end, and I think they come back and they're going to sell it for $140,000, I think, which it was at the end of the street. So, it was a really good lot. And across the street was a wide open lot because there was a church in the front of the property. And so, but I have to tell you, it was in a zip code, which is one of the highest crime areas in Jacksonville. And to me, I thought, that's the deal breaker right there is just the neighborhood itself. They didn't flinch.

Alex Martinez:

They have buyers [crosstalk 00:34:57].

Stevie:

That's what made us feel good about them improving Jacksonville, Florida.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, that's awesome.

Stevie:

You got to just clear your head. When you started that first module that we do of get your mindset right, and get your head wrapped around things, and you are an investor. I told Richard, I said, "This is my first time at this on the investment side of it. I've worked with some investors, but not like that." I've worked with guys who just want to go in and do the paint on the walls and change the floors and make it an Airbnb type of investment.

Richard:

Lipstick on a pig.

Stevie:

I have not worked with... Yeah, lipstick on a pig. I've not worked with total renovations. I have not worked with that. So, as an agent, I mean, I really had to change my mindset, and now I'll walk in any house and be like, "Okay, this will work. This is great. This is great." That first house was probably our best experience.

Richard:

Yeah.

Alex Martinez:

That's awesome guys.

Richard:

You don't have to take your... I would say that I live in a nicer community in Jacksonville. So I've come in there thinking about my experience. Like, okay, I look at this, and I'm coming with my personal experience, and you have to remove that. You have to look at this completely as an investor, and how will this investor, what are they willing to do this? And that's how you have to put their cap on. How are they looking at it? What are they thinking of? I would say, try not to give up on a property until it's time to give up. Until it's the last day you couldn't find anything and then walk away. But it's always other, you have to put pressure in order to get diamonds.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, got to have positive persistence. And exactly what you guys are saying we talked about in the Q&A calls. If you can step into the shoes of your financing partner, if you can step in the shoes of whoever's in charge of acquisitions at JWB and see what they see now you know exactly how you need to take down a deal. Now you will see the potential of a three one to a four two. And that doesn't happen overnight. It happens from learning through experience from wholesaling a real estate deal like a three one, and they see a four two. And then we ask the question, how do they see it that way? Are they adding a bathroom and other bed inside the square footage? Or are these guys, are they going in there and adding square footage to the property? Because now what this does for both of you, what about all the two ones and three ones on the MLS? How about we analyze them as three twos? How about we analyze them as four twos? Where's the potential there? That's just some next level stuff once you can start seeing it from that direction.

Richard:

You're right about that too. Sorry, if I can just add real quick. I have a rental property that's a three two in a nicer side of town, but it's 1,700 square feet. They consider. So, a two one is 800 square feet, a three one, three two, that's 1100 square feet. So they really could squeeze some rooms in there. So 1100 square feet, I would never consider it three two or three one, they're all about it.

Alex Martinez:

And is that what they're doing guys on this property? Are they operating within the existing square footage, or they're adding square footage?

Richard:

No, they're not adding anything. They're taking... It was a garage, and it was converted into a living room. They're taking that garage/living room and making it a room. I think that's what they're doing. I think that's where they're going to add the extra bedroom, an extra bathroom. You have to be able to see that, and think how they're thinking.

Alex Martinez:

So that's going to translate to you guys, if you want to evolve. If you want to fix and flip. You want to buy and hold property, you want to rent it out. I mean, this is where I like talking about getting paid to learn. This is how when I evolved from wholesaling to wholesaling and fixing and flipping houses is because I would meet with my cash buyers, my financing partners, we get coffee, we'd get lunch, we'd walk through the property. I'd learn their general contractors. I'd see their lenders. Who are you using for your capital? What are your borrowing rates of capital?

Alex Martinez:

All of these things are experiences that you can learn from. All these relationships that you deepen will only help your breadth and depth of this real estate knowledge. And the way I see it too is that you provide so much value to any financing partner and especially JWB, they bought that property. All they have to do is sign the dotted line, sign the assignment, and they have a deal for their company. It's one to 700 they want to take down, and they will gladly pay $3,000, $5,000, $10,000 for that all day because they didn't need to spend a dime in marketing to get that. So, there's extreme value there that you're bringing.

