Antonio Edwards Shares How He Went From Struggling Truck Driver To Real Estate Investing Rockstar

Steve Trang: Hey, everyone. Thank you for joining us for today's episode of Real Estate to Disruptors. Today, we have Antonio Edwards with HouseFlavor Academy, and he's flown in from Orlando to share how he went from driving trucks, struggling truck driver, to rock star investor. If this is your first time tuning in, I am Steve Trang, broker and owner of Stunning Homes Realty, founder of the OfferFast Homes app, the only MLS for off market wholesale properties. And I'm on a mission to create 100 millionaires.

So if you wanna join us in that mission, please connect on Instagram. If you're excited for today's show, please give me a wave,

Antonio Edwards: Give me a thumbs up.

Steve: And as a friendly reminder, I don't charge a dime for this show. I don't make any money doing this. So here's all I ask. This is what it cost for you to listen to this show. If you get value today, please tell a friend.

You can share this episode right now, tag your friend below, or tell him your best takeaway from the show later on. That way, we can all grow together. And I keep getting requests for t shirts. And so for me to be able to sell t shirts on YouTube, I need to get 10,000 subscribers. I'm at 7,000.

So if you guys wanna buy shirts from YouTube, I need you guys to subscribe. I'm looking at you guys. I can see it. And don't forget this is a live show, so please post your questions for Antonio to answer. You ready?

I'm always ready, Steve. Alright. Awesome. So first question, simple question is what got you into real estate?

Antonio: First and foremost, I'd like to know, thank you for the invite for the for the podcast today, man. And, I mean, you you definitely been killing it with some some, other guests on your show with Yeah. Put out great content, by

Steve: the way. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah.

Antonio: What was the question again?

Steve: What got you into real estate?

Antonio: What got me in real estate? I come from we're just talking about this prior to us, you know, going live here, but I used to be in the music business. Right? Yeah. I was in the music business from basically, like, my sophomore, junior year in high school up until, like, 25, 26 years old.

That's where you're

Steve: at the start.

Antonio: Yeah. So music music is like that's that's like my passion. You know? I love music. It it's just my and it's therapeutic for me.

And one of the guys, before I start there, actually, my mom at 22 years 22 years old, my mom gave me the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Okay. But what what was so intriguing about that, she never even read the book. Somebody gave it to her. She had on her dresser and just, like, randomly, she's like, here, son.

Some some something on my heart told me to give you this book. Yeah. And I never read the I never read any book cover to cover, Steve. Like Really? Not one book.

I hated books in school. I despise reading books. I was I'm not a good reader. Like, still to this day, I read slow. So if I can do it, you can do it too, by the way.

But, I happen to pick up the book and, like, I started reading a few pages because that title enticed me to, like, at least start book. And I was driving trucks, making $6.50 an hour with another it was basically me and another partner. We'll take turns delivering copper machines. He'll drive two?

Steve: You're making six fifty an hour? Yeah, man.

Antonio: Damn. Yeah. I was baller, baby. Baller, man. Yeah.

So, the time he was driving the truck, I'd be in the passenger seat, and I'll be reading this book. And I'm like, dang. And it was like, just open me up to, like, real estate. Yeah. So from there, the upsell

Steve: Mhmm.

Antonio: I went to his boot camp. Yeah. And I thought Robert Kiyosaki is gonna be there speaking. So I was all amped up, and I wanted to meet him Mhmm. And thank him from there.

Like, hey. I, you know, I read your book and, you know, gave me the moment for real estate. And, obviously, he had you know, somebody speaking there and, you know, replace from of him. And they got me for a 5 k package and introduced you know, that opened me up to wholesale in real estate.

Steve: Yep. Okay.

Antonio: And I didn't do any of those from that coaching, but it still got me in the right path of what I wanted what I I knew what I wanted. Yeah. So it's kinda it's kinda crazy how, like, time timing is everything. So I'm, in Virginia where I was living at the time, I saw this guy with a We Buy Houses truck in my neighborhood. Mhmm.

Right? If it wasn't for me reading that book, getting, you know, open up to, like, the wholesale and going to that boot camp, I probably would never seen that truck. Yeah. So I I saw the truck. I flagged him down, stopped him, and guess what he was he was doing prior to real estate?

Driving trucks? Music.

Steve: Okay. He did

Antonio: the you know, I would you know, 50 Cent. Right? Mhmm. He did he produced the fifty Cent first singles called Wainster. Most people would probably know that.

That was one of his other than, like, in the club, that was one of his other big first singles. Yeah. He produced that track. Wow. So from there, we just, like, just we just mashed, man.

You know what I mean? And Yeah. And I felt like I connect with him. And I was like, hey, man. I'm looking to buy houses.

I was trying to go off a script when I learned to write with Kiyosaki. And he's like he gave me a card. He's like, hey, man. I'm looking to buy, like, a few more houses this month, closing two weeks. And and I was like, wow.

This dude sounds serious. You know? And I called him, like, the next day or two. We met at Starbucks, and he just we we just chopped it off. And, like like, after hour, they was like, man, you know what?

I really like you, man. You really remind me of myself. You know, I remember, you know, he was in the game seven years. Like, seven years ago, man, I was I didn't know nothing about real estate. I wish I had me.

He said, I'm gonna take you under my wing. And then from there, I put up, you know, my first 100 bandit signs, which I've kinda, like, leading I was going off his his, like, his coaching, and my first deal came for it was a it was a crack house. My first deal was a crack house.

Steve: Where was this?

Antonio: In Virginia. Okay. I was living, Chesapeake, Chesapeake, Virginia. That's where the house was. 721 Potter Road, Chesapeake, Virginia.

I'll never forget that.

Steve: Don't don't forget the first

Antonio: one. Yeah. So we're going to this house. It's five brothers, one sober heir, four crackheads. The four crackheads living in a property.

And I don't know shit about real estate. Like like, nothing. So I'm going into this property with with my mentor, and we're meeting that sober air there. And I'm just walking into this house. I'm just like like, who will buy this?

Like, who buys it? Like like, who like, it's like literally no no lights. They're like all slump they're like slumped in the house, man. Like, straight crack house. And, I remember my my mentor, he just was walking through.

It smelled like mildew mold. It was it was messed up. And then he was just like, I smell money in here. And I was like, I'm looking at him. Like, I don't know.

Like and just I'm just like all ears, and I'm just like just just analyzing, like, how he talked to the seller, and it's very strategic. And I remember when he was when he when we got near the negotiation, he was like, like, watch this. So he he went to the worst part this is a tip, by the way. He went to the worst part of the property. Mhmm.

It was like it was like some, like it was real mildewy. It was a little little leak, little hole in the ceiling. Looked up because he asked the he asked the seller how much was he asking again. I believe it was like I could be off a little bit. It's been ten years, but, like, 65, 70 k, give or take.

Mhmm. And he looked up and, he he walked to the the worst part, looked up, and he's like, how much are you asking for the property again? So he look he stood at the worst part of the house to negotiate. Yeah. And the the seller was like, well, I mean, I asked $65.70, but, you know, we can I'll take 60.

Yeah. You know, because he I I don't know if it's like a psyche thing.

Steve: Oh, yeah.

Antonio: Yeah. I still use that trick today, and it just it works.

Steve: It's effective. It's effective.

Antonio: It's effective. And we got we got the property locked up for $48.05. Actually, no. 48 k. Went as soon as we went to because I rode with him in his truck.

We bought a house truck. Soon as we got in his truck, we had a property locked up. He called a buyer for 60,500. Three hours later, boom. He was like, yeah.

I'll I'll take it. Yeah. And that was my first deal for for 12,500, man. Okay. So 2,009.

Steve: 10 years ago.

Antonio: August 2009.

Steve: Alright. And then how what was your journey from there?

Antonio: So my my first year, that's all I needed. Mhmm.

Steve: I mean,

Antonio: I come from the music business is is that that's to me, the music business is a is a more hustle than this real estate thing. The music business is, like, that's a no joke game, man. Yeah. It's like you up fourteen, fifteen hours, producing music, you're traveling here, you're going here, you're going here. And, so I was like, damn, all I gotta do is, like, get a property on the contract and just flip this piece of paper, and I can make some money.

Like, to me, that was, like, out of thin

Steve: air. Right.

Antonio: So I just making money.

Steve: Just creating it.

Antonio: He's just creating. Yeah. Off the specialized knowledge. Mhmm. Just off of one investing strategy.

Just wholesaling. Yeah. And I was like, man, I can do this over and over over again. Right. And my goal was to do music and do this little wholesale thing Mhmm.

