How To Find & Fund Your Next Deal

Zac Ruiz [0:00] So, my name's Zachary. If you haven't been before, usually, we start off with a reuse report. So I've been doing this since March of 2020, we kind of give a little bit of a breakdown of the market, and our mission is essentially twofold. We want everyone to have data driven market insights that are super digestible. So we only do 10 slides. And then we want to empower everyone with training to be that local economist of choice. This is the time we usually do some free training for you guys. Thing is, the reports come out on the third. So it's the first, right? So we already did this last month, so we're gonna change it up a little bit for this month.

And just so you know, so we believe in data democracy, I want everyone to know it. So if you go to Rizeport.com, go to latest reports at the top, you can subscribe to our newsletter, you can get it, right? So on the third, just log on, you'll get all the information. We also do the training. training's totally free. Log on. There is one for every slide, and that's that. So instead of going over the report again, let's just kind of do a recap from last month. So the recap was, supply is currently beating demand. People keep putting on listings, and they're taking longer to sell, and the amount of listings coming off, which is demand is decreasing, so we're increasing supply overall, right?

Prices seem to be responding to that. So, pricing accurately seems to be getting much harder. Maybe you've noticed there are a lot of price reductions. That is something that didn't happen in this part of the world for the past, like, five plus years. And finally, based on last month's presentation, you can hear the podcast, we suggested that it might not be a bad idea to look into some buyer market strategies, 'cause it very much seems as if we're going that way. All right, so is anyone feeling this in the market? Anybody? All right, cool. We averaged about 114 in attendance last year. And as you can see, we have a little bit less.

So everyone, who is maybe more of a fair weather investor, is kind of like, Wow, the market is harder. What do we do? So one, thank you for coming out. Two, what do we do is kind of what I want to talk to about tonight. So tonight's discussion is brought to you by a man named Jim Collins. Anybody familiar with Jim Collins, by any chance? All right, so he wrote a book called Good to Great. All right? And this is about companies, like, what separates basically identical companies from just being good, or maybe even going out of business to becoming these great companies. And so they do five things, right? We just really quickly go over it.

Level five leadership, which is one ways he defines that if that leader leaves, the culture and processes and everything continues past them. Second is the hedgehog concept. It's kind of doing what you do best. We're gonna go over that a little bit. Third is a culture of discipline. So not going after squirrels and opportunities that are just shiny things, but really take you away from that core hedgehog. And then fourth was the flywheel, right? And so tonight, we're gonna talk about the hedgehog concept and the flywheel, but why? The reason being is that these companies thrived. They thrived during changing markets.

So this is, I got a chance to see Jim Collins just last month in Denver, and so this is the famous graph from that book. So these companies had, as you can see here, 15 years, where they were basically identical. You see, they rode the market the same. Right? And there were the great companies, and then there were the comparison companies. The comparison companies didn't do so hot. These are their market returns. The great companies, no matter what happened in the market still did well. We see something happening in the market, so maybe this is some good teachings, right? The comparison companies, they went through what they called the five stages of decline.

First stages, hubris born of success. And basically, you can read, if you'd like, and the point is, like, hey, the market's so great, we can put a tent under a bridge, and people will buy it the first day. They're buying things site unseen. So I'm a great investor, right? From that, you lead to undisciplined pursuit or more. Man, we can't miss. Let's keep going. What else can we get into? Right? From there, you go stage three, and that's denial of risk and peril. So denial of risk and peril. This is the one where I think we may be at for a lot of people. where you're saying, Oh, maybe it's just a temporary lull. Rates are gonna come down any day now. We're good.

Instead of maybe acknowledging that the market is changing fundamentally. Stage four, grasping for salvation, stage five, you're done. Right? So let's talk about stage three. How can we kind of ward off stage three? And this is the plea tonight, right? So, like, these concepts have been applied by the best companies period, this guy is ultra famous for having studied them, and they're not necessarily his ideas. It's a tale of the tape about what happened. So the first is that hedgehog concept, and it's broken down into this crap. What are you deeply passionate about? What can you be the best in the world at? And then what drives your economic engine?

The intersection of those that then diagram there is your hedgehog concept, right? So the question is, it's not about what can you be the best in the world at compared globally necessarily, because obviously you can't move your house to a different market. But what can you be the best at the world at in Western North Carolina? That's what we would call your hedgehog concept. The second is the idea of the flywheel. All right? The flywheel turns when the answer to one component is doing this can't help but lead to the next step in the flywheel. All right, so let's look at it. One of the examples from the book is Vanguard, right? So that's what it looks like.

kind of go over it, and then we'll hit it again, right? So if you offer low cost mutual funds, you almost can't help but deliver superior long term results, right? And investors like this. And if you deliver superior results to investors, then you can't help but build client loyalty, 'cause why would they want to go anywhere else? And if you build strong client loyalty, then you almost can't help but grow assets under management, because more people want to give you their money. And if you grow assets under management, well, then you almost can't help but generate economies of scale, 'cause you're doing more, right?

And if you increase economies of scale, you almost can't help but have lower costs that you pass to your clients. And there you go, right? So if you pass those lower costs to your clients, you keep spinning this wheel. It's in doing this thing. I almost can't help, but do the other thing in the wheel. Right? The most famous flywheel from the book is Amazon. We won't go in as in depth, but it's the point, right? By lower prices, more people are gonna visit my site, that'll let me attract more sellers. I'll get to sell more stuff. I'll get to grow revenues per fixed cost, so, like, my server costs all that stuff.

I'll be more profitable, which will let me lower more prices, so on and so forth, right? So this is the idea of that flywhale. So how applicable is this in real life? Let's go over one. And the introduction, we talked about something, and let's go with that flywheel. So let's say you start off with building authentic relationships, and let's say you did that by networking. If you have these authentic relationships, and you shared targeted knowledge, right? You couldn't help but do the education. I'm reading this, I'm doing this. I just went to this conference, I learned this thing.

And if you shared that knowledge with someone that you have an authentic relationship with, then you'd want to do transactions with that person. Right? And if you did transactions with that person, and you went to an event, and you said, Who's done transactions with people in the room, and more and more hands come up every month, then you couldn't help, but reinvest in the community and grow. More people would want to be involved in this community, which would let you build more authentic relationships. Look at that. That's how we would call our net profit philosophy Flywheel. We think that you benefit from the net total, right? You have net profit from the net total.

So, networking education and transaction. That's us. Right? So how do you capture a flyroll? First, you try to list your success and failures, and you see if there's basically patterns in the winds and disappointments. Then you extract key components, and you compare both lists, right? So find the core drivers of success, you sketch a flywheel with four to six things, and you validate and refine as you go, right? If I do this, then I can't help but do the next thing. So if you can buy a house under market price. And you can't help but have more profit to put in things. And if you can control costs, then you can't help, and so on and so forth. for example. Right?

So, again, reviewing, hedgehog concept, what can I be the best at in Western North Carolina, and the flywheel. What am I doing that can't help but lead me to the next step?

Unknown [8:10] That's the hedgehog.

Zac Ruiz [8:12] The Flywheel can't help me lead. And so with that, we're gonna give you a table question, all right? We'll give you 10 minutes. What is your hedgehog? Do you think you have one in your business? And how might you describe your business as a flywheel? We'll give you 10 minutes, we'll come back, share with everyone, and then it's the panel discussion.

