Jack Jill Interview Member Trevor Probandt
Transcript:
Jack Butala: Welcome to the Jack and Jill show today. Today, we have Trevor Probandt. I'm not sure if we should use his last name from Texas.
Jill DeWit: Too late now.
Jack Butala: One of our original members actually, and we're checking in with him, I guess maybe, a year, year-and-a-half afterward, to see how he's doing. Trevor, welcome to the show, man.
Trevor Probandt: Hey! How's it going?
Jack Butala: Excellent. Give us a little bit of background on how you started and why. I know your family's been in the business and where you are, then and now?
Trevor Probandt: My family started buying and selling. I grew up on a cattle ranch outside of San Angelo, Texas. About 4,800 acres, and it was just me and my brother, out in the middle of nowhere. On the cattle ranch, and all that other stuff. Anyway, my family's been buying, selling, and basically buying and subdividing ranches since, I guess, the early '90s.
We started, I think Dad and them started, it was outside of Big Lake, Texas, and things like that. We done anywhere from ... I think the biggest one's been 12,000 acres and then all the way down to about 1,000. Then, actually, right now, we just sold three separate parcels of a deal down in Sutton County, which was three sections that we bought and split all that up.
It took a little while. Before we do the subdividing, depending on the county, even, I mean, the smallest parcel that we set up, I believe is, 60 acres. Even that, depending on the county, you still had to go in front of the County Commission Board and all that other stuff to get it approved. They like to change areas and things like that.
You go out there, get the surveyor out. Make sure of everything. We actually found out we had 80 extra acres that we ended up buying because the old survey was not correct and everything else like this, but this was from a long time ago.
We'll be dang near paid off. I think we got one more little parcel to be bought and then everything else is profits. I think we're looking at making about $900,000.
Jill DeWit: Nice!
Jack Butala: I've got to ask you, Trevor, a guy like you. Your family. You're in the business and stuff. You sought us out and signed up as a member. Is there some Land Academy benefit that you got out of it?
Trevor Probandt: Here's the deal is, we had sold another one. I'm trying to remember where it was at. Then, Dad and I were like, "Man, it'd be cool to be able to make cash flow off of land." Dad was, "Well, they've been doing it out in the west sections, way West Texas, since dirt was new." Instead of buying and doing land leases and things like this, since Manhattan. I mean, it's been around forever.
I just started Googling cash flow and land and how people set it up and everything. I found you all's podcast. I'm like, "They make unsolicited offers." I've sent offers, not offers, but letters to people. I've done houses. I've done the vantage signs. I've done letters to small strip centers. Done deals, apartment complexes, things like this, but it was always, "Hey! I'd like to buy your land or your whatever it is. Call me."
Then, the whole Jack deal. I've also owned a small interest, a real small interest in a couple of different oil wells and things like this, the family's owned and all that. I've gotten those letters. They offer you a number on a percentage of whatever it is on these wells. You know what I mean? Sometimes, it's higher. When it rolls up, and sometimes, it's lower.
I'm, "Hey! That makes sense." I was like, if nothing else, there's no tire kicking because you either get it done or you don't. If they're serious, they're going to call you. Even if you're not exactly on, they're going to be real close.