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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ed Mathews (00:28):
Greetings and salutations, Real Estate
Undergrounders.
It is Ed Mathews with the RealEstate Underground.
Thank you so much for making usa part of your day.
With me today is Carl Christianof the Nice Agent Company, as
well as Nice Property Management.
We're going to talk about allof it above.
Based down in Florida, he's inPembroke Pines, which is
actually one of my favoriteplaces on earth.
Carl, welcome to the show.
(00:49):
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Carl Christian (00:53):
Thank you again for everybody that's listening
to us.
I cannot wait so we can learnfrom each other, because that's
what we do here, Carl, for thosefolks who haven't discovered
you yet.
Ed Mathews (01:04):
why don't you tell us a little bit about who you
are and your background.
Carl Christian (01:06):
I am from Haiti Originally.
I came in this country inAugust 2000, so almost 25 years,
and the story started with me,of course, getting into
university.
I went to FIU and then, fromthere, somebody told me why
don't you do estate?
And I'm like, no, I'm not doingreal estate because I don't
like to sell things.
And then wait for commission.
(01:26):
He's like, why don't you do it?
And then he said why don't youcall my brother-in-law?
And then he will actually teachyou real estate.
I'm like, whatever you say, man.
And then he got me with thebrother-in-law and then, before
you know it, here I am 20 yearslater doing nothing, but this I
always in my book, because Ihold a book.
I have a whole chapter abouthim to say thank you because
(01:47):
he's no longer with us today.
But everything that I'veachieved was just because of
that one conversation.
Ed Mathews (01:53):
Isn't it amazing that it can be just that one
inflection point.
I was confronted by a realestate agent because I was
wasting her time Amy Rio and Itell this story all the time,
but I'll tell you the shortversion so she brought me around
.
I read Rich Dad, poor Dad, inlike 2008,.
And it took me three years toratchet up the courage and
actually do the deal right andget one done.
And I met this very generousreal estate agent.
(02:17):
Her name's Amy Rio.
She's gigantic now, but backthen she was a teeny tiny.
She probably had four or fiveagents at that point, and so she
brought me around to 20, 25different properties.
She finally, after the 24thproperty, brought me to this one
property on Clark Street, eastHartford, connecticut, and I
walked around and I was findingevery excuse I could think of
(02:39):
not buy, and it all boiled downto the fact that I was terrified
.
She finally took out a pen andput a contract on the hood of my
truck when I started makingexcuses and she said sign this
contract or never call me again.
And that was in January of 2011or maybe December of 2010.
So I'm like, oh, more than afoot taller than that.
(02:59):
She stared the living daylightsout at me, and at that moment I
was more afraid of Amy Rio thanI was of actually
responsibility for a property,and so I signed the contract.
So it's amazing, just that onething can launch you into
something amazing.
Carl Christian (03:15):
My very first property was the same thing.
I went to the agent of theoffice, went to show it to
someone and he came back and hewas like Carl, you need to buy
this house.
I'm a realtor and I wassuccessful.
But I'm going to tell everybodyI have never bought a house yet
and I'm like draw the contract.
I never seen the house.
He draw the contract.
I signed.
We went to the bank.
Everything is going on.
(03:35):
I still haven't seen the house.
We closed.
I still haven't see the house.
And then I opened the door andI'm like my God, what did I buy?
And, of course, great, I'm in,everything is good.
And I'm going to tell you thestory and that's what I want all
(03:55):
the listeners to understandthat little thing in your heart
that makes you scared.
It's actually mean.
This is what you need to do.
So I got in that house, startedworking on it, gutted it out,
do all those kinds of things andthe market crashed a year and a
half later.
That property I bought it for370 and it was worth 190 in 2009
(04:15):
or 2010.
Today, that property is worth$850,000 and I don't want to
sell.
Why would you?
So I tell everybody is takethat action.
Take it, just trust your guts,always analyze that you're not
going to put yourself intothings that you should not be
able to.
We want you to get theknowledge, but when you get that
first step and you're scared,trust in someone like I trust
(04:38):
Amy, I trust my other agent,because one thing that somebody
always told me, which is my dad,and I always remember that
before you believe in yourselves, find that one person that
believe in you and just closeyour eyes and that sometimes you
just have to go for it.
Ed Mathews (04:56):
It is, yeah, sometimes the advice you get you
should actually listen to it.
We'll talk more about thatlater in the show.
It's interesting because we'reentering into a recessionary
period again and opinions varyon what's going on with the
economy and how it's going toaffect housing.
I'm curious down in Florida thestories up here in the
Northeast about what's going ondown there is that you guys are
(05:18):
going through a pretty bumpytime, particularly in the
multifamily world.
But I don't know about thesingle family.
What are you seeing in yourmarket?
Carl Christian (05:23):
Single family.
It's like different spots.
An example I have a propertyI've listed in the same city.
Those properties are probably10 minutes apart from each other
$775,000 sitting on the marketfor three months.
$920,000.
Just received a cash offer for$950,000 in two days.
Just received a cash offer for950 in two days.
(05:44):
It's just like what I'm seeingis what I tell everybody.
It is not a property issueright now.
It's a change of demographic inSouth Florida.
So the money is moving to SouthFlorida.
If you have a very high endproduct, it's going to sell.
But the people that can affordthe 300, 400, 500,000, they
(06:04):
cannot find a property becausethey're too high or they cannot
afford what's on there.
So this is what's going on inthe single families.
There are cities in the singlefamily that are dropping
consistently, like CentralFlorida, because we are also in
Orlando, haines City, a littlebit of Tampa, like Lakeland, all
of those things.
They are dropping fast.
