Podcasts about Zillow

Ninja Coach Lonney Gordon joins Eric today to share his powerful story of transformation, from professional burnout and personal crisis fueled by a high-cost lead system to a thriving, relationship-based business and balanced life. He offers a practical roadmap away from the "hustle" mentality toward a sustainable career built on authentic connections. Listeners will hear how being tethered to his phone 24/7 (even in the shower) brought his family to a breaking point before he eliminated his $8,000/month lead spend and grew his business by over 30%. Lonney unveils his strategy for creating "live, authentic flow" by intentionally deepening existing social circles into a strong network of friends and clients. Today's episode is a must-listen for all real estate professionals, especially those who are feeling overworked and seeking a proven path to success that prioritizes both professional and personal well-being. Episode Highlights: Lonney Gordon's personal journey from lead-dependency and burnout to a thriving, balanced life. The high cost of a transactional mindset on business and family relationships. The step-by-step process of transitioning away from paid leads to a 100% relationship-based model. How to grow your business significantly while reducing stress and working hours. The concept of creating "authentic flow" by being intentional with connections. Actionable strategies for deepening relationships within your existing social groups or "pods." The power of slowing down and making genuine connections in everyday situations. How shifting focus from "the hunt" to authentic service makes business "fall from the sky." Key Takeaways: "Ninja has not only changed my business, like you said, it has changed my life. It changes how I talk to people, changes how I have connected with people, how I have conversations." "I was spending every waking minute on my phone. I was bringing my phone in the shower with me... I was definitely on the verge of a divorce, really was not connected with my kids whatsoever." "Within six months, I had taken an $8,000 Zillow spend to nothing... I was up about 30%." "It felt like business was just falling from the sky. And it wasn't falling from the sky. It was intentional business that was achieved so much easier than this rat race, this chase, this hunt that I was going after." "The Ninja system is just merely creating authentic friendships with a system." "The reason for the call is them." "Slow down in general in life and allow yourself to connect with people everywhere." "I am never eating alone... If I'm going to the car wash, I'm going to ask a dad friend if they want to go and wash cars together." Links: Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/ Email: TSW@NinjaSelling.com  Phone: 1-800-254-1650  Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/# LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling  Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public  Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/ Lonney Gordon: https://www.lonneygordon.com/

-Forbes has published an investigation into Amazon's efforts to court law enforcement clients for artificial intelligence and surveillance services. The article reveals that not only is the company promoting Amazon Web Services as a potential police tool, but it has been partnering with other businesses in that sector to use its cloud infrastructure. -The Federal Trade Commission is suing home-search website Zillow, alleging that it paid rival Redfin $100 million to eliminate competition in the online listing business. The suit refers to a deal inked back in February between the two companies in which Redfin allegedly agreed to become "an exclusive syndicator of Zillow listings." -On Wednesday, scientists published a paper outlining the increasing complexity of molecules emitted from beneath the moon's surface. "We now have all elements required for Enceladus to harbor life.” Enceladus gives researchers a unique window into its subsurface world. The Cassini mission already taught us that plumes of water ice shoot 6,000 miles into space from Enceladus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fat Bear Week is over / New Champion… Stolen Hawks in L.A… 83 could be the new 100… TrumpRX… Refin, Zillow and the FTC… Amazon shows off new stuff… Spotify CEO stepping down in Jan… Apologize to Nicole… Disney + prices have gone up… Afghanistan shuts down web and tele… Why women live longer than men?... Crawford pulled over in Omaha… Finebaum running for senate?... Email asking for information… Joke of The Day… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hours into the first government shutdown in over six years, Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman reports on the path forward for both sides of the aisle. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its monthly employment report amid the shutdown, sending economists and investors elsewhere for labor market data. CNBC's Steve Liesman shares September's ADP National Employment Report, and ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson explains how her metrics–along with other datasets–help paint a picture of the labor market. Richardson's takeaway: no matter the metric, hiring momentum has slowed. Plus, Berkshire Hathaway is reportedly exploring a purchase of Occidental Petroleum's petrochemical business, FTC is suing Redfin and Zillow over antitrust concerns, and Walmart is eliminating artificial dyes in its store brand food products.  Jake Sherman - 03:41SteveLiesman - 14:10Nela Richardson - 22:03 In this episode:Nela Richardson, @NelaRichardsonJake Sherman, @JakeShermanSteve Liesman, @steveliesmanJoe Kernen, @JoeSquawk Becky Quick, @BeckyQuickAndrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkinKatie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Did Helene change how Greenville prepares for storms? Stan recaps the week that followed—power out, gas scarce, oaks down, roads blocked—how listings and closings were rescued, how neighbors and line crews mobilized, and how relief dollars reached families fast. Expect practical prep that actually works (fuel discipline, generator checks, backup comms) and why a Gulf-track hit here is so rare. Plus: details on Stan's $250 Amazon gift card Zillow review giveaway (past/current clients; how-to in the show notes). Fast, useful takeaways for the next storm season. As always, if you have any questions or comments (or, of course, need a realtor), feel free to reach out to Stan McCune directly by phone/text at (864) 735-7580 or by email at smccune@cdanjoyner.com

Ben Watson swings by Morning Movers to construct the technical layout for real estate company Zillow (ZG). Ben notes the strong upward trajectory over the last year, but highlights the recent weakness in shares testing 2 support levels at $78 and $74. Shares of ZG have fallen below its 50-day simple moving average with its Relative Strength Index (RSI) pointed downward.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – / schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – / schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - / schwab-network About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Breaking News: The Federal Trade Commission has sued Zillow and Redfin over a $100 million rental advertising deal. The FTC alleges the agreement illegally removed Redfin as a competitor in online rental listings, potentially driving up costs for property managers and harming renters. In this episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke explains what the lawsuit says, why regulators are taking action, and what this could mean for investors, multifamily property managers, and the future of online rental platforms. JOIN RealWealth® FOR FREE https://realwealth.com/join-step-1  FOLLOW OUR PODCASTS Real Wealth Show: Real Estate Investing Podcast https://link.chtbl.com/RWS SOURCE:  https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/ftc-sues-zillow-redfin-over-illegal-agreement-suppress-rental-advertising-competition 

Home insurance premiums are rising much faster than homeowner incomes—and climate risk is driving the spike. In today's episode, we dig into new Zillow data showing premiums have jumped 38% nationally since 2019, compared to just a 22% rise in homeowner income. The fastest increases are hitting places like Miami, Sacramento, and Jacksonville, where wind and wildfire risks are high. We explore how these rising costs are squeezing budgets, threatening affordability for first-time buyers, and reshaping housing access in vulnerable markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I break down how to manage your own rental properties remotely—step by step—using the exact processes my friend Dave uses to keep vacancies under two weeks in San Diego, CA and Jacksonville, NC. You'll learn: How to fill vacancies fast with smart, wide-net marketing (Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, Realtor, FB Marketplace, Craigslist, IG, word-of-mouth) and pro-level photos/video Why enforcing “application before walkthrough” saves time and filters for qualified tenants The pipeline: application → walkthrough (with a trusted local) → attorney-vetted lease → first month + deposit → move-in How to structure deposits and rent accounts (separate, interest-bearing) and avoid commingling What to include in a welcome letter, plus move-in/move-out forms that protect your deposit decisions How to build a maintenance Rolodex and a reliable on-the-ground helper for inspections and showings Timestamps (00:00) Intro (00:37) Managing rentals from anywhere (01:18) Dave's record of short vacancies (01:45) Marketing channels and pro photos (03:39) The rental pipeline explained (05:27) Payments and separate accounts (06:39) Move-in day essentials (07:13) Protecting deposits with forms (07:50) Rent collection methods (09:06) Building your maintenance team (10:21) The War Room Mastermind Resources & Links Free book: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X: https://x.com/militaryreji TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire About the Show The Military Millionaire Podcast helps service members, veterans, and their families build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing—no BS, just actionable steps you can use right away.

In this episode of the Brian Icenhower Podcast, we dive into one of the most critical adjustments agents must make in a shifting market: managing longer listing periods. As more markets trend toward buyer's territory, listings are sitting on the market longer than most agents and sellers are used to. Brian Icenhower introduces the concept of the “Magic Month”—the first 30 days when a listing receives the highest online exposure. He explains why conservative pricing and strong marketing in this window are crucial for generating multiple offers and securing the best terms for your sellers. You'll learn: ✅ Why agents don't sell homes—they expose them ✅ How to track and share online listing views (MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com) with clients ✅ The importance of weekly seller updates from your admin team ✅ How to set upfront expectations to avoid “Why isn't my home selling?” calls ✅ When to recommend price reductions using proven showing guidelines Brian also shares why proactive client communication is the difference between smooth transactions and stressful ones. By sending consistent weekly reports and setting proper expectations, you won't need to talk sellers into price reductions—they'll call you first when the data proves it's time.

Mike, a real estate professional with over 40 years of experience, shares their insights on various scams targeting real estate agents. They recount a recent incident where a real estate agent was fired for scamming tenants and warns against scams involving coaching programs, Zillow, and brokerages. Mike emphasizes the importance of not accepting payments directly from clients and encourages agents to discuss potential opportunities with them before investing. They highlight their commitment to the success of their agents and urge them to be cautious and vigilant against scams.

TL;DR: Closing out September 2025, Santa Clarita Valley boasts 717 active listings from Canyon Country to Valencia, with 80% of recent ones entering escrow in 30 days. Prices dipped 5-6% year-over-year, Fed rate cuts hint at mortgage relief, and 13 coming soon properties offer insider edges. Avoid syndication sites' data traps—choose data-driven agents for safe buys/sells. Why watch? This market surge could mean big opportunities before shifts hit.Hey everyone, Connor MacIvor here—your straight-shooting guide to Santa Clarita real estate. As a Realtor (CALDRE 01238257) with roots in high-stakes LAPD work (think motor cop precision translating to market navigation), I'm all about clear, no-fluff insights to help you make smart moves without the drama. In this video, we're diving into the September 30, 2025, market wrap-up: A whopping 717 active listings across Santa Clarita Valley cities, covering everything from cozy Canyon Country spots to upscale Valencia estates and beyond.Why should you care about 717 actives as a buyer or seller? It's a sweet spot—enough inventory to give options without crashing prices, but moving so fast that hesitation could cost you. Over the last 30 days, 80% of new listings got scooped into escrow within that window. Properties are flying off shelves, signaling strong demand even as we see a modest 5-6% price reduction from last year. Not every home is identical, of course—factors like size, location, and type play in—but this dip could translate to real savings if you jump in now.Let's talk Fed funds rate cuts: They dropped recently, but mortgages tie more to the 10-year bond, so we're seeing tweaks, not overhauls. With two more Fed meetings this year, why wait? Lower rates could ease borrowing, pulling more buyers in and potentially reversing that price softness. From patrolling streets to spotting market trends, I've learned timing is everything—don't let rates or inventory shifts catch you off guard.Coming soon listings? Goldmine alert: 13 on deck right now, from 2-bedroom starters to 6-bedroom beasts. These previews give you a leg up before they hit the masses, but you won't find them on big syndication sites like Zillow. Why avoid those? They're monetized around your data—search once, and ads stalk you forever. No anonymity there. Stick with local pros who share real intel organically. If you're hunting, hit up your agent or check SantaClaritaComingSoon.com for direct alerts. Tell me your prefs, and I'll send them—no data sales, just value.Selecting an agent? Skip the flash—vacation boasts or luxury car flexes. Look for folks deYoutube Channels:Conner with Honor - real estateHome Muscle - fat torchingFrom first responder to real estate expert, Connor with Honor brings honesty and integrity to your Santa Clarita home buying or selling journey. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for valuable tips, local market trends, and a glimpse into the Santa Clarita lifestyle.Dive into Real Estate with Connor with Honor:Santa Clarita's Trusted Realtor & Fitness EnthusiastReal Estate:Buying or selling in Santa Clarita? Connor with Honor, your local expert with over 2 decades of experience, guides you seamlessly through the process. Subscribe to his YouTube channel for insider market updates, expert advice, and a peek into the vibrant Santa Clarita lifestyle.Fitness:Ready to unlock your fitness potential? Join Connor's YouTube journey for inspiring workouts, healthy recipes, and motivational tips. Remember, a strong body fuels a strong mind and a successful life!Podcast:Dig deeper with Connor's podcast! Hear insightful interviews with industry experts, inspiring success stories, and targeted real estate advice specific to Santa Clarita.