Alex Martinez:

And so they're incentivized, if this acquisition manager or the person you're speaking to, for you develop that relationship, the more they can teach you too in the process or help you see what they see, the more deals you're going to be able to bring them. That's the way that I've been able to build relationships with my financing partners is like, "Hey, help me help you." If I have questions, and I'm asking about, "Hey, what are the renovations on this? How are you estimating these renovations?" It only helps that they share that information because now the next time a property comes around, you know how JWB analyzes this property, the renovations. You know exactly what's going to be, and maybe that shaves down the renovation from 40,000 to 30,000.

Alex Martinez:

Well, maybe that's a $10,000 wholesale profit right there for you, and maybe they're seeing the ARVs. They look at everything on the MLS, but maybe they do mark it up 10% or whatever the ARV is for the comps in that area because they have out of state buyers there. So seeing how they see on all these deals will give you that opportunity to get these deals under contract all the time. So I'm really excited for you. I know you guys are going to do that. But that was really, if I go back almost 10 years now, what really upped my progress was being there, being willing to ask these cash buyers, these financing partners, what they see.

Alex Martinez:

And even if you guys are available, hey, do you mind if we stopped by the property? We'd love to checkout the renovation, see how it's going? Who's the subcontractors? Who are the contractors? Just grind down, take their cards. You don't use them for a few months, now you got them, and you know they do great work. You know they do repetitive work, too, because that's a big asset for any fix and flipper, for any buy and holder, these contractors. Just another variable in the mix once you start doing that.

Stevie:

That's so true. I didn't think that far. We should go by and see that house Richard once a couple weeks from now and see the progress on it. I would love to see that place what they do with it.

Richard:

Well, I actually asked him and he said, "Yeah, I'll let as soon as it's done so you can come look at it." Because I still can't visualize what they're going to do to it. Just because I've never seen it done and definitely my goal is to wholesale enough properties until I can buy and hold. I want to buy and hold as many properties as I can.

Alex Martinez:

I love it.

Stevie:

Yeah, Richard's trying to buy and hold when we're trying to wholesale our first deal. I'm like, "You just need to slow down." That's why I said he makes coffee nervous. He's way over here. He's like, "We should flip this." I'm like, I'm a wholesaler. I'm wholesaling."

Richard:

I guess, Alex, it's hard for me-

Stevie:

I just don't get it.

Richard:

Yeah, it's hard for me to look at a property knowing that... I don't know exactly how to buy and hold a house or how to fix and flip a house. But I know how to calculate what they're going to have as ROI. And I'm like, "Dang, they're making 50 grand, 60 grand on this. It's going to be four months." I'm like, "I wish I could do this." I'll get there when I get more comfortable, but it's a little harder when it's your money.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah. It's definitely harder when it's your money. All the risk is on the line. Definitely things changed for me, guys, when I had to borrow a few hundred thousand dollars, more than that for my first fix and flip and saying, "Okay, I'm personally liable if anything goes wrong." You better get your numbers. You better put the work in. And that's the great thing about wholesaling, guys, as you're starting out. You found the best cash home buyers, how are they running things? How are their operations looking? Literally, who are their general contractors? Because any fix and flip that can make or break your deal.

Alex Martinez:

Thankfully for me, I haven't had general contractors take my money and run away. But I've seen several other people, acquaintances whose businesses have a general contractor, and that general contractor doesn't know how to manage their money, their business blows up, they file bankruptcy. Now you're fixing and flipping a property and guess what that $30,000 budget you put in, it's all gone. You start from scratch, or pay $15,000 or $20,000. So, I know you guys want to get to that next level, and you will and we got to have those aspirations and those goals. But I also love that you guys have been able to focus. Focus really on this wholesaling aspect because that's the only way we're going to make it happen.

