Simplify Your Acquisition Process (LA 1367)
Transcript:
Steven J Butala:
Steve and Jill here.
Jill K DeWit:
Hello.
Steven J Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala.
Jill K DeWit:
And I'm Jill DeWit, broadcasting from sunny Southern California
Steven J Butala:
Today jill and I talk about simplifying your acquisition process. You know, Jill, this is one of those topics where it's like you just have to follow this kind of real simple process. I think it's simple. It's not simple. It's 10 steps. It's not like... I think that real estate investment is got this... It's almost like fishing in this. I just don't see it that way. I see it as just you do X, you're going to get results.
Jill K DeWit:
How do you see it as fishing? Some people set it up like that?
Steven J Butala:
Well, I think that if you look at it like... I think most people look at it like raising a child, there's so many variables and so much stuff you have to do and you have to give it constant attention. And if it's not going the way that you want it to go, you got to get back on track. And it's this big, huge thing. And I don't see real estate investment like that at all. I think before data, before the prevalence of data, it was a lot like that.
Jill K DeWit:
Maybe.
Steven J Butala:
It was sort of like let's see what happens.
Jill K DeWit:
Maybe because before data, it was harder to... You know what? Even before data though, there were ways to find out properties that are coming available, like read the obituaries. I hate to say it. There's things like that you could do back then. Didn't necessarily have to be word of mouth.
Steven J Butala:
Well, that was using data.
Jill K DeWit:
That's what I'm saying.
Steven J Butala:
It was a crude way of data.
Jill K DeWit:
Yup. What's so funny?
Steven J Butala:
I don't know. Obituaries got into it, but I like it.
Jill K DeWit:
Just came to my head. How would I, if I had no way of knowing what's going to come available on our block, not kidding, I'd get out the paper, I'd... Like 1972, let's just say it is 1972. I'd be reading the obituaries and I'd be figuring out, "Oh, it looks like Mrs. Smith is probably going to move."
Steven J Butala:
Oh my God, let's talk about this. If there was no data. I can give you a personal story. When my sister and I left the house and went to college, my mom had her sights set on moving out of the big house, that house that we were raised in, and buying a small house for cash. And she had three blocks in the town that I grew up in picked out. And she went with a sticky note on all the houses that she wanted. Do you know... Did I ever tell you this story?
Jill K DeWit:
I do know this story. Yup.
Steven J Butala:
And she wrote a sticky note, stuck it on the door and bought a house. And so in the first live event that we did a few years ago, I ran a video with this guy. This is again, before huge amounts of data was available. This guy was a licensed real estate agent and he took the time to fill out-
Jill K DeWit:
Full on purchased the contracts.
Steven J Butala:
To fill out the real estate agent licensed contract, filled it all out with a price in there and everything. And I identified a one square mile of properties that he believed were you could buy for cheaper and sell for more. And dropped in everybody's mail slot.
Jill K DeWit:
Yep. I remember that.
Steven J Butala:
And bought a ton of properties and retired and resold them. Some of them he kept for... So yeah, there's always a way to do this.
Jill K DeWit:
Correct.
Steven J Butala:
I don't even think that's speculation.
Jill K DeWit:
Right.
Steven J Butala:
So I guess I wonder where the disconnect is for anyone who wants to buy undervalued property. That's my big picture question.
Jill K DeWit:
Do you know what I think some of it is? It's maybe not being ready for it. Like you have to give an offer and be ready for it.