The Hidden Land Boom: 3 U.S. States Where Deals Still Exist

Dashing through the fields in a land investing spree. O'er the plots we go, building equity. Mailers in the stack, offers on the way. What fun it is to buy and sell and profit every day. Oh, land investing, land investing, profits all the way. Oh, what fun it is to to flip and earn big bucks today. Hey, land investing, land investing, freedom's here to stay. Oh, what fun it is to build a passive income way.

Cheers!

I have no words. John, is that you? That was so good.

Yeah.

Uh, cheers everybody, welcome to, uh, Land Geek Nightcap. It's, it's ugly sweater night. Mark, we didn't tell Mark it was like this sweater night though, so sorry, Mark.

Um, I— it's okay.

Uh, you're, you're wearing one and your imaginary, uh, ugly sweater.

Don't worry, this week Mike and I are gonna do something you guys are gonna be left out.

Oh, okay.

All right.

Sounds good.

Don't worry. Well, we're in the holiday spirit here. I'm getting ready to celebrate Festivus. I don't know about you, Mark, but Festivus for the rest of us.

I'm ready to use the strength. I got a lot of problems with you people.

Awesome. Well, tonight's episode is about resetting the narrative.

All right.

So you keep hearing out there that land is getting picked over. That the easy deals are gone. That's really not true. Our model hasn't changed in years. We buy land in the $1,000 to $5,000 range and we flip it for 3 to 10 times what we paid. It's still working now. It's worked for years. Tonight on Nightcap, we're breaking down 3 US states where that exact buy box still exists. And there's no bidding wars with other investors. There's no tenants, there's no leverage. So that's what we're talking about tonight. And if you like, if you like real numbers and real deals, join us here every Tuesday night, we go live at 9 PM Eastern. So if you're, if you've been wondering if the land model still holds up, stick with us tonight, we're showing you where the numbers still make sense and why this business is, is wide open. Welcome, guys.

Welcome.

Cheers.

Yeah. Cheers. How much I like the phrase buy box.

Bybox. Yes.

It just makes me feel like so smart. That is in my box.

All right, John, for all the millions of people right now watching— yes, live— can you explain to them what we do and why we do it?

And tell us who you are, John.

And who are you, John?

So I am John. We are The Land Geek. And basically what we do Uh, we're all land investors. We, uh, send out mailers to acquire properties. We aim to acquire properties at about, say, 25 to 35 cents on the dollar. We sell it for a dollar on the dollar or more with owner financing. We rinse and repeat. It's a very repeatable model. And as we do that, we start building out passive income, especially as we sell with owner financing. It's a simple model. It doesn't deal with all the complexities that you tend to deal with with homes and other, uh, other forms of real estate. And so we've been able to do that and achieve time freedom and scale our businesses to where it doesn't require an enormous amount of our time. And I can spend a good chunk of my day making videos of Mark J. Podolsky as a claymation Santa.

There's no better way to spend your day, John.

I can't really show my parents better ways, if we're perfectly honest.

Oh man, well, that's awesome. And, and, uh, I mean, we have the godfather on the call with us. We got to introduce him because somebody may have just discovered Mark J. Podolsky yesterday. It happens to all of us. Uh, Mark, the Land Geek Podolsky, the godfather of this whole, uh, ring.

Yeah, yeah. So if you don't know who I am, I've done over 6,500 land deals and counting, and, uh, I started in Oh my God, I started in 2000. So 25 years ago, I quit my job in 2001 and been doing it full-time ever since. And to Scott's point, to John's point, this model has not changed a lot except that we're leveraging technology like geeks, and everything is just getting better, faster, more efficient. And so if you're looking to solve your money problems, your time problems, join us because we have a massive market. It's inefficient, and we have a community of abundance-minded land investors that want to help you and watch you grow and become the best version of yourself. Because let's face it, once you've solved the, that time and money issue, you've got time to really spend even more time with your family and friends, and even more time traveling, and even more time giving back to your community, and it just makes life better. So, DudeBuddy, let's introduce you.

Uh, so my name is— yeah, thanks, sorry, thanks. Uh, yeah, DudeBuddy, uh, I've been a, I've been a land investor now for over a decade. Time has, uh, flown by, but, uh, this business has given me freedom, and, uh, that's what this business is about for, for many of us. Uh, you know, for many of us, this isn't about making billions, it's about you know, being wealthy with our time. John Burnett said that so well at our last Dirt Rich Summit live down in Austin, Texas, that he is wealthy. And what he meant by that is mostly with his time because of the freedom that he has with his family. And that's how I feel as well. And we love the land business because, you know, we can buy and sell land on our computers without having to go there. We can systematize this whole thing because we're on computers. So that lends itself to automation and systems. And, you know, I think a lot of us are, most of us are deal junkies too, right? Like we come across some pretty awesome deals, pretty, pretty awesome deals. And it's, once you do one, it's hard not to want to rinse and repeat and do more. So the returns in the land market are pretty amazing. So thank everybody. Thanks everybody for joining us tonight. I'm curious, put a 1 in the chat. If you're completely new to this, you just heard about us this week, or within the last week or two, who's new to Land Geek? I'd love to know that. Tell us where you're from and what you do, maybe why you're looking to get into this. So well, I mean, this is kind of a fun episode. We're going to talk about 3 areas where we're doing this. We got some guests. Actually, I think people in the group or people watching, maybe guess. Let's do that. Let's have them guess maybe the 3 hottest states for our model of land investments. How's that sound? I have some guesses already. Exafiel. Tennessee, Arizona, North Carolina. I saw another one up here. Oh, maybe I didn't. I thought I did. Do, do, do, do, do. Any other guesses where the hot land investing states are? Throw it in the chat. Chris is here from Arizona. Katherine Hollingsworth is here. She says Arkansas. Catherine says Arkansas. Any other states where people think land is hottest? Arkansas. Here we go. Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama. Daniel Bryan says Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado. Awesome. Jeff Dimock is here. Just saw you, Jeff, on our Q&A.