On the side. But I I just love I was like, wow. Like, I I started I I started doing it full time.

Steve: I mean, how can I help you? Addicted.

Antonio: So my second deal was a rehab. Yeah. And, somebody offered me 5 k for it. Right? As a wholesale, then I was like, no.

I wanna go into rehab. I'm gonna make 40 k. Boom boom boom. Not much later, I made I made 3 k. I could've made 5 k on it.

Yeah. Yeah. So I in the meantime, I was wholesaling wholesale wholesale during that nine month for that rehab. I did 26 of those my first year. Wow.

That's really good. My first six months, I made my first 100 k Steve net. And in my bank. I I didn't know how to act. I was like, man, you don't understand.

Like, where I come from, man? Like, that that was, like, that was a big deal

Steve: for me. So you're at $6.50 an hour? $6.50 an hour. And then six months later, cleared a 100 k.

Antonio: Well, I quit I quit my job at age 24 to do music. I should have said that. I quit my job at age 24 to do music. Mhmm. That sucked.

That didn't work work well. I would have some roommates in this house I was living in. Mhmm. My house went to foreclosure, went back home to my mom and dad Okay. Right before my first deal.

Gotcha. Right before, like, a month or two before my first deal, I went back home to my mom and dad at age 26.

Steve: Yeah. Okay. Yep. And then from there, seminar, meeting this guy Meeting this guy. And he and and were you partnered with him or you were just

Antonio: doing your own after that? Yeah. Yeah. So I was actually wholesaling him some deals because he was a he was a buyer. Yes.

He was. He didn't buy that first one, but he brought, like, my third or fourth one, give or take. Mhmm. And, I did some JV. That that first rehab I told you about, we went in together.

He actually funded the deal, and he had me, like, manage the which that was, like, a whole another story for a whole that's a whole another story for another day. Yeah. Yeah. Like, me managing it on my second deal ever. While he's in like, literally, he was in Minnesota Uh-huh.

With his with his fiancee at the time, and I'm I'm trying to manage a rehab. Right. They only did one deal prior to that. Like, it it it took nine months, man.

Steve: We all learn. Yeah. We all learn in different ways.

Antonio: Yep. But the learning experience is priceless, though. I can't say that. I learned a lot a lot. And the one thing I did learn was how to analyze and, like, know my repairs to property.

So when I did my other wholesales, I'd quickly knew how to be like, okay. This property needs about 30, 35. This need about 20 k.

Steve: You're better at estimating. Absolutely. Because we see some of those come through.

Antonio: Oh my you you can see you see those, Steve.

Steve: Like Yeah. Just 20,000 is like, no. You need to tear this place apart. Right.

Antonio: I always say here's a rule of thumb too. And don't don't people watching this, if you're, like, new, just starting up, don't be offensive. But, like, if you think a property is 10 k repairs, I'll at least double that. Yeah. Like, just double it.

Right. Just do it. Don't be afraid. Like, tell your buyers 20. If you think it's 20, tell them it's 40.

Right. I mean, that's just a rule of thumb for me. Like, because I these emails I got coming in from wholesalers, man. It's it's only, like, 12,000.

Steve: You know?

Antonio: It's a 2,000 square feet profit. Yeah. 12,000 for a full rehab.

Steve: It's crazy. So what were some of your struggles then, you know, in doing your first? Because you I mean, you you you cleared a lot of money. So you obviously had financial success, but what were some of your struggles along the way?

Antonio: My my struggles along the way was, like, scaling and, like, you know, getting out of that business. I was, like, an employee to my business. I was a madman. I was doing, like, two, two properties a month wholesale. I did 26 my first year, but, like like, I didn't tell you that I was working my ass off.

Like, I was

Steve: Talk about that. Because boom. Yeah. See this on Instagram. Like, man, I just gotta get in wholesale, and I could get these nice cars and nice watches.

Yeah. So Like what's the truth?

Antonio: Well, the the truth well, you don't know how how hard these guys are working. Yeah. And, and the I mean, you you didn't see their journey either. Like, I mean, ten years ago, like, you know, we're more in, like, the the it's social media is way bigger than ten years ago. Like, I I wasn't I wish I documented my first deal.

Yeah. Today, if I had my first deal, you'll see it on Instagram. Right. You know? But, man, I I was I was working, you know, probably about putting band of signs out from midnight to five in the morning.

I do a 100 signs every Friday by myself, wake up on Saturday, and I have all these calls coming through my cell phone. I have my, yeah, I had the numbers coming through my cell phone. Yeah. I had the number on my my phone number on the bandit signs. Right.

Steve: I

Antonio: would set my own appointments, go out to I was doing seven cities in Virginia. I would go thirty minutes out to, like, one city, and then I go to another appointment, like, another forty five minutes to another city just to just to say, no. My property you know, you're not I'm not trying to give my property away. Yeah. So that was lesson learned.

But I was still doing deals, but I was just I didn't have any other life other than real estate. Even though, like, seven days a week, I was working, basically. And I was kinda, like, on the seller's time. Oh, yeah. Like, if I saw a hot deal come in at 7PM, I'm busting I'm, like, going I'm driving thirty minutes to just to

Steve: Dinner's done.

Antonio: Dinner? Oh, no. Like I'll

Steve: put this down. I'll see

Antonio: you later, Steven. I gotta go see this motherfucker. Because for such a motivator, that's how that's how it was.

Steve: Is how it is when you start.

Antonio: Yeah. So, that was my struggles. But I read at the like, my second year, I read, for our work week. Yep. Okay.

I think it was, like, the 2010, start of two thousand eleven. That's when I got introduced to the four Hour Workweek.

Steve: And then how did that help? Because I actually had this conversation a couple days ago with someone else that was like, man, that's a great book. I was like, is it really tactical? What I remember from it Mhmm. When I read it a long time ago Yep.

It was mostly theoretical. I mean, a couple of tips about VAs and stuff, but it was mostly theory.

Antonio: Well So

Steve: how did it help you?

Antonio: It helped me far as out the outsourcing thing. Mhmm. I didn't know, let me say Virginia. I didn't know virtual assistants existed. Mhmm.

I didn't know what that was until I read four Hour Workweek. My mindset was like, okay. I'm, you know, I'm a get this 3,000 square feet office. I'm a give me a team of employees. You know, I'm gonna oversee that company.

It that was my mindset. Yeah. Like, I was like, my goal was, like, my third or fourth year. Maybe I'll I'll get to that. Maybe have, like, like, five or 10 employees and, like, kinda scale I like scaling, just grow it from that.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: But when I read the four hour work week, like, based, like, my after my my my second year, I was like, damn, I don't need that. Like, I can get, you know, a couple VAs. They can, like, alleviate me. I don't have to, like, answer my calls no more. I don't they can make my appointments for me.

So I started off with that. I started off with one full time VA, which is still with me today, by the way. Cool. And she used to, like, basically at the time, I had an answer service set up. Something simple, answer service.

And then that they'll basically prescreen the lead and she'll look at get that lead and she'll call them. And if it was vetted, and I told her how to vet the leads

Steve: Mhmm.

Antonio: She'll make an appointment for me. So that that saved time alone Right. At at the time. Saved so much time for me.

Steve: Right. So you're not going to the people who are saying, I'm not giving my house away.

Antonio: Absolutely. I

Steve: got a question here from Angel. He wants to know how old you are. You said Angel? Angel Ramos.

Antonio: My son just graduated last Saturday. Yeah.

Steve: I saw that. I was like, that is that can't be right.

Antonio: You I wish I wish I could show you my DMs,

Steve: man. Yeah.

Antonio: Like, they was like, dude, like, how old are you, man? Like but, I'm 36, man. Yeah. I'm 36. I have my son, in high school, senior in high school.

Yeah. Yeah. So it's like just me. I like, I was was telling him, like, I was telling my son last year. I was like, man, it's like, you got a clean slate.

I had you coming out of high school. Like, you really have a clean slate. The day before his graduation, he closed a $3,000 deal, by the way. Nice. Yeah.

Steve: Very cool.

Antonio: It's on YouTube, by the way.

Steve: So Is it? Yep. So I got my business partner, Max, and he also does the same thing. He has a he had a early start. So his son actually, our our our videographer, if you watch our stuff on Instagram Yep.

Yep. Right, he just graduated high school. Wow. And he's younger than me. So I think he's I think my partner is 35,

Antonio: 36.

Steve: I was like, yeah. Yep. I mean, my my kids are little. So I was like, how does that math add up?

Antonio: It it wasn't it wasn't easy, Steve. Yeah. It wasn't easy at all, man. Yeah. But I I I wouldn't trade that for anything because it, like, it it it grounded me.