There's nothing quite like walking into a listing appointment prepared, only to have the seller slide an appraisal across the table before you can even share your thoughts. In this episode, we dive deep into the sometimes-helpful, often-headache-inducing world of pre-listing appraisals in real estate. Alissa shares a couple of jaw-dropping pricing stories, including one where she was blindsided by an appraisal that came in a full $60K over her estimate—and how she ended up taking the listing anyway (spoiler: she regrets it). Katy and Alissa get real about the pros and cons of pre-listing appraisals, when they're appropriate, and how they can be both a tool and a trap. You'll also hear two real-life case studies that show how appraisals can drastically impact seller expectations—and what happens when those numbers just don't line up with the market. From lessons learned the hard way to advice you can use in your next listing appointment, this episode is packed with insight, encouragement, and some painful pricing truth. If you've ever struggled to price a property—or convince a seller that their home isn't worth what Zillow (or their appraiser) says—this one's for you.     Here's what we chat about in this episode: What is a pre-listing appraisal and why would a seller get one? Real-life pricing fails (and what we learned from them) Why appraisals aren't always reliable in shifting markets How to talk to sellers about appraisals without losing the listing Why CMAs and appraisals rarely match Specific scripts and verbiage to use when appraisals go wrong The pros and cons of recommending an appraisal yourself How to position yourself as the pricing expert—even when the appraiser disagrees Tips for navigating seller emotions and stubborn pricing Key Quotes/Takeaways “I should've gone in with my Alissa mentality: tell them the truth and let the chips fall.” – Alissa “Appraisers are only using data from homes that actually sold. They're not accounting for what's sitting on the market today.” – Katy “I prayed I was wrong, but the market proved me right—and the house sat for months.” – Alissa “Sometimes the appraisal says 510 and your gut says 450… and you take the listing anyway. Don't do that.” – Katy “You can get five appraisers and five different values. Your job is to be the constant.” – Alissa Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned: Build Your Own Business 101 (BYOB) Email Templates 101 Agent Systems 101 Buyer & Seller Checklists Want to chat with us? Join the Hustle Humbly Community or send us a message at team@hustlehumblypodcast.com.     Don't forget to grab our free resources at hustlehumblypodcast.com! Want to support the show? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share this episode with a Realtor friend who needs it! Leave us a review at ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly Get your FREE Database Template  Email Templates 101: emailtemplates101.com Build Your Own Business 101: hustlehumblypodcast.com/byob Agent Systems 101: agentsystems101.com All Resources: hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to team@hustlehumblypodcast.com   Music: Straight A's by Conner Price The Good Life by Summer Kennedy  

Real estate success is simple—but it isn't easy. In this Q&A episode of Stay Paid, Luke, Josh, Stephen, and Cody take live calls from agents facing the same struggles you are. From finding free leads without Zillow, to breaking through Instagram plateaus, to leading a team without burning out, we dig into the strategies, standards, and mindset shifts every agent and team leader needs.  

After a week of lawsuits and other bad news, industry giant Zillow is now being accused of potentially steering buyers into their Zillow Home Loans program or possibly violating RESPA rules. 

In this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Mikkel Thorup, founder and CEO of Expat Money, a consultancy helping clients navigate second residencies, international investments, and asset diversification. Known as one of the world's most sought-after expat consultants, Mikkel has lived in nine countries over 25 years and built a portfolio of properties across ten nations. His work focuses on mitigating tax liabilities, creating Plan B options through residency and citizenship, and guiding investors toward secure and profitable opportunities abroad. Jonathan and Mikkel explore how global real estate investing intersects with lifestyle choices, risk mitigation, and long-term legacy planning. Mikkel shares how his early exposure to real estate through his family shaped his investment philosophy, why he avoids debt-heavy strategies, and how he structures group deals to reduce developer risk. He also breaks down the benefits of international diversification, not just in geography, but also in currencies, timelines, and property types. The conversation extends beyond investment mechanics to the lifestyle and generational advantages of expat living, including multi-citizenship for children, cultural exposure, and community building. Mikkel emphasizes the importance of boots-on-the-ground research, building trust with developers and governments, and striking a balance between adventure and security. This episode provides a roadmap for investors who want to align real estate with global mobility, family resilience, and financial independence. In this episode, you will hear: Mikkel's journey from leaving school at 12 to becoming a leading global expat consultant The role of early family exposure to real estate in shaping his investment path Why he focuses on pre-construction and cash buying instead of debt-driven strategies How group purchasing reduces risk in international development projects The benefits of second residencies and citizenship as a long-term family legacy Currency diversification and geopolitical monitoring as part of global investing Structuring investments for both cash flow and capital appreciation abroad The importance of investor tours, trust, and seeing projects firsthand Top markets currently friendly to foreign investors: Costa Rica, Panama, and Paraguay Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Expat Money website - expatmoney.com Expat Money on YouTube - expatmoneyshow.com/youtube Expat Money's Facebook - expatmoneyshow.com/facebook Find Expat Money on Instagram - www.instagram.com/expatmoneyshow Connect with Expat Money on LinkedIn - expatmoneyshow.com/linkedin Expat Money on X - expatmoneyshow.com/twitter Expat Money Summit - expatmoneysummit.com Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Overview Greg Robertson sits down with Andy Taylor and Greg Fischer from RetroRate to discuss assumable loans and their potential to reshape real estate transactions. They explore the history and career paths of both founders, the challenges of discoverability in MLSs, and how RetroRate aims to make assumable loans more visible and accessible for agents, buyers, and sellers. Key Takeaways Backgrounds of the founders: Andy Taylor: From gaming at EA, to Apple, to Redfin, to startups like Approved and Credit Karma. Greg Fischer: From brokerage and realtor.com to innovative consumer tools like Doorsteps and Doorsteps Swipe. RetroRate's mission: Helps real estate professionals identify and transact on assumable loans. Assumable loans can drastically reduce monthly payments compared to current market rates. Market potential: 22–25% of homes on the market have an assumable loan, yet less than 1% are marketed that way. Properly marketed assumable loans can increase sale prices and attract more buyers. Challenges: Discoverability in MLSs—fields exist but are often unused or misunderstood. Educating agents and consumers on how assumables work. Equity gaps require creative solutions (cash, piggyback loans, or policy changes). Tools & partnerships: RetroRate offers an agent-facing platform, MLS integrations, and a Chrome extension (“RetroRate VHS”) to overlay assumable loan info on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. Engaging with MLSs and realtor organizations to standardize data fields and improve adoption. Call to action: MLSs, brokers, and agents should connect with RetroRate to make assumable loans more visible and usable for clients. Links RetroRate Contact: andy@retrorate.com | greg@retrorate.com Sponsors Trackxi – Real Estate's #1 Deal Tracking Software Giant Steps Job Board – Where ORE gets hired Production and editing services by: Sunbound Studios  

Pedro returns to unpack Sunny AI, a purpose-built assistant trained on Summer OS's proprietary data to help investors and operators spot patterns, compare markets, and forecast performance in seconds.In this episode:Why AI fits STRs: fragmented data, shifting markets, and the need for predictive modelingWhat makes Sunny AI different: specialized (not generic) AI trained on Summer OS data to “think” like an operator and investorHow it works: compare cities and submarkets, build comp sets, benchmark a specific home, and translate complex metrics into plain EnglishUse cases for everyone: first-time buyers to 1,000-unit PMs (hours of analysis reduced to minutes)The future: AI for STRs becomes as standard as MLS or Zillow for real estate and GPS for driving___Episode Sponsored By:STR SearchSTR Search is the industry leading property finder service. They've helped investors acquire over 265+ profitable STRs across the US. If you'd like the data professionals to help you find your next STR, reach out to STRsearch.com

The median price of a house sold in the United States in the second quarter of the year was down slightly for the first time in years. But is now a good time to buy? Orphe Divounguy, economist at Zillow, explains the shifting market.And, in West Virginia, more than 80% of electricity comes from coal power. That's one reason customers have seen their utility bills continue to rise. WVPB reporter Curtis Tate shares more.Then, President Trump has imposed a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, sharply increasing costs for employers sponsoring skilled foreign workers. MSNBC's Ali Velshi details what this overhaul means for industries that rely on foreign workers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Some agents think market data is just a bunch of MLS stats to throw into a listing presentation. Just absorption rates, days on market, and sales ratios that you check off like a box.  But it's actually one of the most powerful persuasion tools you have. Market data shifts the conversation from opinion to fact, from convincing to guiding. It builds your confidence, gives clients a clear picture they can't argue with, and it helps you close more deals. The truth s, too many agents hide behind generic terms like “the market is slow” or “inventory is high.” Those phrases don't move clients; they confuse them.  Without specifics, your advice sounds like just another opinion. And in a market where clients are bombarded with opinions from social media, friends, and Zillow alerts, opinions don't close deals. Facts do. How do we turn raw numbers into stories that help clients? How does that lead to more closings? In this episode of Level Up, we show you how to use numbers to set expectations, have better conversations, overcome objections, and close more deals.   Things You'll Learn In This Episode  Facts beat opinions every time When you let the market data speak instead of your own opinion, clients stop arguing and start listening. What happens when you shift from convincing to simply presenting the facts? The one number that tells the whole story Absorption rate reveals both demand and supply in a single snapshot. How does knowing this metric instantly change the way you talk about the market? Painting a clearer picture with specifics Telling a seller “the market is slow” falls flat, but showing them that 90% of listings are sitting unsold hits home. What does that do to their pricing mindset? The three-price strategy Presenting sellers with three time-based pricing options sets expectations before the listing ever hits the market. How does this keep you from endless price-reduction battles later? About Your Host Greg Harrelson is a real estate agent, coach, trainer, and owner of Century 21 The Harrelson Group. He has been in the real estate business for over 30 years and has been professionally trained by coaches like Mike, Matthew, Tom Ferry, Chet Holme,s and Tony Robbins. He is in the top 1% of all Realtors nationwide. His goal is to empower his clients with the information necessary to make sound financial decisions while being sensitive to the experience one is looking for in real estate ownership. The Harrelson Group has been the leading office in the Myrtle Beach real estate market for years, and they have recently added a new office in Charleston, SC.   Guest Host  Abe Safa is a highly experienced real estate expert with over two decades in the industry. He is a key leader at Century 21 The Harrelson Group, where he specializes in helping clients navigate complex real estate transactions with ease. In addition to his role at Century 21, Abe is a sought-after mentor and speaker, sharing his expertise through seminars and coaching programs to help other agents succeed in the competitive real estate market.     Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you! 