Alex Martinez:

And any house that you wholesale, the way I like to think about it, would have been a deal that you can fix and flip because there's enough room in there for you to wholesale it and for someone else to fix and flip it. So that's something to always keep in mind, okay, when you're ready, when you have the lenders or you want to use your own capital to buy this property, great, but learn these little nuances through wholesaling with no risk first because one bad deal... I mean, if we bought off more than we can chew on one bad deal, that can hurt you a little bit. The most I've lost on a deal is $26,000, thankfully. I had a lot of other deals going on, too, but learn from it. That was the only deal I ever lost money on, and that was early on in my first year.

Stevie:

It only took one time, didn't it?

Alex Martinez:

Only took one time. Yeah, yeah, so then there's a good saying the best deal you ever do on the fix and flip side is the one you never do sometimes, and you get an eye, more of a conservative. I'm definitely conservative, and I want to get wins. Wins all the time, conservative in the repairs. So I love the learning you guys are having. I love that you guys jumped in the fire. You're with a top buyer, guys, and you guys are pros, you're professionals. You're in it right now. You guys learned how to get your first wholesale deal. Now the sky's the limit. It's just about repeating the process, getting this acquisition process down, and doing it again and again.

Stevie:

Thank you. We couldn't have done it without you, Alex.

Richard:

Yes, thank you. Yes.

Stevie:

100%, we could not have. We would have never figured this out, would we, Richard? [crosstalk 00:45:35]. Well, maybe eventually, but it would have been quite a while.

Alex Martinez:

Well, you guys did all the work, right?

Stevie:

Well, our investment has paid off greatly. Our investment in your program, we feel like it is a very stellar program. I don't have any words. We were talking about it this morning. I said, "How did you find them?" I had invested in just a little tidbit of a program for seven days, two hours a day. And it was a female who very successful, and she has sons that are very successful, and you've probably heard of them. But at the end of that week I thought, "Okay, this is what I want to do, how do I want to do this?" And when I heard about the rest of the program and the mentoring, it didn't even register with me. So, I saw you on Facebook and oh my gosh, every day on my phone, you're everywhere, Alex. Your geographical, what are those called? Geo ads or something, fantastic. Because I get hit with them two or three times a day. I want to screenshot it and send it to you and say, "Here you are again."

Alex Martinez:

[inaudible 00:46:55].

Stevie:

When I saw you and I came in, and I did the training. I'm like, "First of all, in my career at my age I've worked corporate my whole life. I've been in business for myself for 20 years." So, I really look for professionals, and that's who I want to learn from, somebody who has proven success. I don't want to reinvent the wheel. If you're the best at it, I want to learn from the best at it.

Stevie:

So, when I was in that our training, and I think Tony called me afterwards and we talked. He did not try to sell me anything. I'm at the end going, "How much? What do I do?" He gave me the price. I said, "Okay," and we just took it from there because it resonated with me, I knew it's exactly what I wanted, and I knew what I can get from it. The other ones are like, I just, when you've got to check yourself like that, and you don't know, walk away because what you're going to do is you're going to invest in something that you're either not going to have a takeaway, or you're just not going to put the effort into it. And either way you lose your money.

Stevie:

So I told Richard, he said, I think he saw you on Facebook too, and went into the training. And he felt the same way. He's like, "This is it, this is the one." And there's other programs out there, and the price ranges from here to here. But you guys know what you're doing, and the support system, let me just tell you, having, again, my career of several things in my life, you have to have a good support system. You have to have a good mentor. And I know that I can go to Facebook, or I can get on a call, and you have the solution. I'm the person in all my business years, I've told all my employees and stuff. I said, "Don't come at me with a grievance unless you have a solution." Because otherwise it's just a session, you can fill in the blank.

Stevie:

I just want to sit and listen to that. It's just we have to be productive and successful at this. So you guys all for that. You just... I mean, bottom line, every single phone call, I take something away. I take something away every single time. I just got to give you guys a lot of credit. I got to give you your kudos for listening to the same questions.

Richard:

That's true.