Multifamily.
It's a case by case, the reasonwhy if somebody had a great
(06:27):
loan, they're not interested inselling.
Right, if somebody had thosearm right now, you just find
them and knock on their doorbecause they are struggling,
because what happened is therental market took a dive and
because the rental market took adive, now those guys cannot pay
their interest, free loan, theycannot do all of those things.
And here it is.
They are having a hard time.
(06:48):
I see, like yesterday I found aproperty in Fort Pierce,
$429,000, four units,two-bedroom, one-bath, two-one,
three-one and a one-one, and theROI gross ROI people was 25%.
By the time I call my partnerand then we write it up, it's a
spending sale.
(07:08):
So yeah you have those thingsthat are coming in the market.
Ed Mathews (07:12):
Yeah, and in terms of one of the great things about
being a realtor and I'm not one, actually is that you get
access to a whole bunch of dealsbefore guys like me get to see
them.
It's true, I hear it in yourlap right.
Carl Christian (07:25):
Well, I don't know the reason why I said it's
true.
It's because you see how theytell you a doctor should not
operate on themselves.
It's the same thing when I'm aninvestor and I'm a realtor and
I'll be telling you, ed, it'svery difficult for the investor
of me to take precedence.
It's just like what happened islet's pretend I found a good
deal and I know Ed is on themarket Yep, I will call you
(07:48):
first, and then you say you'regoing to buy it, no problem, why
did I not save this?
My purpose is to help people,so me helping you is so on top
of my list that I become secondall the time and that I lost so
many great deals.
I cannot say I lost because Imade so many good friends,
because I gave it to them.
But yeah, it's a good thing,but also a bad thing.
Ed Mathews (08:11):
Man, if you send me deals that you would buy
yourself, you and I are going tobe very good friends.
So, in terms of the types ofproperties that you like to
focus on and it sounds like it'sa wide array of things, but I'm
curious I started in a singlefamily.
Carl Christian (08:23):
I did great buying properties at the court
auction I was doing good foralmost 10 years.
Percentage was over 20, 30%.
Then it gets saturated becauseeverybody knew Freud was great
at auction.
Now I'm doing the transitioninto multifamily and I feel like
it's about to be better for me.
I think my last move is goingto be sub-auctions.
So my first move is going to bea multi-family.
(08:44):
I'm going to be intomultifamily and I feel like it's
about to be better for me.
I think my last move is goingto be sub-divisions.
So my five-year plan is gettinga few five units, 10 units in
my portfolio and then I'm goingto go to building a subdivision
and then resell.
Ed Mathews (08:57):
Yeah, a good friend of mine, Dave DeVito.
He was telling me about his oldboss at Keller Williams.
Gary Keller was walking aroundin a t-shirt, at least two or
three years ago, that said buydirt right and that is the cue.
Okay, so Keller probably knowswhat he's talking about.
That's when we started to getinto land as well.
It's interesting, a little bitstressful, but the payoff is
(09:18):
wonderful.
Carl Christian (09:18):
I'll tell you the greatest story I know about
dirtzard family down in Miami.
Those guys, they own a lot ofland.
I'm going to tell you whathappened to the
great-grandfather when thingswere happening, the Great
Depression, and people weremoving and buying land to crop
because they wanted to growstuff.
The only thing you could affordwas sand by the beach and
(09:43):
everybody told, like you crazy,why would you buy those things?
Because that doesn't make anysense.
You cannot grow anything, youwill just die because you're not
going to eat.
And he just kept buying themfor cheap.
And today he owns almost a cityon the beach and this is the
family legacy.
So, yeah, you buy dirt man,they are not making anymore.
Ed Mathews (10:04):
In fact, if buy dirt man, they are not making any
more.
In fact, if you buy into globalwarming, they're making less.
So I am curious about insurance, because that's one thing that
has been on everyone's mind.
How is your business affectedby the insurance issues and the
fact that-.
Carl Christian (10:19):
It is hard.
We have a six unit down inMiami.
We're trying to get money outof it right now and we cannot
because for us to get windinsurance we have to go to
Lloyds in London.
That's how crazy that is.
The wind portion is $18,000.
A two-story building, six unitbarely like 10,000 per feet and
(10:41):
you're paying like almost twogrand a month just for wind
insurance and you still have tocarry hazard and fraud.
So at the end of the day,almost two units are paying just
for insurance.
Does that make sense?
So yeah, we are struggling alittle bit, but on the single
family side I see it likemoderating a little bit.
Before it was crazy, but nowit's getting back to a little
(11:03):
bit of normal becauseeverybody's doing their roof,
everybody's doing their windowsand stuff.
But on a multifamily it's hard.
Man, if you're buying two,three stories building, you're
in trouble 18,000 just for one.
Ed Mathews (11:14):
Yeah, $2,000 on a six unit.
Carl Christian (11:17):
My advice to everybody is stomach the pain.
We've been there.
I don't know if it's because Isurvived 2008.
Stomach the pain Sooner orlater something great will
happen.
It's just the way it is.
I'll tell you my personal story.
For the past two weeks, thingshave been going crazy.
I have a property that the cityhave a lien on.
We're trying to fight the city.
All of my money is in thatproperty and now I don't know
(11:39):
what to do.
I'm stressed and then yesterdaysome other agents create
something bad and then I'm likeeverything is going crazy.
Boom.
This morning I woke up, the CDOapproved the lien.
Amnesty, the agent situationgot resolved.
So stomach the pain.
This is where you lean on yourfriends.
You lean on good people like Ed, call people, send in emails,
(12:00):
text messages.
