December 13, 2023 • 33 mins
Join us for an enlightening conversation with DJ Olojo, founder of The Foreclosure Fix, who generously shares his journey and insights into this often misunderstood realm. Sparking his interest was a deeply moving experience at a foreclosure auction in 2010, which led him to an unwavering commitment to helping distressed homeowners.
Our chat with DJ unveils an important aspect of dealing with delinquent loans - communication. We dig deep into a real-life scenario where a borrower and loan buyer sidestepped foreclosure through effective dialogue and a revised payment plan. The repercussions of miscommunication aren't to be underestimated, especially in the current climate with a surge in foreclosure filings.
Resources and links discussed:
- Videocast on our YouTube Channel
- ANB Funds Website - https://anbfunds.com
- The Foreclosure Fix
About the Host:
Justin Bogard – Note Investor specializing in performing Residential Real Estate Debt. He finds deals and acquires them for his own portfolio as well as educates investors while walking them through the process of owning a Real Estate Note!
Connect with the Host:
Facebook - bethebank
Twitter - bethebank1
Instagram - bethebankpodcast
American Note Buyers - https://anbfunds.com/
Monthly Broadcast - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzc944w1xydt5aLDrrEPHJhdJeDkBjjD4
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Narrator (00:00):
Interested in real estate.
How about wealth?
Well, they go hand in hand, andhere you'll learn all about it.
Welcome to Be the Bank, apodcast where we discuss and
debate the topics centeredaround real estate investing.
Your host, justin Bogard,shares insights into investing
in real estate to create realwealth and passive income for
(00:21):
you and your family.
He'll share stories of realestate investments done right,
walk you through the process ofowning a real estate note and,
most importantly, educate you soyou can Be the Bank.
This is Be the Bank brought toyou by American Notebuyers.
Now here's your host, justinBogard.
Justin Bogard (00:44):
Hey everybody, this is Justin Bogard, with
American Notebuyers, and you arelistening to the Be the Bank
podcast, season number five.
This is going to be episodenumber 25.
We get one more episode tillthe end of the season.
Today I have a guest.
His name is DJ Alojo and hiscompany is the foreclosure fix,
and guess what?
He deals with foreclosures andhe does non-performing loans and
(01:07):
many other different realestate assets that he does in
his portfolio, and we're goingto be interviewing him today.
So we're going to bring up aconversation that pertains
around the note business and Ithink you guys are going to like
this.
So stay tuned, dj.
DJ Olojo (01:32):
How's it going?
How's it going Pretty good, myfriend.
How are you?
I'm doing phenomenal man Betterthan I deserve, so thank you so
much for having me on yourpodcast.
Justin Bogard (01:40):
You're very welcome.
The first thing I have to pointout is that your name is DJ.
So when I first kind of knewyou kind of online is how I kind
of knew you in the note spaceand I thought you're really a DJ
.
His name is DJ, but he's in thenote business.
I was like this is kind of cool, he plays.
He plays music too.
DJ Olojo (02:00):
No man.
You know, my government name isAyadeji because my parents are
Nigerian and I'm Nigerian and soas I have gotten older, my name
has gotten shorter and shorterand shorter.
So like in grade school I wasAyadeji and in high school I was
Deji, in college I was DJ.
So it just kind of stuck withme.
Justin Bogard (02:22):
I like it.
You know, when you're born andraised in America, it seems like
you want the shortest name or anickname that you possibly can,
because we just don't speakthat much.
You know, we want to get as fewwords out as we can.
DJ Olojo (02:33):
Oh man, it was the hardest thing for me to
understand, like when one of mybuddies, like everybody, was
calling him Bill right, and Ididn't know his name was William
until, like many, many yearslater I was like dude, your name
is Bill.
Like, why are people callingyou William now?
Like, so?
Justin Bogard (02:48):
I know I never understood the Richard Dick
correlation.
Dude, I don't get it at all.
DJ Olojo (02:56):
It's amazing.
Justin Bogard (02:58):
So you know my business partner, richard
Thornton.
He's usually on the podcast andso that's what I asked him one
time.
I'm like, okay, I got to askyou why, why, what?
Where did the name Dick andRichard kind of kind of be
interchangeable with some of hisname, that's Richard, just
never, never made sense to meand he couldn't figure it out
either.
He's like you know what I don'tknow.
DJ Olojo (03:16):
I think, I think I think somebody got mad one day
and just said you're a dick.
Justin Bogard (03:20):
You know, just stuck Right, like yeah you're
Richard, or nowadays you hearthe word Karen a lot, that all
the names were Karen.
So now, yeah, now it's Karen'sassociated with a bad name.
But no, I know why it helps tohave your name DJ, because if
you, if you ask me to spell yourgovernment name, I would.
I would fumble probably 99times out of 99.
DJ Olojo (03:42):
So you and many other people, man you know.
So it's a beautiful name, butDJ definitely works and it saves
me from a lot of conversation.
Justin Bogard (03:51):
I like it.
I like it.
Your name your name is verybrief, I like it.
So, dj, I want you to kind ofset the table for the audience
here.
The listening audience here and, by the way, those of you that
are listening to our podcasthere, whatever podcast channel
that you're listening on.
We also record this on.
The American Notepad is aYouTube channel, so we encourage
you to go to the AmericanNotepad YouTube channel.
You can watch the video streamof this and check out DJ's cool
(04:13):
setup behind him.
He's got a cute little officeback there.
So, dj set the table.
Man, how did you get in thenote space?
How did you get into realestate?
Kind of kind of set us backwhen you got into this stuff.
DJ Olojo (04:24):
Yeah, man.
So let's go back about 15 yearsago or so.
I like this.
And at that time I was a fewyears maybe removed from grad
school and I got invited to goto a foreclosure auction at the
courthouse steps in Atlanta,georgia.
(04:44):
And so one of my buddies was inthe process of learning how to
buy properties on the courthousesteps and he invited me to come
down, and so I went down thereto the courthouse steps and was
just kind of amazed that, youknow, all these houses were
going To the foreclosure auction, right and so, and this was
during the, you know, the crash,and so 2008, right, yeah, yeah,
(05:06):
so I was.
I was more about 2000.
This is about 2010.
Okay, my first investments weremaybe just investing capital in
somebody else's deal, but thenwhen I went to foreclosure steps
, it was more like 2010 timeframe, and so, long story short,
I Was there and I was just kindof taking it all in, but I saw
(05:27):
a couple Out there and it was anAfrican-American couple and the
husband was pacing up and downthe steps and the wife was, you
know, going back and forth withthe baby and a stroller and they
were just basically begginginvestors Not to buy their house
.
Oh, okay, and at the time I wasjust kind of you know, but
photo I was like I don't knowwhat's going on.
(05:47):
I don't understand why thesepeople are begging people not to
buy their house.
Yeah, and there has to be abetter way, and so, fast forward
, I became a real estateinvestor.
I started buying properties onthe courthouse steps and it took
me maybe the last decade or soin Working with homeowners and
buying houses where homeownershave faced foreclosure, to
(06:09):
really understand the kind ofthe dynamics and idiosyncrasies
that go into the thought processof those homeowners who don't
do anything.
And so now, being on the notebuying side, which I've probably
been doing for the last fiveyears I even have a better
understanding because I had Ibuy non performing notes and so
I'm reaching out to homeownerssaying, hey, I want to get to an
(06:32):
agreement, I want to do amodification, I want to do
something, and you hear crickets, you know I mean.
And so it was that process thatjust kind of really gave me a
passion for the foreclosure sideand has really led me down the
road of Real estate investing,particular with distress assets,
those that are in foreclosureor in some stage of distress.
Justin Bogard (06:54):
It's a good feeling when you get to help out
a family.
It really is.
I I didn't realize how, howneed of a feeling it was and
what little I do as a lender,you know, to help somebody out.
I have a lot of power to themto be able to change something,
but to me it doesn't seem like abig deal.
You know, we can just change,modify their payment by a couple
(07:15):
hundred bucks, or or knock someof their Principal balance off
to help them out, to get themcaught up, or defer some of
their payments and and so theirloan can get caught back up.
I mean, those little things areare not that big of a deal for
for the P&L or the balance sheetfor us, but man it, it makes a
big difference in somebody'slife that is just hanging on
because they had a life eventhappen to them.
