September 7, 2024 • 47 mins
This week on the Real Estate Game Changers Show we have Cody Dover, based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cody shares how he entered the real estate world at 23 through a course inspired by Rich Dad Poor Dad, which cost him $17,000 but ignited his career. He emphasizes the importance of networking and building trust, detailing his early struggles with traditional banking loans and how discovering private money transformed his business model. By 2020, Cody had transitioned into a sales and marketing approach, which drastically increased his deal flow and helped him close over 350 deals.
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Episode Transcript
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Mike (00:00):
Welcome to the real estate game changer show.
(00:02):
I'm your host, Mike McKay basedin Jacksonville, Florida, and
each and every week we do thisshow with people who are
changing the game of real estateall over the country.
If anyone is in the Jacksonvillearea and they're in sales and
you're thinking about gettinginto real estate, uh, we are
looking for people for ouracquisitions team.
Uh, send me a DM on Instagram ifthat sounds like you.
(00:24):
And this week on the show, wehave Cody Dover.
Cody, welcome to the show.
Cody (00:29):
Hey, what's going on?
Mike (00:32):
Doing well, man.
Uh, for the people who don'tknow you, could you tell us a
little bit about how you gotinto real estate and how that's
led you to where you are today?
Cody (00:45):
Yeah.
Uh, I would love to.
And thanks, Mike.
Uh, I'm 30 right now and Istarted real estate when I was
23 and, uh, back then and westarted, uh, with a course rich
dad, poor dad, and that course,uh, luckily was really the, the
trigger point to starteverything for us.
Um, there wasn't really muchcontent or value in the course
(01:07):
as much as was just starting.
And, you know, getting into realestate, what I found that most
people struggle with is thatstarting point.
And so, uh, buying a course, wespent like 17, 000 to get into
it.
And what that taught us was togo out and network and build the
network of people who's alreadydoing what you want to do.
And so, uh, from there we boughtthe course.
(01:28):
We went into the local RIAmeetups and whatnot.
And from there we just, uh,started gaining knowledge,
building a network, gettingtrust, building identity with
people.
And we bought our first house in17, 2017.
And then we ended up buying fourmore, uh, in the first five
months.
And so we actually got turneddown by the bank going for our
(01:52):
sixth property.
And this was back in 2017.
We didn't know what we weredoing.
We were just doing thetraditional, put an offer in, on
the house, on the market, andoff you go.
Well, we got turned down fromthe bank, and we didn't realize
that there was this whole otherworld out there of private
money.
And so, uh, this is 2017, we'restill kind of scratching the
(02:13):
surface, and then we said, Oh,well if we can go buy a course
in residential and buy fivehouses and make it work, Well,
what else out there could we gopurchase and look into?
And so from there, we were ableto kind of get off track since
we got turned down by the bank,going out there, the sixth
property, we said, Oh, well, Iguess we can't do this.
Let's go find something else.
(02:35):
And so we explored everything,multifamily syndication.
Uh, multi level marketing andall this different stuff that we
call the shiny object syndrome.
And so from there, we were ableto, uh, um, scratch the surface
on multifamily and apartmentsand syndicating and raise the
money.
And we did that for about a yearand that didn't go anywhere.
(02:57):
Uh, so it wasn't until about2020, uh, the end of 2000 or
2019, we ended up picking Uh,the residential game back up,
but this time it was with adifferent approach.
Uh, we came in with more of asales and marketing, uh,
approach than just, uh, make anoffer on the market kind of
thing.
And that's what will really openup the game for us was
(03:18):
understanding that you actuallyhave to do sales and marketing
to produce deal flow.
And while that's meaningful isbecause we're able to produce
deal flow at 50%, 60 percent offdiscount, um, versus back when
we started buying property onthe market in 2017, you know,
you're paying 80, 90 cents onthe dollar.
(03:39):
Well, when you produce your owndeal flow, so long that you're
building up your skills andcapabilities, you can now
negotiate better deals, getaccess to better deals that
otherwise you wouldn't have.
Um, so the start of 2020, that'sreally what kickstarted
everything for us.
And, um, I have a crazy stathere.
We, we quit our jobs in the 19and beginning of 2020, we went
(04:03):
into it full time and you know,everybody's used to having that
W2 safety net and getting paidevery two weeks.
Well, it was a scary moment forus, you know, we didn't know
what to do.
Like, Oh, no.
And then COVID comes.
I'm like, Oh, dang, you know,nobody, nobody could expect what
to happen and what would happenduring the COVID years.
(04:24):
Um, but we had only did likefour deals, I think the first
six months of 2020.
And we're questioning ourselves.
We're like, well, Is thissomething that we can still do?
Like what's going on?
Why aren't we making thishappen?
Um, fast forward, we've done 350plus deals now since 2020, and
we ended up doing another 54that same year.
(04:44):
So in six months time we didfour deals, and the rest of six
months of that same year, of2020, we did 50.
And so something had obviouslychanged and what changed was a
few things.
And that's something that Iwould like to, to get into on,
on this call, just to maybe helpother people out there getting
going, trying to start out,
Mike (05:05):
Well, that was actually going to be my next question.
So what changed?
Cody (05:10):
you know, there's a thing called commission breath and,
uh, and, and sales people allabout all salespeople are is
getting the commission andgetting the sale closed.
Well, what happened was twothings.
One, little to us, we didn'tknow that we were building up a
pipeline.
Um, you know, we're entering inthis game as a sales marketing
(05:32):
company now, and we're buildingup a pipeline of prospects.
And so we realized, Oh, the fourpeople that we have closed, they
came in our system six monthsago.
So we realized the whole timewe're building up a pipeline of
people that we had tocontinually to follow up with.
You know, a lot of times youthink that you, you call
(05:53):
somebody, you want to get thedeal that day.
It's not until you realize and,and reflecting back that we saw
that all these people come, comefrom four months, six months
earlier, that we had to continueto follow up with build trust,
increase our identity with, andalso ultimately just help, you
know, be of service to helptheir situation out instead of
(06:15):
having commissioned breath andlooking out for yourself to get
a.
Get a profit from the deal.
It's like, how do you help thisperson out?
And that's really what comes forus
Mike (06:25):
Gotcha.
So at this point, you know,you've done a couple hundred
deals in your business.
Um, What were some of the majorchallenges along the way as you
were scaling that up?
Cody (06:41):
dealing with the up and down, um, the inconsistent, you
know, one month you might havefive deals, the other month you
might have 20 deals and it wasthe inconsistent, uh, that
really had to, like, we had tokeep ourselves of, you couldn't
overspend and marketing on acouple of months knowing that
the next couple of months youmight be down.
(07:02):
So the biggest thing is justreally staying with the
fundamentals of what's got youhere.
And what got us here is just ourbeingness of who we're being to
the sellers and the value thatwe're able to provide.
Um, and also it increased ourtrust.
Uh, so like with the, the localmarketplace, uh, we're out of
Little Rock, Arkansas.
Um, so I'll try to portrayourselves as just a local mom
(07:24):
and pop guy, blue jeans, white tshirt down the street.
Um, you know, we're not this bigcorporate company.
And so the challenges we facewas the inconsistent effort of
the up and down.
Um, and then, and now today it'scompetition.
It's the, the out of statewholesalers are coming in and
(07:46):
they're, they're getting houseslocked up under contract for a
retail price and trying to sellabove retail and they're having
to back out and cancel on these,these sellers.
And it's, it's just causing abad look for, for the people
doing it right.
Mike (08:00):
Hmm That's something we can hit on is so that's
something we run into a lot inJacksonville, too And we have
some strategies and I'm curiousto hear yours is how do you
differentiate yourself?
Because you know, like you'regoing to come through, obviously
you're going to come throughbecause your offer is at a
number that makes sense to sellthe property at or buy the
(08:22):
property at.
How do you differentiateyourself from the person who's
offering them the full retailprice with wholesale, you know,
wholesale terms that ultimatelybacks out?
Cody (08:33):
Yeah.
And that's a good question.
You know, it's, uh, it all comesdown to perception.
Um, have you ever seen value do,can you go to the store and buy
value?
Can you put value in your backpocket?
Uh, the answer is no value is anabstract notion.
And so with that, it, it valuesproduced with assessments made
(08:54):
by your listener.
So if I'm the speaker, you'retalking to a seller in a
situation, um, they're assessingme all along the way, just as
much as I'm assessing them, ifthey're a qualified prospect.
And so, um, what we've done toseparate ourself is really just
be powerful in our narrativesand then how we speak and talk
to sellers, but also expose themto different options.
(09:14):
You know, you can't get anybodyto do anything and, and sales
and real estate.
We're not trying to get you,we're not trying to get one over
on you.
We're trying to just add value.
And so at the end of the day,they can feel that sincerity
and, uh, the, the local, just amama pop feel of.
Um, you know, we may not be yourbest fit, but here's what you
(09:34):
can do.
Um, you can go to the market andlist that house, but most time,
you know, sellers don't want toincur that cost.
Um, so understanding theseller's needs and concerns that
they're in, um, allow us tonavigate a better conversation.
That's more quality.
And in turn, I think thatproduces a more triggering
response on their end to open upand, and to build that trust
(09:57):
that you're looking for, um,when you're going against
somebody who is offering 20, 000more, but they don't trust that
person.
Mike (10:07):
Are you guys going out to the homes, or are you also
making offers on the phone?
Cody (10:13):
Yeah, it's, it's in between.
Um, in 2021, we ended up, um,doubling our productivity by
sending out somebody to go takepictures for us.
And then we would just negotiateand talk over the phone.
Um, but when things are slowingdown, we got back out on the
field to go out there, to talkwith sellers.
Uh, but it's still a mix rightnow.
