Racking Up Rentals

Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs know that taking a relationship-based approach to negotiating with Sellers not only feels right, it works really well to get deals done too! But when done well, these nurtured Seller relationships can propel our businesses even further in the future through referrals! In this episode, Jeff interviews veteran real estate investor Melissa Johnson, who shares her...

Many investors want to transition to full-time real estate entrepreneurship, but feel like they need to keep their day jobs so that they can continue to qualify for bank loans. They say, "I'll quit my job after I've maxed out my conventional loans." But is that a good way to think about it? Is the investor accidentally limiting themself with this mentality? In this episode, Jeff discusses two impo...

Let's be honest, as humans we tend to invest a lot of our energy worrying. What are we worrying about? Often times it's risk. And as real estate investors, we think about risk a lot—what is the risk of this deal I'm doing, or in my investment strategy, or in choosing Property A over Property B? But what exactly is risk? And how should we develop a responsible perspective on risk, so that we consid...

Most real estate investors have no clue what their Seller really wants—they just assume it's the highest price. But as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we know that each Seller is unique and wants different things. But while it's great to understand WHAT the Seller wants, it's even better to also understand WHY the Seller wants what they want. In this episode, Jeff discusses and explains how...

In this episode, Jeff interviews John Crutchfield, a full-time, successful real estate investor and entrepreneur who encourages people to "grab the map" and take charge of living the life they want. John shares his story of getting started as a real estate investor, transitioning from his previous full-time career and ultimately becoming one of the biggest real estate investing players in his mark...

Everybody loves the BRRRR Strategy—Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat—because it allows investors to recycle their cash and repeat the process over and over again without needing additional capital. But can you do the BRRRR strategy with Seller financing? Yes you can! In today's episode, Jeff shares two simple frameworks for using Seller financing to BRRRR properties and build your rental port...

We know that before we can Solve the Deal—and ultimately get the Seller to say yes—we have to Solve the Person, so that we understand our audience and know their perspectives, opinions and motivations. But where do we start? In this episode, Jeff shares a simple way to begin Solving the Person: every Seller is either moving TOWARD something, or moving AWAY from something. Once you understand which...

Instead of racking up rentals by simply buying existing properties and renovating them, what if you were to physically build your rental properties from the ground up? And what if instead of keeping all those homes, you sold many of them and built a great business and brand as a homebuilder? In this episode, Jeff interviews George Hale of Woodhill Homes, a top-notch homebuilder in Oregon. Jeff and...

There's an old expression in real estate: "Your Price, My Terms…or My Price, Your Terms." It's an extremely simple idea, and provides a great, simple framework for thinking about how we can negotiate win-win deals with Sellers. In this episode, Jeff explains how to use this simple rule of thumb to be creative and thoughtful in your deal structuring efforts, and ultimately to craft more proposals t...

As Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we only propose deals that are mutually beneficial—win-win's for both buyer and seller…right? Yes, that's true, but this brings up a very important point. Just because we only propose mutually beneficial solutions doesn't mean that we frame the conversation with the seller as being "mutually beneficial." In this episode, Jeff explains that the perfect negot...

To celebrate this milestone 100th episode, Jeff interviews his personal coach and mentor, Greg Pinneo. Greg is a 45-year full-time veteran of real estate investing. He is a national speaker and acclaimed educator of real estate entrepreneurs, and is known for his truly unique and inimitable mix of fresh perspectives on real estate finance, negotiation, philosophy and life. As Greg is known to say,...

When you're negotiating a deal, is it best to just ask for everything you want all at once, upfront? As Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we believe in the art of "incremental negotiation"—the process of strategically getting a series of micro-agreements, instead of just asking for everything we want at once. Instead of insisting a Seller take one big leap, we often use the skills of increment...

Is there a role for "emotion" in real estate investing? While many investors take a very rational, logical perspective to real estate, Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs also understand the importance of the subjective side of real estate—the emotional connection a tenant or buyer has to a property. Properties that speak to the hearts of the people using them are more special and rare—not to men...

If you're a rental property investor, why would you ever buy properties without cash flow? Does it ever make sense to do so? Most traditional investors answer "no" emphatically; Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, see a broader perspective. In this episode, Jeff discusses the scenarios in which it might make sense to consider buying a rental property without cash flow.

Many people these days believe it's impossible to buy properties off-market with seller financing. After all, they argue, "why would a Seller sell you their property off-market when they can get an all-cash offer for a higher price by putting it on the market?" But this perspective, while perhaps understandable, is wrong and limiting. In this episode, Jeff discusses five reasons why Sellers may st...

Most real estate investors look at a potential deal, then look at the resources they have to work with—such as their cash available—and think, "I can only get this deal done if it's within the resources I have available." Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, think "how can I negotiate a deal that makes good investment sense, regardless of the resources I personally have to work...

Let's face it—most people don't just suddenly dive into full-time real estate entrepreneurship on day one. Instead, we usually start doing real estate on the side of our full-time W-2 jobs. And while for some the vision is to quit the day job and do real estate investing full time, for many others the goal is to build wealth and cash flow while maintaining a rewarding career. In this episode, Jeff...

When the market is hot, prices are on the rise and inventory is low. So the big question is: should you buy in that hot market? Or is it smarter to sit back and wait for things to cool down before jumping in and buying your next property? In this episode, Jeff explains why the "don't buy in a hot market" argument is simplistic and wrong, and he breaks down five key points to consider as you decide...

If you want to become a full-time real estate entrepreneur, it comes down to one question: what do you actually DO every day? It turns out that there are several clear, specific things you must do every day or every week—and if you do them, you will predictably be able to succeed in being a full-time real estate entrepreneur. In this episode, Jeff explains the four big categories of daily actions...

Why do so many real estate investors become overwhelmed by the responsibilities of property management? Because they lack Vision, Infrastructure and Process—what guest Mark Dolfini of Landlord Coach calls the "VIP method." In this episode, Jeff and Mark discuss the VIP method, the importance of having a relationship-oriented approach to working with tenants, the value of having empathy while maint...

There are two ways to grow a rental portfolio: occasionally, or continuously. As Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we want to grow our rental portfolios on a continuous basis—not in sporadic fits and starts. But the mainstream "powers that be" have designed the system to prevent you from this continuous growth; to force you into moderate growth by their standards of what is safe and acceptable...

One of the most valuable skills you can develop is "coachability." What is coachability? It's the ability to be open-minded, to take constructive feedback well, and to be willing to try new things when suggested by those with more experience. Great real estate investors are coachable…but the truth is, most people aren't. In this episode, Jeff discusses what it means to be coachable, how to recogni...

If there's one thing we're usually keenly aware of, it's what we're lacking—the missing puzzle pieces keeping us from doing the deals we want to do. But instead of focusing on what we are missing, what if we focused instead on what we HAVE (or will have), and then asking ourselves the question: "How can I convert what I DO HAVE into what I WANT? In this episode, Jeff breaks down the many ways we c...

"Imposter Syndrome"—that feeling that we do not have the credentials to be doing what we're doing—is something many of us face…especially when negotiating directly with Sellers. Imposter Syndrome and the self-doubt it brings can discourage or even prevent us from having the Seller conversations we need to have to grow our portfolios and reach our financial goals. In this episode, Jeff explains how...

We know we want to generate off-market leads, so that we can negotiate directly with the Seller. This leads most investors to ask the question, "what's the most effective way to generate those off-market leads?" This is, however, the wrong question. A better question is, "what type of Negotiation Dynamic do you want to create with your lead generation?" In this episode, Jeff explains the important...