Investors Newsletter – Volume 3
They say all good things come in threes…
… so we’re back with the THIRD installment of our monthly investors newsletter. (You were just hanging on the edge of your seat, weren’t you?)
We have the same great sections from before, and we’re always adding new ones! Make sure you don’t miss the information on House Academy, a huge new ParcelFact update, and our next live event!
Take a look, bookmark it, and share it with fellow investors! If you have any feedback, content suggestions, or questions, please feel free to send them our way!
[Jill] Having been in the property wholesale business for over 25 years, we have bought and sold every type of property imaginable. We never shy away from a great deal and have gained the reputation of being acquisition experts. Yet over the years we have noticed some types of properties get attention, while other considerably profitable asset types do not.
Our two main focusses for the last several years have been rural vacant land (RVL) and single-family residences (SFR).
[Steven] Here’s why: Land and SFRs are valued as “assets,” and nearly all other property types are valued with Capitalization Rates (based on how much money they generate after operating expenses but before debt service). This spells higher profit for an outfit like ours. We double our money on land deals and generate about 33% margin on SFR deals without leaving our desks.
[Jill]The crazy generality we have experienced is that the land wholesale community understands the value of houses, but the many in the house wholesale community cannot wrap their heads around the value of flipping rural vacant land.
[Steven] House People say things like “why the hell would anyone buy property way out there?” “Or there’s nothing you can do with land that will generate cash flow.” To which I say, so you wouldn’t by 40 acres in Tucson for $3,800? You can image this response and debate this sparks.
Land People seem to accept both as data driven profit centers.
[Jill] This all came to light for us as we were creating House Academy. We thought that we would have one large online community with a combined support suite of tools and resources but as we dug deeper into the mindset of house investors (“flippers”) we realized the two are quite different.
So what is everyone getting hung up on?
Hard to find sales figures for land transactions.
Many land transactions are completed outside of the MLS and not necessarily accurately reported. We commonly transfer properties among our different entities and are not required to report any sort of transfer valuation.
Also, most have not heard examples of individuals creating wealth buying and selling undeveloped land, yet it happens all the time. Since is it difficult to obtain a loan on vacant land, most parcels are 100% owned and often have been in families or businesses for years waiting for some action to be taken. We purchase these undervalued properties for cash and quickly resell online for more.
[Steven] Most people don’t know that you don’t need a license to buy and sell any kind of real estate including SFRs if you are representing yourself. House deals have historically involved licensed real estate agents and the MLS. And this is where the lies and deception begin. The national association of realtors is consistently one of the top five spenders in Washington to make sure that false perception remains prevalent.
Poor information about the value of unimproved land.
[Jill] We still hear real estate professionals call vacant or unimproved land as “junk lots” or “middle of nowhere dirt”. Many feel that property is only worth something once it has been improved or built upon. Being acquisition pros, we know how to find and buy vacant land extremely below current market value which therefore makes it immediately valuable.
Not HGTV worthy.
[Jill] We have yet to see a show about buying and selling vacant land for a profit. We are all engrossed with houses that make little (or no) profit, take a lot of time, and energy. It’s funny because having successfully done both types of transactions, we have made WAY more profit with individual land transactions over houses.
(Houses may be “sexier”, but our bank balance reflects otherwise.)
[Steven] People don’t understand math (although licensed agents seem to be able to calculate 6% of any number in their heads).
[Jill] OH – that math quote is classic!
[Jill] This month the long-awaited House Academy is being released and we could not be more excited. We know that the investors that join our House Academy community have a different mindset and we are here to share our experiences and access to professional resources. We do not intend to try to convert house investors to land.
[Steven] Here’s the truth in numbers after you take away all of the varnish and discussion: For every 300 blind offers sent to owners (correctly), you will purchase a parcel of land at about half of what it’s worth. For every 3,000 offers you will purchase a SFR for about 75% of its current value.
Both efforts work consistently and with predictability, so Jill, as always, is correct. There is a place for both Land and House Academy. However, they seem to attract different personality types.
[BOTH] You get it.
Offers2Owners had an extremely successful month. We mailed 276,000+ letters and our clients were able to purchase upwards of 1380+ properties – making direct mail an extremely beneficial way to purchase and sell properties.
