Episode 23 | Eric Oles | Agent + Investor

Hey, what's up, you guys? Welcome to the New and Experienced Investor Podcast. We are super excited. We have an in-house guest in the new studio. This is awesome.

Nice.

Every week keeps getting better. And this is a podcast where we connect new and experienced investors, all walks of life. And today we have a very, very awesome agent, agent and investor, Eric Oles. So welcome to the show.

Awesome.

Thank you. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Alex Barnett. I'm the new guy.

I'm Joe Homs and I'm the experienced guy.

That's right. Okay, so, um, let's go ahead and jump on into it. Eric, go ahead and, uh, give us your background. How'd you get started in real estate, and what were you doing before then, before real estate, that led you, um, you know, kind of getting started in that? Sure.

So, um, to start, I grew up in, uh, in Chicago. Um, I lived in a suburb called Naperville. Um, that's where I was growing up. I, uh, I went to school out in University of Central Florida for college, came back. Uh, I worked in some sort of realm of healthcare for the most And, um, and then my wife and I moved here, um, 2017, and, uh, it was kind of like a fresh slate going to a new, uh, new state. And, um, and just, I wanted to pick up something else. And, uh, my wife actually kind of recommended it, you know, just saying, hey, I think you'd be pretty good at real estate. And, um, and kind of went from there. So the transition over from Chicago to over here and just kind of switching professions It was just exciting and something I kind of wanted to do.

Awesome. Okay, so this is a new studio, so there's always little kinks and stuff. So what I'm gonna have you do is pull the mic out of the stand just so it's a little bit— yeah, pull it out just like that, just like you're a lead singer. Okay, keep going. No, all the way out, like in your hand. Don't even use the stand.

Oh, gotcha.

So then you can just keep it right up.

Got you.

Got it.

Yeah.

Okay, cool.

That's awesome. So your wife pushed you to kind of get into real estate. Now, does she have a real estate background, or what made her think of that?

No, you know what, she actually is very analytical.

analytical.

So she has a specific degree in human resources and then also mixing that in with a lot of intricacies and doing case studies. And she actually worked at CAR a little bit under Leslie Appleton Young, did reports and sent it directly to her. So they were creating, you know, surveys throughout the whole state of California that the that Leslie used in her presentations and stuff. So that was pretty cool. But either way, she was the one that was like, hey, you know, I think that it's something good for you. And she's more of the, you know, kind of person that's a little bit more behind the scenes.

Okay.

And it's actually, she kind of started doing the wholesaling calls 'cause she had run across somebody's information on Facebook. And essentially she got started making some wholesaling calls for this guy out in Indiana. So then she's like, oh, you know, maybe that's something, a good idea to reach out and see. And that's where I'm at right now. So just looking forward to the opportunity for that.

I love that. And in case you guys don't know, we're talking about wholesaling real estate. So there's kind of 2 avenues I guess somebody can go down is the residential agent route or, you know, maybe the wholesaling route when they're first getting started. What, what would you say? Is that, is that fair to say?

Yeah, that's fair to say. And I would say, you know, maybe, maybe tell us a little bit about your real estate experience before you got to the point where, um, you know, Alex and I are basically training you how to do wholesaling.

Sure.

So talk about, um, you know, when you got your license, what you were doing, which brokerage you're with, who you're with now, all that.

Sure.

So, like I said, I came out here in about 2017. I came out here, obviously, with eyes wide open and thinking that, you know, oh geez, you know, all this was just going to come to me. I would have, you know, buyers and sellers. For some odd reason, I just thought it was going to work out like that, but it didn't. So, again, I was in way over my head, no experience. I was at a brokerage, Dilbeck, for a little bit out in Pasadena.

Mm-hmm.

And then from there, I went over, I was there for about a year until I realized, okay, I gotta go and really, you know, master this before I, you know, go forward with this real estate thing because you do have to know your stuff. And that's what brought me into, I went into an associate agent role at Redfin. And, but you couldn't necessarily write contracts. You were there to run open houses, do, go to inspections, go to take people on showings, but you were always working for that lead agent. You know, you were not able to write contracts and things like that. So that's where I was at. It taught me a lot about learning about the MLS, reaching out, the standards and procedures of how that works. You know, it really taught me a lot going into things and working with clients because I had that leg up on knowing, you know, all the protocols to go through. Which a lot of people don't, and it will get you in serious trouble. So that was a good thing. And then from there, I went and worked as a transaction coordinator for about a year and a half. So my time at Redfin totaled about 3 years or so. And as a transaction coordinator, it was essentially everything that I didn't want— I don't like to deal with. You know, it's paper, it's paperwork, it's, you know, going through all the intricacies and And, you know, and just all the fine line and the print and everything going over each and every word and all the addendums and all the disclosures and everything. And now I can say that I know that stuff pretty confidently. You know, most of the agents that I work with work with a transaction coordinator. And I'm also proud when I say, like, you know, I am my own transaction coordinator. You know what I mean? That means there's not too many cooks in the kitchen. It's just, you know, just me. And again, it's just you really have to know your contracts. And like I said, it wasn't the easiest job for me, but all said and done, it's definitely worth it, you know, just to have that knowledge and know what goes on behind the scenes in a contract. And then my last brokerage was also— that one was RE/MAX, and I was on a team, and I just felt— I wanted to go and explore something else. And Joe, I don't even know exactly how we hooked up, but man, it is, it's a blessing.