In this episode, Keith and James break down the Compass-Anywhere megadeal. They analyze the all-stock transaction and its potential impact on the industry. The hosts discuss the deal's challenges, including managing significant debt and potential agent churn, and warn of an "arms race" for private listings. This episode provides a candid analysis of what this means for Zillow and the future of residential real estate.   Subscribe to Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered?sub_confirmation=1   To learn more about becoming a sponsor of the show send us an email: jessica@inman.com You asked for it. We delivered. Check out our new merch! https://merch.realestateinsidersunfiltered.com/   Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube, Facebook - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com.   Link to Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/realestateinsiderspod/ Link to YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to TikTok Page: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateinsiderspod Link to website: https://realestateinsidersunfiltered.com This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative. https://twobrotherscreative.com/contact/  

Real estate isn't just about properties and profits. It's also about the communities shaped by every investment. In this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes seasoned investor, broker, and entrepreneur Joe Killinger. With more than 30 years of experience spanning auctions, multifamily, single-tenant net leases, and commercial brokerage, Joe shares how his career progressed from cold calling foreclosure properties to developing programs that revitalized neighborhoods. Joe reflects on his early lessons from the auction world, the value of boots-on-the-ground research, and how thorough due diligence separates winning deals from costly mistakes. He also highlights an innovative program that placed teachers in apartment buildings, providing kids with tutoring while improving retention and reducing property damage. Today, he continues to shape communities through Commercial Brokers International and Icon Capital Advisors while raising a fund dedicated to single-tenant net lease investments. For investors at every level, Joe's journey shows how financial success and community impact can grow together. In this episode, you will hear: Starting small and learning from each investment, even the tough ones Building local knowledge and getting boots on the ground for long-term success Using mentorship and consistent education to scale a business Creating community-focused programs that strengthen tenant relationships Lessons from multifamily operations that led to a passion for triple-net leases Combining digital marketing with relationship-building in commercial real estate Choosing the right brokerage through training, mentoring, and due diligence Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Joe Killinger's website - www.joekillinger.co Joe's YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/@JoeKillinger Find Joe on Facebook - www.facebook.com/JoeKillinger1 Joe's Instagram - www.instagram.com/joekillinger Connect with Joe on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/joe-killingerrealestate Joe Killinger on X - x.com/JoeKillinger Joe on TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@joekillinger Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

What happens when a public servant becomes a tech founder to solve the problems they face every day? This week, we're joined by Nichole Sterling, the Mayor Pro Tem of Nederland, Colorado, and the founder of MyTownAI. Her journey offers a unique perspective on how technology can reshape civic decision-making from the inside out.Nichole shares the origin story of MyTownAI, a venture born from the "pain" of watching her own small-town staff navigate a maze of disconnected sources - zoning maps, municipal codes, county websites, and even Zillow, just to answer a simple question like, "What can be built on this parcel of land?". To address this, she developed MyTownAI, an intelligent data hub that consolidates information and utilizes low-cost digital twins to enable municipalities to run simulations, ranging from modeling the impact of zoning changes to exploring economic development strategies.The platform is designed to serve the vast, often-overlooked majority of American communities: the 83% of towns with fewer than 10,000 people. By providing accessible AI tools to under-resourced governments, Nichole is driven by a powerful vision for the future of the public sector."I want to see local governments become the next wave of innovation. If you think about it, just that a very small disruption at the local government level has the potential to make huge waves." - Nichole SterlingThis episode concludes with an exploration of how a tool built for government can create a more transparent and collaborative ecosystem for all. MyTownAI aims to enhance civic participation by giving citizens direct access to information and a platform to co-create ideas for their communities. For architects and developers, it represents a future where they can quickly find community-aligned opportunities, accelerating a process that is often opaque and slow. Ultimately, Nichole's work challenges architects to evolve their value proposition from being navigators of a complex system to becoming strategic partners in a data-empowered, citizen-driven future.Guest:Nichole Sterling is the Mayor Pro Tem of Nederland, Colorado, the founder of MyTownAI, and the co-founder of the nonprofit Women Defining AI. As a public servant and civic tech founder, she is focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to empower small and under-resourced municipalities. Her work aims to make government more efficient, transparent, and innovative by providing accessible tools for data analysis, scenario planning, and civic engagement.Is This Episode for You?This episode is for you if:✅ You are an architect or planner who feels the pain of navigating fragmented municipal data. ✅ You are interested in how AI and digital twins can be applied at the local government level. ✅ You want to understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing small towns. ✅ You are inspired by stories of non-technical founders solving real-world problems. ✅ You believe technology can enhance civic participation and create more collaborative communities.

What if finding a few like-minded families near you were as easy as dropping a pin on a map? In this episode, Lisa chats with Morgan Bergstrom—former corporate recruiter, mom of three (soon four!), and creator of BaseCampEd, a free app that helps homeschool and alt-ed families connect locally. Morgan shares her family's journey from full-time daycare to kindergarten at home, the moment the “mini co-op” idea clicked, and why connection—not perfection—keeps families thriving. We talk hybrid options, micro-schools, nature schools, and why you don't have to go “all in” on day one. If you're homeschool-curious (or already homeschooling and craving real-life community), this one's for you. In This Episode Morgan's pivot from 12 years in corporate recruiting to entrepreneurship The origin story of BaseCampEd (and why it'll always be free for parents) Moving every 2–3 years: building community fast in a new city Hybrid/alt-ed options: co-ops, micro-schools, nature & farm schools, STEM programs How to “test drive” homeschooling without going all-in Socialization myths vs. real connection Why homeschooling pairs naturally with entrepreneurship Key Takeaways You don't need 100 people—just a few good families you connect with. Try before you leap: add a small reading/math kit after dinner or on weekends. Use tools (like BaseCampEd) to find local groups, events, and alt-ed resources. Give your kids the gift of time: true literacy & critical thinking don't require 6 hours at a table. Quotables “I wanted a Zillow for homeschoolers: pull up a map, click the dots, read profiles, and connect.” —Morgan “You don't have to be ‘all in' on day one. Start small and see how your child resonates.” —Morgan “Homeschooling opens doors to alternative work and entrepreneurship.” —Lisa Resources & Links BaseCampEd – Free app to connect with local homeschool & alt-ed families   True North Academy – Live and self-paced classes for K–12  It's Not That Hard to Homeschool Podcast – More episodes with Lisa 

Ed, Harvey and Simon discuss significant developments in the real estate marketplace sector, including Scout24's acquisition of Fotocasa and Habitaclia, the changing ownership landscape of Idealista, and the management shakeup at Opendoor. They also cover Zoopla's financial performance, the public listing of Swiss Marketplace Group, and ongoing legal troubles faced by Zillow. The conversation highlights the competitive dynamics and challenges within the real estate industry.

Daniil Kleyman is a real estate investor, software entrepreneur, and founder of multiple thriving companies based in Richmond, VA. Originally from snowy Moscow, Russia, Daniil immigrated to the U.S. at age 12 and eventually found himself on Wall Street—briefly, he found his true path in real estate and software development—and hasn't looked back since. He runs Evolve Development, a real estate firm focused on ground-up multi-family and mixed-use projects with a current pipeline of over $80 million. Daniil also leads True Vision Analytics, which builds tools like Rehab Valuator, helping investors and developers analyze deals, raise capital, and manage projects across the U.S. and beyond. An avid traveler, Daniil spends at least two months a year abroad. He stays active through jogging and Muay Thai, and is a hands-on leader, constantly collaborating with his software team to drive innovation.   During the show we discussed: Streamlines investor decision-making. Reduces risks in property acquisition and development. Builds financial models and pro formas. Supports pitching deals to lenders or banks. Estimates ROI, cash flow, and profit margins. Determines maximum allowable offers (MAO). Evaluates property exit strategies. Simplifies rehab budgets and scopes of work. Compares financing options quickly. Enhances comp analysis vs. MLS or Zillow. Markets wholesale deals effectively. Provides pre-built flyers and presentations.   Resources: https://rehabvaluator.com/  

In this episode of the Investor Fuel Podcast, host Leo Wehdeking speaks with Erica Eister, a real estate professional in Southwest Florida. Erica shares her insights on navigating the competitive real estate market, focusing on investment properties, and the importance of communication and relationships in the industry. She discusses the challenges she faces, her resilience in overcoming obstacles, and her commitment to helping clients achieve their real estate goals. The conversation highlights the significance of understanding client needs and the value of networking in building a successful real estate business.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true ‘white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a “mini-mastermind” with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming “Retreat”, either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas “Big H Ranch”? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

In this conversation, mortgage broker Nyisha Walton shares her journey into the real estate industry, emphasizing the importance of education for potential homebuyers. She discusses her approach to building a successful mortgage team, adapting to market changes, and navigating the complexities of new construction financing. Nyisha highlights the significance of transparency and communication in the mortgage process, encouraging clients to be informed and prepared.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true ‘white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a “mini-mastermind” with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming “Retreat”, either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas “Big H Ranch”? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Rob and Greg dive into the major industry shake-up: Compass acquiring Anywhere. They discuss the financial implications, consolidation trends, the future of MLS rules, and what the move means for private listings, brokerages, and consumers. The conversation also covers how competitors like Zillow, Keller Williams, and eXp might respond. Key Takeaways Compass acquires Anywhere in an all-stock deal valued at $1.6B, assuming $2.6B in debt. Combined, Compass and Anywhere account for roughly one-third of U.S. real estate transaction volume and one in six agents. Discussion on antitrust concerns and whether regulators will intervene. Compass's acquisition could accelerate industry consolidation, making scale critical for brokerages. Anywhere's conservative approach historically shaped industry standards; the acquisition may shift how private listings are treated. Debate over whether consumers really want private/exclusive listings and how MLS enforcement may change. Predictions that other brokerages will roll out private listing programs to compete. Speculation on how Zillow and large MLSs will respond to these shifts. Connect with Rob and Greg Rob's Website  Greg's Website    Watch us on YouTube   Our Sponsors: Cotality  Notorious VIP The Giant Steps Job Board    Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios

Is Greenville inching into a buyer's market? Stan breaks down August's cooling signals—soft new listings, flat pending's, a dip in closings, longer days on market, and inventory at the highest since 2011—plus why new construction is stealing the show. You'll also hear how Zillow Showcase can boost your listing's visibility and how to enter Stan's $250 Amazon gift card review giveaway. Fast, practical takeaways for sellers and buyers heading into fall 2025. As always, if you have any questions or comments (or, of course, need a realtor), feel free to reach out to Stan McCune directly by phone/text at (864) 735-7580 or by email at smccune@cdanjoyner.com

The real estate world is on fire this week: billion-dollar deals, lawsuits shaking the industry, and a housing market at a crossroads. Here's what we're breaking down:  ⚖️ Zillow in Court — A new class-action lawsuit takes direct aim at Flex and Premier Agent. If it sticks, Zillow's lead-gen empire could be in serious jeopardy.

In this episode of the Triple Win Podcast, Peter Lohmann joins to talk Zillow, AI, reducing churn, and why having a community can elevate your property management business.

In this episode of "The People That Titles Podcast," hosts Steve Kaempf and Matt Lombardi discuss Compass's acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate, exploring its impact on private listings, agent empowerment, and brand integration. They also cover the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cut, the “Saving the American Dream Act,” and insights on NAR's new leadership.Compass Acquires Anywhere Real Estate (00:00:00)Market Reacti0n and Deal Details (00:01:30)Leadership Comments and Brand Integration (00:03:00)Private Listings Debate (00:04:00)Agent Empowerment and Company Culture (00:05:49)Brand Legacy and Agent Decisions (00:06:50)Federal Reserve Rate Cut (00:08:00)Economic Factors and Mortgage Rates (00:08:53)Saving the American Dream Act (00:11:23)Industry Support and Government Modernization (00:13:10)NAR CEO Nakia Wright's Vision (00:14:09)NAR Advocacy and Member Support (00:17:01)Communication Challenges and Looking Ahead (00:19:08)American Real Estate Association Growth (00:20:47)Zillow Lawsuit: Flex Referral Program (00:22:51)Alleged Buyer Deception and Commission Impact (00:24:19)Zillow's Response and Industry Impact (00:25:29)NAR 2025 Technology Survey Highlights (00:26:49)AI and Technology Adoption in Real Estate (00:30:13)Cryptocurrency in Real Estate (00:31:46)NAR Membership and Technology's Future (00:32:44)Podcast Guest: Mike Anselmo Interview (00:33:57)Chicago Sports Recap: Bears, Browns, Cubs (00:34:18)Podcast Closing and Sponsor Message (00:36:49)Full episodes available at www.peoplenottitles.comPeople, Not Titles podcast is hosted by Steve Kaempf and is dedicated to lifting up professionals in the real estate and business community. Our inspiration is to highlight success principles of our colleagues.Our Success Series covers principles of success to help your thrive!www.peoplenottitles.comIG - https://www.instagram.com/peoplenotti...FB - https://www.facebook.com/peoplenottitlesTwitter - https://twitter.com/sjkaempfSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1uu5kTv...