Thomas Wolfe [0:00] It's all about the fit, and you can't find the right fit unless you know yourself, right? It took me a long time to realize I'm not a partner kind of person, really. That's why I had a bunch of failed partnerships. to some degree, right? So that understanding of yourself helps you understand, do I want to partner? If I want a partner, what kind of partner is that? What kind of money am I looking for? What kind of deal am I looking for? So I do think a lot of the, a lot of the things we're talking about have, uh, most to do with understanding who you are and what you want to do, because there's 100s of ways to make money in real estate, literally.

Speaker 2 [0:39] All right, does anybody need any more time? 30 seconds? It seems like it's quieting down. So Zach's got the catch box. Anybody want to share what their flywheel looks like, or where their hedgehog, uh, meeting of the minds is? What are you the best at in Western North Carolina? I can't see very well. Okay, nobody has confidence. in what they're doing? Come on. All right, here we go. All right, there we go. Yeah, there we go. Zen. Is there a microphone into it? There's a microphone into it. Yeah, yeah. nice and close, please. Close.

Unknown [1:18] Closer.

Speaker 2 [1:19] Nice and close. Nobody hears? Oh, that's wild. Back up. Very close. Good work. So, for the last couple of weeks, Zen contracting has been looking at getting a new office and upgrading into new construction and all these things that have just been kind of dabbles over the last year, and I'm very proud to say that our hedgehog is six figure remodels, renovations, custom editions, and I don't think there's anybody who can do them better than we can do, and what I'm gathering from this as things are shifting. It would be best for us to lean into that as opposed to, you know, start exploring new avenues. So thank you. Yeah, awesome. Thank you for Thank you for sharing.

Any other brave souls out there. It can be either Flywheel. Awesome. All right, if it's quick, we'll go to a third, and then we'll do a panel. Go for it. Hey. Hi, my name is Vignesh. I'm very new to real estate investing, but as I was sitting with the question, what could I be the best at invest in North Carolina? The answer that came to me is that I probably have the best testimony into entering into the Christian faith in the Bible built? Like, that's the claim I would make.

Zac Ruiz [2:34] And I think I want to, like, leverage that somehow into a real estate business, like Christian faith-based, real estate enterprise. And I think there is like some demand for that for Christians to commune outside of the church and have fun. So, yeah, that's Awesome.

Speaker 2 [2:51] Awesome, man. Well, thank you for sharing, and welcome to Asheville, to real estate. All right. and then Mike had one more. We'll do that one if we can do a big toss. Let's see here.

Zac Ruiz [3:00] Someone, you gotta help halfway through. All right.

Speaker 2 [3:04] And then, in the meantime, if my speakers want to come up, You guys can come up and grab his chair slowly. Hello, hello.

Unknown [3:12] Hello?

Speaker 2 [3:13] Hey. Uh, I just had an, an epiphany where... there's always opportunity in every market, you just have to kind of analyze what's going on, and if the market is going down, you just have to be aware of what people will need, and the services they will need to help them weather the storm. And as it kind of relates to our, our talk here, uh, getting very friendly with DSCR lenders is gonna be in everybody's best interest as a buyer and or landlord, very quickly. All right, well, big toss? On a big one? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not. Yeah, my arm is not, like, reasonable.

Unknown [4:01] There's options there.

Zac Ruiz [4:03] Whoa. I'm glad he was looking, 'cause the light is in our face. It was gonna be hit or miss. Look at this. What is it? The great commission, right? Go forth and make believers in all the lands. That's good job there. Awesome. All right, well, thank you all for being here.

Speaker 2 [4:19] Um, I'm gonna kick it off first question, but before we do that, 30 seconds or less. Tell us about maybe... what you're doing right now in real estate, what your name is, and how long you've been doing it for, and super quick, and then we'll kind of get started with the questions. And, Drew, why don't we kick off with you on that side?

Drew Axtell [4:38] All right. Hey, I'm Drew Axel. I am with Heritage Private Capital. I'm an lender primarily and an investor out of Greenville. And yeah, we invest in mainly single family. and small multifamily. And, uh, yeah, that's kind of what we, and Lend, obviously, for fixing flip loans, uh, anywhere within a two hour radius of Grieville. Awesome, thank you.

Unknown [5:01] Sandra?

Sandra Peplinska [5:01] Hello, everyone. My name is Sandra Poplinska. I am originally... Sorry Sam, to interrupt you.

Speaker 2 [5:08] Do you mind? Bring it a little closer to your mouth, so everybody can hear you. So, like two fingers. Yeah.

Zac Ruiz [5:12] Yeah, well, he'll handle it. Two close fingers. Oh, by the way, we have an impromptu sound guy. If we can get a round of applause for John over here. Whoo!

Sandra Peplinska [5:20] All right, let me start over. Is that better? Oh, so perfect. Awesome, awesome. My name is Sandra Poplinska. I am originally from Poland. I came to United States about 11 years ago for a six month internship with the Ohio State University. And somehow, I'm still here. I am a full time property manager. I work for a local property management company. We manage about 240 long term rental properties. And outside of that, I am working on my 1st investment property that's almost at completion. So I am very happy to be here, and share with you guys what I've learned so far. Yeah. Thomas.

Thomas Wolfe [6:06] I'm Thomas Wolfe, um, grew up in the business, been in, flipping houses in Asheville full-time since '97. My wife and I started a residential construction company about 13 years ago after the big recession, and haven't been able to get away from investments, so I do that on the side, but my full time gig now is running a residential construction company.

Speaker 2 [6:33] All right, awesome, awesome, well. Thank you, Alice, for being here. Quick anecdote, side note. The first time I met Thomas in person was, like, 2012, maybe, 2013. And it was my first time going through a vacant house. And, uh, it was my first experience walking, or climbing through a window to scope out, uh, very much, you know, interesting deal. And I don't even remember if it came together or not, but I just remember I was like, Oh, this is, like, part of the day to day now. And, uh, it was a good first exposure. But on that note, Thomas, we'll start with you, is, how did you find and fund your first deal?

Thomas Wolfe [7:10] Wow, my first deal, um... I grew up in the business, so I worked for my dad for 11 years, went out on my own in '97. And he dragged me to a Ron Legrand seminar in the mid '90s. I don't know if anybody knows about Ron Legrand, but one of his concepts is advertising in the I want. Here, it was the I want. I know if any of you all remember that, but advertising that you've got deals before you've got them, to build a client base, right? So, um, So I got clients, but then the other thing that I did was the, I lived in Hawk Creek at the time, and I found out where they dropped off the I wanna 1st, and the place that they dropped off the I wanna 1st was the Ingalls and Oteen at 6.15.

So every Tuesday morning at 6.15, I was there till we get the naijuana. And that's, I got my 1st deal out of the Iowana.

Unknown [8:12] Yeah.

Zac Ruiz [8:13] We might have to change it to the net profit philosophy to get hustle in there. Because like, man, that's good.

Speaker 2 [8:19] All right, Sandra, well, you're on your first, right? So how did you find your current? I am on my foot, okay?

Sandra Peplinska [8:25] How did you find out? Yes. Um, we found it through Mike. Mike is a wholesaler and a hard money lender. Mike, where are you? Razor hands right there. Yeah, with the deals. Doing deals in the room. That's how we found it. It was federally easy. How'd you find Mike? How do I find the money? No, Mike, Mike. Oh, the money. How did I find Mike? At this meeting. Oh, yeah.

Zac Ruiz [8:50] Look at that. Imagine that. All right.

Drew Axtell [8:52] Drew, how about yourself? So my first deal was actually with my brother in law, who actually found it, and then, uh, I kind of managed the project, kind of start to finish, and we used to harden my lender, who is now my business partner, and this was now years ago. So that's kind of how we found it.