It really is.

I'm so happy to be here. It was almost, that was a too good to be true things with these minimal fees at the, you know, from the desk fees and just the commission split, you know, peanuts. You know, what was it, Joe? Like $850 from any transaction? Joe is here, you can tell, you know, if you're watching this video. I mean, Joe and Alex, I mean, the amount of content here is insane. So, and again, just being here and, and kind of learning from Joe and now Alex a little bit, um, they really are, they're here to help, they're here to guide. And, um, and, uh, going into this wholesale adventure, I, I definitely, um, am looking forward to that. But, you know, you got to kind of start at the, at the ground up for sure. So, uh, you got to start somewhere, right? So that's where I'm at there.

Yeah, and I, I know we were supplying you with some leads for a while and you were being very successful with those leads, but they've kind of dried up at this point. Um, and then you also, um, decided to hire a team member.

Yes.

Um, so you create— you created basically, um, a group within a group. Yes. And that's kind of where you're at now. And so One lead source dried up, so you obviously are looking for another, and that's what brought you into wholesaling.

Sure, sure. So yeah, as everyone knows, and especially people that are into, into real estate and obviously that are in tune with the market, is, you know, I know Joe's had plenty of experience and everything, and this is, uh, I mean, the interest rates and everything, and, and the market is just— it's, it's different. I mean, I've only been in for a little bit, I know Joe has had, you know, a lot of experience and things, but again, with this especially, and, you know, this is another thing my wife and I talked about, is like there's some things sometimes in real estate that, that are out of your control. You know, the interest rates are out of your control. Um, you know, there's just some of the buyers, a lot of the buyers are backing off, you know what I mean? So, um, also the part of real estate is, is that You know, especially getting in, you have to have that contingency plan as well. So, you know, if you're not making a bunch of residential deals or whatever it may be, you still want to be grinding. You don't just say, oh, okay, give up and say it's not the year. Another thing with that is exploring wholesaling. And then on the agent part, right, just making sure you have tabs on everyone because they're going to end up buying and selling. So you got to make sure they're just top of mind. So that's a lot of the reason I got into wholesaling. And, you know, that's why you see, like, with my team member. So like Joe was saying too, I did create my own team. My team member, Chris Noon, he actually, if you don't mind me just telling a quick story on this.

Sure.

So this was actually a former client of mine. I helped him buy a home. a few years back. But anyways, you know, I had given him, you know, a couple of shouts and said, hey, let's meet up for lunch or something. And, you know, I was just going to go and hang out and meet up for lunch. And then all of a sudden, he, you know, he kind of busts out this real estate license. And I was like, wow, you know, because I would have never thought that Chris, you know, was going to do that. Like, it came out of nowhere because he's very kind of quiet and reserved. And then I was just like, wow. And then I was always in the back of my mind, I wanted to create a team. And, um, and he just seemed to be, uh, the perfect fit, you know. And it's very— we're very different people, you know. I mean, he, um, he has a degree in infectious disease. He went to Georgetown for his— I mean, he is very, very smart and accomplished. So why he's still on my team, I don't know. No, I'm just teasing. But we both complement each other a lot, which is, you know— and again, thank you, Joe. And that's another thing with this opportunity with Pileggi. You know, I just asked Joe and he said absolutely. You know, so and that's another thing about this brokerage that I really like is is Joe gives me and Joe gives all of his agents that flexibility, right? So whatever you kind of works for you, he lets you kind of run with it. And and if you're you know curious or or you need any questions answered, things like that, it's got that weekly meeting just. Endless resources. Alex, you too. We have our weekly meeting. So yeah, everything is here. I'm just very happy, you know, to be in the spot where I'm at and obviously, you know, continue to grow with my team, the Olas Group, and then grow and learn wholesaling as we go along with that. So I'm really excited. And Alex, thank you as well. You've been awesome. I've been going, you know, probably about 3 weeks or so.