I think it's this really coolthing when you can help somebody
(07:37):
out like that.
DJ Olojo (07:38):
I I agree, and I think that what you're saying is a
reminder of the human spirit aswell.
Like you know, we look at thenews and we just hear so much
bad stuff going on.
But we're in those situationsand you're able to do good right
it.
It allows people to rememberthat there is good out here and
that the world is not all bad.
Justin Bogard (07:58):
So yeah, and the time that we're in now, interest
rates are spiked all the way to8% and now they're coming back
down a little bit.
As we're recording this today,which we are recording, is at
the end of November, just so theaudience knows.
Inventory is very low right now.
It's lowest that.
What's the last time I heardinformation, maybe in at least
(08:20):
the last 30 to 39 years?
I want to say maybe I'm gettingmy data confused.
I apologize for anyone thatknows the correct answer and I
gave it to you, ron, but I thinkit's about 30 or 40 years.
We haven't seen inventory islow before.
So it's just a really uniquestorm and affordability is such
a challenge for people.
Dj, I think I read somewherewhere it was.
It takes 40.6% of the mediangross household income to afford
(08:46):
the median priced home in theUnited States.
DJ Olojo (08:49):
Yeah, yeah, and I think in that same article or
similar article I think, theNational Association of Realty's
was mentioning that the averagehomeowner now I think you know,
has to have a six-figure incomeright in order to buy a home
across the United States.
And so when you look at that,there are tons of headwinds that
are facing first-timehomebuyers.
I I have the opportunity and inthe work I do, to work with a
(09:14):
lot of folks who are eitherfirst-time homebuyer so the
education side of that oraffordable housing and those two
things are just kind of hugebuzzwords in our industry right
now Because people are trying tofigure out how to make how to
make it work.
You even see, you know, I thinkFannie Mae just came out with
that whole 5% Conventional loanwhere you can buy multi-family
(09:36):
property if you're gonna owneroccupy it.
So you have people working fromall different places to be able
to try to bring about solutions.
But it's just a really, reallytough time for for for
homeowners right now.
Justin Bogard (09:48):
Yeah, we, we picked up a loan I think it was
a year, a year and a half agoand we bought this distressed
loan from a private seller,somebody that carried back a
note in mortgage, and I think itwas in Wisconsin.
I'm not sure, maybe it wasMichigan.
I think I have a lot of notesin Michigan that.
DJ Olojo (10:07):
Really, you really like Michigan?
Hey, it's a great state.
My hometown is Detroit, so youknow okay yeah, and the lion's
just one recently.
Hey, man don't jinx this manyou know, I just did this.
This is our first good season along time.
So you know, we got it.
We got to keep going with it.
Justin Bogard (10:25):
I hope they go far.
I mean, I like to see the teamsthat don't do well very often
end up doing well.
So I appreciate it.
But okay, so I I got this loanand I bought from private
individual.
It was a delinquent loan.
They probably hadn't beenpaying for probably six, seven,
eight months or so, so they'regetting kind of far behind.
Taxes are delinquent.
You know, a few thousand bucks,not not a huge thing.
(10:46):
They got some delinquent condoassociation fees and stuff.
So we buy the note, we make thetaxes right, we board it with a
professional licensed servicer.
We tell the servicer you knowwhat we did with the tax and
stuff.
So they add it to like theircorporate advance account so
they can pay it back.
We set up a loan modificationfor the borrower.
We talked with the borrower.
They were very grateful for,you know, not losing their home
(11:10):
because they have a kid, and wewere able to set up a situation
to where they could start payingthat back and within a year
they could get 100% caught up,right.
So they did that and they didexactly what they said they were
going to do and they followedit to the T and they made it
great.
Come to find out there was somemiscommunication or an issue to
where the condo fees were stillnot getting paid.
(11:31):
And so, lo and behold, thecondo association starts to
foreclose on the house.
So the borrower contacts me andsays you know, hey, here's the
situation here.
I wasn't aware of this andthere's some history and back
and forth on why I see that itwas a possibility.
How no one knew that theyweren't being paid is for the
(11:54):
sake of this podcast, I won'tget into all the specifics of it
, but regardless, no one's 100%to blame, but all of us are kind
of a to blame.
And so he's like look, I can'tpay this fee.
This fee was over $10,000.
Wow, induce delinquencies,interests, whatever else, late
fees they charge.
It was over $10,000.
So I think it's about two orthree years behind.
(12:16):
And so he's like what can I do?
I can't get a loan to get this.
You know I don't want to losemy house and I was like let's
talk about you know your incomesituation.
You know you've been a greatpayer, obviously for the last
year.
You've gotten everything caughtup.
I don't see the reason tobelieve that you would
jeopardize your situation bypaying all this money, getting
(12:37):
100% caught up and then not paythe condo association fee.
So it's obviously this was amisunderstanding somehow.
So I was like, okay, here'swhat we can do.
We can remodify your loan, wecan throw that money back into
the loan, and then we canre-amateurize this, set you up
with a different payment, youknow, escrow everything for you
so we don't make this mistakeagain, and move forward.
He's like, absolutely, that's,that'd be great.
And so we come up with a newmodification, a new interest
(12:59):
rate, a new payment plan.
You know we made sure that hecould afford to do it, and so
now that's what we're movingforward with.
So it's just kind of amazinghow it's a great deal for us,
because obviously we bought thisnon-formal loan at a discount
and so adding that money to it,you know, and changing the
interest rate, we're actuallymaking a little bit more money
on it.
But you know, the point of it is.
You know the person is beingable to be where they want to be
(13:22):
and be able to stay in a homewith their kid that they want to
stay in, so the kid can grow upexactly where they want them to
grow up in, and so those littlethings like that are just kind
of cool to do.
So, even if we didn't end upmaking money on it, if we just,
you know, made the same moneyabout a profit margin, we still
would have done it anyways.
It was just an opportunity towhere both of us could get a win
(13:42):
.
And you know, the point of thestory is people don't have a
place to go to get this money,they don't have a place to go
pull another mortgage out orrefine.
And what's?
What are they going to do?
Refinance at a higher rate thanwhat they are now, because they
were already at like a 6%mortgage, which back then was
kind of high, but they wouldhave refied it over 8%.
You know, they could have goneto the bank.
DJ Olojo (14:02):
So um, no, you make some really great points there,
because I think there's a fewthings that I think about when I
hear stories like that,especially because you know I
talked about in the beginningthe folks who don't communicate.
Is that how important thecommunication was between you
and the bar?
Because they were able tocommunicate, explain the
situation to you, they were ableto get the best possible
(14:24):
resolution to their situation.
They didn't have maybe all thepoints or credit checks and
everything else associated withtrying to get a new loan.
They got a loan at an interestrate that they could afford.
Now they have escrow, so theydon't have to worry about the
problem again.
They get to stay in the samehouse that they love, and so I
just think that that's thebiggest thing that I wish people
(14:45):
who find themselves inchallenging situations would
think about whether you're onthe residential side or the
commercial side is just thecommunication is so key Right
now as we look at like where theforeclosure market is going,
and if you look at Adam Data,they're saying foreclosure
filings are increasing.
When I look at specifically inmy state of Georgia, you know we
(15:06):
are seeing an uptick in thenumber of houses that are being
advertised foreclosure and goingto the courthouse steps and
they're saying that there'sgoing to be a lot more
delinquency in the coming monthsand years, both on the
residential side but then alsoon the commercial side.
And I think that commercial,you know, people don't talk
(15:26):
about it as much because youhave the like, the non-recourse
loans, and everybody thinks thatall the commercial players are
big, big players.
But I think that thatcommunication piece and just
being upfront and trying to helpyour lender find a solution is
the best thing people can dowhen they find themselves facing
challenging problems is try totreat the person on the other
(15:49):
end the way you want to betreated, and that is the big
differentiator, I think, betweenthose folks who can rebound
successfully and those folks whofind themselves licking their
wounds after foreclosureaccidents.
Justin Bogard (16:01):
I mean that scenario that I brought up.
I had nothing to lose in alender.
There are some states that aresuper lean, states where a condo
or homeowner association couldtrump my position, but this one,
this state, couldn't, didn'tallow it.
You know, I had nothing to lose.
If anything, I would have mademore money if I would have let
it get foreclosed on, becausethey would have sold the
property.