Like, a lot of my like, pretty much, like, at the high school, a lot of my friends were, like, partying or and or going to college. Mhmm. Like, I instantly got a twelve hour truck driving job. Yeah. Like, literally, like, I graduate Saturday, Monday, boom.

Going to work.

Steve: That's that's the reality. Right? That's but you you mean you were there, and you were supportive. You were able to do it. Yep.

So one of the things I'm excited about is I get to meet the guy that's got the house to wholesale houses one on one video. Because I am beating my head. You know? Like

Antonio: Which one is that one again? Is that on YouTube?

Steve: That's on YouTube. That's like you know, if you Google, like, wholesaling, how's there wholesaling real estate Uh-huh. There's, like, you and there's Max Maxwell.

Antonio: I didn't know that.

Steve: You guys are always battling for, like, top three, top five, whatever. And Max, I mean, he's he's kicking all our butts right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Antonio: But he's killing you too right now.

Steve: But your video is, like, always there. I was like, who is this young guy, you know, like, teaching how to wholesale houses? So when someone was like, you know, you gotta put Antonio on the show. I was like, alright.

Antonio: Let me see who guy is.

Steve: Yep. And I I started following. I was like, man, this guy's this guy's legit. Yeah. So, so how is your operation different than, you know, a lot of other guys in this space?

You know, there's a lot of guys doing volume Absolutely. Right? Throughout the country. So, like, how is your business different?

Antonio: I'm a pretty much my what my t shirt says. I'm a cash flow guy. I used to be a active income guy. I'm still active income guy. Active income pretty much, you know, you you you work for one check.

You know, whether it's fix and flip rehab, that's one check. Wholesale, that's one check. You still gotta go find the next throw the bait out there, find the next deal.

Steve: Sell the job.

Antonio: I I I learned, especially in my thirties, I've been reverse engineering, like, my thought process. Mhmm. I mean, it's always that, hey. I can make a quick 20 k or I can make, you know, get this 20% cash on cash return on this buy and hold here. Yeah.

You know, it's a slow it it seems slower, but it's not. Yeah. I was I I was asking LA yesterday, and I was, talking to a guy out there, and he I was breaking down, like, the buying hold strategy. And he was like, man, that's such thing. That's like slow money.

I'm like, but it's wealth, bro. Right. Is that's the wealth.

Steve: How long

Antonio: do you find him being

Steve: alive? And he was he

Antonio: was thinking of the quick way because he, you know, he gets quick money, makes great money, by the way. Yeah. You know? Not in real estate, but he still makes great money. And he was just like, man, that seems slow.

Like, you know what know what I can do to to I'm like, man, but, like, think of, you know, the the tax advantages, which is another topic. You know? And think about your wealth. Like, you know, these these stuff, you start building this up. You got cash flow, you know, to to take care of your lifestyle, and you can you can just live your dreams

Steve: Right.

Antonio: Without worrying about any wholesale deal, unless you just wanna do a wholesale deal.

Steve: There was a Haim was on a show. Haim, I'm on Mhmm. A few weeks back, and he said, like, everyone thinks cash is king. He's like, no. It's not.

Cash flow

Antonio: is king. It's king. I love that. I love that. That's so true.

That's so true.

Steve: And, you know, I learned so, you know, being I did a lot of foreclosure deals back, you know, during 02/2008. Mhmm.

Antonio: And

Steve: I saw all the rich guys. Yep. Right? They're the ones able to kill it because they've got the money Yep. Because they've got cash flow.

Antonio: Got cash flow. Yeah. And, I'm fortunate enough, Steve, to have a brilliant market. Like, you know, I I buy thirty, forty k houses or less, and I tell people that and they're just like, what? And I I I get $8.08, $900 a month off of thirty, forty cows.

You you do the numbers. It's just 30% return. Like It's ridiculous. Like, literally, two Fridays ago. Can't make this up.

My the the the one I said my son made 3 k on is from this deal. I bought this property for 45 k. Did new work no work. I'm getting $11.50 a month. I Mark, is this?

This is in Virginia. Really? I I promise you.

Steve: All the houses are expensive, Virginia.

Antonio: No. No? I mean, I know the I've been in the market for ten years out there, man. I know that market. Yeah.

Steve: November?

Antonio: November. 45 k. 45 k purchase. Zero work. Nah.

I didn't even pick up a piece of land.

Steve: Like, zero work. And then your son will sell that to you. I'm I'm guessing.

Antonio: Well okay. Did you would you wanna segue a little bit on this strategy? Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah.

Alright. So, basically, my buying whole I don't like I'm not a landlord. I basically, you know, I acquired these properties. We call this the the slow flip method. Mhmm.

So, you know, how, like, a landlord, they'll go in, put the 10 k, whatever, to make it rent ready Mhmm. Carpet paint, the cosmetic stuff. I buy this property just on acquisitions as is, and I'll sell them a land contract. So that that down payment is nonrefundable from that occupant. Mhmm.

Right? And that's land contract is thirty years. They put down a

Steve: down payment.

Antonio: Yep. A down a down payment. So for this 45 k purchase, I brought this property. My son brought found a tenant buyer Mhmm. That could be three k down.

That's that was his three k.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: Right? And he's on a 30 land contract with me or agreement for sale. He's paying me $11.50 a month for thirty years. Yeah. Yeah.

If he actually let's say if he just defaults on payments, I'm in the driver's seat. Right. Guess what I'll do? I still I still can evict him like a regular tenant. I don't have to do any foreclosure process.

I evict them like a regular tenant. Rinse and repeat. Get another down nonrefund with down payment. Mhmm. Get another thousand, $11.50, whatever a month.

Even at 900 a month, it's still a great return.

Steve: Yeah. Wow.

Antonio: Yeah. I so that's my that's my buying hold strategy. And I know a lot of a lot more especially guys in my mastermind and stuff, they're doing this, in virtual markets because, like, you know, some guys may be in Tampa. They they they can't do this in that market because it's just it's insane, the competition. But they might go buy in Michigan in virtual.

You could do this in virtual markets because you're not doing repairs. It's it's easier to manage. Right.

Steve: Yeah. Gotcha. So let's see what else is it. So Tam wants to know, starting off, did you have any limiting beliefs when you got started?

Antonio: Absolutely. Limit limited beliefs was the first deal. I mean, that that was I was very doubtful of that before it happened. Mhmm. Could you just read about it

Steve: in books? It can't be real.

Antonio: Yeah. Like, I mean, I'm thinking, like, you need to know The average average mindset of, like, somebody that's outside of real estate that don't know much about real estate. You're thinking of either real estate agents, you need a license. Mhmm. You need a whole bunch of money in your bank.

Yeah. You need perfect credit. Like, none of that is true. Right. Like, literally, none of that is true.

So when I after that first deal, I was like, man, I I really could do this. So now my mindset was like, okay. How can I get to that first 100 k?

Steve: Mhmm.

Antonio: And I was a little doubtful of that because, you know, after that the $12.05 check, it's 100 k seemed just so far. But it's not.

Steve: It's not.

Antonio: That's not a lot of a lot of money in the real estate game.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: I mean, one deal for 30 k. I mean, that's, I mean, that's not Farfetched either for a wholesale deal.

Steve: No. It's not Farfetched. And I

Antonio: I'm not trying to, like, go with people's heads, overwhelm them, but that is, like, not Farfetched. Assignment deal, 20 k, 30 k, 50 k. I mean, they're the deals are out there. It's got a market.

Steve: It's not unusual at all. So, one question someone asked was Mhmm. I guess you have a strategy as far as buying from auctions. Is that Yeah. Right?

So can you talk about that a little bit? Because they wanna know, like, how can you buy from auction sites with the margin so tight?

Antonio: Well, the margins are tight, but you just gotta keep your finger on the pulse on these these these, auction platforms, you know, auction.com, zoom.com, xome. Mhmm. Hubzu.com, Hudson and Marshall. Those those like the thing the four main platforms, couple other ones, but those are four main. But you gotta constantly look up there every day or, I'll say, like, three or four days out the week.

I think in my market, we they do biz, like, three or four days out the week. Mhmm. And and you you gotta you gotta know your your bit your your maximum amount, a maximum liable offer, your MAO Mhmm. Before you bid on them. So what I'll do, like, the the week prior, I'll look at next week, I'll be like, okay.

Okay. It's 20 properties I can bid on. Right? Mhmm. And I may not get none of those properties.

I may get one out of 20. But I do know, and this is another, tip, the bank, or the auctions are bidding against you. So when you see, like, you know, you might be at 50 k, you might see it go from 50 to 55 Mhmm. And you your max was at 50, and it stopped at 55. I know that I know the auction has been against me, and I know it's come back going the following week or the next week.