Um, some houses I don't go toand see some, I go sit in the
(10:36):
living room and have aconversation with an hour for,
with a seller.
Um, that's a good question.
I mean, it's at the end of theday, it's a numbers game and,
uh, I don't want to wastepeople's time on waste hours,
(10:58):
but also I want to disqualifytoo soon either, and so it
really just depends on the onesthat we go out to.
Um, what the situation is forthe seller, how much they owe,
um, if they owe too much now,I'll talk to him about doing a
subject to, and just taking overthe loan.
And usually what I'll do isexplain why, um, why it's too
(11:18):
much for us as a flipper, buthere's what your options are as
a seller.
If you're wanting to maybe do ityourself and go on the market.
Um, so our goal is, you know,we're not trying to get anybody.
Our goal is to provide value.
Along the way and understandingthat everybody is not the best
fit for us.
And we're not everybody's bestfit either.
Mike (11:35):
Yeah.
What were some other challengesthat you faced along the way of
scaling the business?
Hmm.
Hmm.
Cody (11:46):
Other challenges we face, uh, the challenges we face is
you get people coming inoffering retail price for home.
That's that's as is at a lowerprice.
And so trying to combat that inthe competition is a challenge
in itself.
And that's something that westill face every day is, you
(12:09):
know, a seller wants to beoffered 120 on their house from,
or they want 120 and people aregiving that all day long, but
then not fulfilling on thecontract.
And so it hurts the reputationof people like us who are doing
it right.
And are explaining to thesettlers the value of their
house.
Yeah, you can get this, but youhave to go through that to get
this.
Mike (12:30):
Hmm.
Gotcha.
I mean, how do you, like, whatelse have you done to kind of
handle that issue and overcomeit?
Cody (12:41):
Get better at speaking.
Um, at the end of the day, wehave a website that brings in a
lot of leads.
And we've been able to get on TVand be on commercials.
So that's helped with localidentification.
Um, so essentially just being,being a character in the
marketplace that's providingvalue, I think will go a long
(13:03):
way versus just trying to be,uh, the skilled salesman and
superior in that way whereyou're trying to get somebody.
Um, because I've been in theday, you know, I may go on five
appointments a week and maybeonly get one or two.
Now, I'm not a fit for everybodyand they know that going into
it.
So it's really just beingtransparent.
(13:24):
Um, and I think a lot of peoplecan, um, identify trust with
that.
Mike (13:30):
What does your team look like at this point?
Cody (13:34):
Um, I'm a lean team.
I like to keep it lean.
Uh, I have, uh, one junioracquisition guy and I have a VA,
uh, in Bangladesh and he doesall of the admin office kind of
work.
Um, and then I have a coldcaller who just calls on areas
that we'd like to buy in andinitiates the conversation.
(13:55):
And then I have a propertymanager.
So, um, really a team of four,maybe five.
Um, that's pretty much it.
Uh, I don't want to get too bigand overhead on labor.
Uh, I'd rather find strategicpartners and, and do maybe
bigger deals like landdevelopment, um, is, is what I'm
(14:16):
after right now.
Mike (14:18):
And, uh, the property manager is because you've kept a
lot, a good amount of these asrentals throughout the business
Cody (14:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we, we cherry pick the bestdeals, um, and, and keep for us
and we'll flip it or keep it asrental property.
Um, and so ultimately I want tobuild in house property
management and continue to builda portfolio, uh, of homes that
we self manage.
Mike (14:46):
Gotcha.
What made you decide to do themanagement in house versus
getting like a third party to dothat?
Cody (14:54):
Control, um, control and influence.
Um, we're big on communicationand tenants like communication.
Uh, I would speculate they, theywant to know that their, their
requests are being taken careof.
And so having a third partytitle or a property management
company, I mean, they're justnot going to take the same care
(15:16):
that you would as a manager.
Um, of your own portfolio.
So really just the control andability to influence and cast
down the, uh, kind of the Chickfil A model, just the quality, I
guess.
Mike (15:30):
Yeah, fair enough.
Um, and then.
With the team of that, like, howdo you handle construction?
is that
Cody (15:41):
Um, that's me, um, having a good contractor.
Um, I mean, at the end of theday, all businesses, uh, is.
Coordination and a production ofcoordination and communication.
And so I don't necessarily haveto be at the property all the
(16:02):
time to check up on it.
I can request pictures.
Um, I can also stop in afterhours.
Um, so flipping a house is nottoo time consuming for us.
Um, our contractors know whatwe're looking for, what we're up
to.
It's just one walk through onthe front end to point out what
we're going to do with thishouse.
And that's it.
(16:23):
So it's really more of thepractices that we've set up in
place to double thatproductivity there.
Mike (16:30):
Yeah, what kind of practices, um, have has allowed
you to kind of double thatproductivity besides the one you
obviously mentioned before?
Cody (16:40):
Well, it's just the, uh, the communication of, of having
pictures, uh, setting lock boxeson the property so that you're
not having to physically go overthere each time.
That's a practice.
Um, communicating, sendingpictures, having a standard of
what you're going to do to eachproperty, this color paint.
Um, these floors, this kitchen,this bath.
(17:00):
So just having a standardoperation, um, just, uh, I mean,
it allows for more freedom andflexibility on the backend when
it comes time to managing it.
Mike (17:10):
Yeah, and how were you able to because I know it's a
struggle, um, for some people,you know, we've also been pretty
fortunate as well that we'vealways had great contractors,
but I'm curious how you wentabout finding your great
contractors.
Cody (17:24):
Yeah, there, uh, some will come to us just from our, our
identity and then others we'vereached out to.
Um, but for the most part, um,I'm, I'm always looking to add
talent to the team.
Um, so let me backtrack.
You had asked, you know, whatdoes your team look like?
Um, one of my sales guy, Jack,he, I met him in Uber.
(17:45):
He was my Uber driver.
Um, and we just kicked it offand started talking and he had
just graduated college andworking at an insurance company
for commission only.
So I knew that I could at leastcompete with that offer and, you
know, do some kind of salaryplus commission.
And so with Jack, uh, it'salways identifying and looking
(18:06):
out for talent where you can seeit and then bring on board.
Because ultimately I want a leanteam.
And more so have strategicpartners in different domains to
where I'm partnering up largertransactions versus just having
a Huge overhead of staff.
Mike (18:22):
Yeah.
How did you know that he wouldbe a good sales guy when you
were, when he was your Uberdriver?
Cody (18:29):
Yeah, that's good The fact that he was able to take a
position out of college oncommission only without a base
Shows me that he was willing togo get it.
I mean, I mean, that, that, thatshould say a lot on somebody
that's willing to go get thatcommission only job, um, versus
having base and he could talkwell.
He was articulate.
(18:49):
And so it was just, uh, onething led to another
Mike (18:56):
Um, and then you were saying you kind of cherry pick
the, you know, the rentals andflips you guys want to do.
And, you know, I'm guessing it,is it wholesale the rest for the
most part or
Cody (19:10):
wholesale, no bait, buy and hold flip.
Yeah.
Mike (19:15):
gotcha?
What makes you decide to keep aproperty as a rental?
Like, what's your criteria?
Cody (19:22):
Yeah.
I really don't have a setcriteria.
Um, there's two properties thathere I have currently right now
that I was That I'm going to endup keeping.
Um, so it really just depends onthe situation, how much revenue
I have coming in this monthversus how much do I have in the
pipeline.
Um, so there's no one setstandard as to like, I don't
(19:44):
have a formula or anything thatI use.
It's more of a, where am I attoday and what's in the
pipeline?
Mike (19:51):
Yeah, and then you were talking before about, you know,
some marketing stuff like youdo, um, you know, if you got
your website that you built up alot, uh, you're doing some stuff
on TV, like you want to talk alittle bit more in detail
because I mean, you're, I mean,you've done.
300 plus deals.
I mean, that's, you know, youmust have done quite a bit of
marketing to bring in all thoseleads.
Cody (20:14):
Yeah.
Um, uh, I guess what's yourquestion around that?
You just want me to expand onthe inbound.
Mike (20:22):
Yeah.
Like, you know, everyone's kindof got a different approach to
it.
Um, you know, why did you decideto go with the channels you did?
And like, maybe how did you, howhas that shifted over the course
of your business?
Cody (20:35):
Yeah.
So the channels, you know, inmarketing, you have inbound and
outbound and we've realized thatinbound is a more lower cost way
of time and energy versus goingout and trying to reach people
who.
May not even be a market foryour offer.
Um, so focusing on inbound hasallowed us to increase our time
(20:58):
that we have to then go createnew offers or design new
practices to be in.
Uh, so inbound, we've, westarted out outbound, uh, cold
call texts, you know, all that,um, but as we grown, we've
positioned to more inbound only.
So we're now we're building upan identity marketing, um, to
where we have people come intous.
(21:19):
And for me, I would rather workwith somebody that's, um, has
sought us out to seek us outwith situation they're in to
sort for us to help solve theirproblem, um, versus going call
and following up people who maybe interested.
Mike (21:40):
Um, You mentioned there, like, you know, you've kind of
created this identity.
You want to expand a little bitmore on that?
Cody (21:48):
Yeah.
I mean, you know, you you'veheard the saying in business,
people do business with peoplethey know, like and trust.
And I think trust is a factor ina lot of transactions.
I mean, you had asked somethingearlier I was going to hit on,
uh, like one thing, one questionwe ask sellers is like, how
would you know you're workingwith the right buyer?
How would you know you'reworking with the right party?
(22:10):
Um, because this person may beoffering you 20, 000 more, have
they even seen the property?
Are they out of state?
Do you trust them?
How come?
And so trust is, is a big factorknowing for me, but that's.