We I cannot say we, but there'sa lot of people that have been
through what you're goingthrough or been through worse?
Ed Mathews (12:09):
Yeah, for sure.
I find that is so true, right?
Is that?
The people around you,especially people that have been
like I, liken real estateinvesting to reading a book I'm
a few chapters ahead of somebodyelse, but we're all reading the
same book, right?
And the fact is that I relyheavily on people who've been
doing this, who are A smarterthan me and B have been doing it
(12:32):
longer, to go.
Okay, this is the problem Ihave.
Have you seen this before anddo I survive this?
And invariably they say, yeah,this too shall pass and take a
breath, and you need somecapitals.
We'll figure that out, butother than that, it's going to
be okay.
A lot of people survived 2008.
A lot of people survived 1991.
(12:54):
A lot of people survived 88 andso on and so forth and the
things that and it's acolloquialism, but it's true and
that is the best time to buyreal estate was 10 years ago,
but the best time is right now,and the whole blood in the
streets metaphor is true right,when people are scared and they
(13:14):
start running, that is wheninvestors make a lot of money.
And so you just have to be alittle bit pragmatic and you
have to be disciplined, and soyou just have to be a little bit
pragmatic and you have to bedisciplined, but if you find the
right assets and you have along-term view, you can weather
just about everything.
(13:35):
Okay, let's get into thelightning round.
I'm always curious aboutleaders and how their minds work
and all that from a purposeperspective.
Obviously, carl, you're a verysuccessful professional in the
real estate world and I'm surethe mortgage is paid and the
bills are paid and the kidscollege is paid for and all that
, but you still get up in themorning on Monday.
I'm curious about what drivesyou.
What's your purpose?
Carl Christian (13:54):
I have a saying that if I go across somebody's
life, even if that person haveto leave me, they have to leave
with more than they came in with.
So every morning I wake up iswho can I impact?
Yeah, and I try my hardest manto do that help someone find
(14:14):
someone that needs somethingthat I can delegate.
It is a very hard job foranybody that is in that mindset
because they know sometimes youget flop around because of it.
But I'll be honest with you.
I'll tell you why I do what Ido and I'm going to play
something that just happenedthis morning actually, and I
think people would understandwhat it means.
(14:35):
Like if somebody can hear this.
I'm working up to a time now.
So happy I did it.
I'm really, really happy.
I thank the Lord.
Ed Mathews (14:42):
Jesus is putting this amazing right in your head
for me, for my family.
Carl Christian (14:50):
I thank you.
God bless you and your work.
So this property that we had,we were going to flip, and that
lady happened to be one of myagents.
She never bought a property inher life, she doesn't make any
money, she's not doing reallygood and I said you know what?
This is?
All yours Do it.
And this morning, finally, shegot approved for the mortgage.
(15:10):
Everything is good.
And this is what I wake up forevery single that's amazing and
congratulations on your successand helping people.
Ed Mathews (15:19):
Obviously, your parents brought you up right,
but I'm always curious aboutmentors, whether they be your
parents or just people that youmet in your travels.
Carl Christian (15:29):
I'm curious about the best advice you ever
got and who gave it to youbelieve it or not, everybody is
a mentor for me, from the peoplethat brought me up my dad, my
mom, brother, sister, my firstbroker, brad Capuzzo.
But the best advice I got wasdoing one of my podcasts.
I was interviewing somebody andhis name is James and he said I
(15:53):
tried every day to be theperson that I needed 20 years
ago.
That is like just close youreyes and think 20 years ago what
you knew.
Then the person that you werelooking for in that person did
not show up.
There's somebody right now inthat same position.
Just be that person for them.
And now you're thinking likeman, if I had met this guy 20
(16:16):
years ago and this guy couldhelp me buy a house, where would
I be today?
Right, and that's the advicethat I got, and it was from him.
Ed Mathews (16:23):
Wow, that's profound .
That's really good.
I think we learn from ourmistakes even more than we do
from our successes, and so I'mcurious about professionally
what's the biggest mistake,what's a decision you'd love to
have back, and how did you fixit?
How'd you recover?
Carl Christian (16:41):
I bought a piece of property because I have a
saying in my life Excitementkills deals.
Never do anything while you'reexcited, because being excited
is like being angry or beingloved you don't know what you're
doing.
So I got excited at a piece ofland that was three and a half
acres in the city of Fort Pierceand I pulled the trigger on it.
(17:02):
I paid for the architect, Ipaid for everything to find out,
after spending so much money,that the city does not allow any
subdivision on the five acres.
But that one was the biggestmistake, because I overpaid for
the property.
I paid for all of the plans andstuff.
And how did I recover from itis?
I took the emotion out.
I knew it was the time to getout of it and, with the guy that
(17:26):
came to buy it, I told him likelook, instead of you giving me
the whole money upfront, whydon't I finance half of it and
you can go buy something else?
And he happened to agree.
Ed Mathews (17:37):
Okay, yeah, that's smart.
Again, the long view whatdrives a lot of real estate
success?
Right, that's awesome.
I'm also curious about how yousharpen the saw, so to speak.
What book is on your nightstandor your virtual nightstand,
whether it be an iPhone, android, whatever, and what authors or
creators are you payingattention to?
Carl Christian (17:56):
I read a lot, but right now I cannot remember
the name of the author becausemy coach actually sent me this
book.
It's called Raging Referrals.
It's basically this guy'steaching you a system that he
created.
We do it, but we didn't build asystem out of it, which is the
3-2-1-1 system.
