Ethan Montang - Massive wins in Real Estate Flipping and Creative Finance

Hey YouTube, Cody, and I've got one of my great friends from across the states, Ethan, who is a flipper who's made somewhere between $700 billion and $1 trillion, $300 million, billion dollars flipping real estate. And we're here to talk about that. So Ethan, welcome to the channel.

Appreciate it. Appreciate it. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration.

I don't know.

It's somewhere in between that range.

Yeah. So you got started, you've done a lot of flips. I've only done one flip.

Yeah.

So it's cool to have you on the channel.

I appreciate it. Appreciate it. I got in pretty young, 23, kind of right around the age he is now. So I've been doing this for like 6 years, um, and just started flipping to kind of buy more rentals and do the multifamily path.

So how do you get started in this space? Because you've done quite a bit to date over the last 6 years. How's this transition happen from, you know, starting out, you know, 23-year-old Ethan to now turning 30 next week?

It's been quite a journey. For the first couple years, it was, um, slower than I would have liked it to been had I followed and done his coaching program years ago, it wouldn't take me such a long time. But just kind of figuring out the numbers and the, the team that you need inside when you're flipping was just like crucial to kind of where I'm at now.

Okay, so you got started in flipping and then you've also gotten pretty involved online. Has that kind of led into some more business for you?

That has. So I've been fortunate on my, my TikTok— follow me— um, and so I just post about in when I'm inside my projects doing the rehabs or with my team and the kind of the financing stuff. So that put me in a little bit different realm and gave me a larger audience, which really helped me network and meet some other people, which ultimately actually led me to you, um, which was through another mutual friend that contacted me and found me on TikTok. So that's been a huge blessing.

So as we all know, flippers are like billionaires and all of them just make stupid money. I mean, how's that been going for you? I mean, I'm sure you've had some pitfalls along the way.

Definitely some pitfalls. Um, my first big pitfall was when I tried to flip my first apartment building. So I'd done 3 single-family flips before that, and then I bought a 7-unit apartment building. Ended up figuring it out, but that one was the first time I, I mean, I cried multiple times through that deal to work my way through. But I learned a bunch, and now I get to execute and know what that kind of feels like when you drop the ball. So it's been like super helpful.

So what you're saying is it's not just sunshine and rainbows?

It is not sunshine and rainbows, regardless what these gurus online make you believe. It is not sunshine and rainbows.

Did you end up keeping that building or did you flip it?

I flipped it on contract. So I bought it seller financing, 3.5% down, 3.5% interest, and then I sold it for $25,000 more and I sold it for 4.5% interest. So I still have the building and get like $300 or $400 a month from that interest.

That's not bad. How much money you still have left in the deal?

I have not— I didn't put any money in that deal.

Oh, so you're just making $400 a month?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I raised that, raised the capital on that one.

So since then, are you still just flipping or are you keeping a lot of properties now?

I'm trying to keep as much as I can, but kind of trying to balance between their strategies and my own. I will, I'll flip to raise enough capital to then have money to put in deals rather than just trying to finance and raise all the capital. Just to make my investors feel a little bit better, I try and have some skin in the game and that's just worked. For me so far.

Okay. And then just for folks who are watching, they're getting started, maybe they're 23-year-old, right? They're just like you when you got started. What has changed since you were finding deals then versus now? Are you still doing exactly the same strategies for prospecting, or are you sourcing all your deals the, you know, same way?

That's a great question. I need to think about that for a little bit. Probably my ability to be vulnerable and to put myself in situations that I wasn't necessarily willing to previously, or being afraid of getting told no. I no longer deal with that, you know, fear of being told no. So now I'm using my social media or using the deals that I've already done to kind of build confidence so that if a deal doesn't work out, it's not really a big deal. But I'm putting myself in that situation to hopefully have it, you know, them not say no.

Okay, and for folks that are looking to grow and build out their portfolio, you mentioned that you've done some deals and you got some stuff through TikTok. I'm not on TikTok, I've got like 203 followers, but should people be doing the social media stuff?