I don't want to have to lookover my shoulder at the end of
the night to realize, and, um, Iwant to make do right by
everybody and to everyone sothat I can sleep at night.
(22:33):
And so just building up thattrust and identity, just, it
goes a long way and it helps mewhen I'm the one negotiating or
talking with the seller.
Um, to have that identity withthem so that I'm not going
against the grain, I guess,against, to make it harder for
me.
Um, and, and it's okay.
(22:54):
It's, we're okay.
Not having a deal so long that Ican help you and provide you
options and expose you differentways to go about this.
Then we're good.
Um, you know, I understand thatI'm not going to get every deal,
but at the end of the day, youknow, we're a for profit
enterprise.
And at that same token, we alsoprovide superior help.
(23:15):
Now, not everybody needs ourhelp.
And there's also people outthere who don't even know our
help exists.
So at the end of the day, if Ican continue to build an
identity, those people may startto know us or our services will
sell themselves.
Mike (23:32):
Yeah.
And what like strategies haveyou used to create and build up
that identity for your brand?
Cody (23:42):
Uh, accomplishments first, um, in order to have some sort
of trust, uh, one must produceaccomplishments.
Like you don't go to yourdoctor.
And do a hip surgery.
If your doctor hadn't beenthrough doctor school, same with
flying a plane, you don't get ona plane if, uh, if the pilot
hasn't passes piloting license.
(24:04):
I don't know, but, um, so the,the trust comes through
accomplishments and ouraccomplishments have allowed us
to build that identity toshowcase like, Hey, we can, we
know how to think and act inthis capacity, in this
situation, uh, we can do this.
Mike (24:23):
And when you say accomplishments, that means like
homes bought or is that like,you know, awards won or, you
know, local, like what do youmean specifically?
Cody (24:34):
Yeah, I mean, that's good accomplishments just I guess the
the number of people we've beenable to help out of a situation
that they Find our offersuperior.
Mike (24:43):
Hmm.
Gotcha.
And then how do you, how do youuse that to kind of like brand
for like the future so that youkind of get more people coming
your way if you, if you guyshave done that,
Cody (24:56):
Yeah, I haven't really done that to Satisfactory, I'd
like to do more of it
Mike (25:01):
yeah.
Cody (25:02):
but it more so just highlighting case studies to
scenario situations like sellersthat we work with in the past
and providing a case study toshow what happened here and
Mike (25:16):
Gotcha, okay.
And then does that like, doesany of that kind of tie into
your marketing in terms ofbuilding your brand?
Are you doing any stuff aroundthat or
Cody (25:27):
Um, you know, I'm a one, kind of a one man show pretty
lean.
So I haven't had the time tobuild that out as much as I
would like to.
Um,
Mike (25:38):
Yeah.
Cody (25:39):
yeah,
Mike (25:40):
It sounds like you guys have done pretty well and I took
a look at your website for theshow.
It sounds like you guys dofairly well in driving traffic
to your, to your website for
Cody (25:49):
yeah.
Mike (25:51):
That's something that people, it's been a while since
we talked about on the show withsomeone.
But how have you guys goneabout, you know, getting your
website ranked and being ableto, you know, drive a lot of
traffic and leads through that?
Cody (26:04):
Yeah.
It's, it's just having a reallygood digital marketer guy that
knows what he's doing or gal.
Um, we're fortunate to have JoshEverly at data point.
He's been a family friend ofours, um, since we started.
And so when we started this, westarted with PVC and SEO.
As our main channel, um, andthen venture it out.
(26:26):
And so we've had time on theclock.
Like it takes time to grow yourSEO.
Um, I mean, we've been doing itfor, since 2019 now.
So four or five years, we'vebeen doing content articles,
adding, uh, uh, DR links withhigher DR rankings to our
website.
So it's just a little tacticsthat he knows what to do.
(26:47):
But it's just hiring somebodyand that expertise,
Mike (26:51):
Gotcha.
For the listeners who maybedon't know what a DR link is,
can you explain what that is?
Cody (26:57):
just a domain authority, um, like Google or Amazon or
like Facebook or rocketmortgage, they might have a
higher ranking, uh, authority.
So when the Google rather, uh,algorithm notices, Oh, you got a
link back from right.
The mortgage.
Oh, you must be trustworthy.
And so we're getting crediblelinks built up, um, uh, that,
(27:20):
that like I'll link back to ourwebsite.
Mike (27:25):
Gotcha.
Okay.
What's your vision for thebusiness for the next three
years?
Cody (27:33):
Um, right now I'm going through a land development.
Uh, we're building asubdivision.
And so, uh, what I'm after isdoing less for more.
Yeah.
So, um, less for more, um, uh,with us creating a more of
inbound company, I see ourselvesgoing into the commercial land
(27:53):
development space whilecontinuing to keep afloat or
keep active.
The current leads come to us.
And helping out where we can.
Um, but ultimately what I wantto do is, is build a portfolio,
um, have it free and clear and,and earn a lot of active income
through various projects.
Mike (28:13):
Gotcha.
You want to talk a little bit,how that deal came together, the
deal that you're working onright now?
Cody (28:20):
Yeah.
So, uh, I'm in a mastermindcalled collect the genius and
there's some guys in there whoare doing land stuff.
And so I've been, um, privy or,or interested in looking into,
Oh, you know, what are theydoing?
And so, uh, I had lunch with agentleman who.
Is well accomplished here inLittle Rock.
And he said, Hey, you need totarget these areas, um, for,
(28:41):
for, to, to build subdivisionsand houses.
And so I just sent out lettersto people in that area and got a
call back.
Um, so I just applied the samefundamentals of what I do in
single family and just copy andpasted that to another domain,
which is land.
And so I was just marketing topeople with 10 to a hundred
acres.
(29:01):
Um, and so, uh, through the CGnetwork, I was able to acquire
knowledge around, you know, howto back into the numbers and
understand lot costs anddevelopment costs per lot.
And we're able to get 12 acresunder contract.
We're going to develop 30 lotsand sell to a DR Hort.
Mike (29:23):
Wow.
Okay.
Gotcha.
So where are you?
And I'm not that familiar withland development.
Like, where are you in thatprocess currently?
Cody (29:32):
So we've gone through the preliminary approval process
with the city, um, and, and thecontract is contingent upon
getting approved by the city andalso getting an LOI by the in,
uh, the in builder, D.
R.
Horton.
Um, so we purchased the landcome November 1st, but we've
already got a plat drawn and acity approval process for the
(29:52):
plat, which is the 30 lots andwhere they're situated on the
land.
Um, and so once we're good withthat.
We'll buy the land and thenstart the development side.
Mike (30:04):
Gotcha.
So when you say start thedevelopment side, what like
specifically happens once youget to that stage?
Cody (30:12):
So we got to clear out the land, uh, make it level, flat,
bring in the utilities, thewater, the sewer, um,
infrastructure, sidewalks,gutters, roadways, um, so
basically getting it shovelready for the builder to come in
and build.
And, you know, for the longest,uh, I'm, I'm still new to this
as well, I'm learning the insand outs, but for the longest,
(30:34):
You know, I didn't realize thatthere was a distinction between
a developer and a builder.
The developer is the one whotears up the dirt and brings in
the infrastructure.
And the builder is the one whobuilds vertical.
Mike (30:49):
Gotcha.
So you guys are going to take itall the way through the
horizontal construction stage,but you already have like a, uh,
now a wire, maybe something evenmore serious in place from the
builder.
So you kind of know you're goodon it
Cody (31:05):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So all we're basically doing isfulfilling on it.
Uh, we'll come in and fulfill onthe work to bring in the
subdivision, to bring it about,and then they come in and build.
So we've got an LOI in place andwhat that does is help the bank.
So when we go raise money or goget debt on this.
It shows a promising, um,builder to back us up, I guess,
(31:29):
to the banks.
Mike (31:30):
Yeah, that was going to be my next question.
Is there a way to raise money,you know, with banks for that
type of, uh, that type of deal?
Cody (31:38):
Yeah.
Mike (31:40):
interesting.
Gotcha.
Um, what made you explore,explore that route?
Cody (31:46):
Well, you know, um, I'm after doubling my income.
And so in order to double myincome, uh, I must change the
practices that I'm in and theoffers I make and the help that
I provide.
And so that was an effort toincrease, uh, what I'm after is
more for less.
(32:07):
Um, we've done a hundred plusdeals in a year, and I would
like to, to not do that type ofvolume.
I'd rather do 10 to 20 deals ayear, but make those really big
deals.
Mike (32:21):
what are the challenges that come with, with doing that
type of volume, 100 plus deals ayear?
Cody (32:27):
Uh, a lot of emotional wear and tear.
Uh, I'm sure you experiencedthis.
And if you're closing deals, youknow, you get to the week
closing.
There's just a lot of, um, ohnoes and what ifs and, and
things that could happen.
And it's just a lot of stressand a lot of emotional wear and
tear on your body.
Uh, to go through something likethat when you're doing, you
(32:48):
know, 20, 30 deals a month.
Mike (32:51):
Yeah.
Gotcha.
Um, and then.
You know, obviously things haveshifted a lot.
I mean, I don't know yourmarket, but things have shifted
certainly a lot here and call itthe last 20 months or so.
What have you changed in yourbusiness?
If things have shifted in yourmarket?
Cody (33:11):
Um, that's good.
I mean, it's shifted and whereit shifted is the activity of,
um, uh, buyers buying.
So, it's easy to buy a houseright now, but it's harder to
sell a house.
So, what shifted is, well, Um,I've, I've got to stay to the
(33:32):
fundamentals and, and thefundamental is so long that you
buy the house right on the frontend, um, then there's multiple
exits on the back end.