Oh, really? 999% of the time that though they've been against you because they're trying to get you in your emotions and get it to bid up, and now you're stuck. You're 40 k over. You're for paying. Right.

So It's like eBay. So you just stay consistent. You just stay consistent, and then you'll get one. Like, I I I know, like, when these properties are up there at least thirty days, they they're ready to wiggle a little bit. Mhmm.

The first thirty days, I know they're not they're they're gonna, like, just Yeah. Is is this gonna keep don't keep being against you for those first thirty days. But after thirty days, they're ready to wiggle.

Steve: So are you buying these to wholesale, buy and hold? What is your strategy when you buy the auction?

Antonio: Yeah. So you you can't assign these because it's a bank owned the online auctions are already preforeclosed on. They're are they're, they're bank owned. Mhmm. So if you wanted to wholesale, you gotta close on it first, you know, do transactional funding Mhmm.

And, you know, basically sell it to your end buyer that that same or next day. Yeah. So I do both. I do a hotel deal. Actually, I mean, now nowadays, I I mean, in this market that we're in, Steve, like, this is a hot market.

So I'll just I'll close on the deal, and I know I got buyers that I can call. But it's like new buyers coming into the game every day buying property. So I'll stick it on the MLS or the MLS and just just see what I get after I close on it. And and, like, it's more than what I actually will probably sell it to my actual pocket guy, my pocket cash buyer.

Steve: Of course. So that's

Antonio: what I've been doing with these auction properties. Yeah. On the flip side, I'll just keep them. Yeah. You know, like, those know those seventeen, twenty, 30 k properties.

I know I can run it out for 7 to $900.

Steve: It's just crazy. That that math is just you can do that all day. All day. So, someone post that. I can't remember who it was about your music video.

Antonio: Yep. So, I got a music video coming out. I don't know if people saw the the BidFlip Prophet music music video. Have you seen that one?

Steve: I haven't.

Antonio: It was a online auction music video. I'll teach people how to flip online auctions in in the music video. Yeah. So I got another one coming out, and it's basically like a wholesaling music video, teaching people how to flip houses, assigning contracts Yeah. Find a cash buyer.

But it I I can't wait to drop this thing, man. Yeah. Shout out to Brian Tripp. He's he's actually that music video. One of the one of many guys in the I

Steve: wonder if he's gonna ask the question because they deleted it. They posted the question, then they deleted it.

Antonio: Oh, okay. So I

Steve: can't remember who it was. It might have been Brian. Yeah. We'll see.

Antonio: So I tried to do a little something different in the marketing, man. I mean, I don't think nobody in our in our real estate space is doing, real estate marketing music videos Mm-mm. That I knew of. You know?

Steve: Yeah. Everything's predominantly Instagram

Antonio: Mhmm.

Steve: Facebook, and YouTube. Right? Lots of gurus advertising YouTube. Every time on my channel, there's always a freaking guru on my channel. Yep.

Antonio: I don't

Steve: know what that's about. Mine's too. Mine's too. Okay. So then how much are you wholesaling?

How much are you wholesaling? How much are you flipping?

Antonio: And how much

Steve: are you keeping? Like I don't

Antonio: do any more rehabs no more.

Steve: So no more no more flipping?

Antonio: It doesn't in my market, it just don't make sense. Okay. I mean, I I I'm averaging 10 to 12 k on a wholesale deal. Mhmm. And rehabbers in my market are averaging about 25 k on a rehab about four months time.

To me, I mean, you break that down per month. Mhmm. That, to me, doesn't make sense because I can find deals. Yeah. I don't I don't, like, look forward to, like, looking at, you know, finding properties off the MLS.

Like, a lot of these buyers, they they just be putting 50 offers a a week on the MLS hoping they get one. Mhmm. And they're real buyers, but they don't know how to market. Yeah. See, with wholesaling, you have to be a great marketer.

Right? You gotta be a good deal finder. And if you're a great deal finder, you're in the driver's seat. And and I'm I'm great at finding deals like that 45 k deal or, you know, had a literally, a a host wholesaler sent me a deal today for $22.05. Guess what I'm a do with it?

Steve: Keep it. Write it out.

Antonio: Keep it. I already have a occupant waiting for that 3 k down, $8.75 a month. I'm doing no work.

Steve: So they're expected to re like, you know, even if it's, like, a terrible condition Yes. Because it's their house

Antonio: Yes.

Steve: They're gonna fix it up and do all the rehab work for

Antonio: you. Absolutely. So I'm in the driver's seat. So if they again, if they default on payments nine months later, obviously, they put some work into it. Mhmm.

I'm a victim like a, you know, regular tenant. Yeah. They they, you know, crease the value of the property. They probably put their own little tenant in there or whatever. Mhmm.

Or maybe they're living in it. A lot of these a lot of my occupants, they live in them. Yeah. And they kinda, like like, do sweat equity, you know, fix it up as they live in it type type deal. And I'll have a property halfway fixed up or fully fixed up.

Yeah. I had one I had one property. Right? This was in Hampton, Virginia. I paid 19 k for this property.

This guy this was a sweet deal, man. I got this from auction,auction.com, by the way. This guy gave me $7,500 nonrefundable now. So, basically, I'm only in it. 19 minus 7,500.

What's that? 115. 115. I'm in it for $11.05. He was paying me $6.00 $8.82 every month for fifteen years.

So three years later, which was beginning of last year, January 2018, he's like, hey. I wanna buy you out. I'm like, oh, a perfectly good plan just like screw. So that that that's the I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but with the land contracts, you know, they have the option to buy out. Because I sold it to him, basically, like, 60 k Mhmm.

On a fifteen year note. He put $7,500 down. So he his balance was, like, what, $50.52 5? Yep. Yep.

So, basically, I just basically got a lump sum check at closing at, like, beginning of last year.

Steve: So it gets terrible.

Antonio: I just bought two more houses. Yeah. Like like that. But I was liking that deal, though, the $6.00 $8.82 every month, and I'm never and I was in it for $11.05. Yeah.

And this was another beautiful thing. And then why I was kinda, like, upset because he fully, fully remodeled the property. Yeah. Like, bling bling ring like like, he bling blinged it out. Yeah.

So the house was worth $1.31 40.

Steve: So he made the smart move.

Antonio: Yeah. So I was in it for eleven five, and I was like, man, like, this guy default. I mean, he's I have a fully remodeled property. Yeah.

Steve: You're in really good shape.

Antonio: Yeah. But he he did his thing. He he, cashed me out, and I got a lump

Steve: so Kristen wants to know, is a land contract like a lease option?

Antonio: No. It's different. The lease option, you have a lease involved with an another separate document option to purchase contract involved. With With this, this is like a land contract, which is paid basically like a deed in escrow, and they get the deed once they pay off the property in full, whether it's fifteen years, thirty years. It's a form of owner financing Right.

Without besides with the the full blown owner financing, they get the deed.

Steve: Yeah. I

Antonio: don't like that work. I wanna be in the driver's seat.

Steve: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Antonio: If you can

Steve: do it your way, that's way better. Yeah. So then, Chidi wants to know what's your success rate on appointments, I guess, in person versus over the phone?

Antonio: That's that's a great question. I I highly recommend somebody asked me this on on a ID store today or something similar to that. But, the success rate like, you mean before I go see the property?

Steve: Yeah. I guess it's probably closing as as I'm guessing.

Antonio: Successful. What we do. My my my lead my lead manager, we will if we're on a if we just say, like, from, a a homeowner called us from a direct mail piece. Right? And my my lead manager would be on the phone, and then she'll be doing, like, you know, her cons while she's talking to him, get on the rest of the details of the property.

We will give them because we we target free and clear property. So, like, most of our properties are free and clear when they call in. So we know they they owe nothing on the property. So we would give them the super lowball offer just to kinda, like, minimize their, like, standard a little bit. Anchor?

Yeah. Like, put them in reality, and they'd be like, oh, that's no that's way too low. And they will still set an appointment. It was like, well, don't hold us to it. Let's let us see it first.

Mhmm. And then we'll go out to the property, and we'll offer higher than than that super low ball offering with my assistant set on the phone.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: So it won't seem as bad. Mhmm. And our our ratio I mean, I'll say out the, like, 10 to 15 appointments we're getting a deal. Okay. Yeah.

Getting a deal. And, I mean, a lot a lot of the deals, like, were like, I like the slow flip, man, of the buy and holds. Mhmm. Like, I'll I'll wholesale slow flips to other investors in my market because it's getting very popular, that term slow flip in my market right now. They're loving that.