It had plenty of equity inthere to pay my judgment off
(16:22):
completely, plus the judgment ofthe condo.
But that's just not the rightthing to do.
So that's just another featherin our cap that we want to make
sure that we do right by theborrower, because ultimately, if
a performing loan is aprofitable loan is what we
always say, that meaning youknow, as long as the person is
paying, it's a profitable loan.
If they're not paying andthey're skip paying, it can
(16:43):
become a problem.
It can really hurt your P&Ls.
DJ Olojo (16:47):
Now you make a lot.
You make, you make some greatpoints, because we just modified
alone in our portfolio wherethe borrower had not paid in
maybe 12 months or so, and youknow we're talking about.
You know a UPB around $60,000or so, and typically we like to
(17:08):
see a down payment from aborrower in the neighborhood of
at least, you know, 10%.
That's what we like to see.
We prefer more, but we like tosee 10%.
But this borrower had somemedical issues that caused them
to get behind.
They were just getting back ontheir feet and things like that.
And what we did is we took adown payment of $1,500.
(17:31):
And we also took the downpayment and then we let them
start their first initialpayment in January of 2024.
Right, so typically, you knowwe have rules in place, but
we're still getting a good yield.
I still got double digit yieldon the transaction.
And then also we are settingthat borrower up for success
(17:52):
because they get to go throughthe holidays, you know, have a
little bit of extra cash to dowhat they need to do and you
know auto debit starts January,and so you know that's the
things you can do in thisbusiness by being able to one
buy at a discount, but by alsokind of helping people
understand that you have optionswhen you communicate and when
(18:15):
you are looking to be a solutionand not just be a pain in the
butt.
Justin Bogard (18:22):
Yeah, you hit on it earlier.
You talked about the goldenrule.
You know true to others, howyou want to be treated and I
think that just works.
It works so much better in yourfavor if you're the borrower,
when you're just transparent andhonest and communicate, say hey
, here's my problem, I missedthis payment, I can't make the
next payment, but this is what Iplan to do in the future.
You know, can you accept that?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
(18:42):
Well, somebody thatcommunicates well and they do
what they said they're going todo, I don't have any issue.
You know, definitely bending therules, even if it takes a while
for us to start getting paid,it makes total sense.
So I like what you did.
You know why?
Forbearing a couple payments,or a payment or two until after
the holidays?
Because this is really a badtime for people with lower
incomes.
Because you know, primarilythey want to make sure that they
(19:04):
have enough money to give theirchildren presents, and I don't
blame them.
If I was in their shoes, that'sexactly what would be.
A forefront of my mind is likehow can I get my children
something for Christmas?
DJ Olojo (19:14):
Yeah, that's what you want.
You know, one of the big thingsthat we're seeing now and it is
something that I'm seeing moreof than I have seen, I guess, in
my career is I'm seeing a lotof folks who are on fixed income
starting to face, you know,significant headwinds and
(19:34):
challenges when it comes topaying their mortgages.
And we're dealing with a barright now who is trying to
figure out a way to pay $130,000, you know, second mortgage and
he's like I can afford $300 amonth.
(19:55):
It's like, you know, no matterwhat amortization calculator you
put that in, it does not work.
So and so it's one of thosesituations where they just don't
fix income.
And so, you know, we're lookingat all different type of things
, from, like, governmentassistance programs to reverse
mortgages to all these differentthings, and it is it's a very
(20:16):
challenging time for homeownersacross the country.
Justin Bogard (20:19):
Is there?
What programs do you hear ofright now that are that are the
best ones for borrowers to getinto, whether they're federal or
state and I know you live inGeorgia.
I'm not sure if that's that'sprobably not.
That's the only place that youinvest in.
But what are you hearing forthe programs?
Which one?
DJ Olojo (20:34):
So so that's hard right.
So it's really county by county, state by state.
So if I look at Georgia, I knowthat they're like you know, the
cap county still had some funds, I think cop counties still had
some funds, but they're usingthird party organizations to
help kind of get those funds outand so like, for example, the
Urban League of Atlanta was ableto help some folks with with
(20:58):
getting funds and things likethat.
And then, if I look on a morenational level, it's pretty much
state by state, again, countyby county, and what we do is
we're working with a homeownerwho's facing foreclosure.
We actually just try to Googleand do some research for them to
say hey, these are some thingswe see you may want to check
here.
Now we don't go do the legworkof trying to apply for them and
(21:20):
things like that, but wedefinitely say hey, you may want
to check here.
And we, you know, we tell peoplego consult folks like legal aid
, you know what I mean All thefree resources, especially like
in places like New York.
You know, when you try to fileyour foreclosure documents there
, you know there's a page oflike you know 40 different
resources.
And we tell people like hey,part of the onus is on you to be
(21:41):
able to try to work this out.
We're willing to do whatever wecan to help you, but we try to
put the onus back on them.
But we do try to shareinformation with sources we know
may have some money and andthat's been really helpful
because we've seen some sourcesprovide, you know, tens of
thousands of dollars yeah, justas the homeowners and you just
(22:02):
like, wow, it's a win-win foreverybody in that scenario.
Justin Bogard (22:05):
Yeah, it's amazing how many of those
programs that are out there thatyou don't really hear of
because they're not hitmainstream.
But you're right, you do haveto look them up and Google them
and you'd be surprised of howmany.
We had a lady in Cincinnatithat had.
There was a city level one,there was a county level one,
there's a state level one andthere was a federal one that she
could have applied for.
I think she could have appliedfor multiple of them and she
(22:27):
didn't apply and for I think itwas Save the Dream was one of
them that she applied for.
But yeah, she was able to.
She said she would.
She would qualify for a coupleof different programs.
So I'm not sure which ones willfund, if any of them will like
co-fund together, like adifferent amounts, or.
But yeah, basically they'regoing to be able to get caught
up on their loan and pay forwarda couple of months as well.
DJ Olojo (22:47):
So no, that's awesome, and a lot of these programs.
Just so for your listeners toknow, they are for owner
occupants typically most of thetime, so we don't typically see
them for investment propertiesand things like that.
But they're for owner occupants, so it has to be your primary
residence.
Justin Bogard (23:03):
Right, good point on that.
What is the?
What is the biggest amount offinancial help that you've seen
the government help out and thenan individual, whether it was
in your portfolio or someonethat you didn't know, Just out
of curiosity?
DJ Olojo (23:18):
Yeah, you know, I think that the biggest amount
that I've personally seen was tothe tune of maybe Like 15k or
something like that.
So I've heard of people sayingsignificantly more like on other
podcasts and things like that,but I think the biggest amount
I've seen was around 15,000 Forone source, one source.
Justin Bogard (23:39):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
I've seen a couple close tothat before.
I've heard of somebody gettingmore than that.
I think in the 30 to 35k.
I think in Indiana when theyhad the hardest hits fund
program the first time it wentthrough I think the most
somebody could get it got was 29high, 29 thousands the mortgage
.
Once that money runs out, itruns out.
But then they keep saying that,but yet more fun, more programs
(24:00):
keep showing up and happening.
So it's almost like it neverends.
We're just kind of good forborrowers in these dire
situations.
DJ Olojo (24:07):
It is.
I know a lot of people aresaying those covet dollars are
driving up, drying up, but youknow some of the programs I
mentioned in Georgia.
He was like, yeah, we stillhave money left over and we're
trying to get it out the door.
Justin Bogard (24:17):
Yeah.
So if you're a lender out thereand you got a note that is Kind
of sub performing and nonperforming, definitely check
that out.
Look up to see what sort ofassistance your borrower can
help, especially if theycommunicate well, I mean, go go
the extra mile, help them out.
If, if there's somebody thatyou know you have the choice as
a lender, right, you have thatcollateral.
That's why it's good to be thelender, because that's what you
(24:37):
fall back on if you need to toforeclose.
But you know, by all means, ifyou can try to help out that
person to stay in the house,it's.
It's better for everybody ifthey don't have to move out.
That's just.
That's just the key there.
DJ Olojo (24:48):
Well, yeah, to that point too, if you're in the
situation where you're thelender and you have a borrower
who is not cooperative, you knowmy best advice to you is to
move down the path of legal.
I've seen, I've seen somepeople Call me so fast after
they get a demand letter from anattorney.