If you wake up every morningand you touch base with three
people that you know everysingle morning talk about your
(18:18):
business, about their life andif you wake up every morning and
you try to put two new peopleinto your database whether it's
the guy when you're pumping gasand you ask him how you're doing
and get his phone number andemail, or whoever it is If you
wake up every morning and youtry to refer one person to a
friend of yours or a businessand you do not go to bed without
getting one referral fromsomeone every day of your life,
(18:41):
and then when I'm reading thebook, I'm still reading it and
I'm doing the math in my head.
Imagine you talk to three peopleevery day and you do this for
300 days.
That's 900.
Imagine that you refer oneperson to a business every day.
You do it for 300.
That's 300 referrals.
You give away the amount ofblack thing that you will get
(19:01):
back.
It's just you can't.
It's bitchiness Like you cannoteven put a price on it.
Yes, that's what I'm readingright now.
Ed Mathews (19:08):
Oh, that's excellent .
Yeah, I just looked it up, it'sBrandon Barnum.
If you help enough people getwhere they want to go, they too,
in turn, will help you getwhere you want to go.
And obviously, man, you'vebuilt one heck of a business,
and congratulations for that.
Carl Christian (19:24):
I'm curious about what success means to you.
How do you define it in yourlife?
People, people.
My business partner right nowon the tax side, because we own
the nice tax company as well.
She used to be an employee ofmine, now she's family.
She owned the business.
The nice property management isbeing run by my wife.
I just actually partnered withsomeone else for the first time.
I sold a part of it.
Alicia is amazing.
(19:44):
She's going to take thisbusiness to a whole different
level.
The nice constructionmanagement it is a high school
made of mine that is running itat, and a nice agent is a high
school mate of mine also.
That is the office manager.
So for me, success is how manypeople can I bring on with me
for the journey, just the way Iam.
Ed Mathews (20:04):
Wow, that's great, and the thing is, though, it is
generous, but it's also smart,right, because entrepreneurial
ADD is a real thing.
I have it right.
The rule I made years ago wasI'm not going to start a company
unless I know the human beingthat's going to be responsible
for it.
Not named me at Matthews, andso that is what helped separate
(20:26):
spreading getting spread toothin versus diversifying and
growing.
Carl Christian (20:30):
Yeah Well, you said that I had one of my agent
in the office.
She's trying to do everything.
So I'm telling her no, youcannot just focus on what we're
sitting and do.
And then she turned it on me.
She was like what about you?
You own all of those businesses.
And I'm like this is the thingthat you, I want you to
understand.
When was the last time youcalled me and say, call, can I
(20:51):
talk to you?
And I said no, I'm busy doingtaxes, the property management I
have no idea where the doorsare.
Like, I do meetings, but Idon't drive the properties.
I do the constructionmanagement.
I barely know which clients wehave.
It's because the truth is, I'mnot doing all of those things.
I'm still leading peoplethrough all those things.
(21:13):
It is doable.
You cannot be that one top shop.
The best book to read tounderstand that is Michael
Gerber, e-myth Revisited.
It will make you understandthat you have to separate the
technician out of you from theentrepreneur you're trying to
become.
Ed Mathews (21:29):
It's very important, and the other book that I'll
point you to is Dan Sullivan'swho, not how.
It's a very similar concept.
It's an excellent book and ittalks about exactly what you're
talking about how to scalewithout totally spreading
yourself too thin.
We've talked about real estatefor a whole bunch of time now.
I could go on for days withthis.
You're a wealth of informationand thank you for that on behalf
(21:51):
of our audience.
But when you're not talkingabout real estate, what do you
like to do?
What's fun?
But when you're not talkingabout real estate, what do you
like to do what's fun?
Carl Christian (21:59):
I'll use the word.
I'm a golfer man, I love golfand then that's what I do.
But to be honest, it's allabout family.
I built a loving foundationaround me, Very close circle and
my daughter.
Every Sunday we go out, we goto different cafes so we can
(22:19):
have breakfast.
I never knew there were so manybreakfast spots in Florida, but
there's a lot.
It is very important to me thatthe people around me are
well-founded, they love, becausemy values are very important
and you're going to see on eachcompany.
Love is actually one of thevalues that we live by.
If you don't love the peopleyou're doing it with and for,
(22:41):
don't be in.
Ed Mathews (22:42):
Yeah, and you live in the right part of the world.
So the reason I know PembrokePines is because of Pembroke
Lakes Golf Course.
My buddy and I used to go thereat least once a year.
All right, man, that's awesome.
So if people want to learn moreabout you or your companies,
what's the best way to get intouch?
Carl Christian (22:59):
If you want to know about me, you can always go
on Amazon and buy my book.
This is the life, the first 40years of my life, the nice life
of Carl Christian.
That would give you the deep,personal part of me.
If you want to know about mybusiness, it's easy to find me
theniceagentcom.
I'm on all social media and Iwant everybody that is listening
(23:20):
.
I'm here for you Doesn't meanyou have to call me because you
want to buy a property, you wantto have an advice, you want me
to tell you how to do something.
I'm a coach by heart.
I will always give myinformation to you, so please do
not hesitate.
You can GoogleTheNiceAgentPembrookPines or
TheNiceAgentCo.
Ed Mathews (23:40):
Carl Christian and you'll see everything about him.
Awesome, Carl Christian,congratulations on your business
and continued good fortune.
My friend, it's been a pleasureto speak with you.
Carl Christian (23:47):
I love the podcast man.
I enjoy what you're doing, soplease keep doing that.
Thank you.
Ed Mathews (23:52):
This has been the Real Estate Underground.
Don't forget to rate, reviewand subscribe.
It helps us grow.
Until next time, Undergrounders, remember your real estate
journey begins with a simplestep forward.
Now get to it.