Yeah.

And he's been teaching me a lot.

So, so what is it exactly that, uh, Mr. Alex is teaching you? Where are you at?

So yeah, wholesaling, right, is essentially what wholesaling is, is you're finding homes that aren't on the market or trying to find homes and offer a service to these, to these sellers that may really need our, um, you know, our Our service, you know, so it works out for both sides. So we would essentially come in there and, um, and we would see, you know, if, if it was maybe a distressed property or maybe an older runner, um, rundown, um, type property, absentees, um, you know, tired landlords, as they say. So right now, for the most part, I'm going through the— and I think Alex would agree— a lot of rejection. You have no life, get out of here, you know what I mean? Like all those—

Fuck off.

Fuck off, whatever it may be. But that's what it is. It's just getting on the phone and doing it. And I think Joe has stressed that a couple times, and that is the truth. It's just, that's the hardest thing. You can talk about it all you want, but until you're out there making those calls— and trust me, like right now, it's just, it is tough. You know, you're dealing with a lot of people, but I know I'm gonna, you know, end up working with warmer leads and things. And as we progress, you know, just follow up and stay in touch with all these ones. But definitely a cool experience so far. But learning from the bottom up with wholesaling, and I always say too, it's like, okay, yeah, you don't have the experience, but who's ever gotten into anything and without experience, right? Everyone has to start somewhere, and I really believe that. So that's where I'm starting with wholesaling. I feel like I'm in a good spot with, uh, with, um, real estate in general. Every day you learn, every day you see something new, which is why, you know, I love this job. And, um, and that's what excites me every day is just kind of come in and, uh, and, uh, not knowing what's happening. So again, in this wholesaling thing too, it's just, um, been a great opportunity for me.

So I appreciate that. And real estate in general is like a problem-solving type job. Um, and especially wholesaling, you need to You know, solve some issues, some problems that people may be having out there. Um, Alex and I went a few days ago to look for a property that we have under contract, look at it. Uh, we, we had seen it through pictures, but we, you know, when you actually go out there to look at it, it's a, it's a whole different story.

Right.

And, um, so anyways, so we, we looked at the property. It was very, very distressed. It was pretty much a hoarder house, which is what we were looking at, which is a lot of times what we buy. It's something that somebody's not going to necessarily put on the market and start marketing because nobody's going to come over and take a look at it if the pictures are ugly. I don't care how good the description is, you know, once they start looking at the pictures, they're just not going to look at it. The other thing about being a real estate agent and a wholesaler Is that you have 2 ways to make a deal. If you're being a wholesaler and you're making a cash offer on a property and the seller's saying, well, that's too low, I can't accept that, then you just put on your real estate agent hat and say, okay, what do you want? This price? Okay, you know what, I'm a full-time real estate agent. If we put your house on the market, if you're willing to pay a commission and closing costs, which is the difference between a wholesale cash— Deal and, uh, just a regular listing. But you have that opportunity as well. So, you know, absolutely 2 ways to make money.

100%. And, and that's the cool thing too, is like, I mean, and again with Alex, it's just something that he's taught me as well with this is, yeah, you're going through these long lists and everybody, and yes, it is a numbers game. Excuse me. But remember too that we really are there to provide value to, to sellers. We're not there to, to swindle anybody. You know, this is just Real life, you know. If you have something, you know, and just need a real quick fix, okay. It could be a situation, maybe a divorce. Like you said, maybe they're dealing with tenants or just done, you know. And that's opportunities to say, hey, listen, you know, we can come in and what kind of offer you looking at? What price point? And then that's when we kind of give it back. We found that's another thing I'm working on is finding information and inquiring. More on that. What type? Okay, um, calling on a home, uh, the age of the home. Can you tell me about the situation? What's prevented you from listing it? Um, what are the pain points? Um, you know, so we're kind of working on that script, but like you said, it comes more natural as you keep going. And that's, that's the truth too. So I started at no calls a couple weeks ago, and now, you know, probably up to, I don't know, maybe hundreds and maybe even close to 1,000. I don't know. Um, but again, you do become more comfortable There is a script to kind of go for. And the big thing too, I think you would agree as well, is the main thing is motivation and whether they're serious or not. Because a lot of people will just say, hey, they want the offer. And then Alex will tell me, well, go back there and see if this guy really, you know, do they just want an offer? Is it worth his effort to go through and put together a legitimate offer? If the they're really not serious about it. So that's another thing that, that, you know, that you preach as well, is really make sure that you're vetting these people. Um, because we're not really desperate to, to do this.