And so understanding and, andeven conversating with sellers,
like, Hey, we're, we're not inthat kind of market now, um,
prices are going down, not up.
And so I usually bring anexample to what I'm facing on
(33:53):
the market.
I'm, you know, I have fivehouses listed on each week.
I'm having to decrease theprice.
And, and I'm just bringing thatforth that narrative forth for
them to listen to, um, to hearlike, Hey, like you can let this
sit, but prices are going downand up.
And so what we've done just tocombat that is just get better
prices on the front end.
Mike (34:13):
What has changed on like, The wholesale disposition side
for you guys.
Cody (34:21):
Nothing really.
Um, I don't really marketproperties.
I don't, um, I don't paradepeople through.
I have, uh, maybe two or threeinvestors I work with and I'm
one of them.
Um, so I essentially wholesalemyself the product or the
property.
Um, and if I don't, uh, then Isell it to one or two other
(34:45):
investors or a hedge fund.
Um, so I really don't work witha lot of buyers.
It's more so me and a few otherpeople.
Mike (34:54):
Gotcha.
What, um, you know, causethere's people who are the total
opposite of that.
All right.
What, what made you decide tokind of take that approach
versus having a million buyersand
Cody (35:07):
Yeah, it's the cost.
It's the cost of the time,energy and bandwidth and now
structure.
Now I have to have somebody onthat, in that role and that seat
to now go after people withneedles in the haystack to maybe
make 5, 000 and it's just notworth it.
Like, um, we realized that themore quality, quality eats
(35:31):
quantity.
Um, and so that's something thatI just made up, but it's, it's
kind of where business missionis.
We want to have qualityproperties, quality product,
quality people, whether that'ssellers, buyers, investors,
whoever.
And, um, I forgot where I wasgoing with that.
Uh, yeah.
Mike (35:55):
Oh, we're talking about, you know, having a million, you
know, a million buyers on yourlist
Cody (35:59):
Oh yeah.
The cost.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I'll tell you something onthat, you know, being a Little
Rock, uh, for some reason,whoever selling all these
courses on YouTube and whatnot,and they're bringing up Little
Rock, we have an influx of newwholesalers coming in.
It's easy to get propertieslocked up, but it's hard to
sell.
(36:19):
And so these people areexhausting all their resources,
their time, the energy, theirefforts to sell a property they
can't sell.
Mike (36:28):
Yeah, gotcha.
And you said, um, you mentionedlike you also sell some stuff to
hedge funds.
Are they still kind of activein, in little rocker?
Gotcha.
Cody (36:45):
Um, so that, that hadn't changed.
The retail market is the onlything that slowed down is the
retail activity and buyers onthat side.
Mike (36:57):
Besides obviously getting the homes at a better price.
Are you changing anything?
Um, You know, on the sellingside or construction side to
help those homes sell betterbesides just pricing them more
aggressively.
Cody (37:09):
Yeah, making them a little nicer.
Um, instead of just doing paintand floors, now you might redo
the kitchen and bathroom, addsome granite countertops, and do
different pools, um, fixtures,I'm doing that, fans, lights,
um, so I think you're justgetting it at a better price,
um, better quality and sell fora lesser price.
Mike (37:31):
Gotcha, makes sense.
Um, I've noticed something thatyou said.
It's kind of been like a themethroughout the call is like, you
seem to be very conscious ofkind of the effort that you're
putting into different things.
Like, you said a few times,like, you know, that's kind of
why you shifted to inbound andyou were talking about also on
the disposition side.
(37:52):
Like, you know, that's a lot oflike, energy, right?
If you do it that way, I, I'mcurious, like, how, how did you,
I guess, like, how did thatbecome a theme and kind of what
you do?
Cody (38:04):
Yeah, uh, that's good.
Good question.
I mean, for us, it's Beingintentional, um, business is an,
an avenue to create money.
And we, we know growing up that,Oh, money's not everything.
Well, it also pays for our, ourbills and, and future.
Um, so money is something, butI'll agree.
(38:27):
It's not everything.
And so for me, I want to have alifestyle and have, uh, the
space and the time to create, todesign, to build, to give back,
to be a father, to be a husbandand a family guy.
And so for me, it's just, um, itcould be lazy.
It could be strategic.
(38:48):
Um, but I think it's a blend ofboth.
And it's both being lazy andbeing strategic at the same time
to create, uh, uh, an income,uh, at a low cost.
Mike (39:01):
Have you always had that mindset of kind of being very
conscious of like, kind of whereyou put your energy or was there
a point in your life or careerthat made they made you make
that shift?
Cody (39:14):
Yeah.
So I'm, I'm involved, uh, notonly in my with CG, I'm also
involved in another discoursecalled Aji and Aji is more
around business fundamentals.
And what that's done is orientand kind of reshape how I think
and act.
And it's allowed me to see, Um,where I can design by intention.
(39:35):
And, and not just react to theday to day and what everybody
else is doing.
Mike (39:41):
Cool.
When did you, when did you getinvolved in that?
Cody (39:44):
Uh, 2020.
So, uh, I met a guy at a pokertable in Vegas at new year's
and, uh, he was, it was like, Ihad stayed up all night.
We, we left the party, the club,whatever.
Uh, and I went to go play pokerat 1 a.
m.
And so I started at 1 a.
m.
The guy that I met, he was justwaking up at 6 a.
(40:05):
m.
to come down to, to, to play.
And, um, so we met up with himthe next morning for coffee and
just talked to him.
And he said, Hey, you shouldlook into this.
And this was Aji.
And at the time, you know, wedidn't know this guy.
We didn't know his, hiscredentials, accomplishments or
whatever.
I just met him at the pokertable.
(40:26):
And so he said, look into this.
Well, we didn't, you know, hewas going to look into that.
We don't know him.
Two, three months later, wechecked in with him.
He said, Hey, did you look intoit?
No.
Well, now that he's brought itup again, okay, maybe we can
look into it.
Don't mean we have to doanything.
Um, and so we, we did, we lookedinto it and we bought it and
(40:46):
it's like another course, uh, in2020.
And so their claim is doubleyour productivity value and
income.
And so, um, in order to double.
Well, you can't be in the samepractice you're in last year.
If you're earning say a milliondollars in order to earn 2
million, you, you, you justcannot be in the same practice
(41:07):
there.
You something's got to changeyour networks, knowledge,
effort, the practices thatyou're in strategies.
And so orienting that around howwe operate in the business has
helped us be more intentional,
Mike (41:23):
What are some things you changed after you kind of went
through that, that program?
What were some of the firstthings?
Cody (41:30):
uh, noticing, really just noticing where we're at and what
we're up to.
And, and one of the big thingswas on productivity side was
sending out somebody else to goon property visits for us
instead of ourself.
Um, because we knew if we'regoing out to properties and
we're losing time on the salesfloor, we're calling new
prospects.
(41:53):
Uh, so that was one thing thatchanged.
It's really just an orientation,uh, a way to see things
differently.
Mike (42:01):
Yeah, gotcha.
Well, uh, we're getting close tothe end here and there's always
two questions I like to ask atthe end of the show.
The first one is, uh, what isthe craziest or most
uncomfortable situation that youhave ever experienced in a real
estate deal?
Cody (42:22):
I was on the phone with, uh, I was on, on, uh, with some
partners and it was, um.
A phone call and I pulled up tomy rental property that's
supposed to be vacant.
The tenants had just left andthere's a guy standing at the
door.
And so I'm like, Oh dang, whatis this?
What's going on?
I kind of freak out a littlebit.
(42:42):
I put my phone on mute, youknow, I'm on a conference call
and they're all wondering whereI, where I went to.
And here I am talking to thishomeless guy that had broke in
and is now squatting or likeliving there, um, on an air
mattress.
Well, um, long story short, Iended up giving him some money
to take care of himself to likeget some food and whatever, but
(43:04):
he needed to be out by Monday.
Um, and so.
I was just, uh, for me it wasjust nerve wracking to know,
like, I'm in this house, I couldbe str, stranded or trapped.
And, and I don't know who's allin this house, but he, he showed
me, Hey, I'm just sleeping backhere.
Here's my mattress.
Whatever, whatever.
Um, and that's not super crazy.
(43:25):
I'm trying to think of anotherstory.
I, I'm not a, I a Hollywood filmwriter, so I don't, I don't have
the, the drama.
But, um, just dealing withsquatters is really the biggest,
I guess, hassle.
We've, we've come across.
Mike (43:39):
Yeah, we've run into that quite a bit, gotcha.
And a second question I alwayslike to ask is, uh, if you could
go back in time and giveyourself one piece of advice
when you were looking for thatfirst real estate deal, knowing
what you know now, what wouldyou tell yourself?
Cody (44:00):
Um, I'm big on networks and knowledge.
Um, I know I look back on my owncareer and, and just see like,
you know, what, what would ithave been like if we didn't buy
that course?
If I didn't buy that course,where would I be?
Because that was really theultimate starter package like
the trigger point to startBecause I mean who spends 17,
(44:21):
000 18, 000 or something andthen not act on it Now you're
just sitting on a lot of debt.
So Luckily, we had to act onsomething and so for me starting
over again It's like just go outthere and act you're going to
get in your head about why youcan't do x y and z And the
moment you start talking toother players in the game You
(44:41):
You begin to couple to theirnarratives, their knowledge,
their networks, their privatemoney lenders, their
contractors.
So get out there and show up andfor us that that's what I would
recommend to myself startingover.
Is where all can I show up andhow often?
Mike (44:59):
I think that's a great piece of advice.
Um, Cody, if people want toleave, reach out to you after
the show, um, if they have anyquestions or maybe they got a
property they want to sell you,uh, how can they go about doing
that?
Cody (45:13):
Um, you know, I am a mom and pop kind of guy.