You know, uh, where you knowyou reach out with your normal
(25:08):
letter, your tea letter and yourrespa letter and stuff like
that, yeah, and you try to.
You know, call them and thatyou get no responses.
But once they get that attorneyletter or they get served by
the sheriff.
Justin Bogard (25:20):
You know you're singing a different tune.
DJ Olojo (25:21):
I by say your phone starts to blow up real quick, so
do not be, afraid.
Yeah, exactly, do not be afraidto move down that path.
Um and and, be prepared.
You know, when you buy notes,be prepared to buy assets that
you don't mind owning.
Uh, that's been the biggestTakeaway I have over my known
investing career Is that, as youlook at notes, be comfortable
(25:44):
owning that asset, because youhave to understand that that may
be your final Recourse if youneed to go that distance.
Justin Bogard (25:52):
That's a great, great advice there, because
you're exactly right.
If you're in the non performingspace and you're buying an
asset To make sure you'recomfortable owning, that's,
that's fantastic advice.
Um, so, these funds, these aregreat programs for you guys Out
there.
Look up federal level, statelevel, county level and even
city level.
Um, I don't know about township, but definitely depending on
(26:12):
how big the area is, you know,uh, are you close to Atlanta?
Is that, is that where you'reat?
DJ Olojo (26:17):
Yeah, yeah, I'm.
I live in a suburb of Atlanta,yeah.
Justin Bogard (26:19):
Yeah, so I'm sure they have.
That's a big city, so I'm surethey have probably you know many
numerous programs for the city.
Uh, so that's really cool.
Um, so, on your portfolio rightnow, are you mainly buying the
non performing loans right now?
DJ Olojo (26:35):
Yeah, so my strategy is because I'm in a growth mode
and so my strategy is to buy nonperforming loans and get in the
Reperform and then, dependingon where, the, what position the
loans are in, whether they'refirst or second, depending on
the loan to value, depending onnumerous factors, we hold on to
some and keep them, and thensome we may, you know, sell as
(26:57):
reperformers, or we may sellpartials on, or things like that
.
Justin Bogard (27:02):
That's awesome.
We're the opposite.
Right now we're we're buying,mainly performing, but we do see
some non performing out there.
When we have the opportunitywe'll we'll bid on the asset,
but we're mainly buyingperforming for the cash flow.
But the not performing that wehave bought that been presented
to us, they've been all prettymuch reperforming, except for
one that we had to foreclose onUh in in the fund portfolio,
(27:23):
which, which is pretty neat.
DJ Olojo (27:26):
So I would say the reason I like the non-performing
side right now and I totallyunderstand because, like when
you're dealing with the fund,you need to make sure you got
that capital working and moving.
But one of the things about thenon-performing side in the last
couple of years that was cool isthat a lot of them had a lot
more equity than they did beforeand so like your downside was
protected a little bit more.
Now, in today's market, it maybe a little harder because I
(27:48):
think that, you know, bpo ismaybe subject to change given
the higher interest rates, butfor the most part, I think you
had that coverage and protection.
So, as the market changes,that's definitely something that
we're watching and trying tomake sure that we pivot the way
we need to.
So that's great advice aboutthe performing side.
Justin Bogard (28:07):
Yeah you're right , the way that we do diligence
before COVID and after COVID aretwo different things, like when
we bought non-performing loans.
You know, seven, eight yearsago you were buying them because
they were underwater and so thevalue of the home was, you know
, let's say, 150,000.
I'm sorry, the value of thehome was 100,000 and the
(28:29):
mortgage is 150,000.
So you're buying.
Now it's the complete opposite.
You know, the home was worth150 and the mortgage is 100 and
they're already in foreclosure.
So there's just tons of, likeyou said, there's tons of
protection there.
So it is.
It's a really interesting timeright now.
I haven't been through everycycle of real estate before.
Obviously, I've only been inabout, you know, seven, eight
years now as a full-time realestate investor.
But I have seen enough and Ihave I do have mentors and
(28:53):
they've seen a lot of thingshappen.
They would tell me, like thisis the cycle that we're in right
now.
You know they haven't seenanything like this to where the
appreciation is so high and theinventory is so short, the
interest rates are so high.
It's just really unique.
But yeah, it's so interestinghow this stuff is so cyclical.
So watch out for the next thingand be ready to pivot, just
like DJ said.
So, dj, what's your, what'syour podcast called?
DJ Olojo (29:17):
Hey, my podcast is called the foreclosure fix, and
so our goal is to help a millionhomeowners successfully
navigate foreclosure.
Justin Bogard (29:26):
And you need one more, one more homeowner.
DJ Olojo (29:29):
Hey man, I wish we are .
We probably need about 900,.
You know 99,000.
You know we you know, throughmy career, I've talked to tens
of thousands of homeowners,probably just doing what we do
as a real estate investor.
But this is just the goal Ihave and I need everybody's help
(29:50):
to do it.
It's not just one person, oneman go.
I'm writing a book and the bookis supposed to come out
February 7th of 2024.
Nice.
It's called the foreclosure fix.
And so the goal is again tohelp homeowners navigate
foreclosure.
To have homeowners do what youtalked about where they're
communicative, where they'retrying to find win-win solutions
(30:12):
, where they are using all theresources at the time, and so
they're trying to find all theresources at their disposal in
order to save their homes,protect their equity and keep
their families safe and the bestfinancial position they can.
And I think that people likeyou, people like me, have done
good work for folks.
But just trying to share thatmessage, because what we find is
(30:34):
that when people are facingforeclosure, they act like deer
in headlights and they just clamup, they're afraid, they're
scared, they're all thesedifferent emotions that are
overtaken them and they can'tget to the other side fast
enough sometimes.
And so really trying to providethem with the steps and the
resources that help them butalso, at the end of the day,
(30:55):
help the entire community moveforward in a positive way.
Justin Bogard (31:01):
Yeah, and I think of the big bad bank.
You know all the negativethings that comes with the bank
and that they're just going totake their life away from them,
cool man.
So how do we get a hold of you?
DJ Olojo (31:11):
I'm on all yeah, I'm on all social medias as DJ
underscore Lojo.
Linkedin is probably the bestplace to find me, but then you
can also check us out at theforeclosurefixcom.
You can sign up for ournewsletter.
Pre orders for the book startsoon, so you can definitely sign
up.
Justin Bogard (31:27):
I want to get that.
DJ Olojo (31:29):
Hey man, you definitely get a copy.
Justin Bogard (31:30):
I want to get a signed copy from me.
DJ Olojo (31:32):
Hey man, hey, I'm happy, I'm happy to oblige.
So if you buy the book and youwant to sign copy, just let me
know if I'm in your city.
I got you.
Justin Bogard (31:41):
Awesome, dj.
Thanks so much for being on ourpodcast here.
This is a cool conversation.
We're definitely going to haveto have you back so we can have
some more combos.
Thank you for all that you'redoing for the borrowers.
I wish that every lender isexactly like you and has that
mentality, so I greatlyappreciate that and all your
efforts to get there, and I Iknow I was joking about about
how many you need to get to themillion, but I know it's.
(32:02):
It's a long road ahead, but yougot to start somewhere and
you've been doing a good job andI've I've heard some of your
stories and I'm sure you got alot more and look forward to
hearing a bunch more of them.
DJ Olojo (32:10):
Hey, I appreciate you and I appreciate you being kind
of consistent in your journey.
Um, you know, my journey is newon the podcasting side and, as
I look at you, you've been atthis season five, episode 25 man
, so you, you're you're a vet inthe game from that perspective
and so I I appreciate theinformation you share.
I've listened to your podcastover the years and it's little
(32:30):
nuggets that you know differentfolks share along their journey.
That one, uh, helps you learnand grow faster, but then also
reminds you that you got tostart and if you start and you
keep going, you can get to theoutcome.
So you know, right now I'm at,you know maybe 10,000.
And so I need your help gettingthe other 990,000.
Justin Bogard (32:52):
Right on, well, we'll do what we can to help out
.
Maybe we can combine us and acouple other investors are are,
uh, non-performing help numbersand get that number closer to
million Some day here.
Absolutely Sorry.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome, dj.
All right, have a good one.