Steve: Probably because of you.

Antonio: Well, shout out to Scott Jelenich too. Yeah. I don't know if you know him, but

Steve: I don't.

Antonio: Yeah. He owns, like, like, one thirty of these or one twenty five of these. And, like, literally, no no landlord. It's just sexy, man. Yeah.

It's just sexy in the single family world. Like, it's a sexy model.

Steve: Oh, yeah. It's a great model. So Clifford wants to know, Clifford cowboy closer walker, and I'm I'm I'm gonna point him out because he's a truck driver. Nice. So Nice.

Yeah. He wants to know what was your first hire?

Antonio: My first hire in my business? Yeah. My first hire was my virtual assistant, in the I say 2011. Mhmm. And she was basically, like, you know, after the lease came in from the the answering service, she'll call them, vet them.

And if they, you know, met the requirement, she'll make an appointment for me for me to go out at the time. And I was going out to all my appointments. So that was my first hire,

Steve: a virtual assistant in The Philippines. Okay. And then how did you

Antonio: go about finding her? At the time, what what was that? Right now, everybody's using, like, Upwork and all others. It was it was another it was a popular one. I don't see it around no more, but oDesk?

ODesk. ODesk is not around.

Steve: Well, oDesk and whatever merged and became Upwork.

Antonio: Yeah. There you go. Yeah. So it was, like, specifically oDesk at the time. So I found her from oDesk, and she was I was paying her, like, at the time, $2.50 an hour.

She's working eight hours a day Yeah. Monday through Friday, occasionally on Saturdays. Right. Yeah.

Steve: And then, Kylie wants to know how many deals are closing a month right now?

Antonio: Right now, I'm doing about average about four or five deals a month. Yeah. And my my again, I'm going to reverse engineer method. I'm trying to do less wholesale deals. So the year 2020, I mean, unless a wholesale deal just, like, just falls on my lap, I'm just trying to do all buy and holds.

Mhmm. And to be honest with you, and everybody's market is not like this, so I don't make make no promises. But this the the buy and hold slow flip method, I don't need any marketing strategies for that because wholesalers are bringing me these deals on a platter. You're a buyer. I'm a buyer.

They're bringing it to you. And it's not it's still not competition in my market where I could still buy these off the MLS at this type, like, 30 k probably, 40 k prop because that same cash buyer is a landlord looking at, like, damn, I gotta put 15 k repairs in it. I'm looking at, like, damn, he's gotta buy it on the purchase price and acquisitions, and I can just sell it on the land contract.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: So, 2020, I'm probably gonna not put as much marketing on the wholesale deal side and focus focus more on my buying holds. Yeah. I don't know if that answers question.

Steve: I think I think so. Let's see what else is there. Okay. So one of the things you mentioned earlier is, like, the difference between you and a flipper is that you know how to market. You know how to find the deals.

Absolutely. So let's talk about how are you finding deals.

Antonio: Yeah. So I'll I'll this this is different from three, four, five years ago. It's three it's three marketing channels that I feel like are very solid and working right now. One is cold calling, which I highly recommend you guys cold calling. If if if you can, don't do it yourself.

I don't know what I mean. You you kinda you'll be a ploy to your business. But if you have to do that, then do it. You know?

Steve: If you're getting started, you have to

Antonio: do it. So cold calling, Ringler's voice mail is another solid one. And, the the online auction platforms. So, like, those are our top three Mhmm. Lead acquisition sources, in today's market.

And and I think cold calling is probably winning right

Steve: now. Yeah. So when you're cold calling

Antonio: Mhmm.

Steve: Your targeted market is in Virginia? Yep. Okay. Is that your only market?

Antonio: Yeah. Outside of my coaching clients, that that's my personal market that I focus on. Okay. Yep.

Steve: And then so you're cold calling this. What's your list? Like, who are you targeting for cold calling?

Antonio: Yeah. It's a good question. I I target empty nesters, people that own a house at least thirty, thirty plus years, free and clear. And our our last list, we just we just did all free and clear whether in, they live in a property or absentee. And that we have two deals locked up today from that specific list.

Okay.

Steve: Is there a specific list company that you like? Because I know, like, for us out here, we use PropertyRadar. It's great for us.

Antonio: Yeah. That's great. But Yeah. East

Steve: Coast, not so much.

Antonio: Yeah. I use ReboGateway, also known as Title Two Box, which is the Vance side of REBO Gateway. Mhmm. And we we we can go in and scrape your own list, and you can get real fancy and cool with it and stuff like that. So REBO Gateway is a is a really, really good tool to to to get list, you know, pre foreclosures, bankruptcies.

I wish my state had this, but a lot of you guys states and markets might have this, but tax defaults. Mhmm. I wish I I wish Virginia had tax defaults so I can just scrape the tax false list like Florida or here in Arizona or Cali or

Steve: We got tax defaults, but it's not the pain. Foreclosure is is more painful out here. Really? Tax deed states are great. Yeah.

We're a tax lien state.

Antonio: Yeah. Oh, gotcha.

Steve: Gotcha. So it's not as painful here.

Antonio: Yeah. Yeah. You

Steve: got, like, three years to catch up.

Antonio: Three years? Yeah. Damn. Yeah. That's crazy.

Steve: Yeah. So we don't really go after like, we don't have a lot we don't intentionally go after tax lien so much because it's not that much pain. You got three years to resolve it. Mhmm. Okay.

So But

Antonio: let let me say this real quick, though, Steve. Yeah. You know, you have a lot of people that, you know, great guests come on your on your show. Mhmm. And we we all pretty much target the same list.

Yeah. And I'm gonna just give you guys this is not even a secret, but this is just a tip. It's not it's not about the list. It's about your funnel and your follow-up with that list. Because you can we can tell you all the list to to to go out and target and all that.

But if you're not hitting them three, four, five, six, 10 times or following with them six months later, nine months, even two years later until they sell a house or Yeah. You know. And the the deals won't come as consistently. So that's the where the consistency of those five deals a month, 20 deals a month, you know, come in is that funnel. What's your funnel behind that?

Steve: So let's talk about that. How do you get a a newer person

Antonio: Mhmm.

Steve: Right, to build out a good follow-up game?

Antonio: Yeah. So so so for one, I will if you can, at least start something with, like, a virtual assistant. Mhmm. Because it's it's it's hard to do it yourself. I mean,

Steve: it's a lot

Antonio: of pieces. It's a lot. And they're simple pieces.

Steve: Right.

Antonio: It's not a lot of technical pieces. It's I saw it's a lot of micromanaging simple pieces.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: And, you know, just for just to keep it basic because I'm a basic guy, get a lead manager. Mhmm. You know, get no. First, getting a first before you do that, put your marketing out there.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: Alright. So just say if you did some direct mail or, direct mail, you send out thousand letters. Alright. Start small like that. Thousand letters.

Who gonna who who are they gonna call? You know, you gotta think like that. You gotta start just kinda like planning a blueprint, your system. Who's gonna call? They're gonna call your cell phone, which please don't don't do that.

Mhmm. If you knew, I will highly, you know, recommend something small as answering service when I first started. Right now, I have it I have, like, three lead managers where they go to their their their designated phone, you know, during hours. And then after hours, it'll revert to the answering service, and then they retrieve that when they come back in the next business day information. But you need a lead lead manager that's gonna, like, pretty much track all your leads.

I use Podio, a CRM, pretty much. And inside Podio, we have different, like, automations. Right. And, you know, like, from for an example, like, something simple is just like a reminder. Like, so when we go on a Podio, we'll see, okay.

We need to follow-up with five leads today because in that reminder is, you know, from a month ago Mhmm. We set the reminder for those five follow ups today, and you'd be like, oh, okay. Yeah. Well, if I didn't have that reminder, you I mean, we just disappear. You disappear.

Yeah. I remember I used to write on a piece of paper Oh. Like, September like, my first two years, I was writing on paper. And that's that was just a worse system. I thought I had a system going.

Like It is a system. Yeah. Like, 1,900.

Steve: But, man, you lose your papers.

Antonio: Yeah. So Podio is a really, really good, so it's a real it's really good CRM to use. And, you know, we we got it blown out. We put some money into it. But what I like about Podio when I tell my coaching clients is that you get the free one, and you still can get some some some some really cool features in the free one.

Yeah. You like you buy that pack. I forgot what the pack is for free or something. I think it's called the real estate investing pack, which is free. And you basically you can get the Podio updated with that pack inside Podio for free, and now you got all these apps.