In this episode, Lady Landlords founder, Becky Nova…sits down with Leah Martin-Adams, a school counselor and mom from the Bronx, to share how she turned years of renting and late-night Zillow browsing into her first investment property. With the right education and a clear plan, Leah shifted her focus from buying a personal home to an investment rental in Connecticut, drawn by its affordability and family-friendly neighborhoods.===

If $250,000 dropped into your lap today, would you actually know what to do with it?In this episode of Cash Flow Positive, Kenny Bedwell pulls back the curtain on exactly how he'd put that money to work in short-term rentals. He breaks down why your financing strategy can make or break a deal, the five cost buckets most investors forget about, and why setting your ROI goal up front is non-negotiable.You'll hear Kenny think through real markets, from Florida beaches to Shenandoah cabins, and explain how to spot which ones fit your budget and which ones will bleed you dry.Don't guess your way into a $250K mistake. Hit play now to hear Kenny's no-fluff, data-backed roadmap and get clarity on where your money will actually cash flow.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] How a $250K windfall changes your investing strategy overnight[02:14] The financing trap that torpedoes deals before they close[04:18] The five hidden costs every STR investor must budget for[07:36] Kenny's minimum ROI goals—and why cash flow beats percentages[10:53] The “process of elimination” method for picking your markets[14:25] Why Bradenton, FL, might work—and the brutal barrier to entry[21:00] Shenandoah's low-barrier charm vs. beach market competition[24:38] How lakefronts in Michigan and urban rentals in Cincinnati stack upResourcesSTR Insights softwareTop Markets Report (via STR Insights website)Dave Ramsey podcast (benchmark reference)Zillow & Redfin (for market comps)Evergreen LinksWant us to find the deals for you? https://strinsights.com Get Top Markers for STRs (2025) https://www.strinsights.com/top-investable-short-term-rental-markets-2025-report

In today's episode of the Brian Icenhower Podcast, we tackle one of the most pressing issues in today's shifting real estate market: longer listing periods. As inventory grows and some areas edge into buyer's market territory, listings are sitting on the market longer than many agents—or their sellers—are used to. Brian Icenhower breaks down the two critical factors every agent must understand: Price or Patience. He explains how agents can set the right expectations with sellers upfront, proactively prove property exposure through weekly reporting, and avoid the reactive “Why isn't my home selling?” conversations that frustrate clients and drain your energy. You'll learn: ✅ Why agents don't “sell” homes—they expose them ✅ How to use online views (MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com) to demonstrate marketing exposure ✅ The “Miracle Month” concept and how to explain it in your listing presentations ✅ When it's a pricing problem vs. when it's a patience problem ✅ How admin and listing managers prevent service issues before they start Whether you're a solo agent, team leader, or broker-owner, this episode will help you shift your mindset and systems to thrive in markets with extended listing periods.

This Day in Legal History: Little Rock NineOn September 23, 1957, nine African American students, later known as the Little Rock Nine, were barred from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, despite a federal court order mandating desegregation. This confrontation became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and a key test of federal authority to enforce the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had deployed the National Guard earlier that month to prevent the students from entering the school, citing concerns about public safety. On September 23, the students attempted to enter the school through a side door. Although they briefly succeeded, a growing and increasingly violent white mob outside forced officials to remove the students for their safety. The local police were unable to contain the mob, highlighting the state's failure to comply with federal law.The national spotlight turned sharply toward Little Rock, prompting President Dwight D. Eisenhower to intervene. The next day, September 24, he federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the students' right to attend the school, which they did under armed guard on September 25.This event marked the first time since Reconstruction that federal troops were used in the South to enforce civil rights. It underscored the constitutional principle of federal supremacy and the power of the federal government to uphold civil rights against state resistance.President Trump is set to sign an executive order this week confirming that a proposed deal to restructure TikTok's U.S. operations will satisfy the 2024 law requiring divestment from its Chinese parent, ByteDance. Under the arrangement, ByteDance would retain less than 20% ownership, while American investors—including Trump-aligned figures like Lachlan Murdoch, Larry Ellison, and Michael Dell—would take control of the U.S. business. The restructuring would install a U.S.-based board with national security credentials, aiming to quell longstanding fears that TikTok user data could be accessed by the Chinese government.The executive order also pauses enforcement of the divestment mandate for 120 days, buying time to finalize the deal and secure regulatory sign-offs. While the U.S. government will not take a board seat or a “golden share,” it remains unclear whether the final agreement will involve any direct financial benefit to the federal government. Still, Trump's fingerprints are all over the transaction, from its nationalistic framing to the prominent role of political allies in the investor pool. He's even credited TikTok with helping him connect to young voters—a not-so-subtle nod to the platform's political utility heading into 2026.This deal marks rare progress in U.S.-China economic talks, which have been largely stalled amid broader trade tensions. But it also reflects a larger trend: Trump's willingness to insert the federal government directly into private sector negotiations, whether by greenlighting chip exports to China or taking equity in major tech firms. Critics argue such moves undermine free-market principles and risk long-term damage to U.S. competitiveness. Supporters, however, see it as strategic economic defense.In short, Trump's TikTok solution is part national security play, part corporate reshuffling, and part political theater. Whether it holds up legally—or operationally—may matter less than the narrative: the U.S. regaining control of a culturally dominant platform while sidelining Beijing.Lachlan Murdoch, Michael Dell, Ellison involved in TikTok deal, Trump says | ReutersTrump will sign order declaring TikTok deal meets 2024 law requirements | ReutersK&L Gates is closing its Beijing office, becoming the latest U.S. law firm to retreat from China amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and a sluggish legal market. The Pittsburgh-based firm will consolidate its Beijing operations into its Shanghai office following a leadership review of global strategy and real estate. The move comes under new global managing partner Stacy Ackermann, who took the helm in July.Though K&L Gates will maintain a presence in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia, its exit from Beijing reflects a broader trend. Over the past two years, major U.S. firms like Wilson Sonsini, Cleary Gottlieb, and Winston & Strawn have also shuttered offices in China due to declining deal flow and increased scrutiny of foreign businesses. While some firms continue to operate in Chinese cities, the heyday of aggressive U.S. legal expansion into China—peaking about a decade ago—appears to be over. The firm's departure underscores the mounting challenges of navigating China's legal environment in an era of strategic decoupling.K&L Gates closes Beijing office as US law firms continue China market retreat | ReutersZillow is facing a new proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of deceiving homebuyers by steering them toward its own network of affiliated agents rather than the actual listing agents. Filed in Seattle, the suit claims Zillow's platform misleads users into contacting agents who financially benefit the company—sometimes giving Zillow as much as 40% of their commissions—without disclosing this arrangement to buyers or sellers.The plaintiff, an Oregon resident, argues that these tactics violate both Washington state consumer protection laws and federal real estate laws by inflating commissions and limiting consumer choice. The suit alleges Zillow's practices result in higher home prices and a lack of transparency about who truly represents the buyer's interests. The legal team behind the suit characterizes Zillow's business model as one that exploits consumers' need for housing to boost profits.Zillow has pushed back, calling the lawsuit a misrepresentation of its operations and defending its model as pro-consumer. This case adds to a growing list of legal challenges for the real estate giant, which is already battling other lawsuits over competition and marketing practices, including one from brokerage Compass and another from Homes.com owner CoStar.New lawsuit accuses Zillow of deceiving home buyers | ReutersMy column for Bloomberg this week argues that as states try to modernize sales tax rules for the digital economy, they should stop framing digital offerings as either “goods” or “services” and start taxing them based on function. The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) is circulating a proposal to define “automated digital products” as those sold with minimal human intervention. While well-intentioned, this definition is fuzzy and risks creating more confusion than clarity. For example, how do we categorize a chatbot that occasionally escalates to a live agent, or AI tools that require ongoing human training? These gray areas aren't new—states have spent years litigating whether software is tangible, intangible, or a service, and this could be a repeat of that same cycle.Instead of defining digital products by how much human effort goes into delivering them, we should define them by what they do. A Netflix subscription is entertainment. QuickBooks is a productivity tool. Therapy on Zoom is health care. Consumers already experience digital services this way, and tax codes should align accordingly. Function-based categories would mirror existing tax practices, like how business deductions or ticket sales are handled, and would be far easier to scale to emerging technologies.It's true that a functional model still faces edge cases—ChatGPT, for instance, could be research, productivity, or entertainment depending on use. But these are better problems to have than trying to parse human involvement in the delivery pipeline. If states want to tax digital products sensibly, they need a system that reflects how people actually use these tools, not how they're coded or deployed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

In this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Blake Rodgers, co-founder and principal at Steel Peak. Blake specializes in industrial outdoor storage (IOS). This niche asset class includes contractor yards, equipment rental facilities, and bulk material sites across the Western U.S. He shares how his early experiences in real estate shaped his career, why IOS presents such a compelling opportunity, and how his firm is building a portfolio designed for long-term value. Blake's journey from college football player to commercial broker and eventually principal investor highlights the power of mentorship, networking, and staying focused on a specific buy box. He explains how Steel Peak sources deals, why mom-and-pop owners often present the best opportunities, and how value is created through repositioning and leasing to long-term, sticky tenants. Jonathan and Blake also discuss the importance of partnerships, capital strategies, and building credibility with brokers in a specialized market. If you've ever wondered about the potential of IOS properties or how niching down can accelerate growth, this conversation will give you a look at a less familiar but highly scalable investment path. In this episode, you will hear: Blake's journey from college athlete to co-founding Steel Peak The influence of real estate clubs and internships on his career path Distinctions between industrial outdoor storage and traditional industrial assets Opportunities created by mom-and-pop ownership in this niche space Building teams and partnerships to support long-term growth Repositioning underutilized properties for national tenants Tenant demand driven by construction, transportation, and utility sectors Shifts from syndications to institutional capital as Steel Peak scales The credibility that comes with niching down in a specialized market Long-term value creation as the guiding principle for Steel Peak's portfolio Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Steel Peak Properties website - steelpeakproperties.com Blake Rodgers on Instagram - www.instagram.com/blakerodgers Connect with Blake on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/blakerodgers Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Welcome Back Shedheads!This week kicks off with Uncle Chris telling us all about the Canada Exclusive flavor from Mountain Dew - Reef Break Punch. Reef Break Punch is part of the Baja Blast line of limited flavors and it packs some serious flavor.Have you ever looked at the houses in your neighborhood? With sites like Zillow you can find out what the cost of housing in your area is. We talk about how wild the market is and how it's become crazy hard to buy a home now.California is known for a lot of things, one of which is a motorcycle and dirt bike culture like no other. James takes us down memory lane as he recalls his days riding dirt bikes and ripping trails growing up.All this and more this week on the shedtime podcast!Support the showWant More Shedtime Podcast?Want to Find the Show on your FAVORITE STREAMING SERVICE?Want more EXCLUSIVE CONTENT only available to the Shedheads?Visit the Shed on the web :http://www.shedtimepodcast.comFind the Shedtime Podcast on Instagram : @ShedtimePodcast

Should Zillow disclose their commissions? // WA restaurants will get a scorecard for labor violations // AGREE TO DISAGREE // WE HEAR YOU! and WORDS TO LIVE BY

The Zillow Quiz..Is the house you're buying a money pit? Plus your questions answered! Looking for information about Louisville and Southern Indiana Real Estate? You found it!!! Lots of great information, loaded with Real Estate Questions and answers! What's happening to Real Estate? Buyer or Seller? Love Real Estate? You can listen to our latest Radio Show here! Stay up to date on Louisville, KY Real Estate. Also, check out www.louisvillequestions.com. Be sure to listen to our Louisville Real Estate Show on 840 WHAS Sunday morning from 8:30-9:00 am! Have a question for our team of experts? Call (502) 252-1890 or (502) 376-5483 to leave a question. For more information about Louisville Real Estate or to work with the hardest working Real Estate Team in Kentucky “The Sokoler Team" at REMAX Properties East, 10525 Timberwood Circle, Louisville KY 40223 head to www.WeSellLouisville.com. email bob@WeSellLouisville.com or call (502) 376-5483.