Hey, Jeff.

Texas and Florida. Texas, Florida, and Arkansas. Uh, from Juan Bernal. Juan, good to see you. Uh, Aaron is here. We got a lot of— we got a lot of people tuning in tonight. This is pretty fun. So, uh, John Burnett, let's talk, let's talk, let's talk land. Uh, what would you say are the top 3? Should we, should we, should we vote?

I mean, we could vote. I feel like it's, it's one of those it depends answer on the investor. Like, each investor is going to have their own top 3. And like, I know people, their top state is Nevada, my top state isn't Nevada, you know. And so I could tell you my 3 top states. So my 3 would probably be Colorado, Arizona, and probably Oregon. Those have probably been my 3 biggest states.

So awesome.

And I've done a bunch of others. I've done over a dozen. States. Those have probably been the 3 biggest for me.

So, so, John, why do those states work for you?

So ultimately what I'm looking for when I'm looking to acquire property is, you know, I, I'm looking for repeatability, right? And so ultimately I'm looking for areas where there's a demand for, um, well, like when we acquire property, we largely deal in large rural subdivisions. Right? So some areas I work in, there might be several thousand 5-acre lots that are very similar in features. That gives me a level of repeatability. And they're— and in some of these areas, they're usable. You can use them for recreation, you can build. There's a lot of off-grid building that people will do in these areas. And that's a great product for me. It's something that I'm able to market. And so it's something that I'm able to sell, something that people want, and it's something that I can find that's repeatable. So for me, A lot of it just comes down to finding areas where there's repeatable product, and I'm really not very particular about where those are. Like, you know, if I find something that people want to buy, then I'm pretty open to investing there. Now, these particular areas, I like having a little bit of variety. Arizona for the cold months, Colorado for the warm months. Oregon for the warm months as well. My Oregon properties tend to have big tall trees. The Colorado properties in the areas I invest, trees are a little bit shorter and scrubbier, but they're nice. But it's just a diversity of product for me, and so I can market multiple things simultaneously.

That's awesome. You know what I love about this, Mark, is John just— he just— he divulged the entire universe, his top 3 states.

Yeah, because the market is massive. Jeff, Jeff Dimock and Sam, and Sam can't take it all. Like, we're all gonna run out of money for a deal flow. There's plenty for everybody.

Uh, that reminds me, I've told this story a few times, but that reminds me when I got my first Land Geek t-shirt in 2015, I was nervous to wear it out and about because I didn't want anybody to take my land.

Oh, yeah.

Now I work.

I was the same. I would tell, I would tell my neighbors like, oh, what do you do?

Right?

Oh, I'm in real estate.

Right?

Like, you're in real estate? You're like, you know, like, you know, I'm working out of the house. You see me around, they thought I was a drug dealer working out of the house.

Any showings today, Mark?

Yeah, oh yeah, it's been slow.

Oh man. Mark J. Podolsky, 3 hot markets, uh, for you in, in the land business.

I love Florida. Florida is so super hot, scorching hot for us. Uh, you know, it's always bigger and better in Texas. Texas. And I would say it's between probably Colorado and Nevada might be a tie. Maybe tie goes to the runner-up, Colorado.

Okay. And, and what makes those— what makes those states great for you and your team?

Those states are great because, again, there is just a plethora— did I just say plethora? Plethora of land deals in those states that are going to meet— and John's going to be very happy about this— that meet our buy box. And, and they sell, they sell quickly. So it's just, there's just tremendous demand for the land that we buy. So we're not sitting on, on inventory for too long. You know, it's all velocity of money. We gotta keep that money moving. You know, we all can't be like you, Scott. You're like, oh, just get a sale, it doesn't matter, right? It happens next month, it's fine.

Aaron, get me another beer. I'm good. Uh, awesome. Uh, well, very good. Well, I'll list, uh, my top 3. I, I think my top 3 would— top 3? Um, You know, I was thinking about this. I've actually done deals in a number of states, right? This, this business is really— this business model is really conducive to doing it in a lot of different areas. But I think top 3: Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Probably tie between Arizona and Texas.