You know, your your lead app, your cash buyer app. And apps are pretty much just different sections podio, and you build your cash buyer list in the cash buyer app. You know, your your your leads app is where all your seller leads will go at. Right. And you set your reminders and follow ups, and you have these different triggers.

Just say if if it was on, you got it you got the property in the contract. You push the offers, you know, trigger, and then it go to the push to offers app Yeah. To create your your your your your contract via DocuSign because they had DocuSign integrated with Podio, and it would it'll automatically email it to the seller.

Steve: Right.

Antonio: We text One

Steve: of my favorite features in

Antonio: Oh, yeah. We text we text from Podio. Right. We text the sellers. That's that's a really good follow-up, by the way.

It is. Just for you just because everybody checking their smartphones, man. You know, you gotta go where It is. Checking them.

Steve: At least for now, people still check them. Yeah. Who knows how long that's gonna last with the way things are going? Yeah. Really.

Yeah. So TJ, Harhan wants to know, did you have an attorney slash title company on your your team before you did your first deal? And how would you go about how would you recommend go about find finding one?

Antonio: That that's a great question, and it's pretty simple. I had I did have a closing attorney for my my first deal. You don't need one. You need a top vetted title company that's in your market. But all you gotta do is Google, just just say Virginia for an example.

That's my market. Just Google, real estate title company, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Right? And all these title companies start coming up. And I'll call them, and I'll ask them two two questions.

Do you honor assignment fees? And do you do double closings? Mhmm. I mean, if they don't know what that is, just run. Because they're just not they're not they're not investor savvy at all.

That's like two simple things. You know? Because you can get real creative with title companies with, you know, rap notes and all that stuff. You know? Right.

Steve: But they can't answer those two questions. Yeah.

Antonio: You can't answer those two basic questions. Yeah. No. I I'm not gonna do it. But simply, you just go to your rear meet I mean, it's it's not hard to find a title company.

But if you don't know any sponsored Yeah.

Steve: By a title company. Absolutely. Yep. Ours is. So, Clifford wants to know where are your cold callers?

Antonio: Where are my cold calls? They're in The Philippines. So I use, a thousand calls a day. And Okay. That's what they we shoot for, a thousand calls a day

Steve: Yeah. Per VA. Yeah. I saw that ad. Who runs that one?

Antonio: I forgot his, last name's Shanahan. Shannon? I I can't remember. It's a slick ad. Like, whenever it pops up

Steve: Yeah. On my Facebook, it does pop up much. My desk, like, man, that's a slick

Antonio: ad. Yeah. So we we're we're probably hitting, like, 600 calls a day Yeah. Per vehicle caller. And, I mean, we just imagine, like, if you were calling yourself, like, would you be able to call that many?

Steve: A thousand?

Antonio: Yeah. Like Or even even, like, 200 as us as a business owner. Imagine you're just sitting there mainly dialing. They use predictive dials, by the way.

Steve: Right. Right.

Antonio: But mainly dialing your cell phone, making just a 100 calls. For

Steve: me to hit 200, I was just like, give me, like, three weeks.

Antonio: Three weeks. So I I rather pay somebody to do that. Right? And I I I we're averaging probably about just just from one cold caller, and we have a few of them. But one cold caller, we're getting about 10 leads.

Mhmm. Seven to 10 leads

Steve: a day. Per per day. Yeah. Wow. So yeah.

That's really good.

Antonio: Yeah. Just just from the cold calling method. Yeah. So if you just got one of those, that's seven to 10 leads. Well, you have to provide them your list.

I already gave you the types of list that that you can you can use, and you you provide them the list and you skip trace that list. Mhmm. Meaning, it's basically just get the phone numbers to the records, give them the list, and boom, they just they're they're gone. Is there

Steve: a favorite skip tracer that you like?

Antonio: It's not a favorite one. I mean, I I I'll stay away from a little 5¢ skip tracings. I mean, they're not as accurate as something. Yeah. It's like 30¢.

I like Skip Genie. They're they're they're good. Our our ARRL has a nice, skip tracing feature inside of it as well. But the ones like like, data finder and all that for 5¢. Yeah.

This low hanging fruit, it sounds great and it sounds cheap, but I I found it found it the hard way that the cheaper you pay for your your your skip tracing and your numbers is, like, it's not as accurate. You you find that the the numbers are, like, wrong. Right.

Steve: Well, that's I mean, that's kinda, like, for me, you know, there's a couple of times we bought we bought some shirts from Kohl's.

Antonio: Yeah. Right. Forgot about that store.

Steve: Yeah. I mean, it is a lot more expensive to buy cheap stuff than it is to pay for good stuff.

Antonio: A 100%. Just like cars too. And then Yeah. Some in some in some

Steve: ways. Right. Are there any KPIs that you track for your business?

Antonio: Absolutely. So, I mean, we we definitely tracking, you know, the daily leads with the on tracking the the CPLs cost cost per lead. And we're tracking, that's the main like, I I my main thing is, like, okay. What is it costing me per lead? Mhmm.

And right now, it's, like, a $100,150 bucks, which mean I don't know. A five k

Steve: wholesale deal.

Antonio: I mean, I mean, as you can't,

Steve: you know, it's can't really compare.

Antonio: I mean, that's that's a no brainer. Right. So and that's the beautiful thing about real estate. You know, our our deals, you know, our our deals are so at a 5 k deal, which is a small real estate deal Mhmm.

Steve: And a

Antonio: 100 and I know it cost me a 150 or even on a high side, just say $2.50 a lead. That's still high. Mhmm. I noticed a no brainer. So I'm just gonna keep putting more marketing out.

Right. We're, we're averaging I'm probably getting about, like, 40 leads a day, in in the business. On on a good day, maybe 60 because I mean, we got different channels. And this is not in this is not even including wholesale or send me deals. It's not even including the auction platforms.

Steve: I'm not

Antonio: talking about the cold calling and the Ringless voice mail. The ringless voice mail gives us, maybe about 30 to 40 leads, but those are not as quality leads as a cold call or direct mail. Right. But you get a lot of leads from that.

Steve: Yeah. I don't know if

Antonio: you you're doing RVM, but

Steve: We do.

Antonio: We've got cheap leads too.

Steve: We've cut back on it. We've struggled with RVM's out here. Yeah. Yeah. I think I think having every guru in here in town, you know, RVM or craft load doing, you know, 30,000 a day.

Yep. Having multiple gurus doing it out here. Yeah. It's Yeah.

Antonio: You know, it's talking about 30,000. It's talking about 30,000 voice mails.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: Yeah. That's a lot. That's a lot.

Steve: So per guru Yeah. You know?

Antonio: But some of these guys market, if you're watching this and you're, like, in a, a small market, and you know you you know your market, you know if you're in a small market or not, you probably will crush RBM out there.

Steve: Oh, I hear some people having remarkable success with RBM's.

Antonio: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We don't I mean, we we don't do, like, you know, a lot of deals. But I say, like, every other month, we have a RBM deal that closed closes, but they'd be home run deal.

Like, no 20 k or 25 k. Yeah. We have one for 10. I mean, it's not a home run deal, but, I mean, they're solid deals. Well, for the price point.

They're cheap.

Steve: Yeah. So we were talking about, you know, you post the properties in MLS now. Is there any other forms of disposition that you like?

Antonio: Yes. Facebook Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace is

Steve: Oh, because you're doing the agreement for sale?

Antonio: Yeah. That that's why such a gold mine. Like, it's chilling Craigslist. Facebook marketplace is if you're not using Facebook marketplace to sell your properties, like, use that. It's free.

It's a free channel.

Steve: Let's talk about that. Like, what will be a post you put?

Antonio: For for the the agreement for Dee? Yeah. Okay. So for an example, we'll put 3 k down, owner will finance, no banks needed, $79.09, which is to use. That's the total price on an average property out there.

Total price, $79.09, 3 k down, no banks needed. The the the pain point is the no base needed. Mhmm. Owner will finance. Those two things.

Because a lot of people still have bad credit from the crash.

Steve: Right.

Antonio: Or even, like, whatever. From five years ago, they got their home whatever type of, like, discrepancy got on the credit. A lot of people still got bad credit in today's market, but they want to have a dream of owning a home. But they don't know that this is this. There's tons of people like that.

But they have three k now, and they have they have cash in the bank. Do you pull their

Steve: credit or you don't even care?

Antonio: Their credit their credit check for me is showing me your job. Do you got verification of job and that down payment?

Steve: Okay. So you show that you can afford the payments? Absolutely. That's it.

Antonio: Yep. And that down payment. Yep. Gotcha. Yep.