Just holler at me on my phone.
501 580 3035.
Shoot me a text, call, whatever.
Um, we can talk.
Mike (45:26):
Awesome.
Cool, man.
Well, thanks for being on theshow.
Cody (45:30):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Thanks, Mike.
Welcome to the real estate game changer show.
(00:02):
I'm your host, Mike McKay basedin Jacksonville, Florida, and
each and every week we do thisshow with people who are
changing the game of real estateall over the country.
If anyone is in the Jacksonvillearea and they're in sales and
you're thinking about gettinginto real estate, uh, we are
looking for people for ouracquisitions team.
Uh, send me a DM on Instagram ifthat sounds like you.
(00:24):
And this week on the show, wehave Cody Dover.
Cody, welcome to the show.
Cody (00:29):
Hey, what's going on?
Mike (00:32):
Doing well, man.
Uh, for the people who don'tknow you, could you tell us a
little bit about how you gotinto real estate and how that's
led you to where you are today?
Cody (00:45):
Yeah.
Uh, I would love to.
And thanks, Mike.
Uh, I'm 30 right now and Istarted real estate when I was
23 and, uh, back then and westarted, uh, with a course rich
dad, poor dad, and that course,uh, luckily was really the, the
trigger point to starteverything for us.
Um, there wasn't really muchcontent or value in the course
(01:07):
as much as was just starting.
And, you know, getting into realestate, what I found that most
people struggle with is thatstarting point.
And so, uh, buying a course, wespent like 17, 000 to get into
it.
And what that taught us was togo out and network and build the
network of people who's alreadydoing what you want to do.
And so, uh, from there we boughtthe course.
(01:28):
We went into the local RIAmeetups and whatnot.
And from there we just, uh,started gaining knowledge,
building a network, gettingtrust, building identity with
people.
And we bought our first house in17, 2017.
And then we ended up buying fourmore, uh, in the first five
months.
And so we actually got turneddown by the bank going for our
(01:52):
sixth property.
And this was back in 2017.
We didn't know what we weredoing.
We were just doing thetraditional, put an offer in, on
the house, on the market, andoff you go.
Well, we got turned down fromthe bank, and we didn't realize
that there was this whole otherworld out there of private
money.
And so, uh, this is 2017, we'restill kind of scratching the
(02:13):
surface, and then we said, Oh,well if we can go buy a course
in residential and buy fivehouses and make it work, Well,
what else out there could we gopurchase and look into?
And so from there, we were ableto kind of get off track since
we got turned down by the bank,going out there, the sixth
property, we said, Oh, well, Iguess we can't do this.
Let's go find something else.
(02:35):
And so we explored everything,multifamily syndication.
Uh, multi level marketing andall this different stuff that we
call the shiny object syndrome.
And so from there, we were ableto, uh, um, scratch the surface
on multifamily and apartmentsand syndicating and raise the
money.
And we did that for about a yearand that didn't go anywhere.
(02:57):
Uh, so it wasn't until about2020, uh, the end of 2000 or
2019, we ended up picking Uh,the residential game back up,
but this time it was with adifferent approach.
Uh, we came in with more of asales and marketing, uh,
approach than just, uh, make anoffer on the market kind of
thing.
And that's what will really openup the game for us was
(03:18):
understanding that you actuallyhave to do sales and marketing
to produce deal flow.
And while that's meaningful isbecause we're able to produce
deal flow at 50%, 60 percent offdiscount, um, versus back when
we started buying property onthe market in 2017, you know,
you're paying 80, 90 cents onthe dollar.
(03:39):
Well, when you produce your owndeal flow, so long that you're
building up your skills andcapabilities, you can now
negotiate better deals, getaccess to better deals that
otherwise you wouldn't have.
Um, so the start of 2020, that'sreally what kickstarted
everything for us.
And, um, I have a crazy stathere.
We, we quit our jobs in the 19and beginning of 2020, we went
(04:03):
into it full time and you know,everybody's used to having that
W2 safety net and getting paidevery two weeks.
Well, it was a scary moment forus, you know, we didn't know
what to do.
Like, Oh, no.
And then COVID comes.
I'm like, Oh, dang, you know,nobody, nobody could expect what
to happen and what would happenduring the COVID years.
(04:24):
Um, but we had only did likefour deals, I think the first
six months of 2020.
And we're questioning ourselves.
We're like, well, Is thissomething that we can still do?
Like what's going on?
Why aren't we making thishappen?
Um, fast forward, we've done 350plus deals now since 2020, and
we ended up doing another 54that same year.
(04:44):
So in six months time we didfour deals, and the rest of six
months of that same year, of2020, we did 50.
And so something had obviouslychanged and what changed was a
few things.
And that's something that Iwould like to, to get into on,
on this call, just to maybe helpother people out there getting
going, trying to start out,
Mike (05:05):
Well, that was actually going to be my next question.
So what changed?
Cody (05:10):
you know, there's a thing called commission breath and,
uh, and, and sales people allabout all salespeople are is
getting the commission andgetting the sale closed.
Well, what happened was twothings.
One, little to us, we didn'tknow that we were building up a
pipeline.
Um, you know, we're entering inthis game as a sales marketing
(05:32):
company now, and we're buildingup a pipeline of prospects.
And so we realized, Oh, the fourpeople that we have closed, they
came in our system six monthsago.
So we realized the whole timewe're building up a pipeline of
people that we had tocontinually to follow up with.
You know, a lot of times youthink that you, you call
(05:53):
somebody, you want to get thedeal that day.
It's not until you realize and,and reflecting back that we saw
that all these people come, comefrom four months, six months
earlier, that we had to continueto follow up with build trust,
increase our identity with, andalso ultimately just help, you
know, be of service to helptheir situation out instead of
(06:15):
having commissioned breath andlooking out for yourself to get
a.
Get a profit from the deal.
It's like, how do you help thisperson out?
And that's really what comes forus
Mike (06:25):
Gotcha.
So at this point, you know,you've done a couple hundred
deals in your business.
Um, What were some of the majorchallenges along the way as you
were scaling that up?
Cody (06:41):
dealing with the up and down, um, the inconsistent, you
know, one month you might havefive deals, the other month you
might have 20 deals and it wasthe inconsistent, uh, that
really had to, like, we had tokeep ourselves of, you couldn't
overspend and marketing on acouple of months knowing that
the next couple of months youmight be down.
(07:02):
So the biggest thing is justreally staying with the
fundamentals of what's got youhere.
And what got us here is just ourbeingness of who we're being to
the sellers and the value thatwe're able to provide.
Um, and also it increased ourtrust.
Uh, so like with the, the localmarketplace, uh, we're out of
Little Rock, Arkansas.
Um, so I'll try to portrayourselves as just a local mom
(07:24):
and pop guy, blue jeans, white tshirt down the street.
Um, you know, we're not this bigcorporate company.
And so the challenges we facewas the inconsistent effort of
the up and down.
Um, and then, and now today it'scompetition.
It's the, the out of statewholesalers are coming in and
(07:46):
they're, they're getting houseslocked up under contract for a
retail price and trying to sellabove retail and they're having
to back out and cancel on these,these sellers.
And it's, it's just causing abad look for, for the people
doing it right.
Mike (08:00):
Hmm That's something we can hit on is so that's
something we run into a lot inJacksonville, too And we have
some strategies and I'm curiousto hear yours is how do you
differentiate yourself?
Because you know, like you'regoing to come through, obviously
you're going to come throughbecause your offer is at a
number that makes sense to sellthe property at or buy the
(08:22):
property at.
How do you differentiateyourself from the person who's
offering them the full retailprice with wholesale, you know,
wholesale terms that ultimatelybacks out?
Cody (08:33):
Yeah.
And that's a good question.
You know, it's, uh, it all comesdown to perception.
Um, have you ever seen value do,can you go to the store and buy
value?
Can you put value in your backpocket?
Uh, the answer is no value is anabstract notion.
And so with that, it, it valuesproduced with assessments made
(08:54):
by your listener.
So if I'm the speaker, you'retalking to a seller in a
situation, um, they're assessingme all along the way, just as
much as I'm assessing them, ifthey're a qualified prospect.
And so, um, what we've done toseparate ourself is really just
be powerful in our narrativesand then how we speak and talk
to sellers, but also expose themto different options.
(09:14):
You know, you can't get anybodyto do anything and, and sales
and real estate.
We're not trying to get you,we're not trying to get one over
on you.
We're trying to just add value.
And so at the end of the day,they can feel that sincerity
and, uh, the, the local, just amama pop feel of.
Um, you know, we may not be yourbest fit, but here's what you
(09:34):
can do.
Um, you can go to the market andlist that house, but most time,
you know, sellers don't want toincur that cost.
Um, so understanding theseller's needs and concerns that
they're in, um, allow us tonavigate a better conversation.
That's more quality.
And in turn, I think thatproduces a more triggering
response on their end to open upand, and to build that trust
(09:57):
that you're looking for, um,when you're going against
somebody who is offering 20, 000more, but they don't trust that
person.
Mike (10:07):
Are you guys going out to the homes, or are you also
making offers on the phone?
Cody (10:13):
Yeah, it's, it's in between.
Um, in 2021, we ended up, um,doubling our productivity by
sending out somebody to go takepictures for us.
And then we would just negotiateand talk over the phone.
Um, but when things are slowingdown, we got back out on the
field to go out there, to talkwith sellers.
Uh, but it's still a mix rightnow.
Um, some houses I don't go toand see some, I go sit in the
(10:36):
living room and have aconversation with an hour for,
with a seller.
Um, that's a good question.
I mean, it's at the end of theday, it's a numbers game and,
uh, I don't want to wastepeople's time on waste hours,
(10:58):
but also I want to disqualifytoo soon either, and so it
really just depends on the onesthat we go out to.