If it's your personality, you know, some people aren't natural on camera, some people are really gifted. Where I think social media is really powerful is it, it gives you access to a larger audience. It gives you an idea of what else is going on in other markets. It allows you to meet and network with people that are kind of in the similar situation as you are, but maybe using other strategies to execute their deals. And that's what's been so valuable. It's not that I'm getting paid a bunch from TikTok or, or anything like that. It's the people that I'm meeting and I'm getting to consume and use their ideas and strategies that they're using, implement that in my own business, and that's paying on itself tenfold. Because it doesn't take any— what we're doing right now, making this content, doesn't take any money, right? It just takes time And being able to be vulnerable and put yourself out there.

I love that. I, uh, I'm, I may need to get a little bit better online. I'm still figuring that out. You and your 200,000 followers, but we'll get there someday.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

For folks that are getting started, or maybe they've gotten their first couple buildings, maybe they're doing the flips right now, or they bought buy and hold. What is one thing you'd share with them that changed your life as far as your investment path and career?

Mentorships. Okay, let's talk about that. Your programs. Yeah, um, the first program I bought was the Fortune Builders program for like $4,000 or $5,000, and it was okay. It helped me get to like 5 units. But then after that, I went to one, and I think it was like $15,000, and inside that I learned how to negotiate seller financing, one, to a buyer and to a seller. So it helped me learn both sides of that, and that's when I got my first apartment building that I tried to flip because I bought that on contract. Yeah, that was a $15,000 program. I made $25,000 on the front side of that deal and then the interest of 4% and $400 every month going forward. So I made my money back in the first 6 months of that, and now I'm able to use that knowledge and on every other deal in the future going forward.

Okay, so that's a pretty good ROI.

Yeah, that's amazing. For 6 months, yeah, that's pretty phenomenal. Yeah, yeah.

And then moving forward, are you still flipping to this day?

Yes, I'm in the middle of 3 flips right now, all in Iowa. As we're in Seattle or in Washington right now, they're all in Iowa. One's a house hack, so when I live in, I also rent out a room to a friend. And then 2 of them— one of them is a rental property that I had caught on fire, and we're going to put that on the market. And another one is just a deal that I should be out of in about 2 or 3 months.

Okay, and then what is driving you to do all this? Because most people may do one flip in their life. I've only done one and I'm done. It's a lot of work, but you're doing all this different activity in real estate. What is pushing you to actually go accomplish those goals?

Because a lot of people like to do syndications, or that's a way to get in with not having a ton of money. Um, the relationships, which is something Cody, you know, focus— Cody and Christian focus on a lot, is that I want my investors to trust me. I want them to know that I have skin in the game as well. And so since I don't have, you know, a 9-to-5, I'm self-employed with this now. I only do flipping to make chunks of money to go buy more investment properties. So that's my main focus, you know, is financial freedom, passive income, retiring my mom. We relate on that as well. It's a big thing for me.

It's a good connection point.

Yeah, so using the flipping money to then have more money to use as down payments for my apartment buildings.

It's awesome. And then for you, the last piece, because I always emphasize the importance of setting a goal, what is your goal for the next 5 years?

Next 5 years?

Whoa, it's a long time.

That is a long time. I'll be a millionaire in less than 2 years. That's a pretty big goal of mine right now. And in doing so, that'll help— my mom will be completely retired. She cleans other people's houses right now, so it's really important. For her coming up on almost 60 to not be doing that stuff anymore. So I think becoming a millionaire, retiring my mom, and moving out of the Midwest somewhere a little bit more appealing are my goals for the next 5 years.

And did you start from money?

No, no, yeah, absolutely not. My dad was in the military, my mom cleans people's houses.

So, so you think anybody could do this?

Anybody can do this, especially if you're getting coached by guys like these. Anyone can do this.

That's awesome. So you guys, that's it for today's YouTube video. I want Ethan here. He actually flew in, we're hanging out, but I want you guys to see this. Anybody can play this game. You don't have to get super creative from day one. You can do fix and flips. It's all over the internet. You can do it in any market. Ethan's been crushing it and now he's jumping into multifamily with creative finance. He actually did some creative finance before we met up, but now he's rocking and rolling and If you have anything else you want to say to YouTube—

oh man, hey, I really appreciate it, Cody. Thanks so much for the platform, and you guys give us all a follow.

All right, see you guys next time. Like, subscribe, and comment if you want to see anything else in the future. Boom.