Agent Investor Podcast

Deal of A Lifetime: How 2 Agent-Investors Increased Their Net Worth By $1 Million

For agents, the kinds of deals that increase your net worth by $1 million are rare and really hard to come by. An investor on the other hand, can stumble into a game changing deal like this and even get into it with little to no money down. Through investing, you can earn in a single deal what would take years as an agent, and even a beginner can do this.

 

This is what happened to Jason Goldfarb and Tyler Scaglione - they just came off an investing deal that made them a cool $500k, and that’s before all the equity they’ve walked into.

 

How did this deal happen and how easy is it for an agent-investor to do the same? In this episode, my mentees share the story behind this deal and the lessons even a beginner investor can learn from it.

 

Can you increase your net worth by $1 million as an agent? It’s possible, but it takes more bandwidth and time, this is a shortcut. -Jason Goldfarb

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• The multiplier effect of investing
  How did one of my guests go from 1 single family property to 9 units and then 16 units?
  
  
• How a 20-year old got this deal started
  How did our special bonus guest make this whole deal possible?
  
  
• Why we need a funnel of off-market deals
  How did Jason and Tyler make this deal happen with a lot less than $5000 down? 

 

Guest Bio

 

Tyler Scaglione is the team lead at Homexe - Cameron Prestige LLC. He is an experienced Licensed Real Estate Agent with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. Skilled in Skip Tracing, Sales, Real Property, Strategic Prospecting, and Investment Properties. 

 

Visit https://www.homexe.com/

Find Tyler Scaglione on LinkedIn @Tyler Scaglione 

 

 

Jason Goldfarb is an Acquisition Specialist and Real Estate Consultant at Goldpath Real Estate Group. He was first licensed in 1999 and has proven time and time again that he can help clients attain their goals. Jason specializes in real estate sales, short sale negotiation, and broker price opinions.

 

Find Jason on Instagram @jason_goldfarb_realestate

Find Jason on LinkedIn @Jason Goldfarb

Just Take Action: Why The First Step Will Change your Life Forever w/Michael Wetherbee

In anything we want to achieve, taking action is always the first step to getting there. We could have all the tactics and intentions in the world, but if we fail to execute, it’s meaningless. In real estate investing, everything revolves around taking action.

 

How do we gain the courage to take the first step? What sacrifices do we have to make in order to get closer to our goals?

 

In this episode, agent investor Michael Wetherbee joins me to talk about his first steps in investing, how making mistakes helped him gain clarity, and what pushed him to begin his agent investor journey.

 

Investing is all about sacrificing your today for a future. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• The importance of reflection
  How do we take a step back and appreciate and learn from the journey so far?
  
• Using information to your advantage
  We have an abundance of information at our fingertips, but how do we use the correct information in order to reach the next level?
  
  
• The importance of mentorship
  How can a mentor or coach guide you through challenges, even if you've been in the real estate investing game for a long time? 

 

 

Guest Bio:

 

Michael Wetherbee is a motivated and dedicated agent with experience in each stage of real estate.  Michael takes the extra step to get clients prepared to get their house on the market and makes his clients feel comfortable with each phase of the transaction.   Whether it is buying or selling properties or getting involved in investing to grow wealth with rehab projects and multi-families, Michael has over 7 years of experience in all categories.

 

Find Michael on Facebook.

Find Motivation, Provide the Solution: How to Craft the Perfect Cash Offer Script

Traditional listings and off-market, cash offer deals are two completely different animals. The consumer’s motivations are vastly different from someone who wants to list on the MLS, so we have to prepare accordingly.

 

Whether it’s over the phone or at the kitchen table, what we say and the types of questions we ask are critical to our success with these transactions.

 

How do we identify a cash offer opportunity? How do we internalize the scripts so they sound like us?

 

In this episode, you’ll learn how to prepare when a cash offer opportunity presents itself.

Be inquisitive. You want to understand where they’re at, where they’re looking to go and how you can potentially bridge that gap. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• How to do the work upfront
  Why is the initial phone call in a cash appointment so critical to the entire process?
  
