Agent Investor Podcast

Here’s Why I Stopped (Just) Selling Real Estate & Started Investing

Selling real estate can be lucrative, but it's far from a consistent income stream. Some months might bring in substantial earnings, while others leave us scraping by.

 

It's a constant juggling act - trying to maintain a comfortable lifestyle while navigating the unpredictable nature of the market.

 

Diversifying our income streams is the key to overcoming this challenge. By supplementing our earnings from sales with investments, we can create a more stable financial foundation.

 

Is the benefit of just selling real estate enough? How does investing allow us to build wealth and achieve financial freedom?

 

In this episode, I talk about the real reason why I stopped just selling real estate and tapped into being an agent investor. I also talk about how investing helped me gain autonomy over my business and life.

 

What investing is doing for you is giving you leverage. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-Why flips are necessary 

Is flipping and fixing homes a quick way to earn big chunks of income?

 

-Investing and autonomy

How does investing free up our workload and give us time back to spend elsewhere?

 

-Spending resources with no results

Why do some agents spend their resources on building a team and then disbanding it soon after?

What I Tell 90% of Agents On the First Call

9 out of 10 conversations I have with agents go something like this: “I’ve read the book, attended seminars, listened to the podcasts, but I don’t know what the actual first step to investing is”.

 

They like selling real estate, but they are frustrated with the income rollercoaster. They know they want to start acquiring assets, but they don’t know how to take action.

 

They think the thing keeping them from achieving their goals is money, but that’s actually not true.

 

What do we actually need to get started and why is it a lot easier than we think?

 

In this episode, I talk about the investing advice I give agents on their first call with me.

 

Your biggest obstacle isn’t that you don’t have money. The biggest obstacle is that you don’t have deals. -Tom Cafarella  

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-The first step 

How can we use our easy access to real estate to start building up our investing war chests?

 

-Get them to call you first

People in your sphere know that you’re in real estate. Why will they call an investor before they call an agent they know, like and trust?

 

-One agent’s worst listing is an agent investor’s opportunity 

Why are fellow agents a good source of off-market, discounted properties?

If All You Do Is Sell Houses, You Will Never Retire

Real estate sales can certainly earn you a great living, but can you easily retire on transactions alone? I don’t believe so…

 

Many would argue that if an agent sells many homes and saves the money they make, they can gain financial freedom. While that’s true, only the elite of the elite can achieve that. With investing on the other hand, you can be average and still guarantee wealth and retirement.

 

Why is it unrealistic to think you can retire on sales alone?

 

In this episode, I tackle a much debated subject in real estate, and share why investing is the ultimate cheat code to wealth.

 

Investing is truly the Average Joe way to achieve financial freedom. -Tom Cafarella 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-Investing allows you to work smarter, not harder 

Many people argue that an agent who sells many homes and saves money can gain freedom. How realistic is this if we look at the stats?

 

-The Average Joe path to wealth 

Most of us know people who got wealthy through investing. Why is it hard to find someone who got wealthy through traditional sales?

 

-Even luxury agents can’t get wealthy without investing

Can you get wealthy through sales by raising your average price point?

Where Will home Prices Go in 2024 + Other Bold Predictions

Every December, people come up with predictions for what the real estate market holds in the new year. In this market especially, many of the forecasts are extreme. The truth about home prices might not be quite so dramatic.

 

We can’t predict the future with 100% accuracy, but we can certainly assess probabilities to get an idea of what’s coming. Home prices aren’t driven by one thing - there are multiple values that play into them. The 2023 real estate market was flat, but 2024 could be different.

 

What are some of the key factors that influence home prices? Instead of just focusing on market conditions, what should we be doing?

 

In this episode, I share my predictions for the real estate market, and the variables influencing my position.

 

The most important thing in 2024 isn’t to know what’s happening in the market. It’s having a great plan. -Tom Cafarella 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-Why it’s hard to make accurate market predictions 

Many people are predicting extreme highs or extreme lows. Are the conditions in the market present for any of these scenarios?

 

-Jobs, wages and inflation 

How do these 3 factors play into the home prices and what can we expect in 2024?

 

-The good news for real estate professionals 

There are a ton of people waiting on the sidelines to purchase homes. Will they take action even if rates don’t go down?

Adding a Cash Offer To Your Listing Appointment

For agents, up to 20% of the listings we come across can be flipped to our own investment deals, but we don’t believe we have the vehicle to do so. There are tons of sellers who are better suited with not taking the traditional listing route, and all it really takes is identifying the opportunity and showing up with a cash offer.

 

How do we know if a listing could be an investment deal? Why do we need to have the offer before we get to the appointment?

 

In this episode, I’m sharing how we add cash offers to our listing presentations, and why it creates the ultimate win-win for everyone.

 

10-20% of all sellers want a cash offer and would be better off taking a cash offer than a listing. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-Why fetching top dollar isn’t every seller’s top priority

Why would someone ever want to sell their house for below fair market value?

 

-How to get ahead of the competition

Why do we need to be ready to sign on the dotted line before we even get to the appointment?

-How to easily draw up your offer

How do we calculate the right number for a cash offer?