Zac Ruiz [9:09] Man, see, so you're hustling drop offs, hustle, and marriage, you know? Like, you do what you gotta do to get in there, hustle the room. I love it. All right, so, generally, we give that Rui's report, and for some months now, we have been talking about the pending shift, right? That things are changing. So, Drew, we'll start with you and come back, and, again, everyone's kind of representing a different side of this multi sided coin, right? So you see a lot of deals come through as people looking for hard money to do this. Sandra, you see people bringing long term rentals, and you're trying to do it yourself, and you're kind of all the way up and down, vertically integrated, right?

So they may have a little bit different answers to all this. But so, are you adjusting your buy box, and if you're not as active, you know, are your clients doing that compared to two years ago? I would imagine, yeah. And if so, what do you think has changed? What are some of those highlights?

Drew Axtell [9:53] Yeah, so we're definitely changing our buy box, but mainly on the financial side. Um, we're definitely sharpening our pencils a lot more, um, you know, what what a property should go for two years ago is not what it should go for today. We're looking at everything kind of through a nine to 12 month lens lens, really on both our buying and our lending. So we're looking at the today's, today's value, as well as nine months, 12 months from now, up or down. And if it doesn't pencil, we're not moving on it. Um, and so that's kind of how we will look at all of our deals right now is just, is just shoot that lens.

Zac Ruiz [10:37] So, from, like, a risk reward standpoint, sound much more conservative. So, previously, if it might not pencil, you'd be like, ah, maybe it'll work out.

Drew Axtell [10:46] That's right. Yep, yep. So we're gonna be we're gonna be a lot more intentional. We're gonna look at a lot more deals than saying no to a lot more deals, before we really pull the trigger on one, because it's just, you know, the deals are out there. I mean, we write loans every single week, so they exist, um, and, but we're not gonna, there's no sense in taking, uh, taking risk on it when, you know, we just don't know. We don't have the crystal ball. Absolutely.

Zac Ruiz [11:11] Sandra, are you biting at the bit to get into the second deal? How's this going?

Sandra Peplinska [11:16] I am, I am. Uh, I feel like once you start one, it just snowballs. I don't really have a perspective on, like, how things were a year or two years ago. I think if I was gonna do it all over again, I would definitely, like, crunch the numbers more, check comps more thoroughly, just got that data, like, really down to what he...

Zac Ruiz [11:39] So compare, so when, how long ago did you buy this first deal?

Sandra Peplinska [11:43] We closed on it in December.

Zac Ruiz [11:45] Okay, so six, seven months change, right? Yes. From the numbers you did run, hmm. How are those holding up? They are not. All right. With the pencil, yeah. Yeah. You win or you learn, right? And maybe we're learning this time. So, very cool. Well, thank you for being honest and sharing the insight, and still being motivated to keep going. I love it. Sir?

Thomas Wolfe [12:07] So, a couple things I'll share with you is, yes, like everybody, just being aware that there's downward pressure on what I think of is what we would think of as kind of bread and butter housing, right? Housing that, um, to wage earners that live and work in our community, um, would buy. And, of course, that's driven by their buying power as it relates to the interest rates. And the thing that a lot of you all in the room, some of you, but most of you in the room don't remember that, or wouldn't remember that historical, we are still not at a historical interest rate on 30 year mortgages, right? Historical over the course of history, last 125 years, I guess, we've been keeping track of that.

You know, it's like 8 to 9. And so, um, it was very regular in the early 90s that we would originate mortgages at 9%. So that's the one thing. The 2nd thing is that we're aware of in our construction company is, uh, we see a lot more low end customers. You know, the what we think of as 200 and down, or 1000000 plus. So there's that kind of missing middle in the that may indicate that things are changing in that way, too.

Zac Ruiz [13:30] One quick plug. We actually do an annual affordable housing thing. That'll be next month. Last year, it was the missing middle. And so that is a very, very, very real topic. The second thing not to be a Debbie downer, but come interest rates, right? We're talking about history. If you were to look at the historical trends of interest rates, once they whatever the bottom ends up being, historically, they go up for some time. It has not exactly happened where it just goes back to two, you know, like where we had it, so... the new normal, yes?

Speaker 2 [14:00] Yeah, new normal. On that note, Thomas, back to you, we'll start and go back to down towards Drew's. Are there any, like, red flags that you're seeing, or you're maybe looking for now that you wouldn't have a year or two years ago, just realizing that it's a new market that, you know, looking for new things?

Thomas Wolfe [14:16] I don't think two years ago, the big recession in '08 was really hard on us. And I think that, um, just my, I'm very risk tolerant, but that whole experience of the economy melting down the last time really has caused me to, um, caused us to limit our exposure. So I do think that there is... We're more selective. I think I'm more selective as I look at deals.

Speaker 2 [14:47] And when you say more selective, Are you thinking more like location or exit strategy? Or when you say more selective, like, I guess, where are you tightening up that circle? I think it's all of it.

Thomas Wolfe [15:00] You know, location, condition, pricing. Yeah, across the board? Yep.

Speaker 2 [15:06] All right, Sandra. What are you looking for on your next deal that you feel like you might not have looked at this time?

Sandra Peplinska [15:12] I would say I would look more, if the ARV makes sense, if the numbers make sense, the demand, what is the demand for at the moment, as well as, like, the neighborhoods, like, you always want to buy, the worst house in the best neighborhood? So that's what I would look out for. Cool.

Unknown [15:37] All right, Drew?

Drew Axtell [15:38] Yeah, I would say, for us, it's gonna be... We look at it through the same lens with the lending and with the investment, like, it has to do two things. It has to be able to be a rental and it has to be able to sell. If it doesn't do both of those things, we're really questioning the buy. So, or even the lending. And to kind of go back for just a second, the previous question, on the, on the, uh, the middle, the middle, what do you call it? Middle housing. Yeah, the middle. Missing middle, yeah. Missing middle. Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah. Very similar. Like all of our properties that are in that middle area are slow to sell, right? Like, like, that's just a softer part of the market.

Um, they're definitely rate sensitive. Those buyers, if you're above that, and again, I'm going to speak more from Greenville experience. You're in your 800 to a 1000000 plus. Those are probably cashish buyers. Um, right? it's irrelevant. What the rate is. And then again, below that is going to be your folks who are 1st time buyers or potentially renters in that same kind of price point. So everything that we do is going to be, it's got to, it's got to do both of those or at least has to be very close to both of those. So that's kind of what we judge it on.

Zac Ruiz [17:01] So that is a great answer. And if I could dig a little bit deeper. You were saying previously how you're like, we look at more deals now, we're more discerning, right? So I can tell you it was a landlord. It no fun. I have a property manager sitting. So are the renters. The renters are looking at more places before it. So when you're saying it has to sell and rent. Selling is a little easier, right? You have, like, a lot of market data. How are you deciding whether or not this can rent, and, I guess, for the price they think it'll be able to, you know, do it and get a DSR out of your loan?

Drew Axtell [17:29] Yeah, so we're gonna look... We actually will rely on a lot of property managers. Like, we'll go and ask them. Hey, what's this area renting for? And then also, you know, it's good to know the path of progress, like, what's going on in the area, new development happening, like, what's the value going to be in a little, in another year, six months, year, two years, and then can we hold on? So part of our investment, too, is like, we never want to have our own cash in the deal, we actually will always try to pull out and put it into long term debt. So, can it cash flow enough to cover its own butt, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? So, that's all part of the analysis, as well, on the front end.

Did that answer the question?