Everybody, don't forget tocheck out our YouTube channel,
american Notebuyers YouTubechannel, so you can see the
stream of the podcast here.
(33:13):
Be the bank, episode number 25with DJ.
Hello Joe.
So stay tuned for the nextepisode.
It'll be the last one of theseason and then we'll start off
fresh in 2024.
See you, guys.
Narrator (33:28):
Thanks for listening to be the bank.
We hope you learned somethingfrom today's show.
If you enjoyed this episode,please rate and review us.
Plus, check out our channel onYouTube and follow us on
Facebook and Twitter at be thebank, and on Instagram at be the
bank podcast.
Be the bank is sponsored byAmerican note buyers.
Thanks again for listening.
Interested in real estate.
How about wealth?
Well, they go hand in hand, andhere you'll learn all about it.
Welcome to Be the Bank, apodcast where we discuss and
debate the topics centeredaround real estate investing.
Your host, justin Bogard,shares insights into investing
in real estate to create realwealth and passive income for
(00:21):
you and your family.
He'll share stories of realestate investments done right,
walk you through the process ofowning a real estate note and,
most importantly, educate you soyou can Be the Bank.
This is Be the Bank brought toyou by American Notebuyers.
Now here's your host, justinBogard.
Justin Bogard (00:44):
Hey everybody, this is Justin Bogard, with
American Notebuyers, and you arelistening to the Be the Bank
podcast, season number five.
This is going to be episodenumber 25.
We get one more episode tillthe end of the season.
Today I have a guest.
His name is DJ Alojo and hiscompany is the foreclosure fix,
and guess what?
He deals with foreclosures andhe does non-performing loans and
(01:07):
many other different realestate assets that he does in
his portfolio, and we're goingto be interviewing him today.
So we're going to bring up aconversation that pertains
around the note business and Ithink you guys are going to like
this.
So stay tuned, dj.
DJ Olojo (01:32):
How's it going?
How's it going Pretty good, myfriend.
How are you?
I'm doing phenomenal man Betterthan I deserve, so thank you so
much for having me on yourpodcast.
Justin Bogard (01:40):
You're very welcome.
The first thing I have to pointout is that your name is DJ.
So when I first kind of knewyou kind of online is how I kind
of knew you in the note spaceand I thought you're really a DJ
.
His name is DJ, but he's in thenote business.
I was like this is kind of cool, he plays.
He plays music too.
DJ Olojo (02:00):
No man.
You know, my government name isAyadeji because my parents are
Nigerian and I'm Nigerian and soas I have gotten older, my name
has gotten shorter and shorterand shorter.
So like in grade school I wasAyadeji and in high school I was
Deji, in college I was DJ.
So it just kind of stuck withme.
Justin Bogard (02:22):
I like it.
You know, when you're born andraised in America, it seems like
you want the shortest name or anickname that you possibly can,
because we just don't speakthat much.
You know, we want to get as fewwords out as we can.
DJ Olojo (02:33):
Oh man, it was the hardest thing for me to
understand, like when one of mybuddies, like everybody, was
calling him Bill right, and Ididn't know his name was William
until, like many, many yearslater I was like dude, your name
is Bill.
Like, why are people callingyou William now?
Like, so?
Justin Bogard (02:48):
I know I never understood the Richard Dick
correlation.
Dude, I don't get it at all.
DJ Olojo (02:56):
It's amazing.
Justin Bogard (02:58):
So you know my business partner, richard
Thornton.
He's usually on the podcast andso that's what I asked him one
time.
I'm like, okay, I got to askyou why, why, what?
Where did the name Dick andRichard kind of kind of be
interchangeable with some of hisname, that's Richard, just
never, never made sense to meand he couldn't figure it out
either.
He's like you know what I don'tknow.
DJ Olojo (03:16):
I think, I think I think somebody got mad one day
and just said you're a dick.
Justin Bogard (03:20):
You know, just stuck Right, like yeah you're
Richard, or nowadays you hearthe word Karen a lot, that all
the names were Karen.
So now, yeah, now it's Karen'sassociated with a bad name.
But no, I know why it helps tohave your name DJ, because if
you, if you ask me to spell yourgovernment name, I would.
I would fumble probably 99times out of 99.
DJ Olojo (03:42):
So you and many other people, man you know.
So it's a beautiful name, butDJ definitely works and it saves
me from a lot of conversation.
Justin Bogard (03:51):
I like it.
I like it.
Your name your name is verybrief, I like it.
So, dj, I want you to kind ofset the table for the audience
here.
The listening audience here and, by the way, those of you that
are listening to our podcasthere, whatever podcast channel
that you're listening on.
We also record this on.
The American Notepad is aYouTube channel, so we encourage
you to go to the AmericanNotepad YouTube channel.
You can watch the video streamof this and check out DJ's cool
(04:13):
setup behind him.
He's got a cute little officeback there.
So, dj set the table.
Man, how did you get in thenote space?
How did you get into realestate?
Kind of kind of set us backwhen you got into this stuff.
DJ Olojo (04:24):
Yeah, man.
So let's go back about 15 yearsago or so.
I like this.
And at that time I was a fewyears maybe removed from grad
school and I got invited to goto a foreclosure auction at the
courthouse steps in Atlanta,georgia.
(04:44):
And so one of my buddies was inthe process of learning how to
buy properties on the courthousesteps and he invited me to come
down, and so I went down thereto the courthouse steps and was
just kind of amazed that, youknow, all these houses were
going To the foreclosure auction, right and so, and this was
during the, you know, the crash,and so 2008, right, yeah, yeah,
(05:06):
so I was.
I was more about 2000.
This is about 2010.
Okay, my first investments weremaybe just investing capital in
somebody else's deal, but thenwhen I went to foreclosure steps
, it was more like 2010 timeframe, and so, long story short,
I Was there and I was just kindof taking it all in, but I saw
(05:27):
a couple Out there and it was anAfrican-American couple and the
husband was pacing up and downthe steps and the wife was, you
know, going back and forth withthe baby and a stroller and they
were just basically begginginvestors Not to buy their house
.
Oh, okay, and at the time I wasjust kind of you know, but
photo I was like I don't knowwhat's going on.
(05:47):
I don't understand why thesepeople are begging people not to
buy their house.
Yeah, and there has to be abetter way, and so, fast forward
, I became a real estateinvestor.
I started buying properties onthe courthouse steps and it took
me maybe the last decade or soin Working with homeowners and
buying houses where homeownershave faced foreclosure, to
(06:09):
really understand the kind ofthe dynamics and idiosyncrasies
that go into the thought processof those homeowners who don't
do anything.
And so now, being on the notebuying side, which I've probably
been doing for the last fiveyears I even have a better
understanding because I had Ibuy non performing notes and so
I'm reaching out to homeownerssaying, hey, I want to get to an
(06:32):
agreement, I want to do amodification, I want to do
something, and you hear crickets, you know I mean.
And so it was that process thatjust kind of really gave me a
passion for the foreclosure sideand has really led me down the
road of Real estate investing,particular with distress assets,
those that are in foreclosureor in some stage of distress.
Justin Bogard (06:54):
It's a good feeling when you get to help out
a family.
It really is.
I I didn't realize how, howneed of a feeling it was and
what little I do as a lender,you know, to help somebody out.
I have a lot of power to themto be able to change something,
but to me it doesn't seem like abig deal.
You know, we can just change,modify their payment by a couple
(07:15):
hundred bucks, or or knock someof their Principal balance off
to help them out, to get themcaught up, or defer some of
their payments and and so theirloan can get caught back up.
I mean, those little things areare not that big of a deal for
for the P&L or the balance sheetfor us, but man it, it makes a
big difference in somebody'slife that is just hanging on
because they had a life eventhappen to them.
I think it's this really coolthing when you can help somebody
(07:37):
out like that.
DJ Olojo (07:38):
I I agree, and I think that what you're saying is a
reminder of the human spirit aswell.
Like you know, we look at thenews and we just hear so much
bad stuff going on.
But we're in those situationsand you're able to do good right
it.
It allows people to rememberthat there is good out here and
that the world is not all bad.
Justin Bogard (07:58):
So yeah, and the time that we're in now, interest
rates are spiked all the way to8% and now they're coming back
down a little bit.
As we're recording this today,which we are recording, is at
the end of November, just so theaudience knows.
Inventory is very low right now.