Zillow reports that new listings fell to a record low in August, with sellers putting about 7% fewer homes up for sale than in July. Meanwhile, homes are staying on the market longer than a year ago, and home prices are barely growing in most markets. What's going on? Plus, Harvard economist Jason Furman cautions that we could get stuck in slow monthly job growth as a result of immigration policy.

Zillow reports that new listings fell to a record low in August, with sellers putting about 7% fewer homes up for sale than in July. Meanwhile, homes are staying on the market longer than a year ago, and home prices are barely growing in most markets. What's going on? Plus, Harvard economist Jason Furman cautions that we could get stuck in slow monthly job growth as a result of immigration policy.

In this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Bree Hartman, a former gym owner turned commercial real estate investor and the founder of Self Storage School. Bree shares how she shifted from running gyms to building a portfolio of self-storage facilities, and how this asset class can create time freedom, financial independence, and long-term cash flow. She explains why self-storage is recession-resilient, how to find deals through simple tools like Google Maps, and why automation is transforming the way these facilities operate. Bree also breaks down how seller financing can make acquisitions more accessible, especially with mom-and-pop owners who represent a large share of the industry. From her first $3.1 million deal bought while pregnant to the systems she now teaches her students, Bree shows why self-storage can be an attractive path for investors seeking fewer headaches than traditional residential rentals. Whether you're an active investor, someone burned out on residential rentals, or just curious about alternative commercial assets, this episode offers a blueprint for building cash-flowing self-storage businesses. In this episode, you will hear: Bree Hartman's journey from gym ownership to commercial real estate Lessons she took from residential rentals before shifting to self-storage Advantages of investing in recession-resistant storage facilities How underperforming mom-and-pop operators create opportunities Using Google Maps to uncover overlooked markets and deals Seller financing strategies that benefit both buyers and sellers The role of automation in boosting efficiency and NOI How Self Storage School equips investors to close their first facility Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Self Storage School website - www.selfstorageschool.com Bree Hartman's YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/@Bree.TheInvestor Find Self Storage School on Facebook - www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561220469166 Bree's Instagram - www.instagram.com/bree.theinvestor Connect with Bree on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/breannadupliseahartman Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Shane Albert. We discuss: Shane reflects on lessons learned from his previous 20-acre property remodel. Unexpected costs during renovations taught Shane to account for unknowns in future deals. Selling his rental properties led Shane to reassess his investment strategy and goals. Shane's wife, Marissa, discovered a new 25-acre property while casually browsing Zillow. The new property has river frontage and is close to home, making it an attractive option. Shane emphasizes the importance of having a knowledgeable real estate agent in land purchases. Walking properties can lead to excitement, but buyers must consider potential drawbacks. Shane values teaching his kids about hard work and responsibility through land ownership. The couple's investment strategy focuses on finding properties that make financial sense. And so much more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Pre-Approved to Purchase a farm with Buck Land Funding ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Moultrie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/moultrie_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/PaintedArrow

Multifamily real estate has long been one of the most powerful vehicles for creating generational wealth and consistent cash flow. In this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Rod Khleif, entrepreneur, real estate investor, author, philanthropist, and host of the Lifetime Cash Flow Through Real Estate Investing podcast. Rod has owned thousands of multifamily units and guided his students to acquire more than 260,000 units. His perspective combines real-world investing experience with mindset mastery, making this conversation an essential listen for anyone serious about building lasting wealth in real estate. Rod shares his journey from immigrating to the U.S. as a child and watching his mother succeed in real estate, to building and losing a $50 million portfolio during the 2008 crash, and ultimately regaining his footing. His emphasis on goal setting, mindset, and surrounding yourself with the right peer group reveals how resilience and determination can drive extraordinary success. Jonathan and Rod also examine the current multifamily market, highlighting both challenges and the opportunities ahead for disciplined investors. Whether you're just starting or seeking to scale, Rod's story and strategies show why multifamily remains a cornerstone of wealth-building and how cultivating the right mindset can change everything. In this episode, you will hear: Goal setting and creating a burning desire as the foundation for success The impact of clear decisions and consistent action Strategies for pushing past limiting beliefs and fear Why integrity and playing to your strengths matter in real estate investing How the right peer group can accelerate results The scalability of multifamily investing compared to single-family homes The role of gratitude, contribution, and fulfillment in sustaining success Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Rod Khleif's website - rodkhleif.com Rod on YouTube - www.youtube.com/RodKhleif Find Rod on Facebook - www.facebook.com/rodkhleifofficial Rod's Instagram - www.instagram.com/rod_khleif Connect with Rod on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/rodkhleif Rod's Twitter/X - twitter.com/RodKhleif Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Are you struggling with objection handling at your listing appointments? This is the ultimate listing agent training to help you close more deals and get the contract signed. We'll show you a proven strategy to handle the most difficult real estate agent objections and win the listing even when a seller wants to “interview other agents.”In this training, you will discover how to simplify your entire listing presentation real estate strategy to get a signed listing agreement faster than ever before. You will also learn the powerful tactic of using a publicly available tool to win the deal by showing your experience and track record. We explain how this simple trick, an expertly Zillow explained strategy, can be your secret weapon against the competition.This is the ultimate guide on how to close a listing presentation by focusing on the only three things you actually need to get a signed contract. Our expert will show you how to move past the most common objections in real estate and how to overcome them by an expert so you can learn how to get listings consistently and grow your business.Key Lessons in This episode:✅ The three crucial items you need to close the deal✅ How to simplify your presentation to get the contract signed immediately✅ The secret to handling the "interviewing other agents" objection✅ A powerful strategy for new agents without a track record