Zac Ruiz [18:14] Yeah, that's 100%. Okay, that's great. So we'll just stick with you. Sure. You're flowing here, right? So, um, and you have a great perspective on both being in the game, but then also getting a lot of people coming to you, right? So the question is, what daily or weekly activity consistently helps you find deals in today's market? So that's kind of, like, the Legion perspective. And then how does this compare to previous years' markets? Like, you know what's changing there?

Drew Axtell [18:37] Yeah, so the deals are getting slower, right? The market is slowing. And so, it's imperative to be the person that is, like, you gotta be talking to the wholesalers. You gotta be talking to the network, and you gotta be just be in the face of people. And so, like, we will, every week, I'm hitting up as many wholesalers as I know to say, Hey, what do you got? Like, what can you, what, and I can look at it through two lenses, right? So I could say, hey, I can help you sell that, because I'll lend on it. But I'll also buy it, or I'll be a potential buyer for that, too. So I'm looking at two lenses there, but, uh, okay.

So, yeah, so that's what we're going to, and then, and then just networking, networking networking networking. Like, I just talk to people. Keep talking to people, build the network, build the rapport, like get to know who's doing what, and what markets, and why. Um, and then just keep talking to them. Stay in communication.

Zac Ruiz [19:37] So on that note, any wholesalers in the room, raise of hands. And we have, all right, guy up front, we have Mike. Look at this, all right? Does anyone have a deal right now? That's looking for a buyer. Look at that, two handed. Mike always has the deal. Oh, hold on, forehands. All right, so do that, tonight. That's why you came, right? Looking for a deal. There you go. Go talk to them. Make it happen.

Unknown [19:57] Yeah.

Zac Ruiz [19:59] Yes, please. I can repeat the question if it's been some time. Up to you. Okay. Okay, Got it? Yeah. Good. Yeah, pro.

Sandra Peplinska [20:06] Um, I would say, I would agree with everything that Drew just said, and on top of that, one thing that I actually love doing, is, I just like to drive in different neighborhoods in Ashville, and look if there are any distress properties, just, like, really, you know, take the scene crowd. If you see a distress property, I get out of my car, I walk around, you know, what happens, happens. And then I usually check on, I check GIS, and I look at the owner, see if it's, like, under trust, or if it's private person, all of that. And, yeah, that's really what I like doing.

Thomas Wolfe [20:48] Well, I give a little plug for a buddy of mine that started a new platform recently. It's called The Daily Deed, the Daily Deed.com. And, um, I have found, uh, it's very affordable. It's like 10 bucks a month, and it gives you all of the previous day's closings in Buncombe County, and all the details. And I just have found that. I think he started about two months ago. I launched it a couple months ago. And I just have found that to be very effective just from an awareness tool.

You know, that you can see, hey, there was five houses that closed, or five residential properties closed north of a million, and there's nothing, you know, 800 to 500, and then you got a bunch south of 500, which is quite a different picture than it was. It was 12 months ago. So, I think just, for me, it's just, like, that awareness, being in that awareness. So, quick...

Zac Ruiz [21:47] So, Patton Allen, right? So we have Brent Sefton, who put together Daily Deeds. Super cool. Definitely check it out. Support the local thing that's just starting, and they want all the feedback. So poke around.

Speaker 2 [21:57] All right, so before we do this next question, guys in the audience, we're gonna try something new today, springing it on you. We will do a quick break for questions. If there are any halfway through the questions for the panel, so we can get a little bit more interaction, in case there's a lot of pent up demand for questions, we can address them all kind of halfway through. So, get your questions ready if you have them. If not, we will keep rolling. But Thomas, back to you. What type of deals are the easiest to do right now, and why? And type of deals, let's focus on, like, exit strategy. If you had to pick one extra exit strategy that you'd be looking at, what would it be and why?

Or if you have a strong opinion on how else to answer that question, run with it.

Thomas Wolfe [22:43] You know, I think there's still, in the midst of all, is this. I think there's still a really high demand for vacant lots that affordable or relatively affordable houses can be built on. So, you know, any way you can structure that, whether, you know, finding down the street from our office, a couple of houses burn down on South French Broad, you know, if those lots become available, or if you can find a small piece of property and get 3 lots out of it, or get a house and carve off a lot. I mean, I think there's a lot of, um, there's a lot of demand for that. Awesome. Thank you. Sandra?

Sandra Peplinska [23:21] Um, what I'm saying, the Mandan, our houses are, like, four bedroom plus. Those seems to be the houses that people ask about the most, those are usually either four or five roommates to lower the cost of rent. Um, they love that. Um, you know, getting four or five people together, renting a house, the cost, for 5,000, you only pay 800 a month, um, which is that's what we need. We need those, like, 800 to 1,200 rage, um, rental properties, and also, like, one bedroom, apartments, or multifamilies, where you can also have it priced at, like, $1,000 a month, because people want to live by themselves, but to live by yourself, you have to make certain income.

So if we can have more properties that are, you know, in that $1,000 area, that would be really great.

Drew Axtell [24:26] True. Can you repeat the question, I'll make sure I'm kidding.

Speaker 2 [24:31] Yeah, what's the easiest type of deal to do, or what would be your preference to type of deal to see, if you're gonna lend on, Would you prefer to lend on a flip or a rental, et cetera? Gotcha.

Drew Axtell [24:41] Yeah, so, uh, from a lending perspective, it's just gonna be the same kind of criteria as I was talking about before, like, can it, can it be a rental, and can it also, you know, be sold, uh, at a reasonable, um, ARV level, uh, from an investment? I, like, gold standard is, is, for me, it's 32 plus. Um, you know, and if it's not, if it's not a 3 2, does it have the square footage to add the third bedroom and third, or the second bath, um, and then if it doesn't have that, can it be added to the actual space, uh, on the lot is what we're gonna look at?

Zac Ruiz [25:20] So from a lending standpoint, with the same flavor of question, would you guys find it, you know, air quotes easier, easier to exit out of for a new construction or a flip, where you don't think that really matters?

Drew Axtell [25:30] So, we don't do any new construction. There you go. Our good buddies at Alfie, Craig, handles all that for us. I refer everybody... Raising hands, Mr. Peters. There we go. If you're doing new construction? See, that's smiling face. Yeah, so he does all that. I kick everything to him, and, but from a fix and flip. Yes, yeah, that's gonna be our standard. Okay.

Speaker 2 [25:53] So, while you all think of your audience questions, I have a question. Just question. How are you doing rehab and rentals in Asheville and viewing deals like that? Because I feel like very few deals would pencil as a rental and as a rehab, in Asheville, that I've looked at her, I've purchased recently. I don't know if Thomas wants to chime in on that, but I feel like it's one or the other, it feels like, and it's a very hard one or the other.

Zac Ruiz [26:19] For the audience at home, we're getting an emphatic shake of no.

Drew Axtell [26:23] So, I mean, you know, from a Lenny perspective, I haven't invested in Asheville area, to be transparent. I have lent on quite a few deals in the area. And they have all penciled from my analytics for both. And again, I've looked at a few where I have not leant on because I didn't feel confident in it. Would I, absolutely, but the loan to value has to be strong enough in its sale point to say, okay, like, we're good. This is gonna sell. Like, even if even if the bottom drops out, it's gonna sell. It's got good comps to support, but we're gonna be really, really stringent on that, to say, okay, it absolutely has to be at the right loan to value level. So.

Thomas Wolfe [27:09] Go for it, Thomas, and then Earth. Oh, and I was gonna say, that equation in Asheville, even with escalated, or what we've experienced as escalated rental values just has not worked for 10 years, or longer. Probably since the big recession, you know, since you could steal houses, so to speak, quote unquote.

