A traditional real estate agent asked me what I do. I normally say I'm a stay at home dad that prospects & sends out referrals. Got to thinkin' about it & that info is correct but it doesn't really help a traditional agent in their business, unless they're perceptive enough to say, "Well if you want to send some referrals my way..." So inspiration struck and I think this is going to be my new response: What do I do? I'm the guy you call when you need to get out of a jam. I'm the guy you call when you have a seller who wants an elevated price & you need a buyer who can find a way to overpay. I'm the guy you call when you have a buyer who has a taste for $3M properties but has a $2M budget & you need a seller who would sell at a discount. I'm the guy you call when you're negotiating a deal, the parties are close but they can't agree on price & you need a way to fill the gap. I'm the guy you call when your seller tells you they need an offer this week or they're canceling the listing, so you need to get an offer fast. I'm the guy you call when your buyer won't qualify for a traditional mortgage & you somehow need to get them into a house in a way that makes sense. I'm the guy you call when your seller has minimal equity, no cash flow & you somehow need to get them out from under the property in a way that makes sense. I'm the guy you call when your seller has a house retail buyers won't touch & you need a buyer who is looking for a house just like that. I'm the guy you call when you have a client to refer or even a deal you personally want to buy or sell in a new market & you need a top agent there to run the deal. I'm the guy you call when your seller needs to close urgently, there's no time for a traditional listing & you need a buyer who can do a deal at lighting speed. I'm the guy you call when your seller has a ton of equity, wants to sell but if they do they could be looking at a tax bill that makes their eyes water & you need a professional to show them ways to structure the deal properly so that if their eyes do water it's from tears of joy. I'm the guy you call when your seller is open-minded, motivated and collaborative but their commercial deal is covered in hair and you need a counterparty with a good set of scissors to help everyone see straight. I'm the guy you call when you're new in the business, super motivated to crush it but find yourself constantly in search of a path to success and you need an environment where you can get traction, clarity and a game plan to start booking some wins. I'm the guy you call when you've been in the business a while, are racking up closings but feel like you're the only one in your office actively pursuing greatness and you've discovered you crave an environment where you're surrounded by agents just as fired up as you who set greatness as the standard, pursue it daily and joyfully help each other achieve their maximum potential. I'm the guy you call when you're an elite producer, business running at full blast but ultimately feel like your business is running you and you've discovered you crave an environment where you can take back control of your time to be the parent/spouse/friend you know you can be, pursue passions that you've been itching to indulge and maybe even see a path to retire or at least go on a vacation without being glued to your phone the whole time. Now, if we could we solve these problems 100% of the time...I'd already be living on a private island watching dolphins splash in the ocean as I enjoyed the sunrise each morning. I don't. But we can solve them often enough where I like your chances to pick up a closing here and there that you'd have pretty long odds of gettin' otherwise...and maybe even find yourself building a business that gets you closer to the one that makes you genuinely happy. Goal: Have them say, "Bro, I'm putting you in my phone right now as Real Estate 911, this is crazy!" That's mission accomplished.

"Are you asking because you're thinking of doing something creative?" The seller has no equity, no cash flow and doesn't want to come out of pocket for closing costs or brokerage fees...we're gonna have to get creative!

Appreciate the shout out on this one! There's an old saying in sales: Answer the question only after you know why it's being asked.

Heard a pitch for a commercial development play in a market I don't know anything about. Developers have had multiple successful exits in the space. I find that attractive if it's verifiable. Yet can't help but wonder, "Why aren't their partners from the earlier deals putting up the money?"

Just give it to 'em straight Like a pear cider that's made from 100% pears Post of the day⬇️

More agents have asked for help sourcing buyers for their listings in the past 10 days than in the past 10 months combined. Something weird is going on in the market...or agents realizing they're running out of days in the year to get deals closed?

An agent reached out for help on a listing. Turned out she additionally had 19 off-market properties, including some with sellers who had told her they were open to creative offers. Ain't nothin like asking "What else do you have?" before wrapping up a convo.

The most common answer has been "I think the lowest they would take is ...."

When I'm feeling down, if I'm on my game I treat it as a sign to more actively pursue my purpose. Post of the day ⬇️

The listing agent says the seller owes "about $133k" on the property. Ended up being $175k. Thank goodness for mortgage statements & sellers who take the 2 mins to pull them.

You know you might have found a rock star counterparty for a creative deal when the listing agent uses the word "structure" before you do.

Have been asking listing agents this question: "If I bought this property and then hired you to sell it, where would we need to be priced to get it under contract within 10 days?" Guess the most common answer.

Cash offer or retail? Why not present both & empower the seller to choose Post of the day ⬇️

They bought the house over the summer, already want to sell. Minimal equity, but the loan has a good-ish rate. Can we do this? 👇 We buy it sub2. Wrap the mortgage and sell Contract for Deed. Get a down payment from the end buyer & net a monthly spread on the interest rate.

When I'm talking to listing agents who have reached out for help getting their listings moved There often comes a point about 2/3 into the conversation where I can feel them run out of gas. They get tired of answering questions about their seller's situation without getting something in return. Yet we don't know what to offer til we know what their seller needs. Need to find a way to frame the convo to manage their expectations and keep them engaged. Because often enough the result of the conversation is an offer that helps their seller get where they want to go.

Met an agent who intuitively "got" the walking debt play faster than anyone I've ever seen. Can't wait to turn him loose finding deals. Just wants to make sure his broker's onboard first.

One of the core tenets of Deal Season is to make offers. Make more offers. Then make even more offers. Post of the day⬇️

Met an agent who has 20 sellers who would be happy to get an offer at their price. But they don't want to list on the MLS for fear the listings will just sit there & they're concerned that would stigmatize the property. What's the move when your clients are willing to be patient to get their price but don't want to risk a stale listing?

As I'm leaning creative deal structures, I've found it useful to learn the situation(s) that the structure is meant to address. When you run into that situation, the corresponding structure should come to mind. But it's also useful to learn how to layer or chain structures together to solve problems that might differ from the type of problem each structure was created to solve.

You ever walk through a property and go "Whoa, there's a sauna!" And then realize it's just a rustic, undersized ADU with no A/C?

When the market gets icy Buyin' on terms gets spicy Post of the day ⬇️