Okay, so same question, why? Why those 3?

Yeah, so I think land is just affordable in those states, right? Like, you're talking about selling land to people for $100 or $200 or $300 a month, and the buyer pool is really big. So we have a big buy box because there's millions of properties, and we have a big buyer pool as well. And, you know, these properties are great in all the states I mentioned. The properties are great for living, they're great for recreation. There are some areas where there are no restrictions, right? People love land where there's no restrictions. They can do whatever the heck they want out there, right? Bring their toys and their guns and their motorbikes and do whatever they want. So, I'd say it comes down to, you know, the market's really big out there. The properties are beautiful. There's mountain views, right? There's no noise pollution. You know, it really is in line, Mark, still with what you taught years and years and years ago. These areas are great if they're within 1 to 3 hours of a major metropolitan area where people can bug out for the weekend. Maybe they want to create an off-grid community or live off-grid or have an off-grid camping site or that type of thing.

Yeah, John, have you read the book Lonesome Dove? Oh, okay. So I can't spoil it, I'm like halfway through, but there is something I think in our, in our DNA that we want to go back to the land and we want to go to that simpler life. And so when you're— we're in— most of us are in the big city now and yet yearn for the country. And so there's just a lust for land in this country. And when we're buying in these, in these rural areas, we kind of get, you know, like, I like the idea of getting on that horse and just being like in the Old West again, putting on a cowboy hat, jingling my spurs.

Mark J. Podolsky. Mark Tombstone Podolsky.

Well, or sitting in front of the computer by coding too. I mean, oh man.

Mark, it's funny you said that though, about Lonesome Dove, because I kind of felt the same thing. Like, I don't know, there's this— it's created more of a— this business has created more of a lust for land in my eyes. And then I read things or watch things or hear things. And I'm like, you know, that we're providing this for a lot of people. There's this great attachment that people have to land. And that's just one example, Lonesome Dove. Another— I want you guys to watch the movie Train Dreams. On Netflix.

Oh, I'd write that down.

Highly recommended. And you're gonna feel connection to the land as well. Train Dreams. Yes, it's about the logging industry back in the early 1900s, and there's a love story intertwined and beautiful landscapes. And, uh, William Macy's in it, uh, for, for a short while, and he's awesome as a logger. Um, anyway, we digress, but he, he's great.

You know what I just watched on Netflix, which gets back to John's point about freedom and, and spending time with family and like that, those core values that we all kind of have, but like sometimes life sort of just, you know, takes you that That different path is Jay Kelly. You guys watch that on Netflix?

No, I haven't seen that.

It's, it's really meta because George Clooney's playing this movie star and you see the choices he made, but he's, he's a movie star and he can't travel and, you know, he can't do normal things and he's, he just starts reminiscing about the choices he made in his life and the sacrifices he made and And it's— yeah. So, yeah, I would just say it's worth a watch.

All right. Nice.

It's a little slow, but Adam Sandler's in it. George Clooney. It covers a lot of themes.

All right. That's on my list.

That's awesome.

Awesome.

I wrote them down.

Very good. Well, everybody put in the chat, where are you doing land deals? Since we're not afraid to divulge that information. Uh, or do you have a question about a particular state? We get that question a lot, Mark. Like, where do I not do this? Maybe we should talk about that for a minute.

Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, New York, Pennsylvania.

Yeah, there's a lot of— in LA, there's a lot of—

yeah, California.

Yeah, we do a lot of deals.

So a lot of the deals that we do are lower cost.

So retail for, say, you know, maybe even like $2,000, $3,000 on the low end, $30,000 on the upper end. And there are a bunch of states on the East Coast that require attorney close, which adds a bunch of cost to acquisitions. And so it's not to say there's not opportunity to be had there, but you really start, you know, if you're buying a piece of property that's worth $5,000 and you have to go through an attorney, when you buy it and when you sell it, at some point it just isn't— the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

Yeah, I mean, Louisiana might as well be its own country. The laws are so different there.

Yeah, sorry, I'm going through some of the chats here. Uh, there are, there are some attorney states as well that we'd like to stay away from, right? Because I think it's, uh, New York and North Carolina, you need an attorney to do a real estate transaction. We wanna buy these things quick, right? I wanna buy this on my computer and not have to worry about any of those logistics. So all of the states we mentioned, they're very easy to do land deals in, which is great. People are chiming in here. Juan is in Texas, Florida, and Arkansas. Lisa Wanamaker, go Packers.

Lisa Wanamaker, let's go.

Is in Arizona, Arkansas, and New Mexico. I said go Packers, but she's really a Vikings fan. What's that?

Is she still fishing?

I don't know.

At least a trophy fish.

I want to make her, uh, Aaron Giroux is in Arizona, Colorado, Florida. Love it. Danny McCallum's in Nevada. Aaron Nelson's in Texas. That brings up another point, like some people are listing multiple states. John Burnett, do you need to be in multiple states?