Um, But I, speaking to the opportunity in the current climate, you know, as there's downward pressure on entry level housing, uh, while there is, there has been since the storm downward pressure on rental values, uh, the, the purchase value of housing, because of the downward pressure presents, I think, a very interesting opportunity, because I think that there is a lot of wisdom, out there running around right now that would indicate that the rental values will recover before the property values begin to recover.

So I think trying to, if you've got those resources, and are good looking at deals, I think it's a good opportunity to begin looking at low end housing and anticipating rental values to recover.

Speaker 2 [28:21] I concur. All right, any audience questions while we try out something new? Okay. Right at the front. Okay. All right. Get ready for catching the box here.

Zac Ruiz [28:37] Just keep, we'll figure it out on the soundboard side. All righty.

Speaker 2 [28:41] My question is, is it safe to act reactively to the market? Or do we need to act predictively? If we do need to make predictions, what in the past can we reference? Is that for anybody or just for whoever... Okay. So, reactive versus predictive thought process? Basically, I mean, if we're looking at what's going on and there's shifts in the market, the decisions we're making, based off of that, do we need to react to those changes, obviously we need to react to those changes, but we need to also make predictions and prepare for changes that are coming in the future. If we do need to make those predictions, how do we make those predictions?

Unknown [29:28] Who wants to run with it?

Sandra Peplinska [29:30] I'm gonna start it. Um... I'll say you gotta make sure that your numbers are of what they're supposed to be when you start. I am personally a full scent kind of person, so if the numbers make sense, I'll just do it, and then I'll figure it out along the way. Um, and, yeah, pretty much. Just do it. Now we're getting emphatic. Yes, nods.

Speaker 2 [29:55] Thomas or Drew, do you guys have an opinion on that, or...

Thomas Wolfe [30:01] You know, I think it's, um... None of us have a crystal ball, right? And all of us want to be right. Most of us want to be right. Most of us don't want to be wrong. Um, and I just, I do think, uh, you don't want to be hasty. It feels like, to me, a reactive position is a hasty position. You can make adjustments based on what we're seeing, and that not, at least in my frame of reference, be reactive. So, I do think, um, wise, maybe slowing that down a little bit, turns that from reactive to predict, uh, whatever the objective.

Unknown [30:46] Yeah.

Drew Axtell [30:47] Yeah, I was actually going to say very similar, like patience. Like, you know, yes, you can react to the current, like, you should be aware of what the current economy is doing and what the current value in the real estate that you're investing in, in the area that you're investing in, what it is doing, but then also, you should be looking towards the future to say, okay, if the economy shifts hard, what will I survive? Will I be able to make this property work? And on the upside, what can I potentially do with it after it goes up? But patience first, I think, is super, super key. Like, it's so, I will look at hundreds of deals every month.

both to buy and to lend on, and we don't buy properties every month. So, you know, patients is so key, uh, to be able to, like, we're in this to make money and to have long term wealth. Like, that's, at least that's my purpose. Um, so patience in that process is gonna be really, really huge. Um, and, and, as Saunders said, uh, know your numbers dead. Like, know them, know them, know them, reanalyze them, look at, give them to somebody else to look at. Do you do you agree with this, you know, these numbers? Um, and then keep keep refining as much as you can. Look at more deals.

Thomas Wolfe [32:12] And one other thing is, actually, I take comfort in, as you think about this, Literally it is going to change. And under our current political climate, It literally changes every day. We wake up every morning, not knowing what is gonna happen, right? So rather than dreading that, just, like, again, take that in as an awareness, that it's gonna change, you know, and we're all gonna do our best, and make the best call we can, and, you know, my dad used to say, As long as you're winning, more than you're losing, you're head of the game. So.

Speaker 2 [32:51] Awesome, thank you guys. All right, let's try one more question if we got it. Were you gonna have to say something? Oh, panel? No, okay.

Unknown [32:59] All right. Let's go.

Zac Ruiz [33:01] What's the question? I think, Mr. Mr.. Oh, Mr. Mike. Okay. Let's get the mic to Mike. All right, you do for the audience. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you do for the podcast. Hold on. And then we'll get back to the... 'Cause we are... we're gonna get you out of here at 7:30. That I can promise.

Unknown [33:18] Boom.

Speaker 2 [33:20] Concise question for Mike. Hello?

Unknown [33:23] Hello? Hello?

Speaker 2 [33:25] Yeah? And we'll fix it on our end. Keep going. All right. Drew, just a quick question. If I was a borrower and wanted to buy a property and have you fund it, what does the LTV look like for that purchase? And does that include purchase and rehab? Can you give us some insight for any...

Drew Axtell [33:43] I missed the last part of that. What was...

Speaker 2 [33:45] What the LTV you're looking for when you guys are lending, essentially. And the secondary is, do you fund 100% of both, or what does that look like for you?

Drew Axtell [33:53] Yeah, so what we do is, we're trying to look at, and loan to value is tricky, because, you know, loan to value, how you see the loan to value, could be different than how I view it, and how Zach views it. Like, it could vary. So, depending on whatever we are saying, the after repair value is, the loan to value could fluctuate, to be honest. So, but we kind of work off, like, a 70% loan to value range, right in there, we're not gonna be exact on that, but we're gonna try to stay close to that. And then we're doing, you know, what our kind of structure is, is to start for a brand new borrower, which, you know, we do work with brand new borrowers, is usually like 10%.

We're gonna have them bring, and then we'll fund 100% of everything else, including closing costs. That's kind of what we are standard. And then, as we work with the individual, that can improve, as well. So, that's kind of how we're structured.

Zac Ruiz [34:58] Awesome. So getting back to the show. We'll start over here, because this is kind of your question here, all right? What is your approach to finding new lenders or money partners?

Thomas Wolfe [35:12] Man, good partners are tough. Tell me more. You know, I'm a big fan of hard money. Um, so grateful when Alfie came into the market. I was actually their first customer, which was kind of fun. Um, but they're not doing rehab loans anymore. And so I want to, Drew, I want your number before I go. Yes, sir, you bet. Craig has it. So yeah, I'm a big believer of hard money. And also, I would say that everybody, Drew just alluded to this. Everybody looks at deals differently. Um, and I just did a, I just got a deal done that I had five people turn it down, and the sixth person that looked at it, you know, they're out of state. They're in Utah.

They thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Um, so, I think you just, you gotta be persistent. You got to find the right fit. Fit is everything. Whether, you know, it's doing the deal or doing the money part.

Zac Ruiz [36:14] Wise words. Wise words. Uh, can you repeat the question? Absolutely. What's your approach to finding new lenders or you're like, you know what? Alfie and Drew, that's all I need.

Sandra Peplinska [36:26] Yeah, what else do you need? I don't know. I don't know. My approach. My approach is coming to these meetings. Coming to the meetings, network with people, see what they are about, see what I'm about, see if we would be compatible as far as, like, you know, partnering on the deal. And I, yeah. Mike. That's all I need. I just need Mike. Andrew.

Zac Ruiz [36:53] There you go. Well, so, it kind of speaks a topic we touch a whole bunch, and it's, like, develop the team. So things we skipped over and good to grade, right? is the right people write seats, get them on the bus, all this language, but it's, Get your team, right? Get your general contractor. Excuse me, get your plumber, get build that team, and you're pretty good to keep going. So sorry.

Drew Axtell [37:12] Yeah, no, uh, so I actually have, uh, maybe a unique perspective. So, like, obviously, yes, I lend to fixing flippers. Um, but, like, if I was brand new to the game, right, and I was looking for money, uh, to fund a deal, yes, I would be definitely talking to Tar and my lenders, no, no if answer buts. But then I would be telling everybody what I'm doing. And I would be like, I am a real estate investor. Even if I haven't had a deal yet, I'm saying, I'm a real estate investor. Uh, everywhere, everywhere you go, uh, just talking about that, and then, and then I would absolutely partner with somebody who had some money. and say, Look, I will give you some equity.

