Cash Flow Guys Podcast

Brett Buras is the Owner and Founder of Superior Real Estate Solutions. He is a Real Estate investor leveraging his marketing expertise to create off-market, discounted real estate opportunities for his company and other Real Estate Investors, resulting in nearly 100 Real Estate transactions, including Buy and Hold, Buy and Flip and Wholesaling. On this episode of the Cash Flow Diary Podcast, he shares how mindset, skill set, and a strong work ethic will help you become a successful real estate investor.

On today’s episode, Attorney Shawn Yesner, and I talk about how to crush debt and the workings of "subject to" deals. Shawn has experience in cases concerning commercial landlords, real estate transactions and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In Shawn’s book, Crushing Debt, he discusses negotiating debt, handling student loans, dealing with IRS, handling bankruptcy and loan modifications and working with short sales.

In this episode of the podcast, I interview returning guest Ben Leybovich (of Bogger Pockets fame) and his partner CPA Sam Grooms.  The three of us have noticed a trend of “ambitious” underwriting in the last few years of many multi-family investment opportunities.  I for one, think that sometimes certain syndicators are doing deals purely for the front-loaded fees in the deal, so they can eat.  A bold statement? Yes, however, if you look around, you will find tons of “moral hazard” in many of the deals being pitched in the last year or so. Be careful of situations where the operators get paid up front.  Everyone needs to eat but to suck the equity out of a deal up front, tends to increase the risk of the transaction from that day forward.  Ben, like me, has been very outspoken about investors overpaying for investment properties and with good reason. This is not to say that a sponsor should not be paid for bringing a deal together in the front end, however, some meat on the bone should be left for the middle and back end.  Ben, Sam and I all agree on performance-based compensation which means being rewarded for the exceptional performance of a deal based on the sponsor’s ability to lead the team. Ben and Sam have teamed up to educate those who are in a position to invest their own money into deals on how to understand a proposal.  As a capital partner, you should take the time to educate yourself on the underwriting process in order for you to double check the opportunity that is being provided to you.  In order to accomplish this, Ben and Sam have decided to build a curriculum in order to teach you exactly what you need to do in order to invest safely. To learn more about the upcoming syndication event they will be hosting in Phoenix, please go to: https://justaskbenwhy.com/phoenix

On this episode, I discuss how to structure deals in such a way that the seller will not get angry with you or offended by your offer. Many of us tend to try to assume what the seller will accept (or won’t accept) and sometimes use that guess to refrain from making an offer in the first place. Ask yourself this question..how can you guess what the other person will say? Just because you might not accept the very same offer does not mean the seller won’t consider it.

Here’s the thing, most folks spend far too much time focused on "getting a deal" and not enough time on preparing themselves to take one on. The first step for everyone is to identify "what" a "deal" is, sadly, most cannot. Learning what a deal looks like begins with establishing your investor identity first. Investor identity comes down to determining the type of investor you want to be, the asset class you choose to invest in, the risk tolerance you are comfortable with and the rate and type of return that is acceptable to you. Are you focused on one thing? Or everything? It is a fair question.

On this episode of the Cash Flow Guys Podcast I interview Chris Prefontaine from Newport RI who is the Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “Real Estate on Your Terms” Chris was a home builder turned Real Estate Broker.   Since the 2008 debacle, he realized he needed to reinvent his business so that he no longer had to use his own money or credit.  That’s when he turned in focus to full-time real estate coaching in 2014 by founding Smart Real Estate Coach.  With his adult children by his side, they coach investors on how to buy assets without using their own money or credit. I must say I loved the book and highly suggest you pick yourself up a copy.  Chris is also throwing up a ton of bonus items for you to take advantage of which can be found at http://CashFlowGuys.com/YourTerms What I love about Chris’ approach is that he truly believes and practices the fine are of creating win/win deals with his sellers.  His approach is pure brilliance, to focus on Free and Clear properties that allow him to avoid dealing with banks.  Any time we can eliminate a third party “distraction” from the equation we are better positioned for success. In the interview, Chris tells us about being a “transaction engineer” which is something you must listen to because the way he articulates this is extremely powerful. Chris also covers the two strategies that new investors need to prioritize above all others, be sure to listen in for those golden nuggets We also discuss which specific types of marketing his team finds to be the most effective and lucrative for his company, after all, its all about the lead generation. To grab all the free goodies Chris has for us go to http://CashFlowGuys.com/YourTerms and get registered

In this episode, I want to discuss a little something I refer to as the “sheep syndrome”.  By that, I mean being a follower and getting yourself all wound up about current events (manufactured or otherwise) that slow down your progress.  Don’t get into “sheep mode”, stop letting today’s headline keep you in financial jail. The media serves no purpose but to serve the agenda of their master, like slavery.  Today’s society is far too often influenced by less than accurate information that in many cases is put out to the people in order to purposely garner a planned emotion. Investing in real estate is a people business which means we have to learn how to work with others who may share a different view than we do.  To be successful in any business relationship we must focus on proactive communication in order to discover problems.  Don’t get stuck in “deal brain” mode, its not about the deal, its about the relationship Everyone has problems, solve them and be rewarded, it is really that simple.  Humans tend to be easily influenced by the thoughts, words, and actions of others.  Sometimes we try to assume what the other part is thinking or act in a way hoping to gain the approval of the masses.  When this happens, we wind up alienating the “other half” of society who has a different view than yours. For me, I don’t bother sharing my views on anything controversial such as religion, race, sex, politics or anything else that can be volatile.  I chose not to do this primarily because 1) I don’t think its anyone’s business and 2) I don’t really think anyone cares (or at least they should not care about my views on these topics)  Gone are the days of intelligent debate, we now see our leaders and reports constantly talking over one another so much that we can’t even follow the conversation. Instead of getting caught up on the hype, learn to be a good listener and when you do have something to say, it should be a question in order to learn more about the other party.  By listening to understand you will likely uncover a treasure trove of solid information that can be used to structure great deals.    

When it comes to consequences, many times we think of negative results when we do the wrong thing. But today I want to talk about positive consequences that can happen if you take the action to buy cash flowing assets. But you have to get started and make those first deals happens so you can escape the rat race and get that passive income flowing. Take the action now. You never know what tomorrow or next year holds. There is no time like the present to get that buyer list started.

I am hearing lots of chatter about a CRASH! For some means the real estate market, for others the stock market. Frankly, I see both coming to into a period of significant adjustment. WHEN (not if) these things happen, how will you react? Are you the type of person that will lead or falter? I for one, intend to lead (big shocker huh). Our reaction to market fluctuations is what determines our individual financial and emotional outcome. I hear lots of people talking about how they "missed" the last "down" market. These people generally continue on to complain about how they can’t find a deal because the market is just "too hot". While I agree that the number of properties that are "for sale" have diminished, that does not mean that all opportunity is lost.

Objections and differences of opinion are to be expected in any situation. The task of buying and selling real estate provides lots of opportunities to practice overcoming them. The truth is, you can either learn to overcome them or sit back hoping things will change (and go broke in the process). The entire process begins with becoming a good listener. There are two types of listeners, those who listen to respond and those who listen to understand.