No, I was in one state for years, you know, and, and I think that there's something to be said. Like, I, in my state, um, I had kind of diversity in my inventory, so I had a handful of different types of properties that I would sell, but I just got to know that county really well. And then eventually I just wanted to have a few more things to market simultaneously. And that's kind of the way that I think about it, um, is just diversity and inventory. You know, if you've got 5 properties that are all exactly the same, you've— there's value in that, right? Because when one sells, you've got another one to back right at or back right up behind it. But at the same time, you really only have one thing that you're marketing. And so I want to have multiple things that I'm marketing simultaneously. And so that's kind of the way I look at branching out into states, but I like to kind of master one thing at a time and then add on more things as I go.

Yeah, I love that. Scott Todd calls this the beachhead strategy, which I think is the really— when you're starting, the way to do it.

That was— say that— I concur. That was sage advice right there, John Burnett.

Yeah, we're drinking.

John's frozen. He's frozen in that snowy tundra.

He's frozen.

Oh man, uh, some comments coming in. Aaron, uh, homestead is a buzzword now. That's exactly right. I mean, homes— homesteading. People are into homesteading, off-grid homesteading, and people want a place to bug out to. How many preppers do we sell to, Mark?

A lot, right?

A lot.

Preppers, people that don't like people. Yeah. Yeah.

Yep. Awesome. Military. Yeah. Jeff Dimock says, "Getting out of the city to any lower population area is relaxing." I mean, it's very true. It's a great way to market your properties, right? To people who need to relax. I love this. Daniel Bryan's here. The Pope has recently endorsed the Catholic Land Movement, calling everyone back to homesteading and simple living. I was not aware of that.

I was not aware of that either.

Taking notes for our marketing, our chief marketing officer here. Yeah, that's awesome. Very good. Any other questions coming in? Uh, what about— oh, here's a good question. I've often wondered this, Mark. What about Alaska?

I mean, there's Alaska. But I've never done a deal in Alaska. Have you ever done a deal in Alaska?

I've never done a deal in Alaska. I think I looked around a couple times, but, uh, I think they're, uh, a little bit archaic in their online records. Um, and what John was— oh, John is back. Let me add him to the stage. Sorry, John. What John was mentioning earlier, uh, We like working in subdivisions that are kind of all plotted out. They're kind of cookie cutter. Those are the best areas because it's just easy to find data and easy to mail, right, a grid of properties. I looked in Alaska a while back and properties really aren't organized like that. It's harder. It's more legwork upfront to do kind of your county research and pricing analysis. What about you, John? Have you looked into doing any deals in Alaska?

I haven't, but I, I kind of feel the same thing. Like, I'm in Idaho, I like Idaho a lot, um, but it's kind of the same thing. There's just high levels of variability, you know. It's hard to find areas where you can market with any level of consistency. And so what that means is that, you know, again, it's like, it's not like you couldn't do deals in Alaska or Idaho, um, but it just means that With higher levels of variability, when all the properties are different from each other and you don't have any of the cookie cutter, it just means that there's a lot of you involved, right? So you're going to spend a lot more time finding the properties that you want to buy. You're probably going to send out a lot more mailers in order to acquire those properties, and you're going to spend a lot more time with those sellers before you buy the properties. And then more time and due diligence, right? So it's more complicated. You can do some great deals. Um, I've done some great deals like that, but it's, it's a, it's a lot of work, right? And we, we like things that aren't a lot of work.

Yes, we do. Yes, Mark says we're ambitiously lazy. Yeah, awesome. Um, Catholic Land Movement is the new persona. Love it. Uh, great guys, more people sharing where they're doing deals. The Tollisons are here!

The Tollisons!

Let's go!

Mustache! We, we— yes, we all covet that mustache. That's a pretty amazing mustache there. John left again. I don't know what's going on. Anyone working?

He's gonna come back. They were so great.

They were great. We need to have a— we need to have a bunch of people on here in 2026. Uh, we got a lot of really amazing people that are just doing so well in this business, and that's so fun to So fun to witness that, Mark.

It— I mean, it's the most gratifying thing. It's why we do it, right? Yeah, it's amazing for sure.

Uh, anyone work in Hawaii? Hawaii, Mark?

Okay, I, I've, I've had friends work Hawaii. I personally have not worked Hawaii, um, and I don't know why. We're again, we're just ambitiously lazy. And we work our counties. We know we're going to do deals there. We just keep doing the same thing. It's kind of boring, but I have nothing against Hawaii.

No, me neither. I know, I know some investors work in Hawaii. I don't know if they do large volume in Hawaii, but, but people are doing deals there for sure.

Yeah, I think you have to have more capital for sure for Hawaii.

Right. All right. Mid-show check-in, quick check for everybody. If this is helpful, drop a thumbs up in the chat. And if you're thinking, you know, you'd like help learning how to do this, I'm going to throw a link up on the, on the, on the chat here in a minute where you guys can book a call and chat with us about land investing. Everybody's got to start somewhere. And sometimes it's helpful to have a conversation with a seasoned land investor to get them to, to help you develop a plan in getting started for yourself. So, uh, Daniel McCallum, can I get a thumbs up that this is helpful? He's, he's a faithful, he's a faithful viewer.

