Lessons from my first time · Building an Empire

Lessons from my first time

In December 2023 I started making calls and txts to agents and FSBO(for sale by owner) of properties listed on Zillow and Realtor.com both in my back yard and in a virtual market I have several connections in… both markets I found are difficult to comp due to being non-disclosure states.

I had one competitive advantage and that was I had been watching my Backyard Market for years (habit I started back when I bought my home)

So after a couple weeks of after-hours work and driving conversations as I traveled to or from work I found a warm lead… the seller was on vacation till new years and so I arranged to walk the house after he got back.

It was a perfect fit… Before the day was out I had found a buyer and we

Arranged a time to meet and sign papers.

The Buyer whittled my inexperienced wholesale fee from 7k to 2k ….. I was good with that, it was my first time, he went over the paperwork with me and fronted the EMD. The deal was set to close by Jan 15th and I was on fire…. Proof of concept, out of 20 offers I made in January his was the 2nd.

As it got close to closing I reached out to the Title company and found that my Buyer had not been in touch with them at all….my anxiety ran through the roof! I couldn’t get ahold of the buyer or the seller.

I spoke with The escrow officer on the 15th — there were delays as stuff had come up that needed cleaning up on the Title old records that never got properly closed…..

2 weeks went by and I finally got ahold of the buyer, he told me he would be there for closing and made it only after the seller told him he had another buyer lined up if he didn't show up in the next hour…. A week later Title deposited my check.

Financially I didn't get much more then half the time I put into it if I was going off my hourly cost.

Here is what I got that was priceless

proof of concept and a hand to hold through the process
An appreciation for and insight into Transaction Coordinators skills and value
A crash course in real estate ethics
Experience Negotiating both with the seller and with the buyer — in case you arn’t aware “buyers are liars and sellers are worse”
Insights into the need for and process of vetting people and businesses involved in a transaction
A knowledge that I want to Double Close my Wholesales if at all possible
A knowledge that I want to fill the closed door lenders gap (I could have kept it and flipped it if I could have found a lender that would work with me rather then just give me a no answer.)
A fixed determination to become a full time real estate investor! And help others on their journey.

In the beginning the greatest value is had from being anxiously engaged in doing the thing! Warren Buffet said “the first and greatest investment you will ever make is in your education, this should be your only real investment until you are making over 10x your living expenses.”

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