It's—

we want to help people, right? So, um, if you fit this criteria, we're here to help.

Yeah, I love that. And Eric's, you know, very coachable. Like, just seeing him from day one till now, he's made huge improvements. He takes exactly what we say and applies it, you know, and I'm listening to the calls and he's getting better and better and better. And I think that's just going to propel your success even faster is that you're taking this in and he's like making notes and then applying that. And then I have to be truthful here, like when Eric kind of joined us, I gave him all the old leads of— we called them dead leads. So they were people that 6 months ago there wasn't a deal. And so I was having him follow up with them because some, some of the people's situations can change over time. And so I wanted him to get that, those reps in, and those are like perfect people to do it. But I have to tell you, it's like they're leads that we already knew offhand. Maybe they don't need help right now, but you're getting the reps in. And he sent a few over that some people were like, actually, now I'm kind of ready to sell.

Right.

You know, I wasn't before. And so, you know, You know, we've made contact again and reheated it up, you know, and there's money in those things.

Oh, for sure. And I guess, yeah, if there's a sequence to do it, that would probably be it, right? Like, go through all these calls where you're really just going to get hit over the head. And like I said, sometimes me and Alex will make jokes, or Joe even too, and just like, oh, you know, we're calling the police or something they said one time. It's like, okay, it's just people, you know, they just sometimes they'll respond weird. But like I said, you don't take things personal, especially in this business. So, like you said, you just get back, next call, keep going. And yeah, once you deal with ones that are maybe tougher, then as you kind of adjust over to ones that are maybe a little bit warmer or ones that you've been following up with already, it's only going to make those calls easier. And I can tell you for sure, after about 3 weeks from working on Alex's team, every day that you make calls, every single day, Every single one of the calls is easier or, you know, more natural as the last. That's the truth in my opinion. Every call that you do as opposed to the previous one, you work on getting that one a little better. Yeah, I'm holding this way far. So I didn't even realize that.

We're talking with your hands.

Yeah, so I'm not sure if you heard me.

No, no, you do.

Yeah.

Did it capture it?

Sorry about that. Yeah, well, that's how it is. I was just talking to you guys. I forget that, you know, that we're even on the Yeah, you're starting to get comfortable. Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, that's great.

And that's the purpose of doing all these calls and getting all the negative feedback, is because you have to learn all that stuff, you know. You have to learn, you know, what to say, what not to say, you know, when to chime in, when not to chime in, whatever.

Yeah, and that's— that again, like, that's a part of mine, uh, a part of me that I need to really, uh, hone in on, is letting people talk and just listening, because The more you're there and you're shoving things down their throat, you know, they're just sitting there like, whoa, they can't breathe. Um, and then you said like, you know, the more you kind of hang and let them talk, they're going to give you information that, you know, that you would have probably tried to extract, but they're just giving it to you. So you don't even have to answer questions.

Exactly.

They're giving you everything right there. So again, there is, uh, there is, yeah, there's, um, ways to do it and it makes a lot of sense. Don't be afraid of pauses. All that kind of stuff. So you just kind of hone in on that. And anybody—

And now there is a couple of extremes. The person that doesn't talk very much. And then we have Alex over on the other end here that constantly talking. And I'm listening to this conversation, has nothing to do with the property. And I'm like, you know, cut it off. And it's like, yeah, when I was in World War II, we were in, uh, you know, wherever Europe, and we were doing this. And I'm thinking like, what does that have to do with the property? You know? Yes. It's great to be It's hard to build rapport. It really is.

For sure.

But there's a point where you have to say, okay, let's move back to the subject. Yeah. Are you interested in selling your house? No, but you know, thank you for calling, young man. I haven't talked to anybody in about a week. I know, right?

Yeah. I mean, I kind of have the same problem too. It is tough because, you know, you get in this, on these conversations and everything, but you do know after a couple minutes, you know, whether you kind of have to cut bait. But at the same time, like you're saying, it is, it's trickier, but we got to learn certain outs or maybe, you know, You know what I mean? So, uh, but again, it's all, um, experiencing different types of calls. Like, every, every call is different, you know what I mean? You got—

And that's how you learn. You just have to keep calling.

100%.

And you end up honing your instincts. That's one of the best things is because sometimes now when I hear— I always tell Joe, like, the last few really good deals we've got, the person, I'll just say, can you catch me up to speed with what's going on? They're like, yeah, let me tell you what's going on and you tell me if you can help me. And I'll just Zip it and they just give me everything I need to know in like 15 minutes. And I'm just like looking up the numbers and they're giving me all the stuff and I'm like, oh boy, this is a good one here. And I'm not even doing anything.