  
• Cash vs. retail consumers
  A client who wants the ease of a cash transaction is very different to a client who wants to get the most amount of money. How can we identify who wants the former?
  
  
• How to put sellers at ease with one sentence
  When you ask people how much money they want for their home, they are bound to become defensive. How do we take the pressure off?

How Accounting Adds Value and Helps You Make Good Business Decisions w/Kevin Brown

Accounting can seem like a boring part of a business, and a lot of people see it in a negative light, but when done correctly, accounting can have a positive impact on our business and even help it grow.

 

How does accounting help us make better business decisions? What value does it add to our business? How do we find the right people to track and analyze data that will ensure growth?

 

In this episode, CFO of Cameron Real Estate Group, Kevin Brown joins me to discuss the role of accounting in different businesses, how accounting can add value and help us grow and how to set up your own accounting and tax team.

 

If you can’t find opportunities then you’re not working hard enough. -Kevin Brown

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• How to find the right tax professionals
  How do we find the right tax professionals that are specific to our business and know the industry well?
  
  
• The key metrics to look for in a brokerage
  Can data show us where more time needs to be spent in the business?
  
  
• How data can help us forecast the future of our business.
  How does accounting help us map out the future of our businesses?

 

Guest Bio:

 

Kevin Brown is a senior finance and accounting professional with demonstrated expertise in all company lifecycle activities including fundraising, reorganization, brand extension, and successful exit execution. He is currently the CFO of Cameron Real Estate Group. Kevin collaborates effectively with stakeholders and identifies business opportunities. Kevin is an expert in using analysis, insights and team approach to drive organizational improvements and best practice implementation.

Find Kevin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-brown-a58b434

 

Renovating Homes in 2023: Strategies From An Investor With 20 Years in the Game w/Jim Cooke

Whether we’re remodeling an investment property for a buy and hold or flipping it for a quick turnaround, navigating renovations and construction can be a minefield, especially in this market.

 

This is an area where extremely expensive mistakes can be made, and one way to avoid them is leaning on the experience and expertise of seasoned renovators.

 

How do we avoid over-renovating? Where can we find contractors we can trust?

 

In this episode, I’m joined by the owner of Cooke LLC, Jim Cooke. With 20 years of experience renovating investment properties, he shares what every new investor has to know about this critical aspect of the game.

 

Don’t fall in love with the property, it’s not your house, your goal is to get it to comp. -Jim Cooke

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• High-level budgeting strategies you have to be aware of
  How do we determine the money and effort we need to put into a project for it to be profitable, and not a money pit?
  
  
• The key to contractor relationships
  Why would a contractor choose to work with an investor on a repeat basis?
  
  
• How to shift your strategy with the market
  As investors, we have to deal with material shortages. How do we shift our strategies to keep up with changes in the supply chain? 

 

Guest Bio

Jim is a real estate investor and founder of Cooke Realty LLC. With 20 years of flipping experience under his belt, he has handled just about every type of home renovation.

Connect with Jim over on LinkedIn.

Investing In 2023: How To Create An Investment Plan To Ensure Success W/ Calvin Driscoll

A new year is a great time to jumpstart your investing operations, but getting started can seem daunting and difficult. Having an investment plan in place can make it much simpler to navigate the challenges, especially for a new investor getting used to all the moving pieces.

 

How do we get started with investing? What should we focus on to ensure that we are on the right track?

 

In this episode, Cameron Real Estate Group assistant project manager Calvin Driscoll joins me to discuss creating an investment plan, how to get started and what to do when you’re investing at a high level.

 

You’ve got to get around other people who are doing what you want to do. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• The foundation of your plan
  How do we envision the future and what it costs to invest?
  
  
• Types of investing
  There are many different types of investing but how do we choose what’s right for us?
  
  
• How to utilize investing resources
  There are thousands of resources for investing such as audiobooks, courses, podcasts and books but how do we pick out what will actually work for us?