I will give you some, you know, whatever, profit from this, but I need somebody. I'll line up everything. Like, I'm gonna hustle my butt off to get the money, um, and honestly, if you have the deal, the money will come. Like, there's no F friends or buts about that. If the deal works, you'll find the money. Don't worry about that.

Zac Ruiz [38:12] So, digging that just a little bit quicker, 'cause we're gonna go through, we're gonna get to the end here. But so, like, I personally believe that, like, not all money is created equal, right? So borrowing from someone who's got some, like, you know, some chops who's done this before, you're gaining a partner, as well, versus someone who maybe just has the income to give you money, that relationship may be difficult as the deal goes on. So are you, are you saying, tell everyone and pick anyone that says yes, or maybe even be discerning as you're looking for that partner? Well, I think that's obvious. Head shaking a nose with a partnership earlier. Yeah.

Drew Axtell [38:44] Yeah. So, yeah, you're not going to take every month. like I see I see investors all the time. scrounging for money and they will take any money that comes to them. And I look at that as a train wreck. Because, you know, if somebody is used to, if they're a higher net worth individual and they only invested in stocks, they do not know real estate, right? So, and so they're like, oh, man, this is great, but then like, there's so many questions, like, it's just a nightmare. So, yeah, not all money is all is that all creative equal. So be very selective. Yes. Be very selective in who you're partnering with.

Unknown [39:26] Okay.

Speaker 2 [39:28] Sorry, I was laughing so hard. I got distracted on where we are. So, all right. Drew, will keep it going with you. I think I'm totally lost. You're gonna have to take over on this one. All right, so look.

Zac Ruiz [39:40] Round two. All right. So, if someone has to deal with no money or experience, Kind of like dovetailing what I just talked about, right? What do you think the first step they should take in? So, like, someone, you're just out in a coffee shop, and someone's like, Oh, you know, someone in my family passed, they've got me this house. I don't even know what to do. What's the first step that you would take, or who should they call? Is it a money lender? Is it a GC?

Drew Axtell [40:01] You know, if they have a deal and they don't have money, they don't have anything else, right? That's right. Right, yeah. Okay, so they have the deal and they don't have anything else. I would be finding somebody that has already done some flips. Like, I would be like, Hey, man, I have this property. Likely, they're gonna be like, Oh, great, I will partner with you. I will absolutely jump in with this. And they will probably have three or four of the connections that you already need. the contractor, the hard my lender, the private lender, the attorney, like, they may have all of that already. So, again, if you have the deal, everything else, everything else comes pretty, pretty quickly.

You taking over?

Speaker 2 [40:40] Well, just question on that, and maybe I'll let you answer, and maybe we can add it to this question for both of you, is just, like, what's the value on your 1st deal versus just cashing out right away versus partnering and going for a ride? I'm sorry, say that again. So what's the value of cashing out? So you got the contract. You could partner with somebody, you could just wholesale an exit out of the deal. How do you balance the, Hey, take the cash right now versus go along with a ride in a world that's very new to you?

Zac Ruiz [41:05] Yeah, so, sorry, but just to clarify for when at home, if they're not aware, right? You can get the deal and then sell that deal, right? And or assigns wholesaling. Or you could do it yourself, just to make sure everyone's on the same page here. I think it honestly depends on where you're at.

Drew Axtell [41:21] Like, if it's, like, a brand new deal and you need cash. Like, holy cow, take the cash. But if you're not in that position, if you're like, oh man, I'm trying to get into this world, take the partner. Like, you will learn so much. I have not, I have yet to do my own deal by myself. And I probably won't ever do deals by myself, at least not for the next 10 years, because it's just easier, because I have multiple people looking at it. I have multiple analyzing it. I have people that are gonna have better ideas than mine, because I'm not brilliant. Uh, so, so, like, I'm gonna take the partner all day long.

Sandra Peplinska [41:59] Same for me. The investment I'm working on. I am working with two partners, and when we first got into it, we each had different skills that we were bringing to the table, we all three of us pretty much agreed that this is just our first investment, and we're just gonna keep going with it. So there was no, there was no, just confusion of, like, you know, one person wants to keep it as a rental. Another person wants to sell it. We made sure that we were on the same page. So, yes, I also would say partner up with people. Make sure that the people they partner up with are compatible with you, and you guys connect. Um, you know, you understand each other, you know what you are doing.

We had, we had pretty good agreements of, like, you know, how much sweat equity are we gonna be putting into it, and, you know, and how do we see it long term? So it's great to ask those questions before you sign any documents. Absolutely.

Zac Ruiz [43:04] And then, just quickly, I believe Mr. Crumb is a trusted advisor on this, as well, if he's not directly involved. So you even have outside help, right? So build the team, build the team. Sir.

Thomas Wolfe [43:16] I alluded to the fact that partnerships are hard. I've had a lot of failed partnerships to varying degrees of pain on the exit, right? The only successful partnership I've had is with that fine lady in the pink shirt back there. A round of applause. Yes, please, all right? This is great. Good job. Personal and professional. Um, but I what I would say to everybody is that, again, back to the whole fit thing, you've got to know, like, who you are and what you want to do, 'cause I'm not a partner dude. You know, I like doing things my way. I like doing it by myself. Doesn't, you know, of course, I think I know what I'm doing most of the time.

It doesn't always work out that way, but, um, I think it has a... It's all about the fit, and you can't find the right fit unless you know yourself, right? Took me a long time to realize I'm not a partner kind of person. Really, that's why I had a bunch of failed partnerships, to some degree, right? So that understanding of yourself helps you understand, do I want a partner, if I want a partner, what kind of partner is that? What kind of money am I looking for? What kind of deal am I looking for? So I do think a lot of the things we're talking about have most to do with understanding who you are and what you want to do. Because there's hundreds of ways to make money in real estate, literally.

Zac Ruiz [44:39] So, yeah, they say the only ship that doesn't float is a partnership. And I don't exactly believe that, but statistically, I mean, kind of, you know.

Drew Axtell [44:51] I think, too, like, as you're looking at partnerships, I love what you just said. Like, that was a really good perspective. Absolutely. And I think, too, like, you need to look at a partnership as it's not a marriage, right? Like, you can partner on one deal and and be done. Like, you're not, you're not gonna, you're not gonna do it again with them. Maybe you can be like Thomas and just, I'm gonna do it. Like, I have the chops. I know what I'm doing. Obviously, he knows what he's doing. He can handle that and, like, you know, go with it.

Zac Ruiz [45:21] It's a very sobering perspective. So there's a super famous HR document from Netflix, right? And they were basically what they said is we're not a family, all right? We're a team, right? You can't trade your drunk uncle, but we can trade Michael Jordan, if that's what we gotta do. So, taking it from a very real perspective, is a very German line.

Speaker 2 [45:39] All right, so, big piece of any deals is capital, right? And so, Thomas, we'll start with you, is, what's the, either maybe the biggest mistake you've made or biggest mistake you've seen other people make when they're raising capital for a deal? And you can, I mean, that's very broad on purpose.

Thomas Wolfe [45:58] Um... Well, let me go back to what I said a 2nd ago, you gotta know yourself. You gotta know what your boundaries are. I have been guilty of thinking I needed money so bad that I was willing to give up almost any amount of the deal. And that was a really, that ended really badly. It ended badly on more than one occasion. So, what I would say to you is just really gut check, and see what it is that you need and want and have really good boundaries around whatever that partnership may or may not be.