Right, right.

So, you know, kind of like you're honing your instincts.

100%.

You can tell if someone's just kind of BSing you.

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

And that's— yeah, and that's the thing too. I think that that goes hand in hand a little bit with, you know, being an agent in real estate too. Because you also have to kind of cut bait. And that's— and even if they're nice and they love working with you, you start going on 10 showings and, you know, they're still dragging. Um, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

And then it's like, okay, as much as, you know, everything, you know, I like working with you, you like working with me, but at the same time, and we all know that, uh, that the thing with real estate and wholesaling, whatever it want to be, investments, um, it's all results-oriented. So every, every, you know, minute that passes in a day, you're not getting paid by the hour here, you know what I mean? It's just so every, um, every minute counts really. So that's when you get to kind of cut bait with certain ones. Again, it all depends. So, um, that's another thing too that's hard to, uh, hard to grasp. But obviously right now in a slow market, you give that a little wiggle room, right?

Yeah, yeah. And I was gonna say, you know, then really kind of has nothing to do with the topic of wholesaling. But as you say, and I've been doing this for 40 years, and I'm pretty good at, you know, when I get a call from somebody who wants to list their property. I got a call the other day, I went out there and contacted this lady, met her at the door. She says, you can't come in. Have you had dinner yet? Well, that's a strange question.

Wow.

I go, yes, I have, and my wife's waiting for me at home. And this was an older lady, so it wasn't, you know, anything like that, anything strange. But she's, oh, okay, so we're going to talk about my listing. I need to eat, so let's go down the street. She made me drive her down the street, which I knew I shouldn't be doing any of this stuff, but like you said, that, you know, the markets change. I'm going to give her a little leeway.

Oh man.

And, and, you know, I always grew up like, if I invite you out for lunch or dinner, it's, it's my responsibility to pay. Okay, so I'm paying. So she invited me and I'm thinking, okay, well, if she wants to take me out, I'm gonna be, you know, like really nice. I'm just like gonna order a salad or, or a drink or whatever. And she orders 2 meals, not one. She literally ordered 2 meals. And, uh, we get done and I'm waiting for her to pay. And guess what? Yeah, she didn't pay. I ended up pulling my credit card out and paid and got her back in the car.

She—

I know she ate a little bit of the first dinner and she took the second dinner probably, you know, for tomorrow or whatever. Went home, dropped her off and kind of left it there.

If you— if you're an agent and you've been contacted by this lady, we need to hear from Yeah, because she might be a serial—

This is a property in, uh, Costa Mesa, and she was rehabbing it, and she was like 90% done, and she knew that I did, uh, flips, and that's the reason that she called. She wanted me to go out, take a look at it. Uh, we did go back before I, I dropped her off. We did go back, and I did go inside and look at the place and gave her some suggestions. I literally walked in and she had, uh, you know, brown paper on, on the flooring, which was vinyl, which is almost indestructible. And so I started to walk in the kitchen where there wasn't that brown paper and she goes, oh no, don't walk over there. Don't walk over there. And I'm like, oh my God. Yeah. Okay. I think it's time for me to leave. You know, have a nice day. See you later. I haven't heard from her at all.

Wow.

So I have even no idea if I mean, I checked the other day, just curious, because I don't often do that either. It's like once I'm done with a, um, a listing appointment, I like put it away. Well, that's an interesting— I don't follow up, but I did check and it's not listed yet. So who knows what's going on.

That is interesting.

With this lady.

Yeah, you never know what you see. I mean, yeah, geez.

2 meals, takes one for later. Yeah.

Yeah. And makes me pay for it. Yeah. Like, wow. So please do not call me. I'm not going to take you out to lunch or dinner. And in fact, it's really the other way around. If you, if you want to meet with me or Alex, please call us. As long as you pay for lunch or dinner, um, or coffee, you know, we're there. I'll give you an hour of my time, but you need to pay, please.

I'll second him. He, uh, when he says that, he— it's the truth.

And even It really is.