Bye for now.
Greetings and salutations, Real Estate
Undergrounders.
It is Ed Mathews with the RealEstate Underground.
Thank you so much for making usa part of your day.
With me today is Carl Christianof the Nice Agent Company, as
well as Nice Property Management.
We're going to talk about allof it above.
Based down in Florida, he's inPembroke Pines, which is
actually one of my favoriteplaces on earth.
Carl, welcome to the show.
(00:49):
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Carl Christian (00:53):
Thank you again for everybody that's listening
to us.
I cannot wait so we can learnfrom each other, because that's
what we do here, Carl, for thosefolks who haven't discovered
you yet.
Ed Mathews (01:04):
why don't you tell us a little bit about who you
are and your background.
Carl Christian (01:06):
I am from Haiti Originally.
I came in this country inAugust 2000, so almost 25 years,
and the story started with me,of course, getting into
university.
I went to FIU and then, fromthere, somebody told me why
don't you do estate?
And I'm like, no, I'm not doingreal estate because I don't
like to sell things.
And then wait for commission.
(01:26):
He's like, why don't you do it?
And then he said why don't youcall my brother-in-law?
And then he will actually teachyou real estate.
I'm like, whatever you say, man.
And then he got me with thebrother-in-law and then, before
you know it, here I am 20 yearslater doing nothing, but this I
always in my book, because Ihold a book.
I have a whole chapter abouthim to say thank you because
(01:47):
he's no longer with us today.
But everything that I'veachieved was just because of
that one conversation.
Ed Mathews (01:53):
Isn't it amazing that it can be just that one
inflection point.
I was confronted by a realestate agent because I was
wasting her time Amy Rio and Itell this story all the time,
but I'll tell you the shortversion so she brought me around
.
I read Rich Dad, poor Dad, inlike 2008,.
And it took me three years toratchet up the courage and
actually do the deal right andget one done.
And I met this very generousreal estate agent.
(02:17):
Her name's Amy Rio.
She's gigantic now, but backthen she was a teeny tiny.
She probably had four or fiveagents at that point, and so she
brought me around to 20, 25different properties.
She finally, after the 24thproperty, brought me to this one
property on Clark Street, eastHartford, connecticut, and I
walked around and I was findingevery excuse I could think of
(02:39):
not buy, and it all boiled downto the fact that I was terrified
.
She finally took out a pen andput a contract on the hood of my
truck when I started makingexcuses and she said sign this
contract or never call me again.
And that was in January of 2011or maybe December of 2010.
So I'm like, oh, more than afoot taller than that.
(02:59):
She stared the living daylightsout at me, and at that moment I
was more afraid of Amy Rio thanI was of actually
responsibility for a property,and so I signed the contract.
So it's amazing, just that onething can launch you into
something amazing.
Carl Christian (03:15):
My very first property was the same thing.
I went to the agent of theoffice, went to show it to
someone and he came back and hewas like Carl, you need to buy
this house.
I'm a realtor and I wassuccessful.
But I'm going to tell everybodyI have never bought a house yet
and I'm like draw the contract.
I never seen the house.
He draw the contract.
I signed.
We went to the bank.
Everything is going on.
(03:35):
I still haven't seen the house.
We closed.
I still haven't see the house.
And then I opened the door andI'm like my God, what did I buy?
And, of course, great, I'm in,everything is good.
And I'm going to tell you thestory and that's what I want all
(03:55):
the listeners to understandthat little thing in your heart
that makes you scared.
It's actually mean.
This is what you need to do.
So I got in that house, startedworking on it, gutted it out,
do all those kinds of things andthe market crashed a year and a
half later.
That property I bought it for370 and it was worth 190 in 2009
(04:15):
or 2010.
Today, that property is worth$850,000 and I don't want to
sell.
Why would you?
So I tell everybody is takethat action.
Take it, just trust your guts,always analyze that you're not
going to put yourself intothings that you should not be
able to.
We want you to get theknowledge, but when you get that
first step and you're scared,trust in someone like I trust
(04:38):
Amy, I trust my other agent,because one thing that somebody
always told me, which is my dad,and I always remember that
before you believe in yourselves, find that one person that
believe in you and just closeyour eyes and that sometimes you
just have to go for it.
Ed Mathews (04:56):
It is, yeah, sometimes the advice you get you
should actually listen to it.
We'll talk more about thatlater in the show.
It's interesting because we'reentering into a recessionary
period again and opinions varyon what's going on with the
economy and how it's going toaffect housing.
I'm curious down in Florida thestories up here in the
Northeast about what's going ondown there is that you guys are
(05:18):
going through a pretty bumpytime, particularly in the
multifamily world.
But I don't know about thesingle family.
What are you seeing in yourmarket?
Carl Christian (05:23):
Single family.
It's like different spots.
An example I have a propertyI've listed in the same city.
Those properties are probably10 minutes apart from each other
$775,000 sitting on the marketfor three months.
$920,000.
Just received a cash offer for$950,000 in two days.
Just received a cash offer for950 in two days.
(05:44):
It's just like what I'm seeingis what I tell everybody.
It is not a property issueright now.
It's a change of demographic inSouth Florida.
So the money is moving to SouthFlorida.
If you have a very high endproduct, it's going to sell.
But the people that can affordthe 300, 400, 500,000, they
(06:04):
cannot find a property becausethey're too high or they cannot
afford what's on there.
So this is what's going on inthe single families.
There are cities in the singlefamily that are dropping
consistently, like CentralFlorida, because we are also in
Orlando, haines City, a littlebit of Tampa, like Lakeland, all
of those things.
They are dropping fast.
Multifamily.