Unknown [46:43] Yeah.

Speaker 2 [46:44] Golden handcuffs is a real thing.

Zac Ruiz [46:47] Right? I was gonna say, like, I don't want to make light of it, but is that not the process of getting to know yourself, right? It's getting back up, taking the chance, and but actually learning, and bringing that forward next time? Except for those of us that repeat it over and over. Yes, I can imagine. Everybody learns on a different timeline.

Speaker 2 [47:07] Right, Sandra. Mistakes people make when raising money.

Sandra Peplinska [47:14] Number one, I would say they rush. They don't check all the details. I think they are just too focused on profit, so they don't see everything around it. Yeah, I would say that, that, just not having enough patience and just really wanting to get into a deal or an investment and ignoring the red flags that the investment may come with.

Zac Ruiz [47:42] So on the property management side, how many newer clients, I guess, would be the question? Are you seeing where their assumed rental value is not going too well? And you're having these difficult conversations where maybe eating into what they thought would be profit, and now it's break even. These days, a lot.

Sandra Peplinska [47:59] These days, I would say, it's, like, 90% of homeowners, because every homeowner thinks that they have a gem of a house, right? Every homeowner thinks that we will list the property, and it's just gonna be gone within days, and now we are in the market where it takes a month or two, and, you know, you have to try to rent people's properties. So, you know, over time, you lower the price and lower the price until you finally find the right price, and I think Rodrigo would agree that these days, it's really just about figuring out.

Like, I have properties that we listed, and they were amazing, and we were just like, It's gonna go so fast, and it's three months later, and I'm finally getting a lease on it, and the price is, like, 800 less than what we started at. So, yeah. I agree.

Zac Ruiz [48:51] I want to disagree. But... 'Cause I got a gem of a property, people, let me tell you. It's these Sunset views and everything. It's these renters.

Sandra Peplinska [49:00] Maybe you need to change property management company. Oh, my God. Transpired. All right, moving on. Chairs are flying next.

Speaker 2 [49:07] Hustle.

Unknown [49:09] All right.

Drew Axtell [49:10] Uh, I'm sorry, you're gonna have to ask the question again. I got thinking about renting. Okay, we can all get lost on steak. Extra night.

Speaker 2 [49:16] What's the biggest mistake you see? People make when they're trying to raise capital.

Drew Axtell [49:21] Okay, yeah. Uh, so I think it's, if you're trying to raise capital in, in going into, like, trying to find some private, uh, private lenders or what have you. It's being unrealistic about timelines, and profit value. Like, like what the return is going to be. Um, if somebody comes to me, even as, even as a hard mail lender, if somebody comes to me, this is a slam dunk deal. There's about a 90% chance. I'm not doing that deal. Right? Because like, just be realistic. This could go terribly wrong. Right. But we could all make a lot of money. Like... Right. Just be realistic.

So, I would say, I would say that, like, proceed with caution, be realistic, run your numbers, run your numbers, run your numbers, and try to just be as honest as you can about the process.

Speaker 2 [50:06] There is a difference between excitement and optimism in there when looking at a deal.

Zac Ruiz [50:12] All right, friends, so for the sake of time, we're going to move right into the lightning round, lightning being quick answers, right? All right, so we will start over here. We will start at Drew. What book, podcast, or tool do you think every investor should check out right now?

Drew Axtell [50:30] Uh, that's pretty easy for me. I think, um, it's gonna be Rich at Poor Dad is the book. Um, and probably Bigger Pockets podcast or Real Estate Disruptors podcasts are both very good.

Sandra Peplinska [50:46] Beautiful For me, recently, Boca Rai bread was the mountain is you, which is about self-sabotage. I think we all struggle with that. And that really just opened my mind of like, oh, like, I may be the problem here. So. And then the podcast I've really been enjoying lately is the dairy of CEO by Steve Bartlett, just like gain awareness. Yeah.

Thomas Wolfe [51:16] My book would be The River of Doubt. It's biography of Teddy Roosevelt exploring the Nile, not the Nile, the Amazon, sorry. And just the perseverance that that required. I mean, it was his the beginning of his downfall, and he was a really cool guy. And then I already mentioned Daily Deed.

Speaker 2 [51:36] So, all right, Thomas, we'll start with you. go back. finish this sentence. In this market, the investor who wins is the one who, Can we go to the other end? Drew, the investor who wins is the one who?

Drew Axtell [52:01] That's it is a tough one. Uh, I'm gonna say patient.

Sandra Peplinska [52:08] I would say one that's not afraid to pivot. One that's just being creative and just kind of flows with the market.

Thomas Wolfe [52:16] And I would say the one that's a service to their customer as well as to themselves.

Zac Ruiz [52:24] All right, all right. Those redemption. All right, so now two fill in the blanks. We're ready, all right? The smartest real estate investment in Western North Carolina right now is because...

Thomas Wolfe [52:35] Low end, single family housing, because of the downward pressure. Great ant pricing.

Sandra Peplinska [52:41] For me would be starter units because of how many people in our area are in, like, the transition between, you know, having their homes being rebuilt, and, you know, getting the stuff that they need to move into a new home, and, yeah, starter units would be for me.

Drew Axtell [52:59] Drew, I'm gonna say same thing, Thomas said, 'cause he knows this market better than I do. Smart. This is the guy who partners every time, people.

Zac Ruiz [53:08] This is the way to do it. Partnership fan right now. partnership. Thomas, if you own partner, yeah.

Drew Axtell [53:12] Yeah, yeah. Oh, wait, no, he said no already.

Speaker 2 [53:16] Yeah, but doing back to you, Drew, last question, then we'll do audience Q and day. What is one skill every investor should focus on mastering in 2025.

Drew Axtell [53:27] Oh, this is easy. networking. Networking is one of the most powerful tools not only for finding deals, but also mitigating risk. If you have a network, Like, I know right now, if, like, all of the loans that I have in Greenville, right? 60, whatever loans. Um, if they go wrong, I have a network that can that can pick that up that can get that to the finish line. So that is buy and large, like buy, like, for me anyway, it's it's the thing to, to, it's an invaluable thing. Talk to as many people as you can and tell them what you're doing.

Unknown [54:04] Sandra?

Sandra Peplinska [54:05] Not getting discouraged. by the by the market, by the circumstances. Thomas.

Thomas Wolfe [54:13] And along those lines, perseverance and not being afraid to ask.

Speaker 2 [54:17] All right, awesome. Thank you, guys. All right, so, audience Q and day for however many minutes we have until 7:30. We got one question right off the bat. I love it. Here you go. Hope you can catch better than I can throw. Let's see. Evan, I'm so sorry. That was close.

Unknown [54:33] Thank you.

Speaker 2 [54:35] Thank you for everybody coming up at the panel here. A lot of amazing things there.

Thomas Wolfe [54:43] My question here is, how are using AI as a thought partner in your work, whether brainstorming, strategy, or decision making?

Unknown [54:54] I'm not. Oh, hold. Hello?

Thomas Wolfe [54:57] Let's cover back. Or just using AI in general.

Unknown [55:00] Oh, yeah, and I'm not. So...

Zac Ruiz [55:03] Oh, I'm glad I Rodrigo was looking. All right.

Sandra Peplinska [55:08] For me, it's also not, for me, it's just hands to work, no AI.