I love it, I love it.

He and Chantel.

Where's Chantel tonight?

Yeah, is she there, Daniel? Uh, oh, we should continue our game from last week. So last week, uh, we always talk about no tenants, termites, toilets. In the land investing business, right? So, last week, I think it was Daniel Bryan, or maybe Danny McCallum, one of the Daniels started the ABC game with the tenants, termites, toilets. And I don't remember what it was. But we started with A and we got all the way up to like H.

Yeah, I mean, we got far. It was really creative.

So I think we're on I if you guys want to continue. No, Inner— I don't know.

No illness.

Think about eyes. What's that?

No illnesses. I don't know.

Look, we did deal—

we did deals during COVID That was a crazy thing. Like, COVID did not affect us at all because we're already virtual. We don't go and take people out to the property. Uh, I mean, it's, it's terrible to say, but 2020 was a great year for us.

We had a great year, uh, during the pandemic. Yeah, for sure. So, um, no insects. I don't know if we could say that, Catherine. We do have insects on our land. Yeah, we even have snakes on our land.

But no, no, uh, no pigs on your land, Mark? No, but I, I wouldn't mind it.

I thought you had— didn't you have the point? I thought you had the story one time. Sorry, John, you're There, sorry, John, not trying to exclude you. I'm getting, uh, uh, in, in, I'm engrossed in the chat here. Mark, didn't you have a story one time though that a guy wanted land in Texas to go hunting hogs from his helicopter? Was that you?

That wasn't me. I had the, I had the rattlesnake guy in Colorado.

Okay. Yeah, he wanted to hunt rattlesnakes.

He wanted to hunt rattlesnakes and then he bought 5 acres, and the next day his buddy bought the adjoining lot to go hunt. So they— the two of them had 10 acres, and that's, that's what they want to do. They're like, I don't know if you know this, there's rattlesnakes out there. I'm like, oh. I'm like, oh no. They're like, yeah, we want it.

Does your land have chupacabras? Oh man, that's funny. Uh, here we go. Uh, no interest. All right, we need 3 though. No interest. John, we're continuing our ABC game from last, last week.

Yeah, we got to each. Yeah, now it's no interest, no illness, no inspections. Oh, inspections!

Mic drop!

That's a mic drop.

That's a drink. Good job, John. All right, we're on J. Maybe the audience can help with that. We have a lot of people watching tonight, 50 people watching right now, which is pretty fun. I think that could be a— it could be a record for 2025.

Uh, so it's my mom.

So what's that, John?

49 of them are just my mom.

Oh, I was gonna say, I mean, you have as many moms as you do kids, then like we're gonna have a big audience. But anyway, we're definitely open to some general Q&A as well, as Mark calls it dealer's choice. So any questions out there about land investing that we can answer for you, we'd be happy to do so. Because I think we covered the areas pretty well.

Yeah.

I think it just really comes down to where can you get a really great deal? You know, we talked about where to do deals and where not to do deals as well. Awesome. Any questions? Here we go. Oh, and by the way, since Mike Zaino is not here, I need to point out that I got a shout out earlier from Felice. Felice, good to see you here. She bought 2 parcels in New Mexico and said thanks for the push. I gave her a little gentle push to get into the business.

That's great. I'm not mean, Felice. Yeah, I mean, but I mean, honestly, that's what, that's what you need. Yeah, it's what you need. It's, I mean, it's sometimes we have to care more than you, for sure.

Uh, here's a great question, and then, um, I'll get back to that comment.

Uh, sure.

Oh, Mike Caviar says Team Zaino. I'm not even, I'm not even putting that up on the screen.

John Burnett, any—

John Burnett, any investing in Montana or Wyoming?

I mean, I would— wait, can you guys hear me? Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah. I mean, there is investing in Montana and Wyoming. I've never invested in this model in Montana and Wyoming for the same reasons that we were talking about with Alaska, Idaho. You know, I just haven't seen those cookie-cutter lots, right? And so it's not that there aren't deals to be had in Wyoming and, and Montana, but I don't know a lot of people doing this particular model, and it's, it's hard to find properties the way that we want to find them.

Yeah, and we've got millions of dollars. I think they're great. Yeah, yeah, you know, buy a ranch for $3 million, sell it $6 million.

Sounds like a good deal.

That's Mike Zano money right there, right?

Uh, is it tonight he's going to see, um, who's the opera singer, or who's the— what's his name?

Oh, uh, Bocelli, right?

Andrea. Andrea.

Yeah.

Is that tonight?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm jealous.

Andrea Bocelli.

Yeah, I like me some Bocelli.

All right, I think our intro next week should be like Mike, like, yeah, like the Three Tenors.

I love it. Uh, here— oh, I love this question. Mark J. Podolsky: If we live long enough to see it, would you do land deals on the moon?

Daniel Bryan, if I can buy some plots on the moon for 25, 35 cents of the dollar, absolutely. Yes, Mars, the moon, Why not? Of course, virtual land.