Title: From Hustle to Holdings: The Smarter Path to Passive Wealth With J. Scott Summary: In this episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, host Seth Bradley discusses the importance of transitioning from active to passive income with guest Jay Scott, a seasoned real estate investor. They explore various investment strategies, the significance of due diligence in syndication, and the differences between house flipping and multifamily investments. Jay shares his journey from tech to real estate, emphasizing the need for teamwork in multifamily projects and the importance of understanding market conditions. The conversation concludes with actionable insights for listeners looking to create financial freedom through passive income. Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V26Rze2S9TM Bullet Point Highlights: Active income is trading time for money, while passive income allows for financial freedom. Investors should focus on the highest and best use of their time. Flipping houses can be tedious and may not be the best use of time for high-income earners. Transitioning to multifamily investments can provide more control and cash flow. Market conditions can significantly impact investment strategies and outcomes. Due diligence is crucial when vetting syndication sponsors and deals. Understanding the underwriting process is essential for passive investors. Building a strong team is vital for success in multifamily investments. Investors should seek to understand the risks associated with their investments. Passive income allows for a lifestyle centered around family and personal interests. Transcript: Seth Bradley (00:10.188) What's going on, law nation? Welcome to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, your favorite place for learning about the world of alternative passive investments so that you can practice when you want to and not because you have to. Now, if you're ready to kick that billable out of the curb, start by going to attorneybydesign.com to download the Freedom Blueprint, which will also get you access to partner with us on one of our next passive real estate investments. All right, let's talk about   the highest and best use of your time. We've talked about active versus passive income and for good reason, they are completely different. They're on opposite sides of the spectrum. When we talk about active income, we're talking about your job as an attorney, as a doctor or a business owner, where you trade your time in for money out. Depending on your skill set, background, education, work ethic, et cetera,   You know, this could be a great use of your time or it could be a terrible one. But when most people think about getting into real estate investing, they're torn. Should you do a fix and flip like you saw on HGTV? Should you invest in a REIT like your financial advisor and Charles Schwab told you to do? Should you buy a single family rental or invest in a syndication? There are endless options so I can understand why it's so confusing. Well, start with this.   ask yourself, what's the highest and best use of my time? If you're thinking about doing an HGTV fix and flip and your partner at a big law firm, for example, is that flip really the best use of your time? And don't be mistaken, a flip is transactional and it is active. So will you make more per hour on that fix and flip than you would at your job?   After you factor in the learning curve, the deal sourcing, the headaches, what it takes away from your job and everything else, it's not even close. Unless you truly love doing it, which some people do, it just doesn't make sense for high income earners. You should be focusing on transforming the income you earn actively into passive income streams. At different levels on the passive scale, that could very well be a single family rental or an Airbnb.   Seth Bradley (02:34.26) or could be passive investments into commercial syndications. But if you truly want to obtain financial freedom as quickly as possible, don't create more time consuming activities that aren't as fruitful as the active income stream that you already have. Focus on passive investments until you are financially free. And then you will have the freedom to transition or not into any   active activity you have a passion for. Today, we have a very special guest, Mr. Jay Scott of Bigger Pocket fame. Jay is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and the co-host of the Bigger Pockets Business Podcast. He has bought, built, rehab, sold, syndicated, and held over $70 million in residential property, and currently owns several hundred units. Jay is the author of four bestselling books on real estate investing,   with sales of over 300,000 copies. Get really excited for this, folks. You're in for a treat.   This is the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, where you'll discover the secrets and strategies of the ultra wealthy on how they build streams of passive income to give them the freedom we all want. Attorney Seth Bradley will help you end the cycle of trading your time for money so you can make money while you sleep. Start living the good life on your own terms. Now, here's your host, Seth Bradley.   Jay Scott, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Scott (04:09.196) Thanks. Appreciate you having me here Seth.   Absolutely, man. Appreciate you taking the time out of your day, We've got a little bit of history, but let's jump into your history, man. What's your story? Tell us about your background. Take it back as far you'd like to.   Yeah, I'll keep it short because nobody really cares about what I used to do. So I'm a tech guy by education and former trade. I worked in Silicon Valley for a long time, spent about 15 years doing the engineering thing and the product management thing. 2008 decided to get married. My wife and I, she was in the tech world also. We decided to leave and do something different so we could start a family.   focus on our family. Basically, we were both working ridiculous hours and it just wasn't sustainable if we wanted to start a family. So put our jobs in 2008, moved to the East coast, ended up flipping houses. Long, boring story about how that started, just kind of serendipitous. We didn't really plan it, never really considered real estate, but fell into flipping houses. Over the next eight years or so, we flipped about 400, 450 houses, was great. It ended up being the,   next career we were looking for, it gave us the flexibility to kind of raise our kids and never have to miss a soccer game or a piano recital, which was fantastic. But then around 2017-ish really got burned out on flipping houses and that's when I started to look for some new stuff to do. and that kind of leads me into what I've been doing the last few years.   Seth Bradley (05:41.742) That's awesome, man. That's a ton of houses you flip, man. think that that's, know, a lot of the folks who've been in the game for a long time, they've heard you speak on, you know, on bigger pockets and all of that. So, you know, what attracted you originally to house flipping rather than, you know, buy it holds or anything like that?   So I'll be honest, I don't love real estate. I love business. I'm a business guy. like when I was even when I was in the tech world, I got my MBA and I did some business development and I moved from the engineering side to the product side where I could be more involved in the business stuff. And I'm a business guy by heart. And that's what I love doing. So when it came to flipping houses,   For me, was, I could have been buying and selling anything. It ended up being houses. And again, not an exciting story. mean, literally the story was my wife was watching a show on HGTV with some people flipping houses and she said, let's give that a try. Just as kind of like a fun thing to do on the side while we were waiting for our wedding to come up. So it wasn't something that I ever thought about or planned to do. It just kind of happened.   And so if it weren't flipping houses, it would have been buying and selling something else. would have opened a restaurant or I would have opened a retail store or who knows what I would have done. But for me, the challenge was in the business. It wasn't the real estate piece of it. And so I've always enjoyed the scaling part. So yeah, flipping a house is great. Flipping five houses is great. But I always wanted to know, how do I go from flipping five houses to flipping 50 houses in a year? What are the systems and processes I have to put in place?   how do I build that type of business? That to me is what's exciting. And so for me, it's always been about not the real estate part of it, but about the building the business part of it.   Seth Bradley (07:25.248) I love that man. I don't think I've heard anyone just come out and say that, even though a lot of people are probably in the same boat as you that, you know, you don't have to love real estate to recognize that it's a great business. Right. Yeah. So that that's awesome. So tell me a little bit about your, your transition and what you're doing now, your current business, how you kind of progressed from house living to what you're about to tell us about.   Yeah, so 2017, I just got really burned out on flipping houses. It was good to us financially. We got good at it. I wrote a bunch of books on it, but I'll be honest, it was never fun. And as the years went on, it just ended up getting more tedious. I felt like I wasn't learning anything new. It was revising processes and creating new systems. it was fun, but I needed some new challenges.   So 2017, I decided, okay, done with flipping, actually went and started doing some business stuff. So I do some advisory work for some tech companies. I do some angel investing. And so for a few months, I actually considered getting out of real estate altogether, focusing on other business pursuits. But I actually, what I realized was that I didn't like the nuts and bolts of real estate. I liked the mechanics of real estate.   I loved the negotiation piece. I loved the asset management piece. I loved the putting deals together piece and I was good at it. And so while I really didn't wanna be flipping houses, didn't want to be involved in the day-to-day aspects of managing the projects. I enjoyed the deal part of real estate. And so in addition to that, after I stopped flipping, I had all this cash.   And I was like, okay, what am I going to do with this cash? I was using it to flip houses. We were doing 50 houses a year. It's put a lot of cash to work. Now I had all this cash. I'm a control freak. do invest in other people's syndications, but I don't sleep well at night when all my money is being managed by other people. So I said, how do I kind of take back control of my own cash as well as kind of get back into real estate? What can I do in real estate that I would enjoy? And now I can also deploy a bunch of my own cash. And what I realized was multifamily.   Scott (09:38.648) That was a great opportunity. And I had been thinking about multifamily for a long time. But what I realized was from the syndication side of multifamily, could, one, I could have the control. could be a general partner. could control the deal. I could put the deal together. I could manage the deal. But also I could come in on the limited partner side as an investor. And it was a great place to deploy my capital. So I could deploy my capital in deals that I had full control over. So 2017, I decided I wanted to get into multifamily, probably wanted to get into syndication.   I reached out to a friend of mine, Ashley Wilson, who managed a company called Barred Down Investments. She and her husband had started the company a couple of years earlier. They were doing exactly what I wanted to do. And so I reached out to Ashley and I said, hey, I would love to learn multifamily. I don't expect you to like just take all this time and teach me so I can often be your competitor. But here's what I am willing to do if you're willing to do this. I will come work for you for a year.   And in that year, you've got all my time, you've got all my energy, you've got all my knowledge, you've got all my contacts, I'll put money into your deals, whatever it takes. You mentor me for a year, you've got my commitment for a year. After a year, we can figure out if like, there's a place for me on the team or if I'll go off and do my own thing. But basically, let's work together for a year. And she loved that idea. mean, I think she liked the fact that I was really good with the systems and the processes and the operation stuff.   And I obviously loved the fact that I could jump into a team that was high functioning, already owned a lot of properties and was doing deals. So for the next year, I worked with her team. It took about a year and a half before we finally did a deal. But 2020, just before COVID, we started putting together a deal. That deal went really well. Ashley and I realized that we were like, just we made a great team.   We had a bunch of complimentary skills, the things that she was really good at, I wasn't, the things I was really good at, she wasn't, it was just a good partnership. Around the same time, her husband decided that he didn't really want to be doing real estate anymore. He kind of wanted to be a stay at home dad. He liked helping with the business. He ran the underwriting team and he did a lot of the analytics, but he didn't want to be a partner in the business anymore. So about a year and a half ago, Ashley came to me and said, Hey, would you want to join me and be a partner in the business?   Scott (11:57.678) 2020, 2021-ish. Ashley and I joined forces. She and I now run bar down investments and we do value add multifamily all around the country.   That's great man, said you weren't having fun anymore, you having fun now?   I'm having a ton of fun. And I think the big difference between then and now is when you're flipping houses, flipping houses is a very, it's a solitary venture. Yeah, you have contractors around you and you have eight real estate agents and you have closing agents and lots of 1099 people, lots of vendors and people that come in to help you. But at the end of the day, you're running the show. You're doing the four big things that you do when you flip houses.   you're acquisitions or you're running acquisitions, you're doing the rehab or you're running the rehab, you're doing the disposition or managing the disposition and you're raising the money. mean, all four of those things, you don't generally have a big team to do those things because it's just hard to scale a big team when you're flipping houses. The profits aren't there, the margins aren't there. Unless you're doing real high-end houses, the deal size isn't there. But in multifamily, the thing I love about multifamily is it really is a team sport. When you're doing it,   $10 million deal or a $50 million deal, it's not something that I could ever do myself. It's not something anybody or very few people can do themselves. Typically you have to be part of a team because things are very specialized. mean, the acquisitions piece, you need some of the best acquisitions people in the world to be finding deals in this market. The renovation piece to be renovating a 200 or 400 or 600 unit apartment complex, it's not like flipping a house. You need to have really good systems and processes. need to...   Scott (13:36.448) really know the renovation side of things. Managing the property, I mean, you have to know the asset management side. You have to know how to carry out a business plan. You have to know how to increase and reposition rents. You have to know how to decrease expenses and improve the efficiency of the management. And then on the sales side, that's a whole other world where you have to really know the market and be able to work with the brokers and know how to position the company for sale. And then finally, there's that raising funds piece.   And that's a whole world by itself, whether you're dealing with raising debt through a broker and you're going like just typical, like getting loans, or you're going out to private investors or institutions and you're raising equity, people that come in as partners. And I mean, that's a full-time job in itself, those two things. So when you do multifamily, you really need to figure out what are you great at? And then you need to surround yourself with people who are great at everything else. And so that's what I loved about multifamily. It allowed me to focus on what I was really   and then bring in people who are literally the best in the world at all the other stuff. And now it becomes a team sport. It goes from playing tennis to playing basketball. It goes from being yourself reliant and you have to do everything and be the best versus you have to be able to put together the best team and manage that team in a way that not only is everybody fantastic, but working together, they're better than the sum of their parts.   Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic, man. The whole team game part of multifamily and commercial real estate. It's really interesting because when you get into other businesses, it feels more competitive and kind of like if you if you have the secret sauce, you keep it close to your vest. You don't you don't tell everybody about it. Whereas when you're in this commercial real estate world, everybody's sharing ideas. Everybody's trying to partner. Everybody's trying to see how they can help you rather than just looking about, well, how can you help me kind of?   I call it, I'm gonna get in trouble here, but the Hollywood mentality where it's like, what can you do for me? Oh, you just drive a three series, you probably can't help me. So it's a different attitude.   Scott (15:41.294) Absolutely. I like to refer to it as co-op petition. It's like there are deals that you're going to do with other people and then there deals you're going to do yourself and you may come back to those people later. You may never come back to them, but everybody kind of looks out for each other because you never know when you may end up in a deal with somebody that previously you were competing against. And so anytime that you're not in a deal with somebody, you're still treating them as if, the next deal we could end up being partners. And the deal after that, we could end up being partners.   because it really is, it's a small industry, everybody knows each other. we really, again, going back to the sum of the parts is greater than the parts themselves. mean, working together, we can really do a whole lot more than if we just are purely competitive and try and take each other down.   