Stevie:

I love it because, I mean, as you're acquiring members into the program I'm thinking, I listen to these people, and I'm thinking, "Man, you have no idea how successful you're going to be if you work this. If you do what they're telling you, you cannot fail." The only way you fail is if you just don't work it. You have to put the work in. So thank you so much for that because Richard and I, we know we're going to blow this up. We're just getting started. But it's because we got you guys behind us.

Richard:

Yeah. And to add to that, I think what separates your program, and honestly the reason why I invested. I felt like it was an investment on myself, you guys specifically, or at least Sam, when I spoke to him and had some questions, Sam took his time and answered everything. But specifically, what I enjoyed about the program was shifting your mindset, and understanding that you're a real estate investor, and you're eliminating your self doubts. And then after you teach us all this, you basically give us a blueprint of how to build something. And if you don't start building it, how is it going to get done? And so, after you've given us the blueprint, you got our mind right then it's like, "Well, now you just got to do it, and that's on you."

Richard:

That really hits because it's uncomfortable to call at first, especially when you don't understand the language, and I will say it's a different language. And the only way to learn the language is immersion. You have to move to that country to learn that language. And that's the quickest way you learn it. If you're not calling anymore and you're not-

Stevie:

Oh, no.

Richard:

[inaudible 00:51:03].

Stevie:

His internet.

Alex Martinez:

I could see why he had issues on the deal.

Stevie:

Right. My most, the thing that impresses me most about your program is you have people week one. Is that my... Yeah, that's my, okay. You have people week one making discovery calls and trying to write offers they've not even finished the training.

Alex Martinez:

I know.

Stevie:

That's a good program. Richard did it. I'm like, "Can you finish the training?" Because I'm like, do, do, do. He's still fresh. And Richard, he's like, "I'm going to finish it this weekend." And he's been in it a week, two weeks, and I've been at it a month. And I'm like, "Okay, I'm going to try to finish it. I'm going to try to finish it. He's so cute. He's just awesome like that. Oh, we lost him.

Alex Martinez:

He'll probably come back maybe. We'll see.

Stevie:

What the heck. Okay.

Alex Martinez:

But I appreciate all those kind words, Stevie, and you guys put in the work. You guys have to put in the work and you guys are making it happen. I think you said it best. I like to say it too-

Richard:

Sorry.

Alex Martinez:

Oh, it's all good.

Richard:

I'm sorry. I don't know why I cut off, but sorry about that. I was just saying that [crosstalk 00:52:18]-

Stevie:

Dude, pay your bill. Pay your bill.

Alex Martinez:

Pay that internet bill.

Stevie:

Pay that internet bill.

Richard:

My work bill. Yeah, my work has to pay the internet.

Alex Martinez:

He's going to check, man.

Richard:

We owe a lot to your Pro Wholesaler VIP Program. Thank you.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome. And I think you guys both said it. It works if you put in the work, if you work it. I think that's the most important thing. And it's just if you keep showing up like you're doing there, there's really no limit to this. And I know you guys can continue to make it happen. Every deal you learn so much. I know for me, throughout the years, every deal has allowed me to get to where I am today. You meet different people, you have different experiences. And just I'm so happy that you guys went through a lot of stuff on this first deal because you're going to wholesale houses where it's a dream to work with this real estate agents. It would be the easiest thing in the world.

Alex Martinez:

You're going to have deals that are maybe foreclosures or short sales that don't need as much renovation as this particular property. So, you've seen one of the, it seems like the most ran down properties, and you've acquired just such an awesome buyer too. There goes Richard. But you got to such an awesome buyer too. I think that most importantly, you just proved it to yourself, and I think you've seen that you can do this over and over and over again.

Stevie:

Yeah, definitely. Definitely, and it was fun. It's still fun. We're talking about building a team. How crazy is that? We have one deal, and we think we're...

Alex Martinez:

There we go. Hey, we got to have those aspirations, right?

Stevie:

Yeah, we do.

Alex Martinez:

Let's just... Yeah, we'll get two or three months consistency, and maybe it's an acquisitions associate in there making some discovery calls-

Stevie:

Absolutely.

Alex Martinez:

... then you just keep taking it from there.