I really want to run an April Fool's Day promo this year for my company, and so I've been trying to figure that out, and the, the one idea I had was to sell land on the moon.

Well, I think, I think there was a company honestly doing that.

Really?

Yeah, I really do. I don't know how they were doing it. I don't know how they're deeding it. I don't know if it was legal. But I think they tried it. I don't know if it's a scam.

Yeah, I'm the proud owner of the Sea of Tranquility. It's great.

Oh man. Yeah, John Bernard, I love that idea of an April Fool's campaign. I mean, that should— I think April Fool's should be the new Black Friday for, for all.

I mean, um, I mean, you could do like, I don't know, I'm like, I'm trying to think of some good ideas. We could do, we ship land to you this weekend only or something like that. Send them a box of dirt.

You've been talking to your AI friends, haven't you, about this?

Pack it in dry ice.

Right now.

30% off Gold Belly dirt.

Oh man. That's awesome. How about Michigan? Anybody done any land deals in Michigan?

I've— back in the day, I did some Michigan deals. I haven't done them in years.

Yeah. Burr. Burr. Yeah, I haven't done any deals in Michigan. I know in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, there's a lot of property owners associations that are really expensive. So we typically like to say that's another thing we should probably say tonight is that we typically like to stay away from properties that are in property owners associations, unless the fees are very nominal. But sometimes it'd be like $1,000 a year for these property association dues. So stay away from those.

Yeah, I learned those the hard way.

You did?

You're welcome.

Oh, the Texas deals. Right.

Yeah, yeah, those, those Texas deals where you can't get to it.

Yeah, that was a, that was a tough deal, huh? No fun, no fun, no fun, no fun. Look how serious he got. Wow, sorry to bring that up.

Yeah. Yeah, we'll start drinking again. Start thinking about some of these, these old, old deals. I mean, I made some of these mistakes you made, but I haven't lost money though. I haven't lost money, but it's, it's, you know, I'm just so jealous of everyone starting.

Well, Mark, that's, that actually brings up a good question. Did you really have like any mentors in the land business, or did you just have like accountability partners and like collaborators?

I had a mentor, business mentor, later on. But in the beginning, no, it was like a handful of us kind of just doing it. Just paved your way and paved our way. It was like, it was like, it was just like Lonesome Dove, right? I mean, I was like, I was like Gus, like Gus. I was like Gus out there on the— just trying to find my way.

John, you have to listen to that book. It's top 5 ever for me.

Really?

Loans and Debt. I'm writing it down.

All right, uh, very good. What about Maine? Here's a good question from, uh, Mike Cadding. Maine, anybody done any land deals in Maine?

Maine's an attorney-close state, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I think there's— yeah, I think there's most of the East Coast is attorney, attorney close dates, with some exceptions. But, um, yeah, so I think, I think I've known people that have done some deals in Maine, but it's kind of the onesie-twosie, not really doing what we're doing.

Yeah. And that reminds me, Mike Coddington, lobster or crab legs?

Which do you prefer?

I think these days I'm preferring crab legs.

Can you pronounce that word again though? L-O-B-S-T-E-R.

Lobster.

That's better.

Thank you.

There you go.

There we go.

I thought of a Mike joke just now.

Can I tell you?

What do you call Mike Zeno when he chops down a tree?

A logger.

A Boston logger.

Boston Lager.

Honestly, I think we should— I think we end there.

Good night.

Oh my God. Oh, for those that don't know, we do have another cohort. He's not with us tonight, he's at the opera. He's much too fancy for, for ugly Christmas sweaters. Um, here's a question from @redletters2104.

It's very This is very self-serving. Yes.

Yeah, right.

It is absolutely necessary.

Do I need Dirt Rich if I'm in flight school? We all need dirt.

You need a dirt-rich mentality. But no, you don't need the book.

You should read it though. Dirt Rich 1 and Dirt Rich 2. You should read it. You can listen to it. Mark loves it when people listen to him.

I love when they say, I listen to it. I'm not sick of your voice.

Aaron Nelson has a win. He mailed some offers today. You know what, Aaron, you made money today.

Made money.

Yeah, it's awesome. Congrats. Charles Jones. Charles, good to see you. Okay, is there a market where you, ooh, this is a good question, John. Is there a market where you used to like to do deals and you're no longer working there and why? I have one.

Kind of having trouble. I think I'm still like the three— there are three core markets that I originally worked in. I honestly, I bought property in one last week. And then yeah, I bought two last week in one of the markets. I've got 3 and another one I'm buying next week, and then 2 and, and the other one the week after. And so I'm still like, I'm still in all 3. There's some areas where like I bought property and just struggled to connect, you know. Like one of the things I talk about a lot is like, um, I like areas where there's access, ability to recreate, and ability to build. And at one point I bought some property where none of those things existed. Oh, right. So it still has value. You know, it's a finite asset. I think that property will potentially be worth a lot in 50 years. So I sold— I bought 4, I sold all 4, but it took me longer because it was just a harder product to move, you know. So I have, I have been in that position where I've tested out markets and I'm like, I'm just not really resonating with this as much. But I'm curious what your story is, Scott.