It's a case by case, the reasonwhy if somebody had a great
(06:27):
loan, they're not interested inselling.
Right, if somebody had thosearm right now, you just find
them and knock on their doorbecause they are struggling,
because what happened is therental market took a dive and
because the rental market took adive, now those guys cannot pay
their interest, free loan, theycannot do all of those things.
And here it is.
They are having a hard time.
(06:48):
I see, like yesterday I found aproperty in Fort Pierce,
$429,000, four units,two-bedroom, one-bath, two-one,
three-one and a one-one, and theROI gross ROI people was 25%.
By the time I call my partnerand then we write it up, it's a
spending sale.
(07:08):
So yeah you have those thingsthat are coming in the market.
Ed Mathews (07:12):
Yeah, and in terms of one of the great things about
being a realtor and I'm not one, actually is that you get
access to a whole bunch of dealsbefore guys like me get to see
them.
It's true, I hear it in yourlap right.
Carl Christian (07:25):
Well, I don't know the reason why I said it's
true.
It's because you see how theytell you a doctor should not
operate on themselves.
It's the same thing when I'm aninvestor and I'm a realtor and
I'll be telling you, ed, it'svery difficult for the investor
of me to take precedence.
It's just like what happened islet's pretend I found a good
deal and I know Ed is on themarket Yep, I will call you
(07:48):
first, and then you say you'regoing to buy it, no problem, why
did I not save this?
My purpose is to help people,so me helping you is so on top
of my list that I become secondall the time and that I lost so
many great deals.
I cannot say I lost because Imade so many good friends,
because I gave it to them.
But yeah, it's a good thing,but also a bad thing.
Ed Mathews (08:11):
Man, if you send me deals that you would buy
yourself, you and I are going tobe very good friends.
So, in terms of the types ofproperties that you like to
focus on and it sounds like it'sa wide array of things, but I'm
curious I started in a singlefamily.
Carl Christian (08:23):
I did great buying properties at the court
auction I was doing good foralmost 10 years.
Percentage was over 20, 30%.
Then it gets saturated becauseeverybody knew Freud was great
at auction.
Now I'm doing the transitioninto multifamily and I feel like
it's about to be better for me.
I think my last move is goingto be sub-auctions.
So my first move is going to bea multi-family.
(08:44):
I'm going to be intomultifamily and I feel like it's
about to be better for me.
I think my last move is goingto be sub-divisions.
So my five-year plan is gettinga few five units, 10 units in
my portfolio and then I'm goingto go to building a subdivision
and then resell.
Ed Mathews (08:57):
Yeah, a good friend of mine, Dave DeVito.
He was telling me about his oldboss at Keller Williams.
Gary Keller was walking aroundin a t-shirt, at least two or
three years ago, that said buydirt right and that is the cue.
Okay, so Keller probably knowswhat he's talking about.
That's when we started to getinto land as well.
It's interesting, a little bitstressful, but the payoff is
(09:18):
wonderful.
Carl Christian (09:18):
I'll tell you the greatest story I know about
dirtzard family down in Miami.
Those guys, they own a lot ofland.
I'm going to tell you whathappened to the
great-grandfather when thingswere happening, the Great
Depression, and people weremoving and buying land to crop
because they wanted to growstuff.
The only thing you could affordwas sand by the beach and
(09:43):
everybody told, like you crazy,why would you buy those things?
Because that doesn't make anysense.
You cannot grow anything, youwill just die because you're not
going to eat.
And he just kept buying themfor cheap.
And today he owns almost a cityon the beach and this is the
family legacy.
So, yeah, you buy dirt man,they are not making anymore.
Ed Mathews (10:04):
In fact, if buy dirt man, they are not making any
more.
In fact, if you buy into globalwarming, they're making less.
So I am curious about insurance, because that's one thing that
has been on everyone's mind.
How is your business affectedby the insurance issues and the
fact that-.
Carl Christian (10:19):
It is hard.
We have a six unit down inMiami.
We're trying to get money outof it right now and we cannot
because for us to get windinsurance we have to go to
Lloyds in London.
That's how crazy that is.
The wind portion is $18,000.
A two-story building, six unitbarely like 10,000 per feet and
(10:41):
you're paying like almost twogrand a month just for wind
insurance and you still have tocarry hazard and fraud.
So at the end of the day,almost two units are paying just
for insurance.
Does that make sense?
So yeah, we are struggling alittle bit, but on the single
family side I see it likemoderating a little bit.
Before it was crazy, but nowit's getting back to a little
(11:03):
bit of normal becauseeverybody's doing their roof,
everybody's doing their windowsand stuff.
But on a multifamily it's hard.
Man, if you're buying two,three stories building, you're
in trouble 18,000 just for one.
Ed Mathews (11:14):
Yeah, $2,000 on a six unit.
Carl Christian (11:17):
My advice to everybody is stomach the pain.
We've been there.
I don't know if it's because Isurvived 2008.
Stomach the pain Sooner orlater something great will
happen.
It's just the way it is.
I'll tell you my personal story.
For the past two weeks, thingshave been going crazy.
I have a property that the cityhave a lien on.
We're trying to fight the city.
All of my money is in thatproperty and now I don't know
(11:39):
what to do.
I'm stressed and then yesterdaysome other agents create
something bad and then I'm likeeverything is going crazy.
Boom.
This morning I woke up, the CDOapproved the lien.
Amnesty, the agent situationgot resolved.
So stomach the pain.
This is where you lean on yourfriends.
You lean on good people like Ed, call people, send in emails,
(12:00):
text messages.
We I cannot say we, but there'sa lot of people that have been
through what you're goingthrough or been through worse?