And if you follow through with it and, you know, come in, you know, come in, ask, you know, as many questions. Joe, honestly, he's excited to help. And we have even our weekly meetings on Monday. I know that we do as well with the small— with the team that Alex has. So again, every week we're just staying in tune with the market and anything that changes, you know, ebbs and flows. Joe's always training, you know, with how everything is currently, you know, 'cause there's always so many changing and moving parts in real estate. So again, you can look out, and I think this is why Joe wanted me on the podcast, is so I can brag about him a little more. A little bit, a little bit. But yeah, so if you're watching this, that means you subscribed, and just go through all the— if you have any questions on real estate, if it's not covered in there, you know, I guess I'll try to—

Simply go to the website, peligro.com, and put an address in, and you'll be amazed at what's on there and what tools that are on the website that are available. Every, every detail about that property, who owns it, what kind of bedrooms, bathrooms. It goes into an after-repair value, and then it takes you into the calculator that shows you whether you're going to make money on this property or not. So it's a fantastic website.

It's really—

It's all there, right there for you. You just need to pull the trigger at the end of the day.

Yeah, I mean, that is an insanely resourceful page. So, uh, and that feature, just so you can pop in any address and to really just see, um, you know, what goes into it. Okay, the rehab costs and, and the, and the calculator and what the actual, um, you know, repair, uh, after repair value, all that. So it's just, it's amazing because you don't have to really do it and number crunch all that much about, you know, by yourself where you have this You know, so, um, but again, it's a, it's a great tool, just like, uh, just like a lot of them here, which is what I appreciate about the brokerage. And, um, and it's just up to you to just, uh, utilize them and, uh, and explore and everything. I mean, uh, in my previous brokerages, you know, I've had coaches or even our broker. I would never imagine even taking up a couple minutes of the head broker's time. Not really? Never? Oh, absolutely not. It would be like No, but here it's just that, it's just a different feeling.

It really is.

And, and, um, it, it's a, it's a great, it's a great brokerage. It really is. Um, so I'm excited to be here. I'm really excited for, for my team. Um, and Chris is, is doing an amazing job. So, um, that is, I kind of got off tangent with that story, but he was a previous client of mine and, uh, it's amazing how that worked out. And, um, so just excited for everything ahead, and especially with the wholesaling and wrapping those 2 together and, and being able to, to speak on the agent side and also the wholesaler side is really cool.

So yeah, and, um, like, I mean, Eric said he's got a team that's, that's building. So if you guys are getting in new into the residential side, reach out to him. You know, he's, he's constantly learning himself and he's turning into a great leader himself. So Um, people can join your team?

Oh yeah, of course. Yeah, I mean, that's the goal is, um, Chris and I want to, you know, really get this up and running. And then obviously, um, as, as we kind of do, uh, then we want to maybe get a couple more. I think that's my end goal. Uh, maybe get a, uh, a transaction coordinator or something. But again, that's another thing too. It's, it's, um, it's the long game. I think that that's very important for people to To kind of understand is that, you know, sometimes you're like, oh dang, I didn't get that escrow. Geez, you know, but still you have to, you have to just, that's part of the game sometimes. And, and, uh, you just gotta, again, it's not for the, the weak and weary, this game, you know what I mean? So, uh, some of them work out, some of them don't. Um, but again, you just gotta stay persistent and worry about the long game. So Chris and I are just keeping our head down. Uh, Chris is amazing at a lot of the kind of behind the scenes work. Uh, I taught him how to— how to— the whole contract, the best I could, at least as a transaction coordinator. I feel like I got a good amount of, um, a good amount of knowledge from that. So I taught Chris as much as possible, and now he's more knowledgeable than me, probably. So it's just— it's a great thing, just promoting, uh, all sorts of stuff. So it's exciting, and, uh, I'm excited about that.

I really am.

And real quick, Pelago is an online brokerage for the most part. I do have an office In Laguna Hills. What— I mean, I have agents from Sacramento down to San Diego and out towards the desert. So what area do you specifically service?

Okay, so I live out in Santa Clarita, but honestly, I've done deals out this way— Long Beach, Oxnard. I always say, you know, go where the money's green, and, and that's the truth. And, and again, this is You don't want to go 3 hours somewhere if you're working on a $300,000 listing or whatever it is. But again, I tend to— that's my main area, Santa Clarita. But I've noticed that a lot of my deals have actually been in other spots, you know, different pockets of LA. So yeah, that's essentially my area. But majority of them are, you know, in the actual kind of proper LA area.

Okay, great. Love that.

Yeah, so, um, Pelagos Brokerage, um, if you guys want to learn about wholesaling, reach out to Joe and I, or even Eric. You know, he's, he's in the front lines with us. Um, and we're going to be going over the brokerage tonight at a meetup that Joe is speaking at in Fullerton. So if you guys are in the Orange County area, um, how can they get information on that?

You can go on meetup.com and search Fullerton. And it starts at 6 o'clock. It's in the city of Fullerton, so it's, it's not too difficult to find. Just go on meetup.com and you'll be able to find it. Starts at 6 o'clock.