Stevie:

I told him, I said, we got to get to the place where we can walk away from what we're doing a little bit and spend more time at this because just the value is there. I mean, the ability to earn an income. We were on the phone after he picked up the check and he said, "I didn't even do anything." I said, "The best part is you didn't have to have a real estate license."

Alex Martinez:

Yeah.

Stevie:

And that is very valuable that people can do this without being licensed. It's amazing.

Alex Martinez:

It's pretty cool.

Stevie:

Yeah. So thanks for all that you guys do, you and Ryan [crosstalk 00:54:42]. Man, I feel bad for people that can't be on every single call. I try to be on every single call because there's always something that I take away.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, I know, I see you there every time. I love it. I love hanging out with you on those calls. I love seeing you and Richard because I know you guys are bringing something every time too. There's always you guys took action. Like, "Oh, we got this deal under contract? Or what about this deal? Let's take a look at this one. Here's the scenario." When you guys bring something to each call, and you implement it's just so much easier. I feel we're stacking rocks in the right direction. It's you're never coming and saying, "Oh, I didn't do anything for a couple of weeks. What should I do now?" It's like, "Hey, I took these actions. Now what?" Or, "I took these actions? Hey, what's the next best move?" And I love that because now it's all practical. It's not theory.

Stevie:

Yes, yeah.

Alex Martinez:

This is real. It's real estate. It's not fake estate, or theory estate. It's real. So what's real? What can we work with, right?

Stevie:

Yeah.

Alex Martinez:

Well, awesome, guys.

Stevie:

I want to go back through the training again, but I don't have the time because it's so valuable.

Alex Martinez:

Well, I'm working on the third iteration. I'm working on the next iteration right now. So you guys will get an upgrade pretty soon. So, that'll be pretty exciting.

Stevie:

Good. I sent you some stuff. Did you get it?

Alex Martinez:

Yeah. Yeah, I got it. Thank you for that. That helps, yeah.

Stevie:

You're welcome. Anything you need.

Alex Martinez:

Awesome.

Richard:

Am I back? Can you guys hear me okay?

Alex Martinez:

You're back, man.

Stevie:

Hey, Richard.

Richard:

Sorry about that.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah.

Richard:

But you know what, Alex? I feel like when you say you're stacking rocks. I honestly do feel like that. I feel like we have a snowball and we're rolling a snowball and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And it's going to pop, and it's just going to get so big. It's just going to roll itself downhill. Stevie, I don't know if you feel that way, Stevie?

Stevie:

I do.

Richard:

I feel like it's coming, and we're going to have so many houses under contract. We're just going to go crazy because we're not going to have time to do it.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah.

Stevie:

Exactly.

Alex Martinez:

Yep.

Stevie:

I have one question for Richard. Dude, are you 100% today because it's first time I've ever seen you without a shirt and tie?

Richard:

Oh, yeah.

Stevie:

Is it dress down Friday or something?

Richard:

No-

Alex Martinez:

[crosstalk 00:56:57] Friday.

Richard:

Yeah, it's kind of dressed down Friday. I don't have any meetings, but I always wear a suit and tie, and that's helped me a lot. I think that you say that in your training. Wear a suit and tie, and I'm very comfortable in wearing a suit and tie. It makes you feel more professional, like you know what you're doing versus going in some shorts and a T-shirt. And I always wear a suit and tie. And people look at you like you're more sophisticated. I think I told you my first meeting, I went to a REIA, everyone kept coming up to me like I knew what I was doing. I just like, "Yeah, here's my number." We exchange numbers, and you fake it till you make it.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, first impressions are huge from that first discovery call. Meeting an agent at the property for the first time. You saw it firsthand. It's like a social experiment. You went to the REIA people were like, "Oh, who's this guy? I got to talk to this guy."