Ed Mathews (12:09):
Yeah, for sure.
I find that is so true, right?
Is that?
The people around you,especially people that have been
like I, liken real estateinvesting to reading a book I'm
a few chapters ahead of somebodyelse, but we're all reading the
same book, right?
And the fact is that I relyheavily on people who've been
doing this, who are A smarterthan me and B have been doing it
(12:32):
longer, to go.
Okay, this is the problem Ihave.
Have you seen this before anddo I survive this?
And invariably they say, yeah,this too shall pass and take a
breath, and you need somecapitals.
We'll figure that out, butother than that, it's going to
be okay.
A lot of people survived 2008.
A lot of people survived 1991.
(12:54):
A lot of people survived 88 andso on and so forth and the
things that and it's acolloquialism, but it's true and
that is the best time to buyreal estate was 10 years ago,
but the best time is right now,and the whole blood in the
streets metaphor is true right,when people are scared and they
(13:14):
start running, that is wheninvestors make a lot of money.
And so you just have to be alittle bit pragmatic and you
have to be disciplined, and soyou just have to be a little bit
pragmatic and you have to bedisciplined, but if you find the
right assets and you have along-term view, you can weather
just about everything.
(13:35):
Okay, let's get into thelightning round.
I'm always curious aboutleaders and how their minds work
and all that from a purposeperspective.
Obviously, carl, you're a verysuccessful professional in the
real estate world and I'm surethe mortgage is paid and the
bills are paid and the kidscollege is paid for and all that
, but you still get up in themorning on Monday.
I'm curious about what drivesyou.
What's your purpose?
Carl Christian (13:54):
I have a saying that if I go across somebody's
life, even if that person haveto leave me, they have to leave
with more than they came in with.
So every morning I wake up iswho can I impact?
Yeah, and I try my hardest manto do that help someone find
(14:14):
someone that needs somethingthat I can delegate.
It is a very hard job foranybody that is in that mindset
because they know sometimes youget flop around because of it.
But I'll be honest with you.
I'll tell you why I do what Ido and I'm going to play
something that just happenedthis morning actually, and I
think people would understandwhat it means.
(14:35):
Like if somebody can hear this.
I'm working up to a time now.
So happy I did it.
I'm really, really happy.
I thank the Lord.
Ed Mathews (14:42):
Jesus is putting this amazing right in your head
for me, for my family.
Carl Christian (14:50):
I thank you.
God bless you and your work.
So this property that we had,we were going to flip, and that
lady happened to be one of myagents.
She never bought a property inher life, she doesn't make any
money, she's not doing reallygood and I said you know what?
This is?
All yours Do it.
And this morning, finally, shegot approved for the mortgage.
(15:10):
Everything is good.
And this is what I wake up forevery single that's amazing and
congratulations on your successand helping people.
Ed Mathews (15:19):
Obviously, your parents brought you up right,
but I'm always curious aboutmentors, whether they be your
parents or just people that youmet in your travels.
Carl Christian (15:29):
I'm curious about the best advice you ever
got and who gave it to youbelieve it or not, everybody is
a mentor for me, from the peoplethat brought me up my dad, my
mom, brother, sister, my firstbroker, brad Capuzzo.
But the best advice I got wasdoing one of my podcasts.
I was interviewing somebody andhis name is James and he said I
(15:53):
tried every day to be theperson that I needed 20 years
ago.
That is like just close youreyes and think 20 years ago what
you knew.
Then the person that you werelooking for in that person did
not show up.
There's somebody right now inthat same position.
Just be that person for them.
And now you're thinking likeman, if I had met this guy 20
(16:16):
years ago and this guy couldhelp me buy a house, where would
I be today?
Right, and that's the advicethat I got, and it was from him.
Ed Mathews (16:23):
Wow, that's profound .
That's really good.
I think we learn from ourmistakes even more than we do
from our successes, and so I'mcurious about professionally
what's the biggest mistake,what's a decision you'd love to
have back, and how did you fixit?
How'd you recover?
Carl Christian (16:41):
I bought a piece of property because I have a
saying in my life Excitementkills deals.
Never do anything while you'reexcited, because being excited
is like being angry or beingloved you don't know what you're
doing.
So I got excited at a piece ofland that was three and a half
acres in the city of Fort Pierceand I pulled the trigger on it.
(17:02):
I paid for the architect, Ipaid for everything to find out,
after spending so much money,that the city does not allow any
subdivision on the five acres.
But that one was the biggestmistake, because I overpaid for
the property.
I paid for all of the plans andstuff.
And how did I recover from itis?
I took the emotion out.
I knew it was the time to getout of it and, with the guy that
(17:26):
came to buy it, I told him likelook, instead of you giving me
the whole money upfront, whydon't I finance half of it and
you can go buy something else?
And he happened to agree.
Ed Mathews (17:37):
Okay, yeah, that's smart.
Again, the long view whatdrives a lot of real estate
success?
Right, that's awesome.
I'm also curious about how yousharpen the saw, so to speak.
What book is on your nightstandor your virtual nightstand,
whether it be an iPhone, android, whatever, and what authors or
creators are you payingattention to?
Carl Christian (17:56):
I read a lot, but right now I cannot remember
the name of the author becausemy coach actually sent me this
book.
It's called Raging Referrals.
It's basically this guy'steaching you a system that he
created.
We do it, but we didn't build asystem out of it, which is the
3-2-1-1 system.