Um, what the situation is forthe seller, how much they owe,
um, if they owe too much now,I'll talk to him about doing a
subject to, and just taking overthe loan.
And usually what I'll do isexplain why, um, why it's too
(11:18):
much for us as a flipper, buthere's what your options are as
a seller.
If you're wanting to maybe do ityourself and go on the market.
Um, so our goal is, you know,we're not trying to get anybody.
Our goal is to provide value.
Along the way and understandingthat everybody is not the best
fit for us.
And we're not everybody's bestfit either.
Mike (11:35):
Yeah.
What were some other challengesthat you faced along the way of
scaling the business?
Hmm.
Hmm.
Cody (11:46):
Other challenges we face, uh, the challenges we face is
you get people coming inoffering retail price for home.
That's that's as is at a lowerprice.
And so trying to combat that inthe competition is a challenge
in itself.
And that's something that westill face every day is, you
(12:09):
know, a seller wants to beoffered 120 on their house from,
or they want 120 and people aregiving that all day long, but
then not fulfilling on thecontract.
And so it hurts the reputationof people like us who are doing
it right.
And are explaining to thesettlers the value of their
house.
Yeah, you can get this, but youhave to go through that to get
this.
Mike (12:30):
Hmm.
Gotcha.
I mean, how do you, like, whatelse have you done to kind of
handle that issue and overcomeit?
Cody (12:41):
Get better at speaking.
Um, at the end of the day, wehave a website that brings in a
lot of leads.
And we've been able to get on TVand be on commercials.
So that's helped with localidentification.
Um, so essentially just being,being a character in the
marketplace that's providingvalue, I think will go a long
(13:03):
way versus just trying to be,uh, the skilled salesman and
superior in that way whereyou're trying to get somebody.
Um, because I've been in theday, you know, I may go on five
appointments a week and maybeonly get one or two.
Now, I'm not a fit for everybodyand they know that going into
it.
So it's really just beingtransparent.
(13:24):
Um, and I think a lot of peoplecan, um, identify trust with
that.
Mike (13:30):
What does your team look like at this point?
Cody (13:34):
Um, I'm a lean team.
I like to keep it lean.
Uh, I have, uh, one junioracquisition guy and I have a VA,
uh, in Bangladesh and he doesall of the admin office kind of
work.
Um, and then I have a coldcaller who just calls on areas
that we'd like to buy in andinitiates the conversation.
(13:55):
And then I have a propertymanager.
So, um, really a team of four,maybe five.
Um, that's pretty much it.
Uh, I don't want to get too bigand overhead on labor.
Uh, I'd rather find strategicpartners and, and do maybe
bigger deals like landdevelopment, um, is, is what I'm
(14:16):
after right now.
Mike (14:18):
And, uh, the property manager is because you've kept a
lot, a good amount of these asrentals throughout the business
Cody (14:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we, we cherry pick the bestdeals, um, and, and keep for us
and we'll flip it or keep it asrental property.
Um, and so ultimately I want tobuild in house property
management and continue to builda portfolio, uh, of homes that
we self manage.
Mike (14:46):
Gotcha.
What made you decide to do themanagement in house versus
getting like a third party to dothat?
Cody (14:54):
Control, um, control and influence.
Um, we're big on communicationand tenants like communication.
Uh, I would speculate they, theywant to know that their, their
requests are being taken careof.
And so having a third partytitle or a property management
company, I mean, they're justnot going to take the same care
(15:16):
that you would as a manager.
Um, of your own portfolio.
So really just the control andability to influence and cast
down the, uh, kind of the Chickfil A model, just the quality, I
guess.
Mike (15:30):
Yeah, fair enough.
Um, and then.
With the team of that, like, howdo you handle construction?
is that
Cody (15:41):
Um, that's me, um, having a good contractor.
Um, I mean, at the end of theday, all businesses, uh, is.
Coordination and a production ofcoordination and communication.
And so I don't necessarily haveto be at the property all the
(16:02):
time to check up on it.
I can request pictures.
Um, I can also stop in afterhours.
Um, so flipping a house is nottoo time consuming for us.
Um, our contractors know whatwe're looking for, what we're up
to.
It's just one walk through onthe front end to point out what
we're going to do with thishouse.
And that's it.
(16:23):
So it's really more of thepractices that we've set up in
place to double thatproductivity there.
Mike (16:30):
Yeah, what kind of practices, um, have has allowed
you to kind of double thatproductivity besides the one you
obviously mentioned before?
Cody (16:40):
Well, it's just the, uh, the communication of, of having
pictures, uh, setting lock boxeson the property so that you're
not having to physically go overthere each time.
That's a practice.
Um, communicating, sendingpictures, having a standard of
what you're going to do to eachproperty, this color paint.
Um, these floors, this kitchen,this bath.
(17:00):
So just having a standardoperation, um, just, uh, I mean,
it allows for more freedom andflexibility on the backend when
it comes time to managing it.
Mike (17:10):
Yeah, and how were you able to because I know it's a
struggle, um, for some people,you know, we've also been pretty
fortunate as well that we'vealways had great contractors,
but I'm curious how you wentabout finding your great
contractors.
Cody (17:24):
Yeah, there, uh, some will come to us just from our, our
identity and then others we'vereached out to.
Um, but for the most part, um,I'm, I'm always looking to add
talent to the team.
Um, so let me backtrack.
You had asked, you know, whatdoes your team look like?
Um, one of my sales guy, Jack,he, I met him in Uber.
(17:45):
He was my Uber driver.
Um, and we just kicked it offand started talking and he had
just graduated college andworking at an insurance company
for commission only.
So I knew that I could at leastcompete with that offer and, you
know, do some kind of salaryplus commission.
And so with Jack, uh, it'salways identifying and looking
(18:06):
out for talent where you can seeit and then bring on board.
Because ultimately I want a leanteam.
And more so have strategicpartners in different domains to
where I'm partnering up largertransactions versus just having
a Huge overhead of staff.
Mike (18:22):
Yeah.
How did you know that he wouldbe a good sales guy when you
were, when he was your Uberdriver?
Cody (18:29):
Yeah, that's good The fact that he was able to take a
position out of college oncommission only without a base
Shows me that he was willing togo get it.
I mean, I mean, that, that, thatshould say a lot on somebody
that's willing to go get thatcommission only job, um, versus
having base and he could talkwell.
He was articulate.
(18:49):
And so it was just, uh, onething led to another
Mike (18:56):
Um, and then you were saying you kind of cherry pick
the, you know, the rentals andflips you guys want to do.
And, you know, I'm guessing it,is it wholesale the rest for the
most part or
Cody (19:10):
wholesale, no bait, buy and hold flip.
Yeah.
Mike (19:15):
gotcha?
What makes you decide to keep aproperty as a rental?
Like, what's your criteria?
Cody (19:22):
Yeah.
I really don't have a setcriteria.
Um, there's two properties thathere I have currently right now
that I was That I'm going to endup keeping.
Um, so it really just depends onthe situation, how much revenue
I have coming in this monthversus how much do I have in the
pipeline.
Um, so there's no one setstandard as to like, I don't
(19:44):
have a formula or anything thatI use.
It's more of a, where am I attoday and what's in the
pipeline?
Mike (19:51):
Yeah, and then you were talking before about, you know,
some marketing stuff like youdo, um, you know, if you got
your website that you built up alot, uh, you're doing some stuff
on TV, like you want to talk alittle bit more in detail
because I mean, you're, I mean,you've done.
300 plus deals.
I mean, that's, you know, youmust have done quite a bit of
marketing to bring in all thoseleads.
Cody (20:14):
Yeah.
Um, uh, I guess what's yourquestion around that?
You just want me to expand onthe inbound.
Mike (20:22):
Yeah.
Like, you know, everyone's kindof got a different approach to
it.
Um, you know, why did you decideto go with the channels you did?
And like, maybe how did you, howhas that shifted over the course
of your business?
Cody (20:35):
Yeah.
So the channels, you know, inmarketing, you have inbound and
outbound and we've realized thatinbound is a more lower cost way
of time and energy versus goingout and trying to reach people
who.
May not even be a market foryour offer.
Um, so focusing on inbound hasallowed us to increase our time
(20:58):
that we have to then go createnew offers or design new
practices to be in.
Uh, so inbound, we've, westarted out outbound, uh, cold
call texts, you know, all that,um, but as we grown, we've
positioned to more inbound only.
So we're now we're building upan identity marketing, um, to
where we have people come intous.
(21:19):
And for me, I would rather workwith somebody that's, um, has
sought us out to seek us outwith situation they're in to
sort for us to help solve theirproblem, um, versus going call
and following up people who maybe interested.
Mike (21:40):
Um, You mentioned there, like, you know, you've kind of
created this identity.
You want to expand a little bitmore on that?
Cody (21:48):
Yeah.
I mean, you know, you you'veheard the saying in business,
people do business with peoplethey know, like and trust.
And I think trust is a factor ina lot of transactions.
I mean, you had asked somethingearlier I was going to hit on,
uh, like one thing, one questionwe ask sellers is like, how
would you know you're workingwith the right buyer?
How would you know you'reworking with the right party?
(22:10):
Um, because this person may beoffering you 20, 000 more, have
they even seen the property?
Are they out of state?
Do you trust them?
How come?
And so trust is, is a big factorknowing for me, but that's.
I don't want to have to lookover my shoulder at the end of
the night to realize, and, um, Iwant to make do right by
everybody and to everyone sothat I can sleep at night.
(22:33):
And so just building up thattrust and identity, just, it
goes a long way and it helps mewhen I'm the one negotiating or
talking with the seller.