Richard:

Right. And honestly, that helps a lot. I always wear a suit and tie, and I've acquired them through the years. I don't really repeat my suits and ties. I went to a REIA training and that guy, one of the guys they're like, "Geez, you never not wearing a tie. You're always wearing a..." I'm like, "Yeah, this is the way I dress." And they point it out, and that kind of, and people go to you. At the end of the meeting, they go to you and talk to you because they think you're the real deal, and they think you know what you're doing and I tell them, "Give me a call. We'll talk. We'll chat, and I keep it very short and simple. I also tell them, "Hey, if you want to a JB on a deal, I can help you out." Me telling people to JB on a deal. I mean, you just fake it till you make it honestly. But yeah, I'm not wearing a tie today. A little bit of dress down today. It's raining.

Stevie:

We'll give you a pass.

Alex Martinez:

We'll give you your pass, guys. We didn't talk about the mindset, guys, because you guys already have it. It's already there, you get it. But if we didn't believe we're going to be successful, I think we really shoot ourselves in the foot. So you guys came in into here, you have the right mindset, you believe you're going to be successful. And I wouldn't even call it fake it till you make it necessarily. It's just you guys have the confidence that whatever comes up, you're going to be able to figure out that solution. I think that's a really important thing to understand that you're going to have problems and we're going to create solutions. And we're going to work together and have those solutions or come up with those solutions.

Alex Martinez:

To people who aren't confident in their ability to do that or think they need to know everything won't take action, or they just don't... They lack that confidence, and they're not going to be able to put their best foot forward. They're not going to submit offers. They're not going to put themselves in situations where they may not know all the answers, but they could figure out the answer. As long as you guys protect yourself with inspection contingencies, work with the right people, then what's the worst that can happen? You just back off a contract, right? What's the best thing that can happen? The upside is so high.

Alex Martinez:

I mean, there are people that I met at REIAs guys, when I would go all the time when I was starting out that are still some of my best friends today that are private lenders. The broker that got me assistant access, title reps, hard money lenders, developers, just people you meet through the years, and so you never know who you're going to meet too, and just got to put yourself in those situations like you're doing. And no one knows all the answers. So it's okay to not know, and I think you'll walk in confidence not knowing all the answers.

Richard:

And Alex, if I can add to this. And Stevie will tell you. Stevie, how early am I to these REIA meetings?

Stevie:

Almost an hour.

Richard:

Right, an hour, half hour. [crosstalk 01:00:25]. At first, it was like that, it's because I'm nervous. I was nervous, and I would rehearse in my head. I'm a real estate investor. Just trying to get my mind right. Trying to get focused, and I did. I did that. And actually, that helped me a lot because you kind of see that in your training, tell yourself you're a real estate investor. I start reviewing some of the things just so I can get comfortable enough. But honestly, the more I do it, the more I become it.

Richard:

I definitely feel that I am definitely a real estate investor more than I was when I first started. And that's just getting your mind, feeling that confidence, getting that confidence because you're not going to gain confidence if you never do it. If you never pick up the phone, if you never call, if you never go to the REIA meetings, and that's everything. That's all. For me, it's always always been uncomfortable. I can talk to anyone, but going to these big conferences, talking to people, and especially when you're wearing a suit, and everyone comes up to you and wants to talk to you, you just got to-

Alex Martinez:

You got to do something. You can't run away.

Richard:

Yeah. And then they ask you for these cards. And I'm like, "Hey, you know what, I don't do the card thing. I just feel you're going to throw it away. I'll give you my number." And you know what, it helps me out because I get their number right away instead of giving them a card and then throwing it away. So when people hand me their cards I'm like, hey, let me put it into work with them, take a picture of it, and I give them back their card just so I have their number saved, and I text them. And that's my way of telling myself that's why I don't have a card. I don't have a card because I'm fairly new. I'll probably get a card anymore because it's working for me. But yeah, rehearsing in the car for me has always been easier, has always prepped me to go into these meetings and just having the right mindset.

Alex Martinez:

It's paid off.

Richard:

Yes. I definitely feel more comfortable, and I'm starting to come up with maybe 15 minutes early now, instead of an hour.

Alex Martinez:

That's good, man.

Stevie:

30 minutes. 30 minutes. You're never 15 minutes. That'd be late for you.

Richard:

Yeah, I'm very prompt.