If you wake up every morningand you touch base with three
people that you know everysingle morning talk about your
(18:18):
business, about their life andif you wake up every morning and
you try to put two new peopleinto your database whether it's
the guy when you're pumping gasand you ask him how you're doing
and get his phone number andemail, or whoever it is If you
wake up every morning and youtry to refer one person to a
friend of yours or a businessand you do not go to bed without
getting one referral fromsomeone every day of your life,
(18:41):
and then when I'm reading thebook, I'm still reading it and
I'm doing the math in my head.
Imagine you talk to three peopleevery day and you do this for
300 days.
That's 900.
Imagine that you refer oneperson to a business every day.
You do it for 300.
That's 300 referrals.
You give away the amount ofblack thing that you will get
(19:01):
back.
It's just you can't.
It's bitchiness Like you cannoteven put a price on it.
Yes, that's what I'm readingright now.
Ed Mathews (19:08):
Oh, that's excellent .
Yeah, I just looked it up, it'sBrandon Barnum.
If you help enough people getwhere they want to go, they too,
in turn, will help you getwhere you want to go.
And obviously, man, you'vebuilt one heck of a business,
and congratulations for that.
Carl Christian (19:24):
I'm curious about what success means to you.
How do you define it in yourlife?
People, people.
My business partner right nowon the tax side, because we own
the nice tax company as well.
She used to be an employee ofmine, now she's family.
She owned the business.
The nice property management isbeing run by my wife.
I just actually partnered withsomeone else for the first time.
I sold a part of it.
Alicia is amazing.
(19:44):
She's going to take thisbusiness to a whole different
level.
The nice constructionmanagement it is a high school
made of mine that is running itat, and a nice agent is a high
school mate of mine also.
That is the office manager.
So for me, success is how manypeople can I bring on with me
for the journey, just the way Iam.
Ed Mathews (20:04):
Wow, that's great, and the thing is, though, it is
generous, but it's also smart,right, because entrepreneurial
ADD is a real thing.
I have it right.
The rule I made years ago wasI'm not going to start a company
unless I know the human beingthat's going to be responsible
for it.
Not named me at Matthews, andso that is what helped separate
(20:26):
spreading getting spread toothin versus diversifying and
growing.
Carl Christian (20:30):
Yeah Well, you said that I had one of my agent
in the office.
She's trying to do everything.
So I'm telling her no, youcannot just focus on what we're
sitting and do.
And then she turned it on me.
She was like what about you?
You own all of those businesses.
And I'm like this is the thingthat you, I want you to
understand.
When was the last time youcalled me and say, call, can I
(20:51):
talk to you?
And I said no, I'm busy doingtaxes, the property management I
have no idea where the doorsare.
Like, I do meetings, but Idon't drive the properties.
I do the constructionmanagement.
I barely know which clients wehave.
It's because the truth is, I'mnot doing all of those things.
I'm still leading peoplethrough all those things.
(21:13):
It is doable.
You cannot be that one top shop.
The best book to read tounderstand that is Michael
Gerber, e-myth Revisited.
It will make you understandthat you have to separate the
technician out of you from theentrepreneur you're trying to
become.
Ed Mathews (21:29):
It's very important, and the other book that I'll
point you to is Dan Sullivan'swho, not how.
It's a very similar concept.
It's an excellent book and ittalks about exactly what you're
talking about how to scalewithout totally spreading
yourself too thin.
We've talked about real estatefor a whole bunch of time now.
I could go on for days withthis.
You're a wealth of informationand thank you for that on behalf
(21:51):
of our audience.
But when you're not talkingabout real estate, what do you
like to do?
What's fun?
But when you're not talkingabout real estate, what do you
like to do what's fun?
Carl Christian (21:59):
I'll use the word.
I'm a golfer man, I love golfand then that's what I do.
But to be honest, it's allabout family.
I built a loving foundationaround me, Very close circle and
my daughter.
Every Sunday we go out, we goto different cafes so we can
(22:19):
have breakfast.
I never knew there were so manybreakfast spots in Florida, but
there's a lot.
It is very important to me thatthe people around me are
well-founded, they love, becausemy values are very important
and you're going to see on eachcompany.
Love is actually one of thevalues that we live by.
If you don't love the peopleyou're doing it with and for,
(22:41):
don't be in.
Ed Mathews (22:42):
Yeah, and you live in the right part of the world.
So the reason I know PembrokePines is because of Pembroke
Lakes Golf Course.
My buddy and I used to go thereat least once a year.
All right, man, that's awesome.
So if people want to learn moreabout you or your companies,
what's the best way to get intouch?
Carl Christian (22:59):
If you want to know about me, you can always go
on Amazon and buy my book.
This is the life, the first 40years of my life, the nice life
of Carl Christian.
That would give you the deep,personal part of me.
If you want to know about mybusiness, it's easy to find me
theniceagentcom.
I'm on all social media and Iwant everybody that is listening
(23:20):
.
I'm here for you Doesn't meanyou have to call me because you
want to buy a property, you wantto have an advice, you want me
to tell you how to do something.
I'm a coach by heart.
I will always give myinformation to you, so please do
not hesitate.
You can GoogleTheNiceAgentPembrookPines or
TheNiceAgentCo.
Ed Mathews (23:40):
Carl Christian and you'll see everything about him.
Awesome, Carl Christian,congratulations on your business
and continued good fortune.
My friend, it's been a pleasureto speak with you.
Carl Christian (23:47):
I love the podcast man.
I enjoy what you're doing, soplease keep doing that.
Thank you.
Ed Mathews (23:52):
This has been the Real Estate Underground.
Don't forget to rate, reviewand subscribe.
It helps us grow.
Until next time, Undergrounders, remember your real estate
journey begins with a simplestep forward.
Now get to it.
Bye for now.
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