Yeah, absolutely. And I think kind of going back, there's a lesson to be learned about how you were transitioning from house flipping and you were the best at it. And then you're like, okay, I want to go into multifamily and a syndication. You went and you sought out someone that was already in the game that knew what they were doing, that had the experience. And you said, what can I do to help you? What value can I bring to you to help you so you can teach me what you've done? And there's a lot of value to be found in that lesson for folks that are trying to   you know, get into the active side. A lot of listeners out there are passive investors already and they're, you know, maybe thinking about, maybe I want to do in the active side. And they're like, well, what can I do? Cause a lot of attorneys, especially in doctors and folks like that, they think they have this one track mind. They're only trained to do one thing. And they're like, what value can I provide as somebody else? But there are a lot of skills that you've learned in your W2 profession that you can apply to help other folks that are already in the industry.   Absolutely. I mean, I talk about it a lot, but even outside of real estate, I do a lot of advisory work and I'm still pretty active in the tech world. And I find companies that kind of bridge that gap between technology and real estate. all know about the Zillows and the Airbnb type companies. There are a lot of startup companies in that space too called property technology type companies. so...   Scott (17:46.998) I love to use my experience, my knowledge, my relationships to go into those companies and help them grow their companies. In return, I'm not an employee. I'm not even a 1099 contractor. In return, I'm getting equity so that if I can help make them successful, ultimately my equity is gonna be worth something. I'm gonna be successful as well. And so what I like to tell everybody like figure out what you're good at and then figure out who needs that expertise.   and then figure out how you can offer that expertise in a way that isn't trading necessarily hours for dollars. Figure out how you can trade your expertise, your knowledge, your Rolodex, your whatever it is for equity or potentially passive income so that you can grow potentially many fold as opposed to I charge $200 an hour or $300 an hour. mean, everybody loves $300 an hour, but the minute you stop working, you stop making that money. But if you can get equity, that equity can work for you for a while.   Yeah, absolutely. And it's tough for a lot of the WTs out there listening, they're highly paid professionals. It's tough to get off of that treadmill. For some folks it's easier because they're not making as much money, but for the lawyers, the doctors out there that are making a good amount of money in their profession, it's tough to try to see, you know, to stop trading time for money. But you've got to kind of see through the weeds there.   Yeah, well, what I tell people is, there's two types of income. There's your active income. That's the stuff that you're trading your time for, whether you're a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or you're a house flipper or you're a consultant or you're a small business owner, whatever it is, that thing that when you stop working, you stop making money. And then there's a passive income. It's the thing you trade money for money. So you put your money out there and hopefully it continues to come back to you for the rest of your life or at least the next several years.   And so what I like to tell people is don't think about those the same. Those are completely different. figure out for your active income, figure out what the highest and best use of your time is. If you're gonna make more money as an attorney than you are flipping houses, don't flip houses just because you eventually want to retire on real estate. You can always use real estate for the passive side of things, but if you're gonna make more dollars per hour as an attorney or a doctor or a consultant, then do that because you wanna get out of that active income as quickly as possible.   Scott (20:05.9) And the way you do that is you make as much as you can and you move it over to the passive side. So focus on whatever it is that's generating the most dollars per hour for a shorter period of time so that you can then start moving that money over to the passive side and start building up the passive side. don't, people ask me all the time, should I flip houses or should I buy rentals? And I'm constantly telling them that's not the right question. Flipping houses is your active income. Compare that to all the other.   potential active incomes you can have. And rentals is passive income. Compare that to all the other passive investments you can make. And so don't say flipping houses or rentals say, should I be flipping houses or should I be an attorney? And don't say, I be flipping houses or rentals say, should I be doing rentals or should I be investing in syndications or dividend generating stocks or something else? And think of them very differently. then secondly,   Make sure as much of that active income as you can, move it over the passive side so that you can start that snowball rolling. I compound interest is the key to financial freedom. And the sooner you can put more money to work, the faster it'll compound and the sooner you can start to live on.   Yeah, I love that man. mean, lot of folks, you know, calls that I take, they're like, hey, they're attorneys. Should I quit my job or how do I quit my job? I'm like, if you want to quit your job, don't be hasty about it. First of all, you're probably making a good amount of money in your active income. You just need to figure out a way to transition that active to passive income and don't just quit your job. It's very difficult to flip houses, to do an HGTV fix and flip while you're working at a big law firm or something like that full time.   I tried to do it, I didn't do it very well. You're not even gonna make it nearly as much money as you would as a doctor, as an attorney, unless you get to level like you did, Jay, but that takes time and that takes a buildup of accumulation of skills and money to be able to get to that level.   Scott (22:05.826) Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, it's a math equation. mean, your passive income or your ability to build up enough income to be able to retire, whatever your number is, is based on how much can you put in per month into that wheel, that passive income growth machine? How much are you generating every year on what you're putting in? So what do your returns look like? And three, how long do you have to compound it?   And so everybody can go out into a compound interest calculator and say, okay, I have $5,000 a month that I can invest passively and I can return 12 % per year and I need $6 million to retire. Well, based on those three numbers, you can now figure out that fourth variable, is how long is it going to take? And so figure out how much do you have per month to put in? What's the rate of return you can generate and how much do you need? And that'll tell you how long it's going to take or   figure out how much you have to put in, how much your return is gonna be and how long you wanna spend. And that'll tell you how much you'll end up with at the end, either way you wanna look at it. But again, it's a pretty simple math equation, but too many people don't actually do that equation where they don't think about it until too late and they think, I wish I would have taken that $5,000 a month that I was spending on my second home in the Bahamas and put that into real estate so that I could have been.   compounding it and so now I could buy that home for cash five years or 10 years later.   Absolutely. Attorneys hate math, but I think they can handle that little equation. I want to take a step back for a minute because you got into house flipping in 2008, which is kind of like around the big crash. And now we're kind of at the height of a market. We don't know where that height is going to end, but we're definitely in it. Right. So can you maybe compare and contrast getting into, let's say,   Seth Bradley (24:01.652) one real estate venture in the middle of a crash compared to getting into another venture kind of towards, towards the upswing.   Yeah, so it's one of the reasons I like multifamily and I like commercial and I like syndication. Anytime you're doing purely transactional deals, buying something and then selling it, not generating any cashflow in between, you run a risk. If the market turns in the middle of the transaction, you're gonna lose money and you don't have a lot of ways to mitigate that risk.   Whereas if you're buying something like an apartment complex, or even if you're buying a rental property, or you're buying a self-storage complex, or you're buying anything that cash flows, the nice thing is if the market turns, you may not be in a great position. You may not be thrilled with what's happening with the value of your assets, but if you're still generating cash flow, you can weather that storm. Maybe it's gonna take, the average recession lasts about 18 months. And so if you can make enough income that you can keep yourself afloat for 18 months, or maybe   it's a horrible recession and it lasts three or four years. If you're still making income and you can keep yourself afloat for three or four years, the market's gonna come back. And so when we do our multifamily deals, yeah, we typically say we're planning to hold three to five years, but we also do all the underwriting to ensure that if we have to hold for six years or eight years or even nine or 10 years, that the numbers still work because.   Again, who knows what's gonna happen three years down the road, we could have a major recession that lasts four years and now we're seven years down the road. I wanna know that my multifamily investments in seven years, they're probably gonna be producing more cashflow. We're probably gonna see more growth in terms of population. We're probably gonna see more growth in terms of employment. Hopefully we're gonna see more wage growth once we come out of that recession. So all the economic indicators that kind of lead towards value growth in multifamily,   Scott (25:58.486) are going to happen over those seven years if I can just get my property seven years and not lose it. With a flip, well, I'm not generating any income. So if the bank calls the loan due or if my two-year loan comes due and I can't refinance, I'm screwed. But in a multifamily, I just waited an extra couple of years and I'm probably in a better position than I was anyway. So that's one of the reasons I love multifamily because we can't predict   what the economy is gonna do in the next couple of years. But I do know that whatever the economy does, it's probably gonna come back in the next five or 10, and I'm still gonna have the problem.   Yeah, yeah, that's great. That kind of rolls into this next question. How does a passive investor that's kind of vetting a sponsor, how do they check kind of the boxes to see if their sponsors are taking the extra measures to look into those risks that you just mentioned, to mitigating those risks, to taking those risks into account in their underwriting and things like that. How can they best vet the sponsor to make sure that they're thinking of those things?   So I invest in a lot of other people's syndications as well as my own. And so when I do that, I kind of look at five areas for due diligence anytime I invest in a syndication. Number one is the team. And that's probably the most important thing. For a lot of people, I have been pleasantly surprised that a lot of our investors have recognized that team is the most important aspect of the deal. I know in the flipping world, everybody was concerned about the deal. Nobody cared about   what was my experience, but in the multifamily world, a lot of investors recognize that the team has to be great. So number one is the team. Number two is location. Location is often overlooked, but at the end of the day, the thing that's gonna drive value for multifamily and for commercial real estate in general is gonna be population growth. So you want more people coming into an area, employment growth. So you want more employers coming into an area that will bring more people in. You want wage growth because that will ultimately drive rents up.   Scott (28:06.082) and you want employment diversity. You wanna know that if one industry takes a big hit, so for example, we invest in Houston, but we won't invest in the energy corridor of Houston because it's so reliant on oil and gas, that if the oil and gas industry took a big hit, the real estate around there would probably take a big hit. So we wanna see that there's good employment diversity. But at the end of the day, location is that next big thing. So team, location, number three is the deal itself.   So you need to know that the deal is gonna stand on its own. I wanna know that if I took a deal and I handed it to pretty much any other indicator, they couldn't mess it up too badly. Obviously, again, we're gonna go back to the team is super important, but I want the deal also to stand on its own. And I wanna know that the business plan for the deal, the hold period, the numbers and the underwriting, the pro forma for the property makes sense. So team location deal.   Number four is the returns. So obviously when I invest with somebody, I'm in it for the money. And so I wanna see that the returns are commensurate with the risk. I wanna know that the returns, if somebody tells me I'm gonna get 10 % returns in this deal versus 20 % returns in another deal, I wanna know, well, why am gonna settle for lower returns? I want the answer to be because it's a lot lower risk or because you're gonna get your money back a lot sooner, which is gonna allow you to compound it or whatever the answer is.   I want to know that the returns make sense given everything else. And then finally is the risks. At the end of the day, I'm always going to sit down with the syndicator and I'm going to say, what are you most concerned about here? Like where, if I'm going to lose money on this deal, where am I most likely going to lose money? They say, there's no shot of losing money. walk away because we all know every deal has risks and every syndicator knows what those risks are. And they're thinking about those risks. I just want them to tell me.   So if I'm gonna lose money on this deal, where am I most likely? Why am I most likely to lose money if I'm going to lose money? So those are the five things that I look for. Talking about each individually a little bit more. the team, I like to know that one, I wanna see how many deals the team has done together because again, like a basketball team, you can put the best basketball players in the world together. And if they've never played on the court together,   Scott (30:31.672) they're not gonna be necessarily the best team out there. You can find another team with five inferior players who have been playing together for 20 years and they're probably gonna be better because they know each other better. So I like to see teams that have worked together for a while. I like to see teams that have gone full cycle in deals. So it's easy to buy 10,000 units. It's hard to buy 10,000 units and also sell 10,000 units for a profit. So I wanna see that if a team has bought a lot of deals, they've at least sold some for a profit.   I wanna see a team that's putting their own money in the deals. So I want people that have skin in the game. If they don't have skin in the game, and I've seen plenty of syndicators that don't like to put money in the deals, well, they need to sweeten the pot for me somehow. So maybe they're saying, we're not gonna take any profits until at least year three, or we're gonna give you a better preferred return, a better split than you would get if we were putting money in the deal. I wanna know if you're not putting money in.   that you're at least giving me something that aligns our interests and ensures that you're gonna be working hard even though you might not have as much financial risk. So those are the types of things I like to see in the team. I like to see things like at least one or two people working full-time. If everybody's part-time, that's kind of a little bit scary. Obviously not everybody has to be full-time because there are a lot of jobs on a GP team that aren't full-time jobs. There are a lot of jobs that might stop the day you purchase the property. Like the person that's raising money, job's   pretty much done other than communicating status when the property's been purchased. But I do want to know that whoever's managing the asset is doing it full time. So that's kind of the team stuff. Location, again, population growth, employment growth, wage growth, and employment diversity. So those are the four big things I look for. Next is the business plan. So I want to see the biggest question when somebody goes in and...   does what I do, which is a value add multifamily. Basically they buy it, they raise the value of the property and then they sell it for a big profit. Where is that profit coming from? Generally the profits coming from raising the rents. There's also some lowering the expenses, but at the end of the day, raising the rents is kind of the big thing that's gonna generate the big profits in multifamily. And so I wanna know how are you raising the rents? And two, when you tell me that you're raising the rents from X to Y, where is Y coming from?   Scott (32:55.182) Show me the comps that tell me that why is a reasonable new rent, market rent for this property after you've done the renovation. So I wanna see the comps. So that's kind of the deal. The returns speaks for themselves. I wanna see like the structure of the deal. So when's the money coming back to me? Is it paid monthly? Is it paid quarterly? What are the returns look like? What's the preferred return? So is it a low preferred return, which means   that the syndicators are getting paid sooner, whereas at a higher preferred return, which means the syndicators have to do more for me before they take anything home. So that speaks for themselves. And then for the risks, I wanna know both the catastrophic risks. So what's the thing that's like going to make me lose all my money? Is there something out there that can cause me to lose all my money? Hopefully the answer is no, but there are probably some risks that are bigger than others. So we do a lot of deals in Houston. If somebody were to say to me, what's the biggest risk on your deals?   The answer is generally going to be weather. If we have a really bad hurricane, if we're in a flood zone, we probably have flood insurance and we have hurricane insurance. But if it's in a place that's never experienced the negative impacts of a flood or a hurricane, and we are not required to have flood insurance, but there's still a massive hurricane that wipes out that property, that's not going to be good. We're going to have to pay for that ourselves. So what's our mitigation there? We don't have a great one. Luckily.   the risk is really low. We don't buy in areas where there is that risk. And if there is, we're gonna get flood insurance. But I do want my investors to know that no matter where you invest, whether it's a risk and especially in Houston, if we see a storm bigger than anything we've seen the last 50 years, some of our properties could be at risk. And then there are the smaller risks. So maybe there's five other complexes being renovated all around us. Maybe there's class A, brand new class A being developed.   