Stevie:

If you're early, you're on time. And if you're on time, you're late.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, I'm a believer in that. Absolutely. And so, I mean, I'm just so happy for you guys. This has been a real treat. Nothing's more exciting than seeing you guys put in the work, getting success, knowing it's just the beginning. You guys both feel the momentum. I'd be alarmed if you guys didn't feel the momentum and believe that you could do it over and over and over again. I think that's what it takes to do it over and over again, just like you guys believed you're going to do that first deal, and you did it. I believe they're going to do it over and over and over again, and you will. And I have no doubt, no doubt at all, as long as you keep working it like you're doing, you'll get those deals.

Alex Martinez:

And so, I'm super excited for you guys, because I think it's also beginning of... Not the beginning of a relationship. We've had a relationship for a little bit now. But I'm excited to grow with you guys some real estate too. A lot of these relationships we're talking about. I don't take our relationship for granted. We hang out every week. But I think we all have aspirations of doing bigger and better things. And so, probably no doubt sometime in the future we'll do some deals together in Florida or somewhere else.

Stevie:

[inaudible 01:03:38].

Alex Martinez:

Yeah.

Richard:

That'd be nice.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, I already told you guys, I'm headed to Austin, but I got to... I've only been to Miami, but I think I need to visit Jacksonville pretty soon.

Stevie:

You do, yes.

Alex Martinez:

And you guys come to San Diego.

Richard:

That's the hot market right now.

Stevie:

We'd love to come to San Diego. Oh, that's right, Richard. If we do, what is it so much in one month we get to go to San Diego and-

Alex Martinez:

Just do six figures in a year, fly out.

Stevie:

Okay. Six figures in a year. All right. We're on it.

Richard:

[crosstalk 01:04:06]. We calculated 100 would bring us to $350,000 if they pay us the same price, which we're definitely going to get better deals than that.

Stevie:

Yeah, if we just bought 100 houses at $3,500 a wholesale fee.

Richard:

Yeah, that's our goal right now.

Alex Martinez:

There we go. Good.

Stevie:

And they said that they would pay higher fees depending on the house. They paid as high as what? Did they say $15,000?

Richard:

Yeah, no, they didn't give us a cap, actually.

Stevie:

Oh, they didn't, no.

Richard:

They didn't give us a specific cap.

Alex Martinez:

I mean, as long as the deal is profitable for them.

Stevie:

Absolutely.

Alex Martinez:

They probably don't care paying you $20,000, $25,000 [crosstalk 01:04:43]-

Stevie:

We can't wait for that day.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah.

Stevie:

You won't get rid of this because we'll be screaming on the mentor calls.

Alex Martinez:

I got this money.

Stevie:

Oh, my God. Look at this check.

Richard:

Oh, yeah, I'd be nervous to pick it up. I'd be excited to pick it up.

Stevie:

I'll go pick it up, or We'll go together. Somebody has to drive. We'll have to have a designated driver because we'll just be outside of our minds when that happens.

Alex Martinez:

You get a limo. Yeah, you guys going to be in the back getting a few drinks.

Stevie:

Yes.

Alex Martinez:

My first check was $22,000. I was taught 20 years old. And I remember that changed my life because right then and there I was like, "Oh, I'm going to college right now to maybe make $50,000 or $60,000 a year. And this is one third of that. And I was just like, "Okay, real estate, I'm going all in."

Stevie:

I'm glad you did.

Richard:

I think it's that. I think it's [inaudible 01:05:41] your first deal and you get comfortable. Did I get cut off again? Sorry.

Alex Martinez:

You're back, though, I think.

Richard:

Sorry. Can you hear me?

Alex Martinez:

What was it? Yeah, what was it?

Richard:

Yeah, I was saying I think that's what it is getting your first deal and believing that you can do it. When you get your first deal in your hands it becomes real. It becomes very real when you get your first check in your hand because now it's just repeating what you're doing, and it was uncomfortable. But if you keep doing it, it becomes less uncomfortable. And imagine doing something I honestly don't feel I worked for it. I was in the military. I don't feel like I worked for that. I don't feel like I worked for that check at all. I mean, talking to people, doing some documents and collecting a check a few days later. I'll do that all day. That's the goal that I can make it full-time.