Perfect. And then also, um, click the, the events. Uh, we have another meetup next Monday, so if you guys are in the Orange County area, we're going to be doing something really cool. It's sort of a Shark Tank format where investors are going to bring their deals, and then we're gonna have, uh, Ryan Mitchell, Joe, and I are gonna kind of break down, give our advice, and, um, you know, you can come and learn from people who are doing deals right now. So that's going to be really fun.

That's gonna be fun.

Yeah, and that's going to be at Board and Brew off El Toro Road in Lake Forest. So I really would want to see you guys there. You can click on the QR code up at the top. There's Rolling? Cool. Yeah, so go ahead and scan that if you want more information. You can check in there and you can obviously link up to all our socials so you can stay in touch on all the upcoming meetups. So, um, thanks for coming, man. Of course.

Yeah, yeah, it was awesome.

Yeah, he's gonna roll with us to the meetup, so we're all gonna be there tonight. So come, come and hang with us, and, uh, we'll see you guys on the next one. Anything to add?

No.

Oh, double questions.

There we go.

Nice.

So wholesaling to me is just, it's essentially dealing with, with a seller without even necessarily, you don't even have to have a real estate license to wholesale. All right, so you're essentially just You're handpicking, or like you said, you're getting these lists from, from places, you know, these homes that you would think might be interested in wholesaling because like Joe said earlier, it's just a pain. The house has been, you know, listed, relisted. What's going on with this thing? You know, it's not going anywhere. Who's paying the mortgage payments? So again, we're just trying to help that individual seller Before they have to put it on the, on the market or anything. So that is wholesaling in a sense is, is a completely different game, I guess, in that realm.

We deal more with distressed situations.

Correct.

Correct.

Yes.

Distressed.

Yes.

Yeah.

I mean, if you have just a regular house and, you know, it looks nice, it was painted recently, you're not going to sell it to a wholesaler. Correct. You got to sell it to a wholesaler because It looks like a hoarder house. You don't want anybody coming over, right, and looking at that mess. So you just want to get what you can in the condition that it's in.

Right, right. And again, it's obviously— it's not going to get the offer it would necessarily get if it was listed. But like Joe was saying, and Alex goes over, is these distressed properties, you know, it's, it's really tough to even go there and have it listed, you know. And, and just to get that, and then people have that that, uh, that they want to go in and, and redo it all and things like that. And you say, well, you know, actually, if you want to just do this, just buy it as is, right? That's one of the— also one of the positives of wholesaling.

Correct.

Um, so again, like, my answer to that question is, um, I've been in real estate just a little bit, and I'd kind of consider myself a newbie, but, you know, to an extent. Um, and I've been just now exploring wholesaling. So, I mean, I'm even not necessarily the right person to ask about that. But I think that, yeah, there's definitely a difference as how you're going about it. As an agent, you're doing a completely different— you're going through a completely different process is what you're doing in wholesaling.

And yeah, just to piggyback off that, it's essentially just flipping the contract. So you're getting it under contract and then you're going to sell that to an end buyer or flipper. And then you make the difference, which is usually $10,000, $15,000, $20,000. So that's kind of—

Yeah. And he was saying you do not need a license for this. You do not. And it's, it's basically look at it as, as acting— you shouldn't act, but act— acting as a real estate agent without a license and putting a deal together. You know, this is the price, you tack on $10,000, $15,000, and then you sell it to me who's a flipper. And then at the end of the day, I'm going to make more money than that.

Right.

But I need, I need that inventory now because there's nothing out there whatsoever. It's, it's very lacking.

Correct.

Yeah. Do you have another question?

I do.

Yeah. So first is a comment from Randy. Okay. I bought my first house with a 13.5% mortgage. That's my dad.

Nice. Yeah. Way to go, Daddy.

His question is for anyone. It says, if rates If rates don't go down, do you see people accepting the situation and eventually start buying despite high mortgage rates?

Let me take that. I guess, yeah, I don't know, I'm probably as old or maybe a little bit older than your dad.