If you don't have a job and you got a down payment, then I'm I'm not gonna do it. It's just too risky. Is

Steve: there are there any valuable resources that, you know, you think the listeners need to be aware of?

Antonio: Resources as far as to implement in their business?

Steve: You know, tips and tricks you heard along the way. Like, man, you know, something that maybe not a lot of people know about. It's like, man, you guys gotta be start you guys gotta start doing this.

Antonio: Yeah. Alright. So I I would say, and I my first three years, if I can go back into time, I would do this, like, especially my first three years. My first six months, I made my first 100. I if I known this, I would do this.

But every five properties that you wholesale, keep one for for for cash flow.

Steve: Yeah. I

Antonio: mean, you can't wholesale your life where I I I know so many guys are just crushing it. Like, they're doing more deals than me on a wholesale tip. But they don't own one property. Yeah. Like, they're making, you know, they're doing 20 k I mean, twenty twenty deals, 30 deals, wholesale deals a month, and don't own one rental property.

That to me, that's just that's just nuts to me. That's just insane to me. Like, you gotta own some property. Like, he or she who owns the most land wins. Right.

Wins the game. I'm not talking about you come come competing with you, but I won. Yeah. Like, I won the the monopoly game. Like, I won.

I I can retire. Like, I I I spoke with some NFL athletes last year at the Pro Bowl. Mhmm. Right? They came it was, like, 20 guys that came

Steve: I saw that. That was pretty cool.

Antonio: Yeah. And one of the first vice president, I was like, how many how many people how many of you guys in here own a home? Guess how many people raise

Steve: their hand? Hand? I hope half. Pro bowlers?

Antonio: Zero. We're the ones that came. It was, like, 20 guys. Like, 17 to 20 guys. Zero of those guys in that specific room owned owned a home.

It was all renting.

Steve: What?

Antonio: I was like, how many people have a whole bunch of cash in the bank right now? I was like I I was just like it just blew me away. Yeah. But I was but what I what I would how I kinda, like, pitched that. Not pitched it, but, like, kinda, like, was like, kinda, like, trying to put that together.

I was, like, the person you you guys gonna have a million liquid as a athlete in the bank. Right? Mhmm. No assets. No rent no just no assets but a million liquid in your savings account.

And you, Steve, can have 25,000 on passive income coming from your rental properties coming every month. You're way you're you're so well off to them. Mhmm. With your 25 k coming in every month and whether you sleep, shit, here, doing a podcast, doing anything, still got them checks coming in. Mhmm.

That million dollars in there is dwelling every day. They gotta go to seven eleven, put some gas in gas in your tank, go get a Slurpee. Yeah. That's that's $5 less. You know, you you go they go to the mall, buy, you know, some, some Jordans for $200.

That's that's dwindling. There's no passive income coming to that to add on to that. Yeah. And so the person I mean, in twenty five k is not a lot of money in the past. I mean, that that's very it's great money, but it's it's very achievable.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. You can live a great lifestyle of 25 k passive. Passive.

Steve: Yeah. A lot of people would kill for that.

Antonio: Yeah. A lot of people would kill for that. Yeah. You know? Does it say 10 k a month pass?

So going back five every fifth wholesale deal, keep one.

Steve: Yeah. The

Antonio: name of the game really is wholesaling is to build your capital so you can buy cash on assets. Yeah. A lot of guys be forgetting that. Wholesaling. That's the name of the game.

Steve: It's a really high paying job.

Antonio: It's that's all it is. Mhmm. Literally, that's all it is. And it's a high tax taxing job.

Steve: High tax job and pretty stressful too.

Antonio: Yeah. So keep one. Keep one. You'll thank you'll thank me later later. And on the tax advantages, you know, I'm not this is the whole topic another day, but cost segregation changed the game for buying whole people.

You know, you know, far as on your tax tax write off, you is that basically, put it this way, the more you property you own, you you be the breakeven breakeven or pay little on taxes because of these accumulated assets that you own based off cost segregation. Wholesaling, you you guys gonna get taxed in a thirties what? 30 ish percent? Yeah. 35%?

You're good. Yeah. If you're good. Yeah. So you make 30

Steve: five, 30%, you're good.

Antonio: If you make 10 k today off a wholesale deal

Steve: Uncle Sam gets 3,800.

Antonio: Yeah. Easy.

Steve: Yeah. He got he has he has to eat too. Uncle Sam's gotta eat too.

Antonio: Yeah. He got he gotta eat he gotta eat too. But check this out. I'm a just gonna just this this is a slight this is just a little slight of, advanced strategies, not whole bunch of vans. So I buy so with that property today, $22.05, I wanna buy.

So I already got a guy for occupant ready. Whenever I close next Wednesday, 3 k down, $8.75 a month. Right? Mhmm. I'm a buy that probably for $22.05.

I'm borrowing 30 k from my private lender. Right? I'm paying her paying her $300 a month. Yeah. Right?

That $8.75, he's he's responsible for the taxes and insurance, by the way. Right. So I'm paying her $300 a month. I'm borrowing 30 k. But guess what?

That $7,500 is tax free, baby. Yeah. It's tax free. That's my wholesale deal. Right.

That's my wholesale deal. It's tax free. They can't tax me all borrowed money. That's like, the government can't tax you all borrowed money. That guy's that's borrowed money.

Yeah. I could wholesale that. Check this out. $22.05. Mhmm.

I can go assign that or wholesale that to a cash buyer for 30 k. The same 7,500, that's come that third that 30, what, 35%. Mhmm. That's getting taxed.

Steve: Oh, yeah.

Antonio: That's active income. Mhmm. That's a transaction. That same that same I'm just flipping it. I'm borrowing 30 k, getting the same 7,500, which in my mind is, like, that's a wholesale deal.

Right. That's tax free.

Steve: It's tax free.

Antonio: It's just a small loophole. It's crazy. And I own a home, and I'm getting cash flow.

Steve: That makes a big difference at end of the year. Huge. Huge difference. Yeah. We have to start doing that.

Yeah. What is your why?

Antonio: My why is my family. My my son, my my daughter, my beautiful lady Marissa. Because I I don't have to get up every morning and bust my ass. Mhmm. But when I when I see my my daughter and I I just and and my my son, he's grown basically grown now.

Like, I just I just want the best for them, man. Yeah. Like, that that just entices me to get up and just do more and want more. And I'm I'm I'm you know, I'm competitive with myself anyway. Like, I reach a goal, and I'm like, man, I did that.

Let me try to reach another goal. Yeah. You know? So that's mainly my why is my family. I mean, that's similar playing.

You know, we follow each other on on social media, man. Like, I'm a I'm a family man. Like Right. I'm not a heavy party or nothing like that. Maybe maybe it's why the secret why I look so young.

Steve: I don't know. Those days are over.

Antonio: Yeah. That's they're over. So, you know, right now, it's like accumulating wealth for, you know, that legacy, man.

Steve: Yeah. So cash flow, I I don't hopefully, you don't want me asking this question. Yep. Like, you know, how many properties do you have now in your portfolio?

Antonio: Yep. So right now, I have 20 properties.

Steve: And then where do you wanna be to be, like, okay. My goal is or what is your goal?

Antonio: My goal is to get for what what I need, I'm gonna get a 100 k a month passive Mhmm. Off off these properties. And I need to accumulate about a 150 of these Okay. Single families. If I go multifamily, it's a different story.

But I like this single family model. I wish I can pick up 50 of these today. Yeah. This same model is is is such a sexy thing.

Steve: So then is it a challenge to find these?

Antonio: No. I mean, you could find, like, one here, one here, one here.

Steve: Yeah.

Antonio: But as a package Yeah. That I would that's what I would like. And I'm I'm I'm ready for that. Like, I'm ready for that. So, in the end of the year, I'm gonna have about I'm a double.

I'm a have 40 of these. Next year, my my goal is to buy 50.

Steve: Nice. Okay. Yeah. See what else Isaiah Lee wants to know, how do you remain compliant with Dodd Frank?

Antonio: Compliant with Dodd Frank? That's it is a great question. So what I what I do is, I I still I still write these prop these properties off. Right? But being that the property is in my name, right, the deed is still in my name.

It still shows, you know, my company name. So I I stay away from the Dodd Frank Act from that. Mhmm. Being that I'm not owner financing them that property and it's getting deeded over to their name.

Steve: Right. Because it's still in your name. Yeah. Because it's agreements for sale versus seller carries.

Antonio: Absolutely.

Steve: Absolutely. Brilliant. Another reason to do agreement for sale.

Antonio: But if you're scared of that and you're like, okay. I I don't wanna do that, then simply do a lease option. Then they don't gotta worry about the the the offering guy. Gotcha. But now you're in the the the landlord tenant act.