 

Guest Bio

 

Calvin Driscoll joined Cameron Real Estate Group as an assistant project manager. He attended Endicott College where he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

 

Find Calvin on LinkedIn @Calvin Driscoll  

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?

The Simplicity Of Apartment Deals And What You Need To Get Started w/Michael Lefavor

Apartment deals have the ability to bring in passive income and they allow us to grow and expand our businesses, and help us to do less while making more money.

 

Apartment deals can seem daunting but the simplicity of it is what makes them work so well for agent investors. What should we be on the lookout for when it comes to apartment deals, and what skill sets do we need to get started?

 

In this episode, founder of Property Possible Inc, Michael Favor joins me to discuss being an entrepreneur, how he got started on apartment deals and what it takes to be a part of a deal . We also talk about networking and share tips for new investors.

 

That’s just a hallmark thing with entrepreneurs. They just want to be independent more than anything. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• How to figure out your best next step
  It's easy to get excited about business but even after feeling motivated, we can sometimes hit a wall. How do we figure out what steps to take next?
  
  
• Laying bricks to build your business
  Building a business takes time but how do we ensure that we have everything to begin building it? How do we expand once we start building?
  
  
• How to put together a passive income deal
  Passive income deals can be simple, but what should we look out for? 

 

Guest Bio

 

Michael Lefavor is a real estate investor with a focus on residential real estate development, home rehabs, property syndication, and raising capital for investing in commercial real estate assets. Michael founded his own real estate investment business, Property Possible Inc in 2018. Since then Michael and his team have completed over 80 fix and flips and built a rental portfolio of over 260 apartments with over 40 million in AUM. Michael has experience in a wide facet of RE investment ranging from multifamily, condo conversion, land development, and new construction and residential fix and flip. Michael serves as President at Property Possible Inc as well as providing analysis and strategic growth services for the company.

 

Find Michael Lefavor on LinkedIn @Michael Lefavor

WARNING: These Investing Deals Are Losing the Most Money in Today’s Market

A couple of years ago, virtually any real estate deal would fly off the shelf, and investors could easily walk into a profitable deal. Now, the economic environment has changed dramatically, and investing vehicles that used to guarantee a ton of money have come to a screeching halt.

 

Now that the deals that were once profitable are now precarious, if we keep operating like before, we can find ourselves underwater at a time we should be preserving everything we have.

 

So if many investing deals are seeing a big shake up, how do we survive? Which models should we stay far away from?

 

In this episode, I’m talking about the harsh reality of today’s market, and how to avoid the least profitable real estate deals.

 

In the last couple of years, buyers were overlooking funky homes. Now with more inventory to choose from and less motivation, they are a lot less jumpy to get on a deal. -Tom Cafarella  

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• Why we have to pivot away from what used to work well
  Is the golden era of wholesale deals and tight margin flips squarely in the rearview mirror?
  
  
• The deals investors will have a hard time selling
  Why are long construction/renovations such a death knell for profitability in this market?
  
  
• The downstream effects of the affordability crisis
  Why has buyer demand dropped so dramatically over the last few months?

How Agents Are Investing Without Even Trying (& How You Can Do It Too)

For most people, real estate investing isn’t something associated with ease. To find deals, get capital, and make the numbers work, you would imagine that it requires a lot of time and effort.

 

What most real estate agents don’t realize is just how low their barrier of entry into investing is - a lot of the skills required are already in their back pockets, and deals are right under their noses.

 

Can you invest without doing a whole lot more than what you’re already doing? What are some of the easiest ways to get deals as an agent? In this episode, I share why investing is so much easier than you think.

 

Agents can become investors by accident by having their eyes open. -Tom Cafarella

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

 

• Why you need to add cash offers to your listing presentation
  Are more sellers interested in cash offers today than they were a few months ago?
  
  
• Why clients are more likely to call an investor than an agent
  Could we get more investing deals by simply telling people in our sphere that we aren’t just agents, but investors as well?
  
  
• The enviable advantage real estate agents have
  How do agents come across deals in their day-to-day, without actively going out there prospecting for them?