I just worked in a county way back in the beginning that was not an e-recording county. It was such a pain because I did quite a few deals in that county. I had to snail mail the deed to the, to the recorder all the time. And there was this— it was California. I don't know if you've done some deals in California. The, the real estate transfer form in California is just just a pain in the butt. And I would always miss something on the form. Or when I wrote my check out to the recorder, I was like 20 cents off or whatever, and they'd send it back to you. You'd have to redo it all over again. And it would take weeks and weeks and weeks to do a land deal rather than an hour to do a land deal. And so I got out of that county. I did come into a deal there later. Because it was a really good deal, but it was kind of a bulk deal. And then we sold them in bulk as well. So, but yeah, so that's why I got out of the area just because it just wasn't conducive to like an online land business. So that's my story. But you, Mark, we know you left that area in Texas.

Yeah, I mean, we, you know, I feel like the markets are kind of like fashion. Like, sometimes they come back. And, and to John's point, like, sometimes you resonate with them again. But to Scott's point, like, if it's, if it's not a simplified county, it's not an easy county, like, we kind of pass on it. So, you know, we're just ambitiously lazy, and there's so many deals, it's like, why, why complicate it? So, but yeah, to Scott's point, like when I first started, like I didn't know. And so, you know, I just been buying these counties and yeah, I make some money. Like, gosh, like this county is so much better and you get the data and you get everything so much easier here than you can there. And you start discerning, uh, you know, what, where you can do deals and there's, it's just less friction.

Awesome. Here's a great question from Brandon: is it helpful at all to live near where you do land deals?

Depends where you live.

You do not—

probably not.

But yeah, I think it's like, it's a kind of a thing. It's a, it's a perk, right? But it's like, it's not a necessary perk. I have never lived— I mean, like Oregon's kind of close to me. I mean, I'm in Idaho, which borders Oregon, right? But I've never been to my properties in Oregon, right? Like, I've done everything remotely. I've done deals in, you know, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, you know, a bunch of other states, and you can do it completely remotely. So I think it's tempting to work in your own backyard But, you know, just follow them, follow the market, and only do that if you have the right backyard.

Ooh, very good, very sage advice.

I love that.

Awesome. Let's see here. Where is that? A Charlie Brown sweater? It's an ugly Christmas sweater. It's yellow, blue, and yellow, red, and blue. A lot of people are voting lobster. A lot of people voting crab legs.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah, interesting. I vote crab legs.

Okay, John, what's your vote?

I think I go crab.

Okay, we're all, we're all aligned. You know, okay, let's— this is gonna be fun. Put in the chat. You know what I'm gonna say? You're on an airplane. Recline or don't recline?

I thought you're gonna say you're on an airplane, crab or lobster.

Yeah, right, exactly.

Oh yeah, it's always good to bring that one back, uh, back to the community every now and then. It kind of waxes and wanes. Oh hey, yeah, Chantelle's here and she has a question. This is a good question. I don't think we've ever had this question before. So she knows there are many Canadians who travel south for the winter, snowbirds, right, and have or want second homes in warmer states. Has anyone placed Facebook ads in Canadian cities? I think you should, Chantel.

I do.

That's—

I don't think that's a good idea.

It's a great idea.

It's a great idea. Yeah, I didn't think of that.

Yeah. I mean, I don't know if I've ever seen or heard that question. So that's awesome. And I mean, that makes you a really great land investor, the fact that you're like coming up with these things and, right?

I'm embarrassed that I haven't thought of that. That's really good. Yeah, I'm in a shame spiral right now.

Thanks, Chantal. Me too.

It's a great idea.

Me too, me too. Oh, that's awesome. So give that a try, Chantel, and let us know how it goes, please. I mean, you guys are selling land in Utah or Nevada. Yeah, yeah, right. Take off, eh, Ozer? Let's see. What's the absolute worst county you've ever worked in?

Oh, Clearfield. Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

That was my Treasure Lake deal.

Oh, I thought it was in Texas.

No, that was Pennsylvania Property Owners Association. That was the worst.

Worst county ever?

There was one in Indiana that I worked in. Yeah, and, uh, I don't even remember the name of this county. I just remember I bought one parcel and then found out that it was completely unbuildable because in this area you had to tap into these clay sewer pipes or something. There was no septic allowed. And so, but I made money, to Mark's point, you know. I think I just, I thought I was gonna make, I think I bought for $5,000. I thought I was gonna sell for $25,000, and I sold for $17,000.

Um, oh gee, oh gee, let's, let's all have, let's all have a drink for poor John. Yeah, poor John, those margins.

There was another area where I tried to, so Trinity County, Texas, there was an area where I tried to, um I acquired property in kind of a new subdivision, and then the subdivision kind of just went down the tubes. I found out the property didn't have very good access, but I bought that for 7 and I sold it for 12, you know. So it's still— it just was— it wasn't as a great deal. It was kind of okay.

So yeah, pretty good, pretty good deal. Pretty good. 7 for 12. That for John is just okay.