It's lowest that.
What's the last time I heardinformation, maybe in at least
(08:20):
the last 30 to 39 years?
I want to say maybe I'm gettingmy data confused.
I apologize for anyone thatknows the correct answer and I
gave it to you, ron, but I thinkit's about 30 or 40 years.
We haven't seen inventory islow before.
So it's just a really uniquestorm and affordability is such
a challenge for people.
Dj, I think I read somewherewhere it was.
It takes 40.6% of the mediangross household income to afford
(08:46):
the median priced home in theUnited States.
DJ Olojo (08:49):
Yeah, yeah, and I think in that same article or
similar article I think, theNational Association of Realty's
was mentioning that the averagehomeowner now I think you know,
has to have a six-figure incomeright in order to buy a home
across the United States.
And so when you look at that,there are tons of headwinds that
are facing first-timehomebuyers.
I I have the opportunity and inthe work I do, to work with a
(09:14):
lot of folks who are eitherfirst-time homebuyer so the
education side of that oraffordable housing and those two
things are just kind of hugebuzzwords in our industry right
now Because people are trying tofigure out how to make how to
make it work.
You even see, you know, I thinkFannie Mae just came out with
that whole 5% Conventional loanwhere you can buy multi-family
(09:36):
property if you're gonna owneroccupy it.
So you have people working fromall different places to be able
to try to bring about solutions.
But it's just a really, reallytough time for for for
homeowners right now.
Justin Bogard (09:48):
Yeah, we, we picked up a loan I think it was
a year, a year and a half agoand we bought this distressed
loan from a private seller,somebody that carried back a
note in mortgage, and I think itwas in Wisconsin.
I'm not sure, maybe it wasMichigan.
I think I have a lot of notesin Michigan that.
DJ Olojo (10:07):
Really, you really like Michigan?
Hey, it's a great state.
My hometown is Detroit, so youknow okay yeah, and the lion's
just one recently.
Hey, man don't jinx this manyou know, I just did this.
This is our first good season along time.
So you know, we got it.
We got to keep going with it.
Justin Bogard (10:25):
I hope they go far.
I mean, I like to see the teamsthat don't do well very often
end up doing well.
So I appreciate it.
But okay, so I I got this loanand I bought from private
individual.
It was a delinquent loan.
They probably hadn't beenpaying for probably six, seven,
eight months or so, so they'regetting kind of far behind.
Taxes are delinquent.
You know, a few thousand bucks,not not a huge thing.
(10:46):
They got some delinquent condoassociation fees and stuff.
So we buy the note, we make thetaxes right, we board it with a
professional licensed servicer.
We tell the servicer you knowwhat we did with the tax and
stuff.
So they add it to like theircorporate advance account so
they can pay it back.
We set up a loan modificationfor the borrower.
We talked with the borrower.
They were very grateful for,you know, not losing their home
(11:10):
because they have a kid, and wewere able to set up a situation
to where they could start payingthat back and within a year
they could get 100% caught up,right.
So they did that and they didexactly what they said they were
going to do and they followedit to the T and they made it
great.
Come to find out there was somemiscommunication or an issue to
where the condo fees were stillnot getting paid.
(11:31):
And so, lo and behold, thecondo association starts to
foreclose on the house.
So the borrower contacts me andsays you know, hey, here's the
situation here.
I wasn't aware of this andthere's some history and back
and forth on why I see that itwas a possibility.
How no one knew that theyweren't being paid is for the
(11:54):
sake of this podcast, I won'tget into all the specifics of it
, but regardless, no one's 100%to blame, but all of us are kind
of a to blame.
And so he's like look, I can'tpay this fee.
This fee was over $10,000.
Wow, induce delinquencies,interests, whatever else, late
fees they charge.
It was over $10,000.
So I think it's about two orthree years behind.
(12:16):
And so he's like what can I do?
I can't get a loan to get this.
You know I don't want to losemy house and I was like let's
talk about you know your incomesituation.
You know you've been a greatpayer, obviously for the last
year.
You've gotten everything caughtup.
I don't see the reason tobelieve that you would
jeopardize your situation bypaying all this money, getting
(12:37):
100% caught up and then not paythe condo association fee.
So it's obviously this was amisunderstanding somehow.
So I was like, okay, here'swhat we can do.
We can remodify your loan, wecan throw that money back into
the loan, and then we canre-amateurize this, set you up
with a different payment, youknow, escrow everything for you
so we don't make this mistakeagain, and move forward.
He's like, absolutely, that's,that'd be great.
And so we come up with a newmodification, a new interest
(12:59):
rate, a new payment plan.
You know we made sure that hecould afford to do it, and so
now that's what we're movingforward with.
So it's just kind of amazinghow it's a great deal for us,
because obviously we bought thisnon-formal loan at a discount
and so adding that money to it,you know, and changing the
interest rate, we're actuallymaking a little bit more money
on it.
But you know, the point of it is.
You know the person is beingable to be where they want to be
(13:22):
and be able to stay in a homewith their kid that they want to
stay in, so the kid can grow upexactly where they want them to
grow up in, and so those littlethings like that are just kind
of cool to do.
So, even if we didn't end upmaking money on it, if we just,
you know, made the same moneyabout a profit margin, we still
would have done it anyways.
It was just an opportunity towhere both of us could get a win
(13:42):
.
And you know, the point of thestory is people don't have a
place to go to get this money,they don't have a place to go
pull another mortgage out orrefine.
And what's?
What are they going to do?
Refinance at a higher rate thanwhat they are now, because they
were already at like a 6%mortgage, which back then was
kind of high, but they wouldhave refied it over 8%.
You know, they could have goneto the bank.
DJ Olojo (14:02):
So um, no, you make some really great points there,
because I think there's a fewthings that I think about when I
hear stories like that,especially because you know I
talked about in the beginningthe folks who don't communicate.
Is that how important thecommunication was between you
and the bar?
Because they were able tocommunicate, explain the
situation to you, they were ableto get the best possible
(14:24):
resolution to their situation.
They didn't have maybe all thepoints or credit checks and
everything else associated withtrying to get a new loan.
They got a loan at an interestrate that they could afford.
Now they have escrow, so theydon't have to worry about the
problem again.
They get to stay in the samehouse that they love, and so I
just think that that's thebiggest thing that I wish people
(14:45):
who find themselves inchallenging situations would
think about whether you're onthe residential side or the
commercial side is just thecommunication is so key Right
now as we look at like where theforeclosure market is going,
and if you look at Adam Data,they're saying foreclosure
filings are increasing.
When I look at specifically inmy state of Georgia, you know we
(15:06):
are seeing an uptick in thenumber of houses that are being
advertised foreclosure and goingto the courthouse steps and
they're saying that there'sgoing to be a lot more
delinquency in the coming monthsand years, both on the
residential side but then alsoon the commercial side.
And I think that commercial,you know, people don't talk
(15:26):
about it as much because youhave the like, the non-recourse
loans, and everybody thinks thatall the commercial players are
big, big players.
But I think that thatcommunication piece and just
being upfront and trying to helpyour lender find a solution is
the best thing people can dowhen they find themselves facing
challenging problems is try totreat the person on the other
(15:49):
end the way you want to betreated, and that is the big
differentiator, I think, betweenthose folks who can rebound
successfully and those folks whofind themselves licking their
wounds after foreclosureaccidents.
Justin Bogard (16:01):
I mean that scenario that I brought up.
I had nothing to lose in alender.
There are some states that aresuper lean, states where a condo
or homeowner association couldtrump my position, but this one,
this state, couldn't, didn'tallow it.
You know, I had nothing to lose.
If anything, I would have mademore money if I would have let
it get foreclosed on, becausethey would have sold the
property.
It had plenty of equity inthere to pay my judgment off
(16:22):
completely, plus the judgment ofthe condo.
But that's just not the rightthing to do.
So that's just another featherin our cap that we want to make
sure that we do right by theborrower, because ultimately, if
a performing loan is aprofitable loan is what we
always say, that meaning youknow, as long as the person is
paying, it's a profitable loan.
If they're not paying andthey're skip paying, it can
(16:43):
become a problem.
It can really hurt your P&Ls.
DJ Olojo (16:47):
Now you make a lot.