Um, to have that identity withthem so that I'm not going
against the grain, I guess,against, to make it harder for
me.
Um, and, and it's okay.
(22:54):
It's, we're okay.
Not having a deal so long that Ican help you and provide you
options and expose you differentways to go about this.
Then we're good.
Um, you know, I understand thatI'm not going to get every deal,
but at the end of the day, youknow, we're a for profit
enterprise.
And at that same token, we alsoprovide superior help.
(23:15):
Now, not everybody needs ourhelp.
And there's also people outthere who don't even know our
help exists.
So at the end of the day, if Ican continue to build an
identity, those people may startto know us or our services will
sell themselves.
Mike (23:32):
Yeah.
And what like strategies haveyou used to create and build up
that identity for your brand?
Cody (23:42):
Uh, accomplishments first, um, in order to have some sort
of trust, uh, one must produceaccomplishments.
Like you don't go to yourdoctor.
And do a hip surgery.
If your doctor hadn't beenthrough doctor school, same with
flying a plane, you don't get ona plane if, uh, if the pilot
hasn't passes piloting license.
(24:04):
I don't know, but, um, so the,the trust comes through
accomplishments and ouraccomplishments have allowed us
to build that identity toshowcase like, Hey, we can, we
know how to think and act inthis capacity, in this
situation, uh, we can do this.
Mike (24:23):
And when you say accomplishments, that means like
homes bought or is that like,you know, awards won or, you
know, local, like what do youmean specifically?
Cody (24:34):
Yeah, I mean, that's good accomplishments just I guess the
the number of people we've beenable to help out of a situation
that they Find our offersuperior.
Mike (24:43):
Hmm.
Gotcha.
And then how do you, how do youuse that to kind of like brand
for like the future so that youkind of get more people coming
your way if you, if you guyshave done that,
Cody (24:56):
Yeah, I haven't really done that to Satisfactory, I'd
like to do more of it
Mike (25:01):
yeah.
Cody (25:02):
but it more so just highlighting case studies to
scenario situations like sellersthat we work with in the past
and providing a case study toshow what happened here and
Mike (25:16):
Gotcha, okay.
And then does that like, doesany of that kind of tie into
your marketing in terms ofbuilding your brand?
Are you doing any stuff aroundthat or
Cody (25:27):
Um, you know, I'm a one, kind of a one man show pretty
lean.
So I haven't had the time tobuild that out as much as I
would like to.
Um,
Mike (25:38):
Yeah.
Cody (25:39):
yeah,
Mike (25:40):
It sounds like you guys have done pretty well and I took
a look at your website for theshow.
It sounds like you guys dofairly well in driving traffic
to your, to your website for
Cody (25:49):
yeah.
Mike (25:51):
That's something that people, it's been a while since
we talked about on the show withsomeone.
But how have you guys goneabout, you know, getting your
website ranked and being ableto, you know, drive a lot of
traffic and leads through that?
Cody (26:04):
Yeah.
It's, it's just having a reallygood digital marketer guy that
knows what he's doing or gal.
Um, we're fortunate to have JoshEverly at data point.
He's been a family friend ofours, um, since we started.
And so when we started this, westarted with PVC and SEO.
As our main channel, um, andthen venture it out.
(26:26):
And so we've had time on theclock.
Like it takes time to grow yourSEO.
Um, I mean, we've been doing itfor, since 2019 now.
So four or five years, we'vebeen doing content articles,
adding, uh, uh, DR links withhigher DR rankings to our
website.
So it's just a little tacticsthat he knows what to do.
(26:47):
But it's just hiring somebodyand that expertise,
Mike (26:51):
Gotcha.
For the listeners who maybedon't know what a DR link is,
can you explain what that is?
Cody (26:57):
just a domain authority, um, like Google or Amazon or
like Facebook or rocketmortgage, they might have a
higher ranking, uh, authority.
So when the Google rather, uh,algorithm notices, Oh, you got a
link back from right.
The mortgage.
Oh, you must be trustworthy.
And so we're getting crediblelinks built up, um, uh, that,
(27:20):
that like I'll link back to ourwebsite.
Mike (27:25):
Gotcha.
Okay.
What's your vision for thebusiness for the next three
years?
Cody (27:33):
Um, right now I'm going through a land development.
Uh, we're building asubdivision.
And so, uh, what I'm after isdoing less for more.
Yeah.
So, um, less for more, um, uh,with us creating a more of
inbound company, I see ourselvesgoing into the commercial land
(27:53):
development space whilecontinuing to keep afloat or
keep active.
The current leads come to us.
And helping out where we can.
Um, but ultimately what I wantto do is, is build a portfolio,
um, have it free and clear and,and earn a lot of active income
through various projects.
Mike (28:13):
Gotcha.
You want to talk a little bit,how that deal came together, the
deal that you're working onright now?
Cody (28:20):
Yeah.
So, uh, I'm in a mastermindcalled collect the genius and
there's some guys in there whoare doing land stuff.
And so I've been, um, privy or,or interested in looking into,
Oh, you know, what are theydoing?
And so, uh, I had lunch with agentleman who.
Is well accomplished here inLittle Rock.
And he said, Hey, you need totarget these areas, um, for,
(28:41):
for, to, to build subdivisionsand houses.
And so I just sent out lettersto people in that area and got a
call back.
Um, so I just applied the samefundamentals of what I do in
single family and just copy andpasted that to another domain,
which is land.
And so I was just marketing topeople with 10 to a hundred
acres.
(29:01):
Um, and so, uh, through the CGnetwork, I was able to acquire
knowledge around, you know, howto back into the numbers and
understand lot costs anddevelopment costs per lot.
And we're able to get 12 acresunder contract.
We're going to develop 30 lotsand sell to a DR Hort.
Mike (29:23):
Wow.
Okay.
Gotcha.
So where are you?
And I'm not that familiar withland development.
Like, where are you in thatprocess currently?
Cody (29:32):
So we've gone through the preliminary approval process
with the city, um, and, and thecontract is contingent upon
getting approved by the city andalso getting an LOI by the in,
uh, the in builder, D.
R.
Horton.
Um, so we purchased the landcome November 1st, but we've
already got a plat drawn and acity approval process for the
(29:52):
plat, which is the 30 lots andwhere they're situated on the
land.
Um, and so once we're good withthat.
We'll buy the land and thenstart the development side.
Mike (30:04):
Gotcha.
So when you say start thedevelopment side, what like
specifically happens once youget to that stage?
Cody (30:12):
So we got to clear out the land, uh, make it level, flat,
bring in the utilities, thewater, the sewer, um,
infrastructure, sidewalks,gutters, roadways, um, so
basically getting it shovelready for the builder to come in
and build.
And, you know, for the longest,uh, I'm, I'm still new to this
as well, I'm learning the insand outs, but for the longest,
(30:34):
You know, I didn't realize thatthere was a distinction between
a developer and a builder.
The developer is the one whotears up the dirt and brings in
the infrastructure.
And the builder is the one whobuilds vertical.
Mike (30:49):
Gotcha.
So you guys are going to take itall the way through the
horizontal construction stage,but you already have like a, uh,
now a wire, maybe something evenmore serious in place from the
builder.
So you kind of know you're goodon it
Cody (31:05):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So all we're basically doing isfulfilling on it.
Uh, we'll come in and fulfill onthe work to bring in the
subdivision, to bring it about,and then they come in and build.
So we've got an LOI in place andwhat that does is help the bank.
So when we go raise money or goget debt on this.
It shows a promising, um,builder to back us up, I guess,
(31:29):
to the banks.
Mike (31:30):
Yeah, that was going to be my next question.
Is there a way to raise money,you know, with banks for that
type of, uh, that type of deal?
Cody (31:38):
Yeah.
Mike (31:40):
interesting.
Gotcha.
Um, what made you explore,explore that route?
Cody (31:46):
Well, you know, um, I'm after doubling my income.
And so in order to double myincome, uh, I must change the
practices that I'm in and theoffers I make and the help that
I provide.
And so that was an effort toincrease, uh, what I'm after is
more for less.
(32:07):
Um, we've done a hundred plusdeals in a year, and I would
like to, to not do that type ofvolume.
I'd rather do 10 to 20 deals ayear, but make those really big
deals.
Mike (32:21):
what are the challenges that come with, with doing that
type of volume, 100 plus deals ayear?
Cody (32:27):
Uh, a lot of emotional wear and tear.
Uh, I'm sure you experiencedthis.
And if you're closing deals, youknow, you get to the week
closing.
There's just a lot of, um, ohnoes and what ifs and, and
things that could happen.
And it's just a lot of stressand a lot of emotional wear and
tear on your body.
Uh, to go through something likethat when you're doing, you
(32:48):
know, 20, 30 deals a month.
Mike (32:51):
Yeah.
Gotcha.
Um, and then.
You know, obviously things haveshifted a lot.
I mean, I don't know yourmarket, but things have shifted
certainly a lot here and call itthe last 20 months or so.
What have you changed in yourbusiness?
If things have shifted in yourmarket?
Cody (33:11):
Um, that's good.
I mean, it's shifted and whereit shifted is the activity of,
um, uh, buyers buying.
So, it's easy to buy a houseright now, but it's harder to
sell a house.
So, what shifted is, well, Um,I've, I've got to stay to the
(33:32):
fundamentals and, and thefundamental is so long that you
buy the house right on the frontend, um, then there's multiple
exits on the back end.
And so understanding and, andeven conversating with sellers,
like, Hey, we're, we're not inthat kind of market now, um,
prices are going down, not up.
And so I usually bring anexample to what I'm facing on
(33:53):
the market.
I'm, you know, I have fivehouses listed on each week.
I'm having to decrease theprice.