We will be also be introducing an Offers2Owners blog very soon AND in appreciation of our valued clients we will be launching a special summer offer, so be sure to keep an eye on your email!
House “Prices” and “Starts” Slowing.
from Steven Jack Butala
For state by state and regional review see THIS LINK.
Land Academy Member Updates
Land Investors Live is back!
You’ve been asking (and asking, and asking) and it’s finally here! Land Investors Live is back – and we’ll be meeting October 5th and 6th in Hermosa Beach, California.
We’ll have a website up later this month with more information and checkout options, but if you want to get in early and reserve your seat just email support@landacademy.com for our advanced live event sale. We’ll hook you up.
Coming soon – staff consulting!
Have you ever wanted to get some questions answered (consulting style) with members of our staff? Well – you’ll be able to very soon! We’re so excited to be able to talk to you in this format and spend more time getting your questions answered.
We also wanted to cover a question we get asked pretty frequently – How am I billed for RealQuest downloads?
Check out the answer in the FAQ! Feel free to email us with any questions.
This month’s question came from Tanner, over on LandInvestors.
He asks, “I’m interested in hearing some thoughts and opinions on how to gain good credibility as a new investor. I understand the importance of having a professional online presence to begin with, but how am I able to boost my credibility beyond that? Land Academy in itself is an incredibly credible source, is it acceptable to say that I’m a member of this group so that a seller or buyer may be able to reference that as well? Would love to hear thoughts.”
Check out Jill and Steven’s answer on our podcast HERE.
This month, we couldn’t pick just one member to highlight – we have THREE!
The first two are Aaron and Liz English. They’re a great duo, and we loved watching about how they work together in business (and have been for 15+ years!) Watch their interview HERE.
Our third focus is Matt Rogers. You won’t believe his stories or his business successes, and he’s a prime example of how to get started and be successful. Watch his interview HERE.
All three of these members are longtime staff favorites, and we love being able to spotlight you here!
UPDATES: By now you’re probably itching to check out the new ParcelFact 2.0. We’ll be launching it VERY soon, and don’t delay because it will still free to Land & House Academy members for now. You’re going to love the new features. The old search result pages you’ve come to know have gotten a major upgrade. You can now view parcel attributes of nearby parcels without even running a new search!
COMING SOON: ParcelFact 3.0 (already!) and a new Land Investors Online Community – Get excited!
Our marketing staff is here to give you some tips and help each month. Here are Landon and Joey’s “Three Techniques to Promote Your Content for Free.”
1. Start going live on social media. Even if you don’t have the biggest social following, live videos are super engaging and all of these social networks show it to almost all of your subscribers because they have to compete with television networks.
2. The second tip is to utilize video teasers. If you just pull out your phone and do a quick video teaser talking about what you’re going to release, or what is new, and why they should check it out. They’re way more likely to come and check out your posts in the future.
3. The third – and maybe best – tip that I have for you is to answer questions on social media. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. – people are asking questions. Go out of your way yo respond and help people out. They’re more likely to follow you when you do that. Once they start following your page, they’re also going to check out your website.
WOW!
House Academy is officially HERE, and is currently in beta testing available only to Land Academy members. We love all of the great feedback (our members are loving it) – and the time has finally come for us to launch it to the public. (By soon we mean… in just DAYS!!!)
***Land Academy members – your special pricing is going to end June 30th. Make sure you get in before we go up to normal pricing by checking out from your Land Academy dashboard or email support@houseacademy.com for assistance.
We have a daily podcast (weekdays) where we share land investment and real estate business achievements, answer questions, give valuable tips, and talk everything “land”.
We’re also SO excited that our 1000th podcast is going to be airing this Tuesday, June 11th. Check out a fun recap below (featuring special guests) and make sure you watch #1000!
Hungry for more? Check them out below – iTunes YouTube Our Site
If you aren’t a member yet – why not? We would love to have you “in our corner.” Visit LandAcademy.com for more information on joining or to schedule a call with our team.
If you want an opportunity to attend one of the weekly closed member calls to get a taste of what we’re about, send an email to support@landacademy.com