Our Origin Story and More Importantly The Lessons We Learned Along The Way

My path to financial freedom began when we combined traditional real estate sales with investing, but that success story didn’t happen overnight. It’s taken a few iterations, pivots and even mistakes to get to where we are today - and we also learned a ton of lessons along the way.

 

In order to diversify your income away from selling homes traditionally, taking action is key. Even if you don’t have a ton of money and experience, you can get started.

 

How do you shrink the space between your dream and taking action? How do you stop being a victim to the ups and downs of the market?

 

In this episode, I share the origin story of my business, how I got into real estate and everything I’ve learned on my journey.

 

While I didn’t get into real estate to flip houses, flipping homes can give you big chunks of income that then can be used as down payments for passive income assets. -Tom Cafarella 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-From pre-med to business 

How did I discover that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and how did real estate become my vehicle of choice?

 

-The deal that completely changed my life 

How did a listing appointment become the investing deal that changed the trajectory of my business?

 

-Quality over cash flow 

Building a rental portfolio is an incredible way to build wealth and gain financial freedom, but how do we make sure we’re not buying the wrong kinds of homes?

The Easiest Ways to Find Discounted Off-Market Deals As An Agent (REPLAY)

Unless you want to lose a lot of money, the MLS is the worst place to find investing deals and set yourself up for success. Off-market properties are where we need to focus our efforts. The good news is, if you’re an agent, you often unknowingly come across great deals that haven’t hit the MLS yet.

 

How do we spot these properties and how can we structure the deals if we don’t have the capital upfront?

 

In this episode, I’m sharing strategies to launch and grow your investing operation through off-market deals.

 

Deals are scarce, that’s why you need to learn how to find them off-market. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• The options we have for finding deals that aren’t on the MLS
  How do we find an off-market deal at the click of a button?
  
  
• How to set up an agent referral program
  How do we build such solid relationships with fellow agents, they spot off-market deals for us?
  
  
• Why we shouldn’t solely focus on getting listings
  Can we turn a potential listing lead into our next investment deal?

Agent Investor Partnership Program: 10 Case Studies & Success Stories

Agents come across great investing deals every single day, but they don’t go after as many as they could. That’s usually because they lack capital, construction expertise or a combination of both.

 

Through our partnership program, we’ve eliminated both of these barriers and created a way for agents to get off the transaction rollercoaster. This is incredibly important in the market we’re in right now. In a market where transaction count is down by up to 30%, creating another lane of income is key to our survival and success.

 

In this episode, I share 10 case studies of real estate agents who partnered with us, how they found the deals, and how we created the ultimate win-win.

 

By real estate recession, we don’t necessarily mean a consumer recession where prices are down, but a transactional recession, where volume has gone down. -Tom Cafarella 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-A transactional recession

Why are agents feeling the pinch in this market?

 

-How to keep your eyes open for opportunity 

There are many unique ways agents come across deals. What are some of the ways our partners found theirs?

 

-Knocking down barriers to investment 

You don’t need to have capital or construction know-how to do a deal, how do we provide the 2 in a win-win deal?

Top 10 Things NOT To Do As a Newer Investor

In real estate investing, nothing wastes more time or loses more money than taking the wrong first steps. Newer investors are at a greater risk of falling into this trap. With all the information and strategies out there, you can end up focusing on things that don’t actually move the needle.

 

What are the key things you need to steer clear of as a newbie? Can doing the right things in the wrong order be a mistake?

 

In this episode, I share 10 things I wouldn’t recommend for newer investors.

 

We all have limited time so we’ve got to spend it the right way. We always have to focus on the things that are going to move the needle in our businesses. -Tom Cafarella 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

-Don’t be stupidly impatient 

Taking too long to start investing is a huge error, but how do we make sure we’re not rushing in without a strategy? 

 

-Step 1 vs. step 5 activities

Things like building a buyer list, raising capital and even naming our businesses shouldn’t be the first thing we focus on. What needs to be priority #1?

 

-Don’t quit your day job cold turkey 

Real estate investing promises a high return, but it’s not instant. Why is it critical that we keep earning money?

How To Partner with Us on Investing Deals and Earn $30k Passively (REPLAY)

Agents constantly come across investing deals that can significantly out-pace what they make selling homes. The problem is: with no funding or renovation experience, it’s hard to take action on it. What if you could spot a deal, make an extra $30k without worrying about the capital or construction?

 

We’ve rolled out an agent partnership program that allows you to take action on the deals you come across and build your net worth. How does this program work and what steps can you take to get started?

 

In this episode, I talk about our new agent partnership, and how you can get rewarded for the opportunities you come across in your day-to-day work as an agent.

 

If investing isn’t top of mind for you, you will oftentimes miss deals that are right in front of your face. -Tom Cafarella  

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

- The worst part about being an agent right now (and how investing solves that)

Many agents are leaving the business because they’re stuck on the income rollercoaster. How does investing, even passively, save you from this instability? 

 

- How to spot great deals frequently

If you want to take a more active approach to finding deals, how do you make investing top of mind? 

 

-You don’t need a real estate license to invest, but you should have one

Do you leave money on the table when you’re not an agent-investor?