That's a whole and now you deal dealing with that because if you go to court for innovation, they'll be like, well, I'm a tenant, and he's supposed to be doing repairs.

Steve: Yeah. And There's a guy in town that's getting, tried or sued for Rico because he's got oh, Rico's like racketeering. Right? That's what they're using.

Antonio: Oh, racketeering. Okay. Yeah. I

Steve: know the truth. Because he's got a 100 properties. Like, he's basically got, you know, it's it's corruption and it's like and it's not. But because he got a 100 properties, they're like, well, we can bring some additional fancy fancy

Antonio: Come on, man.

Steve: So that's the stuff that's kinda scary, right, being a landlord. But your way, you're not the landlord.

Antonio: No. At all.

Steve: What's your biggest struggle right now?

Antonio: My my biggest my biggest struggle right now is finding a package of these properties. Like, I want to find a pack, like, you know, that 25 k. I mean, not 25 k. 25 property package, 50 k package. I wanna buy them as packages, like like like this in this price range, which that's I don't know if that's a dream.

Maybe that's a story I'm telling myself. It's maybe it's possible.

Steve: You put it out there, it'll happen.

Antonio: Right. Right. What's your superpower? My superpower is outsourcing, man, and, helping others. Like, I I I found that, like, like, people that that can relate to me and whatnot or just come across me, like, they they from from everybody that tells me love my energy.

Mhmm. And I give good vibes from what people tell me, and they they I just change people's lives, and I just I get to thrive off that. And outsourcing, like, it just gives me so much more time. Yeah. You know?

I'm I'm a really good outsourcer, Steve. Like, when I say a good outsourcer, like, I'm I'm I'm maybe the king of outsourcing.

Steve: So you're good at delegating?

Antonio: I'm super good at delegating.

Steve: Are you good at verifying? Yes.

Antonio: I am. But I'm I suck at micromanaging. Yeah. I suck at that. Like, I oh my I just I'm not good at micromanaging.

So I have somebody that micromanages. Yeah. You gotta find you gotta know your weak spots. If you know your weak spots, then you you're aware. You're woke.

Right. And then you just find somebody in your business that can take care of your weak spots. Because even your like, for example, micromanaging, that still has to get done. Mhmm. I don't have to do it, though.

Steve: Right. No. You don't have to do it.

Antonio: But I I'm aware that I suck at that, and I get it.

Steve: Well, that's the reason why I asked this question. Right? Because I'm really good at delegating. So I'm the oldest of six boys. Super good at delegating.

Antonio: Right? Yeah.

Steve: Yeah. Hey. Mom and dad wants to go do whatever. Mhmm. Mom said she wants this place clean before she gets back.

And she said it to me, and then I just delegate it. I'm really good at delegating. However, I'm not good at verifying. Right? Inspecting what you expect, really bad at that.

So that's why I asked that. So I have other people in place. So I've, like, I've fired people over time just because, like, it wasn't getting done.

Antonio: Right.

Steve: But I wasn't going there and checking. I was just like, oh, that wasn't getting done. Yeah.

Antonio: Keeping your finger on the pulse, basically. Yeah. Yeah. That that's a whole another, like, that's a whole another thing. That's a whole another thing in your business that somebody needs to, like, really?

Like, I have a lead I have a manager. I call her the manager lead assistant. Mhmm. She does a verified. Like and she and she'd be on me, like, Antonio, like, hey.

You know, what about, what about this? And I okay. And then she'll hit me up again. Antonio, what about this? And I'm like, oh, okay.

Thanks, Stacy. Like and she she and she'll do that with, like, my my acquisition guys. Yeah. Like, she's like the verifier in in in the company. I'm I'm actually pretty good at that, but I I I don't know if I got lazy because I know she's like I could tell she likes that.

So I, like, I kinda fall back a little bit, and I I know she's she's she's really good at that trip.

Steve: If it doesn't energize you Mhmm.

Antonio: Delegate it. I like that.

Steve: Yeah. I like that. Okay. So, I'm gonna let you think about what you wanna have for last message.

Antonio: Mhmm.

Steve: Guys, if you guys have been following stuff I've been posting out there, you know, a lot of you guys have been asking for help with your business. So if you guys are thinking about or wanna get your business, you know, five deals a month, go to disruptors.com to fill out application. Next week is July 4, so we're not doing a show. And the week after that, we got Jesse Burrell. He's out here partnered up with EVO.

They're involved with Batchlip Tracing, and they're doing somewhere between 10 to 15 deals a month in Phoenix. So he's gonna talk about his journey and how he's doing that. So, before we go to your last thought, someone wants to get ahold of you. How did how did they do that?

Antonio: Absolutely. You can, you know, follow me on IG, antonio underscore, the letter j, underscore edwards. Just go to YouTube. Just search Antonio Edwards Real Estate. I'm pretty sure it'll pop up.

Just go right to my channel.

Steve: Oh, yeah.

Antonio: If you want a free free copy of of my book, just go to antonioedwards.com. You know, I'd give you all the tips and tricks from a through z, how my business is structured, and a more detailed note. And, yeah. So I look forward to, you know DM me on IG because I'm on IG more than anything. That's the number one platform right now.

I think that's

Steve: the same problem. Yeah.

Antonio: It's an addiction. It is. So if, you know, DM me on IG. Let me know that she was on the Real Estate Disruptors podcast watching this and, you know, I'll hit you back. So

Steve: Alright. Cool. So last thoughts that you wanna leave the listeners with.

Antonio: Are most of the listeners trying to get their first deal? Or

Steve: most of the listeners are they're a mix of trying to get their first deal or they're getting started. Okay. Most of them.

Antonio: If if you're watching this, I I I come from, like, nothing. Like like, literally, like, nothing when I say that. All it all it takes is consistency in this game. That's all it takes. Like, when I say because the most important part in this business and even in, like, personal life too is, like, what are you doing in those hardship times?

Like, I remember before my first deal, it was, like, hardship times. But if I stay consistent within that hardship, most people not get knocked down and just give up. But if you stay consistent, then that's where you're gonna start, you know, seeing that your your, your fruits and your labor, and and start doing deals. And another thing too, it's easy to start making money in this wholesaling or just in real estate investing business, please put back 30 or 35, if not 40% or more back into your business. And it's attached right all by the way, you know, you know, you're marketing for your business.

Put that back into your business because that all this do is gonna just create more and more deals to make more money. I see a lot of people that come in with more mainly newer guys. And the people that have been in the game for a minute, we we're here for a minute for a reason.

Steve: Right.

Antonio: Right. But the ones starting out, they they'll get, you know, just say they make their first 50 k, you know, in their bank or something, and they just start getting lazy. Mhmm. Comfortable. Super comfortable.

Like, you you gotta go harder than how did you get to that 50 k? Go harder.

Steve: Right. Do the same things you were doing when you're struggling.

Antonio: Right. So just stay consistent. I I can't stress that enough. Stay consistent and market. I can't stress that enough as well.

You gotta market for deals. You know, when we say without cash or credit, that mean that we're not buying we're not taking title of these properties and we're not, you know, going to a bank to try to get financing for these properties and use our credit. That's what we're talking about with no cash or credit, but it takes some cash to market. Oh, yeah. You gotta put the marketing dollars up.

Steve: Yeah. You can buy a house with no money down. Right. But you still need money

Antonio: You still need to

Steve: find those houses.

Antonio: Absolutely. Whether you're you know, I'm not saying I recommend this, but you if you got a credit card and you you don't have a lot of savings and, you know, I would do it if I if, you know, if I if I go back ten years, if I had to see 5,000 on my credit card, I will put a thousand dollars a mark and $1,500 a mark and I'll bet

Steve: on your

Antonio: I'm a risky guy, though. I'm a risky guy.

Steve: I'm with you. You you gotta bet on yourself.

Antonio: You gotta bet on yourself.

Steve: You gotta bet on yourself who's gonna bet on you.

Antonio: A 100%. A 100%. So he put the wholesaler who gets the most leads, you can have very little or no experience. If you get leads coming in daily, you're gonna a deal's gonna stumble on your lap.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah.

Antonio: But if you're just, you know, you put, you know, 10 banded signs out and put one offer in in one month, I mean, that that's the issue.

Steve: You're the turnover that we talk about. Yeah.

Antonio: So just stay consistent in the market. Market for market for deals and leads.

Steve: And that's a great message.

Antonio: Yep.

Steve: Thank you guys for watching. Yep. Thank you. Thank you.

Antonio: Alright, Steve. Awesome. Pleasure, man.