all around us. So basically our absorption of units is going to slow down because there's so many more units. Maybe there's one big employer in the area. Amazon just built a warehouse that's employing 8,000 people. Well, what happens if Amazon has a bad year and has to lay off 4,000 of those people? How's that going to affect us? So, so risks is the next thing. And the way I approach it is I literally sit down with the, with the syndicator and say,   Scott (35:15.554) What keeps you up at night? What are the biggest things you're concerned about? And so those are the things that I do. I have no problem basically saying to a syndicator, I need 15 or 30 minutes of your time to ask these questions. Typically the good ones will either find the times themselves or have somebody on their team that will sit down and answer these questions. If they're not willing to answer those questions, well, that's probably a good indication that that's not a good team.   Yeah. For our listeners out there, that breakdown was incredible. Rewind that, listen to those five items again. That's a quick, but thorough and awesome rundown of what you need to do. Just as at least the starting points for your due diligence. And that's, that's great that you said if they won't book a call with you either themselves or an investor relations person on their team, then it's time to, you can just walk away and look at the next, look at the next deal. One question I had on the deal.   So a lot of folks, it's kind of overwhelming to see an underwriting model or something like that. And being a passive investor, I don't know how much you even want to dive into it. Some people do, some people want to nerd out on it. Most people don't. And we don't generally have access to the T12 or the rent roll or anything like that. What are maybe some quick tips on how to maybe proof through that pro forma to make sure that the assumptions are reasonable and the pro forma is generally   a reasonable prediction of what we might expect from that investment.   Well, let me start, me take a step back before I answer that particular question and just say that even for you and me, mean, you know how to do an underwriting, I know how to do an underwriting. If you or I were gonna invest in somebody's deal, Joe Smith's deal, we're probably not gonna have enough information even though we know this business really well and we know the underwriting models really well, we're probably not gonna have enough information.   Scott (37:08.908) that we're going to be able to know for certain that Joe Smith's not trying to scam us out of money. So if Joe Smith is really smart and he could probably put together an underwriting that could fool us because we're just not gonna be putting in as many dozens of hours underwriting as he and his team are. So the number one thing I would say is make sure you trust your syndicate. This goes back to why team is so important.   because there's two types of things that Joe Smith can do. One, he could do a bad job of underwriting and come up with bad numbers. That's not good, but that's not nearly as bad as Joe Smith wanting to scam us out of money. So number one is make sure Joe Smith's not the kind of guy who wants to scam us out of money. And so work with people who are reputable. And that's why I would invest with you before I would invest with 95 % of syndicators out there because you're an attorney, you passed the bar.   you know that if you go and somebody finds out that you're trying to scam somebody, well, you're putting your entire career at risk. And so what I tell people is, so what do you have that really proves that this person is on the up and up? And maybe it's a track record. Maybe it's 10 or 15 years of doing deals. Maybe it's, I like to think with me, I've been doing this business for 15 years. I've done thousands of deals with hundreds or thousands of people.   And if you go out on the internet, nobody's gonna, you're not gonna find anything that's written negatively about me. So that's a good sign. But make sure that there's something out there that gives you faith in that syndicator, even if it's just somebody else that's invested in a couple of deals with them. So that's number one. So that's the way to rule out that catastrophic, they're trying to scam you risk. Then there's the more likely, what if they just didn't do a good job of underwriting risk?   And so for that, would say for people that have very little knowledge of how the underwriting works and how the numbers work, it can be really difficult. And so what I like to do is, or what I recommend people do is sit down and ask to do a Zoom call for 15 minutes with the investor relations person and say, hey, will you kind of walk me through the high level underwriting? And at least force them to go through and then just ask questions.   Scott (39:30.958) when they say something, even if you have no idea what you're talking about and they say, well, it looks like we're gonna be able to reduce expenses by implementing a rub system, blah, blah, blah. Oh, okay, well, what is rubs and how does that work? And at least make them explain it to you. At least then you'll get an idea that they're not making it up as they're going along, or at least you'll get that confidence that it sounds like they know what they're talking about. But the biggest thing that I would say is that whole comps thing.   And this is a question that a lot of people don't like to ask. But I actually, and when people ask me this question, it always makes me nervous because it's the hardest part of the business, but it impresses me when people do. to the underwriting or the investor relations person, what are the comps that you used for your post renovation market rents? So again, the thing that drives values in multifamily is after the renovation is completed, in theory, you should be able to bring your rents up higher.   and your rents, those higher rents, you should be able to figure out what they are by looking at other units that have already been renovated and seeing what their rents are. So if I buy one, two, three Main Street, and I know I'm going to put $8 million into it, well, now that property is going to comp out to 678 Main Street. And well, what are the rents at 678 Main Street? And so by asking, hey, so you're buying one, two, three Main Street, what are the comps for the rents after you renovate?   and they tell you, it's going to be 678 Main Street and 123 Smith Street, whatever it is, you can then go look up those properties and say, okay, well, it looks like a two bedroom at those properties is renting for 1200. Now I go back to the investor relations person or whatever information they gave me I see, oh, okay, after renovation, they have their rents at 1200. Makes sense. If that's a reasonable comp, they now have the rents at kind of where they should be.   If he says that six, seven, eight main streets, a comp, and you go look in a two bedroom at six, seven, eight main streets, 1200, but their underwriting tells you that after they do the renovation, they're going to be charging 1500. Well, why are you now $300 above this property that you said was a comp? And so that to me is kind of the first thing that I look at or the biggest thing I look at is what are the comps that they're using and does just a kind of first pass.   Scott (41:57.762) jumping on apartments.com or calling the complex and asking them what different things rent for. Does that coincide with what they're telling you their post renovation rents are gonna   Yeah, I love that man. I mean, it's not as simple as just going into an old dilapidated apartment building and saying, I'm to put granite countertops and hardwood flooring and stainless steel appliances in there. And then I'm going to triple the rent or double the rent. It's not that easy. If it's not in the right area that could support those, those market rents or that have potential tenants that want those types of things, it doesn't work. So that's why that's so important to check those comps to see what's around those apartments that you're going to be investing in to see if, they can achieve those.   those proforma rents. All right, man, before we jump into the freedom four, what's one last gold nugget for our listeners?   Absolutely.   Scott (42:45.634) Yeah, so again, what I would tell people is figure out your highest and best use on your active side. And then for the passive side, figure out how you're gonna scale. And I know a lot of people like to invest in a whole lot of different things, but I'm a big fan of doing some work so that you don't have to diversify as much. Diversification is great, but diversification,   is for people who aren't really an expert in anything. If you want to get your best returns, the way to get your highest level of returns is not to have to diversify. And the best way not to have to diversify is to get knowledgeable about whatever you're investing in. So if you decide you wanna invest in all your syndications, just cause that's what you and I do. So it's an easy example. If you want to invest in syndications and that's how you wanna grow your nest egg, my recommendation is,   get as much information about syndications as you can. Pick up a good book on syndications. Go find somebody that does syndications and say, hey, I'd to pay you a thousand bucks for five hours of your time. Or you just to walk me through what a typical deal looks like or what the underwriting looks like. Or go sit in on a hundred multifamily syndication investor videos, presentations. So you can see all the different things they're talking about and become as much of an expert there as you can. So that way you're reducing your risk without having to do a lot of the.   diversification. So focus on whatever your highest and best use of time is on your active income and then become as knowledgeable as you can for whatever you're investing in passively. What I like to say on the passive side is it's not truly passive. Nothing's truly passive. But the best investments are the one where all the work is done upfront. You do your due diligence and then it becomes passive.   Yeah, that's awesome, man. And then what you can do though is diversify within that strategy, right? Absolutely. Yeah, different asset types can have different business strategy, value add, or maybe you're dealing with just a class A where you're chasing yield or across different cities, different geographies, or across different sponsorship teams. There's other ways to diversify within that same type of investment strategy. Yep. All right, man, let's jump into the Freedom 4.   Scott (45:05.598) It's time for the Freedom Four.   What's the best thing you do to keep your mind and body healthy?   So for me, it's admitting when I need a break. I know so many people that it's a badge of honor to work 80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, never take a vacation. I'm just the opposite. If I wake up one morning and I'm tired and I don't feel like working and I don't feel like I'm gonna be productive, I will grab a book. I might even turn on the TV. I might say to my wife, hey, let's go to breakfast or let's go spend the day, let's go to a movie.   And I have no qualms with just saying, I need a break today. Today's not gonna be a productive day. I don't need to pretend to work just so I can have that badge of honor that I work hard. And so, yeah, and that's one of the nice things about real estate. mean, I don't have a hundred percent flexible work-life balance. I can't do anything I want any time I want, but if I wanna take a couple hours off, I normally can. And so I'm not scared to do that.   Yeah, yeah, that's a great answer. With all your success, what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   Scott (46:15.734) Yeah, I still have a lot of them. I think we all do. But I'd say the biggest one is that doing a big deal is not that much harder than doing a little deal. I'm not going to say a hundred million dollar deal is just as easy as a hundred thousand dollar deal. But if you're smart enough to do a hundred thousand dollar deal, you're smart enough to do a hundred million dollar deal. And the people that are out there doing those hundred million dollar deals, mean, we have, we now have a hundred million dollars assets under management.   I remember a couple of years ago, looking at the people that had nine figures under management and thinking, they're different. I can't do that. These are people, went to some school that I will never go to, or they were born into something that I was never born into, or they know people I don't know, or whatever it is. No, they're normal people. And the only difference between them and me was I wasn't thinking big enough.   and I wasn't willing to take some risks and I wasn't willing to acknowledge the fact that doing again, a hundred million dollar deal is certainly within my capabilities. So that to me has been probably the biggest one and it's made it a lot easier for me now to say, okay, $50 million deal, let's go do it, not think twice.   Yeah. I had a similar experience working in, in, big law, doing house flips, doing single family rentals, things like that. And even though my clients are doing 50, a hundred million dollar deals and I'm helping them close those deals, it was just like the mindset shift that, a minute, I can do those deals too. I'm actually giving them advice on how to, how to do this thing. I need to step up my game and, and, take some.   Exactly, it's the difference between people doing a hundred million, a hundred thousand, it's all mindset.   Seth Bradley (48:00.866) Yep, absolutely. What's one actual step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom.   take action. So the biggest thing that I see stopping people is just this fear to take the first step. And I know this doesn't apply to a lot of your listeners, but I talked to a lot of people who want to get into house flipping or they want to get into rentals and they've been thinking about it for years and they just never take that first step and then they end up giving up. One of the the few truisms I see in this business   is that there are two types of people I meet. Number one, I meet people that have never done a deal. They've done zero deals. And maybe they're still working on it. Maybe they've given up whatever it is, but they've done zero deals. And then the other type of people I meet in this business are people that have done a lot of deals. They've done five or 10 or 20 or 50 deals. There's one type of person I never ever meet in this business. And that's somebody that's done one deal. Because if you get that one deal, you're gonna get the second and the third and the fifth and the tenth.   Nobody does one deal and then says, okay, that's it, I'm done. can't do this. So what I like to tell people is, and that applies to a lot of things in life. If you can get over the hump and do it once, you're gonna get that snowball effect and it gets easier the second time. It gets even easier the third, it gets even easier the hundred. So don't give up until you achieve that first step or that first iteration of whatever it is you wanna achieve because that's gonna get that snowball rolling.   Yeah. Yeah. We preach that on their show all the time. Just like, you know, just do a deal, just invest in a deal so you can get that experience and it'll just kind of open up your mind to other opportunities. You'll just see opportunity all around you. Once you just do one deal last but not least, how it's passive income made your life better.   Scott (49:51.886) Passive income has given me the ability and the confidence to raise a family. Before this, my biggest concern with raising a family was I didn't want to be, I had, my parents were great, but my parents were always working. And I didn't want to be the same type of father that my parents were. Again, they were fantastic, but I wanted to always be there. I wanted to be at every soccer game, every piano recital.   I wanted to be able to go into school for the parent-teacher conferences. so passive income has really given me the ability to build my life around my family as opposed to building my life around   Love that, love that. It's been fantastic, brother. We're gonna listen and find out more about you.   Yeah, anybody wants to get more info, go to www.connectwithjscott, just letter J, Scott, connectwithjscott.com, and that'll link you out to everything you might wanna find.   Awesome man. Talk soon.   Scott (50:54.945) Awesome. Thanks,   All right, Mr. Jay Scott from Master House Flipper to multifamily syndicator. He's a master of creating profitable, well-oiled business machines. I've been reading Jay's bigger pockets books for years and it's awesome to have the opportunity to have him on the show today. Major key, focus. Focus on transitioning your active income to passive income and don't get distracted. All right, if you're ready for a change, you're ready to take action.   partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals. Go to passiveincomeattorney.com and join our Esquire Passive Investor Club. All right, kiddos, as always, enjoy the journey.   Thank you for listening to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast with Seth Bradley. Do you want more ideas on how to generate multiple streams of passive income? Then jump over to passiveincomeattorney.com for show notes and resources. Then apply for the private Facebook community by searching for the Passive Income Attorney on Facebook. And we'll see you on the next episode.   Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en J. Scott's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jscottinvestor/ https://www.instagram.com/jscottinvestor/ https://x.com/jscottinvestor https://linktr.ee/jscottinvestor

Tune in as the team discusses:The top 10 signs a county is great for land investing (David Letterman-style countdown!)How to evaluate county data without ever visiting in personRed flags to avoid when choosing your first (or next) marketUsing tools like Zillow, LandWatch, and county GIS sites to streamline researchWhy keeping your process simple and consistent leads to better resultsFun community moments, wins, and plenty of hijinks—because learning should be fun too TIP OF THE WEEKJon: Small wins matter—each successful mailing or closed deal builds your confidence and momentum. WANT MORE?Enjoyed this episode? Dive into more episodes of AOPI to discover how to build real passive income through land investing.UNLOCK MORE FREE RESOURCES:Get instant access to my free training, a free copy of my Bestseller Dirt Rich Book, and exclusive bonuses to accelerate your land investing journey—it's all here: https://thelandgeek.ac-page.com/Podcast-Linktree."Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want when you want, and with whomever you want?"