You make, you make some greatpoints, because we just modified
alone in our portfolio wherethe borrower had not paid in
maybe 12 months or so, and youknow we're talking about.
You know a UPB around $60,000or so, and typically we like to
(17:08):
see a down payment from aborrower in the neighborhood of
at least, you know, 10%.
That's what we like to see.
We prefer more, but we like tosee 10%.
But this borrower had somemedical issues that caused them
to get behind.
They were just getting back ontheir feet and things like that.
And what we did is we took adown payment of $1,500.
(17:31):
And we also took the downpayment and then we let them
start their first initialpayment in January of 2024.
Right, so typically, you knowwe have rules in place, but
we're still getting a good yield.
I still got double digit yieldon the transaction.
And then also we are settingthat borrower up for success
(17:52):
because they get to go throughthe holidays, you know, have a
little bit of extra cash to dowhat they need to do and you
know auto debit starts January,and so you know that's the
things you can do in thisbusiness by being able to one
buy at a discount, but by alsokind of helping people
understand that you have optionswhen you communicate and when
(18:15):
you are looking to be a solutionand not just be a pain in the
butt.
Justin Bogard (18:22):
Yeah, you hit on it earlier.
You talked about the goldenrule.
You know true to others, howyou want to be treated and I
think that just works.
It works so much better in yourfavor if you're the borrower,
when you're just transparent andhonest and communicate, say hey
, here's my problem, I missedthis payment, I can't make the
next payment, but this is what Iplan to do in the future.
You know, can you accept that?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
(18:42):
Well, somebody thatcommunicates well and they do
what they said they're going todo, I don't have any issue.
You know, definitely bending therules, even if it takes a while
for us to start getting paid,it makes total sense.
So I like what you did.
You know why?
Forbearing a couple payments,or a payment or two until after
the holidays?
Because this is really a badtime for people with lower
incomes.
Because you know, primarilythey want to make sure that they
(19:04):
have enough money to give theirchildren presents, and I don't
blame them.
If I was in their shoes, that'sexactly what would be.
A forefront of my mind is likehow can I get my children
something for Christmas?
DJ Olojo (19:14):
Yeah, that's what you want.
You know, one of the big thingsthat we're seeing now and it is
something that I'm seeing moreof than I have seen, I guess, in
my career is I'm seeing a lotof folks who are on fixed income
starting to face, you know,significant headwinds and
(19:34):
challenges when it comes topaying their mortgages.
And we're dealing with a barright now who is trying to
figure out a way to pay $130,000, you know, second mortgage and
he's like I can afford $300 amonth.
(19:55):
It's like, you know, no matterwhat amortization calculator you
put that in, it does not work.
So and so it's one of thosesituations where they just don't
fix income.
And so, you know, we're lookingat all different type of things
, from, like, governmentassistance programs to reverse
mortgages to all these differentthings, and it is it's a very
(20:16):
challenging time for homeownersacross the country.
Justin Bogard (20:19):
Is there?
What programs do you hear ofright now that are that are the
best ones for borrowers to getinto, whether they're federal or
state and I know you live inGeorgia.
I'm not sure if that's that'sprobably not.
That's the only place that youinvest in.
But what are you hearing forthe programs?
Which one?
DJ Olojo (20:34):
So so that's hard right.
So it's really county by county, state by state.
So if I look at Georgia, I knowthat they're like you know, the
cap county still had some funds, I think cop counties still had
some funds, but they're usingthird party organizations to
help kind of get those funds outand so like, for example, the
Urban League of Atlanta was ableto help some folks with with
(20:58):
getting funds and things likethat.
And then, if I look on a morenational level, it's pretty much
state by state, again, countyby county, and what we do is
we're working with a homeownerwho's facing foreclosure.
We actually just try to Googleand do some research for them to
say hey, these are some thingswe see you may want to check
here.
Now we don't go do the legworkof trying to apply for them and
(21:20):
things like that, but wedefinitely say hey, you may want
to check here.
And we, you know, we tell peoplego consult folks like legal aid
, you know what I mean All thefree resources, especially like
in places like New York.
You know, when you try to fileyour foreclosure documents there
, you know there's a page oflike you know 40 different
resources.
And we tell people like hey,part of the onus is on you to be
(21:41):
able to try to work this out.
We're willing to do whatever wecan to help you, but we try to
put the onus back on them.
But we do try to shareinformation with sources we know
may have some money and andthat's been really helpful
because we've seen some sourcesprovide, you know, tens of
thousands of dollars yeah, justas the homeowners and you just
(22:02):
like, wow, it's a win-win foreverybody in that scenario.
Justin Bogard (22:05):
Yeah, it's amazing how many of those
programs that are out there thatyou don't really hear of
because they're not hitmainstream.
But you're right, you do haveto look them up and Google them
and you'd be surprised of howmany.
We had a lady in Cincinnatithat had.
There was a city level one,there was a county level one,
there's a state level one andthere was a federal one that she
could have applied for.
I think she could have appliedfor multiple of them and she
(22:27):
didn't apply and for I think itwas Save the Dream was one of
them that she applied for.
But yeah, she was able to.
She said she would.
She would qualify for a coupleof different programs.
So I'm not sure which ones willfund, if any of them will like
co-fund together, like adifferent amounts, or.
But yeah, basically they'regoing to be able to get caught
up on their loan and pay forwarda couple of months as well.
DJ Olojo (22:47):
So no, that's awesome, and a lot of these programs.
Just so for your listeners toknow, they are for owner
occupants typically most of thetime, so we don't typically see
them for investment propertiesand things like that.
But they're for owner occupants, so it has to be your primary
residence.
Justin Bogard (23:03):
Right, good point on that.
What is the?
What is the biggest amount offinancial help that you've seen
the government help out and thenan individual, whether it was
in your portfolio or someonethat you didn't know, Just out
of curiosity?
DJ Olojo (23:18):
Yeah, you know, I think that the biggest amount
that I've personally seen was tothe tune of maybe Like 15k or
something like that.
So I've heard of people sayingsignificantly more like on other
podcasts and things like that,but I think the biggest amount
I've seen was around 15,000 Forone source, one source.
Justin Bogard (23:39):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
I've seen a couple close tothat before.
I've heard of somebody gettingmore than that.
I think in the 30 to 35k.
I think in Indiana when theyhad the hardest hits fund
program the first time it wentthrough I think the most
somebody could get it got was 29high, 29 thousands the mortgage
.
Once that money runs out, itruns out.
But then they keep saying that,but yet more fun, more programs
(24:00):
keep showing up and happening.
So it's almost like it neverends.
We're just kind of good forborrowers in these dire
situations.
DJ Olojo (24:07):
It is.
I know a lot of people aresaying those covet dollars are
driving up, drying up, but youknow some of the programs I
mentioned in Georgia.
He was like, yeah, we stillhave money left over and we're
trying to get it out the door.
Justin Bogard (24:17):
Yeah.
So if you're a lender out thereand you got a note that is Kind
of sub performing and nonperforming, definitely check
that out.
Look up to see what sort ofassistance your borrower can
help, especially if theycommunicate well, I mean, go go
the extra mile, help them out.
If, if there's somebody thatyou know you have the choice as
a lender, right, you have thatcollateral.
That's why it's good to be thelender, because that's what you
(24:37):
fall back on if you need to toforeclose.
But you know, by all means, ifyou can try to help out that
person to stay in the house,it's.
It's better for everybody ifthey don't have to move out.
That's just.
That's just the key there.
DJ Olojo (24:48):
Well, yeah, to that point too, if you're in the
situation where you're thelender and you have a borrower
who is not cooperative, you knowmy best advice to you is to
move down the path of legal.
I've seen, I've seen somepeople Call me so fast after
they get a demand letter from anattorney.
You know, uh, where you knowyou reach out with your normal
(25:08):
letter, your tea letter and yourrespa letter and stuff like
that, yeah, and you try to.
You know, call them and thatyou get no responses.
But once they get that attorneyletter or they get served by
the sheriff.
Justin Bogard (25:20):
You know you're singing a different tune.
DJ Olojo (25:21):
I by say your phone starts to blow up real quick, so
do not be, afraid.
Yeah, exactly, do not be afraidto move down that path.
Um and and, be prepared.
You know, when you buy notes,be prepared to buy assets that
you don't mind owning.