100%. My dad always brings that up. You guys complain about a point or so here. Back when we bought the home, it was 13%, and we were, you know—

Okay, so let me, let me bring you back in time, which is something I'm going to talk about at the meetup tonight. Uh, for those young people who don't remember, hopefully you remember your presidents. Jimmy Carter was in office, and when Jimmy Carter was in office for 4 years, the interest rates went up to 18, 19%. Uh, hello, we're back. Okay, kind of the same thing. And the next thing I'm starting to teach agents is how you sell properties with creative financing. Which is what I had to do when I sold my property back then. So there's a couple of ways to handle that. A lot of people now do what's called subject to. So let's say you have a loan on the property, the property's worth $500,000, there's a loan on there for $300,000 at 3% interest. So you take that property over what's called subject to, you take the responsibility of making that payment every month, okay? And this is all in an agreement, okay? Yes, the loan still remains in the homeowner's name, but it's a perfect way to sell it. Um, you— okay, so you have $300,000 loan, you have a value of $500,000 in the property, and then you say, okay, well, I'm gonna put— I'd like to put $100,000 down Which means there's still $100,000 left. So you ask the seller, hey, would you do some seller financing for me as well? Seller says, yes, I need to sell this place. Okay, so now you're buying a property, you're putting $100,000 down, you are never qualifying for a loan. You're taking the first subject to, the second is seller financing. That payment goes to the seller, the first payment goes to the bank, and there you go, you bought yourself a house. Okay. So that's what I'm trying to teach agents now is exactly the same thing that we did back in the late '70s. Uh, Ronald Reagan came into office shortly after, obviously, uh, 4-year period, uh, Carter was in there and turned things around. I mean, he turned things around pretty quickly. We went back down to, believe it or not, 7% and 8% interest was, you know, like—

Yeah.

Wonderful.

Yeah.

And it was because like the house that I bought, um, I paid $160,000 for it and 7 or 8% interest on $160,000 is doable. But my house is like $1.4 million now. And it's, you know, 7 or 8% interest is like, that's a lot of money. So that's the difference between the 2 time periods, you know, but, uh, Yeah, say hi to your dad. Oh yeah, yeah.

Oh yeah, no, I was gonna say the same thing, you know, Joe. No, so, but again, that, that's what I would add on to that too. It's just like, especially, and I'm sure you'd say, Joe, in, in a market like this, there, it's very stagnant, you know. And, and to entice buyers and to even, uh, give sellers these, you know, opportunities to really sell their homes, because now you're seeing homes stay on the market longer. You know, if they're not budging on prices. Um, so again, it's an interesting market that way. Um, but yeah, a lot of homes are sitting on, and then you'll find them, you know, as they're going, then you can see the seller financing, then they might start, you know, changing their tune a little bit.

Yeah.

But yeah, as that was interesting too, I really had no idea what it was until you gave your presentation on it. And, uh, and it's interesting, you know, there's a lot of different ways, like you said, just Strategically, uh, that, that can make it happen. And, and that's an important thing, is, is to kind of hone all that in and then make sure that we're doing all we can. Because you don't just sit there and say, oh, nothing's on the market, it's not moving, because it's not true, you know what I mean? People want to buy and sell all the time.

They do. And you have to make it move.

Got to. And, and also be creative. Yeah. And, and that's the thing too about, about buying and, and things with these Uh, interest rates that are going up. And that's why I always say, you know, right now at least, um, you know, a lot of perception is it's a bad time to buy and things. But also you could say, um, you know, you could, you could also get the, get the home on the lower end right now and not as, uh, not as competitive as of a market. So you don't have to deal with all these, um, you know, all these, uh, going against all these bids.

Yeah.

You maybe sign up for a higher interest rate, but remember, you can always refinance. So that's another thing. And again, it's just these rents that are out, and especially with these first-time homebuyers, to get in there, and because these rents are insane.

Yeah.

So a lot of times, even these mortgages are cheaper or more expensive than the— I'm sorry, mortgage is cheaper than the rent. And at the same time, too, you're able to experience or Have all the benefits of homeownership, tax write-offs, you know, doing whatever you want with the property, owning it. And like I said, Joe bought it how long ago, your home, you said?

42 years ago.

Yeah, 42 years. Now it's worth, it's worth quite a bit more now. So I guess my point is it's really never not a good time to buy, especially in Southern California, because this is what I like to tell people. It's like, as long as there's the beach, the entertainment industry, the mountains, the warm weather all year round, and limited inventory, people are always going to want to live here. So, I mean, to invest, especially down here, I'd always say that it's a good idea to buy. And if you can buy, buy.

Absolutely. Any other questions?

That's it. That's it.

Nice. Good deal.

Cool. Thanks for that, Dad.

Oh, yeah. Shout out, it's his birthday.

Oh, happy birthday.

Happy birthday, Randy.

Yeah.

Let's go.

All right.

Very cool. Cool.

All right.

Well, yeah, this was a lot of fun. And, um, we'll catch you guys on the next one.

Awesome. Okay, we'll see you later. If you want some more advice on real estate investing, reach out to us one-on-one.