Drew Axtell [55:14] Yeah, and I mean, we're getting there. We're not using it much. Um, it's still so selective, right? Like, one of the main things that we're doing every single day is analyzing properties. So I know better than chat, GPD, or whatever, whoever it is, whoever AI is using, uh, what's happening in the area, and why I think that value that property is valuable or not. So, um, at this point, we're not seeing it as a super useful tool, there's no question we will end up using it. How? I don't know, but it's coming. And our eyes are, like, wide open. Like, okay, there's gonna be something. So let's make sure we capture it as soon as it comes along.

Speaker 2 [55:55] Zach and I both have strong opinions on this. I'm gonna go first, because mine's gonna be shorter. We're using it all the time, and we're definitely pushing our team to use it more often. And it's not necessarily in doing new things, but it's just doing labor intensive things that can speed up a lot faster. And so, we use it almost every day. And it's not changing the way we work. It's just making the, like, our volume of work output higher.

Zac Ruiz [56:19] And so I'm a software engineer by trade. So I'm hitting the APIs and doing it heavily. We gave a talk about this. So I'm on the podcast, it's the hub and spoke talk, and essentially, the way I would say it is kind of to Drew's point. Like, you're the human, right? Like, you have the touch and the feel. But if you start uploading data, instead of just randomly querying it, like, what do you think about that? Put in your Excel spreadsheet. Give it structured data that it can actually read and parse, and then it becomes a superpower. So that's how I would encourage people to use it, is provide it with the context, is what it's called, as opposed to just assuming it knows the market.

Do you train on that, or? Sure, let's do it. Yeah. I'm ready. See, networking questions, partner, I like this.

Speaker 2 [57:01] All right. Craig in the back. We're gonna work our way back. So just, uh, we're gonna start here with Parker. I saw him first, but then Craig's next. Sorry, I got excited.

Unknown [57:11] Awesome, y'all.

Zac Ruiz [57:13] In a changing market.

Speaker 2 [57:15] Does your ARV or your bottom dollar cash flow change, or does it become more important to you? What was the last part? Does the ARV change? Like, are you lowering it or is it more important to you? Yeah, or your cash flow on long-term rentals. Basically, in a changing, uncertain market, when you have your bottom dollar, does that change more now than ever, or do you get more strict on that when finding deals? Are you holding more strict to your numbers? Is that a good summary? Okay, yeah.

Drew Axtell [57:55] Yeah, I'd say we're, you know, that we're getting tighter on it as things develop. The thing about that, too, is that like the seller has to know, too, that the market is tightening. And then, and then I'm gonna kick it to wholesalers as well, the wholesaler has to know that the market is tightening. So those numbers have to go down to make sure that the value is still in it for the investor. And if it's not, it's a no to the deal.

Speaker 2 [58:25] Cool, can you toss it to Craig behind you?

Zac Ruiz [58:29] And then we probably have time for one more after Craig.

Speaker 2 [58:35] I don't have a cue, but I have an A to a previously asked question regarding partnerships. And I think we can all agree that everyone in this room benefits from the partnership between Zach and Rodrigo for bringing us all together, because I've done deals, Zen, I've done deals, Chrome, with a bunch of people in this room. So we very much appreciate you guys putting this together every month and keep coming back. It's very beneficial for everybody. There's my A. Thank you so much. Thank you, Craig.

Zac Ruiz [59:10] All right, on the way back, the young lady, right. Oh, wait. Did you get intercepted? All right, there it is. Thank you.

Speaker 2 [59:19] How nervous are you right now?

Unknown [59:21] Thrill a minute.

Drew Axtell [59:23] Well, I'm actually not gonna ask you a question. I can ask you a question, Anita. My question is for Sandra. It's a personal question. I love your poise and confidence. You have a lot of knowledge, and you seem very, like, real estates in your blood, and I'm curious if you feel that way, or if you made a choice at some point to just learn real estate.

Zac Ruiz [59:50] What did the mountain look like before you got to the peak?

Sandra Peplinska [59:54] Um, hmm. Wow, that's a great question. Um, I think, well, I grew up, my dad did some flips, and I've always been with my dad, so if he had something going on, then I would just be like, I want to go with you. Um, and then as an adult. So my background is actually, I came here to be a pastry chef. And about 3 years ago, I was just like, I don't think I want to do this anymore. So the next closest thing to me was the real estate, um, and the path I took is, I reach out to a local property management company, and I just said, I wanna, I wanna just shadow you. I wanna see what this is about. If I will like this, and they let me do it.

They let me spend a few days with them, and after those few days, I was like, hell yeah, that's what I want to do. Um, and that's what I started looking for a job in property management. And then slowly, you know, found AVLmeetup. I actually started as a volunteer at an AVLmeetup couple years ago, and I started coming to meetings, met more people, and just letting what it is about, and now, now I actually don't, can't imagine my life without real estate. Yeah.

Zac Ruiz [1:01:15] Did you hear about us through Alexi and Elena, by any chance? What about them? Did you hear about AVI meet up through Alexi and Elena?

Sandra Peplinska [1:01:23] I think so.

Zac Ruiz [1:01:24] I think a lot of people have. Can we get a round of applause for Alexi and Elena over there? We're shouting everybody out tonight. Talking about good partnerships. Yeah, they even found this place. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Alexi, so... long time. And we'll end on that, right? So, uh, you all just got an email if you checked in, and you'll be able to give us your feedback. We have some event stats and everything like that, so thanks for coming. If we can get a great round of applause for our speakers for the last one of the night... So please hit that feedback link. We think it's a gift. We wanna be better. Uh, and the inbox should be there now. Finally, quick shout out.

We have the summer mixer coming up on the 17th. No agenda, no cost, just show up. It's also on the website. And finally, next month, affordable housing. So, 7:30 on the dot. Thanks for coming. We'll see you guys at the mixer or next month. Thank you, guys.

Speaker 2 [1:02:21] Hey, guys, Rodrigo here, wanted to say thank you for taking the time to listen into this month's panel conversation. We hope that you join us in person at next month's meeting. You can find out more at AVLmeetup.com. We primarily meet on the 1st Tuesday of every month, but be sure to check out our website, AVLmeetup.com. You can also watch this conversation on YouTube at AVLmeetup. Well, also, I have a quick announcement. We started a property management company called Vesta Property Management. So if you're looking for third-party management for long-term rental. We'd love the opportunity to talk to. Our goal at Vesta is to turn houses into homes and investments in 2 returns.

If you're looking to work with a third-party management company that will allow you to have peace of mind and experience freedom around rentals. Uh, reach out to us. We can help make that happen for you. bestapm.com.

Zac Ruiz [1:03:17] What's going on, everyone? Zach here to close it out before you sign off for the day. If you liked the data driven portion of today's meetup, then I'd love to take a moment to tell you about the Ruys report and REMC.co. If you're a real estate professional, then you know that you should become the local economist of choice, but you're probably unsure of how to learn the skills required. That's where the Ruiz Report comes in. We offer customized marker reports to promote your business, training videos so you'll learn how to interpret the market data, and monthly quizzes to keep you sharp. Learn more at reseport.com and sign up for a free account to watch all of our training videos at no cost.

If you're more interested in the live data and some data and analytics dashboards, then I highly suggest you check out RAMC.co. REMC.co is the 1st of its kind, data and analytics dashboards for the real estate industry. Now you have to be an active participating member of the MLS in order to sign up, but it is unparalleled data on every market participant, whether that's an office, a listing, or one of the realtors. Again, you can find out more about REMC.co at REMC.co. As always, thanks for listening and we hope to see you at one of our next meetups.

If you can't make it and you still want to be part of the movers and shakers, then sign up for a free account at AVLmeetup.com and get yourself into our member directory. Thanks again. See you next month.