Alex Martinez:

That's good. You feel you didn't do that much. I mean, that's if you can do that on every single deal. Awesome, phenomenal. I think you guys have a good deal here. One thing you guys keep saying too, is that you're constantly uncomfortable. I think that's perfect because as corny as it is we got our comfort zone. And if we stay here, we'll get exactly the same results that we want. But if you start going outside of your comfort zone, which is so uncomfortable all the time, and everyone has this. I'm constantly uncomfortable, guys. I'm anxious, but I'm excited, and that's where the growth happens. So I'm happy that you guys are there too

Stevie:

Thank you.

Alex Martinez:

Stay there. All right, guys. You guys want to call it?

Stevie:

Sure.

Alex Martinez:

This is awesome. Yeah, I don't want to keep you-

Stevie:

We can hang all day long.

Alex Martinez:

We just had an hour, and-

Stevie:

That's great.

Alex Martinez:

I know you guys got deals and everything like that, but I appreciate you guys-

Stevie:

[crosstalk 01:07:28] for now, I think.

Richard:

Yeah, I'm about to submit an offer right now.

Alex Martinez:

There we go.

Richard:

Yeah, so I'm about to submit an offer as soon as I get off this call. All right, this one hopefully... Hopefully this one brings us definitely a little more if we can get our hands on it. [crosstalk 01:07:42] under contract. Yeah, we definitely get a lot more.

Stevie:

We had a property yesterday, Alex, that I think it just went on the market and barely made a discovery call. We both had calls in and left messages because the realtor was the owner. He's also the broker. So we left messages. He called me back not Richard. And the next thing Richard gets an email that says, "This property has an accepted offer. What are you looking for?" So, he's wanting to buy more properties for us. But that property went like that. We didn't get our offer in. Crazy here in Jacksonville right now.

Richard:

Speed is the name of the game.

Alex Martinez:

Speed's the name of the game. Day zero properties, baby. Yeah, sometimes other people beat us to the punch. But if you can be one of the first ones, that's what we want to do, put yourself in that position. Well, you guys are seeing a lot of it unfold, and I'm just so excited. I mean, it's fun to see you guys go through the program. You just mentioned speed is the name of the game. You've probably heard me say that 100 times. You guys see it firsthand.

Stevie:

It's so true.

Alex Martinez:

It is, it is. Well, once again, I'm just so excited for you guys. There's no limit to your potential. I'm excited to keep hanging out every single week with you. Keep submitting those offers, right?

Stevie:

Yeah.

Richard:

Yeah.

Alex Martinez:

You guys did it. You made a few grand this first one, no reason why you can't make more and submit more offers. Just get more familiar with the process. Keep being uncomfortable.

Richard:

Yeah. I think progress is made when you step out of your comfort zone.

Alex Martinez:

Totally.

Stevie:

Just got to do it.

Alex Martinez:

I agree, I agree.

Stevie:

Thank you, Alex.

Richard:

Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it.

Alex Martinez:

Thank you, guys.

Richard:

I appreciate it a lot.

Alex Martinez:

All right. Hey, let's let's keep doing deals. Let's keep making it happen. [crosstalk 01:09:31].

Richard:

I'm definitely trying to go to San Diego.

Stevie:

Oh, yeah.

Alex Martinez:

Just do 100 deals this year, probably make a lot of money, sell those all to JWB. I'll fly you out. We'll hang out when it's not rainy. We'll hit the beach. We'll have a good time. Hit the beach, have a few drinks, mastermind.

Stevie:

Sounds good.

Richard:

Yeah, it sounds great. All right, Alex, I look forward to it.

Alex Martinez:

Yeah, I know you guys got to submit offers. It is fun talking. I'm proud of you both for learning how to wholesale your first house! I appreciate you both!

Richard:

Bye.

Stevie:

Thanks, guys.

Alex Martinez:

See you, guys. Bye.

Stevie:

Bye.