Uh, that's been the biggestTakeaway I have over my known
investing career Is that, as youlook at notes, be comfortable
(25:44):
owning that asset, because youhave to understand that that may
be your final Recourse if youneed to go that distance.
Justin Bogard (25:52):
That's a great, great advice there, because
you're exactly right.
If you're in the non performingspace and you're buying an
asset To make sure you'recomfortable owning, that's,
that's fantastic advice.
Um, so, these funds, these aregreat programs for you guys Out
there.
Look up federal level, statelevel, county level and even
city level.
Um, I don't know about township, but definitely depending on
(26:12):
how big the area is, you know,uh, are you close to Atlanta?
Is that, is that where you'reat?
DJ Olojo (26:17):
Yeah, yeah, I'm.
I live in a suburb of Atlanta,yeah.
Justin Bogard (26:19):
Yeah, so I'm sure they have.
That's a big city, so I'm surethey have probably you know many
numerous programs for the city.
Uh, so that's really cool.
Um, so, on your portfolio rightnow, are you mainly buying the
non performing loans right now?
DJ Olojo (26:35):
Yeah, so my strategy is because I'm in a growth mode
and so my strategy is to buy nonperforming loans and get in the
Reperform and then, dependingon where, the, what position the
loans are in, whether they'refirst or second, depending on
the loan to value, depending onnumerous factors, we hold on to
some and keep them, and thensome we may, you know, sell as
(26:57):
reperformers, or we may sellpartials on, or things like that
.
Justin Bogard (27:02):
That's awesome.
We're the opposite.
Right now we're we're buying,mainly performing, but we do see
some non performing out there.
When we have the opportunitywe'll we'll bid on the asset,
but we're mainly buyingperforming for the cash flow.
But the not performing that wehave bought that been presented
to us, they've been all prettymuch reperforming, except for
one that we had to foreclose onUh in in the fund portfolio,
(27:23):
which, which is pretty neat.
DJ Olojo (27:26):
So I would say the reason I like the non-performing
side right now and I totallyunderstand because, like when
you're dealing with the fund,you need to make sure you got
that capital working and moving.
But one of the things about thenon-performing side in the last
couple of years that was cool isthat a lot of them had a lot
more equity than they did beforeand so like your downside was
protected a little bit more.
Now, in today's market, it maybe a little harder because I
(27:48):
think that, you know, bpo ismaybe subject to change given
the higher interest rates, butfor the most part, I think you
had that coverage and protection.
So, as the market changes,that's definitely something that
we're watching and trying tomake sure that we pivot the way
we need to.
So that's great advice aboutthe performing side.
Justin Bogard (28:07):
Yeah you're right , the way that we do diligence
before COVID and after COVID aretwo different things, like when
we bought non-performing loans.
You know, seven, eight yearsago you were buying them because
they were underwater and so thevalue of the home was, you know
, let's say, 150,000.
I'm sorry, the value of thehome was 100,000 and the
(28:29):
mortgage is 150,000.
So you're buying.
Now it's the complete opposite.
You know, the home was worth150 and the mortgage is 100 and
they're already in foreclosure.
So there's just tons of, likeyou said, there's tons of
protection there.
So it is.
It's a really interesting timeright now.
I haven't been through everycycle of real estate before.
Obviously, I've only been inabout, you know, seven, eight
years now as a full-time realestate investor.
But I have seen enough and Ihave I do have mentors and
(28:53):
they've seen a lot of thingshappen.
They would tell me, like thisis the cycle that we're in right
now.
You know they haven't seenanything like this to where the
appreciation is so high and theinventory is so short, the
interest rates are so high.
It's just really unique.
But yeah, it's so interestinghow this stuff is so cyclical.
So watch out for the next thingand be ready to pivot, just
like DJ said.
So, dj, what's your, what'syour podcast called?
DJ Olojo (29:17):
Hey, my podcast is called the foreclosure fix, and
so our goal is to help a millionhomeowners successfully
navigate foreclosure.
Justin Bogard (29:26):
And you need one more, one more homeowner.
DJ Olojo (29:29):
Hey man, I wish we are .
We probably need about 900,.
You know 99,000.
You know we you know, throughmy career, I've talked to tens
of thousands of homeowners,probably just doing what we do
as a real estate investor.
But this is just the goal Ihave and I need everybody's help
(29:50):
to do it.
It's not just one person, oneman go.
I'm writing a book and the bookis supposed to come out
February 7th of 2024.
Nice.
It's called the foreclosure fix.
And so the goal is again tohelp homeowners navigate
foreclosure.
To have homeowners do what youtalked about where they're
communicative, where they'retrying to find win-win solutions
(30:12):
, where they are using all theresources at the time, and so
they're trying to find all theresources at their disposal in
order to save their homes,protect their equity and keep
their families safe and the bestfinancial position they can.
And I think that people likeyou, people like me, have done
good work for folks.
But just trying to share thatmessage, because what we find is
(30:34):
that when people are facingforeclosure, they act like deer
in headlights and they just clamup, they're afraid, they're
scared, they're all thesedifferent emotions that are
overtaken them and they can'tget to the other side fast
enough sometimes.
And so really trying to providethem with the steps and the
resources that help them butalso, at the end of the day,
(30:55):
help the entire community moveforward in a positive way.
Justin Bogard (31:01):
Yeah, and I think of the big bad bank.
You know all the negativethings that comes with the bank
and that they're just going totake their life away from them,
cool man.
So how do we get a hold of you?
DJ Olojo (31:11):
I'm on all yeah, I'm on all social medias as DJ
underscore Lojo.
Linkedin is probably the bestplace to find me, but then you
can also check us out at theforeclosurefixcom.
You can sign up for ournewsletter.
Pre orders for the book startsoon, so you can definitely sign
up.
Justin Bogard (31:27):
I want to get that.
DJ Olojo (31:29):
Hey man, you definitely get a copy.
Justin Bogard (31:30):
I want to get a signed copy from me.
DJ Olojo (31:32):
Hey man, hey, I'm happy, I'm happy to oblige.
So if you buy the book and youwant to sign copy, just let me
know if I'm in your city.
I got you.
Justin Bogard (31:41):
Awesome, dj.
Thanks so much for being on ourpodcast here.
This is a cool conversation.
We're definitely going to haveto have you back so we can have
some more combos.
Thank you for all that you'redoing for the borrowers.
I wish that every lender isexactly like you and has that
mentality, so I greatlyappreciate that and all your
efforts to get there, and I Iknow I was joking about about
how many you need to get to themillion, but I know it's.
(32:02):
It's a long road ahead, but yougot to start somewhere and
you've been doing a good job andI've I've heard some of your
stories and I'm sure you got alot more and look forward to
hearing a bunch more of them.
DJ Olojo (32:10):
Hey, I appreciate you and I appreciate you being kind
of consistent in your journey.
Um, you know, my journey is newon the podcasting side and, as
I look at you, you've been atthis season five, episode 25 man
, so you, you're you're a vet inthe game from that perspective
and so I I appreciate theinformation you share.
I've listened to your podcastover the years and it's little
(32:30):
nuggets that you know differentfolks share along their journey.
That one, uh, helps you learnand grow faster, but then also
reminds you that you got tostart and if you start and you
keep going, you can get to theoutcome.
So you know, right now I'm at,you know maybe 10,000.
And so I need your help gettingthe other 990,000.
Justin Bogard (32:52):
Right on, well, we'll do what we can to help out
.
Maybe we can combine us and acouple other investors are are,
uh, non-performing help numbersand get that number closer to
million Some day here.
Absolutely Sorry.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome, dj.
All right, have a good one.
Everybody, don't forget tocheck out our YouTube channel,
american Notebuyers YouTubechannel, so you can see the
stream of the podcast here.
(33:13):
Be the bank, episode number 25with DJ.
Hello Joe.
So stay tuned for the nextepisode.
It'll be the last one of theseason and then we'll start off
fresh in 2024.
See you, guys.
Narrator (33:28):
Thanks for listening to be the bank.
We hope you learned somethingfrom today's show.
If you enjoyed this episode,please rate and review us.
Plus, check out our channel onYouTube and follow us on
Facebook and Twitter at be thebank, and on Instagram at be the
bank podcast.
Be the bank is sponsored byAmerican note buyers.
Thanks again for listening.
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