I know, it's just exactly— yeah, John took that money, just made a, made a nice fire for him and Val. Here, honey, let me just take this measly—

I mean, that's just like one trip to McDonald's with my family, right?

Exactly. Yeah, I mean, a McDonald's trip for you guys, that's got to be what, $60, $70?

Yeah, it's, uh, it's 60. Yeah, that's where we're at right now.

So do you have the McDonald's app on your phone? You should, because you got a lot of perks on there. Oh, you get a lottery?

We went— we did McDonald's and then trampoline park immediately afterwards this last Sunday. Yeah, it's a great way to feel good about yourself. Val and I, we did a— they have these things for the adults where they, they've got those massage chairs at the mall, and we sat down in those things and I was like, let's try these. And I put them on for 15 minutes. Everybody was just staring, staring at us, and we're just like— it was, uh, it was a moment. I felt like I was in a sitcom.

Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah, cool.

Well, we're coming up on an hour. Here's one more fun question from Jeff Mack. Jeff, good to see you. Jeff just signed up for flight school today. Congrats to you, Jeff.

Way to go, Jeff.

Dr. Mack. Dr. Mack. Yeah, good to have you with us. So this fun question: the biggest parcel you've purchased Did you divide it for selling? I'll go first. I purchased with a partner 320 acres and half of it was like on the side of a mountain. And we did not divide it. We sold it for cash. It took like a year. And Would I do it again?

Sure.

But I think I was $45,000 into the property and my partner was $45,000 into the property. And I often wonder what if I had taken that $45,000 and bought, you know, 20 or 45 properties or 20 properties, my returns would have been better. And I wouldn't have been so cash invested right into just one property. I'd spread my money out over multiple. So it was a fun deal, but that's the biggest deal I've ever— the biggest amount of acreage I've ever done. What about you, James?

Uh, for me it was 80 acres. So, um, so I mean, not quite as good as you, Scott.

Well, I mean, I did it with a buddy, so yeah, 160.

Yeah, I bought for $60, and I think I sold for $155, that one.

I mean, how long did it take you to sell it?

Uh, I think like 4 months.

Dang. I mean, that's pretty, pretty—

the other side of that was taxes. That was really right. But yeah, that was great. I mean, that was definitely one of my one of my biggest, biggest deals.

So, and how'd you come into that deal, John? Did you like, did you mail that area, or was that one of those deals you kind of came into?

No, that one I, I mailed, um, and I think it was mail, um, and yeah, the guy just responded and he's like, he just said, I want this much money for my property. And I looked at it and I said I can do that. And then we, and then we did it, you know. So it was kind of a just something we kind of fell into.

That's awesome. Mark, you've probably done some bigger acre deals.

We've done some bigger deals. We, you know, we just did one a few years ago for 1,600 acres.

Oh wow.

Yeah, it was big. And we put in power and roads. And Dr. Jeffrey, I don't recommend our eyes were bigger than our stomach. But, uh, it's been profitable. Uh, we're selling— we did it in phases. I think, you know, we have 9 phases out there. We've sold out the first 5. But I would say that as a, as a strategy, I do like buying big parcels and doing what we call minor subdivisions. Not a major subdivision, but a minor subdivision. So you don't have to put in the infrastructure. And you can just sort of plan out the sub. I love that. All right.

Well, we— you did ask earlier, Mark, recline or not recline. So, so here are the results. You ready? Yeah. Aaron. Aaron says recline. Mike is no. Pintel, no. Jeff, no. Mike, that's a no. Uh, what else we got?

Oh no, Mike, sorry, he's 6'4", like maybe he has to recline.

No, I think he means no recline because he's 6'4". He's sensitive to, to reclining. Like, I don't recline, I'm 6'4", and I don't recline because when people recline on me, that's not cool, man. Yeah, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I know.

Uh, Zappiel says, uh, recline and eat lobster. All right, so we have like, what, 2 reclines and 4 or 5— 5 do not reclines, which, uh, I think is pretty much in line with the Land Geek community.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Got a couple selfish people like Tate. He's a recliner.

He's a recliner. He's, he's unapologetic about it.

He really is.

Yeah, I mean, I, I golden rule it. I golden rule it, right? I don't want somebody in my space, I don't want to go in some space. Oh, oh, and for you recliners out there, I'm not judging a little bit, but not harshly. Of course we're all judging, just not harshly.

And let's end on Jay tonight. No, no jalopies, joint tenants, or junkies. I love it.

I love it. That's awesome. Aaron Giroux landing the nightcap plane. I love it.

Very good. Well, thanks everybody for coming. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next week. And not sure what our topic is, but really appreciate you getting on the call or getting on the nightcap. If you're interested in having a call about learning how to do this, go to thelandgeek.com/training. And you should be able to schedule a call with John, John Eight Is Enough, Handsome Rob Burnett, Mike Zaino, the Zen Master, or myself, and we'll chat land investing. Thanks, everybody. Have a good night. Mark and John, thank you.

Good night.

Talk to you later. Bye.