And, and I'm just bringing thatforth that narrative forth for
them to listen to, um, to hearlike, Hey, like you can let this
sit, but prices are going downand up.
And so what we've done just tocombat that is just get better
prices on the front end.
Mike (34:13):
What has changed on like, The wholesale disposition side
for you guys.
Cody (34:21):
Nothing really.
Um, I don't really marketproperties.
I don't, um, I don't paradepeople through.
I have, uh, maybe two or threeinvestors I work with and I'm
one of them.
Um, so I essentially wholesalemyself the product or the
property.
Um, and if I don't, uh, then Isell it to one or two other
(34:45):
investors or a hedge fund.
Um, so I really don't work witha lot of buyers.
It's more so me and a few otherpeople.
Mike (34:54):
Gotcha.
What, um, you know, causethere's people who are the total
opposite of that.
All right.
What, what made you decide tokind of take that approach
versus having a million buyersand
Cody (35:07):
Yeah, it's the cost.
It's the cost of the time,energy and bandwidth and now
structure.
Now I have to have somebody onthat, in that role and that seat
to now go after people withneedles in the haystack to maybe
make 5, 000 and it's just notworth it.
Like, um, we realized that themore quality, quality eats
(35:31):
quantity.
Um, and so that's something thatI just made up, but it's, it's
kind of where business missionis.
We want to have qualityproperties, quality product,
quality people, whether that'ssellers, buyers, investors,
whoever.
And, um, I forgot where I wasgoing with that.
Uh, yeah.
Mike (35:55):
Oh, we're talking about, you know, having a million, you
know, a million buyers on yourlist
Cody (35:59):
Oh yeah.
The cost.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I'll tell you something onthat, you know, being a Little
Rock, uh, for some reason,whoever selling all these
courses on YouTube and whatnot,and they're bringing up Little
Rock, we have an influx of newwholesalers coming in.
It's easy to get propertieslocked up, but it's hard to
sell.
(36:19):
And so these people areexhausting all their resources,
their time, the energy, theirefforts to sell a property they
can't sell.
Mike (36:28):
Yeah, gotcha.
And you said, um, you mentionedlike you also sell some stuff to
hedge funds.
Are they still kind of activein, in little rocker?
Gotcha.
Cody (36:45):
Um, so that, that hadn't changed.
The retail market is the onlything that slowed down is the
retail activity and buyers onthat side.
Mike (36:57):
Besides obviously getting the homes at a better price.
Are you changing anything?
Um, You know, on the sellingside or construction side to
help those homes sell betterbesides just pricing them more
aggressively.
Cody (37:09):
Yeah, making them a little nicer.
Um, instead of just doing paintand floors, now you might redo
the kitchen and bathroom, addsome granite countertops, and do
different pools, um, fixtures,I'm doing that, fans, lights,
um, so I think you're justgetting it at a better price,
um, better quality and sell fora lesser price.
Mike (37:31):
Gotcha, makes sense.
Um, I've noticed something thatyou said.
It's kind of been like a themethroughout the call is like, you
seem to be very conscious ofkind of the effort that you're
putting into different things.
Like, you said a few times,like, you know, that's kind of
why you shifted to inbound andyou were talking about also on
the disposition side.
(37:52):
Like, you know, that's a lot oflike, energy, right?
If you do it that way, I, I'mcurious, like, how, how did you,
I guess, like, how did thatbecome a theme and kind of what
you do?
Cody (38:04):
Yeah, uh, that's good.
Good question.
I mean, for us, it's Beingintentional, um, business is an,
an avenue to create money.
And we, we know growing up that,Oh, money's not everything.
Well, it also pays for our, ourbills and, and future.
Um, so money is something, butI'll agree.
(38:27):
It's not everything.
And so for me, I want to have alifestyle and have, uh, the
space and the time to create, todesign, to build, to give back,
to be a father, to be a husbandand a family guy.
And so for me, it's just, um, itcould be lazy.
It could be strategic.
(38:48):
Um, but I think it's a blend ofboth.
And it's both being lazy andbeing strategic at the same time
to create, uh, uh, an income,uh, at a low cost.
Mike (39:01):
Have you always had that mindset of kind of being very
conscious of like, kind of whereyou put your energy or was there
a point in your life or careerthat made they made you make
that shift?
Cody (39:14):
Yeah.
So I'm, I'm involved, uh, notonly in my with CG, I'm also
involved in another discoursecalled Aji and Aji is more
around business fundamentals.
And what that's done is orientand kind of reshape how I think
and act.
And it's allowed me to see, Um,where I can design by intention.
(39:35):
And, and not just react to theday to day and what everybody
else is doing.
Mike (39:41):
Cool.
When did you, when did you getinvolved in that?
Cody (39:44):
Uh, 2020.
So, uh, I met a guy at a pokertable in Vegas at new year's
and, uh, he was, it was like, Ihad stayed up all night.
We, we left the party, the club,whatever.
Uh, and I went to go play pokerat 1 a.
m.
And so I started at 1 a.
m.
The guy that I met, he was justwaking up at 6 a.
(40:05):
m.
to come down to, to, to play.
And, um, so we met up with himthe next morning for coffee and
just talked to him.
And he said, Hey, you shouldlook into this.
And this was Aji.
And at the time, you know, wedidn't know this guy.
We didn't know his, hiscredentials, accomplishments or
whatever.
I just met him at the pokertable.
(40:26):
And so he said, look into this.
Well, we didn't, you know, hewas going to look into that.
We don't know him.
Two, three months later, wechecked in with him.
He said, Hey, did you look intoit?
No.
Well, now that he's brought itup again, okay, maybe we can
look into it.
Don't mean we have to doanything.
Um, and so we, we did, we lookedinto it and we bought it and
(40:46):
it's like another course, uh, in2020.
And so their claim is doubleyour productivity value and
income.
And so, um, in order to double.
Well, you can't be in the samepractice you're in last year.
If you're earning say a milliondollars in order to earn 2
million, you, you, you justcannot be in the same practice
(41:07):
there.
You something's got to changeyour networks, knowledge,
effort, the practices thatyou're in strategies.
And so orienting that around howwe operate in the business has
helped us be more intentional,
Mike (41:23):
What are some things you changed after you kind of went
through that, that program?
What were some of the firstthings?
Cody (41:30):
uh, noticing, really just noticing where we're at and what
we're up to.
And, and one of the big thingswas on productivity side was
sending out somebody else to goon property visits for us
instead of ourself.
Um, because we knew if we'regoing out to properties and
we're losing time on the salesfloor, we're calling new
prospects.
(41:53):
Uh, so that was one thing thatchanged.
It's really just an orientation,uh, a way to see things
differently.
Mike (42:01):
Yeah, gotcha.
Well, uh, we're getting close tothe end here and there's always
two questions I like to ask atthe end of the show.
The first one is, uh, what isthe craziest or most
uncomfortable situation that youhave ever experienced in a real
estate deal?
Cody (42:22):
I was on the phone with, uh, I was on, on, uh, with some
partners and it was, um.
A phone call and I pulled up tomy rental property that's
supposed to be vacant.
The tenants had just left andthere's a guy standing at the
door.
And so I'm like, Oh dang, whatis this?
What's going on?
I kind of freak out a littlebit.
(42:42):
I put my phone on mute, youknow, I'm on a conference call
and they're all wondering whereI, where I went to.
And here I am talking to thishomeless guy that had broke in
and is now squatting or likeliving there, um, on an air
mattress.
Well, um, long story short, Iended up giving him some money
to take care of himself to likeget some food and whatever, but
(43:04):
he needed to be out by Monday.
Um, and so.
I was just, uh, for me it wasjust nerve wracking to know,
like, I'm in this house, I couldbe str, stranded or trapped.
And, and I don't know who's allin this house, but he, he showed
me, Hey, I'm just sleeping backhere.
Here's my mattress.
Whatever, whatever.
Um, and that's not super crazy.
(43:25):
I'm trying to think of anotherstory.
I, I'm not a, I a Hollywood filmwriter, so I don't, I don't have
the, the drama.
But, um, just dealing withsquatters is really the biggest,
I guess, hassle.
We've, we've come across.
Mike (43:39):
Yeah, we've run into that quite a bit, gotcha.
And a second question I alwayslike to ask is, uh, if you could
go back in time and giveyourself one piece of advice
when you were looking for thatfirst real estate deal, knowing
what you know now, what wouldyou tell yourself?
Cody (44:00):
Um, I'm big on networks and knowledge.
Um, I know I look back on my owncareer and, and just see like,
you know, what, what would ithave been like if we didn't buy
that course?
If I didn't buy that course,where would I be?
Because that was really theultimate starter package like
the trigger point to startBecause I mean who spends 17,
(44:21):
000 18, 000 or something andthen not act on it Now you're
just sitting on a lot of debt.
So Luckily, we had to act onsomething and so for me starting
over again It's like just go outthere and act you're going to
get in your head about why youcan't do x y and z And the
moment you start talking toother players in the game You
(44:41):
You begin to couple to theirnarratives, their knowledge,
their networks, their privatemoney lenders, their
contractors.
So get out there and show up andfor us that that's what I would
recommend to myself startingover.
Is where all can I show up andhow often?
Mike (44:59):
I think that's a great piece of advice.
Um, Cody, if people want toleave, reach out to you after
the show, um, if they have anyquestions or maybe they got a
property they want to sell you,uh, how can they go about doing
that?
Cody (45:13):
Um, you know, I am a mom and pop kind of guy.
Just holler at me on my phone.
501 580 3035.
Shoot me a text, call, whatever.
Um, we can talk.
Mike (45:26):
Awesome.
Cool, man.
Well, thanks for being on theshow.
Cody (45:30):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Thanks, Mike.
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